Features

Your cat will seek out warm spots, which must be safe

While dogs are the best-known therapy animals, cats can help humans who are ill or stressed, too, by promoting relaxation and healing. Therapy cats visit nursing homes, hospitals, courthouses, and schools (some colleges organize therapy animal visits as stress-relief during exams). Therapy visits may also be referred to as animal-assisted interventions (AAI).

Laser pointers catch your cats attention, and rare is the cat who doesnt chase that red dot. But it may not be all that fun in the end. While a bouncing laser causes the cat to leap and run, it doesnt give the cat a satisfying finale: He cant catch that beam, and he may end up feeling frustrated.

In August, the American Veterinary Medical Association encouraged veterinarians to educate their clients about pet health insurance, saying it may be an important approach for the veterinary profession to continue to provide high-quality veterinary services.

Tuberculosis (TB) in cats is especially worrisome because it can spread to humans. Infected cats are usually outdoor cats, but one outbreak started with indoor cats in England.

Every fall and spring, kittens become widely available, due to typical queen heat cycles in January and October and the feline 60-day gestation. Kittens are cute, for sure, and you may be tempted to adopt one (yay for you and the kitten!). But its important to ensure that you make an objective choice and properly prepare your home. We offer these tips to help with the transition:

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Studies have shown that 50 to 90% of adult cats are affected by periodontal disease to some degree or another. These are pretty staggering statistics for our beloved pets, especially when you consider that dental disease can be a precursor to systemic infections and organ failure as well as being painful in and of itself.

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Immunity, Inflammation, and Disease in June 2019 found a statistically significant reduction in an allergen that comes from cats when they were fed an egg product that neutralizes the allergen.

The most commonly used steroids are the oral preparations prednisone and prednisolone, which treat a wide range of illnesses from autoimmune disease to allergies to eosinophilic granuloma complex, immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, and certain cancers.

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Does your cat make noises that sound nothing like a traditional meow? Shes not the only one! While purrs, hisses, and, of course, the famous meow are the best-known cat sounds, cats have a wide repertoire of noises they use to communicate with other cats and us.