Posted by Bob Newman
The old adage says that you are what you eat. Obviously, this isn’t a literal truth but the importance of a good diet for cat health care as well as our own cannot be underestimated. Ensuring that our pets get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy is a big responsibility, but it needn’t be complex if we understand a few simple things about diet and cat health care.
Drinking plenty of water is really important both for us and our pets. If a cat is not given access to fresh water it can become seriously ill within just a few hours. Serious cat health care problems and even death can result from dehydration.
Cats require a very specific diet. Felines cannot survive on a vegetarian diet because they are true carnivores. Depriving a cat of meat in its diet cause such cat health care problems as malnutrition, blindness and death.
Owners must take care to maintain the delicate balance of our cats’ specific diet. Although we may think of it as a harmless treat, giving titbits of human food can have serious consequences for cat health care. The food we eat is generally too high in calories and fat and could even be toxic to a cat. For example, onions are highly poisonous to cats.
Cats naturally eat several small meals a day, so as far as possible we should try and allow this. In many cases school and work commitments might mean that owners are unable to be at home to feed their cat during the day. This problem can be overcome by leaving dried food down for the animal to nibble on throughout the day.
Lastly, as well as diet we must think about obesity, which is one of the most common cat health care problems at the moment. Obesity can cause heart and breathing problems, arthritis and eventually death, so pet owners must try to avoid it. As a guideline, one could consider a short haired cat to be a healthy weight if its ribs can be felt but not seen. Pay close attention to the instructions for serving sizes on cat food and always see a vet if you believe that your cat’s weight is a problem.
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Posted by Bob Newman
Many people are appalled to hear their is such a thing as a diabetic cat. They ordinarily hear of it first when they meet someone who has a diabetic cat or when their own cat is diagnosed with diabetes. The surprising fact that many cats have diabetes begs the doubtfulness “how and why do they get it”. Until that becomes more clear all we can do is recognize it and treat it. Diabetes in Cats and even dogs is virtually the same as Diabetes in humans. There are differences of course but the are more related to the diet and specific differences of the animal kind.These are signs of diabetes as follows: Appetite: it is sometimes more, but sometimes and more practically decreased. Weight Loss due to the body’s inability to process glucose as well as the stress level as the body tries to keep up. disgorgement from unprocessed food that sits to long on the stomach as it waits to be digested. What to feed a diabetic cat can make a big diference. Weakness will be noticeable in the cats activities. Poor skin and coat changes in power walking and breathing abnormalities as well as dehydration which will be noticeable in the amount of times they persist to return to the water bowl. Visiting the vet is now in order, they should perform blood tests and urine tests (to control glucose levels in the urine). A cat that has untreated diabetes – eventually – will suffer depression, vomiting, breathing faster than normal, stop the urine at all, and finally, coma and death. If you put too much insulin in or they are not eating enough food to get the whole dose, their blood sugar levels could dip dangerously low (hypoglycemic shock), causing convulsions and even death. Type 1, caused by producing insufficient insulin, and type 2, resulting in the inability of the body to control insulin cells efficiently. Although diabetes can affect cats of any age,it is more rife in older, corpulent cats, and is found more often in male cats. Secondary diabetes may be caused by medications or disease which is damaging to the natural secretion of insulin or its effects on tissues. Ovaban and Corticosteroids are suspicious, and hyperthyroidism and certain diseases of the pancreas. It should be clear to you now that this is not a simple topic of simple discourse. A visit to the vet is in now necessary. The earlier the better.
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Posted by Bob Newman
Kitten Vaccinations
Kitten Vaccinations
In recent years, the vaccination of cats has become more popular. The three most common vaccines give protection against feline infectious enteritis (FIE), feline influenza (cat flu) and feline leukaemia (FeLV). An initial course of two injections, the first at nine weeks are usually given, and yearly boosters are recommended thereafter.
FIE causes vomiting and diarrhoea, and the cat develops a very high tenperature. Before the vaccine was introduced, it killed a great many cats by dehydration due to the bowel symptoms. Cat flu is caused by two viruses: the feline rhinotracheitis (FCV). FVR is the more severe of the two, causing coughing, sneezing, and nasal and eye discharges.
FVC has milder discharges but more gum inflammation and mouth ulcers. Neither FCV nor FVR is usually deadly but the infection can linger on in the form of snuffles, and some cats become symptomless carriers of the disease. When stressed, these cats develop mild symptoms and spread the virus.
FeLV suppresses the activity of the cat’s immune system, allowing a wide range of symptoms to develop. It often results in the death of the cat after several months of illness. The virus is spread mainly in the cat’s saliva. It is a disease of cats that fight a lot, and of cats in large colonies, who share the same food and water bowls. It should not be a threat in a well-run boarding cattery, where the feeding and grooming utensils are properly cleaned, and the cats do not mix with each other.
A vaccine exists against the chlamydial organism, which can cause not only mild eye and nasal symptoms, but more importantly, infertility and abortion. This vacine is used mainly in breeding colonies to protect against infertility.
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