Category Archives: Medical & Health Care

Cat Care Tips, Elderly Cat Care, Medical & Health Care

How to Provide the Best Care for Your Senior Cat

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Getting older is a normal, natural part of life for all of us. Today domestic cats are living longer than they ever did in the past—thanks to improved nutrition and better food, improved medical care, and more people keeping their cats indoors. But advancing age does not necessarily mean automatic degeneration. And aging does not necessarily mean inevitable disease. Many cats do grow old remaining relatively healthy into their geriatric years, while other cats in their senior years develop chronic or degenerative diseases. And know that even cats that do develop chronic diseases can live well into their late geriatric years—or 20+ years old—given excellent care and attention.

Never assume that changes in your older cat are simply due to “old age,” then write it off as normal aging for them. Most likely there is an underlying medical condition that is causing the changes you are observing in your cat’s behavior or physical appearance. That should always be the first consideration. The main thing is to give your cat the healthiest and best quality of life possible—by watching them closely, noticing any changes that take place, then getting them to a veterinarian to get the medical help they need.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Signs of Dehydration in Cats

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Your cat’s body is made up of 70-80% water or three-quarters of your cat’s body weight is water, so it’s critical that your cat gets enough fluids daily to maintain good health and prevent dehydration. Water is essential for cat’s urinary and kidney health, circulation, digestion, and waste removal. With hot summer days now upon us, it’s even more important that your cat has access to and drinks enough water, as dehydration can lead to a number of serious medical problems and even death. Here are the signs of dehydration in cats and why it’s so important to treat dehydration immediately.

Why Hydration is So Important

Dehydration happens when your cat loses body fluids faster than he can replace them, and it can happen when your cat is either not drinking enough water or is losing too many fluids. Fluids lost through daily urination, elimination and respiration all need to be replaced to normal levels everyday. But if your cat hasn’t been drinking enough water; has been vomiting or has diarrhea; or has been ill or had a fever; or your cat is old, then rehydration is even more critical as all of these can leave your cat severely dehydrated.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Tips for Buying a Pet Health Insurance Plan

Planning ahead for your cat’s health care is no different than planning for our own health care. We never know if or when we’ll get sick and need insurance, but having it gives us peace of mind. Knowing your cat will need medical help at some point is inevitable, so it’s good to plan ahead and be able to provide the care your cat will need. Here are some tips for buying a pet health insurance plan that will meet your needs.

Pet health insurance is just one of the many options available to help pay for emergency or unexpected veterinary bills. If you’re worried about being able to pay for your cat’s chronic illness or life-saving care, an accident, or an emergency—it may be good to know there’s a safety net under you. As with any insurance, you may never need it, but if you worry about affording those one-time emergencies or unexpected expenses that you feel could cripple your finances—having pet insurance may be a good option.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

What Are the Warning Signs Your Cat is Sick?

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Don’t miss the warning signs your cat is sick and may be in pain. Research shows that cats feel pain just like we do. But they tend to hide their pain—so just because they don’t show you obvious signs of pain, doesn’t mean they aren’t suffering or in distress. It’s up to you to know the signs that something is wrong and advocate for them by getting them the help they need.

When cats aren’t feeling well they give us clues. The clues may be physical or behavioral, or both. Some signs require immediate veterinary attention like respiratory problems or changes in breathing; straining to urinate, defecate or crying in the litter box; dilated pupils, or having any dramatic changes in behavior from normal. Some signs may increase over time with illness and won’t go away until your cat is diagnosed and treated by your veterinarian.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Preventing and Treating Fleas in Cats – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Summer is a favorite season for picnics in the park, enjoying the seashore, and dining al fresco—but with warm summer temperatures also come the fleas! Fleas can wreak havoc on cats causing discomfort, severe skin conditions, allergic reactions, parasites (tape worms), anemia and even death in the worst cases, if left untreated. So it’s important to protect your cat from fleas, but it’s also important to know the dangers of some flea control products on the market today. In this article, you’ll become knowledgeable about the different flea treatment options, some of the health consequences associated with them, and you’ll learn ways to provide your cat with the safest possible flea treatments and precautions available. Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly on preventing and treating fleas in cats.

Does Your Cat Have Fleas?

To check whether your cat has fleas, you can run a flea comb through your cat’s fur pressing along the skin to check for adult fleas or flea feces and eggs. These will look like little specks of salt and pepper or tiny black and white grains in the fur. The white grains are flea eggs, and the black grains are flea feces. If you have found and removed some grains on your flea comb, rub the grains onto a piece of white paper and if the grains turn a reddish-brown color, you know you have a flea problem.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Preventing Lower Urinary Tract Problems in Cats

Lower urinary tract problems in cats can be life threatening, are extremely painful, and need immediate attention and treatment by a veterinarian. Preventing lower urinary tract problems in cats is critical for your cat’s health.

Urinary crystals can quickly turn into kidney stones, and kidney stones are deadly in a short period of time, so never wait or postpone seeing your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment. Your vet will determine if there are underlying medical conditions causing the symptoms through conducting a urinalysis, culture and cystoscopy and a complete medical review. If your cat is visiting the litter box repeatedly in a short period of time, straining in the box and sitting in the box trying to urinate, or urinating outside the litter box, it’s time to visit your vet.

