The Cat Page
If you have not had a kitten before there are several things you need to get before your new kitten comes home so that he can come into a safe and secure environment. You need to think about somewhere for your new kitten to sleep that is quiet, away from too much foot traffic so he will not be disturbed. Kittens feel more secure if they are enclosed and a deep bed will keep him away from any drafts, vet beds are ideal, but any blanket can be used to make a cosy environment. Kittens like to stretch out when they sleep so you need a box that is large enough for them to use as they grow.
Kittens are quite small, and may have difficulties getting up stairs when they are very small so you need to choose somewhere that he can easily get to. At first you may need to encourage him to sleep in his bed, as some kittens will dose anywhere when they get tired. When he falls asleep gently move him to his bed, if you have tried this several times and he will not use it voluntarily you might need to move his bed to a corner of a room where he spends more of his time.
You will also need a litter tray and it is better to site this away from the place where your kitten will be fed or he may show a reluctance to use it. Litter trays with a hood are ideal as these can be put anywhere. Some cat litter will stick to the coat of longhaired cats and it is better to avoid this if you can or you will find it all around the house. It is better not to use disinfectants to wash litter trays but they should be washed with hot water and detergent at least once each week. There is a slight risk that cats that go out may carry the parasite Toxoplasma, the risk is small with kittens. This infection can be a problem if women who are pregnant have any contact with cat faeces so it would be better to were gloves just in case. There are blood tests to indicate if your cat has had any contact with this parasite, but you could never rely on a negative reading to say that you do not need to take precautions against the disease.
Kittens like to play with toys and it is usually better to get a selection so that they will be less likely to use things that they find around the house. Adventurous individuals will not consider vertical surfaces as a hindrance if they want to investigate something their nails are quite sharp and will damage wall paper and furniture. You will be able to restrict his antics by trimming his nails, when they are blunt he will soon learn that he should spend most of his time on the floor.
Cats like to scratch and should be encouraged to use a proper post before they find a place for themselves. It is much easier to train a kitten to use a scratching post than to try and persuade an adult cat not to try his claws out on the leg of the dining room table. Posts that you can buy are often covered with rope or you can make something and cover it with an old piece of carpet. Try to find a piece that is different from the one on your floors so that your cat can distinguish the place he should use.
Most cats are meticulously clean and will spend part of their day grooming themselves or a companion. It is important, especially if you have a longhaired kitten to get them used to being groomed at least once each week. Regular grooming stimulates the oil glands in the skin and helps to keep the coat healthy. Cats enjoy being combed and it is a good opportunity to check for fleas and ticks so that they can be detected and treated early. Big cats groom each other to build emotional bonds and it is important for us to satisfy this need in them when they come into our homes.
We tend to use a fine tooth flea comb to go through the whole coat and stop any tangles. If your cat has started to get matted up you may need to work on his coat for a short period each day until you can comb him easily. When your cat starts to moult it is important that he is groomed more frequently to stop him swallowing too much hair. Cats have a rough tongue and cannot get hair out their mouth once they have licked it in. The extra hair can get into a tangle inside his stomach and may cause him to be unwell, but you can avoid this problem with a good comb.
When you first get your kitten home it is better to keep him on the same food that he has been used to. Once he has settled you need to decide whether you want to feed a dried or a moist diet. Cats have specific requirements for some of the animo acids, so it is not possible to feed a vegetarian diet. Likewise dog food is not suitable for cats and can cause digestive upsets. To grow properly kittens need a diet high in the animo acid taurine and have a specific requirement for essential fatty acids and the fat soluble vitamins. They need to be fed on a diet designed for kittens for the first eight months if they are to achieve they maximum potential and avoid problems with diarrhoea.
