Calcium and phosphorous are essential minerals in the body. The daily requirements vary depending upon the age and status of the dog or cat. Calcium and phosphorous work together in the body to maintain the growth and structure of the skeletal system. Deficiencies or excesses of both can create skeletal problems especially in young puppies. It is very important that the calcium and phosphorous be fed in the correct ratio.

Calcium of all minerals, calcium is required in the greatest amount. Calcium is an essential structural component of the skeleton and plays a key role in...

1. Bone formation      2. Blood coagulation       3. Muscle contraction     4. Harmone release      5.Enzyme activity       6. Nerve impulse transmission

Three major hormones PTH (parathyroid harmone), calcitonin and vitamin D interact to maintain a constant concentration of calcium, despite variations in intake & excretion. The calcium content of food ingredients varies widely. Bones, daily products, and leguminous plants contain large amounts of calcium, whereas most cereal grains, meat and organ tissues contain small amounts. The concentration of calcium in the blood mammals is ˜ 10 mg/dL with some variation due to species, age, dietary intake and analytical method.

Phosphorous is the other dietary mineral required in a relatively high amount in the diet. Phosphorous is required at levels slightly less that calcium. Meat or organ meats are high in Phosphorous but relatively low in calcium. Phosphorous deficiency is a significant problem in herbivores and is probably the most common mineral nutrition deficiency present in animals worldwide. However, Phosphorous deficiency occurs very infrequently in dogs and cats. In fact, excessive dietary phosphorous which accelerates the progression of renal failure in much more common.

Calcium : Phosphorous ratio

Many foods that are low in calcium are high in phosphorus and, in addition, many foods that are high in calcium are equally high in phosphorous. Therefore, providing the correct calcium to phosphorous ratio in the diet can be difficult unless the proper minerals are added. It is very important that calcium and phosphorous be fed at the correct ratio.

Requirement of Calcium and Phosphorous in dogs & cats

Calcium Deficiency

Calcium deficiency was once a more common disease. It resulted primarily from animals fed diets high in meat and organ meats, which are high in phosphorous and low in calcium. If these animals weren't adequately supplemented with calcium they could develop skeletal abnormalities often referred to as rickets. The bone can become soft or very thin and brittle. Fortunately one of the benefits of commercially prepared and balanced diets is that, except for low calcium levels during pregnancy and lactation (eclampsia) calcium deficiency rarely occurs any more and switching to a balanced diet can usually correct this problem. Feeding adequate calcium without the correct amount of phosphorous can prevent adequate uptake and utilization of the calcium, thus the calcium:phosphorous ratio is very important.

Calcium excess

Feeding excess calcium is often blamed for contributing to bone problems in young rapidly growing dogs. There does appear to be a link between the incidence of Hypertrophic OsteoDystrophy (HOD), Ostechondritis Dissecans (OCD), and hip dysplasia and the overfeeding of calcium. In recent studies, researchers fed dogs calcium at a much higher than recommended amount, and compared the incidence of disease in dogs that were fed normal or less than normal calcium levels. As would be expected, the animals that wre overfed calcium showed increased incidence of skeletal problems including hip dysplasia. Many people have embraced these studies and interpreted them to imply that by feeding a puppy food slightly lower in the recommended amounts of calcium and phosphorous to large breed puppies, the puppies will have a decreased incidence of hip dysplasia. However, there are no studies that show that these low calcium foods result in les hip dysplasia in large breed dogs than a normal well-balanced puppy food. While feeding a special formula large breed puppy food to your puppy is not bad, there are no concrete studies that show it is better that a balanced puppy food formulated for all puppies.

Cataract is defined as 'opacification of lens fibers, and /or the capsule regardless of etiology'. Many different processes can cause cataract and they may progress at a variable rate. Cataract results in black shadow against the reflection from the fundus and is the most common cause of blindness in dogs. The age of onset is variable, usually from 5-8 years of age. In some breeds, cataracts appear at higher frequency than the general population. In recent years, many dog owners have shown keen interest in cataract surgery for their pets because cataract affects the vision of the dog and thus the utility. Cataract also affets the cosmetic lok of the dog; some dogs may keep on banging and get injured. Due to deficit in the visual faculty, dogs affected with cataract frequently show anxiety and aggression as a defensive behaviour. To overcome this, cataract surgery is an indispensable tool, as there is no medical treatment available. Different techniques employed for extraction of cataract are intracapsular lens extraction, extracapsular lens extraction and phacoemulsification. Intracapsular lens extraction is not in vogue nowadays; most of the surgeons prefer extracapsular lens extraction. Although, a dog can do well after only the extraction, an intraocular lens implant undoubtedly hastens visual rehabilitation after cataract surgery.

Surgical Procedure