Ask the Doctor

My ten-year-old daughter recently asked me a very good question - and I didnt know how to answer her. While playing with our male cat, Henry, she rubbed his belly and discovered that he has nipples. She wants to know the purpose of them. And quite frankly, so do I. Hopefully, you can help!

Q Recently, Catnip published an article called "Does Your Cat Have Bad Breath?" and the author Dr. Plotnick mentions oral cancers that are common in cats. He states that early detection and aggressive treatment are essential for therapy to be successful.

Do carbs make cats fat?
Q I am a long-time subscriber to Catnip, and a volunteer for feline rescue groups in my area. A large female recently came to us at a little over twenty pounds, and was described by our vet as a food-grazer. For the past three weeks under our care, she has been receiving one-quarter cup twice daily of a veterinarian-recommended weight reduction food, and she has lost just under one pound.

Advice for chronic dandruff
Q My husband and I have four cats of varying ages, all of which we adopted as kittens. We take them for their yearly wellness checkups and all is well within our brood. However, we have one concern: Our eight-year-old female cat, Lucy, has unusually thick, dense and short fur - and she is prone to bouts of dandruff throughout most of the year.

When choosing an E-collar
Q I have been a veterinary technician for the past six months, and Im hoping you can give me some good advice that I can pass on to our clients. I am often asked by cat owners about the best E-collar to use after surgery. There are more on the market today than ever before, but I dont want to give them the wrong advice.

A raw spot on my cats body
Q Recently, I noticed that my seven-year-old male cat, Bisco, was excessively grooming his hindquarters. When I investigated the site, I discovered a raw red spot where Bisco had licked the fur and skin off. The vet explained that Bisco had developed a hotspot and that these were fairly common in cats, particularly during the summer.

I am the director of a small-town animal shelter, and we recently took in a two-year-old Bengal who was living with his owner in a meth house. This poor cat was subjected to his owners drug use for most of his life, and he is now suffering the consequences. He suffers from hallucinations, obsessive grooming and blindness - all the while being an incredibly sweet and affectionate cat when not experiencing the after affects of this terrible drug.

My female, Lily, is barely seven pounds, and seems to be pretty healthy except that she has chronic loose bowels/ diarrhea. Texas, the male, is about 10.5 pounds, and has normal bowels (sometimes, even on the hard side). I mention him because the cats are both fed the same diet of primarily wet food.

Q My wife likes to puree vegetables - like peas, carrots and sweet potato - and mix it into our cats canned food. Is this okay to do? Are there any vegetables that should never be added to the cat food? We also add some cranberry powder (made for cats), along with some hairball powder. We trying to be to health-minded, but can we be causing potential problems?
David Smith

Q I had been using a store brand clumping litter for a number of years for my two indoor cats: One is a 16-year-old male, and the other is a two-year-old female. Recently, I needed to switch to a newspaper pellet-type litter for a couple of weeks, and I noticed that the smell is not as bad as the clay clumping litter - and it doesnt track!

Q I have a cat that has a problem with a weeping eye (at the nose), a condition she has had for several years.

Now, the iris is gradually turning orange, starting at the nose, and the eye is starting to squint slightly. This seems to be getting worse. When the cat was adopted at about nine months old, she already had this condition (she was microchipped, but we received no response from her owner).

Our veterinarian has tried several different medications to no avail. Do you have any advice?
Sean Mahoney

Socializing the shy cat
Q For years, I adopted kitten siblings that required close to zero socialization to adjust to living in my home. However, the last four cats Ive adopted from shelters took a long time to feel comfortable enough to come out of hiding from under my bed or behind my sofa. I am happy to report that they are all now well adjusted and contented, but it did take some time.