There is more information and useful tips about living with your new kitten in
Scampsdiary a booklet that you will get from the surgery when you come for your first vaccinations. This includes registration for a free kitten pack worth £5 so it is well worth investigatingCats can suffer from some very distressing diseases and it is essential that they are vaccinated if you want them to have a long and healthy life. The diseases to worry about are Feline Panleucopaenia, which affects the white blood cells in the body. The progress of this disease in young cats is rapid; often owners think that their cat has been poisoned or they are found dead after no apparent illness. There is no effective treatment for this disease, intravenous fluids help but the damage is too great to expect any cats with established symptoms to be able to recover.
Cat flu is more familiar, more traumatic for cats than for us as there are two different sorts either affecting the nasal passages and eyes or causing ulceration on the tongue and damaging the throat. Cat flu can readily become chronic as mucus blocks the sinuses of the head and secondary infections take over. Antibiotics do not have any action against viruses. The drugs we use to treat cat flu stop any bacteria getting established in the damaged tissues of the nasal passages. We get good results by using aromatherapy on some of our patients with cat flu to stop the condition becoming chronic. Cats do not need to be in close contact to catch this disease. It readily spreads when affected animals sneeze or sniff places where other cats have been.
Feline chlamydia can sometimes be confused with cat flu as it can show similar symptoms although it does tend to cause more inflammation in the eye than on other mucus membranes. Sometimes it is difficult to be certain that you have a problem with this disease. There are laboratory tests available but the organism involved is very fragile and will often not survive long enough outside the body to be detected in the swabs that we take. Treatments for chlamydia involve long courses of antibiotics, for at least six weeks if you want to stop it recurring.
Feline Leukaemia is serious disease in cats that is responsible for the premature death of more cats than any other infectious agent. Two thirds of the British cat population will come across this infection at some time in their lives. It is caused by a retro virus. Some animals react to the infection and are not affected by it, but many are and suffer damage to their immune system. Animals with the disease are vulnerable to infections in their mouths, gastro intestinal system and in their lungs. Feline leukaemia is also a major cause of cancer in the feline population. There is a blood test available that we can do at the Surgery to detect this disease. Some animals can remain relatively healthy for months, or even years with this virus, when they do become ill they often deteriorate very quickly and it is difficult to provide any effective treatment. The virus is readily transmitted to other cats through the saliva when fighting, sharing feed and water dishes or by grooming companions.There is some evidence to support the use of evening primrose oil capsules to help cats that are affected by this disease. More recently Interferon injections have been used in newly diagnosed cases. Three courses of injections are given and one study was shown to reduce the mortality rate from 60% to 47%. Interferon is an expensive drug and it cannot be relied upon to improve the quality of life for cats affected by leukaemia.
This is also caused by a retro virus that behaves in a similar way to Feline Leukaemia. It does not readily pass between cats and normally needs a deep bite wound from an infected cat to be transmitted. It does not readily pass to companion cats unless there is aggressive fighting amongst the group. It can take up to two months for the infection to build up antibodies that can be detected by a blood test. Some cats with FIV will show few symptoms have long active lives, and not be a risk to others. Because there immune system is compromised it is important to maintain vaccinations and treat mouth and urinary tract infections promptly. Cats with FIV will often breed successfully, their kittens can pick up the antibodies when they feed from their mother, this means that they react to the blood test even though they are not suffering from the disease. It is difficult to positively diagnose FIV in kittens until they are six months of age. At the moment there is no vaccine against this disease.
Bordatella Infections
You may have heard that a new infection has been identified as a cause of respiratory disease in cats. Bordetella bronticeptica has long been recognised as the primary cause of kennel cough in our canine patients. Now that most of our feline patients are vaccinated against the respiratory viruses and often clamydia as well, this bacteria has been able to get established as a significant pathogen in some cats. At the moment it does not seem to be a significant problem in our immediate area. Certainly we do get some vaccinated cats that sneeze, but most of these individuals respond well to a short course of antibiotics and do not seem to pass the infection on to their companions.
Animals at risk are those from house holds where the cats go out and have two or more companions. Cats that regularly go to boarding catteries, rescue shelters and breeding colonies. There is also a risk if you have a dog at home that has developed kennel cough. There is now an intra nasal vaccine available to control this infection. You can find out more information by visiting the cats at risk website.
