CAT HEALTH & MEDICINE

Blood work: How often is best?
Q 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?
Elizabeth Vega

A Dear Elizabeth: The American Veterinary Medical Association states on their website that, geriatric pets should have semi-annual veterinary …

Similar to humans with asthma, cats with this form experience constriction of muscles within the bronchial walls, causing airway obstruction. Cats with bronchoconstriction may demonstrate increased respiratory rate or effort, or open-mouthed breathing. These cats require immediate veterinary attention, and in severe cases, may die.

To learn a little more about how a veterinary technician (veterinary nurse) carries out her responsibilities, we sat down with vet tech Gail Berthiaume, who works at Tufts' Foster Hospital for Small Animals — and happens to have four cats of her own, "all unusual in their own way," as she puts it.

Catnip: Are you a general veterinary technician, or do you have a specialty?

Ms. Berthiaume: I work only in the surgery suite. The way it works is that in smaller practices, vet techs do a little of everything — anesthesia, …

The health conditions that involve the lower urinary tract (the bladder and urethra) in cats are commonly referred to as feline urinary tract disease (FLUTD). FLUTD is not a disease in itself, but actually a variety of diseases that affect the lower urinary tract. They usually present similar clinical symptoms, which can complicate the specific diagnosis.

Further confounding the situation are those cats who show clinical signs of FLUTD, yet an underlying structural cause - such as bladder stones or a bladder tumor - has not been identified. This condition is called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC). Experts feel that. …

Despite its obviously useful and typically durable structure, the feline skin is subject to a wide array of disorders, most of which are readily treatable but - if ignored by a cats owner - can sometimes progress to a life-threatening stage. Feline skin diseases are extremely common, says Lluis Ferrer, DVM, a professor of dermatology at Tufts. They are one of the main reasons that cat owners seek veterinary consultation. This is probably a consequence…

It might seem that taking a cats vital signs can help you determine whether hes in a state of emergency. But, says Tufts Cummings School emergency and critical care veterinarian Armelle de Laforcade, DVM, I worry a little about people trying to determine the seriousness of a situation by themselves because it can be tricky. For instance, you may find upon taking a cats temperature that he doesnt have a fever, but a cat can still be quite sick in the absence of an elevated temperature - especially if hes not eating or urinating.

That said, here are a couple of vital numbers:

Temperature (taken with a rectal thermometer made for cats) Normal: 100-102.5 degrees F. …

Cats are well-recognized for their fertility. Bastet, the Egyptian goddess of fertility, is depicted as a cat in artwork, and the ancient Egyptians worshipped cats as symbols of fertility. When it comes to making babies, the feline is one of the most prolific domestic pets around. Cats are known for their ability to reproduce in their first year of life, and like rabbits, they are capable of multiple pregnancies within a single reproductive season. …

The most common kind of liver mass that we see in a cat is a lesion called a biliary cyst, or hepatobiliary cystadenoma, and theyre benign, meaning that they dont tend to spread to other places in the body, explains Dr. Berg. Theyre often not very invasive into the liver, so in many cases, they can be removed with a fairly straightforward surgery."

[From Tufts March 2012 Issue]

The eyes of cats and dogs are quite similar to our own, but there are notable differences. Feline eyes were designed with the night hunter in mind, one reason that cats have the largest eyes of any meat eater. If our own eyes were proportionally the same, human eyes would be eight inches across.

The difference between cat and dog eyes goes beyond size. The way pets see influences how they interact with each other — and with us.

"Placement of the eyes in the skull affects the animals' ability to see, as it affects their binocular field of view versus monocular field of view," says Christopher Pirie, DVM, veterinary ophthalmologist and Assistant Professor at Cummings School of …

[From Tufts May 2012 Issue]

"It's a little bit creepy," says Catnip Editorial Board member Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM. "Larvae migrate from the intestine into the bloodstream and, from there, to the lungs, where they set up housekeeping. They get bigger, maturing into adult worms, and then lay more eggs, or larvae." In the meantime, the worms can cause asthma-like symptoms — difficulty breathing, coughing, and, if things become severe enough, even emphysema, fluid in the lungs, or pneumonia.

Lungworm disease usually occurs in kittens, particularly kittens "from sketchy backgrounds," says Dr. Rozanski — those who live almost entirely outdoors and eat …

[From Tufts June 2012 Issue]

Annabelle, a 5-year-old Ragdoll, had been lethargic with little appetite. She was hiding under the bed - unusual behavior for her. The intact cat also had vaginal discharge. Her owner, Ragdoll breeder Denise Celona of Rutland, Massachusetts, took her to the local veterinarian, thinking the cat had developed a uterine infection called pyometra. An x-ray was inconclusive on that score, but it did show that the heart was enlarged and ovoid, or egg-shaped, which is not normal for cats. At that, Annabelle and her owner were referred to the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

By the time emergency and critical care specialist Sean Majoy, DVM, saw Annabelle, she was having difficulty breathing. Her respiratory rate was up significantly. On examination, her,…

Because nature plays no favorites when it comes to doling out heart disease, cats - just like humans - are at potential risk for serious health problems directly or indirectly associated with this vital organ. In some cases, the signs of it are obvious to the trained eye. In others, a serious feline heart disorder can remain hidden for years before finally expressing itself in a sudden, perhaps fatal, attack. …