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Early Detection Can Lead to Early Diagnosis of Disease

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cat disease
Cat Disease- Tulip

There is nothing quite like the grief of loosing a pet, this is undeniable. Our furry friends are such a huge a part of our lives and our hearts, and there is an unforgettable emptiness after they’re gone. One of the hardest situations to deal with is unexpected euthanasia that comes suddenly with no time to prepare. The best way to avoid such situation is early detection of cat disease and illness. Noticing your felines first subtle signs of sickness can lead to early diagnosis and can help avoid unprepared loss.

In the veterinary world, when a patient presents with sudden abnormal behaviors or signs of illness that cannot yet be determined, we call it “ADR”, or ain’t doing right. It is common in older cats who have no previous history of disease and have been healthy for most of their life. As a pet owner, it is important to be able to pick up on to the early signs of ADR, but first you must be able to understand and identify them. There are multiple key points to look out for as your cat ages.

 

 

  • Visible changes in your cat are important in determining if there is something wrong. Changes like weight loss, abnormal gait, lack of luster to the coat, or even something as subtle as an unusual look in their eyes can be the first signs of an illness.

 

 

 

  • Behavior changes  can range from obvious and alarming, to subtle and hard to notice. Some of the more obvious changes in behavior include hiding, if they are typically social. Subtle signs can be as simple as sleeping in an odd location or deciding not to play with a toy that they usually love.

 

 

 

  • Changes in appetite is a common sign that should never be ignored. If your cat doesn’t finish or decides to skip a meal, it is likely there is something brewing. Also, it is not uncommon in some cat diseases for cats to become more hungry. If you notice they are begging more often or seem ravenous, they could be telling you they are sick.

 

 

  • Changes in thirst is also common with many cat disease s. An increase in thirst can be an early sign of illnesses such as kidney disease or diabetes. If you notice you have to fill up the water bowl more than usual, don’t ignore it!

 

  • Vocalization is very common in cats who are in pain or uncomfortable. Howling or an increase in vocalization is an easy sign to pick up on, and it is pretty hard to ignore. It is important to listen when your cat tells you there is something wrong!

 

There are many more subtle signs that your cat can begin to show if they are ADR. These may include a fowl odor, such as bad breath, inappropriate elimination or use of the litter box, excessive scratching or grooming, vomiting or diarrhea, or becoming less social or affectionate.

It is important to remember that as a pet owner, you know your cat better than anyone else. Trust your instinct. If you think something may be off, or something seems different, do not hesitate to call your veterinarian. It could be a matter of early detection of a life threatening  cat disease, and you will be thankful that you called.

Schedule an appointment today 

by Leah Carlson, CVT

Pet Loss and Grief

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Grief Pet LossLosing a Pet

Anyone who has ever lost their best friend, their confidant, and close family member knows how difficult this grief over pet loss is. Often times, this loss is a result of our, the pet owner’s own doing. Either we chose euthanasia allowing a veterinarian to deliver a life ending overdose of anesthesia or it happened because of our inadvertent neglect allowing the pet to collide with a vehicle or ignoring subtle symptoms until the disease was so advanced that nothing could be done. Because of the extensive feelings of guilt that surround this loss, this grief in particular can be Earth shattering.

Grief
Currently working through grief myself, I have come to understand what a powerful and unforeseen emotion it can be. First it renders you numb so that no emotion can come through. Then it turns gut wrenching, taking your breath away and throwing your spirit to the floor. It then recedes only to leave you feeling lonely, hopeless and unmotivated. These are the times that those who are grieving need support.

Life Lessons
As unfortunate as it is, it is the times of grief, pain, and suffering – the hard times – that teach us the most important lessons in life.
• It reminded me that I have to take care of myself first. Remember to always put your own oxygen mask on before helping others in the event that the cabin pressure changes.
• Grief has reminded me of what is important in life. Again no one on their death bed ever wishes that they had stayed at work longer.
• Working through my grief I have learned that although I am strong, I have the right to have emotions and can express those emotions without it making me appear weak.
• Grief has begun to reveal who my true friends and supporters are and reminded me to make time for them and forego those relationships that are not true friendships.
• Life is short, make it count!

Pet Loss
As stated before, losing a pet can be devastating because of the feelings of guilt. There are other factors that cause grief to be pronounced. Often times there are financial factors that may have led to the pet’s death. The feeling that the pet was an innocent victim or couldn’t verbalize what they wanted in the end heightens the feelings of loss.
Perhaps the hardest hurdle after losing a pet is dealing with the grief. Employers understand needing time off from work to grieve when you have lost a spouse or a parent but not always when you lose Fluffy. Without some time to grieve and support, this loss can be very difficult to come to terms with.

