Myriad Causes of Mouth Sores
An oral ulcer is almost always a reason to visit your veterinarian. While causes can range from treatable to serious, it can be difficult for you to determine at home. Your veterinarian may do a swab to examine under the microscope or possibly sedate your cat for a thorough oral examination.
Five Great Sources for Feline Health Information
Many unverified websites spout all kinds of feline health advice. We want to keep your kitties safe, so we are sharing our five favorites.
Myth Buster: Canned vs. Dry Food
We want the best for our cats, and nutrition plays a vital role in any animals health. But advertising and lay opinions can leave a cat owner wondering whether to feed canned food or dry foods.
Yes, Your Indoor Cat Can Get Fleas
You go to cuddle with your indoor cat and notice what looks like salt and pepper on your white shirt. Since youre a scientist at heart and want to know exactly what those specks are, you shake them off onto a white paper towel and add a drop of water. Oh no! The black specks dissolve into pink. You found flea eggs and flea feces.
Are Plastic Bowls a Problem?
You may have heard you shouldnt use plastic bowls to feed your cat. Plastic bowls have been thought to cause facial pyoderma, or chin acne, in cats. Plastic allergies have been implicated in some skin problems in children, so it is not an unreasonable concern, but unfortunately there is no scientific data on this phenomenon in cats.
Trim Those Nails
Many cats will wear down their nails with routine scratching (hopefully on an approved scratching post and not your furniture), but for others, were responsible for their pawdicures. You may need to keep your cats nails trimmed to lessen the damage from scratches or to make your cats affectionate kneading less painful. Cats who dont wear down their nails must be trimmed regularly to avoid the nails growing into the cats paw.
A Root Canal for Cats
A study at the University of California at Davis looked at root canals in cats. Nadine Fiani BVSc, DAVDC, Assistant Clinical Professor and Section Chief of the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine contributed to this study.
Five Tips for Using Therapeutic Diets
Get the most out of your cats pricey new food
Cat-Food Roulette
Life can bring valid reasons for switching your cats food, including an illness that requires a specific diet or a discontinuation of the formula you usually feed. Or maybe youve heard good things about a new brand and want to try it out. Or theres a great deal on a brand of cat food this month . . . the reasons are endless. So, is it OK to switch? Yes, just make the switch sensibly.