EVERYDAY CAT CARE

A number of years ago, researchers reported the case of a New Mexico boy who ended up with bubonic plague after he let his cat share his bed. It turned out the cat was infested with fleas who carried the disease, and the boy ended up with flea bites. Another woman who let her cat lick her awake every morning ended up with a serious sinus infection. Yet someone else developed lesions and itchiness on her trunk and arms after her cat, infested with mites, slept in her bed; she was diagnosed with a parasitic infection known as Cheyletiella blakei.

It’s not just the booms of the fireworks that cats hate. It’s the comings and goings of people attending your barbecue, the overall differentness of the day. Cats derive so much comfort from things being predictable. When the flow of daily events is thrown off, your pet is thrown off, too. Here’s how to make the holiday more bearable for your feline family member.

It’s often said that the best life for a pet cat is entirely indoors because that will keep her safest. But the new 2024 Position Statement on indoor/outdoor lifestyle from the American Academy of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) makes it clear that the truth is more nuanced.

The COVID pandemic led to more Zooming and FaceTiming, including for veterinary care. And it may be easy to assume that most people have come to prefer such virtual vet visits because it’s more convenient and less stressful than taking your cat to the doctor. But they don’t.

Cardboard? Jute? Hemp? What’s the best material for your cat’s scratching post? Cats will vary in their preferences, but research suggests it’s hard to go wrong with either sisal rope for a cat who’s young or middle aged or carpet for a cat who’s older than 10.

Q: There is a difference in vaccine recommendations for people and those for cats that I find confusing. With people, the interval between vaccinations varies depending on the shot. For instance, people get a shot against tetanus every 10 years and a shingles shot just once. But cats are supposed to get all their core vaccines once a year. Why is that? Does the immunity from the diseases the shots protect against always wane so quickly?

Have you ever seen the word “new” or “improved” on a cat food label? If so, it shouldn’t be there for more than the first six months of production. “It’s not new forever,” says the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), whose guidelines are generally written into law by each state legislature.

When your cat goes for his physical, the vet should check his eyes for injury, infections, and disease. But cats don’t much like people poking around their faces, especially their doctors. That’s why you might want to adjust your cat to the idea of hands near his eyes at home.

Is your cat white, or mostly white? And does he like to lounge by the window for hours in warm weather, soaking up the sun’s rays? Then apply sunscreen that has been formulated for cats, focusing on his nose, the tips of his ears, his belly and groin areas, and anywhere else on his body with thin to no fur to protect his skin. Even through a closed window, the sun’s harmful rays can cause painful sunburn and set the stage for squamous cell carcinoma, a common skin cancer in cats.

Feline skin is second only to the feline lymphatic system as the site of lumps and bumps—various tumors, cysts, and other abnormal growths, known medically as neoplasms. Sometimes these growths grow alarmingly large. But even when they’re small, they concern people with cats—for good reason. No one wants to see or feel swellings on their pet’s coat that shouldn’t be there. “I am asked to evaluate them daily,” says Tufts veterinary internist Michael Stone, DVM.