Allergies

Asthma affects nearly 5 percent of cats and can be difficult to diagnose. The gold standard has been to sample airways, but this requires anesthesia, posing some risk to patients and delaying therapy in some cases.

Feline Injection Site Sarcomas (FISS) - which can grow in connective tissue months or years after an injection - continue to concern owners despite reports of low incidence. The reason for their development is the million dollar question, says oncologist Kelly Hume, DVM, ACVIM, at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. We dont know the exact mechanism of the trigger and how it progresses in FISS.

About a year ago, he started to leave feces in non-litter box areas. While he still used the litter box, he would also leave feces right next to the box and also in an area by the front door.

Can you identify the animal hoarder in your community? Is she the neighbor who has cats gathering in her yard? Perhaps its the quiet man who keeps his window shades closed? Or an outgoing community leader? How can you determine the difference between an animal hoarder and someone who responsibly cares for multiple pets The majority of hoarders are women, and the most common animal victims are cats.

Weve recently acquired a new kitten and want to make sure that we do all we can to give her a long and happy life. With so much information available, I wonder if you can give me a quick rundown of the things you feel are most important to assure that our baby has the best chance to live a long and happy life.

To minimize resource guarding in a multi-pet household, strive to create a healthy feline indoor environment. Do not yell at or physically punish your resource-guarding cat because this punitive approach will cause him to want to protect his resources even more and it can damage your relationship with him. While resource guarding is less common in cats than in dogs, it can escalate into a serious behavior issue that requires intervention by a professional.

My 2-year-old cat, who we took in as a stray after gradually gaining his trust about a year ago, has been having a problem that I wonder if you can help with. He has started to pull his fur out in small cotton ball-sized clumps. I find these clumps all over the house, and its driving me crazy. He is an indoor/outdoor cat and there are no other pets or kids in the house. Can you provide some insight?

Corticosteroids have proven effective in treating a variety of conditions from allergic reactions to brain disease, but they present a balancing act for both owners and veterinarians. Owners, faced with their cats experiencing any one of a long list of health problems, must weigh if long-term use is worth the risk of steroids side effects. At the same time, veterinarians must determine the lowest dose of medication to control the condition.

I understand why you may want to use these devices for cleaning the air with three kitties in the house, and you are certainly not alone in doing this. Although kitties smell great to me, households with cats can sometimes generate odors that some people find objectionable, and there are a number of ways that owners choose to deal with this. Ionic air cleaners are one of the newer technologies that have been developed to address air pollutants.

As a species, cats have earned the reputation of being finicky eaters. But if your cat is avoiding food, dont dismiss it as mere feline pickiness. Avoidance of food can be a symptom of hepatic lipidosis, a common yet serious liver condition also known as fatty liver disease. If left untreated, hepatic lipidosis can be deadly.

At the close of each year, do you find yourself writing a list of ambitious resolutions to eat healthier and exercise more? Perhaps you decide to eat more kale and spend more time at yoga and less lounging on the couch. We often craft New Years resolutions with good intentions but rarely fully achieve them.

Ear infections are relatively uncommon in cats - infections of the external ear occur twice as often in dogs. However, you should be aware of these significant facts: A study shows that geography can determine if your cat is likely to develop an ear infection. Left untreated, an infection can become chronic, causing pain and irreparable damage to the ear canal or eardrum. You can become the first line of defense in identifying an ear infection. Simply check your cats ears by giving them a quick rub - something you probably do everyday. Whether your cat shows pleasure or discomfort is a clue to the ears condition.