RISKS OF HAVING A FAT CAT.

Overweight cats are exposed to a lot of risks with grave health consequences, the most common health problems associated with obesity are diabetes, liver disease, lameness and chronic skin conditions. Other diseases linked to obesity are dental disease, lower urinary tract disease and cancer. Obese cats are at increased risk during anesthesia or surgery, their immune function is decreased, their mobility may be poor, and they have decreased exercise and heat tolerance. Adjustment of diet is the first step to weight loss,followed by exercise. The important point to note is not to put your cat on a crash diet. When you cut your fat cat’s food intake suddenly and dramatically, you are putting your pet at high risk for hepatic lipidosis, also know as fatty liver disease. Write a log of your cat's feed and calculate how much food to feed, when to feed it and type of diet to provide. The next step is to change the relationship with your cat, by altering the way your cat interacts with food. Instead of using food as a show of your love, be generous instead with praise, affection and exercise. Exercising your cat is not only fun for you both, but it also helps preserve your cat’s lean body mass so what gets lost is fat, not muscle. You can also make your cat exercise without you by turning him into the hunter he was born to be. That can be as simple as hiding small bowls of food throughout the house for him to nose out on his own or by making him work a little harder by putting kibble in food puzzles.The use of interactive cat toys such as a cat “fishing pole” and balls for 10-15 minutes twice a day to play will really help the weight loss programme. Slow and steady wins the race, slowly but surely the weight will drop off.

FELINE OBESITY.

Obesity is a big problem in cats — literally. So many cats are overweight or obese . The difference between overweight and obese: Overweight cats are 10 to 29 percent over ideal weight while obese cats are 30 percent or more over ideal weight.) More than half of our feline friends — nearly 58 percent — could stand to shed a few pounds. That’s not something to take lightly. Its not easy to put your cat on a diet and exercise plan, especially if he lives a sedentary indoor life. And the answer isn’t to let him roam outdoors — unless you have a safely enclosed area for him. But you can work with your veterinarian to develop a feline weight-loss program designed to improve your cat’s health and activity level. And that will leave both of you purring.Any diet starts with decreasing the number of calories your cat takes in and increasing the number of calories he burns through activity Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/got-a-fat-feline-how-to-help-your-cat-shed-those-extra-pounds.html#ixzz45vQ5GChB

PEPPER SPRAY!!!!

There are a million reasons to be cautious because of various forms of external assaults, and numerous ways and methods are available. I want to talk about a simple and easy method to protect yourself. The pepper spray, the materials needed are cheap and readily available. MATERIALS. 1) Spray bottle. 2) finely grounded dry pepper. 3) ethanol. METHOD. Pour the finely grounded dry pepper in a vat,then add ethanol to the same vat. Stir mix thoroughly and dispense in bottles. The next time you need to go out alone,or pass through a dark path,remember to carry your spray bottle. vetpreneur@ pepper spray maker.

Researchers increase red bell pepper carotenoid solubility for food and beverage applications

Researchers increase red bell pepper carotenoid solubility for food and beverage applications: By mixing red bell pepper carotenoid with a sugar compound, researchers found that the carotenoid’s solubility was enhanced, enabling application as natural pigment or bioactive substance.

Device harnessing thoughts allows quadriplegic to use his hands .

An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord. Scientists on Wednesday described accomplishments achieved by 24-year-old quadriplegic Ian Burkhart using an implanted chip that relays signals from his brain through 130 electrodes on his forearm to produce muscle movement in his hands and fingers. Burkhart first demonstrated the “neural bypass” technology in 2014 when he was able simply to open and close his hand. But the scientists, in research published in the journal Nature, said he can now perform multiple useful tasks with more sophisticated hand and finger movements. The technology, which for now can only be used in the laboratory, is being perfected with an eye toward a wireless system without the need for a cable running from the head to relay brain signals. “This study marks the first time that a person living with paralysis has regained movement by using signals recorded from within the brain,” said bioelectronic medicine researcher Chad Bouton of the New York-based Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, who worked on the study at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Ohio. Burkhart said the technology lets him function like “a normal member of society.” The technology potentially could help people not only after spinal cord injuries but after strokes or traumatic brain injuries, Bouton added. Burkhart, a former lacrosse goalie, suffered a broken neck and spinal cord damage at age 19 diving into a wave ( http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/device-harnessing-thoughts-allows-quadriplegic-to-use-his-hands/#MXp5F33Tom2uXhRI.99) Surgeons implanted the pea-sized chip into his motor cortex, which controls voluntary muscular activity. The chip, connected to a cable running from his head to a sleeve containing the electrodes wrapped around his forearm, sends brain signals that stimulate muscles controlling the hands and fingers. Burkhart, with six wrist and hand motions, could rotate his hand, make a fist, pinch his fingers together, grasp objects like a bottle, spoon and telephone, swipe a credit card and play the video game simulating guitar strumming. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center neurosurgeon Ali Rezai called the results a “milestone in the evolution of brain-computer interface technology.” Burkhart said “Things are kind of moving along better than I imagined,” B

CANINE OBESITY.

A morbidly obese Texas dachshund once dubbed “Fat Vincent” because his belly was so large it hit the ground when he walked, has found its way out of animal shelter care by dropping half its body weight, on track to become healthy enough for a new owner. The 7-year-old canine with a love for fast food weighed a whopping 38 pounds (17.24 kg) with a body mass index of over 60 percent body fat in September when he was surrendered to a Houston animal shelter after his elderly owner died, according to his foster mother. His ideal healthy weight is around 16 pounds. "Besides terribly high cholesterol and BMI, Vincent’s back sloped downward in the middle and our vet was fearful that one false move would cause his back to break", said Melissa Anderson with K-9 Angels Rescue in Houston. Now dubbed “Skinny Vinnie,” the dog weighs 17.5 pounds due to a healthier diet, swimming with a life jacket in a pool and long walks, Anderson said, adding his fast food craving comes to life every time she goes to a drive-through window of a national coffee house chain. “He hops over to the driver’s seat, sticks his head out the window and waits for the order,” Anderson said. “He is always disappointed when the coffee arrives, but he never gives up hope.” Read more at http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/morbidly-plump-texas-wiener-dog-loses-weight-and-fat-vincent-name/#mOYyI01KU0YXi8sC.99

UK AIRPORT SNIFFER DOGS AND DRUG DETECTION.

A team of sniffer dogs set up at a British airport at a cost of 1.25 million pounds ($1.7 million) have proved adept at discovering small amounts of cheese and sausages but not so good at finding smuggled drugs, a report said on Thursday. An inspection of border security at Manchester Airport in northern England found that during a seven-month period, the six dogs had failed to find any illegal class A drugs, those considered the most dangerous such as heroin or cocaine. “The deterrent effect of the detection dogs was difficult to measure, but seizures alone represented a low return on investment, given 1.25 million spent on new kennels and the costs of operating the unit,” said the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. Each dog has its own speciality in detecting goods such as drugs, tobacco, cash and meat being illegally brought into the airport by the 22 million passengers who use it annually. However the report found that although the sniffers had helped customs seize 46 kg of cigarettes and 181 kg of meat, they had uncovered no class A drugs between November 2014 and June 2015 even though this was a “very high” priority. It said one dog trained to find smuggled animal products had made “multiple accurate detections, but most were of small amounts of cheese or sausages, wrongly brought back by returning British holidaymakers and posing minimal risk to UK public health”. Managers are now examining how better to deploy the dogs, the report said. Read more at http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/uk-airport-sniffer-dogs-good-at-finding-sausages-but-not-drugs/#2dTo4b1DAxYbEEH8.99