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Common Health Problems Of Cats
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If you have never had a cat or other pet before, it might come as a revelation to you to find out that they sometimes become ill. Some diseases are hereditary and some are acquired, but most are preventable and all are insurable. You can have your cat inoculated against the most prevalent illnesses and you can take out insurance against vet's bills.
However, besides illnesses, there are other things that can go wrong like wounds from fights and worms, fleas and ticks. Worms are easy to treat. The most common cat worms are tapeworms, round worms and hookworms. Cats will get worms because they consume carrion and wild meat. The easiest method to inhibit worms is to give your cat a tablet each six months. Worms are serious and must be taken care of or they can kill your cat.
Cats do a lot of grooming and this means that they end up consuming a lot of fur. This fur forms fur balls in their stomachs. Usually a cat will make itself vomit by eating grass to cough them up, but they may pass into the intestines where they may create blockages. This can get serious if they do not pass through the cat.
If your cat goes off its food, is constipated or has a painful stomach (does not like to get tickled), it could be a blockage and you should take your cat to the vet. You can help your cat out by grooming it frequently to remove loose hair. Most cats like to be groomed with a soft brush or a velvet glove.
Cats suffer from urinary tract infections (UTI's) just like humans do. However, in humans it mostly has an effect on women, it cats it usually affects Toms. You can suspect a UTI if your cat's urine smells very bad or if it has trouble urinating. If you observe either of these issues you need to take it to the vet for tablets.
What people call feline distemper is not actually distemper - it is panleukopenia which is not even related to canine distemper. It is equally as deadly though and not a lot of cats survive it, although it can take years to actually kill your cat. The safest manner of protecting your cat against panleukopenia is to have it vaccinated against panleukopenia while it is a kitten.
Panleukopenia is extremely contagious, so if your cat has it, you must keep it isolated until it dies or have it put down. Panleukopenia is not perilous to humans, but you may carry the virus around with you and even pass it on to your friends' cats - something that they will not thank you for.
In general, the more time your cat spends out of doors, the more frequently you should take it to the vets for a check up. Once or twice a year ought to be enough. At the check up, you can have your cat checked for parasites, fleas ticks, lesions, infections and panleukopenia and you can buy your anti-worm tablet at the same time.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with the canine distemper vaccination. If you would like to know more, please visit our site at Distemper Vaccines
Article submitted Friday, May 13, 2011 & read 59 times.
Owen Jones writes on many subjects and is currently running several websites. He was born in Wales but now lives in northern, rural Thailand.
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