Behavior

Tears on your cats face can be concerning. Cats do not have emotional tears like people do, and some causes reflect serious situations; others are minor.

By and large, says the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), cats are geriatric at age 7. Although theres no simple way to compare a pets aging to human aging, the AVMA did come up with a guide.

While longhaired cats require the most upkeep, mats and tangles can be an issue for all cats. Older cats that are developing osteoarthritis start to have trouble bending to groom their entire bodies, with the hind end being a popular spot for mats and dandruff.

The first indication of a heart problem in a kitten or cat might be a murmur picked up by your veterinarian on a routine physical examination. Luckily, not all heart murmurs mean heart disease in cats, says Dr. Bruce Kornreich DVM PhD, board-certified veterinary cardiologist and Associate Director of the Cornell Feline Health Center. Many ostensibly healthy cats have murmurs, but depending upon the situation, follow-up diagnostics may be warranted when a murmur is detected in a cat.

Some of us leave our pets at home when we travel, but if your cat is coming along on a trip, you need to prepare for her as well. You must have:

Cat carriers are the safest way to transport your cat, be it to a veterinary appointment or to visit family for the holidays. They keep your cat secure, so that she cant get into trouble in an unfamiliar environment or be harmed in any way. In the case of a car crash, being in a carrier could save your cats life. But there is one challenge to this wonderful tool: getting your cat inside it.

My 7-year-old male domestic shorthaired cat has recently begun to bite me, not on a regular basis, but at times when I least exect it. The last bite became infected and required antibiotics, and I am concerned about this odd new behavior. Why does a cat start biting like this?

Your beloved cat climbs into your lap, rubs on your chin and then yawns by your face. Suddenly, you are overwhelmed by foul air. It is unreasonable to expect your feline friend to have minty fresh breath, but healthy cat breath really isnt offensive. Causes for fetid feline breath can range from minor to serious.

While cats dont have the reputation dogs do for finding lost strangers or detecting bombs, they do have a finely tuned sense of smell. That sense of smell is important to both their health and their happiness.Cats have 200 million scent receptors in their nasal passages-people have about 5 million. The vomeronasal organ (sometimes called Jacobsens organ) on the roof of your cats mouth also aids in scent reception. If you see your cat curl his lip and lift his head while sniffing, that action helps to detect scent using this organ as well as through the nose.

If your cat got a vote, Halloween would be down as one of the least favorite holidays (right alongside the 4th of July). There really isnt anything good about this holiday from a cats point of view.

Many cats show some signs of periodontal gum disease by three years of age. Reports indicate between 50 and 90 percent of all cats over four years of age will have some degree of dental disease.

Lost cats leave behind heartbroken families. And, if theyre not found, they contribute significantly to the homeless, feral, shelter, and community cat populations. Unfortunately, its an all-too-common situation. At least a third of all cats get lost at some point in their lives, says Pam Stonebraker, associate executive director and humane education coordinator at the Tompkins County, N.Y., SPCA.