Lifestyle

Outliving your cat is painful, but it’s the natural order, given the comparatively short feline lifespan. More difficult, and more crucial, to contemplate: What happens if you go first? Preparing for that contingency shouldn’t be done casually. You need to be specific about your wishes to make sure they’re enforceable by law and to back up your plans with money designated for your cat’s care. The good news: Most states now have laws recognizing pet trusts. Quite simply, a pet trust is a legal arrangement that lets you designate assets, such as insurance policies, real estate, cash or a retirement fund, for the care of your cat in the event of your disability or death. You can leave assets only to a living person, says Gregory S. Alexander, J.D., Robert Noll Professor of Law at Cornell University and an internationally renowned expert in property law and theory. As a result, “You have to find someone to receive the legal title to the property [the assets] that you’re going to use to benefit the pet, and you have to find somebody willing to use that property to look after the pet.”

Heartwarming reports of lost dogs trekking miles back home regularly make the news. Now it’s a cat’s turn. Most recently: Holly, an indoor cat who bolted from her owners’ RV at Daytona Beach. Two months — and 190 miles later — an emaciated Holly arrived a mile from her West Palm Beach home. A woman took her to a veterinarian who found a microchip with the owners’ information.

As you know, we cats are very sensitive creatures, but in your case, as with other cats with feline hypersensitivity syndrome (FHS), this sensitivity seems to be ratcheted up. FHS is a recognized syndrome in the feline world, although the definitive cause is not clear. While it is not, in and of itself, believed to seriously affect overall health or longevity, a few important points regarding this unusual behavioral syndrome are worth making, especially for our human friends who are commonly puzzled by its manifestations. FHS, also variably referred to as rolling skin syndrome and atypical neurodermatitis, is characterized by dramatic twitching or rippling of the skin, most commonly on the back between the middle of the spine and the base of the tail or in the flank region, with intermittent jerking of the body and exaggerated tail movements.

Your next cat may show up when you least expect it. You glance out the window and see a skinny cat with a dirt-smudged coat looking back at you. He doesn’t rush to greet you like a lovable, lost Labrador Retriever. He sizes you up, determining if you’re friend or foe. You place bowls of food and water on the back porch to prevent him from starving or becoming dehydrated, but as the days pass and the cat moves closer to you and lets you pet him, you’re smitten. You’ve made the transition from performing an act of kindness to wanting to provide a safe, loving home.

If you’ve resisted brushing your cat’s teeth, knowing how strenuously he’s likely to object, consider this: Periodontal disease, an often painful inflammation of the gums that can result in bone loss and destruction of oral tissue, is extremely common. In fact, it’s the most prevalent disease in companion animals and can pose serious health threats. “Periodontitis has been shown to play a role in such health problems as cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” says dental specialist Santiago Peralta, DVM, a Lecturer in Dentistry and Oral Surgery at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. This disease is, however, entirely preventable, according to the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC). The best way to prevent periodontitis is by regular brushing and professional dental care.

Researchers gathered DNA and tissue samples from feral cats in Northern California. They also studied skin biopsies and blood samples from captive and wild South African and Namibian cheetahs, and in a study believed to the first to identify a molecular basis of coat pattering in mammals, they made this discovery: Tabby cats and rare king cheetahs share a gene responsible for the cats’ stripes and the cheetahs’ spots. However, when a mutation occurs, the tabby will develop patches of color rather than stripes, and the cheetah’s spots and blotches turn into wide stripes down its back.

A Husky found the kitten lying in the street and gently carried him in his mouth home to his owner. Scooter had a broken spine and his back legs were paralyzed. Euthanasia would have been the likely fate for a kitten in similar shape. But Betsy Kennon, VMD, at Harts Run Veterinary Hospital in Fox Chapel, Pa., was determined to save his life — and she did. Hospital clients chipped in to buy Scooter a custom-made wheeled cart to get around.

Two thousand hours of video recorded by “kitty cams” from the National Geographic Society have uncovered the lives of indoor cats who are allowed outdoors.

Two thousand hours of video recorded by “kitty cams” from the National Geographic Society have uncovered the lives of indoor cats who are allowed outdoors.

Imagine veterinarians being able to sterilize feral cats by vaccination instead of surgery. Or to identify the connection between a relatively benign form of feline coronavirus and feline infectious peritonitis, which is nearly always fatal, with the hope of finding ways to diagnose and combat it. Or discover how and why vaccine-associated sarcomas may trigger DNA damage in some cats and how this damage may be used to predict which cases of the sarcomas are amenable to chemotherapy. These are just three of the many scientific studies funded by the Cornell Feline Health Center where, under the guidance of Director Colin Parrish, Ph.D., Professor of Virology, the goal of bettering the health of cats continues to be the focus and commitment, as it has been since the center opened its doors in 1974.

With shopping, traveling and entertaining, the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s can be anything but relaxing. However, humans aren’t the only individuals to suffer holiday overload. Cats can also become stressed, and if prolonged, the stress can result in changes in health and behavior. “I could write a book about the physiology of stress,” says Germain F. Rivard, DVM, Ph.D., a resident in behavioral medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. “A cat under stress would change personality as he loses his coping mechanisms. Often, the reaction is avoidance with or without vocalizations, and if the cat cannot escape, he defends himself aggressively. That’s why it is important to create a safe place ahead of time.”

Wollie, a 3 -year-old black cat, made national news when he walked six miles to find his way home from an animal shelter in Bedford, N.H. Barbara Oliphant had taken in the stray but gave him up when her husband became ill. When her husband improved, Oliphant’s daughter adopted Wollie as a surprise for her, but the cat escaped his carrier in the shelter parking lot. He appeared at Oliphant’s door three days later. The inevitable question: How did he do that? Behaviorist Katherine A. Houpt, VMD, at Cornell offers the likely explanation: “He was a stray and familiar with the area.”