Five Most Common Cat Illnesses

January 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Cat Health

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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Potty Train Your Cat

October 24, 2009 by  
Filed under Cat Care

On hearing about it, training your cat to use the toilet may seem to be an impossible task. Believe it or not cat potty training is actually a reality. Although it can take time, you can successfully train your cat to use the toilet.

The reason it is possible to train cats is because they are intelligent animals. While humans behavior is based more on habit, a cat depends on instinct. Cats generally follow the instinct of scratching and covering the urine and feces; so an essential part of cat potty training is to stop this instinct.

You can choose from a number of different products available for potty training your cat. In order for cats to continue using litter, most of these products are supplied with inserts which you can place in the toilet. This has the effect of the cat thinking it is still using a litter box, until it is familiar with the toilet.

Therefore your cat will also get used to the toilet seat while using this new litter box. If you want to further facilitate training, you could fit a small pail under the toilet seat.

For those with an extra bathroom, the water here could be switched off and this room dedicated to training the cat. As the cat

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