Common Feline Ailments

Even though cats, especially indoor cats, tend to be quite healthy, they do have some common ailments. For the most part, a healthy diet and regular grooming will alleviate and even prevent some of these ailments. However, at the first sign of a change in behavior or personality, I recommend a trip to the vet. Annual check-up visits to the vet are a given.

Some common conditions are:

Diabetes

Feline Diabetes can affect cats of any age, but is most common in older, obese cats?typically males. There are two types of diabetes. There are a few types of diabetes. Type 1 is caused by insufficient insulin production. Type 2 results from a body?s inability to handle insulin effectively. Another type of diabetes, secondary diabetes, occurs as a side effect of drugs or diseases that impair the natural secretion of insulin or its effects in the body.

The symptoms of feline diabetes include vomiting, dehydration, weakness and loss of appetite, increased thirst and urination, weight loss, breathing abnormalities, and an unkempt-looking coat. If your cat has any or several of these symptoms, do not hesitate to take him to the vet.

Diabetes is typically treated with diet and supplements, weight control, insulin injections, oral medications, and/or monitoring glucose and insulin levels.

Ear Mites

Ear mites can make your cat miserable and irritable, but are a common cat ailment. If you notice your cat scratching inside his/her ears, ear mites may be to blame. Ear Mites and wax buildup are among the top, but easily managed conditions. It is important to treat ear mites early, as they can do a great deal of damage to your cat's hearing and long term health. Regular ear cleaning with our Organic Ear Wash can go a long way in keeping your cat?s ears clean and free of bacteria and mites.

Emotional Distress

Cats are very sensitive, and often suffer from emotional and mental distress. While dogs happily adapt to new surroundings, moving to a new home is often very stressful to a grown cat. Cats subject to relocation sometimes wind up darting off to return to their old home, even if it?s thousands of miles away, destroying furniture, marking their territory by urinating in unwelcome places, or developing other tendencies.

Feline Leukemia

One of the most dangerous threats that a cat faces is feline leukemia. This disease can greatly shorten your cat's life and can be prevented by making sure your cat is vaccinated against it. It is easily spread between cats, so caution should be taken to keep your cat away from those who may be infected. On the same token, if your cat suffers from this disease, make sure that you protect other cats in your area by keeping it inside.

Fleas

Flea infestations should be controlled for several reasons, one of the most important being that the cat flea may carry tapeworm larvae. If cats eat these fleas when they groom themselves, they may become infested with these tapeworms. Flea bites can make kittens anemic, and in both young and adult cats, flea allergies can result in excessive, painful scratching, emotional distress and possibly, skin disease. Routinely brushing or combing your cat will help control fleas, as will a natural flea bath. Indoor cats are of course very unlikely to develop fleas.

Hairballs

Cats are constantly grooming themselves. All this licking subjects them to ingesting the fur that they shed. When the fur begins to accumulate in the stomach, it becomes stuck in their digestive systems and forms hairballs. Cats usually rid themselves of these hairballs by coughing them up. Rarely, if they are not coughed up, they can block the intestinal tract, requiring a trip to the vet. Symptoms of this blockage might be poor appetite, dull looking fur and constipation. Some natural solutions to managing hairballs are regular combing or brushing, a teaspoon of bran or canned pumpkin mixed in with their meals, a container of wheatgrass or another type of grass to nibble on, or fish oil, all of which will help pass any hair that your cat ingests through the digestive system.

Hyperthyroidism

For some reason, hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) is common in cats. My beloved Nini suffered from hyperthyroidism, and despite treatment, it was one of the ailments that contributed to her death. Hyperthyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland becomes enlarged and produces an excess amount of thyroid hormone. The condition is often provoked by a benign tumor on one or both lobes of the thyroid gland. The good news is that thyroid tumors have only a 2-5% chance of malignancy.

Symptoms of an overactive thyroid include: increased appetite or thirst, unexplained weight loss, nervousness or irritability, frequent vomiting, lethargy and weakness, diarrhea, or a coat that appears dry and un-groomed. Nini showed many of these symptoms. A cat with the condition may not present every symptom, but the presence of even two should prompt a visit to the veterinarian?s office.

Urinary Tract Infections

UTI?s can affect both male and female cats, but male cats that have not been neutered are more susceptible. UTIs are a painful inflammation of the lower urinary tract, and can be fatal. There are obvious signs of a urinary tract infection, the most obvious being difficult, frequent or infrequent urination, or urinating in areas outside the litter box. Cats tend to urinate in areas outside their litterbox to let us know that something is wrong. Other signs of an infection are lethargy and listlessness, blood in the urine, appetite loss and frequent licking of the genitals.

UTIs can be caused by decreased water intake and urine retention to viruses, bacteria, or diet. Any or all of the following treatments may be given -- catheterization, fluid therapy, antibiotics, or even (rarely) surgery. Often, simply feeding smaller and more frequent meals can prevent recurrence. It is essential that your cat drink plenty of water, so it is important to keep her water bowl filled with fresh, clean water at all times.