AAP Migration Database

Ticks get very active in late spring and summer, and they can carry several diseases including lyme disease. Both people and their pets are at risk. Unfortunately, lyme disease can be very difficult to diagnose. The symptoms are often vague and can include lethargy, joint pain, and fever.

If you live in an area where lyme disease is prevalent, talk to your veterinarian about products that repel ticks. And make sure to check your pet for ticks after walks or other outdoor activities. If you do find a tick, grasp it with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and pull it straight off. Try to preserve it in a tight container. That way, if your pet develops a problem, your veterinarian can determine whether or not the tick is a carrier of lyme disease.

Fleas and ticks are tiny pests that can cause big problems, and the damage isn’t just skin deep. Animals can ingest fleas containing tapeworm eggs, which then hatch in their intestines. In a flea-ridden area, the same thing can happen to a child.

Ticks can also carry a variety of diseases, including Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Ehrlichiosis.

Risks vary by region, but Mike Paul, Executive Director of the Companion Animal Parasite Council says no risk is acceptable, so pet owners should be vigilant about flea and tick control.

Paul states, “what we’re trying to do is to get people to say, ‘well, not in my back yard,’ you know, and to keep their pets clean and their yards clean and make sure that their kids stay healthy.”

Cats are fastidious and groom themselves frequently with their tongues, so they can inadvertently swallow a lot of hair. The result for some cats is horrendous hairball hassles.

It’s not only a problem for long-haired kitties. Because a cat’s hairs are replaced roughly every thirty days, even short-haired cats can ingest a lot.

Usually this hair passes through the gastrointestinal tract unnoticed, but sometimes it gathers into sticky balls that your cat has to cough up. Otherwise the hairballs will block up the cat’s digestive tract and cause constipation.

The best way to avoid hairballs is to brush your cat frequently. If this doesn’t solve the problem, ask your veterinarian for a special laxative.

Cats can develop a variety of health conditions. Prevention is a big part of staying healthy. But you should also watch for general signs of health conditions and contact your veterinarian when you notice a problem or anything out of the ordinary. When it comes to identifying and treating problems, rely on your veterinarian and not a book or website. You should also call your veterinarian immediately if your cat is weak or listless, or refuses to take fluids.

Cat Allergies

The most common allergy among cats is flea allergy. As cats get older, their sensitivity to fleabites increases. Food allergies can also manifest themselves as dermatitis and severe itching, or vomiting and diarrhea.

Vomiting

One of the most common reasons for vomiting is hairballs, which can be minimized with regular coat brushing. Hairballs can occur even with
shorthair cats.

If you think your cat might be allergic to her food, try switching to another product with substantially different ingredients to see if that helps.

Periodic throwing-up may also be a sign of an overactive thyroid or kidney infection. This is particularly common in older cats. Your veterinarian can do a blood test to find out about either.

If your cat vomits more than usual or in some way demonstrates a departure from her normal habits, give her plenty of fluids so she does not become dehydrated and take her to the veterinarian.

Diarrhea

If your cat has persistent diarrhea – diarrhea that continues for more than two days – take your cat to the veterinarian with a stool sample.

Diabetes

Signs of diabetes may include excessive thirst and urination; loss of weight or obesity. Diabetic cats should be kept indoors to avoid accidental feeding that could elevate their blood sugar.

Upper Respiratory Conditions

Upper respiratory conditions manifest themselves in your cat by cold or flu-like signs, such as a runny nose and sneezing combined with reddened, runny eyes.

Bladder stones in cats are rock-like bits of minerals that form in the bladder. The correct name for them is “uroliths.” But a bladder stone by any name is a pain for your cat.

The stones may be as small as a grain of sand or as big as a pea. The most common idea for why these stones are formed is called the “precipitation-crystallization theory.” This simply means that there are elevated levels of stone- forming minerals in the cat’s urine. The trickier question is why. It may be due to diet, disease or an infection. In any case, these crystals do not get broken down in the urine. Instead they build-up into a rock and mineral collection no kitty wants to own. Talk to your veterinarian about treatment options!

If your cat shows signs of straining in the litter box, or if you see blood in the urine, it might be a sign of feline lower urinary tract disease, or FLUTD. This disease is actually a collection of conditions that affect the bladder and urethra of cats.

Cats with FLUTD experience pain and have difficulty when urinating. They might also lick themselves excessively in an attempt to sooth the area. Another classic sign is when fluffy urinates outside the litter box on a cool, smooth surface.

