VMDiva

Months of hype, speculation, and opinion surrounded the first family’s choice of dog. Until today. The White House announced Senator Ted Kenendy gifted a male Portugese Water Dog (PWD) to the Obama family. Since Obama’s election in November, the press has bleated Malia Obama’s dog allergies leading to many discussions on the factuality of the “hypoallergenic” dog.

The idea any dog is hypoallergenic is far fetched. Some dogs shed less, some dogs do not incite allergies as much as others, but ALL dogs produce dander. In a recent article on WebMD Health News, allergy and asthma expert Corinna Bowser, MD, describes the true trigger to dog allergies. The article reads:

“The major allergen in dogs is a protein found in dog serum, and dogs excrete that allergen in sweat and shed it from their skin. “It also gets secreted into the saliva, and possibly a little bit in the urine,” Bowser says. Since all dogs have that protein, no dog is completely allergy-free, according to Bowser.“

While the PWD certainly may have less dander, the Obamas may still fight itchy eyes and runny noses in the future. Time will tell.

Spring has sprung and it’s the Easter season. Many of us enjoy the smell of a hyacinth, the beauty of tulips, and the elegance of the Easter Lily in our homes. Few suspect a lethal foe waging war against cats. Did you know that ingesting a small leaf or petal from an Easter Lily can be toxic to your feline friends? Even drinking water from a vase of lilies can cause severe disease.

Easter lilies, along with other lilies of the Lilium genus, cause acute kidney failure in cats. Stargazer lilies and Asiatic lilies, along with Easter lilies, have proven the most toxic in this group of plants. Fortunately, Calla lilies and Peace lilies can cause GI upset but have not been shown to cause kidney failure as they do not belong to the Lilium genus. Cats who have consumed toxic lilies can have kidney failure within 36 to 72 hours of ingestion. Signs of acute kidney failure include vomiting, lethargy, and inappetance. Cats who have ingested lilies require urgent veterinary care. Research and anecdotal evidence reveal not all cats respond to the toxin equally; Some cats recover with minimal intervention while others require life saving diuresis and/or dialysis. Others aren’t so lucky and will die from complications of kidney failure.

The safest bet is to keep all lilies out of reach of your cats.