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Creating a Healthy Environment for Your Cat
Pets and especially cats need a conducive and friendly
environment to be healthy and happy. Previously, it was
believed that cats as a species needed outdoor ventures to
develop naturally.
Now it is established that a cat, which has never been freed
for roaming can be quite happy and natural in its environment
if you spare some time from your busy schedule to entertain
your cat. In this way, they can be even more secure from
infectious diseases and accidents.
If you let your cat be a free roamer then you definitely run the risk of losing your cat forever. Almost 70 percent of the cats
that go missing do not return home. Free roaming cats also
adversely affect the wildlife populations as they bring down
the population of birds alarmingly.
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For complete protection of your pet you have to be systematic
and organized, so that your pet finds it easy to settle in the
environment you are trying to keep it in.
It will also need a secluded place for climbing and hunting
along with a safe and secure corner, which it can use as a
hiding place in case of any danger.
Its hunting urges can be fully satisfied by introducing different games and sports. This personal contact will garner a special
bond between you and your pet.
Cats are quite sensitive about how they are treated by their
masters. Gently, touching and petting your cat works wonders
and in no time you will find your pet hovering around you and
getting cozy with you.
You have to be a bit patient about roaming. It is a natural
urge. Sometimes taking out your cat for a stroll can be
entertaining for your pet. A harness-collar will help you in
having better control over it. You can also use a carrier for
your pet to take it anywhere at anytime.
The Humane Society of the USA published a report that clearly
shows that the mortality rate of free roamers is much higher
than indoor cats. The latter maintain finer health than the
former.
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Common Cat Diseases and Health Problems
Cats suffer from almost the same diseases as humans.
Although some diseases are hereditary, you can avoid others
through regular medical care of your felines. As a pet owner,
you should have a good knowledge of all possible diseases,
necessary medications, and precautions. This can assure you
of a healthy and lifelong feline companion.
Most health problems in cats are avoidable through preventive
care and techniques. It is best to keep your cat indoors and
outdoor outings should be under strict supervision. Routine
vet checks can ensure a healthy life for your pet.
Cat Diseases and Health Problems
Cancer: Cats could suffer from different types of cancer like bone cancer, lung cancer, nasal cancer, skin cancer, and many
others. Lung cancer could cause your cat to breathe heavily
and with difficulty. Oral cancer could cause problems in
swallowing and eating, with mouth bleeding. Bone cancer
could make your cat lame or lead to stiffness in the joints and
limbs. Non-healing wounds and scars could indicate skin
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cancer while incessant nasal discharge could indicate nasal
cancer.
You should visit your veterinarian as soon as you notice any
symptoms. A small delay could cost the life of your feline.
Routine examination of your cat’s body through stroking and
massaging can help you identify any extra bulge or bump.
Some of the symptoms of cancer are the same as that of other
diseases. Therefore, get an expert opinion from one or more
doctors. At times, early diagnosis can cure cancer.
Chronic Renal Failure: The main characteristic of this condition is irreversible and a gradual decline in kidney function. This is a common ailment in elderly cats. Kidneys
consists of various nephrons that filter fluids. These nephrons
could stop functioning due to age, ill health, or other causes.
This causes accumulation of toxins like urea and creatinine in
the blood.
Difficulty in urinating is the main symptom of this disease.
There are other symptoms like weight loss, dull coat,
excessive thirst, and loss of appetite. Veterinarians diagnose
the presence of this disease through a urine analysis and
blood test to measure levels of red blood cells, blood urea, and creatinine.
Veterinarians prescribe oral medications and Epogen shots for
cleaning toxins from the kidneys. In severe cases, your cat
could require hospitalization for dehydration. You can learn to
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administer subcutaneous fluids at home. Additionally, feed a
low phosphorous and low protein diet to your cat. As such cats
lose their appetite, you can use stimulants like tuna juice,
premium cat food juices, and human baby food meat. In
severe cases, force feeding through syringes could prove
necessary.
