Five Most Common Cat Illnesses

When taking care of your cat it is a good idea to know about the different types of cat illnesses that can affect your kitty.

Urinary tract infection
Some cats will be in noticeable pain when using litter box and you may see some blood in their urine.

Frequent trips to the litter box and accidents are common. If any of your cat’s litter box habits change you should take him in to vet for a check up to see if \ there is urinary tract infection

If caught early enough this can be cleared up with antibiotics given.

If not there can be complications with spreading to the kidneys and much more pain. Could be a blockage that prevent cat from urinating and this is life threatening.

Upper Respiratory Infection
Like humans cats can catch colds too but it is much more fatal for them. A cat kept strictly indoors is at less risk.
This is highly contagious and is spread through contact with an infected cat to another cat.

Symptoms include: coughing, sneeze, running nose, fever, watery eyes, harsh meow.
Warning signs you should look for: not eating or drinking, lethargic.
If you notice your cat is less active and not eating or drinking anything this can be quite serious. Seek medical attention at once.
This kind of infection is caused by a virus and antibiotics are given. Antibiotics is not given to treat but rather to keep any other infections from forming.
Some medications are given to help in breaking up the mucous so your cat has easier time in breathing.
Severe cases cat may become so dehydrated that they require use of a drip.

Feline Panleukopemia
Also known as feline distemper and caused by a virus. This is contagious and spread through litter box, contaminated food and water. Be careful if you are have a mult-cat household.
Signs to be aware of: lifeless and lethargic, vomiting, diarrhea that is severe, not eating or drinking, dry skin from being dehydrated, fur falling out.
See your vet if you suspect your cat has this.
No medications to be treated but antibiotics to help keep other infections from happening.
A white blood count is also used to confirm the diagnosis of felinen panleukopemia.
Many cats end up dying from this as it is difficult to fight off.
Good news though there is a vaccine you can give your cat to help prevent this from happening.

Chronic Kidney Failure
More common in older cats and part of natural aging. When kidneys are not working properly than waste is not able to be removed from the body.
Signs: constipation, no appetite, lethargy, nausea, vomiting.
As this progresses more water is needed to process any toxins in body. Vet gives blood and urine tests to check for kidney failure.
There is no known cure but some treatments are available to help cat live a longer life.
Most common treatment is a IV drip or diaylsis.

Diabetes
Not enough insulin in body to maintain proper blood sugar level. If not treated in time a cat will not live a very long life.
Early symptoms: Increased appetite with no weight gain, may even see weight loss, drink and urinate in excess, frail, tiredness, vomit, diarrhea, muscle weakness, trouble breathing, dehydrated.
In later stages cat will become less active. Ketoacidosis happens in some cats. This is a complication when there is no sugar in body
Testing is done through blood and urine samples to determine if have diabetes.
Treatment consists of shots once or twice a day for insulin and some sort of special diet. If cat has become dehydrated will need be treated.

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Antibiotics? I Think Not

Have you noticed that doctors are now being much more reluctant to give you a prescription for antibiotics unless it’s proven that you are indeed suffering from a bacterial infection? Well, I wish I could say better late than never, but in the case of antibiotics, we’re far too late.

Antibiotics were once touted as a modern miracle and they did indeed save lives, once upon a time. The problem has been that they have been so widely overused and not just for bacterial infections, but for every single thing doctors didn’t know how to treat. In fact, even if the illness was viral, we were routinely given a prescription for antibiotics so we would happily go home and feel as though the doctor helped us get well.

The truth is, we would’ve been far better off NOT getting those antibiotics for every single illness we encountered. Our immune systems would’ve been much more helped if we’d stayed home and rested, drank lots of fluids, and boosted our immune system with natural herbal and homeopathic remedies and whole food supplements.

The reason is, since antibiotics have been so widely overused, superbugs have emerged that are leaving us vulnerable with no recourse – UNLESS your immune system is strong because you and your pets have been eating natural diets, using whole food and natural supplements, and exercising, so that your body is protected naturally.

By relying so heavily upon antibiotics to be our cure-all, along with steroids (a subsequent article will elaborate on this horrible drug) we’ve compromised our and our pets immune systems and left them wide open and susceptible to these superbugs that are continuing to emerge all the time.

“Our society has been conditioned with quick-fix and band-aid medicine. We know from experience that this, often times, only gives temporary relief and in fact can generate a rebound effect of symptoms or undesirable side effects. Complimentary medicine, in particular Homeopathy and Herbs, can play a very large part in the successful rearing of our animals. Homeopathy and Herbs are essentially, natural healing processes, providing remedies to assist the patient to regain health by stimulating the body’s natural forces of recovery. They concentrate on treating the patient, rather than the disease.” Marina Zacharias, author of Healthy Breeding with Herbs and Homeopathy. http://www.naturalrearing.com

The good news is there are alternatives we can use that will give us healthy, strong pets that can resist these superbugs. First, by using a homeopathic or holistic veterinarian, you can talk to them about what your options are for helping keep your pet at their optimal health. Each animal is as different as each of us. If you care for your pets in a holistic way, meaning for the entire animal rather than waiting to treat a specific ailment, you will already be ahead of the game.

By feeding food natural to your pet’s species, such as a raw food diet for cats and dogs, and incorporating whole food supplements, prebiotics and probiotics, you won’t need to concern yourselves about antibiotics and their detrimental side effects.

Something that is also happening is not just superbugs that can be transmitted from animals to humans, but one I know of that can only be transmitted from HUMANS to ANIMALS, and this superbug is called MRSA. While it isn’t as evident in the USA, it is rapidly becoming a problem in the UK. It is a superbug, bacterial infection that has developed as a result of overusing antibiotics. I have a dear new friend who lost her companion and friend, Bella, a beautiful Samoyed dog, to this dreaded bacteria. http://thebellamossfoundation.com

Jesse Dallas, author of Are Antibiotics Making Your Pet Sick? writes “The body should have 80% friendly bacteria and about 20% bad bacteria inside the intestinal tract. After the use of antibiotics, the body will have no more than 20% friendly bacteria and 80% bad bacteria if not more.

-Most illness, disease and problems begin in the intestinal tract. Thus, antibiotics create the potential for serious illness to begin.

-You may not be giving your pet antibiotics, but if it has ever eaten foods with preservatives, you have been giving your pet what I call ‘hidden antibiotics’. The job of preservatives is to control bacteria and once your pet eats food with preservatives, it will ultimately have an effect inside the intestinal tract too and kill the friendly bacteria.

-You should expect it will take at the least 1 year to recolonize the intestinal tract with friendly bacteria after the use of antibiotics.

-Recolonize the intestinal tract with friendly bacteria by using supplements and feeding natural foods.” http://www.pet-grub.com

Now is the time to be proactive and change this. By not remaining apathetic, but by taking action in your life and the lives of your pets, we can and will make a difference.

One more thing that is giving us much hope and one that has me jumping for joy are therapeutic grade essential oils. In 1985 Dr. Jean Claude Lapraz, MD did a study using the therapeutic grade essential oils Oregano and Cinnamon in testing their “antibiotic” like qualities. What he found was that not one single bacteria or virus can live in the presence of these oils!

That is the direction I’ve taken for myself, family and pets and I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

Originally published for the Holistic Pet Care topic on Suite101.com
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