Grief Support Groups
That is why pet loss support systems can be so very helpful. I have listed three below. One is a local venue that has a face to face support group, the other is a telephone hotline and the last is an internet forum. Please pass these along to anyone you know dealing with the grief of pet loss. And of course, always check in with your veterinarian. They and their staff are often good supporters and may have other area knowledge of groups particular to your situation. For more information see our website.

www. catclinicplymouth.com/blog

https://vet.tufts.edu/petloss/
https://www.rainbowsbridge.com/Grief_Support_Center/Grief_Support_Home.htm
http://www.hopefloatswellness.org/support-programs-services/support-groups/

by: Cassandra Kelley DVM
RIP RJK

Tulip – one feral cat’s story

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Introducing Tulip

feral cat
Feral Cat – Tulip

The first time I laid eyes on our feral cat Tulip she was in a Have-A-Heart Trap that smelled like tuna

fish and urine.She was wet and cold, shivering in the far reaches of the cage in order to give as much distance from her captors. Despite all that, she was beautiful! Her black and white coat and round little facial features made her appear sweet and kind. Tulip was indeed a feral cat.

What is a Feral Cat

A feral cat is a cat that was born outside and receives no socialization with humans. They are fearful of humans and would rather flee from the human than attack. Feral cats would only lash out if trapped with no means of escape. Feral cats can have certain levels based on how many generations the population has been on their own, human social interaction as a feeding station, and individual personality. Feral cats will usually live in a colony that may also include domesticated cat that has lost their owners in some manner. They are not wild in the sense that most of them require food from human sources even if that means picking from a dumpster.

In fact, that was Tulip’s story.  She and her babies were living behind a dumpster at the condominium complex where my mother was living. Some of my mom’s neighbors started helping the little family out by bringing cat food and placing it under the dumpster for them. Unfortunately, there were some complaints from the non-feline fan club around the condos. The condo association then announced that the feeding needed to stop and in fact the pests were to be exterminated at some future date.

Trapping, Neutering and Release of Feral Cats

You can’t imagine the horror of my mother and her neighbors. The thought of the destruction of this little family was too much to bear and they reached out to me and the Cat Clinic of Plymouth for help. We were able to find a kitty angel that spent most of her time volunteering to help trap feral cats. She would work to get them veterinary care and then either re-release them spayed, neutered and vaccinated or would find placement for them if they could be socialized. Obviously this little family could not be released at the same area. So that posed another dilemma. Where would this little family go?

The Cat Clinic of Plymouth volunteered to help with the veterinary care once they were captured with the caveat that the neighbors would find a place where they could go. Interestingly enough capturing these little cats was the easy part. They caught two males first. One was pretty well socialized and was adopted by one of our wonderful clients and transitioned to household living well. The other male was extremely feral. He was adopted by one of our wonderful veterinary technicians and was able to adjust to his new colony and indoor living but never socialized with humans.

They next caught the two baby cats who at this time were months old and therefore more difficult to socialize. At the time there were no options for this rag tag team so they remained at the clinic taking up my cage space for several months. They slowly became more and more socialized as a result of their forced loving from their veterinary technicians at the Cat Clinic of Plymouth. The boy cats were finally adopted to one of the neighbors after causing much commotion at the clinic. The staff would put them in an exam room overnight so they could play with a little more room than a double wide cat condominium. The boy cats were able to somehow manage to get the cover off of the heating duct and enter the duct system overnight. It took hours of removing ducts from the heating system to finally capture them!

Finally, Tulip was trapped. After her veterinary care, she adjusted to cage living but clearly was not socialized. With the help of Victor, our hospital cat, she began very slowly adjust to human companionship. After almost a year of cage living and no prospects, she began to show some progress. We could at least touch her with a brush without her striking out from the back of the cage obviously scared out of her mind!

Happy Endings

While this was developing, I lost my elderly dog. I figured that this was an opportunity for Tulip. There was an opening at my house. Maybe just maybe, she would transfer her crush from Victor to my male cat. Luckily that worked out. We moved her cage into my back bedroom and allowed everyone to visit. With only mild hostility from my female cat Olive, we slowly made the transition from cage to room to house.

I would still consider Tulip somewhat feral. After years of working with her she can socialize with us allowing us to brush her, pet her with one hand under certain conditions. She still cannot be picked up, medicated or treated for fleas without a great deal of planning and effort, in other words, capturing her when she comes for her meal and scruffing her on the floor while my husband attempts to treat her. Even so, she always forgives us. And she has no interest in going outside again ever.

To learn more about cat care and cat behavior, go to  Cat Clinic Blog

By Cassandra Kelley DVM, veterinarian and owner Cat Clinic of Plymouth

How do I train my cat not to scratch my furniture?

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Cat scratching his scratching post
Cat scratching his scratching post

Cats normally scratch to remove the outer dying sheath of their nails, marking territory and stretching and strengthening their body for hunting and climbing. It is a normal part of being a feline! However if they are scratching you or your things, it can be frustrating to say the least.

