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The medical term for blood appearing in urine is called hematuria. While there are many possible causes for the presence of blood in your pet’s urine, it is often due to the inflammation or infection of the urinary system. The urinary system consists of an upper and lower tract – the upper urinary tract contains the kidneys and ureters (tubes connecting the kidney to the bladder) while the lower urinary tract contains the bladder, urethra, prostate (males), and vagina (females). The diagnosis and treatment for hematuria will depend on the location of the bleeding.

Any abnormal change in your pet’s eating habits should never be ignored. The medical term for a loss in appetite is called anorexia (not to be confused with the human eating disorder called anorexia nervosa). It can be normal for a picky cat or dog to skip a meal or two so long as they are acting normally otherwise. If the change in appetite is sudden or accompanied by other clinical signs, this can indicate a medical problem.

Xylitol is a sugar substitute that is found in everything from chewing gum to peanut butter to ice cream to toothpaste. It’s often listed under other names, including birch sugar, birch extract, or wood sugar. While considered safe for humans, xylitol is highly poisonous to dogs. If a dog consumes xylitol, blood sugar can drop dangerously low, resulting in seizures, liver failure, and even death.      

Dogs shake for a variety of reasons, some of which indicate a physical or emotional state of being, and some of which indicate a veterinary emergency. Shaking or shivering should not be confused with seizures, which are sudden neurological events that cause involuntary muscle movements and may result in your dog becoming unresponsive.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. Transmission of the bacteria can take between 24 to 48 hours after the tick attaches. Lyme disease can result in damage to the joints, kidneys, and nervous system. Lyme disease does not pose a significant threat to cats. The two species typically responsible for transmitting Lyme disease in North America are Ixodes scapularis (eastern black-legged tick) and Ixodes pacificus (western black-legged tick), also known as deer ticks. These ticks have three life stages (larvae, nymphs, adults). Each stage must feed on the blood of a warm-blooded animal in order to survive. If blood is infected with the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick can spread the infection to the next animal it bites. As Lyme disease requires a tick bite to transmit the infection, people or pets diagnosed with Lyme disease cannot directly infect one another.