TEN MOST COMMON CAT DISEASES

Kitties Blue and I are excited to have a guest post today. It was supposed to appear yesterday, but due to technical issues, I was forced to postpone it.

We think it is one you will find to be informative. It is written by Mary Nielsen from FelineLiving.net. As way of introduction, this is from her web-site:

Greetings, fellow cat lovers and cat parents! Welcome to our furry little corner of the internet! My name is Mary Nielsen. Together with my husband Dave, I run felineliving.net.

An important note: We are not veterinarians, animal behaviorists, nor cat breeders. The advice and tips we give here for raising happy and healthy cats are based purely on our own experience and research. It’s our goal to find the best information we can find on anything feline-related and share it with hardworking pet parents like us.

Common Cat Illnesses: A Guestographic

Our feline family members are usually pretty intelligent, but they aren’t able to tell us, in so many words, when they aren’t feeling well. As healthy as you try to keep your cat, she is vulnerable to contracting one of these several diseases. Most of them can be treated, allowing her to recover and regain her usual energy. Others, unfortunately, aren’t treatable, which means your cat will eventually cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Easily Treated

From upper respiratory infections (colds) to lower urinary tract disease (painful infections of your cat’s urinary tract), then up to feline hyperthyroidism and diabetes, once you notice something is wrong with your cat, you and your vet can decide on the most appropriate treatments. Some of the treatments, such as for upper respiratory treatments and lower urinary tract disease, are short-term, allowing her to get well. Other conditions are chronic, meaning you’ll have to monitor your cat’s condition and give her daily medications. If your cat eats something infested with worms, she’ll be obviously ill. While her symptoms may be scary, they can be treated. This treatment means she’ll receive a medication meant to kill off the worms in her digestive tract.

Treatable Chronic Illnesses

Moving up a level to more serious, but still treatable conditions, chronic kidney disease means you and your vet will need to treat what caused your cat’s illness. This may be an infection or an accidental ingestion of antifreeze. Treatment for this illness may be lifelong. Feline hyperthyroidism also falls into this category. Again, you’ll have to give her regular medications. Specialized foods may help manage her condition; though, surgery may be the only option.

Fatal Illnesses

Illnesses, such as rabies, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and feline leukemia virus infection (FeLV) are all diseases that can’t be cured.

FIP can be managed with supportive care that allows your cat to feel more comfortable. On the other hand, rabies will be fatal to your cat. Vaccinations are mandatory all across the U.S.

Between you and your vet, you’ll be able to manage your cat’s health until it’s time to let her go. The time between initial diagnosis of FeLV and FIV and your cat’s death may last for years, allowing you time to enjoy your cat’s company. While vaccines are available for FIV, they aren’t appropriate for every cat. Your vet can advise you about this. The vaccine for FeLV is suitable for all cats.

 

 

I must apologize to all of you and Mary for not being able to get a decent rendering of her beautiful and informative infographic here on our blog. You really do want to review it, so I suggest clicking on the link at the top of the page to visit her site.

I am grateful to Mary and FelineLiving.net for creating this post for us.