Health

If your cat kept a diary, it might read something like this: Yesterday, I slept, ate, slept some more, chased a paper ball, napped, ate again and napped. While that may describe a cats typical day, it wont necessarily help you or your veterinarian if your cat develops a health or behavior problem. "Keeping a diary for your cat is a good idea in general, but particularly when your cat is ill," says Drew Weigner, DVM, who is board-certified by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. Keep Track of the Basics. At a minimum, you should track your cats veterinary visits, vaccinations, flea treatments and any medications your cat takes. Beyond that, record anything that is unusual for your particular pet. For example, if you change your cats diet, note the date and track changes (such as vomiting or diarrhea). Or, if your cat urinates more or less often than usual, record that in the diary. "If there is anything unusual, or if you start seeing something more often, you should take a trip to the veterinarian," says Dr. Weigner, whose practice is The Cat Doctor in Atlanta, Georgia. If your cat exhibits any changes in behavior, you should note anything unusual thats happened in the house, such as human visitors or changes in the environment. Are strange cats hanging around outside? "Anything can act as a trigger," says Dr. Weigner. "Keeping a journal helps separate the subjective from whats objective. If you keep a log of it, you know for sure."

Although one cat may be prettier, smarter or more athletic than another, nature plays no favorites when it comes to doling out heart disease. All cats are at potential risk for serious insult to this vital organ. In some cases, the signs are obvious to the trained eye. In others, a serious heart disorder can remain hidden for years before finally expressing itself in a sudden, perhaps fatal, deterioration of function. The best thing that owners can do is to make sure their cats have thorough medical checkups - at least once a year - during which the veterinarian pays close attention to the heart. While examination with a stethoscope cannot detect all feline heart diseases, its probably the most cost-effective approach to diagnosis in otherwise healthy cats. Congenital Defects. Most feline heart disorders are acquired during the course of an animals life, but others are present at birth. However, says John Bonagura, DVM, a professor of veterinary clinical sciences at the Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital, congenital feline cardiac disease is relatively rare, occurring only in an estimated one or two percent of kittens. The most common congenital disorders, he notes, are heart valve malformations and holes in the septa. Abnormal valve development most often involves the mitral valve, located between the left atrium and the left ventricle. While a number of structural problems can occur, the end result is typically a valve that cannot close properly and thus allows blood to leak backwards into the atrium. Holes in the septa most frequently affect the membrane partitioning the right and left ventricles and may also cause the inappropriate flow of blood between the heart chambers.

One of your favorite things about your cat is her sleek, shining fur. Lately, though, it seems like your cat has been having a bad fur day. Nothing can be more frustrating and annoying than skin disorders. Nutritional deficiencies or food hypersensitivity; parasites; fungal, viral and bacterial infections; and environmental allergens can cause problems that range from dry, brittle hair and coat to baldness and open wounds. "Most skin diseases are simple and straightforward," says William Miller, Jr., VMD, professor of dermatology at Cornell Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, "and common problems such as flea bite allergies, abscesses (see related article in this issue) and ear mites are easily recognized, treated and resolved." If a cat can absorb the nutrients in food and is being fed a nutritionally complete diet, food is probably not the cause of the skin problem. If a cat has abnormal absorption or a gastrointestinal disease, or is being fed nutritionally inadequate home-cooked food or unbalanced "people" food, the problem may show up either as vomiting or diarrhea or as skin disease. "We dont usually see both," says Dr. Miller. The more esoteric causes of skin disorders are allergies, and they may require some investigative work to uncover. "From a dermatologic point of view, we see allergic reactions more often than other skin problems," says Dr. Miller. "And you cant always tell if the allergy is to food, drugs, pollen or other sources."

House Resolution 3501 - more commonly referred to as the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years, or HAPPY Act - would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual to deduct up to $3,500 for "qualified pet care expenses."These expenses are defined as "amounts paid in connection with providing care (including veterinary care) for a qualified pet other than any expense in connection with the acquisition of the qualified pet." "Qualified pet" is defined as "a legally owned, domesticated, live animal." It does not include animals used for research or owned or used in conjunction with a trade or business. Introduced on July 31, the measure was drafted in conjunction with data from the American Pet Products Associations National Pet Owners Survey. It has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) issued a Pet Alert on Aug. 5 supporting the proposal. "Providing pet owners the opportunity to deduct pet care expenses is an important step towards ensuring that pet owners provide adequate veterinary and other necessary pet care," PIJAC stated. "It encourages responsible pet ownership and will hopefully reduce the abandonment of pets by people struggling as a result of the economic downturn."

One of the main problems is ensuring that the diet is nutritionally balanced. Although it may appear that cats can live and even thrive scrounging for food on their own, a cats nutritional requirements are actually quite complex. When cats eat prey, they ingest the whole animal - and it can be hard to duplicate this "complete" diet with muscle meats and other foods obtained from a grocery store. It also takes a lot of time, expense and knowledge to prepare a well-balanced diet, and many published recipes for home cooked pet diets have been found to be nutritionally incomplete. Even when the diet is balanced, it needs to be prepared so that picky cats cant selectively eat only certain ingredients. Unbalanced Diets & Nutritional Diseases. The veterinary literature is full of documented cases linking improper diets to nutritional diseases, some of which are fatal. Well-meaning owners feeding all-meat diets have caused serious calcium deficiencies resulting in catastrophic bone fractures. While bones contain calcium, feeding cooked bones may cause intestinal blockages or perforations, leading to peritonitis (a potentially fatal infection in the abdomen). Large amounts of tuna fish can cause thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiencies, resulting in neurologic disease (tuna cat foods are supplemented with thiamine to prevent problems). Deficiencies of the amino acid, taurine, result in blindness and cardiomyopathy (a potentially fatal weakness of the heart muscle). Interestingly, while muscle meats contain large amounts of taurine, grinding the meat can reduce taurine levels enough to cause deficiencies.

