EMERGENCY CARE

Rocking chairs, a foot landing in the wrong place, a door closing at the wrong time - all of these can cause tail injuries. Still, we dont see that many cat tail injuries, says Armelle de Laforcade, DVM, an emergency and critical care veterinarian at Tufts Foster Hospital for Small Animals. In the grand scheme of emergencies that come in, it isnt all that common.

On television shows, rescuing a cat from a tree becomes a noisy neighborhood affair. Onlookers are shouting to each other and the fire fighter climbing through the upper limbs is calling down with progress reports. All that noise is the last thing a scared cat needs and wont help coaxing it into the arms of rescuers.

Your cat is having a bout of vomiting. Do you rush him to the doctor? What if he hasnt urinated all day, or goes through the day with zero interest in food or water? Here is a look at six common signs of illness in cats, and whether they can wait or signal emergencies that need immediate medical attention.

Our Persian kitten still has a few more months to go before turning one year old, but she is already having breathing difficulties. What could be the matter?

A healthy cats impressive physical traits - strength, agility and lightning-fast responses to external stimuli - are essentially attributable to the structure and versatility of her musculoskeletal system. However, this system is also subject to a variety of disorders that can seriously compromise a cats quality of life and agility. Even worse, such disorders often defy prompt recognition and treatment.

Consider this frightening occurrence: A cat darts into the street near his home and is struck by a 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 should be euthanized, or the fractured limb should be amputated.

Feline injection site sarcoma (FISS) is an aggressive form of cancer in cats associated with the administration of vaccines and injectable medications, affecting about one in 1,000 vaccinated cats. This cancer was once thought to be a rare side-effect of rabies vaccines, but experts now believe it can occur following any kind of injection -even microchipping.

Most cats are likely to contract an upper respiratory disease at some point during their lives. Although a wide range of viral and bacterial agents may be responsible for these common disorders, perhaps the most frequently diagnosed is infection with the feline herpesvirus (FHV).

Diabetes mellitus is a frequently diagnosed disease of the feline pancreas, a relatively small, thin organ nestled in the front portion of a cats abdomen.

Digestive system disorders are among the most frequently observed health problems in cats. Many of these disorders may be directly associated with organs such as the liver, pancreas and gall bladder, all of which play a crucial role in the digestive process. Many others, however, may arise in the alimentary canal, the long tube leading from a cats mouth and extending the full length of the animals body. A signal that something has gone wrong somewhere within this passageway often takes the form of a process scientifically termed emesis - but most commonly referred to as vomiting.

I have a cat that has a problem with a weeping eye (at the nose), a condition she has had for several years.

Theres an abundance of kittens right now. Go visit the local shelter and have a look. Or peruse Craigslist or other Internet sites and see how many unwanted litters are out there.