Healthy Pets New Zealand

07/07/2025

What impact does AI have on vet care? Healthy Pets Cath Watson discusses what's currently being used, and what we might see in future in this video:

Artificial intelligence has changed every aspect of, well, everything! That includes advances in animal medicine. Dr Cath Watson runs us through some of the ...

27/06/2025

Do you celebrate your pet's birthday? According to a PD Insurance NZ survey, 71% of pet owners agree that it's a cause for celebration 🐶🐱🎂🎁

Pet birthdays New Zealand’s latest celebration trend Kiwis are rolling out the red carpet, or at least the chew toys, as pet birthdays become the hottest

24/06/2025

Cats use their sense of smell to distinguish between people, and spend substantially longer time sniffing the odor of an unknown person than that of a known person. They also favour their left or right nostrils in some situations!

People all around the world live with cats and cats engage in many social behaviors toward their owners. Olfaction is one of the most important sensory abilities in cats, yet its role in recognizing humans remains unclear. In this study, we assessed the role and characteristics of olfaction in the d...

20/06/2025

Here's another PD Insurance NZ Pet Care Vlog from our own Cath Watson, discussing toxoplasmosis in cats

Ever heard of toxoplasmosis? It's a serious parasitic disease and cats play a key role in its life cycle. You're likely to have been warned of its dangers t...

16/06/2025

New research alert: Dr Kelsey Renner at ARC Vets has recently published the findings of a study funded by Healthy Pets on the use of Remdesivir (an antiviral drug) to treat Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). FIP was considered a fatal disease until recently, but Kelsey's work has shown that giving remdesivir orally is an effective way to treat effusive FIP. Great work Kelsey!

Objectives The primary aim of this prospective observational study was to document clinical progression, survival, remission and relapse in New Zealand cats wit...

01/06/2025

Welcome to winter! If you can share some warmth and love with a dog in need, consider fostering for the SPCA:

As the weather turns colder, SPCA Centres across Aotearoa are filling up with dogs and puppies in need of safe, warm foster homes.

26/05/2025

Did you know that there are over 4.35 million companion animals in NZ? This is more per capita than the rest of the world, except the USA
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22/05/2025

It seems AI can be used for almost anything, including caring for our pets. Here's a round-up of some interesting pet-related AI apps, compiled by our friends at PD Pet Insurance:

Lately, the best AI apps—especially those designed with pets in mind—and übersmart tools like ChatGPT are really shaking things up in the pet parenting

16/05/2025

It's not just humans that can suffer from anxiety - our feline friends can be affected too. Companion Animals NZ explain the signs of anxiety in cats and approaches to treatment here: https://www.companionanimals.nz/articles/understanding-anxiety-in-our-feline-companions

14/05/2025

Ever wondered why your dog tilts it's head? Healthy Pets' Dr Cath Watson has the answers here:

Why does my dog tilt their head? Are they sick, curious, partially deaf in one ear? How can I tell whether my dog tilting their head means something is wrong...

14/05/2025

Can cats be trained? An overseas study is finding that kids can train cats by building on the cat-human relationship and using positive reinforcement: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/osu-extension-led-study-seeks-show-cats-can-be-trained-kids-can-do-it

09/05/2025

Fostering cats is a fantastic way to contribute to your community and enjoy the company of a pet when you may not be able to have your own, but it does have it's challenges. Research funded by Healthy Pets on this topic has now been published and can be accessed at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08927936.2025.2476294 . Well done Christine Roseveare, Anne Haase and colleagues for getting this published!