Dental Health and Oral Diseases: This is the single most
important cause for health problems in cats. Feline Stomatitis
is often misunderstood as an autoimmune disease. This
causes severe inflammation of the mouth and throat thereby
affecting eating habits severely. Periodontal disease is due to
inflamed and bleeding gums and bad breath. This is due to
bacterial accumulation in gums. Feline odontoclastic lesions
affect enamel and dentin of a tooth. Prolonged lesions could
cause permanent loss of tooth.
You do not have to wait for dental diseases to start to care for the dental health of your feline. Instead, begin with a regular
dental brushing and caring routine for your kitten. Use special
cat toothbrushes with flavored toothpastes to keep dental
problems at bay.
Deafness and Ear Conditions: It is possible to notice
deafness in cats in the early stages itself. Common symptoms
include loud meowing, failure to respond on calling, dizziness,
clawing at ear, shaking head regularly, unpleasant odor from
ears, regular pus, or other drainage. Deafness could be due to
nerve damage or infections. Medications can correct the
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problem in many cases. Regular grooming requires cleaning of
cat’s ears of mites by putting few drops of warm olive oil into
your cat’s ears.
Eye Problems and Blindness: Cats normally have better
vision than humans do. Glaucoma causes excessive pressure
within the eye. Untreated cataracts cause glaucoma. Early
treatment can prevent further damage to optic nerves.
Surgery could be necessary in advanced cases. Eye tumors
necessitate removal of the eye.
Progressive retinal atrophy is a hereditary problem causing
decreasing eyesight resulting in complete blindness.
Hypertension could cause eye problems like sudden blindness.
Cats cope with their blindness through increased sensitivity of
other senses like smell, touch, and hearing.
Feline Arthritis: This is common among aging felines.
Excessive weight is the predominant cause for feline arthritis.
Common symptoms include change in walking patterns due to
joint pain, stiffness in joints while arising from rest, and few personality changes.
Veterinarians may suggest Chondroitin and Glucosamine to
improve cartilage formation around joints. Vitamin C
supplements could suit some cats. NSAIDs might cause
serious side effects. Simple treatments include having a
regular exercise program to control the weight of your cat and
providing artificial warmth to joints to ease pain and stiffness.
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Feline Diabetes: This disease can affect cats of any age, although it is more prevalent in elderly male cats, specifically obese cats. Common symptoms include dehydration,
excessive thirst, poor appetite, and poor quality of coat,
weakness, and breathing problems. Veterinarians check for
sugar levels in blood and urine to diagnose feline diabetes.
Common treatment options include oral hypoglycemic
medications, regular insulin injections administered at the
hospital, and maintaining specific diet control. Diet rich in fiber and carbohydrates can control weight and blood glucose
levels. You can monitor blood glucose levels in your cat
through a monitoring kit used for diabetic humans.
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV): This is feline AIDS.
Presently, there is no cure for this disease. Infected cats could live long lives. FIV transmission is through deep bite wounds
and normally through rectum, mouth, or vagina. It therefore
affects cats during territorial battles.
House cats do not normally suffer from FIV. This disease
affects and disables the immune system of cats. It makes it
more prone to infections. Different body cells like B-
lymphocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, and
macrophages suffer extensive infection due to FIV.
However, cats cannot transmit FIV to humans. FIV occurs in
three stages. The acute stage in is the initial two months after transmission. During this time, your cat could suffer from
fever and depression. In the second stage, all symptoms of
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the disease could disappear, although your cat remains
infected. The third stage is the final stage. Your cat finally
succumbs to the infection. This is due to complete stopping of
functioning of the body's immune system.
Feline Infectious Diseases: There are various feline
infectious diseases. Most such respiratory diseases are
through feline herpes virus, feline calicivirus or feline
rhinotracheitis virus. Bordetella bronchiseptica infection, Feline chlamydia psittaci infection and Mycoplasma infection are
some of the important infections.
Other viruses and bacteria causing infections in cats include
pasteurellae, streptococci, staphylococci, and coliforms.
Feline Panleucopenia is an infectious disease affecting white blood cells and causing enteritis. Vaccination proves effective.
