feline medical conditions

Cats that come from rescue groups and animal shelters are more likely to have relatively minor illnesses that if untreated can become serious. Before you leave the shelter, ask the shelter or rescue group for a written copy of their medical support policies. Will they provide vet care...

What Is Feline Diabetes?When a cat ingests food, the digestive system breaks down that food and then converts part of it to glucose, which enters the bloodstream. The cells of which the body is composed absorb this glucose for energy. Insulin is the hormone that signals the cells to take up the...

What is Feline Distemper (Feline Panleukopenia)?Feline Panleukopenia is a serious infectious disease. It is relatively common in unvaccinated cats and is often fatal, especially for young kittens. The feline Panleukopenia virus, also known as FPV, is easily spread by contact with a diseased...

Cats tend to throw up stuff every now and again. If you share your life with a cat, you probably know the picture and the soundtrack, too: your cat meowing loudly in a low-pitched tone, heaving and retching pitifully until some intermediate wet mass comes out of her mouth. Scary as it may seem...

Epilepsy is defined as recurrent seizures disorder. Epilepsy can be congenital and idiopathic – that means there is no other reason for it except for a faulty gene. It can also be acquired following head trauma. Witnessing a seizure in your cat can be extremely upsetting. The first seizure can...

What is Asthma?When you breathe, air follows a natural pathway to the lungs and after adding oxygen to the blood, comes back out in an exhale. For those with asthma, it's not that simple. Allergens, cigarette smoke, a genetic disposition, changes in the weather or even exercise can trigger an...

Cats are agile, intelligent and active and as we all know, their curiosity can get them into trouble. Injuries are not uncommon with cats, especially young ones, and they often include a bone fracture. Here's what you need to know about cat bones and cat fractures in bones, so you can prevent...

Cancer. It doesn't matter which kind, how many treatments are available or what the odds are. Once you've heard the word, everything changes. What makes the biggest difference are the things you do next. Cats are more than the one who put a hairy paw in your coffee or air holes in your mattress...

When we agreed to adopt Scully, I can honestly say that we did not know what to expect. We knew that he was ‘on the large side’ physically, but we had not seen him for ourselves. Nothing prepared us for the day we went to collect him. We were shocked to find that he weighed around 33lbs and...

Feline Herpes OverviewHerpesviridae is the name given to a fairly large family of viruses. Some of these cause diseases in humans (such as shingles and chicken pox). Other members of the same viral family cause different kinds of diseases in animals. So, of these, what does the feline version of...

This article is in the process of being updated. Recent studies show that injections in general can cause sarcomas in cats - regardless of the content of the injection. Fortunately, these studies also show that the risk is far smaller than once assumed. More updates coming here soon. In the...