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you're listening to Pet with C8y Mara , a lifestyle podcast that features various topics, current events, tips and advice and the guest, and not only benefits you but also your pet. So come and join me and take a listen. As I am your host C8y Mara . Everybody, welcome to another episode of pet fluff. I'm C8y Mara, and this is Episode five and today we're going to discuss gut health. I know what you're thinking. You're like, Oh, my gosh, this is going to be so boring. But it's super important because a leaky gut is a trigger. Too many diseases that we have every day. So we're gonna go over what leaky gut is and what you can do to prevent it. And it's not just applicability to you, but pets also have leaky guts, and it causes numerous problems for them. So we're going to discuss all of that today. We're also going to talk about a follow up article that I've read about pets and Corona virus, as well as how to help Gecko's loser skin. I know we haven't talked much about reptiles, so I thought it would be a good day to do so. So, guys, let's get started with our first segment. Here's the scooper. Here's the scooper where a captivating current event can spark a conversation or feel good story that makes your heart smile. And best of all, it's all about the animals. So this is a follow up story that I did from last episode from Associated Press that two cats in New York have become the first U. S pets to test positive for Corona virus. They are also the first confirmed companion cases in the United States. The cat themselves now have mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to fully recover. It has been confirmed that they may have contracted it from household owners or neighbors, as both cats are indoor outdoor cats. And this comes after the tiger in the Bronx Zoo that was confirmed positive with Corona virus. The tiger also infected three other tigers in three lions afterward, but they were showing little to no symptoms. It wasn't often reported, but they're all doing much better as well. This also adds to only a small number of confirmed animal cases worldwide. Now Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top disease expert, if you haven't heard of him already. You haven't probably been watching the news cause he's everywhere, he stated. While it appears that some animals can contract the virus from humans, it doesn't seem that animals can transmit it to humans that actually have Corona virus. So that's a great thing. I think they've been just doing a lot of research. It just seems that the number of animals contracted with Corona virus, as opposed to humans, are contracted with Corona virus have drastic differences in numbers. I've been following this topic consistently since since cases of Corona virus have been contracted in the U. S. From what all the experts are saying is that you should not fear your pet but also limit their socialization with other pets in people because you don't know if they are a-symptomatic carriers, so it's best to limit their time going outside and making sure that they have limited contact with other pets and people. Experts also have explained that testing pets for Corona virus isn't recommended unless the animal has been exposed to an infected person and has shown symptoms. Vets also have to contact the state officials to see if the testing is required for the animal, which is interesting because I didn't know that. The American Veterinary Medical Association says pets can stay where a person is positive as long as the pet is being properly cared for. Scientists are studying the link between humans and animals when it comes to the virus, and so far it doesn't have the same effect in livestock or poultry now going back to the cats. They both lived in different parts of New York, though it's not disclosed of where the first cat actually fell ill after its owner had a short respiratory illness. But it wasn't confirmed if the owner was tested positive for Corona virus. The cat also goes outside, so it hasn't been disclosed if the owner had it or the cat caught it from someone else. The second cat tested positive after the owner also tested positive. They have a second cat in the household that showed zero symptoms. The symptoms included with the cats coughing and a mild runny nose. The CDC in the USDA recommends any pet owners with cove in 19 tow, avoid petting, snuggling or having other contact with her pet, and should wear a face mask and gloves when caring for their pet. The news that pertains to the Corona virus is always changing, so I will try to keep up with the's new stories as far as animals being contracted as soon as I'm able to get it on to the next podcast. But I did not want to end kind of on a sour note. So I actually found a second story, also from The Associated Press, that I thought was really cute. Since everyone's in quarantine, Zoom calls have been the trending way of communicating with businesses and personal communication with friends and family. A farm in North Carolina came up with the idea to have their farm animals be a guest host on company calls. The owner came up with the idea to alleviate tension during intense virtual meetings. One special mini donkey named Mambo can be a zoom crasher at your next meeting. For 10 minutes, it's $50. But these