Feline leukemia virus causes infection through transfer of nasal secretions or saliva, feces, urine, and milk from infected cats. An infected mother can transfer the virus to her kittens
during lactation or even before birth. This virus could cause
cancer and various blood disorders. It is possible spread the
disease through sharing of feeding bowls. There is no cure for
this disease and it is normally fatal. In the first stage, a high immune response can eradicate the virus from the body. In
the second stage, it leads to persistent infection of bone
marrow. Cats with this disease could live long lives. If your cat has serious symptoms, it may not survive for more than few
months.
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Feline Immunodeficiency Virus causes infections although
over a longer period.
Feline Cowpox causes lesions on skin of cats. There is a
vaccine for such infections. Antibiotics could prove useful. Cats can transfer such infections to humans. Simple hygienic
precautions can prevent transfer of such infections to humans.
However, if you already suffer from skin diseases, you stand a
greater chance of contracting such infections. It is best to use gloves and prevent infected material from coming in contact
with open wounds or eyes.
Gastric Tract Diseases: There are many gastric diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, gastritis, diarrhea, hepatic
lipidosis, and others. These diseases occur mainly due to
inflammation of intestinal linings. Common symptoms of
gastric diseases include chronic vomiting, loss of appetite,
lusterless coat, weight loss, renal failure, and others.
Veterinarians normally suggest controlled diet with limited
amounts of proteins and carbohydrates. Corticosteroids and
certain antibiotics can provide substantial relief.
Heart Diseases: Heart diseases in cats could be Feline
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy,
Intermediate Cardiomyopathy, or Feline Hypertension. Most
heart diseases are due to genetic causes. Such heart diseases
are more common in middle-aged male cats.
Common symptoms of heart diseases in cats include fainting,
sudden difficulty in breathing, weakness, and paralysis of rear
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legs. Veterinarians diagnose the presence of heart disease
through ECGs, X-rays, Echocardiography, and other tests.
They recommend calcium channel blockers like diltiazem,
beta-blockers like metoprolol and atenolol and various other
inhibitors and diuretics.
Hip Dysplasia: This is due to displacement of hip joints in your cat. Due to such displacement, the femur ball no longer
fits into the hip socket joint. This leads to arthritis and
excessive pain in the joints. Affected cats would show little
interest in walking, running, or similar forms of exercise. This disease is mainly genetic. Normally cats with larger bones
develop this disease.
Although there is no specific treatment available for hip
disease, surgery can help through prosthetic installation into
joints. You can reduce the weight of overweight cats through
diet regulations. Anti-inflammatory medicines and painkillers
can give relief.
Liver Disease: Fatty liver disease is a common ailment in cats. This disease occurs due to fatty deposits in liver tissue.
There is no apparent cause for such deposits. Most
veterinarians assign this disease to the way in which certain
cats digest their fats and proteins.
Common symptoms of liver disease is a sudden drop in eating
habits of previously overweight cats. This causes continuous
loss of weight with frequent bouts of vomiting and yellowing of
the skin and eyes.
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Liver biopsy under light anesthesia can detect the presence of
the disease. Early diagnosis of the disease can prevent further
deterioration. Although your cat would be most unwilling to
eat anything, it is necessary to force-feed. This is possible
through insertion of a feeding tube directly into the stomach
or esophagus.
You have to feed small quantities of food through the tube
regularly. After a few weeks, you can offer food normally to
check appetite levels.
Neurological Disorders: Neurological disorders in cats can take the form of seizures due to tumors, hypertension,
parasitical causes, viral infections, poisoning, and others. Cats with such disorders may depict sudden and unexplainable
behavior like running round in circles, going blank for some
time, loud meowing at night, frequent mood swings, maniac
grooming, or rippling skin on the back. Ingestion of certain
toxic plants could cause neurological disorders. Some garden
sprays, cleaning products, and pest killers could cause such
disorders.
