The House Cat Diary

Hairballs are cat furs formed inside the stomach when the cat tries to digest her own furs. Cats often develop hairball problem during the shedding season. If the cat keeps on shedding, it will have a high risk of swallowing the hair that drop on the ground resulting in eating some of it too. The hairball affects the digestion of the stomach and prevents the stomach juices from breaking down. 

The cat hairball symptoms include appetite loss, vomiting and coughing. The hairball that is stuck in the throat caused the cat to keep on coughing, as if she wants to get rid of something from her mouth. One of the most common cat hairball symptoms include cat vomiting out the hairball. If the cat manages to vomit out the hairball, she will recover back to normal condition again. 

In severe cases, the stomach of the cat will bulge and look swollen. It feels hard when you touch the stomach. The hard part is the furs accidentally swallowed into the stomach. 

Cats that do not defecate may suffer with hairball problem. Such hairballs block the channel where the feces are to move out from the body. The blockages cause the cat unable to defecate. Cats that do not defecate suffer from serious disease because the body is unable to clear way the toxin. You will know if the cat is not defecating properly by observing the litter box. A clean litter box means that the cat has not been defecating. 

The cat can suffer from a serious asthma attack if she is unable to cough out the hairball. An immediate step advised is to seek the attention of an experience veterinary doctor, if you find your cat is in exasperation or coughing for several days continuously. The veterinary doctor will perform a full body check to determine the cause of the condition.You can get more idea about how to deal cat hairball symptoms here

The number of Cases of urinary tract infection among cats had made the owners get concerned about this issue and the mathematical figure says it all. Nearly a considerable cat population ,to be exact 1.5% is said to have had caught up a urinary infection which in turn makes the owners restless and they have no other go except for getting their cat checked by a vet.

As there is a possibility for the tract crystals to turn out into stones that get deposited in the bladder, people sense the seriousness of this issue and have created demand for Meds in the market therefore. Stones in bladder are as dangerous to cats as it proves to be in the case of the human race and other living things. The initial stage of the development of the bladder stone will indicate a possible catching up of urinary infection. Until the pet shows some confirmatory and severe symptoms  pet owners are not ready to treat them and hence they usually fail to notice the urinary infection. Currently  in order to heal the infectivity meds have to be provided in the first place.

Over usage of these drugs during times when it is not infected, leads to the immunization ,which may in turn doesn’t help your cat to fight the infection when it really picks up an infection. Owners have to realize that these are medicines for treating bladder stones and not infections. So be wary about the side effects when you give these drugs to the pet ,inadvertently.

It is natural for the Cats, which have picked up an infection to pee often and make your home messy .If things go beyond their control a possible urinary incontinence is in store for them. There will be involuntary defecation of urine and the meds have to be supplied once confirming the fact that they have crystals formed and infecting their bladder. The next main indicator is the leakage of blood in their urine, which means that something is wrong with the well being of your cat. After monitoring such changes rush up to the vet and get all the meds prescribed after asking the vet to diagnose the cat.

Try to prevent a situation which may make your cat to pick up an infection. Give it maximum protection from the bacterium which spreads due to unclean environment and finally settles its base in the bladder of the cat. Subsequently try to improve the immune system of your cat and get a food prescribed by the vet which you can provide your cat to eat. Importantly ascertain that your cat is free from stress and anxiety .If humans are subjected to health issues ,why not the cats? Spend some time with your cat so as to keep it normal and healthy. If needed make use of the cat food Feliway if the vet recommends you to offer it.

Heed to the problems that affect the bowel of your cats as they may sometimes turn out to be some fatal factors which may determine the life span of your pet.

Sarcoptic mange is also called as scabies.  The causative agent is sarcoptic scabies. Sarcoptic scabies is microscopic mite that affects both the humans and animals [cats, dogs etc].  These mites gain entry in to the skin of the lovely pet cat and results in various types of skin problems.

The human beings who are living close by to the affected pet cat are likely to get infected. Scabies is more commonly noticed in young cats, but one needs to be informed that all age groups are equally susceptible. For the survival the mite has to be attached with the host.

Symptoms

The affected cats will have very severe pruritis which will not show any response to the symptomatic treatment. You can notice the constant scratching of the cat. At the beginning one will notice, papules [small bumps that are red in color] at the elbow, ankles, abdomen, chest and margins of the ear. Soon there will be generalized lesion. One can notice crusty scores and hair loss in patches.

In general the symptoms are due to allergic response of the body of the cat to the mite. The incubation period is 2 to 3 weeks. Incubation period is nothing but the time taken for the symptoms to develop from the entry of the organisms.

In case the infection is not treated immediately, there can be thickening of the skin, increased pigmentation, draining tracts and ulceration of the skin.  The secondary bacterial infection is very common due to the constant scratching [self trauma].

Diagnosis

Clinical sign- the onset and spread pattern that is suggestive of scabies infection. Skin scrapping examination- the scrapping collected at the point of lesion will be subjected to microscopically examination to find out the mite presence. Treatment response- if the response to the scabies treatment is good, then that itself is one good indication that the diagnosis is correct.

Treatment

The key in treating the scabies mite is the duration of the treatment. The cats must be treated for 3 weeks as the life cycle of the mite is 3 weeks. The other house holds also needs to be treated simultaneously as a preventive measure to avoid re infection.

Anti parasitic lime sulfur dip- the cats must be subjected to anti parasitic lime sulfur dip every week without fail.

Iver mectin is a very effective anti parasitic drug, which can be administered to the affected cat.  The dosage is as per the vet’s advice. This drug needs to be given 3 times at the interval of 2 weeks. But one should wary of using this treatment option as some breeds likely to have adverse reactions to this drug.

