Social media mourns death of Leo, the Pet Sematary cat

Leo, the poster cat for the remade horror flick Pet Sematary, has died. His passing was noted Thursday on his Instagram account which, started by his owner Kirk Jarrett’s 12-year-old daughter, accrued 17.6 thousand followers since the film opened in April. “It is with great sadness that we tell you that Leo has passed away,” the post reads. “He will forever be missed by his human and fur family. May his star always shine bright.” Four long-haired Maine Coon cats—all of them rescues—shared the role of Church, the family cat who comes back from the dead. But it quickly became clear to Jarrett, the film’s animal handler, and lead trainer Melissa Millett that Leo and another cat, Tonic, were superstars. . . . more

Burying pet rabbits in gardens could spread deadly virus, UK veterinarians warn

Burying dead pet rabbits in the garden is a sad, but consoling childhood ritual that many adults recall with fondness. No longer: Rabbit owners are being warned that garden burials may be helping to spread a deadly virus across the UK’s rabbit and hare populations. The first cases of rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RVHD2), which causes death by internal bleeding, were reported in the UK in 2013. It is believed to have spread among wild rabbits, and cases in wild hares have also appeared recently. Infected rabbits often show no symptoms, which include fever, lethargy, and even coma, all of which are also common in other less-serious illnesses. Pet rabbits can seem less at risk than the wild population, but veterinarians are warning that the conditions in which they are kept mean they could come into contact with the virus without encountering an infected wild rabbit. . . . more

Facial recognition app to help owners find lost pets

Facial recognition to find lost pets? Yep, there’s an app for that. The app is called Finding Rover. KC Pet Project, a pet adoption shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, said the free app allows people to look for lost pets, post found ones, and even adopt. Users are also able to register their pets on the app. “That way, if your pet ever does go missing, they’re in the system, we have a picture of them, [and] the information is available to [you],” Tori Fugate with KC Pet Project said. Fugate said this new tool will hopefully help cut down the number of animals coming into the shelter on a daily basis. “We get lost and found pet reports every single day coming into our shelter and we’re taking in 30 animals a day right now,” she said. “So we hope that Finding Rover [will be] a really successful tool for us to get pets back home.” . . . more

Bad teeth revealed as biggest problem for pet greyhounds

Dental disease is the most common health issue facing pet greyhounds, according to the largest ever study of greyhounds treated in UK veterinary practices. The research, led by the Royal Veterinary College’s (RVC) VetCompass program in collaboration with the University of Bristol Veterinary School, reveals that 39% of greyhounds suffer from dental problems, which is a far higher percentage than for any other dog breed. As well as bad teeth, the RVC research revealed that traumatic injuries, overgrown nails, and osteoarthritis are also major concerns for pet greyhounds. Overgrown nails affected 11.1% of greyhounds. Other top afflictions were wounds (6.2%), osteoarthritis (4.6%), and claw injuries (4.2 %). . . . more

Court rejects cat-killing veterinarian’s appeal

A Texas veterinarian’s request to appeal her suspension and probation for shooting a cat through the head with an arrow has been rejected by that state’s supreme court. In 2015, Kristen Lindsey, DVM, shot a feral cat, then bragged about it on social media. In a Facebook post accompanying the photo, Lindsey wrote, “My first bow kill, lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it’s [sic] head. Vet of the year award … gladly accepted.” A state board in 2016 suspended her veterinary license for one year and placed her on probation for four years. . . . more