Caring for your family’s cat or dog is probably very important to your whole family. Most people view their pets as being a part of the family that’s just as important as the parents, grandparents, or children. Caring for animals isn’t exactly the same as caring for your human family members, though. Many have very important questions about pet health care. To make matters worse, there are a lot of rumors and myths that can be dangerous to your animal if you don’t get the truth.
Can You Transmit the Flu to Your Pet?
This is a very common question. Unfortunately, most people are given the wrong answer, and this can endanger the health of your pet. Of course, it all depends on the specific strain of influenza along with a number of other factors, but, in general, you should know that you can pass illnesses like the flu to your pet. Since most people are told that this cannot happen, they don’t take necessary precautions to protect their animals. They also dismiss signs that their animal is sick for this reason. In reality, some of the most extreme epidemics have resulted in mutations of viruses that enabled them to be spread from animals to humans.
This myth also perpetuates the dangerous thought that animals can’t contract viruses or influenzas at all. That’s simply not true. If you notice your pet behaving very strangely, they may have contracted an illness. Whether or not it came from another human, they should receive proper pet health care.
What Kind of Food Should I Feed My Pet?
There are a lot of rumors and myths surrounding proper pet nutrition. Whether you own a cat or a dog, there will be foods in the grocery store that are advertised as being perfect for your pets age or other condition. Many are told that special brands are the only ones good for their animal. Is this true?
While specialty foods certainly aren’t bad, you should pay attention to the ingredients just as you do when examining the food you eat yourself. Some very expensive brands might have very similar content to less expensive brands. It’s also a popular belief that certain types of foods keep your animal’s teeth clean. If you really want to be sure that your pet’s oral health is in the best condition, you should know there’s no food that does a really great job. If such a food existed, don’t you think humans would eat it too?
It’s also commonly taught that pets should not eat human food. Obviously, this will really depend on the food, but in general, human food is just as healthy or unhealthy to your pet as it is to you. Meat, vegetables, and grains are largely very good for your pet. There are some foods that can cause discomfort and illness in cats and dogs, however, so be sure to check before you feed your dog an onion. To know more about pet health care visit Western Veterinary Group. You can also find them on Facebook.