Up to 42% of reported behavior problems have to do with undesirable scratching and may be one of the main reasons other than aggression that a cat is relinquished. With cat parent education and cat training, we can avoid undesirable behavior, protect you and your couch all the while allowing your cat to perform their normal behaviors and avoiding declawing (SEE Should I declaw my cat?)

The key to training a cat is to let them think that they came up with the idea all on their own and positively reward only this good behavior. First things first! Find out what and where they like to scratch and give it to them by buying or building something appropriate for them to scratch.

All too often at the Cat Clinic of Plymouth, our veterinarians are approached with this problem behavior. After some questioning, veterinarians learn that either there are no things for the cat to scratch, the appropriate scratching post is in the corner in a room the cat never goes in, the appropriate scratcher is the same one that was purchased for the 3 pound kitten who is now 16 pounds or the worst…. The appropriate scratcher was the old chair that no one cared was a scratching post that was replaced by new furniture that everyone cares is getting scratched. All scenarios that is very confusing for a feline.

Choosing the perfect scratcher

The perfect scratcher is the one your cat wants to scratch! Pay attention to what your cat is scratching. What is the material it is scratching, rug, cloth, wood? Is it vertical or horizontal scratching? How big is the item it is scratching? Most cats have a preference and that preference will determine what we build or buy. There should be more than one option in more than one area to keep your cat happy.

Placement

The best place to put your cat’s new scratcher is the place that they are scratching! Move the couch or chair over 6 inches and put the scratcher right there or at least in the same general vicinity. We can eventually start to move it to a more desirable location for you once we get the training out of the way.

Training to the new scratching posts

Once the new scratchers are in place, we need to reward positive behavior by getting the cat to scratch it. Enticing the cat with treats, cat nip and toys on the new scratcher should get them interested in exploring the new scratcher. If that is enough and you did a great job researching what and where your cat wants to scratch, then reward the scratching behavior. “Good kitty!”s are great to start but we really need to reward with something great. Food, play and other enjoyable forms of attention will go a long way.

Avoiding inappropriate scratching

Remember what I said about cat training? It goes a lot easier if they think they came up with the idea. So making your couch, your woodwork or your rug unattractive for scratching will help. We want your cat to think, “Why did I ever like scratching this?” Covering with plastic, double sided sticky tape for this purpose or tin foil will change the way the object feels. Putting tin foil or even better clear plastic rug liner where the cat stands to scratch is another way to make scratching less comfortable. Remember the clear plastic runners that used to protect those beautiful green shag rugs in offices of the seventies? They have the little nubbins underneath to hold them to the carpet. Well they still sell those things off the roll by square foot in many home improvement stores. Cut them to where your kitty stands to scratch the woodwork or chair nubbin side up….very uncomfortable on paw pads.

Resisting negative training

Scratching is fun! You know what else is fun? People hollering in high pitched voices, games of chase and water bottles. I know you think that these actions are applying the stick in the carrot and stick rule but, trust me, for most cats it does not. Most cats find this attention exciting and rewarding not the opposite!

While you’re training

Behavior change is hard for all of us whether we bite our nails or twirl our hair. It can take some time to make these changes stick. In the meantime, we can do some things to ease the transition. These include

  • Keeping the nails trimmed
  • Nail Caps that glue onto the nail to prevent damage when scratching
  • Facial pheromone diffusers or sprays
  • Environmental Enrichment (see Enriching Your Environment for Cat Happiness)

With time and consistency, you will have your furniture and wood work back in no time! Good Luck!

 

Olive’s Brave Battle with Hyperthyroidism

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Olive – her brave story of hyperthyroidism

 

Many of you who know me have heard the story of the acquisition of our second cat Olive. My husband will swear that this story has undergone some serious literary privileges over the last thirteen years or that it has been victim of my Irish ability to spin a yarn, however I ascertain that this is the God’s honest truth.

My husband, fiance at the time, and I had discussed getting another kitten for our cat Finn. We already had a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a rabbit and Finn. I felt that our small family was complete especially as we were just about to get married and still living in a rental. Therefore, my recollection of the conversation went something like this.Ollie smiling

My husband: “Do you think that Finn would like to have another cat as a friend?”

Me: “No.”

A short time later… and this is where I will admit to not remembering how long after that fateful conversation this next incident occurred. I received a voice mail from my husband that sounded something like this….

 

“Hey, it’s me. I’m driving home now. Remember a while back we talked about getting a kitten friend for Finn? (meeeeeoooooooow – in the background) Well, I think (meeeeeoooow, meeeooow) I may have found one. So, I guess (meeeooooowww) we can talk about it (meeeoooowwwwww!) when you get home tonight. (meeoow) Ok, see ya.”

