Top 10 Pet Diseases: Can You Prevent Them?

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Happiness begins with good health. This is as true for pets as it is for us. Being healthy means enjoying the basic processes of life – a good meal, a restful night's sleep, play time and, yes, answering nature's call.

Unfortunately, good health is highly valued because there are times when our pets may suffer from a sickness or injury. The worst part is not knowing when your pet is sick or hurt. A dog is so overjoyed to play that he will often ignore the pain. Cats try to hide illness because of an innate desire to conceal any weakness as a survival mechanism.

Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) compiled the 10 most common claims the company receives. VPI covers thousands of medical conditions related to accidents and illnesses.

Dogs

1. Ear infection
2. Stomach inflammation
3. Skin irritation
4. Tumors/growth
5. Skin infection/hot spots
6.

Urinary tract infection
7. Osteoarthritis
8. Hypothyroidism
9. Inflammation of intestinal tract
10. Soft tissue trauma

Cats

1. Urinary tract infection
2. Stomach inflammation
3. Kidney disease
4. Abscess
5. Diabetes
6. Hyperthyroidism
7. Inflamed colon
8. Conjunctivitis
9. Ear infection
10. Skin irritations

Dr. Peter Weinstein, VPI's medical director, said many of the top 10 claims are expensive to treat, especially for the more serious conditions, such as cancer. Weinstein recommends that pet owners take advantage of enhancements available to their pet insurance policies, like VPI's Cancer Rider, which enables policyholders to lock in an annual premium rate based on the pet's age at enrollment.

Close examination of both lists shows that there's plenty owners can do to be their pet's best friends. In fact, according to Weinstein, "Pet owners can do their part to gauge their dog or cat's health by regularly looking for irregularities in a pet's appetite, water consumption, urination and defecation, attitude, or energy level. Spotting changes in these signs early is critical to the long-term health of pets."

Weinstein elaborates on early detection, "Keeping pets' ears clean and doing a weekly exam to identify changes or redness early will help dogs and cats avoid more irritating, painful and expensive ear infections. The longer a problem is allowed to persist, the more difficult it is to treat."

Skin irritations, or dermatitis, are preventable with good grooming and use of medicated shampoos. Other problems require some policing of the pet. "Dogs love to get into food that isn't necessarily good for their health," notes Weinstein. "To prevent stomach irritation, feed pets high quality diets – not table scraps – and make sure they don't eat chocolate, bones, toys or get into the garbage."

Stomach irritation is very common in cats too, he says. "Pet owners can control many of these cases by feeding a quality diet to their pet and seeing their veterinarian early since stomach problems may indicate other internal conditions."

Weinstein says there's a lot dog owners can do to identify urinary tract infections in their pets. "If you observe your dog urinating more frequently than normal, promptly contact your veterinarian so that treatment with antibiotics can begin as soon as possible," he says. For cats, feline urinary tract disease (FLUTD, once commonly referred to as FUS, or feline urologic syndrome) can be prevented with a diet labeled to prevent the problem. "Be alert to the symptoms of frequent urination and house-soiling, and contact your veterinarian at the first signs," he adds.

Frequent urination and increased water intake can also be a sign of diabetes. Again, a proper diet can also lower the incidence of diabetes, kidney disease, or hyperthyroidism in all pets.

Some conditions aren't preventable, of course. "There's not much a pet owner can do to prevent hyperthyroidism or arthritis," said Weinstein. "But in the case of arthritis, dog owners are in the best position to spot early symptoms of this painful disease. If you notice your dog lagging behind on walks or having difficulty climbing stairs, jumping or getting up from a resting position, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible. While osteoarthritis is incurable, there are medications available to relieve the pain and give dogs a new lease on life.

Often a VPI Pet Insurance policy will help reimburse the pet owner a percentage of the costs accrued when treating or managing conditions such as arthritis and diabetes. In any event, it's important to take your pets in for routine check-ups. Dr. Weinstein recommends VPI's Vaccination and Routine Care Coverage policy endorsement (V&RCC), which helps to significantly offset the costs of annual vaccinations, routine checkups, spaying and neutering, and more, with no added deductibles applied.

"We want our pets with us as long as possible," adds Weinstein. "But we want them to be enjoying their lives with us, too. That means keeping them healthy and happy with good diets, a lot of love and regular veterinary care."

To learn more about veterinary pet insurance, visit Veterinary Pet Insurance.