Revolution is a product which can be applied topically. This is very effective for flea control and heart worm eradication, and for the sarcoptic mite treatment. Antibiotic treatment is inevitable in case secondary bacterial infection was noticed

Care at home

Regular vacuuming, cleaning, washing etc of the cat house and its surrounding will help to minimize the parasitic infection such as scabies. 

The cats must be washed at least once in a week time. better to use anti parasitic [lime sulfur ] agents at that time for dipping. One has to very careful while using lime sulfur combination as it will damage the porcelain dishes and jewelry. The hair coat may get yellow tinge due to the action of sulfur. One must use gloves while dipping the cat. The other disadvantage is the offensive odor of the sulfur, which resembles rotten egg smell.

The dip has to be performed out doors, not indoors. The cat must be allowed inside the house only after complete drying. This way the furniture and other items are protected from sulfur.

Have you ever heard the term FLUTD? It is nothing but feline bladder infection. It is also called as cystitis. You can easily identify this disease simply by the way your cat is urinating. Your cat will urinate often outside the litter box and also cries out whenever she tries to urinate. Blood in urine also being noticed.

One step further, if your cat can’t urinate at all, immediately seek an appointment from your vet because there might be blockade in her urinary tract. So your cat requires treatment solely on diagnosis.

The main treatment for this feline bladder infection is prescribing antibiotics. The problem of this disease can easily be ascertained by urinalysis to check for white blood cells and also you ought to perform a urine culture for your cat to identify the bacteria that is causing this dreadful disease. Urine cuture also help us to choose the suitable antibiotic to contain feline bladder infection.

The ticks, is the tiny arthropods that bothers the cats very much by preying on the. Ticks are not insects, and are acarina order members. These ticks not only prey on cat but also indulge in disease transmission.  The vets as well as the pet owners have been fighting against these tiny arthropods for years and the fight still continues.

These tiny arthropods trace the potential prey by heat sensors. They get attached to the prey firmly. Thus once reaching the cat the ticks slowly makes its move and reach a part where there is less concentration of the hair such as ear or lips. Then, by inserting its mouthpiece the ticks starts feeding on the cat.

The Tick Removal Process

There are many methods available for the tick removal. Some of the methods such as applying extinguished match or fingernail polish are not full proof as these two only causes the mouth part loosen and don’t trigger of the fall of the tick from the cat.

The other effective way is use of tick removal devices such as tweezers. One should wear gloves while using these devices to pull out the ticks. This is because the ticks may harbor disease transmitting organisms. At times the head of the tick may remains in the skin. In such case nothing to bother much as it won’t harm any more. At times bit of skin too may come off with tick, while pulling, just don’t worry. In general the cat’s immune system will take care of these minor damages. In case you are convinced, the vet’s help can be solicited.

Prevention and Control of Cat Ticks

The control and the prevention of tick is must to keep the pet away from diseases that are transmitted through the ticks. Besides trying to remove the ticks as and when spotted, we should care for not allowing the pet cat to get the tick. The cat house and environment must be free from ticks.  The tall grass or the small bushes needs to removed or at least sprayed for ticks.

Special care needs to be taken while traveling through the tick prone areas with the pet cat.  The market is filled with various procedures such as bathing, dipping, spraying, or powdering to eliminate or kill the ticks. Even topical medications are available for the same purpose. Any one of the above mentioned procedure can be followed for tick elimination as preventive procedure. Tick colors also are very effective in detaching the tick as well as preventing the attachment, which can be tried as and when required.   

It is always advisable to consult the veterinarian before deciding on the medication for tick complaint for cat, because some have the habit of buying counter medication just to save money   or time of visiting a vet. He may suggest spot on products which can be applied on the pet cat as advised by the vet once in a month or as directed by the vet. The vet may advise the use of systemic topical products like fipronil methopre or without it. One should remember that the tick medications of the dog should never be used on cats.

 Cats are lovely pet animals. Can you imagine that they can look scary at times? Just imagine "Halloween "cat.  If this cat is looked from the side, the back is arched. The fur of the cat stands on the end.  The ears are flat against back of the head.  The teeth are bare and the corners of the mouth are pulled back.  The nose is wrinkled. The whiskers are rigid and drawn towards the side of the cats head. Looks really scary to imagine is it not?   

If any one sees any cat in this above mentioned state or posture, he can understand that the cat is frightened. The cat in fact is making to look bigger in order to intimidate the perceived opponent.  If the cat is turned to sideways and if the back is arched that gives the largest view of the cat’s body.  The hairs will be standing on its end. The erection of the hair is called piloerection; [ pil in Latin is nothing but hair]. This is similar to the goose bumps that the human being experience. Piloerection is due to the constriction tiny muscles that are present at the base of the hair. Piloerection makes the cat look larger than its original size.

The arching of the back is possible by the cat for the reason that it has 60 numbers of vertebrae which is twice as much as human’s vertebrae. Human beings have 30 vertebrae. The cats have highly flexible body. Their lifestyle which has plenty of relaxing and stretching requires this kind of flexibility.

In cat’s daily routine complex flexing exercise is must. As soon the cat gets up, you can see it stretching the paws in front. You can also see the cat elongating the body and its tail. Then the cat will form an arch by pulling its back. We can’t assume that the cat is frightened, but he practices this shape, so that he can get to the same position if required.

Please be informed that cat is not the only animal that has these unique features to threaten the predators. So many animals have different postures for the same purpose. The cobras form a hood, lizards to look big hold the inhaled air inside the body, the fishes change their color shade and extend their fins and the dogs raise their fur. All these postures are the gift of the nature to these animals in order to protect them from their potential predators.