It is never easy to hear that your beloved cat has cancer. As your feline friend is undoubtedly an important member of your family, it can be absolutely heartbreaking to learn that he or she has developed a life-threatening disease like cancer. However, a cancer diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the road. In fact, just like with humans, chemotherapy is a viable option that will allow your kitty to live comfortably for many years to come.
cat health care
How to Keep Your Cat Healthy using Fitness Activities
Learning how to keep your cat healthy and fit when he or she seems to prefer lazing around all day can be a bit of a challenge. However, it’s a challenge you need to accept to ensure their well-being.
As they age, cats tend to move around less but eat more. This often leads to weight gain and then obesity, which affects more than half of all cats in the United States. Obese cats are more vulnerable to diabetes, high blood pressure, ligament problems, respiratory issues, heart and kidney diseases and even cancer. As well, their life spans are usually 2.5 years shorter than those of cats that maintain a healthy weight.
Feeding your cat nutritious food and keeping treats to a minimum can help, but it’s not enough; you have to encourage activity as well. Engage your cat in physical activities as early as you can. Arrange a daily routine that encourages him or her to use energy and exercise muscles to stay healthy and fit.
Read moreHow to Keep Your Cat Healthy using Fitness Activities
Practice Good Seasonal Cat Care by Eliminating Holiday Dangers
If you are a cat owner, you need to remember that seasonal cat care is very important. Christmas and other holidays can pose several risks to the safety and welfare of your little companion. A cat might attempt to climb a tall, unstable Christmas tree and topple it, or swallow and choke on a small, decorative ornament.
Avoid threats to your cat’s safety so you can avoid spending the holidays in a veterinary hospital. Consider the following cat care tips on holiday decorations and the hazards they present.
Read morePractice Good Seasonal Cat Care by Eliminating Holiday Dangers
Common Causes and Treatment for Tapeworms in Pets
Tapeworms are long, flat intestinal worms that attach themselves to your pet’s intestines. Comprised of multiple, small segments, tapeworms secure themselves to the wall of the small intestine using their hook-like mouthparts. Tapeworms are most commonly diagnosed by finding small white worms (or segments) that appear similar to grains of rice around the backside of your pet, in their feces or within your pet’s preferred sleeping and living quarters.
There are a handful of different kinds of tapeworms that latch onto pets, the most common of which is called the Diplidium or, in the cases of dogs, Diplidium Caninum, which relies on the flea as a host. Adult worms of this family can reach up to 8 inches in length, which can be extremely uncomfortable for your pet.
Tapeworms are, unfortunately, a common problem that many pets and their owners have to deal with. While they do not usually cause serious health problems to humans, regardless, it should be addressed by your local veterinarian as soon as possible. Understanding what exactly tapeworms are, how your pet can get a tapeworm and what you can do to prevent them from arriving will help you provide him or her with the best care possible.
Diabetes Mellitus in Pets: Recognition and Treatment
Diabetes is a chronic disorder that typically occurs in middle-aged dogs and middle-aged to older cats. Diabetes mellitus, in particular, affects the pancreas and is characterized by some level of insulin deficiency. Thankfully, this disorder can be managed successfully through insulin therapy and paying extra special attention to your pet’s diet.
As a disease of the pancreas, diabetes mellitus is caused by the failure of the pancreas to regulate blood sugar. Research shows that this type of diabetes is related to elevated concentrations of blood glucose and the inability of an animal’s body to use glucose as a source of energy. As a pet owner, it is important for you to be aware of this disease and to understand the signs of it so that you can get your pet the care he or she needs.
We thought it would be helpful to go over what exactly diabetes mellitus is, what the signs of it are and what your treatment options will be. Having a grasp of common ailments that affect older dogs and cats as well as brushing up on some tips will help you provide better care for your animal and ensure they live a long happy and healthy life.
Read moreDiabetes Mellitus in Pets: Recognition and Treatment
How to Properly Protect Your Pet from Rabies
Rabies is a dangerous virus that can cause serious illness in all mammals, including dogs, cats and even humans. A viral disease that affects the central nervous system, in particular the brain and spinal cord, there is unfortunately no cure for rabies. Because of its level of seriousness, it is extremely important to take steps to protect your pet and make sure they are properly vaccinated.
Rabies is spread by contact with the saliva of any infected animal, which makes it a highly zoonotic disease – transferrable to both humans and animals when they intersect. In most cases, transmission of rabies to a pet is through a bite wound, but it has been known to spread from a simple scratch or existing open wound. Rabies is not only harmful to you and your pet – it is a public health risk, with dangers to everyone that cannot be stressed enough.
Recognition of Illness Symptoms Ensures Better Cat Health Care
Cat health care problems can be avoided, or at least minimized, by detecting the signs of an illness early. It is important for owners to learn which symptoms are cause for concern, which can be ignored and which indicate a particular illness for which immediate help is needed.
Symptoms vary with each condition and you must be alert. Complicating matters is that, in some cases, the symptoms are not physical but are behavior-related instead. Such signs tend to be subtle, which is why you should note behavioral changes in case treatment is needed for a health problem.
To guide you through the potentially overwhelming process of determining if your cat needs to be taken to a vet and how quickly you need to act, here is a rundown of red flags for some of the most common feline health problems.
Read moreRecognition of Illness Symptoms Ensures Better Cat Health Care
How Often Should You take Your Cat to the Vet?
Like many cat owners, you love your pet very much, but how often should you take your cat to the vet? Even though cats are very popular and people take them in as friends, companions and even family members, these lovely animals often do not receive the veterinary care they need.
Why Owners Don’t Take Pet Cats for Checkups
There are two major reasons that cats are not taken to the vet regularly. One, people believe in the myth of “feline self-sufficiency.” To put it simply, people usually assume that cats can take good care of themselves and don’t need help from a vet. This myth is reinforced by the fact that cats don’t follow their owners around, are litterbox-trained very easily, always groom themselves and are very independent animals, which does indeed make them appear to be self-sufficient.
Older Cat Health Tips: How to Help Reduce Obesity
One of the most difficult aspects of being a pet owner is watching your beloved furry friend age. As you are responsible for their well-being from the time they come under your car until they pass, there are certain things you should be on the lookout for with senior animals.
Older cats have a tendency to gain weight, which is largely due to a lack of mobility in their senior years. Being aware of older cat health needs and educating yourself on how you can help your cat age as fit and in as good of shape as possible is an important part of being a responsible pet owner.