Ask Dr K

I can think of no better way to add excitement and joy to an empty nest than by raising a litter of orphaned kittens. By fostering kittens for a shelter, you will ease the burden on shelter workers since caring for orphans can be time-consuming. You will also provide an environment free from many of the contagious diseases that are so problematic, and often fatal, to vulnerable youngsters in shelters. Raising orphans is labor intensive, but as you see your tiny, helpless balls of fluff transformed into playful, inquisitive youngsters, Im sure youll consider your time well-spent.

One of the main problems is ensuring that the diet is nutritionally balanced. Although it may appear that cats can live and even thrive scrounging for food on their own, a cats nutritional requirements are actually quite complex. When cats eat prey, they ingest the whole animal - and it can be hard to duplicate this "complete" diet with muscle meats and other foods obtained from a grocery store. It also takes a lot of time, expense and knowledge to prepare a well-balanced diet, and many published recipes for home cooked pet diets have been found to be nutritionally incomplete. Even when the diet is balanced, it needs to be prepared so that picky cats cant selectively eat only certain ingredients. Unbalanced Diets & Nutritional Diseases. The veterinary literature is full of documented cases linking improper diets to nutritional diseases, some of which are fatal. Well-meaning owners feeding all-meat diets have caused serious calcium deficiencies resulting in catastrophic bone fractures. While bones contain calcium, feeding cooked bones may cause intestinal blockages or perforations, leading to peritonitis (a potentially fatal infection in the abdomen). Large amounts of tuna fish can cause thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiencies, resulting in neurologic disease (tuna cat foods are supplemented with thiamine to prevent problems). Deficiencies of the amino acid, taurine, result in blindness and cardiomyopathy (a potentially fatal weakness of the heart muscle). Interestingly, while muscle meats contain large amounts of taurine, grinding the meat can reduce taurine levels enough to cause deficiencies.

My cat has just developed a black discharge in one ear. Ive never seen or heard of this kind of thing before. I have taken him to my veterinarian twice, and on each occasion, she cleaned the ear and microscopically examined the discharge. Im assured that there are no ear mites present. Whats the reason for the discharge and whats the prognosis?

I have been purring nearly my whole life so I should be an expert! However, like many feline characteristics, purring is mysterious - even to me! Let me share what my friends at the Cornell Feline Health Center have to say about purring. At its core, purring is a means of communication - but cats purr in a variety of situations: when they are comfortable and content, of course, but also when they are anxious, injured or ill. What, exactly, a cat is communicating in these various situations is open to interpretation.

Thanks for responding in your February 2009 column to my question about night-time yowling. To answer your question, Decker is just 11 months old. A recent physical exam showed that he is in top form with no health problems. It was interesting to read all of the reasons why older cats may meow at night. Now Ill know what to do if Decker starts yowling at an advanced age, but in the meantime, I am hoping that we can get him to sleep through the night! I would like to take you up on your offer to expand on ways to get younger cats onto a more appropriate daytime/nighttime schedule.

The dark brown color of normal cat stool largely results from substances in the bile, a liquid produced in the liver that then empties into the first part of the small intestine. Bile aids in the digestion of fats and contains a number of substances, among which are breakdown products of aged red blood cells. These breakdown products impart the yellow color that is characteristic of bile. As these yellow pigments pass in stool on the way out of the body, bacteria residing in the large intestine break them down further, so their original yellow color is changed to a dark brown.

I adopted a munchkin Persian cat from a rescue group a few months ago. Buttercup is cute as a bug, but she has a real problem with her nose- she doesnt have much of one! When I look at Buttercups face I see very small slits where my other cats have nice big nose holes. When Buttercup breaths she makes more noise than any of my other cats; she actually sounds like shes snoring most of the time, even when shes awake! I dont mind the noisy breathing, but Im troubled by what happens when Buttercups activity increases. When she plays - which she doesnt do very often - it looks like she really has to struggle to get air through that tiny nose. After a few minutes of playing chase the feather she stops, sits down, and just heaves. I feel so sorry for her. I put a vaporizer where she sleeps but cant tell that its made any difference. Would antibiotics help? Will she grow out of it? Is there anything I can do for her?

The most effective way to determine whether your friendly, back porch tenant is a neighbors cat is to ask if anyone knows whose cat he might be. Take a photo and make flyers which you can pass out to neighbors and post around the neighborhood. Post signs at local shops, veterinary hospitals, and post offices. Drop off a flyer at your local animal shelter and let them know that you have Lucky. The animal shelter folks will let you know what the laws are regarding found animals. Check the lost and found section of your paper to see if anyone is looking for Lucky and post your own notice there. Make a collar for Lucky from a wide piece of elastic - write a message to his owner "Owner, please call (insert your phone number)" on the elastic and see if you get any responses. Ask a veterinarian or animal shelter to scan him for a microchip, which could identify an owner.

My cat, Nickel, meowed at the door to be let in this afternoon, as she always does after her outdoor adventures. Today was different, though, because when I went to the door to let her in she was sitting next to a dead crow. I dont know if she killed the crow, or if she found it dead and brought it for me to admire. Regardless, my first thought was of West Nile Virus. Can you tell me if cats can catch West Nile Virus from crows (dead or alive)? If they can catch the virus, are they able to pass it to humans?

I can certainly sympathize with your need for sleep. Decker may be keeping you awake at night due to medical or behavioral reasons. Without more background information, I dont know which is likely to be responsible in your case, so Ill discuss several possibilities in the hopes that I hit upon the cause behind Deckers insomnia. In the meantime, you should schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. May I ask Deckers age? If he is an older cat (lets say over the age of eight), several medical conditions may be involved. The first - and most common disease to consider - is hyperthyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland produces excess thyroid hormone leading to a myriad of problems. The classic symptoms of hyperthyroidism include unexplained weight loss and increased appetite, but some hyperthyroid cats have a decreased appetite. Other symptoms occur in some - but not all - hyperthyroid cats and may include vomiting, excessive thirst and urination, diarrhea, an unkempt haircoat and hyperactivity. Excessive thyroid hormones also have an effect on the heart, causing an increased heart rate. Some cats develop a heart murmur and others may have elevated blood pressure. Without treatment, hyperthyroidism is often fatal, so a complete physical exam and a blood test looking for increased thyroid hormone (T4) should be your first step in determining whats causing Decker to yowl at night.

Dear Elizabeth: Help! I am pregnant and really need some answers about Toxoplasmosis. I know (from reading CatWatch!) that people can be infected by eggs in a cats feces. I also understand that Toxoplasmosis is really dangerous during pregnancy, so I had my cat tested last week.

I do believe that CatWatch readers are the most kind-hearted souls on earth! Thank you for wanting to help these little creatures. Its very common for female cats to bring home prey. Mother cats will first bring home dead animals to their young kittens, teaching them to eat prey animals. When the kittens are a bit older, the moms will bring home wounded animals, and will show the youngsters how to kill. Its possible that Marley is attempting to teach you how to hunt. The best thing that you can do when presented with an injured wild animal is to call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for advice and assistance. Many well-meaning people are especially tempted to keep baby animals and care for them at home. Keeping wild animals - except to transport them to a wildlife rehabilitator - is against state and federal laws for lots of reasons. Many wild animals, even tiny babies, can transmit diseases to humans or other pets. Diseases, parasites or injuries may be difficult to detect and to treat, and each species requires specialized care.