There is now a vaccine called
Fevavaxyn Pentofel which has only recently been introduced into the United Kingdom that is able to protect against all of these diseases after a single course of injections. This vaccine has been used extensively abroad to provide comprehensive protection of the cat population in America and is now being introduced into Europe.The other vaccine that is routinely used on cats is
Felocell CVR. This is the minimal requirement for all cats to stop the getting panleucopaenia and the two types of cat flu and must be used for all cats that are going into boarding catteries.There is more information about these diseases by clicking the links on the Intervet site.
It can be difficult sometimes to remember your cat's annual vaccinations. We all have busy lives and it is all too easy to miss an appointment so that your companion is no longer protected. We are well aware that this will happen from time to time and we are concerned that some of our patients are no longer protected from these common diseases. To help you to get your vaccinations up to date we are holding a Vaccination Amnesty in March and April this year. Any cat that has had a gap of more than fifteen months since their last booster will be entitled to a Veterinary examination and a full vaccine course for the cost of a normal booster as long as the first injection is given before the end of April. Please contact the surgery to arrange an appointment if you would like to take advantage of this offer.
Cats lead different lives to dogs, they are more likely to become allergic to flea bites and often develop a mania for licking if they become sensitised. Sometimes it is impossible to find any evidence of the fleas as they are licked away and swallowed, but what will be apparent is the damage to the coat and areas of inflammation on the shin. There is no reason why your cat should suffer from the affects of fleas.
Frontline Spot On is easy to apply and totally effective to stop all fleabites for one whole month. It can be used on cats that hunt rabbits and get the small rabbit fleas on their ears.If you have a big population of fleas in your house it might be necessary to spray the rooms where the animals go with a product called Acclaim 2000. This does contain an insecticide, but its main component is a hormone that even in small quantities is enough to stop the larval stages of the fleas being able to moult and change to the adult stage that is so troublesome to your cat. It is better to thoroughly Hoover before the aerosol is used, rooms are treated at floor level paying particular attention to heavy furniture that cannot be moved. One application will last for seven months and will go a long way to break the life cycle of the flea.
There is also a product called
Stronghold. This is a small quantity of fluid that is applied to the back of the neck each month. Stronghold is a systemic product that kills fleas, ear mites and roundworms with one application. It is particularly useful for animals that have several different parasites and those individuals that are difficult to worm.You will be aware that it is desirable to worm cats two to four times a year depending on whether they go out, how many mice they eat and whether you are able to keep them flea free. The problem is no matter how good the drugs are that I am going to tell you about, some cats are very difficult to worm. Kittens and adolescent cats that are not hunting will carry significant numbers of round worms. Panacur is very effective against these. It comes in a variety of forms, granules, suspension and paste that are best administered with food once daily for three days.
Older cats can also be infected with tapeworms which they get either from eating infected mice or if they have been affected by fleas which can carry the parasite. If your cat will readily take tablets Drontal is good because it is effective against both types of worm. If you have difficulty giving the tablets Milbemax is better. Again this is a broad spectrum wormer, but the tablets are very small and film coated so that they are easily swallowed. Smaller cats only need half of one of these. Most cats do not even realize that they have been wormed as they find them so easy to swallow.
If your cats is impossible to give tablets to, we do know several cats like this, do not despair it is still possible to get rid of the worms. The drugs to use are Stronghold against the round worms and Droncit Spot On to tackle the tape worms. Both of these drugs are absorbed through the skin and are used on the back of the neck where the tongue is not able to reach. These drugs are most useful if you do not have anyone to hold your cat. They can be used when your companion is busy eating or dosing in a chair.
I have had an e mail from someone who has solved the problem of dosing her cats single handed with tablets and has found a way of keeping them still to apply Frontline Spot On and eye treatments. This is a very simple idea that really works so have a look at the drawings if you would like to try it.
