OFFICIAL STATE DOGS AND CATS

You probably know that states have a lot of official stuff, such as state flowers and state birds and state mottos.  But did you know that some states have official animals and fish and insects?  There are a few that even have state dogs and state cats, but not enough of them do, if you want my opinion.

For example, I'm sad to say that the state of Missouri, where I live, does not have an official dog or cat, but it does have a state animal, which is the Missouri mule.  And Kansas, which is right next door to us, has the American bison, but it doesn't have a state dog or cat either.

Texas, which is where I was born, has a state dog that is called the Blue Lacy.  I have to admit that even though I am a Texas girl at heart, I had never heard of this breed of dog.  But it turns out that some brothers, Frank, George, Erwin, and Harry Lacy, invented this breed back in the 1860s.  They bred English Shepherds, greyhounds, and wolves together with maybe a little coyote thrown in.  The blue lacy dogs were meant to be herding dogs that could work the family's wild hogs, just like in the book Old Yeller.  So anyway, this is the only type of dog that started out in Texas, so that's why it's the state dog.

Maryland has both a state dog and a state cat, and so does Massachusetts.  The state dog of Maryland is the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, which is a type of hunting dog that was bred to help duck hunters in the cold water and marshes around Chesapeake Bay.  Maryland has an official state sport, but it is not duck hunting, it is jousting.  So their choice of dog has nothing to do with their choice of state sport.

The state cat of Maryland is the calico, which is not a breed, it's a color pattern.  But I guess it was nice of them to choose a state cat, even if it's not a particular breed.  And anyway, calico cats are pretty, plus they have the same three colors as the Baltimore Oriole, which is the state bird of Maryland, so that's why calicos got to be the state cat.

In Massachusetts, you can find the Boston Terrier as the official state dog.  This makes sense because Boston is an important city in Massachusetts, and it's where the Boston terrier got its start, which I told you about in a previous blog entry.  

The official state cat of Massachusetts is the tabby cat, which is a color pattern and not a real breed, the same as the calico cat.  I'm not sure why the people of Massachusetts chose the tabby cat to be their state feline, but I guess they had their reasons.

And while I'm talking about state cats, I will go ahead and tell you that the only other state that has one is Maine, and it's the Maine Coon Cat, which really is a breed, as my kitty brother, Charlie will tell you because he is supposedly a Maine Coon Cat, even though he has never been anywhere close to Maine.

Well, okay, now it's time to talk about more state dogs.  In Alaska, you've got the Alaskan Malamute, which is a good choice, since that breed got its start in Alaska, and it also takes part in the state sport, which is mushing.

The Catahoula Leopard Dog is the official dog of Louisiana.  I already wrote a whole entry about this breed, and it is my second all-time most popular blog entry.  But what I didn't tell you then, because I didn't know this, is that the state sport of Louisiana is boar hunting.  And the Catahoula Leopard Dogs are used to control the hogs by barking right in their faces.  Since hogs don't like this and since they also have sharp tusks, the dogs wear Kevlar vests, chest armor, and wide collars to keep from getting hurt.

New Hampshire has the Chinook as its state dog.  This is another breed I had not heard about, but it turns out that a man named Arthur Treadwell Walden, who lived in New Hampshire, developed the breed, and he did it all from one dog named "Chinook" who was born in 1917.  Chinook was Mr. Walden's lead dog when he went on the Byrd Antarctic expedition in 1929.  So he bred Chinook with huskies used in Peary's North Pole expedition.  What he ended up with was a sled dog that helped make the sport of mushing popular in New Hampshire, but the official state sport is not mushing, it's skiing.  

In North Carolina, people like to go coon hunting, so they chose the Plott Hound as their state dog because it is used in this sport.  Plott hounds came from Germany originally, and they were mostly used to hunt boars there, but in 1750 a man named Johannes Plott came to North Carolina from Germany and brought some hounds with him, and he got the breed started in this country.

South Carolina also chose a hunting breed as its state dog, the Boykin Spaniel.  A man named L. Whitaker Boykin did a lot of breeding to get a little spaniel for hunting and retrieving that could ride in the small boats that hunters used in the swamps. 

The Great Dane is the official state dog of Pennsylvania, but I don't know why.  Maybe the people in that state just wanted a really big dog to be their official canine.  Or maybe all the people who came over from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania happened to like Great Danes a lot.

Virginia picked the American Foxhound as their state dog, and this is because George Washington, who lived in that state, pretty much developed that breed.  But I already told you about that in my blog before.

And the last state I'm going to tell you about is Wisconsin, where the official dog is the American Water Spaniel.  This breed got started in the middle of the 19th century, and nobody knows where, exactly, but the best guess is that it was probably developed in the Fox River and Wolf River valleys of Wisconsin.

So that is the whole story of official state dogs and cats.  Maybe more of them will get to be officially chosen by states pretty soon.  I think I'm going to lobby the Missouri legislature to make the basenji the state dog of Missouri.  And the reason why basenjis should be chosen is because I live here!  Then maybe, while I'm at it, I can get them to make the Missouri state cat be the dilute tortoiseshell, like Chloe, or else the tuxedo cat, like Charlie.

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Rid Of The Worms?

Here is a question from Christina...

