Wildlife blog of Dr. Palazzolo and the Long Beach Animal Hospital

Mammary Cancer (Breast Tumor) in Cats

Carl Palazzolo2025-04-08T07:34:34-07:00December 12th, 2020|Cats|

Introduction Mammary tumors account for 17% of all cat tumors. They are the 3rd most common tumor in cats, after skin and blood cancer. Even though cats get this problem half as often as dogs, almost all of them are malignant. Intact females are at highest risk, although it does occur in males on rare occasion. Some tumors become so large that they can become ulcerated and painful, leading to the potential of an infection that spreads to the rest of the body (sepsis or septicemia). Why someone would wait for a tumor to get this large before seeking our medical

Lick Granuloma

Carl Palazzolo2024-08-16T18:42:54-07:00December 11th, 2020|Dogs, Skin Conditions|

Introduction A very frustrating skin disease found mostly in dogs is called acral lick dermatitis (ALD), commonly know as a lick granuloma. Dogs with this disease lick incessantly, causing chronic skin lesions of the limbs. Many aspects of ALD are similar to allergic dermatitis in general. This page will give you an opportunity to link to the aspects of the allergic dermatitis page that also apply to ALD. What is a Lick Granuloma? This skin lesion is an area of discrete excoriation, hair loss, thickened skin, and inflammation of the skin. Pathophysiology Constant licking leads to hair loss and irritation of

Diabetes Mellitus (Sugar Diabetes) in Dogs

Carl Palazzolo2025-04-09T19:59:51-07:00December 11th, 2020|Dogs|

This page discusses Diabetes Mellitus (Sugar Diabetes) in Birds, Dogs, and Cats. This page describing diabetes mellitus (DM) is very thorough, and will require some study if you want to understand it fully. We have a summary page on DM if that suits your needs better than this detailed page. We use the guidelines of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) to help in treating your dog with DM. It is all about the blood glucose level, which you will learn about in detail. It is sometimes called the blood sugar level. This level, whatever you want to call it,

Neuter – Canine Laser

Carl Palazzolo2024-08-06T07:31:52-07:00December 8th, 2020|Dogs|

Long Beach Animal Hospital offers canine laser neuter services for dog owners in Southern CA One of the most common surgical procedures we perform is a dog neuter, know medically as an orchectomy. It is performed for several reasons: It minimizes roaming It minimizes aggressive behavior It prevents male dogs from impregnating females It prevents most prostate problems This is what the prostate gland looks during ultrasound At the Long Beach Animal Hospital use of the laster is mandatory for all neuters. In this page we will first show you the surgery using the laser, then the traditional way this surgery

Minimizing Stress In Cats

Carl Palazzolo2024-11-28T15:30:00-08:00October 23rd, 2020|Behavioral, Cats, Current News, Tips|

Introduction Cats are interesting creatures when it comes to their social lives. They are highly prone to stress, especially in households with more than one cat. What Causes Stress in Cats? This stress can cause chronic disease, especially of the urinary tract. It is so important that have a page dedicated to this problem called Urinary Tract Disease in Cats. When this disease is caused by excess stress it is called Idiopathic Cystitis. There is even speculation that excess stress causes a "Pandora Syndrome" in cats with aspects that are similar to humans. In cats the excess stress can exacerbate