CAT HEALTH & MEDICINE

In a normal cat, the transmission of these signals is governed by the central nervous system, which determines whether the neurons fire or are inhibited from doing so according to her various needs and desires. Unfortunately, this complex process goes awry in an estimated one percent or so of the general feline population. And when this occurs, a cat may experience a disturbing phenomenon broadly referred to as a seizure.

Mast cell tumors are growths that commonly affect the skin of dogs, and, less commonly, cats. They are potentially serious, since some mast cell tumors are malignant. Luckily, they are often determined to be benign.

The number of cats infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) has increased by 48 percent since 2009.

First discovered in Central Africa in 1976, the Ebola virus causes its victim to develop a fever and bleed internally and externally. Once the disease progresses, the virus has a 50 to 90 percent fatality rate in humans - and for now, there is no cure. Scientists attribute the introduction of the Ebola virus to fruit bats, and a growing concern is how the virus affects animals. The virus has also been detected in monkeys, chimpanzees,…

Knowing when its time to euthanize a beloved cat is obviously never easy, not even when your cat has reached a venerable age. When shes young or middle-aged but suffering from a serious illness or traumatic injury, it becomes even more difficult.

Among all feline health problems, disorders that affect the intestinal tract rank among those that are most frequently diagnosed and treated by veterinarians. According to Linda Ross, DVM, an associate professor of small animal medicine at the Cummings school, The most common presenting complaints of such conditions are vomiting and diarrhea. At our clinic, we treat cats with these problems on a weekly basis. At a primary care facility, I would guess that veterinarians see multiple animals per week with one intestinal disorder or another.

Important update on FIVAccording to a new study published in The Veterinary Journal, FIV-positive and FIV-negative cats seem to be able to live together harmoniously without the disease being transmitted among the group members.

Youve probably heard a lot of this lately: Grain free. No gluten added. Have you seen descriptions such as these on cat food - or in advertisements? Grain-free is a big new trend in cat food. Proponents argue that cats are healthier without grains or gluten - that they have fewer allergies and better digestion. But do they actually have any scientifically-established benefits?

Aging cats are especially prone to a number of diseases, and feline hepatic lipidosis is one of them. Also known as fatty liver syndrome, its an accumulation of fats (lipids) in the liver tissue. While the predilection of cats to this disease is incompletely understood, experts theorize that it may result from the way they metabolize proteins and fats. This disease is unique to cats - overweight cats are particularly predisposed - and is one of the most common liver diseases seen in the species.

Bladder stones are fairly common in cats - they are among the more common surgical problems we see in the urinary tract, says John Berg, DVM, DACVS, Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. We usually see them in middle-aged or older cats. Bladder stones are rock-like deposits of minerals and organic material that can range in size from tiny pieces the size of grit or sand, to small pebbles several millimeters across. They are unrelated to gallstones, which are rare in cats.

Convincing our cats to do whats good for them isnt always easy. But if your cat has a history of bladder stones, or is simply getting a little older, you may want to try these approaches to get him to drink up: Feed canned foods. Canned foods contain more water than dry food.

reservatives in cat foodQThere 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?