Short Takes

Cats do an amazing job landing on their feet, but only when they have time to re-orient themselves. Cats in free fall immediately go about righting themselves in a race against the clock. In other words, if the fall is high enough, they may have time to get upright. Cats right themselves from front to back, righting the head and front feet then the back feet.

Maddies Fund is granting $2,580,741 to support the Million Cat Challenge as it expands its lifesaving work in shelters across North America. The Million Cat Challenge is a campaign to save the lives of one million shelter cats and it met its goal one year early. They are now focusing on communities where cats are still at risk to make lifesaving the norm across shelters.

Its cute, at first, when that tiny little kitten leaps at your ankles, swats you a few times, then runs off. But as he grows, this play biting/ scratching can injure you.

Luckily, cats do not experience the high frequency of seizures that can plague many dogs, but seizuring cats face the extra challenge of trying to find a safe, effective medication. A recent study looked at an extended-release version of the medication levetiracetam.

The TV show “America’s Got Talent” included a mind-boggling cat act, with some amazing tricks by very happy cats. You can seee it here at: https://youtu.be/8e0z3-iZ_TY.

Gary Whittaker, PhD, and Elizabeth Berliner, DVM, will assess the importance of feline coronavirus as a cause of upper-respiratory disease in shelter cats and the role it plays in the development of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).

Dwight Bowman, PhD, a parasitology professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting a study on ticks that have been removed from cats. Ticks can carry disease-causing pathogens, such as Lyme disease.

Bobcat fever, caused by a protozoa called Cytauxzoon felis, is appearing in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and other southern states, reports KFSM-TV (Fort Smith, Ark).

Dwight Bowman, PhD, a parasitology professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting a study on ticks that have been removed from cats. Ticks can carry disease-causing pathogens, such as Lyme disease.

Weve opened a Facebook page for CatWatch to share timely information about product recalls, illnesses, outbreaks, studies, and just-for-fun finds and events. Please, take a peek and, if you enjoy what you see, give us a Like!

Did you know that what you type into that search-engine box can make a world of difference when it comes to veterinary information? A 2010 study proved what most of us already knew: The quality of Internet information varies widely.

While studies have looked at the connection between periodontal disease and kidney failure in dogs, it is only recently that such a connection has been evaluated for cats. In the March 2018 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, a cooperative study between the Banfield Pet Hospitals centered in Vancouver, Washington, and the University of Minnesota looked at associations of these two health problems in cats.