Thursday, March 28, 2024
pet and animal information

E-news About Animals

Peaches and Cookie are exhausted with all the new information.
Peaches and Cookie are exhausted with all the new information.

Even though I’ve rescued and fostered cats for about 25 years and can provide a high level of care for just about any condition that comes along, I never presume I have nothing more to learn. My veterinarian provides the first line of information and my library of reference books complements what she teaches me. The internet has also been able to provide a source for research and a wealth of information, but in using information from the net I use the same principles I do with information found in person and in print—corroborate and substantiate, finding the same information from another source, looking for studies or other ways to back it up before I’ll use a new medication, treatment or other method of care.

I also still have my stacks of magazines and newsletters for reference, years of Cat Fancy, Cats USA, Catnip (Tufts University newsletter), Catwatch (Cornell University newsletter) and other assorted publications I’ve subscribed to or collected individually for particular articles.

Now my inbox delivers yet more information about cats and pet care in general. Just in the past week I’ve received four quality e-newsletters written by veterinarians or animal professionals. While much of what we find on the internet is “canned content”, originally written by a real human but borrowed and passed along as “news”, these are written by the authors themselves with guest article commissioned by the authors. Because these are electronic, they are so easy to share, so I’m happy to provide either links to the electronic versions or excerpts with links for where to sign up. I only wish I could share my reference library as easily!

pets weekly logoPets Weekly publishes an e-newsletter, well, not quite weekly, but frequently. It’s full of articles about dogs, cats and pets in general, wildlife, and product reviews. You can click this link to see their latest e-newsletter or visit their website to sign up for the next one and to link up with them on Facebook and Twitter.

ingrid king and amber
Ingrid and Amber

Ingrid King of The Conscious Cat publishes News for You and Your Pet twice each month. Her newsletter includes timely seasonal information for caring for your pets, information on her upcoming teleseminars with authors or animal practitioners and, as a reiki master practitioner, she also includes practical information on alternative therapies and treatments for our pets as well as a link for phone consultations. Ingrid is the author of Buckley’s Story: Lessons From a Feline Master Teacher and her newsletter includes a link to upcoming book signings.

Dr. Phil Zeltzman composes a weekly e-newsletter completely from his experience as a practicing veterinarian and veterinary surgeon. He’s covered everything from common illnesses to emergency treatments, and wrote a three-part series on pet health insurance from the owner’s, veterinarian’s and insurance company’s point of view. Dr. Zeltzman doesn’t archive his e-newsletters, but he gave me permission to publish an excerpt so you can read the information he provides:

Be A.W.A.R.E. of online pet pharmacy scams

The FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, released some interesting information about online pharmacies and their dangers. So many thanks to the FDA — our taxes at work.

Let’s start with a disclaimer: some Internet pharmacies that sell pet drugs are reputable. However, many others are fronts for businesses breaking Federal, State, and sometimes International laws.

I recently heard of someone who had found a cheap source of medication for a serious (human) medical condition. The person was surprised to received unlabeled capsules taped to a piece of cardboard. An investigation revealed that the capsules contained counterfeit Tylenol…

Illegal online pharmacies may sell medications that are counterfeit, outdated, mislabeled, incorrectly formulated, or improperly made or stored.

These medications may not contain the actual drug, or the correct amount of drug, may contain contaminants, may not work as well due to age or being stored in conditions that were too hot, cold, or humid, and may not have the proper directions for use.

If you are unhappy with ordered products, illegal online pharmacies may fraudulently leave you with no way to get your money back. In the end, you may find buying prescription pet medications online costly to your pet’s health… and your wallet.

If you find a cheaper medication online, ask your family vet to consider matching the price. Many vets are willing to competitively charge based on the online price you’ve found (and can show proof of). You should also know that neither the drug maker nor your family vet will stand behind a product’s guarantee if you purchase the product online.

If you still want to purchase your pet’s prescription medications online, remember there is no fool-proof way to tell if an online pharmacy is legal. However, you can protect yourself by doing your homework and being online pharmacy A.W.A.R.E.

Visit Dr. Zeltzman’s website to sign up to receive his e-newsletter.

And the fourth I recently received is Pet Connection, “A letter from Dr. Marty Becker, ‘America’s Veterinarian’ “. This is also not archived on the internet and I don’t have permission to reprint any of the content, but you are probably familiar with Dr. Becker anyway from his TV appearances and magazine articles. The latest issue includes articles promoting basic health care for cats plus spay and neuter information, Dr. Becker’s latest appearances, product reviews, therapy dogs, breaking up dog fights and more. You can read a little about the newsletter and sign up to receive it here, and you can also enjoy blog postings and a huge archive of articles about animals.

In addition, you can also electronically subscribe to Catwatch and Catnip, and you can also read selected articles from Cat Fancy on CatChannel.com.

So spend some of these hot days inside learning yet more about our animal companions! I thank these people for taking the time to sit down and write, compile, design and send these out.

Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

6 thoughts on “E-news About Animals

  • Marg, thanks for visiting. I could be reading all day! We can certainly use the information, though, as we never know what our kitties will hand over to us.

    Reply
  • Ingrid, not just your content and discussions about alternative therapies but your teleseminars and phone consultations–the offer to talk to a live, knowledgeable human is rare! I hope people take you up on it.

    Reply
  • Thanks for including News for You and Your Pet in this line up – I’m honored!

    Reply
  • Pingback: E-newsletters About Animals « Undercover Kitty

  • That is some great information. I certainly am going to sign up for the newsletters etc. I am always interested in hearing all about pet health . Thanks so much for these links.
    Hope you have a wonderful week end and hugs to Peaches. Hope she is doing all right.

    Reply

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