Fevaxyn Pentofel has been used for eight years now in the United States and provides protection against Feline Calicivirus, Feline Rhinotracheitis, Feline Panleucopaenia, Feline Chlamydia Psittaci and the Feline Leukaemia Virus. All of the components of this vaccine are inactivated antigens so there is no possibility of any adverse effects on any in contact cats.
All mammals gain temporary immunity when they are first born as they suckle from their mother. This protection depends very much on how much immunity the dam has and how much the kitten has managed to suckle in the first two or three days of life. Smaller kittens will not get as much protection as their larger littermates. It is important to realise that this system helps the young kitten to fend off the infections that cause scouring and pneumonia and not just the ones that we can vaccinate against.
To get the vaccine to work effectively it is recommended that the course of two injections are started at nine weeks and completed at twelve weeks of age. We like to blood test adult cats that have not previously been vaccinated against Leukaemia. The vaccine will not protect animals that are already carrying the virus. The tests can be done at the Surgery and although vaccination will not harm a cat that shows a positive result, it is unable to alter the course of the disease.
Fellocell CVR is a live vaccine containing an attenuated strain of the feline panleucopaenia virus and strains of feline viral rhinotracheitis and the Calicivirus. Two injections are used with again an interval of three weeks between the doses. Kittens can have their first injection to complete the course by twelve weeks of age. It is not always that we know the exact age of kittens so we tend to go on size if the exact history is unclear. We are lucky in rural Shropshire as many households can allow their cats access to the outside world with a minimal risk of injury from traffic. Young kittens tend to be cautious when they are first let out and will usually avoid any unfamiliar cats they encounter. Their caution gives them some protection from contacting the diseases from any unvaccinated cats in your area.
Booster doses of this vaccine should be given annually. Because this is a live vaccine it should not be given to pregnant cats. Fellocell CVR should be given to all cats before they go to boarding catteries. The risk of contacting cat flu where many cats from different areas are kept together is high as the viruses readily spread in enclosed buildings.
Rabisan is the rabies vaccine that is only given to animals that are traveling or are likely to travel abroad. One injection only is required usually after twelve weeks of age. Please note that to keep certificates valid booster doses are required at an interval of no longer than twelve months.
Age Comparison
Owners often ask us to compare "cat years" to "human years." A figure that is commonly used is seven cat years for each calendar year; however, this rule of thumb is not completely accurate. Feline development through puberty to young adulthood is accomplished over a period of about 18 to 24 months, rather than 21 years as in humans. Thus, the cat's first calendar year is more like 16 cat years, and the cat's second calendar year is more like five to seven cat years (up to an equivalent age of 21 to 23 years in humans). After that, add about four cat years for each calendar year of cat life. Thus, an eight-year-old cat is like a 46-year-old person. A 10-year-old cat would be 54, a 15-year-old cat 74, and a 20-year-old cat would be 94 cat years of age. Experts differ as to when one would consider an aging cat to be "geriatric," but you can select your own cut-off based on this comparison to the equivalent age in humans.
At both Surgeries we run Health Care Plans that cover the cost of comprehensive vaccinations, and worm and flea treatments for a full year. Two full examinations are included in the plans, the kitten ones include fees for Microchip insertion and registration as well as the Neutering Operation if you were planning to have that done in the first year. Part of the idea is that it allows you to spread the cost of routine treatments over a period of twelve months by monthly Direct Debit Payments. Ask at the surgeries for full details of these schemes.
This is a common condition that we see from time to time. Cystitis can occur at any time of the year but it tends to start more often in the winter than in the summer. We seem to treat more female cats than male cats with cystitis. Cats with cystitis have a painful bladder and tend to use their litter tray frequently often producing only small quantities of urine. There may be blood in the urine that they produce.
Cats have the ability to concentrate the urine that they produce. Sometimes they will drink only small amounts of water and will form crystals in their urine. It is quite easy to see these under the microscope if you are able to get a clean sample from your cat. The crystals form when their is too much magnesium in the urine, they have sharp edges and irritate the lining of the bladder leaving it vulnerable to developing a bacterial infection.
