Archive for the ‘Advice’ Category

Dehydration is the excessive loss of water and the electrolytes cotained therein. Although we animals are 60% water, a loss of just 5% can start causing all kinds of problems and 10% dehyration can be fatal. Read the rest of this entry »

As cats get older, they become more suseptable to kidney failure – something to which they are already quite prone! Symtoms include a dull coat, weight loss, pain in the back, fever, vomiting and diarrhea; it’s quite obvious when something is wrong! Read the rest of this entry »

When I got home yesterday, my niece flung herself at me in tears saying, “Aristotle hates Plato! He hates him!” At first I had to stifle a laugh at how unintentionally poignant the expression was, in philosophical terms, but it was only seconds before I realised what she was talking about. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the behaviours most associated with cats is that of arching their back and hissing. Although this looks very aggressive, it’s actually more of a defensive stance than an aggressive one; although the cat may be willing to fight, there are very obvious differences between an offensive stance and a defensive one. When your cat is arching his back in defence, you’ll also notice he will face his opponent side-on if possible, with his mouth open, tail held either low or over his back and his ears flattened against his head. If it comes to a fight, your cat will likely roll onto his back to defend himself – these are behaviours associated with defense.

By contract, if you cat is feeling aggressive towards you or any other animal or person, his body will tense-up, with his hindquarters lowered and ready to pounce. His tail will be down and he will likely stare straight at his opponent you, snarling with his whiskeys facing forward and the hair on his shoulders and tail standing straight up.

Although both behaviours are aggressive, it is wise to be familiar with the differences between offensive and defensive behaviours.

As much as we communicate by the way we stand, sit and gesticulate, animals’ moods are possibly even more well emphasised by the way they act and hold themselves. Today I’ll explain how your cat’s mood may be reflected in his body language.

When your cat is in a relaxed, friendly mood, his coat will lie smooth and his tail will point straight up; his ears will also point ever-so-slightly forwards and his whiskers out to the sides. When close to you, he’ll be happy to come right into your face and will likely purr or give some vocal indication of happiness.

If, on the other hand, you cat is nervous or scared, you may notice his whiskers will be pulled back and his coat may be raised. The most obvious thing you’ll notice will be that his tail will either lash around anxiously or be tucked in close to his body, where it was previously straight up in the air, casually. His ears may flatten to his head and he might face you side-on, while hissing. This doesn’t necessary mean he is feeling aggressive – I’ll cover aggression next time.

As winter drags on and both ends of the day remain dark, I’m sure many of you are starting to feel a little down in the dumps. This is commonly referred to as the SAD (seasonal affective disorder) or the ‘winter blues’ and is a huge cause of depression across the world.

What is interesting about SAD, however, is that a recent report has suggested owning a cat can actually help alleviate the depression caused by the lack of daylight in winter! A five-year study carried out by Dr. June Nicholas in Haywards Heath found that, during SAD times of the year, cats have a soothing impact on both physical and mental health! Dr. Nicholas discovered that we cat-owners are less likely to get depressed than non-cat-owners, to the expect that we suffered 60% less headaches and 21% less colds and flues, as well as less tension, impatience and insomnia! Now if that’s not an impressive list of benefits to owning a cat, I can’t imagine what is!

I must admit it’s hard to stay gloomy with a furry friends rubbing against your leg, or purring in your lap. What’s more, the added company of an animal is far preferable to being home alone – making cat owners far less likely to get lonely. Good news all round for us!

More pets than ever have been abandoned over the Christmas period, as the recession continues to take its toll on animal welfare in the UK. 60 cats were abandoned in Warwickshire over December whilst, in the south-west, 11 cats were handed over to the RPSCA on Christmas day alone! As fewer and fewer animals are being adopted, many homes are struggling to accommodate all their new arrivals.

Animal charities across the country blame the recession, in particular people’s irresponsible approach to pets when regarding their financial situation. Many people buy cats over Christmas without properly considering the financial implications of owning a pet; cat food, cat insurance and vets bills to name but a few.

In my opinion, this disposable-pet philosophy is yet another indication of a deeper problem with our society – recession or not. Failure to consider the well-being of an animal before personal gimmick-based happiness is simply a side effect of modern culture; even if we could afford to keep the animals, thousands of people would still buy them without putting any thought into it. What we need is change of heart, not a new economy.

Last time we mentioned what to look out for if your cat starts to vomit. Although it could be a simple explanation, like they’ve eaten something that doesn’t agree with them, it could also be something more severe that will require medical attention and the use of your cat insurance. Today I discuss a few ways to tell what might be causing your cat to vomit.

Strong odours, blood, bile or mucus in the vomit are all indications that something more serious could be wrong with your cat. Intestinal problems can be indicated by a range of symptoms; strong odours suggested intestinal obstructions, excess mucus could be caused by an intestinal inflammation and dark blood in the vomit can also be an indication of further intestinal problems. As a general rule, darker blood comes from deeper inside the body; bright blood in the vomit, for example, could well be in an indication of problems in the stomach – often this can be caused by stomach ulcers. If your cat’s vomit has bile in it, this may suggest pancreatitis or some form of inflammatory bowel disease.

Undigested food is not uncommon in vomit, but can also be an indication of over-eating, stress or food poisoning. Although all the aforementioned piece of advice are accurate ways of assessing what might be wrong with your cat, always take it to the vet as soon as you can and make certain you invest in some cat insurance to help you handle any unexpected expenses. Bring a sample of the vomit and stool with you to the vet as well if possible.

Life humans, all cats will vomit at some point in their lives – it’s perfectly natural. However, if you find your cat continues to vomit over a prolonged period of time, even when there is nothing left in their stomach – there could be something more serious going on. Other symptoms that may indicate that the vomiting might be due to a more serious problem include:

• Blood in the vomit or faeces
• Overall weakness and distress
• Pain in the abdomen

The biggest problem with regards to acute vomiting is that it can have many causes and it’s not easy to discern which is to blame. Some of these causes include:

• Allergic reactions to food (or food intolerance)
• Sudden diet changes
• Worms
• Gastroenteritis
• Tumours
• Kidney disease

Although allergies are fairly easy to treat, more serious problems can require urgent medical intervention. For this reason it is highly important not only that you take your pet to the vet as soon as possible, but that you also invest in cat insurance to ensure you can afford for your cat to have surgery if required.

Next time we’ll cover a few of the ways to tell what might be causing acute vomiting in your cat.

We all love bonfire night and fireworks, but it is very important at this time of year that we all make sure our pets are not badly scared by the loud noises.  It’s best that you’re home to comfort your pet when fireworks are going off but, if that isn’t possible, it’s highly advisable to lock your cat away in a dark room when firework displays are going on nearby.  Putting some music on can also really help reduce the impact the sudden bangs can have on their nerves as well. 

It is also not recommended to let your cat roam around outside during the evening for the next couple of weeks, as fireworks, cats and children are not known to mix particularly well.  What’s more, the fires and fireworks that will be spread all over the country for the next few weeks can severely stress your cat out and cause all manner of related health problems.  It is worth mentioning that bonfires are not necessarily covered under the same pet insurance quotes as ‘fires’.