EMERGENCY CARE

The history of veterinary radiology - the use of photograph-like images to diagnose an internal physical abnormality that is otherwise invisible to a practitioners eye - can be traced back to a specific day in 1895. While working in his laboratory, a German physicist named Wilhelm Roentgen witnessed a phenomenon that until then had never been observed. …

The most common victims of cat bites are women, the elderly and children. Almost all cat bites occur when a cat is trapped, cornered, startled or restrained. 75 percent of cat bites involve the face, hands or arms. (Kids tend to get facial bites.) However, even with estimates ranging from 400,000 to 750,000 bites per year, cat bites account for only a small fraction of all mammalian bites in the US. …

Now that September has officially sprung, and weve said goodbye to the dog days of summer, its easy to get caught up in the back-to-school (and back to work) routine. But that doesnt mean we should ignore some of signs that our cats may send us when they need immediate veterinary attention. Following are the major alarms that signal our cat needs help, fast. Be sure to have access to an emergency veterinary facility. …

Over the past half-century, X-rays have become, by far, the most frequently relied upon radiologic means of diagnosing a wide variety of feline health problems, and they continue to play that leading role today. However, since the late 1980s the diagnostic value of X-rays has in many cases been superseded by a more complex, more revealing technology - computed tomography (CT) scanning. …

Busybody Buddy, always wanting to be wherever people are and never even ruffled by little kids, fell ill. The 11-year-old grey and white long-hair, rescued when he was two, was just not feeling well at all, says his owner, Susan Iuliano. He lost a bunch of weight and was really weak. One weekend he was so bad we took him to the emergency room. …

To take your cats pulse, lay your cat down on her right side or allow her to stand. Then follow these four steps.

Unfortunately, its simply impossible to predict when accidents will occur. But luckily, we can take steps to prevent them - or at least minimize their effects - when bad things happen to your cats. Take the case of Susan Westerson, of Rochester, New York, who lives with her now four-year-old Siamese cat, Darien. If it werent for fast action on Westersons part, Darien may never have reached his first birthday. Darien was gobbling down his food…

Your feisty cat Big Ben seems out of sorts. For the past few days, hes been hanging around the house, uncharacteristically lethargic and disinterested in his food. While petting him, you feel a small but distinct lump just to the side of his tail. You probe it gently, but Big Ben lets out a yowl, followed by a hiss. Obviously, this small lump is causing him pain. Its very likely that youve discovered an abscess - a clear sign that Big Ben is harboring an infection (and also a grumpy mood).

Chester is a 13-year-old diabetic orange tabby. When he first presented to my feline-only veterinary hospital five years ago, he had the classic signs of diabetes: excessive thirst, increased urination and weight loss despite an exceptionally good appetite. Making the diagnosis was easy. Chesters blood sugar was greater than 400 mg/dl (normal is somewhere in the 80 to 150 range) and he had lots of sugar in his urine. Most diabetics are male, like him. Most are middle aged, like him. Most are overweight - also like him. In fact, it was a classic textbook case.

Most people think of heartworm disease (HWD) as a disease that only impacts dogs. While its true that heartworm infection is much less common in cats than in dogs (the feline prevalence is approximately five percent as compared to 20 percent of the canine prevalence), cats most certainly do get heartworm disease.

When we suggest to clients that their cat should go on a ventilator, theyll often ask, Doesnt that mean the prognosis is really bad? explains Tufts emergency and critical veterinarian Armelle de Laforcade, DVM. And the truth is, she adds, if a cat is sick enough to be on a ventilator, shes pretty sick. In fact, when we first got a ventilator years ago, we tended to put a cat on it right before she died as a last resort.

Each day, dozens of injured or severely ill animals in urgent need of emergency medical care are brought by their owners to the Cummings Schools Foster Hospital for Small Animals. Unfortunately, its not uncommon for cats of all ages to be brought in due to blunt or penetrating head injuries. …