Ask the Doctor

I am writing in hopes that you may have a suggestion regarding my three-year-old Persian cat. I adopted her through an agency when she was about two years old, but nothing was ever mentioned to me about her eating issues.

A reader expresses her concerns about adopting an FIV-positive cat

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 when I was petting him on the couch!

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.

We live in a rural community, and have a couple of indoor-only cats, in addition to a few barn cats out back (we tried to bring them inside when they were kittens, but they were very unhappy with that lifestyle).

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

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.

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.

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.

I am writing in hopes that you may have a suggestion regarding my three-year-old Persian cat. I adopted her through an agency when she was about two years old, but nothing was ever mentioned about her eating issues.

A friend recently adopted a young kitten from a local humane society, and soon after, the kitten was diagnosed with brittle bone disease. Neither of us had ever heard of this, and now it makes me worry about adopting a new kitten.

I recently read the Short Takes in Catnip (March 2018 issue) about dogs being smarter than cats. What can be done to increase the neuron count in cats, if anything?