Cornerstone Animal Clinic, Randy Benham DVM

11/18/2025

November 18th is FIP Awareness Day. FIP stands for Feline Infectious Peritonitis and is caused by a mutation to a common GI virus that may or may not cause symptoms. Once the virus converts to FIP, it is a quickly progressing systemic disease. Only fairly recently has a treatment for FIP been found, and it used to only be available on the black market or gotten from overseas at a very high price. Now a treatment is more readily available and if initiated quickly enough has a relatively high success rate. FIP is typically seen in younger cats (less than 3 years old) after a high stress event (like being in a shelter or bringing home a new pet).

11/17/2025

November 17th is National Take a Hike Day! Taking your dog for a walk is not only good exercise and a great outlet for excess energy, but allowing them to sniff around and hear the birds and squirrels can provide some enrichment to help with their cognitive health. 10 minutes of sniffing can equal 30 minutes of exercise, so the more trees they smell, the less you actually have to walk!

11/14/2025

November is Pet Diabetes Month. Cats and dogs are treated a little differently after first being diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. For dogs, their pancreas usually doesn't produce enough insulin and so scheduled feedings and twice daily injections of insulin are needed to help regulate the symptoms caused from high blood glucose. This is a life long disease in dogs and is a big financial and time investment. Cats can have food responsive diabetes- most diabetic cats are overweight and don't produce enough insulin for how big their body is. Getting them to lose weight on a low carb diet can be enough to manage and maintain their symptoms. If things are severe enough or have been going on long enough, cats also need medication once or twice daily to help reduce their blood glucose levels. Sometimes even after being treated for diabetes for an extended time, cats can go into remission and no longer need to be on medication.

11/12/2025

November 12th is World Animal Enrichment Day. Enrichment is an animal husbandry principle that seeks to enhance the quality of captive animal care by identifying and providing the environmental stimuli necessary for optimal psychological and physiological well-being. Mental stimulation is often overlooked in pets and can lead to behavioral issues to include anxiety, aggression, and inappropriate urination. Ideally, pet enrichment will involve multiple senses- puzzle mats, watching birds, water fountains, agility courses, scratching posts can all help with an animal's well being and help to decrease their stress levels.

11/11/2025

LOOKING FOR FUR-EVER HOME! Estimated 6 month old male short haired, bob-tailed cat. Current caretaker has started vet care- deworming, rabies vaccine, Dist/Leuk series, FELV/FIV test (Negative) and is willing to pay for cat to get last kitten booster and neutered. For more information, text George at 270-735-6529

11/11/2025

November 11th is Veteran's Day. It is pretty common knowledge how helpful that pets can be to mental health in general, and it is estimated that in 2018 19% of service dogs were trained to help with PTSD in veterans. Other service dogs for veterans are trained to help with traumatic brain injuries and other military related conditions. Tasks these dogs are trained to perform include providing deep pressure therapy during anxiety or panic attacks, interrupting self-harming or compulsive behaviors, reminding the handler to take medication, alerting to the onset of panic attacks or dissociative episodes, providing grounding in overwhelming public spaces, creating physical barriers in crowded areas, leading the handler to a safe location during distress, waking the handler from nightmares or night terrors, providing tactile stimulation (by licking, for example) to help with emotional regulation, and interrupting negative thought spirals. There are many programs in place with the goal of providing free service dogs to military veterans, and many of these dogs are rescued from shelters and given another chance at life themselves. If you want to help, there are many organizations that you can donate to- make sure that you do your research and are comfortable with the organization you chose to support.

11/09/2025

November is Peanut Butter Lover's Month! Peanut butter was patented 130 years ago in 1895 and has been adored by dogs since! It can make a wonderful bribe and distraction, but some animals have still figured out how to slurp the peanut butter off of medications and spit the pill back out. Make sure if you are giving your pet peanut butter there is no xylitol or other artificial sweeteners in the ingredients.

11/07/2025

November 7th is National Canine Lymphoma Awareness Day. Lymphoma is a relatively common type of cancer accounting for 15-20% of new cancer diagnoses in dogs. Over 80% of lymphomas are Multicentric- the type that cause the lymph nodes in the body to react and get larger, and many times that is the first sign of an issue that owners notice. 7% are alimentary, affecting the GI tract and generally causing vague, nonspecific symptoms that can be difficult to pinpoint a diagnosis. Getting treatment for lymphoma generally involves seeing a specialist with the goal of remission, not getting a complete cure. As with any type of aggressive cancer, getting treatment initiated as soon as possible is necessary to a better outcome.

11/05/2025

With holidays approaching, people are making travel plans that may include their pets. It is always a good idea to have a few extra days of supplies handy in case life gets crazy. if your pet has extensive medical issues, having medical records available if they need to be seen somewhere can be helpful as well. Having your pet's microchip and tags updated with current information can provide peace of mind is something happens and your pet gets separated from you.

11/03/2025

New studies show around 60% of cats 6 years old have signs of arthritis, and arthritis affects 80% of dogs over the age of 8 years old. Some cats can live up to 20+ years, and smaller breed dogs can have lifespans up to 15-16 years and beyond. Arthritis isn't just an old animal disease, especially if there are any bone injuries or surgeries since those speed up the arthritic process. There are many different options to try to provide lubrication and pain relief to sore joints, from daily joint supplements to NSAIDS and newer monthly injections to treat arthritic pain. A lot of times signs of arthritis can be so subtle and the pet able to adapt that humans don't notice issues unless they are looking for them. It is never a bad idea to start a pet on a joint supplement before they obviously need one.

11/02/2025

Daylight Savings Time ended this morning, so make sure that you turn your clocks back on hour if they didn't do so automatically. Even though you may think you get an extra hour of sleep, your pets will make sure that you are nice and awake on their schedule!

11/01/2025

November 1st is Cook For Your Pets Day! People are getting more aware of what is in their and their pet's food, and more people are opting to cook their pet's food themselves rather than buying pre-packaged kibble. The benefit of manufactured food is that good brands have veterinary nutritionists on staff to make sure the rich mix of nutrients are in the food. If you cook for your pet's, using a website like Balanceit.com is a great way to make sure that your pet is getting everything they need from their diet.

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