Common Health Issues Of Cats

Common Health Issues Of Cats If you have never had a cat or other pet before, it may come as a surprise to you to find out that they occasionally are sick. Some diseases are hereditary and some are caught, but most are preventable and all are insurable. You can have your cat inoculated against the most common diseases and you can take out insurance against vet's bills.

However, besides diseases, there are other things that can go wrong like wounds from fights and worms, fleas and ticks. Worms are simple 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 prevent worms is to give your cat a tablet every 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 ingesting a lot of fur. This fur forms fur balls in their stomachs. Usually a cat will make itself sick by eating grass to cough them up, but they can pass into the guts where they can form blockages. This can be damaging 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 be tickled), it could be a blockage and you ought to take your cat to the vet. You can help your cat out by grooming it regularly to remove loose hair. Most cats like to get groomed with a soft brush or a velvet glove.

Cats suffer from urinary tract infections (UTI's) exactly like humans do. However, in humans it mostly has an effect on women, it cats it mostly has an effect on 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 concerns you have to take it to the vet for tablets.

What individuals call feline distemper is not actually distemper - it is panleukopenia which is not even related to canine distemper. It is just 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 when it is a kitten.

Panleukopenia is extremely contagious, so if your cat has it, you should keep it isolated until it dies or have it put down. Panleukopenia is not dangerous 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 ought to take it to the vets for a check up. Once or twice a year should be enough. At the check up, you can have your cat checked for parasites, fleas ticks, lesions, infections and panleukopenia and you can pick up your anti-worm tablet at the same time.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on several subjects, but is now involved with the canine distemper vaccination. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Distemper Vaccines