Health

Cats typically defecate one to three times a day, depending in part on the food they eat. Constipation - an inability to routinely and easily produce stool - is a fairly common feline disorder, says Meredith L. Miller, DVM, ACVIM, a lecturer in small animal medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.

A neutered male Persian experiencing severe lower back pain had his owners concerned and his veterinarian puzzled. That prompted a referral to Cornell University Hospital for Animals, where the veterinary team turned to one of its most sophisticated diagnostic tools: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Did you get your cat from a shelter instead of a referral from a friend or relative? Does he sleep with you? Is he a senior? You just might be the typical cat owner in the U.S., at least among those described in the American Pet Product Associations latest owners survey.

Corticosteroids have proven effective in treating a variety of conditions from allergic reactions to brain disease, but they present a balancing act for both owners and veterinarians. Owners, faced with their cats experiencing any one of a long list of health problems, must weigh if long-term use is worth the risk of steroids side effects. At the same time, veterinarians must determine the lowest dose of medication to control the condition.

Hand-wrestling your kitten or newly adopted cat may seem like harmless play, but if either would happen to scratch you, you could develop an infection requiring treatment for cat scratch disease (CSD). This rare but potentially serious condition is estimated to affect about 12,500 people annually in the U.S., including 500 hospitalized for treatment. The incidence is higher than medical experts anticipated, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

I understand why you may want to use these devices for cleaning the air with three kitties in the house, and you are certainly not alone in doing this. Although kitties smell great to me, households with cats can sometimes generate odors that some people find objectionable, and there are a number of ways that owners choose to deal with this. Ionic air cleaners are one of the newer technologies that have been developed to address air pollutants.

As a species, cats have earned the reputation of being finicky eaters. But if your cat is avoiding food, dont dismiss it as mere feline pickiness. Avoidance of food can be a symptom of hepatic lipidosis, a common yet serious liver condition also known as fatty liver disease. If left untreated, hepatic lipidosis can be deadly.

At the close of each year, do you find yourself writing a list of ambitious resolutions to eat healthier and exercise more? Perhaps you decide to eat more kale and spend more time at yoga and less lounging on the couch. We often craft New Years resolutions with good intentions but rarely fully achieve them.

In advocating environmental enrichment for indoor-only cats, it calls food puzzles foraging devices. The journal warns that, if not managed appropriately, indoor life can contribute to health problems such as obesity and diabetes, and problem behaviors such as house-soiling and attention seeking. Nutrition is the most pressing subject that cat owners want to discuss with the veterinarian, but the same survey, conducted at the end of summer, found that 60 percent of owners dont regularly take their cat to the veterinarian.

Eye problems occur frequently in cats with feline herpes virus 1 (FHV-1) and can lead to blindness if untreated. Current medications must be applied several times daily and evidence of their effectiveness is lacking.

If your usually confident cat starts acting confused, bumping into objects and having difficulty finding his food bowl, he could have a rare but serious condition. Sudden blindness can develop seemingly overnight and needs immediate veterinary intervention. Depending on the timing, an ophthalmologist may be able to preserve some vision. The condition has many causes, from central nervous system disease to inflammation; however, As a veterinary ophthalmologist, I would say the most common cause of sudden blindness that I see among cats who appeared otherwise normal prior to the vision loss is a condition called hypertensive retinopathy, says Eric C. Ledbetter, DVM, ACVO, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Cornell University Hospital for Animals.

Not too long ago, conventional wisdom held that animals felt little pain and providing relief was unnecessary after spaying and neutering. Veterinary medicine today emphasizes the recognition and management of pain in animals, with professional organizations issuing guidelines, offering courses for members and expanding efforts to educate owners. Researchers, too, are pursuing pain relief, in one case discovering that a novel method of drug delivery for spayed cats provides relief.