CAT HEALTH & MEDICINE

When operating efficiently, the feline urinary system plays a crucial supportive role - directly or indirectly - in all of a cats bodily processes. The systems key functions are the filtration of metabolic waste from circulating blood and excretion of the waste - mixed with water - in the form of urine,preventing damaging concentrations from developing in an animals body.

Q Our cat, Dusty, recently escaped from our house, which is in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Dusty was missing for about ten hours before a neighbor spotted her in her backyard.Obviously, we are very relieved to have our cat back home, but our question is this: Could she be in any medical danger from her brief jaunt outside our home?

Researchers recently discovered that a protein from the virus that causes AIDS in cats triggers an immune response in blood from HIV-infected people. Experts are hopeful that cats may hold a key to developing an HIV vaccine for people, according to a new study. The findings were reported in the Journal of Virology (October 2013), and suggest that further research with FIV could eventually lead to an HIV vaccine for people, the University…

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Your aging cat seems to be sleeping an awful lot, he doesnt jump up on the furniture as much as he used to and he seems to be less meticulous about grooming. Sometimes hes sensitive in certain areas or displays odd behaviors. Should you assume that he is just settling into the senior years - or should you worry that something is wrong? …

Sticking a cat with needles might not seem like the best method to treat chronic pain, but Dr. Karas says acupuncture can be very useful. Chronic pain is a disease of the central nervous system, and acupuncture works by stimulating the nervous system and helping to restore the normal firing patterns of the nerves. …

Thanks to advances in veterinary medicine - including an improved understanding of feline nutrition - cats are living longer these days. Due to their extended life spans, however, many cats are also 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…

You bring your ailing cat to the veterinarian and initially feel relieved to hear that shell make a complete recovery. But relief quickly turns to frustration when you realize her health depends on giving her pills in the prescribed dose at certain times for a specified duration. You remember previous scenarios when your cat fled from the room or hid under the middle of the bed at pill time, or deftly spit out the pill…

Letters to Tufts Veterinarians - Hyperesthesia syndrome; virus testing

Attention on FIP and vs-FCV Yunjeong Kim - a research assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University- has developed a research approach that simultaneously tackles two deadly infectious feline diseases. Coronavirus and calicivirus infections are very common among cats, and cats tend to get repeatedly infected by these viruses throughout their lifetime, explains Kim, who is employed in the colleges diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department. Feline coronavirus can cause gastroenteritis, and…

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Your cat may never leave the safety of your home. She may wear a collar with an ID tag. Even so, its a smart move to have your veterinarian implant a microchip, according to Emily McCobb, DVM, MS DACVAA, a clinical assistant professor at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. …