Ask the Doctor

My small three-year-old female cat, who weighs just under seven pounds, will suddenly go through what seems like a coughing/choking spell. She crouches low to the floor and struggles through an episode. Then she stands up and goes about her regular business.

I have lived with cats most of my life, and while I have experienced some of the expected behavioral issues - inappropriate elimination, hard-to-control scratching, etc. - I am curious if there are levels of mental illness in pets, too. Do we automatically assume certain traits are behavioral issues or can pets - like humans - be born with certain psychological issues, as well?

I am a long-time subscriber and I really enjoy each issue of Catnip! Regarding dental health with my two cats, however, I am at a loss. They simply will not let me brush their teeth. I live alone, so theres really no one who can assist me on a regular basis.

I have suffered from nearsightedness for my entire life. Lately, Ive been wondering if our cats can have vision problems too (outside of eye disease or something related to the aging process, like cataracts). If so, is there a way to determine this?

My husband and I live in an elderly community, with plenty of pet lovers. Our neighbor recently lost her toy breed dog, and offered to give us a case of small cans of dog food to feed our two cats.

My husband and I have a very sweet kitty named Daisy. We have had her since she was roughly a year old (she is now about 16 years old). Unfortunately, she has developed diabetes, and she now also has a terrible skin allergy that we cannot get under control.

I have had my two cats since they were just a few days old. They were bottle-fed until they could eat regular food. They are now close to two years old. One is obsessed with rubber bands, w`hile the other chews any shoe that has a soft sole. Both chew cardboard boxes.

I have an eight-year-old cat who I rescued from a shelter as a kitten. I take Daisy to our local veterinarian once a year for a health examination. During our last visit, the veterinarian recommended that we run blood work every year. Is this really necessary for my cat, who is overall healthy? If so, can you explain the advantages of looking at blood work every year?

My wife likes to pure 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?

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

I am fostering an adolescent stray mother cat and her three kittens (I picked them up when the kittens were about one-week-old) and I fed her a high-quality wet cat food the first few days.

My nine-year-old cats breath has always been slightly unpleasant, but over the past few months, it has become noticeably worse. I would like to know what might be causing this, and if theres anything I can do to remedy the problem.