After her husband died from a heart attack before Christmas, Margaret Baker wanted some company – so she applied to adopt Lilly, a Bengal cat in a Feline Care animal shelter. However, when the charity discovered that Mrs. Baker lived on Abbey Estate in Thetford, Norfolk, they denied her application, on the grounds that she lived in too rough an area! Mrs. Baker explained, “They phoned and said due to my postcode I couldn’t have Lilly…I put the phone down and just burst into tears”.

Mrs. Baker’s daughter, Angela Rourke, calls it “discrimination”, but manager of the charity shelter, Molly Cutmore, feels otherwise; “We’ve heard reports of people training their dogs to attack cats and there have been cruelty cases on the estate…We don’t want to stop people who want one having a cat, but can’t re-home them if we think something will happen.”

Although we cat the Cat Health blog have great sympathy with Mrs. Baker, we’re on the side of the charity this time. As much as some people may want to own cats, it is the safety of the cat that is of paramount importance and cat welfare charities cannot be expected to give cats to people who live in areas that have been deemed unsafe. Owning a cat is not a right, it’s a privilege – some areas simply aren’t suitable and that’s too bad.

55-year old David Tilley from Ashill, near Watton, has been charged with 21 offenses under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, after 23 cats were found living in “disgraceful and squalid environment” in his bungalow. An inspector on the case said
it would have been “totally avoidable if Tilley had asked for help. As it was, the cats undeniably suffered significantly throughout in the almost indescribable squalor.”

Chair of the bench, Elizabeth Hornegold, said the only mitigating factor in the case was that Mr. Tilley had not starved the cats. Otherwise, many of them had been soaked in urine and covered in faeces, carrying fleas and suffering with dermatisis. The hallway of the bungalow’s was covered in cans and rubbish, and “a black liquid underneath the debris [stank] of ammonia and decay.” Mr. Tilley was charged with failing to provide the cats with a hygienic environment, free from hazards, failing to protect them from injury, disease and pain and failing to ensure they could behave naturally. He was ordered to pay costs of £5,179 and do 100 hours of unpaid work, along with being banned from keeping cats for 3 years.

All the cats have now been rehomed, but it doesn’t seem right to us that, after all the suffering these animals went through, Mr. Tilley got a mere 3 years’ ban from keeping cats. The fines and work are acceptable punishments, but it’s unclear why this man deserves to ever keep cats again!

Image from edp24.co.uk

As of late, we have been receiving a large number of queries about – and there’s no other way of putting this really – cat pee. Anybody with a cat knows exactly what I’m talking about here and, since almost all our readers own at least one cat, I think no further explanation is required.

Urine problems are common; 1 in 10 cats will develop some kind of difficulty with urinating and I expect 9 in 10 humans will experience some kind of problem with their cat’s urination! The most common complaint from owners is the smell of cat urine – they can’t understand why it’s so pungent! The answer is simple; cats use urine to mark their territory, so the odour has to be strong, long lasting and capable of withstanding the element. For this reason, cats urine has up to twice as much urea in it as most other pets, making it one of the most unpleasant things that can be sprayed around your house.

If you are suffering from cat spraying problems, do see our guides to dealing with the spraying behaviour and cleaning up cat spray. If, however, it is urination problems – be they behavioural or medical – do keep reading the next few posts.

As we discovered last time, dehydration can be very dangerous if it gets too severe. Today we’ll look at how to help your cat avoid dehydration.

First and formost, you should make certain there is a constant supply of clean, fresh drinking water available for your cat all the times. This is especially important if you are going away for a while, though I assume all responsible cat owners take all the necessary steps if leaving their pet alone for any length of time. It may sound strange to point out, but make sure the water is within easy reach; your cat should have to go on an adventure for a drink! Having water in all the main rooms of the house is highly recommended, as many cats spend most their time in the same rooms as their owners. If your cat goes outside, you should ensure there is a sheltered area avaiable, so he can sit out of the sun on hot days.

If you cat has any underlying health problems, you should pay especially close attention for any signs of dehydration (covered in the last post). As I mentioned before, sickness can cause a cat to consume less water, just as kidney problems or diabetes can cause more water to be excreted. If you detect any symtoms of dehydration, take your cat to the vet immediately – especially if it has diarrhoea or is vomiting.

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.

Dehydration is caused by a variety of things, including symptoms of other health problems. General sickness, fever or ill health, for example, can reduce a cat’s appetite, meaning it doesn’t take in enough water. Conversely, kidney problems and diabetes can cause an increase in urination, meaning the cat loses more water than it should. Heatstroke, shock or blood loss from injury can also all cause dehyradtion, as can diarrhoea and vomiting – for more obvious reasons.

The following are all indications: loss of energy and lethargy, dry mouth, constipation and a dry mouth. However, the easiest way to test for dehydration is with a simple skin-elasticity test. This involves gently grasping the scruff of your cat – the skin at the base of the neck – and pulling it upwards; in normal circumstances, the skin should spring back. If the skin is slow to retract, this is a good indication of dehyradation – the slower the retraction, the more severe the dehyration.

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!

Despite all these symptoms, the biggest problem with kidney failure is that, by the time you notice any of the aforementioned signs, your cat may have already lost up to 75% of his kidney function! For this reason, we highly recommend you take your cat for regular screening at the vets, as blood and urine tests can will pick up kidney probelms far eariler than your observations. Standard screening tests involve general examinations, weight tests, blood pressure testing and urine tests, so even regular tests won’t be taxing for your pet. If they do indiciate that there might be a kidney problem, your vet will likely want to conduct some blood tests, which will further reveal any problems.

Just like humans, cat can suffer from shock. Caused by trauma like injury, illness and severe dehydeation, shock can be fatal if left untreated – yet it is hard to recongise unless you understand the symtoms and procedure for dealing with it.

Shock occurs when blood pressure falls, causing an insufficient oxygen supply to the tissues and organs around the cat’s body – including the heart. To compensate for the drop in blood pressure, the heart rate will then actually increase, causing extra stress on the heart, which is already suffering from a lack of oxygen.

As you may be able to guess fromt the above description, symtoms of shock include shivering, a weak pulse, fast and shallow breathing and, of course, reduced body temperature. Emergency veterinary care is essential, but take care not to further stress your cat at any point. If possible, position your pet so his head is lower than his body, keep him warm and, above all, keep him calm. Shock is easy to treat, but will get worse if you further panic your pet.

Fear not, I’m not making a bold philosphical claim in this post; I’m refering to the fat cat called Socrates, whose story we told you about all the way back in November!

You may remember Socrates was over twice his ideal body weight last year, weighing over 10.1kg! For this reason, he was chosen by PDSA (the vet charity) to take part in a 100-day diet and fitness prgramme to help him slim down and lose him dangerous levels of fat. Well, now his diet is over and he’s lost a huge 1.5kg – 15% of his body weight!

However, despite Socrates’ great achievement, Amber – a fat cat from Edinburgh – also took part in the challenge and managed to lose 17% of her body weight over the 100 days! This put Socrates in a still highly-respectable second place and has inspired his owner, Bill Duncan; “Before Pet Fit Club, Socs struggled just to groom himself properly, he had no interest in his toys or exercising and spent most of his time cat-napping. “Now, he’s like a different cat. He can groom himself and reach places he couldn’t before. “As a result his coat is in superb condition, he has loads of energy and loves playing with his cat-toys.”

Bill is determine to continue Socrate’ diet until he reaches his ‘ideal weight’ of 4.5kg. He hopes his cat will have achieved this by the summer of 2011. From everybody here at the Cat Health Blog – good luck Bill and Socrates! Keep up the good work!

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!

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.