Archive for September 2009
Management of Feline Urinary Syndrome
Obstruction of the male cat is a medical emergency. The obstruction must be relieved immediately.Failure to produce a good stream of urine after relief of obstruction is indicative of urethral stricture and/or stones or matrex plugs. Failure of bladder to empty after relief of obstruction suggests bladder paralysis (usually temporary unless present prior to obstruction). In either event, a urinary catheter must be placed to allow continual urination. Read the rest of this entry »
Feline Urinary Syndrome
Feline urinary syndrome or FUS is the name given to a group of symptoms that occur in the cat secondary to inflammation, irritation, and/or obstruction of the lower urinary tract (urinary bladder, urethra, and penile urethra). A cat with FUS can exhibit one, some, or even all of the symptoms.
FUS is NOT a specific diagnosis: there are many known and some unknown factors that may cause or contribute to FUS. Any cause resulting in particulate debris in the urine is capable of causing obstruction in the male cat. Read the rest of this entry »
Sudden death in cats
Q: I’d like to pose a question about our cat, Mookie, who up and died while we were petting him this past Sunday.
I’ve searched the web and all pet sites about SUDDEN DEATH and have found this “affliction” only in the context of heartworm. I wonder if you have
other ideas on this? Mookie was a healthy active 11-year-old Manx. All shots
up to date. No lethargy or appetite suppression. He was purring one moment and the next he let out a blood-curdling scream, then died.
A: Lisa-
Real “sudden death” is an unusual occurrence. As you noted, it can happen
in cats infected with heartworms. It is also reported to occur in cats as
the result of cardiomyopathy. This disorder can be very insidious and may
not be detected prior to death. Cats probably get aneurysms that rupture,
although I have only seen one report on these. Anything that causes
thromboembolism can cause sudden death — this can be seen as the result of
cancers, blood clotting disorders, cardiomyopathy, trauma and other
disorders. Low serum potassium can lead to sudden death, as can high serum
potassium — but usually there are other signs of illness making the
process seem a lot less sudden in retrospect.
I am sorry to hear about Mookie. It is unfortunate but without a necrospy
(autopsy) exam it is not possible to tell you what might have happened. It
is hard when things like this can’t be resolved.
Heartworm Disease in Cats
Question: Dr. Richards-
I appreciate your info about pemphigus. Some followup-”Lexy” responded very well to a brief period of steroids. She is now on weekly gold with the steroids being tapered. All of her skin lesions are gone and she has gotten back to her job as head of the household. I would like to ask an unrelated question. I have seen some references about heartworm in cats. I always thought of this as a dog disease. None of the vets I have been to recently have brought it up, but I have never specifically asked. I live with (not own you understand) six cats. Read the rest of this entry »
Introducing new cats to a cat household
The standard recommendation for introducing a new cat into the household is to keep the cats isolated from each other putting one in room or blockedoff portion of the house and letting the other cat have the rest of the
house. After a day or so, switch them so that they are confined in theportion of the house that was the other cat’s “territory”. Read the rest of this entry »
Excessive meowing in skittish cat
Question: I have a female cat, general good health, about 4 years old. After I had
her spayed at 6 months, she has never been the same. Most of the time, her
behavior is semi-tolerable, but it is starting to get out of control. She
has always been very skittish and anxious of other people, sounds, and does
not take well to change of any type, whether it is her schedule, my
schedule, moving of things, anything except her food. Very esily stressed.
She has a room right now that we don’t go into much, full of furniture and
boxes, that she can retreat to whenever she feels threatened and most of the
time she stays there. We have another cat and two dogs. She plays with the
other cat, doesn’t mind one of the dogs and tolerates relatively well the
other one. That isn’t a problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Allergic Problems for Cats
Bee and wasp stings
Q: Dr. Mike, A wasp got into our home and I originally thought it stung one of our cats (Pooh) before I got him. I watched Pooh for a while and there was no swelling or irritation and he is acting like he usually does (eating, drinking, purring, playing with Keyser-our other furry son) so I think he is ok. I think I might have gotton Pooh with the shoe in my attempts to get the wasp (we were both attacking the wasp at the same time). In the event this happens again, what would we do? Thanks B. Read the rest of this entry »
Tsukada inspire women to fight Tong Wen Rou 5 crown is actually the forgetful person
CLEVELAND Beijing September 2 (Xinhua Kang Shao-han Yang Li) 2 on the morning of judo world championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands to achieve women’s level of five consecutive Big Albert’s Tong Wen returned to Beijing with honors. Pick up team, a 40-year-old, middle-aged men have been laughing do not add the mouth, he is a special trip to come pick up from the Tianjin Tianjin judo coach ZHAO Zhi-Hill, In addition, he has a capacity – Tong Wen of coach Wu Weifeng love. Waiting period, Zhao coach to the Associated Press reporter tells Tong Wen won a number of life during and Qushi. Read the rest of this entry »
Bordetella? Isn’t that a DOG disease?
Yes, Bordetella Bronchiseptica is more commonly known as Kennel Cough, affecting dogs who spend time in crowded conditions (like a kennel). It causes a whooping like cough, with little or no additional signs. Occasionally, an untreated dog will suddenly develop acute pneumonia, and will die unless treated quickly.More significantly, Bordetella has been isolated in numerous other mammalian species, such as pigs, horses, sheep, goats, monkeys and humans. It has not, however, been previously recognized in cats, and an otherwise unenlightened veterinarian will look at you oddly if you request a Bordetella culture. Read the rest of this entry »
Disclaimer of cat
I want to point out first and foremost that I am not a veterinarian, nor even a person who has training in animal science such as a veterinary technician. I am a graduate student of physical anthropology, and an ailurophile. My goal with these FAQs is to take information from the medical literature and convey the parts that are most useful to the average cat owner and translate them into general terms that are easy to understand. I attempted to keep the FAQ as untechnical as possible, but unfortunately with such a complex disease that becomes very difficult. I hope this prooves to be of some usefulness. Also keep in mind that this disease is one of the most controversial subjects in feline health care. Read the rest of this entry »