Health

When you adopt a kitten or a cat, the traditional plan calls for spaying or neutering as soon as possible. This common procedure is usually effective in rendering your cat sterile but does carry health risks and requires time to prep, operate and provide post-surgical care.

In this age of high-tech veterinary tools like digital X-rays and color Doppler ultrasound, one humble blood test - a complete blood count - remains at the forefront of diagnosis. A single drop of blood contains millions of cells, and with a scant half teaspoon, your cats veterinarian can quickly identify nearly two dozen types of cells to diagnose conditions ranging from anemia and autoimmune disease to cancers and infections.

If youre out for a stroll with your cat in your fenced backyard and he suffers a snakebite, his life can quickly be in danger. The safest course: Dont attempt outdated first-aid measures such as application of a tourniquet or incision to remove the venom with suction. It will already have been absorbed, and tourniquets can compromise blood circulation, causing severe injury.

Scientists have known for some time that certain strains of the feline coronavirus can lead to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a viral disease that is the leading infectious cause of death in cats under 2 years of age. However, the pathogenesis - the way the usually mild coronavirus develops into often-fatal FIP - remains a mystery.

I am interested in feeding my 4-year-old Siamese cat a homemade diet and would like to make this a raw diet, as I have read that it is more natural for cats. Cat foods have so many artificial ingredients, and I am concerned that these additives may be harmful to him. What are your thoughts about these ideas?

If you want to check out a potential clinical trial for your cat, these are questions to ask his veterinarian and the study’s research coordinator.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about pets’ exposure to a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drug after reports of deaths and illness in cats. Their owners had applied flurbiprofen cream or lotion to their own neck or feet to treat pain.

If your cat had a life-threatening disease with no effective treatment, would you enter him in a clinical trial that might result in a helpful drug or other therapy - perhaps even a cure? Clinical studies are essential in moving medicine forward and often rely on the participation of animals with naturally occurring diseases to find answers.

Recently, a stray cat appeared on my porch, and he is the sweetest thing. I would like to adopt him and bring him into our house, but when I brought him to the veterinarian, he tested positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). I am concerned because I have two other indoor cats. Can you provide some advice about how to proceed?

Cats suffer kidney disease more often than many other species, including dogs and humans. Almost all geriatric cats have some kidney damage. Because the kidneys produce a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production, when the kidneys fail, cats may experience anemia, which is low red-blood cell concentration in the blood. Anemia may limit the delivery of oxygen to vital tissues. It cant be dismissed merely as tired blood to be cured by magic elixirs. Anemia can be life threatening and may occur suddenly. At other times, it may be a clue to a chronic underlying problem like kidney disease. However, advances in veterinary medicine are providing hope.

Some veterinarians use a newer form of the human hormone erythropoeitin (EPO) called darbepoeitin to treat anemia associated with rental failure. EPO, produced in...

More than half of cat owners - 58 percent - report that their cat hates going to the veterinarian, according to a study by Bayer Veterinary Care. They hide, hiss and howl for one simple reason: Theyre afraid. Through no fault of their own, cats native instinct to stay safe by avoiding the unfamiliar doesnt serve them in the crate, the car and the clinic.Cats may be unfamiliar with loud noises, such as barking dogs or vocalizing cats, strange odors in the air and on the floor of the clinic, and that translates into fear, says Leni K. Kaplan, MS, DVM, a lecturer in the Community Practice Service at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Cats are also routine-oriented, and going to the vet, which most likely involves traveling in a car, is not part of their regular routine.