JOIN USCompassion for four-legged friends
The Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) Animal Care Hospital in RT Nagar, although small in size, plays a vital role in keeping animals, within the City and country, healthy.
Animal-lovers bring their dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters and more, whether it’s for a general check-up or treatment and go back satisfied.
Dr Shahid Vaseem SA, a consultant physician at CUPA, says that the hospital is a referral one, known for its scans.
“Doctors from all parts of Bangalore send patients here and we help in diagnosing.” The 24-hour service hospital is known to treat all kinds of breeds and pets.
Talking about the common diseases that occur in pets these days, Dr Shahid says, “These days, there has been an increase in cardiac problems, renal failures, liver failures, cancers, tumours, gastro intestinal diseases and obesity.”
Corelating this increase to the lifestyle change in humans, he adds, “The change in the lifestyle of pet owners is leading to these diseases among the pets. These days, people are trying to get their pets adapt to human habits. People come to me and say that their pet wagged its tail so they felt bound to offer it the same food they were eating. This is shown in advertisements as well and is becoming a common thing these days.”
What does he think is the best way to keep a pet healthy? “In general, after the age of 4 or so, regular blood tests and check-ups should be done. And packed food with preservative and colouring agents are what cause a lot of problems. But a lot of owners see a new pet product and want to buy it immediately without thinking of the repercussions.”
When asked if he would recommend home-cooked food or pet food, he says, “People have this misconception that things like salt, rice and curd are bad for the pets but they are fine. The food that you are giving your pet should be balanced and have all the requirements. If you can do that through home-cooked food, I would prefer that.
But for working class people who find it hard to cook, pet food is always good. They have a shelf life and the right amount of nutrients.” He adds, “There are some treats which have a long shelf life and come in from an international market and aren’t very good for the pet.”
Dr Shahid says owning a pet has become a fashion statement these days.
“These days, it’s more like, ‘if my neighbour has a pet, I need to have one too’. It has become a craze. While half the people really care for their pets and adoption rates have gone up, the other half do it as a fashion statement.”
According to him, their biggest challenge is diagnosing and caring for a patient. “These days, owners treat their pets like their own child. When a dog vomits, a family would have looked for all the possible diagnoses on Google before coming in.
But our main concern is to find out what is wrong with the dogs and treat them as well as possible,” he wraps up.