Lifestyle

Its a feline social thing: Rubbing against your leg or on other objects. Head rubbing (also referred to as butting or bunting) is a normal social behavior, says Dr. Leni Kaplan, DVM, MS, Lecturer in the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Community Practice Service. Head rubbing is one way cats can deposit their scent on objects which signifies comfort and familiarity and is a way to communicate with other cats.

You may have seen pheromones advertised to calm anxious cats. Feline facial pheromone is precisely what your cat releases from the scent glands on his face.

An article in the July 15, 2018, Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association looked at a French study on feline pleural effusion. Pleural effusion is a buildup of fluid in the pleural space, which is the space in your cats chest between the protective linings covering the lungs and the walls of the chest cavity itself. Normally, there is only a small amount of fluid in that area. Large amounts of fluid mean less room for the lungs to expand, which causes difficulty breathing and getting adequate oxygen to your cats body tissues.

When a two-year-old Bengal cat started to have left-hip problems in 2017, Purdue Veterinary Medicines Veterinary Teaching Hospital performed a femoral head ostectomy (FHO), which involves removing part of the femur bone and has been done for decades. A year later, the right hip started to give the cat trouble. The owner returned to Purdue, but this time the veterinarians decided to perform the first feline hip replacement.

Banfield Pet Hospital looked at allergy trends among their patients across the country, which includes over 2.5 million dogs and 500,000 cats. Not surprisingly, flea allergy came out on top. Cases of flea allergies have been increasing, especially among their cat clients. As we all know, even one flea bite can lead to misery for a flea-allergic feline.

A conundrum for many cat owners is getting their cat to drink more. While eating dry kibble can be nutritionally adequate (and some cats definitely prefer kibble to canned), most cats could benefit from drinking more. More fluid going in helps with hydration and can help to flush the kidneys and bladder with more urine production. A recent study reported in the American Journal of Veterinary Research in July 2018 looked at trying to entice cats to drink more using a nutrient-enriched water option.

Septembers sun can be deceiving. Although many of us consider September to be fall, it is still, for the most part, summer, and the sun is usually still strong and can cause temperatures to rise unexpectedly.

All cats have their habits and routines, along with favorite activities. But sometimes behaviors get over the top and cross the line into compulsions. Compulsive behaviors can indicate an underlying problem in your cat and can potentially cause other problems.

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KTVB in Boise, Idaho, reported in June that a cat tested positive for the plague. This occurred a month after a child tested positive for the plague, also in Idaho.

All cats and dogs born after July 1, 2018, are required to be neutered, or desexed, before they turn six months of age or within 28 days of the new owners possession, according to a South Australia government website.

We have opened our home to an additional cat, and we would like to know how best to introduce the cat to our existing cat and dog. Can you give us some advice on how to make this transition safe and easy?