CAT HEALTH & MEDICINE

Q My dear 16-year-old cat, whom I adopted from a local shelter 15 years ago, has mild to moderate gingivitis. I know it is very important to keep his gums healthy, but he has developed an intolerance to antibiotics, and I can no longer have his teeth professionally cleaned. Unfortunately, I find it impossible to brush his teeth myself. Is there any other way his teeth can be cleaned? Thank you for any information you…

A test for feline pancreatitis? Q In the December 2012 issue, Catnip published an article titled: Pancreatitis: Still a Mystery. Over the years, I have had four cats with pancreatitis, so Im quite experienced with this difficult disease. I feel that the article omitted a couple of important issues. There was no mention of nausea, and nausea is a huge problem for cats with pancreatitis. Additionally, there was no mention of the blood test that is specifically…

Q Recently, Catnip published an article called "Does Your Cat Have Bad Breath?" and the author Dr. Plotnick mentions oral cancers that are common in cats. He states that early detection and aggressive treatment are essential for therapy to be successful.

Consider this frightening occurrence: A cat darts into the street near his owners home and is struck by an oncoming car. One or more of the bones in one leg are severely broken, and a quick trip to the nearest veterinary clinic yields some very upsetting news. The fractured limb is beyond surgical repair, and the cats owners are faced with a limited set of options as explained by the veterinarian: Either the injured cat…

Thanks to advances in veterinary medicine -including an improved understanding of feline nutrition - cats are living longer these days. But these extended life spans also mean that many cats are more likely to develop arthritis. This painful and potentially crippling joint disease is a predominantly age-related condition. In one study, researchers carefully analyzed X-rays of the spines and limbs of 100 middle-aged or elderly cats living in U.S. homes. The images revealed that 90 percent…

Cats acquire the illness through the bite of a tick, usually the Lone Star tick. The tick picks up the parasite from bobcats, which are the reservoir host. Bobcats, when infected with Cytauxzoon felis, develop only mild clinical signs of illness. The bobcats recover - and then become persistent carriers. When a tick feeds on an infected bobcat, the tick acquires the pathogen. These ticks can bite and infect other bobcats, or they can bite a domestic cat instead, which leads to severe illness and often death. All felids are susceptible to infection; however, cytauxzoonosis has never been described in a non-felid.

Most people can give you a reasonably accurate description if asked to describe the function of the heart, the kidneys or the lungs. But when it comes to the spleen, youre probably met with blank stares - despite the fact that everyones heard of it. Lets end the mystery and delve into the world of the feline spleen and what it does. …

I recently had to have my 8-year-old cat, Tasha, put to sleep after she threw a clot that paralyzed her back legs. She was in severe respiratory distress from congestive heart failure. My veterinarian said that it was probably hereditary, so we had her sibling, Gussy, tested for heart problems. The veterinarian did an echocardiogram and said that Gussy definitely has a bad ticker. He said it was borderline congestive heart failure. Hearing that nearly killed me. I adopted them when they were both 8 weeks old. Now, Im looking at losing them both. My veterinarian prescribed giving Gussy on a quarter of a baby aspirin twice a week. Even though its a small dosage, Im concerned because I keep reading how poisonous aspirin can be to cats. I understand that there are supplements available to strengthen the heart. What would you recommend?

[From Tufts January 2010 Issue]

I was lifting up my cat onto his perch, and I felt a fatty-type growth under his fur near his groin. I have felt a similar type of growth in a pet rat of mine. Should I be concerned?

Paige G. Small

[From Tufts February 2010 Issue]

Do you know why my overweight cat vomits? She is elderly, but I dont know her exact age. I feed her half of a 3-ounce can of Fancy Feast at night and three-quarters of a cup of a dental-diet dry food during the day.

The vomit looks like it has been digested (like small chewed pieces of dry food in very yellow fluid). Fortunately, she can sometimes go 10 days without an episode. I appreciate any advice you can offer.

Cats are notoriously finicky eaters, so it might surprise you to learn that stomach upsets are commonplace. But just a few bites of spoiled food or a mild infection can cause stomach distress - known as gastritis - and trigger a trip to the veterinary clinic, according to Mary Labato, DVM, veterinary internal medicine specialist and Clinical Professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

[From Tufts July 2011 Issue]

Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Controls journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, published an article that listed illnesses that people might contract if they get too close to their cats. Authors Bruno B. Chomel and Ben Sun examined cases of diseases that apparently healthy animals might have passed to their owners while they were all sleeping together in the same bed. The article generated nationwide headlines implying that people were risking their health if they shared their beds with their cats.