CAT HEALTH & MEDICINE

You bring your ailing cat to the veterinarian and initially feel relieved to hear that shell make a complete recovery. But relief quickly turns to frustration when you realize her health depends on giving her pills in the prescribed dose at certain times for a specified duration. You remember previous scenarios when your cat fled from the room or hid under the middle of the bed at pill time, or deftly spit out the pill…

Letters to Tufts Veterinarians - Hyperesthesia syndrome; virus testing

Attention on FIP and vs-FCV Yunjeong Kim - a research assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University- has developed a research approach that simultaneously tackles two deadly infectious feline diseases. Coronavirus and calicivirus infections are very common among cats, and cats tend to get repeatedly infected by these viruses throughout their lifetime, explains Kim, who is employed in the colleges diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department. Feline coronavirus can cause gastroenteritis, and…

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Your cat may never leave the safety of your home. She may wear a collar with an ID tag. Even so, its a smart move to have your veterinarian implant a microchip, according to Emily McCobb, DVM, MS DACVAA, a clinical assistant professor at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. …

Remember that your cats microchip only works if its registration information is accurate. To remind pet owners to have their pets microchipped and to keep the registration information up-to-date, AVMA and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) created Check the Chip Day (August 15). You can join the event on Facebook. Make an appointment with your vet for microchipping if your pet isnt already microchipped. Make sure that the chip is promptly registered. Check your already-microchipped pets…

The easiest way to get your cat microchipped is to take him to your vet. You can then contact the registry company to sign up online. You can also look up a microchip registry online, and find either a local vet or a pet supply store that provides microchipping. One popular microchip registry is Home Again (public.homeagain.com). Home Again makes their own microchip but allows you to register any microchip with their registry. The cost is $17.95…

A frightening occurrence: A cat darts into the street near his owners home and is struck by an oncoming car. One or more of the bones in one leg are severely broken, and a quick trip to the nearest veterinary clinic yields some very disturbing news. The fractured limb is beyond surgical repair, and the cats owners are faced with a limited set of options: Either the traumatized cat should be euthanized, the veterinarian tells…

It started out as a quiet evening in late autumn for Renee C. - a Massachusetts housewife and part-time yoga instructor - but it certainly didnt end up that way. She, her husband, and their two-year-old daughter had just finished dinner and were relaxing in their living room when there was a knock at the front door. It was a neighbor, recalls Renee, with some very bad news. Our cat Shady had been struck by…

Last year, I received a phone call from a cat owner seeking a second opinion. Their four-year-old male orange tabby, Teddy, has always been a bit of a troublemaker, knocking things off counters, chasing imaginary mice and leaving no houseplant un-nibbled. Over the last few weeks, however, Teddy had been battling a stubborn upper respiratory infection (URI), and it was only getting worse, despite treatment. …

Heres a complication that youve been dreading for your beloved diabetic cat: At this point, you can no longer control his glucose levels. Neither diet, nor medicines, nor injections of insulin, work. His diabetes remains out of control. So your veterinarian enlists the diagnostic acumen of a veterinary specialist. After more tests, the diagnosis is clear: hyperadrenocorticism, aka Cushings disease. Your cats pituitary - a tiny gland in the brain - is producing too much ACTH…

Letters to Tufts Veterinarians - Nipples on males; fascination with veggies