Ever since one of your beloved cats died several weeks ago, youve been feeling pretty down. People who have been through the same experience tell you this is normal after such a loss. But then you notice that your other cat is eating a lot less, doesnt play like he used to and wanders around the house, yowling, as if he was looking for his lost companion. Do cats grieve like we do? And if so, are there things we can do to help them? Animals and Emotions. Its only within the last ten years or so that scientists have begun to recognize that animals lead rich emotional lives. There is evidence that cats and other animals experience emotional responses to significant changes in their environment - and this includes going through the grieving process after the loss of feline or human companions. "What is important for people to realize is that the same brain neurochemistry that allows humans to feel is the same neurochemistry that many animals have - including cats. Cats can mourn," says Katherine Houpt, VMD, PhD, the James Law Professor of Behavior Medicine at Cornell Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine.

A wide variety of irritants — from minor and transient to severe and indicative of a major health problem — can affect any portion of the feline respiratory system, whose purpose is to warm and humidify inhaled air, deliver oxygen to the lungs, and expel carbon dioxide and other waste gases. A complex pathway of tracts and organs, the upper respiratory system consists of the nose; two nasal passages; the nasal cavity (a hollow structure surrounded by air-filled spaces that are situated just above and below the eyes); and the pharynx (a cavity behind the mouth) that opens, via a passageway called the larynx; to a tubular structure, the trachea, a flexible tube commonly referred to as the windpipe.

Governor Linda Lingle, accompanied by State Civil Defense Director, Major General Robert Lee, highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness by showcasing Hawaiis ongoing emergency shelter programs for people with special health needs and pet-friendly shelters. State Civil Defense, working with the State Department of Education, county civil defense agencies, American Red Cross, Department of Health, Hawaiian Humane Society and other public and private sector partners, has designated 158 facilities statewide that may serve as Special Health Needs shelters, and another 55 facilities that may be used as Pet-Friendly shelters. These shelters are located in separate rooms or buildings on public school campuses where general population emergency shelters are also located.

One of your favorite things about your cat is her sleek, shining fur. Lately, though, it seems like your cat has been having a bad fur day - and she hasnt seemed very interested in grooming herself over the past week or so. Whats going on? "A decline in grooming or a change in the cats fur are some of the subtle signs that your cat may be ill," says Jane Brunt, DVM, of the Cat Hospital At Towson in Baltimore, Maryland. In fact, you can view your cats fur as a barometer of her overall health and well-being. If you do notice a change, report it to your veterinarian so that you can take steps to start treatment quickly. Ilness Indicator. One of the most common fur changes in cats is the loss of hair. You might notice clumps of fur coming out when you pet her, or her fur might just start to look patchy and scraggly. Causes for hair loss - called alopecia - include skin parasites (fleas and mites) and internal parasites (tapeworms or roundworms). These culprits indirectly rob your cats body of vital nutrients.

Blood can be the gift of life not just for us, but also for our cats. "A cat suffering severe injury or trauma may require blood transfusions," says Marjory Brooks, DVM, associate director of the coagulation section at Cornell Universitys Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory. Other indications for transfusion include surgical complications and anemia caused by autoimmune disease, renal failure, chemotherapy, parasites in the intestinal tract or fleas. "Young kittens are especially at risk for blood-loss anemia caused by flea infestation," explains Dr. Brooks. Cats that need plasma proteins to combat liver disease, clotting problems or rat poisoning may also require a transfusion. Qualified Donors. Just like human donors, feline donors are required to take a battery of tests prior to giving blood - and not every cat qualifies. One qualification is weight: A donor cat usually weighs from 10 to 12 pounds. "The bigger the cat, the less risk of hypotension (low blood pressure) after donation," says Dr. Brooks.

Baycom Diagnostics, Inc. has developed a cost effective diagnostic kit for monitoring and testing feline and canine diabetes. Currently, veterinarians use hand held glucose meters to test cats and dogs for the potential of diabetes. These meters are a critical part of human diabetes management, yet often do not work well with small animals, are expensive and must be used several times a day. The companys president says veterinarians could administer Baycoms product in a simple, easy test once every 90 days to get an accurate measurement.

Digestive system disorders in general are among the most frequently observed health problems in cats. While many of these disorders are primarily associated with organs such as the liver, pancreas and gall bladder - all of which play a crucial role in the digestive process - plenty of them are centered in the alimentary canal, the long tube leading from a cats mouth to its anus. Most Common. By far the most prevalent feline digestive tract disorder, says Dr. Bartges, is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The condition, characteristically evidenced by chronic vomiting and diarrhea, is widely thought to be the consequence of several different disorders involving the feline immune system. The changes that are consistently found upon microscopic analysis in the lining (mucosa) of an affected cats intestines - a superabundance of immune system cells, for example - suggest that abnormal immune system activity may precipitate the disease.