Ask the Doctor

I am a long-time subscriber who enjoys the publication very much. I feel that the information has helped me to take better care of the cats who live with us (at present time, we have four cats). My question is this: What exactly does board-certified mean, and how does a veterinarian achieve that qualification?

I have been sponsoring a cat at a purebred rescue facility who is FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) positive. I have two cats who are elderly (12 and 14 years old), but healthy. Ive been told that if I adopt my sponsored cat, my own cats wont be affected by this disease - unless they receive a deep bite wound. Is this true?

I have lived with cats my entire life, and now my husband and I share our home with three cats we adopted from the local humane society at different points.

I have a black cat that I rescued from a shelter five months ago, hoping that I could train him to be a therapy cat. My last cat and I served for 12 years with Pet Partners as a R.E.A.D. team. He was one of only six therapy cats in Michigan! Sadly, I lost him to squamous cell carcinoma.

I wonder if you could give me any suggestions regarding my 10-year-old cat Ringlings behavior. We lost our 22-year-old Siamese a month ago, who was Ringlings lifelong friend. Ever since he died, Ringling has gotten very clingy and vocal, following me around, continually begging to be petted and held. She seems to need constant attention and reassurance. She has also thrown up several times in the last weeks, something she has not done before.

I have a male cat who has suffered twice from stones in his urinary tract. His veterinarian put him on a Royal Canine urinary diet (chicken in gravy) and special diet of kibbles.

My son recently adopted an adult cat from a shelter, and I notice that Tigger likes to rub his cheeks repeatedly on the legs of the furniture. In fact, he started to do the same thing to my face the other day when I was petting him on the couch! What exactly does this mean? Is it the start of his becoming possessive and maybe aggressive?

I trapped two stray kittens last year and had them treated for ringworm. They were neutered and given two rounds of kitten vaccinations. They also had bad breath so my veterinarian cleaned their teeth and needed to extract some teeth. She informed me that one cats dental problems had migrated into the root.

An adult male named Grey, who is by far the least socialized of the group - fell from a tree last month and kept his distance for a while. Now, he seems fine. My question is: Is it possible for a cat to suffer a concussion? And if this happens again, what would be the best course of action?

I am feeding an intact feral cat with whom I have formed a friendship. Recently when I fed him in the morning, I noticed that the skin behind his ears had been ripped open, probably during a fight.

My veterinarian told me that my cat has a heart murmur. Does this mean he will die prematurely from heart disease?

My four-year-old cat, Stripe, has been diagnosed with an overactive immune system. Last year, he had surgery to remove a cranial lung lobe and the biopsy found the necrotic mass to be non-malignant. Chronic lymphoplasmacytic inflammation was the diagnosis.