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ChristieLong, DVM

Christie Long, DVM

Biography

As a small animal veterinarian, I've done everything from working in a busy dog and cat practice, to doing volunteer work in Mexico, to teaching veterinary students about how to better communicate with the humans that their patients come with.I've also written over 250 articles that help pet parents understand diseases of companion animals.I'm a 2007 graduate of Colorado State University, and a licensed practitioner and veterinary acupuncturist in the state of Colorado.After seven years in a busy small animal practice north of Denver, my husband and I took our son, our dogs (Pancake and Gizmo), and our cats (Sneaky and Sidh) and moved to the mountains of Mexico for two years.My biggest professional joy, besides fixing sick animals and taking care of well ones, is helping pet owners better understand how to optimally care for their dogs and cats.I went looking for a way to do just that, and I found PetCoach.I love that PetCoach allows me to connect with and help pet owners all over the world who are different from each other in so many ways, but alike in the most important way: they love their pets.As Chief Veterinarian at PetCoach, I get to select and train the top pet professionals from around the world, who ensure that we continually provide the highest standard of compassionate care to our community of pet parents.
Articles Written by Christie Long, DVM
5 Serious Diseases Your Cat Can Get From Having Fleas
Fleas are despicable little creatures. But if you need specific reasons why you should protect your cat from fleas, here are five great ones.
Top 6 Questions About Anemia in Cats Answered
Anemia is a common problem in cats of all ages. Find out the causes and the treatments so that you can help your anemic cat.
Top 5 Eye-Related Diseases in Cats
What are your cat's eye problems telling you? Learn about cat eye discharge as a symptom, anisocoria in cats and age-related illnesses such as iridial atrophy.
Most Common Causes of Diarrhea in Cats
Diarrhea in cats is a frustrating problems for owners, veterinarians, and certainly for cats, although they can’t tell us directly how they feel about it. Usually in cases of chronic diarrhea (symptoms lasting more than a week) the cat usually seems to be feeling pretty well, but if left undiagnosed and untreated over time the patient can lose weight and start to show signs of general illness, like lethargy, poor haircoat, and dehydration. These problems are due to the effects of reduced nutrient absorption over time. Whatever the inciting agent, nutrients and water aren’t absorbed into the body, and the food that’s ingested makes its way through the intestines much faster than it should, resulting in soft stool. It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of chronic diarrhea in cats. If the diarrhea doesn’t resolve on its own (or perhaps with the addition of a little dietary fiber, like canned pumpkin) in a few days, the cat needs to see a veterinarian for an examination and testing to determine what’s going on. Here’s more information about the possible causes of diarrhea in cats, and what we do about them.
How to Recognize Kidney Disease in Your Cat
Chronic kidney failure, meaning loss of function of the kidneys that is slowly progressive, is one of the most common diseases of aging that we see in cats. There is no cure for it, but when we recognize the disease earlier, we can make changes in how we take care of the cat that increase its lifespan and quality of life in general. Read on to discover some ways you can recognize developing problems in your cat’s kidneys at home.
Questions Answered by Christie Long, DVM
We have a rescue dog we just adopted. She didn't eat much the first two days. Now, the past 2 days, I have fed her twice a day, about half a cup of the same food she was getting when she was being fostered with the rescue. She has eaten her food and immediately thrown up 3 times now. Is there something I can do to prevent this? Today, she threw up in her bed and then ate it all up before I could clean it.

Congratulations on making Lucy a part of your family! Vomiting is not something that you can necessarily "prevent" by just changing the way you feed or what you feed - in most cases, it's a sign of a medical problem. In a young dog (You don't mention Lucy's age but I'm assuming she's relatively young) and especially one that just came from a rescue, a parasitic infestation is potentially at play, as it can cause vomiting and also (but not necessarily) diarrhea, and also reduction in appetite. I would encourage you to get Lucy checked out by a vet as soon as possible, in order to rule out a medical problem. The first step is to have the vet send off a fecal sample for testing, and deworm appropriately. He/she might also recommend blood work or even x-rays to make sure there isn't a more serious illness or an intestinal blockage. A bland diet of boiled/unseasoned chicken and boiled white rice might be easier for her to tolerate until you can get her in to be seen.

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She has gained weight noticeably this past winter. Wheezing like shes trying to cough something up

The weight gain is somewhat of a vague sign, but I am worried when I hear of a cat "wheezing", as it suggests feline asthma, which is a fairly common malady and often presents itself as you are describing. I would consider this to be a fairly urgent matter and would get her into the vet for a thorough physical exam and chest x-rays as soon as possible; asthma can cause serious breathing compromise if not diagnosed and treated.

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my dog not eating today

Unfortunately we are going to need more information about Darwin in order to give you some information that is useful. Not eating is a sign of many problems, including gastrointestinal distress (parasites, bacterial infection, an intestinal blockage, etc), organ failure (kidneys or liver) and exposure to a toxic substance, as well as many other things. Please provide more information - how long it's been going on, whether there are other symptoms, whether you have tried to offer different foods, how he is doing otherwise - and we will try to be more helpful.

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Hello: What medicine suggests to me for my cat with anemia (it is not severe). Suggestions with and without prescription. Please!!!!! I need to know to cure my cat!!!!!! Thanks.

Anemia is not, by itself, a disease, and therefore there is not a medication that I can recommend that will treat it. The cause of the anemia - whether blood loss, a tick or flea-borne disease, or an immune-mediated disease that is destroying the red blood cells - must be first discovered and then appropriately treated. You need to take your cat to a vet in your area who can run tests and then give him the appropriate medication.

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I took my dog to get flea medication about 4 days ago and he is still itching. I believe he might have chiggers and he seems to be itching on only one side of his ear. What can I do to help without going to a vet?

Chiggers don't typically affect dogs. If your dog has not improved despite using flea medication, it could be that he has developed an allergy to fleas, and this will unfortunately require further treatment. There is nothing that you can use over-the-counter that will be effective, so I recommend you take him back to the vet and investigate other medications to help with the itchiness and allergic symptoms.

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