Health

Lymphoma is the most common cancer diagnosed in cats, and while several prognostic factors have been documented, another factor recently considered to be important is weight loss. Body weight over time may be a simple, objective and useful marker of patient status.

Dear Elizabeth: We adopted a new kitten from a local rescue group last month, and she is just perfect. Although she had been tested for the leukemia virus and FIV by the terrific group that saved her from the street, we took her to our veterinarian right away so that she could be examined before we introduced her to our two older cats. After a clean bill of health, we brought Bunny home, and she has become part of the family. The problem is that before we scheduled her spay surgery, she came into heat. What a scene!

Investigations into potential treatments for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and chronic kidney disease were among ten projects selected by the Winn Feline Foundation from 44 proposals to receive $174,018 in funding. The investigation by Belgium researchers to evaluate the efficacy of a treatment for feline infectious peritonitis received the most funding at $24,962.

Among all acquired feline ear disorders, the most common by far is otitis externa, an infection of the outer ear canal that, if left 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.

Among all acquired feline ear disorders, the most common by far is otitis externa, an infection of the outer ear canal that, if left 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.

Owners often bring their cats to the veterinarian due to a bout of constipation, which can have a variety of causes. Veterinary treatment includes determining and eliminating the cause, if possible, along with medical and sometimes surgical management. Medical therapy often includes the use of laxatives, enemas and prokinetic agents (like cisapride). Psyllium is a soluble fiber that produces a mucilaginous gel that helps to increase fecal bulk. It also adds to stool bulk by other water-holding properties. Psyllium has been found to increase stool frequency and consistency in humans with idiopathic constipation.

Diagnostic decision-making can sometimes present a challenge to veterinary clinicians when they are presented with an apparently healthy adult cat with a heart murmur. Murmurs can be associated with cardiac disease — though some studies have also identified benign causes of murmurs in cats. Auscultation alone will not differentiate the cause of the murmur and additional diagnostics will be required. Feline murmurs can be inducible (upon physical provocation such as stress, fear or pain) or non-inducible (continuously present). A high percentage of cats with inducible murmurs appear to have no evidence of structural heart disease.

For many years, Katherine Goldberg, DVM, worked in veterinary critical and intensive care units. As she found herself becoming increasingly interested in the stories behind the emergencies, she was moved to make a difference for terminally ill pets. In 2010, she founded Whole Animal Veterinary Hospice Services, a practice whose mission is to provide “compassionate care in the comfort of your home.” She now spends most of her time doing just that. We spoke with Dr. Goldberg at a recent presentation in Ithaca, NY, where her practice is based. What exactly is veterinary hospice? The word “hospice” — which has the same root as “hospitality” — originally meant a place of shelter for weary travelers. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s groundbreaking book On Death and Dying helped to jumpstart the human hospice movement, and the term “hospice” began to be used to describe specialized care for dying people.

World’s Best Cat Litter™ recently announced that Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary of St. Pauls, NC was randomly selected from a fan submission to win the first round of GiveLitter™ for the year. The shelter will receive 2012 pounds of litter that will help its hardworking staff clean up after blind cats currently looking for homes.

I’m hoping that you can help me solve a very frustrating problem. My cat Jessica is a six-year-old Siamese. Her skin has become very dry and flakey, and I think it must be very itchy. She’s constantly scratching at herself, sometimes so roughly that little clumps of her coat fall out. I haven’t taken her to see a veterinarian yet, but a neighbor told me that I should be giving Jessica omega-3 supplements. But omega-3 comes from fish oil, and I think that Jessica is allergic to fish, so I’m afraid to do that. Are there any other sources of omega-3? What other ingredients in her food could be making her so uncomfortable?

Into the lives of many cats of a certain age comes a certain diagnosis: hyperthyroidism. Susan Steiner’s cat was no exception. At 12 years of age, Grey’s weight had diminished to a mere five pounds. Faced with the less-than-appealing choices of invasive surgery or expensive radiation treatment, she opted for a third choice: medication. Every morning and every evening, Ms. Steiner pulverized a half-tablet of methimazole, carefully mixed the powder with the most appealing canned cat food she could find, and hand fed it to her senior cat. That was 15 years ago. Changes that have since occurred in the world of hyperthyroidism might have made her choices different today.

In this recent study (“Prevalence of fecal-borne parasites detected by centrifugal flotation in feline samples from two shelters in upstate New York,” in Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2011), fecal samples from 1,322 cats from two shelters and foster homes in upstate New York were processed for parasite detection over three-and-a-half years. All samples were processed by zinc sulfate and sugar double centrifugal flotation.