companies have been requesting these farm animals, including mambo left and right. So it's been an awesome idea for this farm and a cool way to get in. Some extra income companies can also choose the farm animal of their choice as well as a virtual meeting name, so you can name the animal whatever you like. The owner has also received several requests from teachers for mambo and the others to crash their virtual classrooms. It would be really cool to get on one of these calls and to see a donkey crasher zoom call. Now we go into our next segment, all the fluff, all the flow, where discussions happen and information is absorbed to help aid you in your head, I thought, with all the Corona virus talk that's been going on every single day, instead of talking about the negative, I wanted to discuss gut health and a leaky gut. And I know you've heard this topic before. It's been popular on the Internet, and my favorite doctor that talks about it all the time is doctor acts. He is a holistic doctor, and he preaches about gut health, how it affects your immunity and what you can do to resolve it. So we're gonna just do a basic summary of what good health is. What is a leaky gut and how does it pertain to you and your pets? Because pets can also have a leaky gut. Since we are all mammals, it kind of affects us in a similar fashion, according to Harvard Health Insider Belize, we have an extensive intestinal lining covering more than 4000 square feet of surface area. When working properly, it forms a tight barrier that controls what gets absorbed into the bloodstream. An unhealthy gut lining can have large cracks or holes, allowing partially digested food, toxins and bugs to penetrate the tissues beneath it. This may trigger inflammation and changes the gut flora, which is normal bacteria that could lead to problems within the digestive tract and beyond. The research world is booming today, with studies showing that modifications and intestinal bacteria and inflammation may play a role in the development of several common chronic diseases. You want to know why you get a leaky gut and what is caused by leaky gut, and a lot of it has to do with the American diet, which is high fats and sugars and low fibre and soluble foods. This can irritate your gut lining, which causes those cracks and holes Over time. These cracks and holes can cause a variety of illnesses. It can cause autoimmune diseases such as Lupus or diabetes. It can also cause chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis throughout the body, allergies, asthma, acne, obesity and even mental illness. But they're still researching to find how large of effect it has on your mental illness, so really a can affect every vital organ in your body. Many health experts say that most disease starts within the gut, which I've heard many times before. This is also the same result with your pet. A lot of pets that have severe skin allergies or they are nervous or they have a lot of year problems, like your infections and I infections. Ah, lot of it is their diet and what they're eating that effects their well being. And this is part of how we can keep our immune system high is to have good gut health because 80% of our immune system is in the gut, and the digestive system is a home to an incredible array of micro organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungus is having a healthy gut. Flora with diverse bacteria can in turn keep your immune system happy and healthy. So how do we achieve all of this? The number one thing you want to do is maintain a healthy diet. I know we've said that time and time again, but four cats. They are carnivores. So for their diet, you want them to have a high protein and low carbohydrate diet. Over time. When cats have a high carbohydrate diet, they tend to get diabetes in their older age. I personally have seen this time and time again with my cat clients. A lot of, um, have diabetes in their older age because they've had a diet of high carbohydrates, which is mostly dry food Now. Dogs, on the other hand, have a different nutritional requirement. They're more like humans in the fact that they are Omnivores. So the six basic nutrients that dogs need our water proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals in vitamins. And this is more of a balanced diet that can help them maintain their weight, their balance in their gut health and have a healthy lifestyle for humans. It's kind of the same thing. We wanna have high fibre, lean meats, fruits, vegetables, I mean vegetables more than anything, and then a good, healthy dose of carbohydrates. But complex carbs, as opposed to simple carbs, kind of the same nutritional stuff that we all know limits the high fatty foods limit the sugars. I mean those air kind of the killers of a basic human diet. Now for cats and dogs. The feeding Make sure that you can buy the most premium pet food that's in your budgets. For cats. You wanted to have more of a higher protein content. And with dogs, you want to make sure that their nutrients are whole nutrients, as opposed to fillers and animal byproducts. So those are the biggest things that you want to look for for pet food. Other ways to support your pets immune system is to avoid unnecessary vaccinations or medication unless otherwise directed by your veterinarian. This actually goes for people to