Veterinarians diagnose neurological disorders in cats after a
thorough physical examination with a CT scan, blood tests,
MRI, and cerebral spinal fluid analysis. Anti-convulsion drugs
can control seizures over a few weeks.
Parasitic Disease: Parasites like fleas and mites cause
various parasitic diseases. Fleas cause allergies, anemia,
tapeworms, and skin infections. Always use flea remedies as
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suggested by your veterinarian. Tapeworms are internal
parasites. Your cat could develop such infections through
ingestion of raw meat or fish. Veterinarians can suggest
tapeworm medications after inspection of a fecal sample of
your cat.
Roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms are similar internal
parasites causing infections in your cats. Common symptoms
of such infections include diarrhea, vomiting, dull coat color,
and a potbelly. Lack of proper treatment could prove fatal.
Coccidia are internal parasites entering a cat’s body through
ingestion of infected feces of other animals. It often causes
severe diarrhea and weight loss due to loss of appetite. Fresh
fecal samples can help your veterinarian suggest suitable
remedy.
Ear mites are microscopic parasites causing severe infections
and wax-build-up in ears of cats. They cause severe itchiness
and could lead to deafness if untreated. Use prescribed
medicines on your affected and unaffected cats, as these
parasites move from one cat to another.
Respiratory Disease: Feline asthma symptoms are very
similar to hairball attack or choking. It is best to check such
recurrent symptoms. Feline asthma is due to allergens in the
upper respiratory tract. This causes tightening of bronchi and
resultant swelling of surrounding tissues. Bacterial infections
could cause other respiratory tract diseases in felines.
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Common asthmatic allergens include dust, household
chemicals, mold, smoke, cat litter, pollen, and cold or moist
air. Cats with asthma could suffer exercise related attacks.
Thorough examinations through blood tests, chest x-rays, and
bronchoalveolar lavage can detect presence of feline asthma.
Veterinarians insert endotracheal tubes under general
anesthesia to extract fluids in lungs for examination.
Keep your home as smoke-free as possible. Do not light
scented candles or smoke within your house, specifically near
your cats. Keep all basements and other parts of the house
free of mold and dust. Refrain from plugging in air-fresheners
or using household chemicals liberally. Veterinarians prescribe
prednisone pills or injections and use of an inhaler depending
on the severity of asthma in your cat.
Skin Problems: Skin diseases in cats are due to parasites, fleas, allergies, and other things. These cause cats to scratch
their skin uncontrollably. Another type of skin disease causes
severe loss of hair on skin with many bald patches. Skin coat
is brittle and coarse. It could also cause pus formations and
other infections, most of which are painful.
Thorough examination of skin coat while grooming your cat
can prove helpful in discovering any possible skin disorders
and infections. Veterinarians often prescribe hormone shots
with tranquilizers to help cats refrain from excessive
scratching.
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Feline Acne develops as black spots and it could be due to a
specific food allergy like milk. It could also be due to improper cleaning of the chin of your cat. Acne is due to bacteria
present in food or water bowls due to improper cleaning.
Leave such spots without any picking or pricking. Thorough
washing and application of prescribed medications can help
relieve your cat of all types of skin diseases.
Thyroid Disease: Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are
common thyroid ailments in older cats. Common symptoms of
this disease include increased urination, increased appetite,
weight loss, hyperactivity, excessive thirst, panting, increased shedding, vomiting, and diarrhea. Simple blood tests can
diagnose the presence of this disease.
Oral administration of hyperthyroidism medications can control
the disease within two to three weeks. However, it causes
serious side effects like blood clotting, vomiting, and loss of
appetite, itching around the face and head, jaundice, and
other things. Surgery is another treatment option, although
older cats find it difficult to withstand the anesthesia.
Radioactive iodine therapy consisting of iodine injections under the skin proves to be the ideal remedy. However, such
therapy is costly and requires prolonged hospitalization.
Urinary Tract Disease: This disease normally causes a lot of pain. If untreated, it could prove fatal for your cat. Urinary
tract diseases include urethral blockage, bladder stones,
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infection, crystals, and similar others. Infection could be due