Some cats will respond readily to a ten day course of antibiotics that will eliminate the infection from the bladder. In most patients to stop the problem recurring a change of diet will help to slow the formation of the crystals before they can be eliminated from the body. Some patients do well if we can get them to eat a low magnesium diet. This will not always work for cats that hunt and eat the animals that they catch. There is a diet now that alters the acidity of the urine that is produced, this is readily accepted by most cats and works well for patients that are finding some of their own food.
If you have a cat that has a tendency to have cystitis there are other things that you can do to help. A recent study has shown that changing from a dry diet to a moist product can reduce the recurrence rate by up to 30%. Some cats do not seem to like the taste of tap water and will drink more if offered bottled water, running water or rain water. It might help to have several different places for the cats to drink and to try different containers as some individuals prefer to drink from a glass bowl rather than a plastic container.
Some cats are reluctant to use a litter tray either because it is not in a quiet place or they do not like what you are using as litter. Certainly it is worth experimenting with different locations and different litters. Try to empty the litter tray as soon as it has been used and consider getting a tray with a hood.
Chronic Renal Failure
It is quite common for older cats to develop problems with their kidneys. Unlike cells in other parts of the body when kidney cells stop functioning they cannot be replaced. As your cat grows older it is inevitable that his kidneys will not function as efficiently as they did in the past.
Cats are carnivorous animals that are adapted to a diet rich in proteins. Proteins are broken down by the body into smaller units called amino acids. There are twenty of these. They are used to replace damaged cells, allow growth and facilitate bodily functions. Amino acids from the diet that are not needed by the body are converted into urea that is excreted by the kidneys.
When the kidneys are damaged they are no longer able to remove all of these waste products and toxins from the blood. The urine cannot be concentrated properly and too much fluid is lost from the body. We can do a simple blood test to access the degree of damage to the kidneys and decide the best course of treatment.
Often the most useful way that we can help your cat to cope with his disability is to feed a diet that is low in protein and phosphorus. The right kind of proteins in restricted amounts will greatly reduce the work that the kidneys have to do so that urea levels in the blood stream will remain under control. When the kidneys are unable to maintain low phosphorus levels in the blood biochemical changes occur in the renal tubules that result in further destruction of the kidney cells.
There is now a supplement that can be fed with each meal that binds onto phosphorus in the gut to limit the amount that can be absorbed. Phosphorus binders are a relatively new approach to treatments for renal failure in animals and it is too early to tell if the have real long term benefits. It is a simple thing to do as it is a powder that is mixed in with the food and may well help some patients to cope with their reduced renal function.
Cats with Chronic Renal Failure tend to have poor appetites and will lose weight. Sometimes it is helpful to warm the food a little to make it more tempting. Always ensure a supply of clean water is available, serious damage will occur if your cat is left without water. We like to weigh cats that are having problems with their kidneys regularly so that we can monitor the progress that they are making.
Another approach we use is to improve the mechanisms by which proteins are used within the body so that there are fewer waste amino acids to be converted to urea and excreted. Anabolic steroid injections have been used for a number of years to do this and have not been shown to have adverse side effects when given to our feline patients with renal problems. The drug is injected every four to six weeks, usually with a vitamin B 12 injection to further improve the appetite.
More recently angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors have been used to increase the flow of blood through the kidneys and improve their function. This is a drug that we have used extensively for dogs with heart failure, we have known about its beneficial effects on the kidneys for some time but it has only recently been licensed for cats. Forketor has been shown to improve the appetite of cats suffering from chronic renal insufficiency, helping them to increase their weight and live healthier lives. We have started to use this drug along with other preparations and are encouraged by the results.
Some cats are presented with a more advanced form of renal failure. We are able to administer fluid therapy when the disease has progressed to give very high blood urea levels and anabolic steroid injections may help to improve the metabolism of your companion and increase his appetite. Sadly sometimes it is difficult to maintain the quality of his life and a decision has to be made as to whether
euthanasia would be a better option.There is more information about feline renal failure on the Novatis Site.