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Cat Care Tips, Elderly Cat Care, Medical & Health Care

Treating Your Cat’s Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) – A Helpful Guide

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is relatively common in mature, senior and geriatric cats. This year, my 17-year-old cat Marcel was diagnosed with advanced, late-stage chronic kidney disease. In a short period of time, I scrambled to learn everything possible about the disease and how to treat it. Had I known before what I quickly learned, about providing the best possible treatment options and support for early and late-stage CKD, I could have possibly prolonged Marcel’s life and quality of life significantly. But the motto, too little too late, applied in my personal journey. The application of my new valuable knowledge came just too late to save him. But it’s not too late to help your cat and provide you with what I wish I had known months earlier. This guide is an effort to give owners of CKD cats the best, most valuable resources possible, in the shortest time possible. CKD is a very manageable disease in cats, but it’s critical to catch it early in order to manage it and prolong your cat’s life. Getting a diagnosis as soon as possible, as early in the disease, will give you more time to apply all the best treatments available to help your cat. Here is the most valuable and useful information and guidance I can provide you and your CKD cat, all in one page with links to some of the best resources and support available today. May your cat live a long, healthy, and comfortable life with CKD with much more quality time spent with you! 

Chronic kidney disease in cats is not a life sentence, but if it is properly treated, your cat can live a long and happy life. So let’s begin. 

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Elderly Cat Care, Medical & Health Care

Treating My Cat’s Severe IBD and Gastrointestinal Inflammation

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In July 2017, my then 17-year-old cat Romeo started presenting with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, mild weight loss, and lethargy. Up to this point, Romeo had been a very healthy male cat with no medical issues other than a low-grade heart murmur, one eye infection, periodic dental cleanings, and routine annual checkups to maintain his health. But things were about to change for Romeo and his cat parents.

Concerned that Romeo’s diarrhea and vomiting had become more than just an isolated event, we scheduled an appointment at Four Corners Veterinary Hospital in Concord, our trusted vet who has been highly supportive and a critical partner in managing all of our cat’s health over the years. Romeo’s doctor did a full physical exam—palpating his abdomen—finding some thickening of his intestines. He took Romeo’s blood and ran a blood chemistry profile and urinalysis. Then recommended diagnostic tests—specifically an ultrasound that would rule out things like a GI tract obstruction or abdominal mass, but would provide a detailed examination of Romeo’s internal organs from all different angles, the sizes of the organs, as well as their functioning. An ultrasound evaluates the cat’s liver, spleen, kidneys, gallbladder, lymph nodes, small and large bowels, bladder and pancreas and is able to determine the size, shape and texture of each—revealing any abnormalities, enlargements, masses, fluids, stones, thickening, dilation or if any lesions are present. So we ponied up the $450 dollars (at the time) to get to the bottom of what was going on with Romeo’s gut. 

TREATING MY CAT’S SEVERE IBD AND GASTROINTESTINAL INFLAMMATION
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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

What are the Signs Your Cat is in Pain?

It can be easy to miss the signs your cat is in pain since cats try to disguise when they’re suffering, but if you know the signs you’ll be able to quickly detect if your cat is in pain. Some signs are more obvious, but others are harder to detect. Most signs can be seen in a cat’s physical posture, facial expression, behavior, response to touch, vocalization, or change in daily habits.

Cats in severe pain may become more aggressive and agitated—even sometimes frantic—and behave more erratically. They can pace about in their restless discomfort and vocalize more. But often the signs are more subtle and easy to miss. They may hide in a corner or closet, or sit in a “crouched” position, and may even purr when they are distressed and uncomfortable. Here are some common signs of pain in a cat to be on the lookout for:

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Cat Care Tips, Elderly Cat Care, Medical & Health Care

Medicating and Pilling Cats – How to Make it Easier, Safer and Healthier for Your Cat 

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If you have a cat at home chances are really good that sometime in your cat’s lifetime you will need to medicate them, especially as they transition into their senior years. Sometimes cats can be challenging to pill or medicate, but there are some techniques that will make medicating them easier, less stressful, more effective and healthier for them. Here are some important things to know and follow when medicating your cat.

Why Dry Pilling and Dry Swallowing is Bad For Cats

Have you ever taken a pill without water? Ouch, it’s not fun. Well the same goes for cats. Without chasing a pill down with water or liquid afterwards the pill can get lodged in the throat and irritate the lining of the esophagus. Dry swallowing can cause a pill to go down painfully and slowly, and can even damage the delicate tissues lining the esophagus. Dry pilling can cause choking, gagging, reflux, heartburn, esophagitis, esophageal injury and strictures, and even cause aspiration. There have been case studies where dry pilling certain medications (including Clindamycin and Doxycycline) have resulted in severe injury to cats and in some cases, even death when these cats were dry pilled. One study noted that “After five minutes 84 percent of capsules and 64 percent of tablets are still sitting in the esophagus,” when dry swallowed. (Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, Volume 8, Issue 6, Dec. 2006: 412-419) Another study that appeared in a veterinary journal found that following dry swallows, “No pills were in the stomach at 30 and 60 seconds, and only 6 percent of the pills were in the stomach at 90 seconds. At 5 minutes, only 36 percent of the pills were in the stomach. For wet swallows that were followed by 6 ccs of water, 90 percent of the pills were in the stomach.” (Journal of Western Internal Medicine, 2001, Sept-Oct: 15: 467-70)

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