CAT HEALTH & MEDICINE

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, millions of feral and unwanted domestic kittens are born each year in the United States. For the most part, these animals are either abandoned or relegated to shelters - and a cycle that often ends in euthanasia.

Evidence of health benefits of pets is strong, plentiful and consistent based on many studies. People of all ages - children, adults and seniors - bond with their pet companions and reap the health benefits. As a result of continuing research, pets are becoming active participants in patients treatment plans. Some people have such a strong bond with their pets that they forego medical treatment, refuse hospitalization or shorten a hospital stay because they do not want to be away from their pets.

Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers from the University of Sydney have found a previously undiscovered hepadnavirus in an immunocompromised cat, and subsequently in banked feline blood samples. The research team published their results today in the journal Viruses.

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).

While opioids are destroying peoples lives and the lives of their family members throughout all strata of society - rich, poor, urban, suburban, rural - they are also in short supply in hospitals around the country. This is true both for hospitals that serve people and those that serve their pets. Reports are coming in that in some hospitals, elective surgeries for people - gall bladder removal, hernia repair - are being postponed, while some people in post-operative recovery are said to be receiving less potent medication than they need.

The risk of death for cats under anesthesia used to be one to two deaths in 100 patients, says Lois Wetmore, DVM, an assistant professor of anesthesia and pain management at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Now were down to about one death in 1,000, Dr. Wetmore says. Were headed in the right direction.

Your four-year-old cat Elton seems to be in perfect health. But about twice a year, he comes down with what appears to be a bad cold, complete with sneezing, coughing, lethargy, nasal congestion and watery eyes. These upper respiratory signs persist for a week or 10 days and then suddenly disappear, much to your relief. But then, five or six months later, the very same symptoms will pay a return visit, linger for a week or two, and repeat their vanishing act - a frustrating cycle that is bound to recur until you seek out proper veterinary guidance and treatment.

The art of traditional acupuncture traces back several thousand years to ancient China, and is one branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The other three branches are herbal medicine, food therapy and Tui-Na (medical massage). Although the ancient Chinese used veterinary acupuncture to treat animals, these were primarily valuable livestock such as oxen or the Emperors horses - not dogs and cats.

Researchers recently discovered that upper respiratory infections in shelter cats can be dramatically decreased by doubling cage sizes and providing the cats with two compartments. Funded by the Morris Animal Foundation, the UC Davis team of researchers published their findings in the journal PLoS One.

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.