#SecretSantaGuelph 4 - Guelph helps feed neighbourhood kids

Since 2014, we at GLVH have been proud sponsors of a grass-roots initiative designed to help support the Food & Friends program at Brant Ave Public School. #SecretSantaGuelph, a Twitter-based fundraising effort headed up by community leader Bang Ly, directly benefits the community around our clinic by helping to extend the food available to children at school, as well as the food pantry available to families in need.

How does it work? If you have a Twitter account, you can sign up to be matched with another #SecretSantaGuelph participant. You'll follow them on Twitter, get some gift ideas, and find something in the $15 range that you think they'd like. You'll also need to make a donation to the cause to help feed those kids!

2014's event raised nearly $13,000 from donations and sponsors and the Secret Santa Guelph team is aiming for even higher heights in 2015. This year's event is taking place Dec 6th at the Guelph Concert Theatre - big enough for a party of epic proportions! If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so at secretsantaguelph.com and you can even donate online to make it super easy (just make sure you include #secretsantaguelph in your donation form so the funds go to the right place!).

Oh! And don't forget to check out all the sponsors (including us!) and what they have to offer for #SecretSantaGuelph participants.

Here at GLVH we've got lots of toys and gifts and treats for your pet-loving Secret Santa match - we know there are lots of pet owners participating in the event this year. But really, the most important part of this event is the community that comes together. We're helping because these kids are our neighbours, they could be families we see in the clinic and no one should have to go to school or to bed hungry. Let's feed some kids, Guelph.

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What happens when your cat stops eating? Part 1

Thanks to Dr. Melissa Cirinna for sharing this story of her own cat, Galileo, and his recent health challenge. Our veterinarians approach each case individually, and even when it is their own pet, they often face many of the same challenges to care and diagnosis as with a client's pet. Read on to find out how Dr. Cirinna handled this rather tricky case from her own household.

Galileo

A few weeks ago I received a rather disturbing call from my husband - our cat Galileo would not eat his breakfast.  As a matter of fact he would not even enter the room in which the cats are normally fed.  Knowing Galileo’s love of food, this behavior was very concerning so I had Galileo brought to the clinic for a full examination and bloodwork.  Galileo’s exam showed lethargy and mild dehydration and the results of his bloodwork showed an increase in his calcium levels (hypercalcemia).  The two main causes of hypercalcemia are Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Intestinal Lymphoma.  A definitive diagnosis is made by intestinal biopsy and histopathology.  Treatment for IBD and lymphoma both involve the use of a steroid and an immunosuppressant, and for this reason Galileo was started on treatment immediately rather than pursuing a definitive diagnosis at this point.  Now I could work on encouraging him to eat again.

When cats are ill they will often develop an aversion to their regular food and become anorexic.  The causes for the original aversion can be anything from gastroenteritis (upset stomach), inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), stress, liver disease, kidney disease, bladder infection and a multitude of other diseases.  The sheer number of possible differentials makes the anorexic cat a very difficult patient.  To add another level of complexity, the anorexic cat is an urgent case.  Unlike dogs, cats cannot go very long without food.  If a cat is truly anorexic for more than a few days they may begin to develop hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver syndrome.  During anorexia the cat begins to mobilize fat stores which can accumulate in the liver cells.  The accumulation of fat hinders proper function of the liver leading to liver failure and death if the cat does not start eating.  Thankfully, with proper supportive care most cats recover fully from hepatic lipidosis.  Knowing the risk of hepatic lipidosis, I was anxious to get Galileo eating again.  With some anorexic cats, simply changing their food to something more palatable will work and with this in mind we offered Galileo a high energy canned recovery food.  Success!  He readily ate half a can of food while at the clinic, however, we knew we weren’t out of the woods yet.  The real test would be whether he would continue to eat at home.  After 24 hours of intravenous fluids, I was able to take Galileo home to see if his appetite would hold up with the new food.

Stay tuned for Part II as we find out whether Galileo continued to recover at home or needed more veterinary intervention.