I'm not saying that you don't get vaccinated. What I'm saying is unnecessary medications that you may not need, I know with antibiotics. If you are overmedicated with your antibiotics, it tends to disrupt your gut flora, and it can cause a numerous amount of imbalance. And I've experienced this firsthand myself. It took a couple of months for my body to be readjusted back with the bacteria of good Flora into my system and that the same thing that goes for your pet. You don't want to overload their system with excess toxins Now. The second thing is to make sure that your pet and you are fit. Regular exercise helps strengthen the immune system, the musculoskeletal system and the cardiovascular system in not only your body but also your pets bodies. One suggestion would be is to go in, jog with your dog and also make sure that your cat gets adequate exercise with various toys inside the house. Another tip is to include supplements into your lifestyle and your pets lifestyle. Probiotics, probiotics and vitamins can help balance your gut flora and keep it healthy and happy. Be. And there is a variety of brands for dogs and cats of pro and probiotics, as well as for humans. I may include some in the show notes. I'm not getting paid for any endorsement deals, so these are just suggestions that I know off hand that I've used personally with pets and a couple of brands of probiotics that I've used over the years that have helped improve my personal god. How omega threes are also good for cats, dogs and humans loosens your joints and keep some lubricated. And it coats the lining of your intestinal tract as well as your stomach, so that when you eat acidic foods, it does not eat away at your stomach and intestinal lining. So that's important as well. With improving the overall health of your gut and your pets gut, it does take some time to do a trial and error to see what works best for you and your pet beep patient. It does take some trial and error on your part and your pets part. Certain things may agree or may not agree with your got lining, but the body in general is very forgiving. So if you maintain a healthy lifestyle ends, maintain a healthy lifestyle for your pet. All of that damage that you've done over the years can be reversed, and I've seen amazing results with people and pets who are overweight or they were sick, and just a simple change in their diet and lifestyle led them to prolong their life for a long period of time and the quality of their life had improved dramatically. And you want to be able to balance it and maintain it, and I will also say for dogs and for humans. If you also have an imbalance gut, eat some yogurt, Greek yogurt. It has a lot of probiotics in it, and it can help balance your gut while coding your gut. That's just a little tip. I know we just touched on a little bit of good health, but this will help you get started in achieving your healthy UNL IKI gut lifestyle not only for you but also your cat and dog. Now we go into our next segment human a time. It's Q and A times solve all your animal problems here. No matter how pressing or silly your question is. Don't worry, I got you covered. Now it's time to get into the nitty gritty. Our question today comes from Claressa, See from Silver Spring, Maryland, she writes. My gecko is having trouble shedding its skin. I know it goes through a molting process every couple months or so, but she isn't completely shedding, and I know this can have health effects down the road. Can you please help? So I grabbed this question because we haven't gone over any sort of reptiles. We are not animal discriminative here and for anyone that doesn't know me. I actually had a leopard gecko for over 16 years myself. So I have a lot of expertise when it comes to carrying for Leopard Gecko's. And my gecko actually had the same issue, especially towards the later years of her life. From what I've gathered with, shutting is leopard Gecko's have to have a balanced diet, so they have to have a very high protein diet leopard gecko's and generally eat crickets. That's their main source of food, and it has very high protein, and it helps them shed their skin. So if they're eating any sort of warms wax worms, mealworms, giant worms, those air great for occasional treats. But their main diet should be crickets. They are high in protein, so when you give ah leopard gecko worms, it's like giving the McDonald's so we don't want to do that. The second thing that you have to do is make sure that the tank your gecko is in is always humid, ideally with distilled water. You want to spray your leopard gecko's tank once a day on the outside and also on the inside of their hiding rock, so you want to spray the rock and make sure that everything is hydrated. Gecko's aren't like dogs where they have a super thirst drive, so you want to make sure that they're able to be hydrated through their skin. If you're doing this with your gecko already, then the next step is to know how long your gecko tends the shed and average gecko sheds 24 to 48 hours. Now, if it's not shedding completely end its getting stuck around the eyes or the feet. The next step to do is to take a warm bath. I would get a shallow bowl of some sort just about an inch or so of warm water, not too hot, where they burn their skin and not too cold, where their skin doesn't peel but warm