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Whenever cat owner Susan Lomond turns on her printer, her cat Sylvester dashes over to sit on it, lie on it and watch in fascination as the paper comes out. But when Susans friend Diana turns on her printer, her cat, Petra, flees in terror. Cats respond differently to noise depending on their personalities and experiences - and even their genetics. When cats get scared of noise, we often feel the need to protect them. Heres what you can do to help your cat cope with noise. Scary Sounds. Cats differ from dogs when it comes to being frightened by noise. Dogs are notoriously afraid of thunder and fireworks, and will often try to escape from the house in a panic.

Thanks to the numerous advances in veterinary medicine, many of the cancers to which cats are susceptible are now controllable, sometimes curable - and even preventable (in the case of mammary cancer, for example). This does not always hold true, however, for osteosarcoma, a highly destructive feline bone cancer for which there is no known cure unless it is detected early. Once osteosarcoma has invaded a cats body, the best that the animals owner can hope for is early diagnosis and management of the disease. If the cancer is confined to a limited area of an affected cats body, successful treatment will almost always involve surgical excision - the amputation of a leg, for example, or the removal of a part of the animals jawbone - in which case the cat may go on living for years.

Buddy, a streetwise stray cat that had been rescued from a vacant parking lot, took great exception to a male cat spraying the front door of his adoptive home. To even out the turf war, Buddy decided to launch a counter attack - by spraying the inside of the door. "I saw Buddy positioning [to spray], so I tried to scoot him away from the door," explains Nancy Peterson, information specialist for the Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C. "He bit me. It wasnt just a little tooth scratch, either. It was a nice bite," she says. As a former veterinary technician, Peterson was quite aware of the health risks that a cat bite poses -even when the cat is up-to-date on its veterinary care and is vaccinated against rabies.

Yearly, thousands of cats are brought to veterinary clinics throughout the U.S. showing the telltale signs of respiratory distress: labored breathing, chest constriction, wheezing and coughing. In the vast majority of cases, the animal will be diagnosed with asthma, a mechanical constriction of the airways, or bronchi, the narrow network of tubes that lead directly from the trachea to the lungs. The narrowing of the airways occurs when a cats immune system overreacts to the presence of an allergy-producing substance, such as cigarette smoke, dusty kitty litter or pollen and responds to the presence of the allergen by releasing stimulants that cause a swelling of the tissue (mucous membrane) lining the bronchi.

Some cats are simply perfect patients. They sit calmly for nail trims and they let you look inside their mouths and even brush their teeth, purring all the while. Other cats, however, are not so accommodating. You merely think about trimming their nails and they disappear in a flash. Getting a pill into them requires protective gear and strong determination. Most cat owners know that there are a lot of different ways of getting medications into cats, but the desperate owners of hard-core pill haters sometimes need to go the extra mile to find a solution.

Its always been a priority to feed your cat the most nutritious diet available, even if that means paying more for premium cat food. But even the best of foods can contain an ingredient to which she has developed an allergy. If thats the case, youre likely to witness a change in your cats behavior and health. Most noticeably, shes likely to be bothered by intermittent or constant itching.

Chronic renal failure in a cat occurs when 75 percent or more of the animals healthy kidney tissue has been destroyed and replaced by scar tissue. As a consequence, the two kidneys are unable to carry out their function of removing metabolic waste from the blood that is pumped through them. Although chronic renal failure is incurable, an affected cats life may be extended significantly by the close monitoring of its hydration status and the routine replenishment of its body fluid levels.

For all the companionship and love your cat brings into your home, theres also one dirty downside to living with him: the scooping and changing of his litter box (lugging home the heavy stuff isnt much of a treat, either). Luckily, there are ways of making this unpleasant job a little easier. If you use the right materials, create a litter-changing routine and keep the necessary supplies in a convenient place, this chore can definitely be made less labor-intensive. We share some tips to reduce litter drudgery.

The good news is that cats are living longer these days, thanks largely to advances in feline nutrition and veterinary medicine in general. The bad news, however, is that these longer life spans give cats a greater chance of developing arthritis - a painful, debilitating and potentially crippling joint disease that is predominantly age-related. All Too Common. In a study conducted a few years ago, researchers carefully analyzed X-rays of the spines and limbs of 100 middle-aged or elderly cats (10 years of age or older).

Commonly referred to as ringworm, feline dermatophytosis is a fungal infection that is frequently observed in cats. The condition occurs worldwide, most commonly in warm, humid climates that are hospitable to the peculiar type of fungus that causes it. In the U.S., the disorder is especially problematic year-round in the deep South, says William Miller, VMD, a professor of dermatology at Cornell Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, and its prevalence can rise markedly in cooler areas of the nation with the arrival of hot and muggy summer weather.

Your best friends cat always seems to be ill. During your occasional visits to her home, the cat is often wheezing, sneezing and coughing. Her eyes are red and watery, and she acts lethargic. Your friend says that these signs tend to persist for a week or so - but then she seems to be all right again for a while. Its quite likely that the cat is suffering from a deeply rooted upper respiratory infection, a highly contagious disease affecting her nose, sinuses, pharynx and larynx - the structures that filter, heat and dehumidify inhaled air before it flows to her lungs.

Check the pet food aisle at your local supermarket, and youll find countless varieties of food to entice your cat. Feed your cat too little or the wrong kind of food, and he wont maintain good health. Feed him too much, and hell get fat. Although the food you feed your cat should be complete and balanced, the simple answer to how often you should feed him is that it depends on your pet and your particular circumstances. Age Matters. Kittens require more food per pound of body weight to support their growth than do adult cats, and therefore should be fed more often throughout the day.