Creep grazing and early weaning effects on cow and calf productivity

One hundred fifty Simmental-Hereford cows and calves were used in a 3-yr study to evaluate three creep grazing treatments and an early weaning treatment on cow and calf performance during midsummer (July to September). Calves were approximately 150 d of age and averaged 178.6 kg when treatments were initiated. Tifleaf pearl millet (Pennisetum Americanum L. Leeke) was used as the forage for two of the creep treatments, representing two cow stocking intensities of .466 (TLM1) and .239 (TLM2) ha of base hill land pasture/cow, and as pasture for early weaned calves. A red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)-Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) mixture was used as the other creep forage. Hill land pastures were similar for the mature cow units in all creep treatments. Calf average daily gains ranged from .93 to 1.10 kg and were not influenced (P greater than .05) by treatment. Calf gains per hectare were similar for the control, red clover and TLM1 treatments. The TLM2 and early weaning treatments resulted in increases of 105.4 and 39.1 kg of calf gain/ha (P less than .05) compared with the control. When calves were allowed to creep graze millet, decreasing the forage area from .466 to .239 ha per cow-calf unit resulted in an increase of 97.7 kg of calf gain/ha with no reduction in calf gain. Cows on the more intensively grazed millet creep treatment (TLM2) lost more weight (P less than .05) during midsummer than those on the TLM1 treatment, but they gained 18.5 kg more (P less than .10) weight than TLM1 cows between weaning and the start of winter feeding.     

Prognostic factors for feline mammary tumors

The case records of 100 cats with malignant mammary tumors were reviewed. All cats were staged clinically according to the staging system of the World Health Organization. The following information was obtained from the medical records: age at time of diagnosis, breed, tumor size, date of surgery, type of surgical procedure performed, histologic type of tumor, disease-free interval, survival time, and cause of death. Factors of no prognostic value were age (less than or equal to 10 years vs greater than 10 years) and breed. Tumor size was the most significant prognostic factor (P less than 0.0001). Cats with small tumors (1 cm3 to 8 cm3) had the best prognosis. The type of surgery, conservative vs radical, was significantly (P less than 0.01) related to disease-free interval, but was of no significance in prolonging survival time.     

Leptospirosis in selected wild mammals of the Florida panhandle and southwestern Georgia.

A group of 144 wild mammals, including white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, fox squirrels, gray squirrels, raccoons, opossums, a bobcat, and various small rodents was examined for cultural or serologic evidence of leptospiral infection. Leptospires were isolated from 1 of 25 rabbits, 1 of 27 fox squirrels, 1 of 26 gray squirrels, 4 of 18 mice and rats, 8 of 21 raccoons, 7 of 17 opossums, and a bobcat. Isolations were not made from 6 deer examined. Serotypes isolated were Leptospira interrogans, serotype grippotyphosa and L interrogans, serotype ballum. New host-serotype relationships were noticed in the following instances: bobcat: grippotyphosa, and gray squirrel: ballum. These studies further confirm the occurrence of grippotyphosa in the fox squirrel. Serologic response in these animals did not necessarily correlate with isolations, although some relationship was noticed in raccoons and opossums.     

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in two cats

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a disease characterised by infiltration of the myocardium by adipose and fibrous tissue. The disease is an important cause of sudden death in humans, but has rarely been described in animals. This report describes ARVC in two cats with right-sided congestive heart failure. One cat had also experienced previous episodes of syncope. Standard six-lead and 24-hour (Holter) electrocardiogram recording revealed complete atrioventricular block and multiform ventricular ectopics in both cats, with the addition of ventricular tachycardia, ventricular bigeminy and R-on-T phenomenon in one of them. On echocardiography, the right ventricle and atrium were massively dilated and hypokinetic. The survival times of the cats were three days and 16 days following diagnosis. Histopathology in one case revealed fibro-fatty infiltration of the myocardium, predominantly affecting the right ventricular free wall.     

Primary hyperaldosteronism in the cat: a series of 13 cases

Thirteen cases of feline primary hyperaldosteronism were diagnosed based on clinical signs, serum biochemistry, plasma aldosterone concentration, adrenal imaging and histopathology of adrenal tissue. Two cases presented with blindness caused by systemic hypertension, whilst the remaining 11 cases showed weakness resulting from hypokalaemic polymyopathy. Elevated concentrations of plasma aldosterone and adrenocortical neoplasia were documented in all cases. Seven cases had adrenal adenomas (unilateral in five and bilateral in two) and six had unilateral adrenal carcinomas. Three cases underwent medical treatment only with amlodipine, spironolactone and potassium gluconate; two cases survived for 304 and 984 days until they were euthanased because of chronic renal failure, whilst the third case was euthanased at 50 days following failure of the owner to medicate the cat. Ten cases underwent surgical adrenalectomy following a successful stabilisation period on medical management. Five cases remain alive at the time of writing with follow-up periods of between 240 and 1803 days. Three cases were euthanased during or immediately following surgery because of surgical-induced haemorrhage. One cat was euthanased 14 days after surgery because of generalised sepsis, whilst the remaining cat was euthanased 1045 days after surgery because of anorexia and the development of a cranial abdominal mass. It is recommended that primary hyperaldosteronism should be considered as a differential diagnosis in middle-aged and older cats with hypokalaemic polymyopathy and/or systemic hypertension and should no longer be considered a rare condition.