Managing Feline Idiopathic Cystitis
The health conditions that involve the lower urinary tract (the bladder and urethra) in cats are commonly referred to as feline urinary tract disease (FLUTD). FLUTD is not a disease in itself, but actually a variety of diseases that affect the lower urinary tract. They usually present similar clinical symptoms, which can complicate the specific diagnosis.
Further confounding the situation are those cats who show clinical signs of FLUTD, yet an underlying structural cause - such as bladder stones or a bladder tumor - has not been identified. This condition is called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC). Experts feel that. …
Common Skin Conditions in Cats
Taking Vital Signs at Home: A Double-Edged Sword
It might seem that taking a cats vital signs can help you determine whether hes in a state of emergency. But, says Tufts Cummings School emergency and critical care veterinarian Armelle de Laforcade, DVM, I worry a little about people trying to determine the seriousness of a situation by themselves because it can be tricky. For instance, you may find upon taking a cats temperature that he doesnt have a fever, but a cat can still be quite sick in the absence of an elevated temperature - especially if hes not eating or urinating.
That said, here are a couple of vital numbers:
Temperature (taken with a rectal thermometer made for cats) Normal: 100-102.5 degrees F. …
Looking Outside of Spay/Neuter in cats
Biliary Cysts in Cats
Shedding Light on Feline Vision
[From Tufts March 2012 Issue]
The eyes of cats and dogs are quite similar to our own, but there are notable differences. Feline eyes were designed with the night hunter in mind, one reason that cats have the largest eyes of any meat eater. If our own eyes were proportionally the same, human eyes would be eight inches across.
The difference between cat and dog eyes goes beyond size. The way pets see influences how they interact with each other — and with us.
"Placement of the eyes in the skull affects the animals' ability to see, as it affects their binocular field of view versus monocular field of view," says Christopher Pirie, DVM, veterinary ophthalmologist and Assistant Professor at Cummings School of …
When Worms Make a Home Out of Your Cat’s Lungs
[From Tufts May 2012 Issue]
"It's a little bit creepy," says Catnip Editorial Board member Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM. "Larvae migrate from the intestine into the bloodstream and, from there, to the lungs, where they set up housekeeping. They get bigger, maturing into adult worms, and then lay more eggs, or larvae." In the meantime, the worms can cause asthma-like symptoms — difficulty breathing, coughing, and, if things become severe enough, even emphysema, fluid in the lungs, or pneumonia.
Lungworm disease usually occurs in kittens, particularly kittens "from sketchy backgrounds," says Dr. Rozanski — those who live almost entirely outdoors and eat …
An Infection Takes a Trip Across a Cats Body
[From Tufts June 2012 Issue]
Annabelle, a 5-year-old Ragdoll, had been lethargic with little appetite. She was hiding under the bed - unusual behavior for her. The intact cat also had vaginal discharge. Her owner, Ragdoll breeder Denise Celona of Rutland, Massachusetts, took her to the local veterinarian, thinking the cat had developed a uterine infection called pyometra. An x-ray was inconclusive on that score, but it did show that the heart was enlarged and ovoid, or egg-shaped, which is not normal for cats. At that, Annabelle and her owner were referred to the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
By the time emergency and critical care specialist Sean Majoy, DVM, saw Annabelle, she was having difficulty breathing. Her respiratory rate was up significantly. On examination, her,…