enough that their skin gets softened and you kind of wanted to leave them in there and give him a good soap and gently peel the skin off of the troubled areas. It may seem that it would be a little bit painful, but actually it's alleviating to them because over time, if that skin doesn't peel and it's left on for months and months, especially around the feet, their toes can actually lose circulation and fall off. This actually happened to my lizard. She lost a couple of toes, and this was the beginning stages of me carrying for my gecko. So you just want to be aware of your gecko's needs and properly shutting their skin. And once they dio leave it in the cage, the leopard gecko is actually eat their own skin to get fortified calcium to help them for the next month of shedding. And you know certain months they shed mawr than others. They tend to shed Maurin this summer than they do in the winter, so it's completely normal if your gecko tends to shed less during the winter. And if you are practicing all of these tips and your gecko is still having issues, I would recommend you taking them to the exotic animal hospital and getting them checked out to make sure that there isn't anything more serious or concerning with the baths, the proper diet and the sauna treatment, a k a. Moisturizing your tank every day. These tips can help with your shedding of your gecko, also providing Rep. Takao, which is like a calcium supplement in your gecko's cage so that they can lick it and help alleviate the dry skin. Clarence, I hope this answers your question. If you are listener and have a question about your pet or any animal in general, you can email me at pet Fluff podcast at gmail dot com. Now we're on to my favorite segment, and it's the last segment of the podcast, which is the feature pet of the episode. Well, it's time for my favorite segment, which is the feature pet of the episode. This is where I showcase a local D M V pet that is in need of a forever home. So let me help you find your forever pay. Today's feature is a beautiful little kitty named Cleo. She is located at the Four Paws Rescue Team. Now a little bit about four paws. They are a nonprofit community based all volunteer organization that takes in neglected, abandoned, abused and unwanted cats and kit tins. Cats rescued by four paws receive vaccines and appropriate veterinary care before being adopted into permanent loving homes. An animal rescued by four paws will never be euthanized except out of medical necessity. Additionally, four paws is dedicated to supporting the management of populations and improving the health of feral cat colonies. For Paula, volunteers also hold seminars and local schools to teach Children the importance of responsible care. I know right now for pauses, doing virtual meet and greets for all new applicants. So check out for pause and they can set something up for a virtual meet and greet. So today we're gonna talk about Cleo. She is an older kitty that was received from the Prince George's animal shelter. Cleo is a calm and quiet kitty, but is also very confident. She is happy to explore her new surroundings without fear. Her Foster tells us that she's walked around the new home soon after her arrival. She enjoys lounging and napping in her comfy bed. Then, when ready, she will ask for some lap time and is usually in the morning and the evening hours. She also likes to people watch. She will pick a favorite spot and watch her foster go through his daily routine. If you are looking for a low key companion, then Cleo is the kitty for you. We have not yet had the opportunity to observe Cleo with other pets or Children, so she would probably be best in a quiet home as a single pet end with older Children. Cleo's estimated birth date is March 2010. She is spayed current on her vaccinations microchipped and has tested negative for HIV and feline leukemia. Cleo is currently on special prescription food for a sensitive digestion. Cleo looks like such a cute little kitty and probably would be perfect and a home for that retired couple or that single person that wants a wonderful companion. If you are interested in Cleo and would like more information, check out our I G page at CRC Pet Service in Click are Linked Tree For more information these days is no promises. Careful now, there's no second chance. Alright, guys, thank you so much for celebrating Episode five with me. It is a true celebration in these times, and I hope you gained a lot of knowledge and information about your gut health. Do you need a pet sitter? Even during the Times of Corona virus, contact us on our G age at CRC Pet Service. For more information, we do service Arlie 10 Falls Church, Tyson's and have a comment. A suggestion a topic or want to promote your small business on my next episode, email me at pet fluff podcast at gmail dot com. For all of your imports. Episode six which premieres Wednesday, May 13 2000 and one. We will be discussing spring cleaning and how to do it to that harm your pets. So I have some tips and tricks that can help you during this quarantine time. We all have time to clean our houses. And I know that your house is maybe Messi because we're here all the time. Sorry, guys, that's it for me for this episode. And I hope you guys are having a prosperous and wonderful week. You matter, you are loved your worthy you.