Cat Health Problems

2008-09-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

Common Cat Health Problems

If You Think Your Cat is Sick...

Common cat health problems range from simple inconveniences to life-threatening accidents and illnesses. If you notice any unusual behavior in your cat or kitten (especially things like not eating, constipation, lethargy, or a dull coat), you should contact your veterinarian. Your cat may be sick and may need veterinary care.

Sick Cat Health Symptoms

Symptoms that something is wrong with your cat or kitten include loss of appetite, a dull coat, excessive grooming or itching, not grooming after ...

Cat Health Threats

By John Dow

Cat Health threats fall into two major categories. Bodily harm from fighting, accidents, or cruel humans is one category. Common illnesses, parasites, and known system weaknesses is the other.

An indoor cat has a huge advantage against the bodily harm threats. A cat that lives outdoors (or ventures out often) is subject to many physical threats. It does depend on the environment, busy suburban areas and rural areas are probably the worst. Quiet neighborhoods, with little traffic and few predators have much less risk...

Cat Health Problems - When Your Cat Stops Eating

2008-08-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Cat Health Problems can be tricky, but If your cat is an older cat and is not eating, try not resorting to euthanasia too hastily. It could possibly be the presence of a Cat Behavior Problem

A lady names Sophie posted the following dilemma on Yahoo Answers:

"My cat is 13 years old, and for about 2 weeks she has hardly eaten anything.
She has lost 2kg and is quite bony. Before she was a normal size, if slighly overweight, but always came in for regular meals and ate when she pleased.
She hardly eats anything and she has been to the vets three times, but they could not find anything wrong. We are considering putting her down, but I will not stop til I know why she hardly eats anymore. She eats about once a day if that, and she is eating a little tuna, and a few crunchy snacks, because that is all she will eat. Please help, I do not want my cat to starve to death, or have to be put down."

Cats sometimes tend to change their habits when they get older. However, since this was a sudden behavioral change, it might be worth looking at more closely sometimes with the help of a second opinion from another veterinarian.

Also, occasionally a vet might need to run all her blood work to see if a problem exists. Certain cats eat less when they get older and she may have lost her sense of smell a bit. Offering her strong smelling foods may help encourage her. It could be as simple as a sore tooth or an infection in the mouth. Cooked tuna, chicken breast or rice from the store are easier to chew. Often, trying something new other than her usual food also may help. If she eats dry food, moist or wet food could be attempted.

There also could be the presence of worms or an intestinal virus. Bringing the cat outdoors in a grassy field might also help the problem, since cats like to cleanse themselves from hairballs and other toxins by eating grass and plants. Cats cure themselves from these problems quite frequently. If the cat is not very old (less than 16 or so) you should keep on looking for answers until you find out what you can do to help her get better.

2008-03-09T18:45:00.001-07:00

Technorati Profile

2007-09-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

Cat Health Problems can be determined from a cat's behavior more often than not. The major Cat Health Problems are hairballs, worms, vomiting, urinary tract infections, fleas, kidney disease, conjunctivitis, cat flu, feline stress, FIP, FIV, FLV, Lyme disease, abcesses from bites and bad breath. We can break down almost every one of these diseases and find that our cat had been trying to communicate with us and tell us what was wrong all along, through an altered behavior pattern I have been involved in cat rescue for over 20 years now, and have experienced almost every strange behavior pattern.

Now, these different behaviors don't all signal to us that our furry friend is sick, but we should observe her very closely if the patterns persist. I currently have 6 furry friends in my household. They are all rescues, and they all possess unique personalities.

Alexander is a small black and white 10 year old who I call a "horizontal" cat. He appears to be afraid of almost everything and rarely sits still when I approach him. However, he will approach me when I am in a horizontal position on a couch or a bed. He is not often vocal, but lately he has been meowing like crazy. I also noticed that he was scratching quite a bit. I was able to trap him against the screen window, and upon closer inspection found that his skin was full of red rashes. He was being eaten alive by fleas! A dosage of Frontline took care of this problem.

Gracie is an 8 year old tuxedo who loves to go outside and hunt. She always comes home voluntarily and is usually very quiet. Lately she has also been very vocal and rarely returns home without my going to search for her. The same problem of fleas occured in her, and the Frontline treatment returned things to normal.

Patches is an 8 year old gray and white male who I call a "dog" cat. He eats like a dog (with quick gulps) and has short stubby legs which prevents him from having the agility of a cat, but he can climb trees like it's going out of style. One day, the neighbors dog "Happy" was loose and I couldn't find Patches. It turns out he went 18 feet up a tree. I needed to get a special ladder to rescue him. So far, Patches has not been sick, but he behaves crazily when "Happy" is around. He will get a shot of adrenaline that turns him into "underdog".

Bea Bea is a 6 year old female tuxedo who I rescued in a wooded area near many squirrels. When she wants attention, she will stand on her hind legs with her paws mimicking a clapping action while talking in a high pitched squeal. This is a very unique behavior pattern, which I can induce by repeatedly calling out her name in a high pitched voice over and over. She has FIV or cat AIDS. It is not a death sentence for cats, however it can nullify certain treatments when FIV cats get sick. Bea Bea will get quiet when she doesn't feel well, and sometimes during this period she will cough up hairballs. This "quietness" is another altered behavior pattern, that signalled to me that Bea Bea was having a problem. Now, if Bea Bea weren't so shy, she would probably be a perfect candidate for David Letterman's popular show segment called "stupid pet tricks"

Gordon is a very large green eyed gray (part Maine coon), who has happy feet, and loves to stand in one postion while "pedaling" He also has FIV. One day he got very vocal, while rubbing his hindquarters on the rug. It turned out he had a urinary tract infection. I used the herb Goldenseal and Clavamox to fight this. It is a fairly chronic comdition with him, but the treatment does work, and he goes to the bathroom in the bathroom sink.

Last but not least, my latest rescue, Bumpers, lives to give head nuggies. He is a 3 year old tabbie, who is always happy, but recently the flea infestation in my house caused him to spend the better part of his day on the refrigerator (away from the rug). This behavior pattern signalled a problem to me, and sure enough, Frontline to the rescue once again.

Most recently I have come upon a new flea fighting agent called diatomaceous earth. Basically, Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a powder comprised of microskeletons of deceased diatoms, which are a type of algae (both fresh water and sea water varieties occur). You sprinkle the powder on your pets and your carpets, and the fleas die from dehydration, by cutting through their exoskeleton. It comes in two forms, crystalized and non-crystalized. The crystalized form is used for swimming pool filters, while the non-crystalized powder can be used in the home and on your pets. You must be careful not to get it in your eyes or your pet's eyes because it can cause irritation. Diatomaceous earth can be found at hardware stores and garden center stores like Agway. Be extremely careful and make sure you get the insect killer product and not the pool filter product. The pool filter product is poisonous.

Cat Health Problems can sometimes be tough to spot until it's too late, but in 9 out of every 10 cases, your cat will be telling you that something is wrong through an altered personality or behavior signal. Keep your eyes out for them!

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Cat Health Problems

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