CatWatch, the newsletter for cat people.

Volume 12
Number 5
May 2008

May 2008

The Gluttonous Cat
You merely open your eyes in the morning — and your cat sprints to the kitchen. You head for the refrigerator and trip over the cat, who is winding around your legs, begging for food. Is the food gone as soon as it hits the bowl? Worse yet, does your cat wake you up in the middle of the night to be fed? There’s always a reason for excessive hunger in cats. Sometimes it signals underlying illness; sometimes it’s a matter of conditioning or boredom. Here’s what you need to know about your ravenous cat. It seems obvious to say that a cat that is overweight is eating too much. "But it all depends on the cat," says Kathryn E. Michel, DVM, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania. "Some cats can choice-feed. If you leave out food, they’ll eat what they want and maintain a good weight. Other cats will eat everything you put out for them and then look for more."

Cats and High Blood Pressure
As cats reach the age of eight or nine (the rough equivalent of 40 or 50 in a human), they may begin to show signs of age-related physical disorders that may or may not increase in severity as the animals continue their transition into old age. Some feline geriatric conditions, of course, may ultimately prove fatal. Others, however, may be amenable to medical therapy that can extend the life of an elderly cat for several years. Hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure) is one of the latter disorders. If untreated, it can lead to blindness and possible damage to the heart, kidneys and brain. But given an accurate assessment of its cause and prompt initiation of appropriate veterinary treatment, the condition is most often manageable, says Richard Goldstein, DVM, an associate professor of small animal medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine who is board-certified by both the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Feline hypertension, he notes, "occurs far more frequently than people think."

Diagnosis: Otitis Externa
Among all acquired feline ear disorders, the most common by far is otitis externa, an infection of the outer ear canal that, if untreated, can progress to the inner ear, damage the ear drum, and seriously compromise an animal’s hearing as well as its sense of balance. The most common cause of this unpleasant condition and its potentially deafening consequences is an assault on the ear by an outside invader, the ear mite. In some cases, however, the culprit is an organism that normally resides harmlessly within a cat’s ear — a one-celled fungus, or yeast, known as Malessezia. "All feline ears have Malassezia in them," explains William Miller, VMD, a board-certified member of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology and medical director at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. "It’s just part of the natural flora. But if something changes the climate in the ear, the organisms begin to multiply and become too numerous — and you end up with infection."

Help Your Kitten Develop Healthy Eating Habits
For cat lovers, few things are more pleasurable to witness than the astounding progress that a kitten makes in terms of physical development during the first year of its life. Typically weighing about three and a half ounces at birth, a kitten — if properly fed — will gain as much as a half-ounce per day; its birthweight will double in the first week; and it will have tripled its birthweight by the time it is three weeks old. As the weeks pass, the little creature’s rate of growth rate will gradually slow, but it will reach its adult size by the it is 10 or 12 months old. Passage through the first year — transitioning from total dependency on its mother’s milk to the cutting of its baby teeth and its introduction to an adult diet — can present a formidable challenge to a young cat. Throughout this period, during which the kitten's weight increases 50-fold, it can use all the loving care and attention it can get from its owner, especially in meeting its nutritional needs.

Strange Litter Box Behavior
You walk into the bathroom and find your cat sleeping contentedly in her litter box. (Luckily, you had just cleaned it.) Is this normal behavior? Should you get her out or let her stay? Your cat’s litter box can sometimes trigger unexpected behaviors from her. Some of these habits might seem weird or annoying to us, but they are, actually, perfectly normal to your cat. But there are other behaviors that are more dangerous and require your intervention. Here are the most "common" strange litter habits and what to do about them. It may not seem like the best place to play to you, but cats will often convert their litter box into a sandbox. Often this starts in kittenhood and continues into adulthood with an occasional playtime in the box. "Some cats like to sleep in their litter, even hide in it," says Stefanie Schwartz, DVM, a veterinary behaviorist with Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston who is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. "This is normal if the litter is clean — or even a bit soiled, but dry."

When Your Cat Pants
Your cat bounds up the stairs as usual. But when she gets to the top, she sits and pants — certainly not the usual. Should you worry, wait and see if she does it again or call your veterinarian immediately? In general, cats don’t pant as dogs do. Dogs pant to cool themselves off, and it’s normal. While some cats pant from stress, pain or excitement, panting isn’t usually normal for a cat, and you should probably consider taking action if it happens. What exactly is panting? Panting differs from regular breathing. Normal inhalation is an easy movement of the chest outward, with exhalation pulling the chest gently inward. Exhalation usually lasts three times longer than inhalation. The result is that entering air goes deep inside the lungs, where there is an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide via the blood vessels.

The High-Maintenance Cat
Have you ever thought that your cat was hyperactive? Can a cat really suffer from hyperactivity? It seems that indoor cats are inclined to expend energy based on the schedules of their families. When people sleep, cats sleep. People move about, and cats follow. Well, maybe they follow. On a sunny day, a cat might elect to extend his nap rather than stroll along. Although it is common for house cats to engage willingly when offered an opportunity to play, they are generally ready to return to rest when the computer or television set is turned on. But it is not uncommon to encounter a cat that is just a bit busier. This would be the cat that nearly always joins in the household activity. When the shower is in use, this cat will play with the curtain. As his people wash and shave, the busy cat bats the water. And no open newspaper or computer keyboard is without a pair of paws.