Chronic Lymphocytic Stomatitis
Some cats develop an acute infection in their mouths that is difficult to control. If there is a poor response to antibiotics and the gums adjacent to the molar teeth remain swollen and inflamed it might well be that your cat has this distressing condition. Sometimes cats seem to over react to the bacteria and viruses that occur naturally in their mouths. This can happen if their immune system has been compromised by the effects of either the FeLV or the FIV Virus. The presence of tartar on the teeth can encourage Pasturella and Spirochete bacteria to become established in the mouth. These respond only slowly to antibiotics even after the teeth have been thoroughly cleaned and polished. Cats with stomatitis often seem to shed one of the cat flu viruses, it is thought that they may over react to the infection in their mouth.
This disease can be controlled, but it cannot usually be cured. As well as antibiotics drugs that reduce the immune response of your cat are used. Sometimes it is necessary to extract all of the molar and premolar teeth to keep patients with this disease comfortable. It is thought that for some cats additives in their food may be a factor that contributes to the development of the disease process and a diet change may well assist in the management of the condition.
Glasgow University Veterinary School are running a trial concerning the use of interferon and other drugs in the treatment of Feline Chronic Lymphocytic Stomatitis. There is more information about this on their website.
This is a relatively common disorder of older cats when one or both of thyroid glands in the neck enlarge and start to flood the body with too much of the thyroid hormones. Signs of the disorder develop slowly. The most noticeable change is irritability and restlessness. Some patients become more vocal as the disease progresses.Your cat will not be able to settle and will want to be doing something all of the time. Your cat will always be hungry, but will loose weight and may develop diarrhoea.
This can be a serious problem, affected animals have a very fast resting heart rate and can develop chest problems and high blood pressure. It is important to seek help to investigate and control the condition.
It is not possible to feel the thyroid gland in a normal cat so any enlargement is treated with suspicion. The problem is diagnosed with the help of a blood test that we can usually do at the surgery. If we find raised levels of the hormone your cat will need a course of tablets to combat the effects of the thyroid hormone. There are new drugs available now that are more effective than products that we have had to use in the past. They are also easier to administer.
After three weeks we will need to assess the progress that has been made and decide whether it is better to continue with medical treatments or whether surgery to remove the thyroid glands is more appropriate. Some patients with hyperthyroidism have other problems as well and are at risk from an anaesthetic. A small number of cats with this condition will have a malignant growth in one or both glands and these animals will be more difficult to manage.
There is much speculation as to why this has become such a common condition in the past thirty years. It has been noted that this was about the time that poly brominated diphenyl ethers were first used on soft furnishings as fire retardants. These chemicals form a dust in most households and it is speculated that cats are particularly vulnerable to their effects because of their grooming habits. It is difficult to avoid exposure to fire retardants, the hope is that safer compounds will be found. Read more by using the following link.
Does you cat have a front door key? Cat flaps are great to allow your pets to follow their own lives. The problem is many cats know how to use that little door and you may get un welcomed visitors taking advantage of your hospitality. There is now a solution to this problem. It is possible to program a cat flap to recognize your pets microchip and not allow strangers to enter. There are more details of this useful devise on the Petporte website.
Would you like a Portrait of your Cat? I have discovered an artist in Cumbria who is a specialist in drawing pastel portraits of animals. Sally Logue can usually do this from a good photograph of your cat or if you can she will take the photographs herself if you are able to pay her a visit. Take a look at her web Site at
www.sallylogue.co.uk for some examples of her work.Are you mad about cats want more information links and on line shopping? Take a look at the scratching post website. This is a dynamic site for cat owners of all ages.
Links
Still looking for something? I am still writing these pages so feel free to contact me at
CliveNorrell@compuserve.com if there is anything you would like me to include here. Or you might like to look at the fact sheets of the Feline Advisory Bureau for further information.Take a look at the Shropshire Cat Rescue Site. They work tirelessly to find good homes for kittens and cats and will be able to advise about the best cat for you.