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It stands to reason that if a cat is in pain, he may grow grouchier. But there’s another reason an older cat may become more temperamental: dementia.

The American Association of Feline Practitioners has come out with new Intercat Tension Guidelines: Recognition, Prevention, and Management. The aim is to help two or more cats who live together under one roof do better with each other—and to help their human family members broker peace and stability between them.

There’s no doubt that life expectancy for cats continues to rise with advances in veterinary care. In one study, how long a cat was expected to live went up by more than two months for every year from 2013 to 2019. But there are differences in a cat’s life expectancy depending on certain factors.

Most cats have eyelashes, but not the way we think of lashes. They’re more like a row of relatively thick facial hairs that are the same color and length as a cat’s body hair. Because they blend in and can be hard to see, it could easily seem as though 
they’re missing.

If you’re a cat in a windowless shelter, watching prey like birds or rodents scramble across a screen might be a good distraction. Research has indicated that cats in such situations enjoy having their boredom broken up with videos of varmints, fish, and the like. Older cats who can’t move around nimbly or who have failing eyesight might also benefit from apps or videos that showcase other animals.

Your cat is wobbly on her back legs and perhaps seems to be in pain. Maybe she also has urinary and fecal incontinence; waste exits her body when she is not trying to “go.” It’s possible she has intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). It’s much less common in cats than dogs, but it does occur. A new study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association says that advancing age and excess weight predispose cats to the condition. What is it exactly?

Q: What’s the difference between a stray cat and a feral one?

Q: I can’t get my cat to stay off the kitchen counter. If I catch her there, I yell at her to get down, and she does. But it doesn’t stop her from jumping up again at other times. 
Any suggestions?
Dee Jonas
Houston, Texas

An occasional bout of diarrhea is no cause for alarm. If your cat’s appetite remains good and she is as active as she usually is, it’s generally safe to wait two or three days to see if the problem resolves on its own, says Tufts veterinary internist Michael Stone, DVM. Reasons for loose stools that quickly resolve on their own:
™ Your cat had a bacterial or viral infection, but her body was able to vanquish it without medical treatment.
™ Your pet was feeling stressed. Something like young children visiting your home and running around or coming home from a stressful veterinary visit could send her gastrointestinal tract into temporary overdrive.
™ 
Your cat ate more food than she’s used to.
™ She had an unusually rich treat.
When do loose stools become a concern?
The clue to whether you should take your cat to the doctor because of diarrhea is whether it’s persistent over the course of a day or a day and a half, your pet is lethargic, or she has a decreased appetite. Then it’s not just a few instances of watery stools but a situation that perhaps could lead to dehydration and potentially dangerous electrolyte imbalances. In such cases, some professional sleuthing is necessary to find out what’s causing the problem and also to get it under control.
If it’s a young cat such as a kitten, the diarrhea may be due to intestinal parasites like roundworms. An older cat’s diarrhea may be attributable to, say, hyperthyroidism or perhaps lymphoma that has spread to the GI tract. The vet may have to run some tests.
Whether or not the situation seems serious, don’t give your cat anti-diarrheal medication intended for people. Many of those medications contain ingredients that can be dangerous for felines and will only serve to make a bad situation worse.

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• Dear Doctor

If you notice small, hairless nodules on the head, neck, trunk, limbs, or other parts of your cat’s body, take your pet to the doctor. They may be mast cell tumors—one of the most common types of skin tumors on cats, and in some cases malignant. The good news: Even though mast cell tumors are a source of concern and can be intermittently itchy, red, and even ulcerated, they tend not to recur or spread to other sites in the body if promptly taken care of.

If you have a short-haired cat, brushing once a week will generally do the trick. Try using a metal comb, and work in the direction your cat’s hair grows. Another option for short-haired cats, especially when it comes to removing dead fur: a rubber brush.