Cat Health, Cat Insurance, Cute Cat Videos

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.

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.

You see, Plato and Aristotle are my two cats, who had had been ‘fighting’ whilst I was at work – much to the horror of my brother’s 7-year daughter. Although I managed to comfort her at the time, by telling her they were “only playing”, it wasn’t long before they were at it again. Luckily, it turned out I was right – they were only playing! So today I thought, in case this happens to you, here is how to tell whether your cats and fighting for real or just playing.

1) Noise. When cats fight, you know about it – hence the term ‘catfight’ I suppose. They yowl, screech and hiss enough to literally wake the neighbourhood! If there’s not much noise and only the occassional hiss, they’re probably just playing around.

2) Behaviour. When playing, cats tend to take turns attacking and defending; when they’re done, it’ll be like nothing ever happened. If it seems one-sided or they avoid each other afterwards, they’re probably fighting and you should think about keeping them apart for a bit.

3) Results. When playing, cats shouldn’t get hurt, unless it’s by accident.

It’s quite obvious, but it’s best to be certain!

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.

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.

The world’s most expensive cat, the Ashera has a price tag of £12,000. British businessman Simon Brodie breeds these cats from the wild African serval, the Asian leopard cat and a type of domestic cat. With striking leopard-like fur, these cats can grow up to 1 meter tall and weigh up to 30 pounds.

I wonder what the cat insurance would be on the Ashera??

Image: SWNS

With the Year of the Tiger just around the corner, this week China announced that it will be launching a multi-million dollar effort to save the world’s biggest cat, the Amur Tiger.

Image MJCdetroit

The Amur Tiger is also known as the Siberian Tiger, can be known to be up to 500 pounds in weight. With two of nine subspecies of tigers extinct in this world, this is definitely a welcome move. The Guardian reported that

Since the last tiger year, in 1998, the wild population of the animal worldwide has almost halved to about 3,200 due to habitat loss, economic development and poaching for hides and traditional medicine.

China will be working with various NGOs and the World Bank to ensure that not another tiger subspecies will be lost forever. We hope that the Amur Tiger will indeed survive several more generations and continue to enjoy the privilege of being the world’s largest cat.

Worse than the myth of Bonsai Kittens, the Daily Mail paper has reported that Holly Crawford, a dog groomer from Pennsylvania have been selling pierced kittens for a few hundred dollars online.

PETA was alerted of this cruel act by an anonymous caller. According to Melinda Merck, an animal cruelty investigator and veterinarian, the ear piercings altered the cat’s hearing and neck and tail piercings hampered balance and jumping.

‘They were maimed and disfigured,’ she said, adding that if infections had become severe, the three-month-old kittens could have died.

In her defense, Crawford has said that she was not ‘acting maliciously’, yet the harm done to these young kittens means that it would cost over $1000 to rehabilitate. And yet if she had pet insuance, will she be reimbursed for this?

The trial continues.