Since then she has wormed her way into my heart but not without some trials and tribulations. Oh and by the way, it turns out Finn did not in fact want a friend.

Ollie in the canOver the last two years, Olive had begun to show some signs of hyperthyroidism. She was overly playful for her age, she began frantically searching for food, her weight declined despite being hungry and eating. However it wasn’t until recently that her blood work actually agreed that she was indeed suffering from hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid gland.

Cornell University Information on Hyperthyroidism in Cats

Hyperthyroidism is a common disorder in cats as they age. It results from an overproduction of thyroxine the thyroid hormone from overactive cells of the thyroid gland most likely a result of a non-cancerous tumor of the thyroid gland called an adenoma.

The thyroid hormone controls many of the body’s functions including metabolism, blood pressure, and heart rate. That’s why untreated thyroid disease can cause so many other diseases some of them life threatening. Luckily thyroid disease is a very simple disease to treat.

Signs of hyperthyroidism can include:     

  • weight loss
  • increased appetite
  • increased activity and restlessness
  • aggressive or “cranky” behavior
  • a poor hair coat
  • a fast heart rate
  • increased water drinking
  • increased urination
  • periodic vomiting
  • increased amount of stool or diarrhea
  • occasionally difficulty breathing
  • occasionally weakness
  • occasionally depression

Hyperthyroidism Information from Washington State University Veterinary School

Traditional treatment involves Methimazole, an antithyroid medication that controls the symptoms of the disease. Most cats tolerate this medication well and the medicine can be made into all sorts of formulations. Although some cats can have some gastrointestinal signs while getting used to the medication, this resolves in the first few weeks of treatment. A small percentage of cats have a more severe reaction to the medication which resolves when the medication is withdrawn. That’s why we check bloodwork after taking the medication for several week and also to make sure the dose is correct.

Well, poor little Olive did not react well to the medication. She began vomiting uncontrollably even while hospitalized with medications to alleviate the nausea.

So Olive will undergo Radioactive Iodine Treatment to irradiate her thyroid until it behaves. This is a more permanent treatment. Most cats are cured with just one subcutaneous treatment. The injection of iodine is taken up by the most overactive cells as the thyroid gland uses iodine to make thyroid hormone. These overactive cells are then killed with the radiation leaving most cats with a normally functioning thyroid gland.

There are other options available. Hills Prescription Y/D is iodine restricted food. Remember the thyroid gland uses iodine to make thyroid hormone. So if there isn’t any iodine they cannot overproduce thyroid hormone. That works for many households that can restrict any other diets for that patient. It wouldn’t work in our house that is now up to 3 cats and a dog.

Surgical removal of the gland can also be considered. However, this requires general anesthesia and usually ends up with the removal of the important parathyroid gland which is necessary for control of calcium in the bones. So it is not my favorite choice.

Hyperthyroidism in catsSo, Olive sits patiently waiting for her appointment at VCA South Shore Animal Hospital for Radioactive Iodine Treatment. Don’t tell her but unfortunately it is not for another week. Although she is very sweet, she is not always the brightest bulb! We will get back to you with her results after her treatment.

 

VCA Radioactive Iodine Treatment

 

Cassandra Kelley DVM

Cat Clinic of Plymouth

Blog

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February Newsletter    Dental Awareness Month

By Dr. Richard Duckett  DVM

February is National Pet Dental Health Month. Dental health often falls low on a pet owner’s list of health priorities.  Many pet owners simply do not realize the impact improper oral health care can have on their pet’s overall health.  Even if your cat could and did brush his/her teeth, plaque and tartar will build up over time leading to gingivitis and ultimately, periodontal disease.  Periodontal disease, the most common disease in cats, is a painful condition leading to bleeding gums, bad breath, food aversion, behavioral changes, and tooth loss.  More severe and potentially life-threatening complications arise when periodontal disease allows bacteria into the bloodstream resulting in potential damage to the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs.

In addition to periodontal disease, cats may suffer from a condition known as Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions, commonly referred to as ‘FORLS’.  This is a painful condition unique to cats whereby enamel is lost resulting in exposed and infected tooth roots.  For many cats, this painful condition can only be detected at the time of a dental cleaning.

Although February has been declared Dental Health Month, we at The Cat Clinic of Plymouth feel every month should be dental health month.  In fact, this is how we approach every cat, every visit, every month.  In recognition of the effort in the campaign to make clients more aware of their cat’s oral health needs,

The Cat Clinic of Plymouth is happy to offer the following:

* 10 % discount on any and all dental procedures for any and all of your cats during the month of February ’14. 

In addition, we are extending this offer through March ’14 in order to reach as many cats as possible.

 

Please call 508-746-8580 to schedule an appointment so we can get those teeth cleaned!  It is important to us and important for your cat’s health.

 

Sincerely,

Dick Duckett, DVM