What is Polycystic Kidney Disease?
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a slowly progressive and inherited kidney disorder that affects Persian and Persian-related breeds, and it is the most prevalent inherited genetic disease in cats. The prevalence of PKD varies by country, ranging from 36 percent (Slovenia) to 49.2 percent (United Kingdom). In the United States, 38 percent of Persian and Persian-related cats have the condition. …
Feline Disorders of the Esophagus
Megaesophagus is a condition in which the esophagus is weak and unable to propel food from the mouth to the stomach. The esophagus becomes flaccid and large (hence the mega,derived from Greek, meaning large). There are several causes of megaesophagus in the cat, such as congenital and hereditary disorders (Siamese cats are predisposed) and neuromuscular disorders (such as dysautonomia and myasthenia gravis).
Dear Doctor – August 2015
Pet food and expiration dates QI recently bought several large bags of a high-quality cat food on sale at our local pet store. Unfortunately, I just realized that the best by date passed by a couple of weeks ago on two of the bags (the third bags date is okay). Should I now consider this food to be unsafe and throw it away? …
Renomegaly: What You Should Know
Apparently, Im not the only veterinarian who has noticed that certain veterinary cases tend to come in twos and threes. Months or even years can elapse without my seeing a particular ailment, and then Ill get two in the same week - sometimes even in the same day. I recently examined a 12-year-old cat who displayed decreased appetite and weight loss. From the cats scrawny appearance on the exam table, it was obvious that he had…
Beware: Misleading Number of Calories in Some Weight Loss Cat Foods
Believe it or not, you can find at least 50 cat foods on the market with promises on their labels that claim everything from weight loss to reduced calorie to weight management. But just what do these phrases mean? Unfortunately, they can mean whatever the manufacturer wants them to. …
How Feline General Anesthesia Works
General anesthesia that employs intubation is typically used for more prolonged surgical procedures. The following steps are involved: - On the day prior to surgery, the patient is given a thorough physical exam and undergoes a blood test to determine, above all, that she is not anemic and that her organs will function properly once her brain has been anesthetized. (If you have a young cat, says Dr. Blaze, theres not a lot you have to…
All About Anesthesia for Cats
Virtually all feline surgical procedures - whether brief and relatively simple or lengthy and complicated - require that the patients pain perception be dulled, if not totally blocked, by an anesthetic drug of some sort. These days, sleep-inducing chemical substances are commonly used by veterinarians to reduce or eliminate pain in procedures ranging from such complex interventions as the excision of a brain tumor or the removal of a mass in the chest to such comparatively.
Anti-Anxiety Medications for a Nervous Cat
Regardless of age, breed or gender, any cat - at any point during his or her lifetime - can develop a serious and potentially disabling anxiety disorder. This an affliction in which a cat is seriously and persistently disturbed by phenomena or situations which a normal cat would ignore or soon learn to disregard. …
The Most Common Anti-Anxiety Drugs for Cats
Three drugs are most frequently used to treat feline anxiety, according to Dr. Dodman. They are: acepromazine, buspirone hydrochloride and alprazolam. Each drug works in a specific way, he notes. Acepromazine, for example, is primarily a tranquilizer, while buspirone hydrochloride is a serotonin antagonist and alprazolam is an anxiolitic. Most of these drugs can be used either to treat an acute situation - like a trip to the veterinarian - or on an ongoing basis…
When Your Cat Wont Eat
I have to say that when Kuching got his belly and his left side shaved in preparation for the surgery to insert the feeding tube, I really flipped out, says Dr. Deborah Hirschmann of Rhode Island. Oh my God, I dont want him to die naked, I told the tech who shaved him. I have three cats, but hes very special to me. …
Other Routes of Food Administration for Your Cat
If a cat who cannot eat by mouth is sent home, it may be with either an E-tube or a G-tube. But sometimes cats...
What Is Feline Idiopathic Cystitis?
Has your cat suddenly started urinating outside the litter box? Before you scold him for making a mistake, promptly make an appointment with his veterinarian to make sure he doesnt have a condition called feline idiopathic cystitis.
