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CAT HEALTH & MEDICINE

Cats Use Bacteria to Talk to Other Cats

It’s well known that cats recognize each other through their scent and also use their odors to mark territory, attract mates, repel rivals, and communicate in various other ways. It now appears that the bacteria in cats’ anal glands are doing a lot of the talking.

The Brain-Bladder Connection in Cats Can Cause Disease

Your cat starts urinating more frequently and often does so outside the litter box, straining while he relieves himself.  He also has started over-grooming “down there” and may even have blood in his urine. Is it a urinary tract infection? Nope. The vet checked for that. A bladder stone? No, not that, either. In fact, the doctor has screened for a number of conditions that fall under the umbrella of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD), and all the tests came back negative. So what is it? Is your cat just being difficult?

Dear Doctor February 2024

Claritin for cats?

Feline Vaccine Hesitancy

A number of years ago, a survey of half a million cats showed that after receiving vaccinations, only one half of one percent of them had an adverse reaction. And almost all of those reactions — mild ones like lethargy and loss of appetite — were very short lived. No doubt that’s part of the reason that both the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners jointly state that vaccines are “medically essential” and “a critical component” of a cat’s healthcare plan.

Dear Doctor January 2024

Distended abdomen

When the Diabetes is Hard to Control, Consider Cushing’s Disease

Your cat has been diagnosed with diabetes, but neither insulin injections nor weight management have been able to keep her blood sugar under control. Why not? Your pet may also have Cushing’s disease, a condition that causes an overproduction of the hormone cortisol. That, in turn, stimulates the production of sugar, working against efforts to keep down your cat’s blood sugar. Sometimes, in fact, Cushing’s disease causes  diabetes.

When Your Cat Keeps Eating Things That Aren’t Food

Wool and other fabrics, plastic (including plastic casing surrounding electrical cords), rubber, pins and needles, newspapers. These are just some of the items that might be chewed on and swallowed by cats afflicted with pica, which is the eating of non-food items. The word pica is based on the Latin word “picave.” It means magpie — a bird with indiscriminate dietary habits.

Rodent ulcer

Q: My cat has developed a reddish-brown sore on her upper lip. It doesn’t seem to bother her, but it looks awful. And while I thought it would go away on its own, it hasn’t. What should I do?

Losing Excess Weight Does Much More Than Make a Cat Healthier

Sure, if your cat is overweight (and as many as six in 10 cats are), you want her to be able to take off excess pounds in order to become healthier and live longer. Extra weight in cats is associated with such conditions as insulin resistance (which can lead to diabetes), urinary tract disease, and liver problems. And those conditions are expensive. People with cats who weigh more than they should spend 36 percent more on diagnostic procedures than people with healthy-weight felines. Now, a new study also shows that losing excess weight doesn’t only increase longevity while saving money. It also improves a cat’s quality of life.

Deciding How to Take a Cat’s Temperature

The three most dreaded words for many a cat owner are “Take her temperature.” The startled, angry reaction of a cat having a thermometer pushed into her behind — or even placed in her ear — is not something people look forward to.

Feline Arthritis Pain: 
The Signs Can Be Subtle

Some 90 percent of cats develop arthritis over time, research suggests, with about half of them actually suffering from arthritis pain. That comes to almost one out of two house cats in pain, yet people often aren’t aware. They think their cat isn’t as nimble simply because he’s getting older. Or they believe that if a cat had arthritis, he would start limping. But while dogs limp from arthritis pain, cats work to hide their discomfort. They like to mask their vulnerability so predators can’t see their weakness. No matter that there may be no predators in your home. That feline tendency is genetically built in.

Pillow Foot

If the foot pad on one or more of your cat’s feet becomes puffy and swollen, there’s a good chance she has pillow foot, medically termed feline plasma cell pododermatitis. It means the skin on the foot has become inflamed due to infiltration of the pad with plasma cells, which belong to the immune system. The thought is that the immune system somehow becomes overstimulated, resulting in the inflammation.