Ask the Doctor

I wonder if you could give me any suggestions regarding my 10-year-old cat Ringlings behavior. We lost our 22-year-old Siamese a month ago, who was Ringlings lifelong friend. Ever since he died, Ringling has gotten very clingy and vocal, following me around, continually begging to be petted and held. She seems to need constant attention and reassurance. She has also thrown up several times in the last weeks, something she has not done before.

I have a male cat who has suffered twice from stones in his urinary tract. His veterinarian put him on a Royal Canine urinary diet (chicken in gravy) and special diet of kibbles.

My son recently adopted an adult cat from a shelter, and I notice that Tigger likes to rub his cheeks repeatedly on the legs of the furniture. In fact, he started to do the same thing to my face the other day when I was petting him on the couch! What exactly does this mean? Is it the start of his becoming possessive and maybe aggressive?

I trapped two stray kittens last year and had them treated for ringworm. They were neutered and given two rounds of kitten vaccinations. They also had bad breath so my veterinarian cleaned their teeth and needed to extract some teeth. She informed me that one cats dental problems had migrated into the root.

An adult male named Grey, who is by far the least socialized of the group - fell from a tree last month and kept his distance for a while. Now, he seems fine. My question is: Is it possible for a cat to suffer a concussion? And if this happens again, what would be the best course of action?

I am feeding an intact feral cat with whom I have formed a friendship. Recently when I fed him in the morning, I noticed that the skin behind his ears had been ripped open, probably during a fight.

My veterinarian told me that my cat has a heart murmur. Does this mean he will die prematurely from heart disease?

My four-year-old cat, Stripe, has been diagnosed with an overactive immune system. Last year, he had surgery to remove a cranial lung lobe and the biopsy found the necrotic mass to be non-malignant. Chronic lymphoplasmacytic inflammation was the diagnosis.

Q My son and I recently adopted an older cat from our local shelter. We named him Vincent and so far, so good. He came with his necessary vaccinations, etc. so we havent needed to take him to the veterinarian yet. One night while watching television, Vincent was rubbing on me and I noticed something strange about his teeth. He is missing one of the big fangs!

Q I have been breeding Singapura kittens on a very small, informal scale for several years and will soon be ramping up the scale with three fertile females and the launch of a small online cattery.

Q There used to be a lot of talk about the dangers of BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin used as preservatives in certain pet foods. Have they been replaced by different ingredients, or are there simply fewer concerns about them now?

Q My husband and I live in an elderly community, with plenty of pet lovers. Our neighbor recently lost her toy breed dog, and offered to give us a case of small cans of dog food to feed our two cats.

We are living on a fixed income as retirees, and wouldnt object to a couple of weeks of free food! But we wanted to first make sure that the dog food - a premium brand - would be safe for our cats. Please advise.