I recently took a stray cat in to the vet for a checkup, vaccinations, etc. The vet discovered that he was "loaded with roundworms" and gave me a topical dewormer to administer when we got home, which I did. It's been about 36 hours and the cat has had 2 bowel movements, but I have yet to see any worms in his feces. Should I be worried? He is eating, drinking, and eliminating normally. How long after the dewormer was applied should I expect to see the worms being expelled?

A great question, Christina. Roundworms are a common parasite, and no surprise to find in a stray. They live within the intestinal tract, and you will rarely see them come out in the stool. If the infestation is bad enough, they will sometimes vomit worms, but that's uncommon. As long as the worms are alive, they will stay within the intestinal tract, and there may not be any obvious signs that they have them. When we examine a fecal sample, we are looking for the worms' eggs, not the worms themselves. The numbers of eggs we find will depend on several factors: the number of worms in the pet, the current state of the reproductive cycle when we get the sample, the amount of fecal material collected, and the method of preparation of the sample prior to microscopic examination. Studies have shown that it's possible to have a "negative" result, even if worms are present. In fact, there can be as high as a 20% chance that we can miss worm eggs even if the worms are present. I mention all of this because quantification of the worm eggs doesn't always correlate with the actual numbers of adult worms.

When the worms die, they may not be released into the feces all at once. It is completely normal for a cat or dog to "poop spaghetti" after a deworming, but this is less common than seeing normal feces. Just because you don't see any worms coming out doesn't mean that it isn't working. If you took each defecation and teased apart the feces, you would probably find the worms. However, I doubt that you would have an interest in doing that, and I wouldn't blame you. I wouldn't do it myself.

Hopefully your vet talked about potential human infections, as it is possible for humans to be infected. Transmission is "fecal-oral", which means that you have to ingest the eggs. This occurs most commonly through touching areas contaminated with infected feces, and then touching your mouth or food without having washed your hands. Simple hygiene will prevent transmission, such as wearing gloves or washing your hands after cleaning the litterbox. Here are some resources from the American Veterinary Medical Association....
Internal Parasites, Larval Migrans

So to answer your question, Christina, this is a perfectly normal situation. You shouldn't expect to see any worms, even if it is working. And it sounds like your cat is not in any health danger. If you want to be certain that the worms are gone, talk to your vet and have the fecal exam repeated in about 3-4 weeks.

Keep the questions coming! I really enjoy answering them!

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Missing Whiskers

Mary sends in this question...

I am writing you a question for my mom who just inherited 2 cats. One of the cats had only one eyebrow whisker on one side when she moved in, and now she has none on one side. Is this a problem? Also, is there such a thing as fake cat eyelashes? ;)

The long whiskers on a cat's face are used as sensors, and have clusters of nerves at the base. They detect subtle touch and movement, allowing a cat to more easily detect their surroundings, especially in dim light or darkness. Your average pet cat won't be harmed by their loss, and will continue in their daily lives without any problems. The whiskers are a specialized form of hair, but are still hair. Therefore they will grow, live a period of time, fall out, and be replaced like any other hair.

Missing whiskers for a short period of time isn't really a concern. However, this may be the first sign of something wrong with the skin or coat. Common reasons for hair loss in cats are fleas, skin mites, and allergies. These normally don't start with just the whiskers, so I don' t know that this would be a concern if it's limited to them. My recommendation would be to have her observe the kitty closely, and if this spreads to other whiskers or other hairs begin to fall out she should take her to a vet to be evaluated.

And no, there are no kitty false eyelashes. :)

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Controversy Week: Pet Stores

I thought I'd do something a bit dangerous, and set up some controversies this week. I'm sure that one or more of these posts are going to rile people, but I'm also certain that those in the veterinary field will likely agree with most of what I say. So never let it be said that I avoided controversial issues!

Let's get it kicked off by starting with pet stores. First let me say that I have nothing against pet stores in general. I think that they're a legitimate business, and offer pets and products that you can't get any other place. If you're in the market for a bird, fish, or lizard, pet stores are generally your only source. There are also many products or foods I recommend to my clients that you can only purchase at specialty stores, and can't get in your standard grocery stores or Wal-Mart.

However, I think that you should never, ever buy a dog or cat from a pet store.

Let's start with cats. I have seen cats for sale at pet stores, and they're usually not pure-bred cats. There are millions of cats and kittens in shelters that will be euthanized if they don't find homes, so you should always start there. You can also pick up your newspaper and look in the classifieds. Pretty much any time you check, there will be listings for kittens that people are giving away for free. Why would anyone buy a cat that they could rescue from death or get for free?

Dogs are more complicated. Yes, there are also millions of dogs in shelters that need rescuing, and I fully support people doing that as a first option. However, many people want a certain breed, and shelters usually have mixed breeds. People also go into a pet store and see the cute doggies, falling immediately in love. There are several reasons why I recommend never getting a dog from a pet store. First, you don't know the quality of the breeding. Pet stores getting dogs from "puppy mills" is much less common, but still happens. Even if it's from a legitimate breeder, you don't know the history of the parents or the tendencies for certain behaviors or health problems. Second, I have found that pet store puppies are incredibly overpriced. I have seen consistently that you can get a better quality dog for cheaper by going through a reputable breeder.

One of the reasons I like PETsMART is that they don't sell dogs and cats. They donate space to local shelters and rescue organizations to come in and adopt out pets, but don't sell them directly. To me, that's the attitude more pet stores should have.

Stay tuned the rest of the week for more controversial pet-related topics! Tomorrow....designer breeds!

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