FLUTD tends to affect middle-age, overweight, indoor cats that don’t get much exercise, and a dry diet may be a factor. It’s a serious illness, especially for male cats, so check with your veterinarian about treatment as soon as you notice something’s up!

Cat owners cringe when a pet is diagnosed with feline leukemia because this viral disease is often fatal. It can leave its victims in such a debilitated state that they die of secondary infections or related illnesses such as kidney disease, blood disorders, or cancer. Shed in saliva, nasal secretions, urine, and feces, feline leukemia is also highly contagious – cats can become infected through bite wounds or social grooming.

Currently, there’s no cure for feline leukemia, so the best preventative measure you can take is to have your cat tested and then vaccinated for the disease. The other option is to keep him indoors where he cannot come into contact with potentially-infected cats.

Your heart goes out to a sick kitty and you decide to take him home. You’re doing the little guy a favor — but you could be endangering your other pets. So make sure to take appropriate precautions.

First, make sure that all of your pets are properly vaccinated, and that the kitten’s illness is being treated. Then, when the cat arrives, do not allow the animals to share food dishes or litterboxes. In fact, the best thing is to keep the sick cat isolated from your other pets. It will not only help protect your other animals, but will help minimize stress for the sick kitty while she heals.

Ask your Veterinarian about how the kitten’s disease is transmitted. He or she will be able to provide you with any additional precautions.

By four weeks of age, kittens have their incisors, the 12 small teeth in the front of the mouth. At six weeks, all 26 deciduous teeth are in.

Kitten teeth should be white and clean, with the upper incisors meeting the lower incisors evenly. The gums and mouth tissue should be pink, or dark if pigmented; a pale color is a sign of anemia.

If possible, accustom your kitten to having its teeth cleaned on a regular basis at home. Gently rub the pet’s teeth with your finger. As she learns to accept this, use a soft cloth or a child’s soft toothbrush dipped in a solution of baking soda and water or use a toothpaste especially for dogs and cats. Do not use toothpaste formulated for humans. Because cats swallow rather than spit out the preparation, this can cause stomach upset.

Occasionally a kitten will retain some deciduous (baby) teeth after the permanent teeth have appeared. This may damage the soft tissues of the mouth and may even accelerate wear of permanent teeth. A veterinarian should be consulted to determine whether or not removal is necessary.

Oral Hygiene

Inspect your cat’s mouth regularly for tartar buildup or a condition of the gums and brush your cat’s teeth with the proper brush and toothpaste (made specifically for cats) once or twice a week. Consult with your veterinarian about the correct home-cleaning process or professional cleaning.

Dry, crunchy foods can be helpful in keeping teeth clean by scraping against the teeth and acting like a toothbrush to help remove plaque. Still, there is no substitute for regular dental care.

Dental Problems

Lesions on your cat’s gums or foul-smelling breath can be early warning signs of a potential problem. The most common dental problems cats experience result from plaque and calculus buildup. If left unchecked, plaque and calculus buildup can eventually cause inflammation of both the gums (gingivitis) and the membrane lining of the tooth socket (periodontitis).

The infection resulting from these conditions may spread to other parts of the body such as the kidneys or valves of the heart.

Dental problems may also result from injury, foreign bodies such as porcupine quills or foxtail, malnutrition or systemic health conditions that infect the mouth as well as other parts of the body.

Common warning signs of dental problems in cats include:

• Red, swollen or bleeding gums
• Drooling
• Bad breath
• Loss of appetite
• Dark spots on molars
• Raised sores in mouth

Cats and Dangerous Greenery

A cat who nibbles household plants may suffer from oral problems not related to a periodontal health condition. Diffenbachia, or “dumb cane,” can cause severe irritation and ulceration to a cat’s mouth. The cat may salivate and have trouble swallowing. Prompt veterinary attention is needed.  For a more complete list of plants that are dangerous to cats, consult your veterinarian.

Cats may or may not have nine lives. But when it comes to getting kitty vaccinated, why take chances? Your kitten should see a veterinarian to start a series of vaccinations by the time she is eight weeks of age. All kittens should receive vaccines for rabies, upper respiratory infections, and feline panleukopenia or distemper. A vaccination against feline leukemia virus is also a good idea if your cat will be spending time outside.

Whether or not your kitten needs shots for other diseases is up to your veterinarian. He or she will consider the risk of infection to your cat – where she lives and the other cats she’s exposed to – as well as the safety and effectiveness of each vaccine.