Health

Few things in the life of a cat owner are sweeter than the sight of a newborn kitten, weighing just a few ounces, its eyes tightly shut, nursing contentedly at its mother’s nipple. A healthy kitten will nurse every 20 minutes or so, typically for about eight weeks, during which time its mother’s milk will fulfill all of the little animal’s nutritional needs

The feline pancreas is a slender, pale pink, V-shaped strip of tissue that is tucked snugly within the right-hand side of a cats abdomen, at a junction between its kidney and its duodenum (the beginning portion of the intestine as it leaves the stomach).

For the first several years of her life, your cat Tina was slim, agile and remarkably athletic. In the past year or so, however, Tina, formerly light on her feet, has become heavy in her body. You can no longer see or feel her ribs. She seems to have accumulated a pad of fat over her spine, and it even appears that she’s developing quite a potbelly.

For many animal lovers, losing a beloved pet is one of the most heartbreaking experiences they will ever face. Feelings of denial, loneliness, depression and anger are common occurrences. Friends and family may try to be supportive, but after a while they cease to understand why the bereaved pet owner doesnt just get over it and move on.

The feline lymphatic system - an exquisitely structured arrangement of internal organs and tissues - directly or indirectly influences every aspect of a cats physical existence. For this reason, owners should be equipped to recognize the signs that suggest the presence of feline lymphoma, a potentially deadly cancer of the lymphatic system that can assault many areas of a cats body, including its liver, gastrointestinal system, spleen and skin.

If your normally playful, energetic cat mysteriously starts moping around the house, acting sullen, reclusive, nervous and depressed, chances are that it is trying to cope with some sort of physical discomfort or nagging pain.

All cats, no matter how pampered and vigilantly cared for they may be, are prone to serious injury or the sudden onset of life-threatening clinical signs of deeply rooted and perhaps previously unrecognized illness.

Q- I recently lost a three-year-old female cat to heartworm disease. I would like to see more information on what heartworms are, how to treat them, and most importantly, how to prevent these parasites from taking our precious cats. All of my cats are indoors, fixed, and go to the veterinarian yearly.

any cats, at some point in their lives, will contract an upper respiratory disease characterized by persistent sneezing, nasal discharge, conjunctivitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the inner surface of the eyelid), and in some cases keratitis (inflammation of the transparent outer covering of the front of the eyeball).

The feline eye is a complex arrangement of delicate structural components that, in a normal, healthy creature, operate in exquisite harmony to enable a cats typically keen vision.

It is well known that few can resist the winsome charm of the teeny, tiny kitten. He is loving, playful, downright adorable and a wonderful companion. I remember, as a child, bringing home two beautiful kittens.

When a cats food intake drops off, for whatever reason, the resulting decrease in protein intake can trigger feline hepatic lipidosis (FHL), the most common form of liver disease in cats.