Your Cats Health...

...is a paramount consideration for cat ownership. Identifying the symptoms, prevention and treatment of illness and diseases are important to your cat's future to having a full, happy and good quality of life. Conversely, there's nothing more saddening as a sick cat. Because cats are such a specialized creature, their physical health seems vulnerable to more varieties of diseases and infections than other animals. Fortunately, cats will display ill health more readily, than say a dog who will not let you know is he is sick until he spreads it all around the living room carpet. When a cat is not feeling well, she will mope around and assume an uncharacteristic bad temper... before she spreads it around the living room carpet... then in the bedroom closet... and, then where ever else she can think to hide it.

Today's domesticated house cat is generally believed to have descended from desert wild cats who preyed on small rodents, especially mice and rats. They lived in an environment where water and vegetation was relatively scarce and the cat's physiology adapted to these limitations. The specialization which has come to define a cat (i.e., a low light hunter which derives the bulk of it's nutrients from a limited selection of prey) results in a creature that lives in delicate balance with the natural world. Generally speaking, as an species becomes more specialized within a limited environment, the more vulnerable to the greater range of maladies outside of it's environment it is.

When cats began to hang around with people, they also traveled where ever humans went. Spreading all over the world, cats were taken a long way from the environment they had evolved in. Not only did cats impact the natural habitats they were introduced into, especially on species that had not even heard about cats, let alone fear them. But cats also found themselves being vulnerable to pathogens for which they have no natural defenses. As every evolutionary biologists knows, it takes a lot of generations for a species to develop an immunity to a particular bacteria or disease, if at all. Hence, another good reason that cats have litters.

You, on the other hand, are not concerned with evolution and immunology. You just want to know why fluffy is not acting like she normally does. Your cats health is the difference between a robust, stalking, chasing (and sometimes lounging) kitty, and a cat who shows pain with each step she takes, stops taking care of herself, won't eat and doesn't want anyone touching her.

A cats health is generally pretty well established when she is a kitten. If she received colostrum (first milk) from a healthy Queen who was adequately immunized and in good health herself, the kitten will have received many antibodies to protect her from most common ailments. Kittens are born without a working immune system and receive protection in this manner. Then at 8 weeks of age, when the kitten's own immune system begins to develop, she should have seen the Dr. Veterinarian for immunization vaccinations against many of the diseases that have been studied in pet laboratories and antidotes perfected against. The doctor can give her a physical inspection and if there are any abnormalities the chances of catching them early and treating them successfully are great.

After kittenhood, a cats health is a day to day routine. Your cats health can be fortified with good quality cat food, regular bathing, brushing and other grooming habits, which of course are only supplemental to what she is naturally inclined to do for herself. If she's kept indoors, or if she has outside access and is kept away from feral cats or other animals with potentially infectious diseases, and her territory is not a Superfund site, that is, free from pesticides, herbicides, anti-freeze spills, etc., she'll be less vulnerable to picking something up that's dangerous to a cats health. Being outside does expose a cat to fleas, ticks and other parasites which means you'll be doubly responsible for giving her regular physical exams and inspecting her stools when you change the litter box. Kitties don't like to be watched when they go to the bathroom. But, you will want to know if she's struggling or is in pain when she urinates or does #2. I've found that if I hum a little tune or whistle, turn my face to the ceiling, but watch out of the corner of my eye, kitty isn't quite so self-conscious.

There's a reason that cats are said to have nine lives. There isn't an animal alive that can get into as much mischief as a cat will. Dog's blunder into trouble. Cats look for it. With the tempting of danger that cat's do, they seem to almost always slip out of harm's way. Almost. Emergency or unscheduled visits to the vet are usually caused by scratches and wounds received from cat fights, or disagreements with neighborhood dogs, or worse, encounters with wild animals such as a raccoon. A fight with a raccoon is not one that a cat will come out on top of. But, to a cat's credit, with her good sense of what overwhelming odds are, she'll usually avoid a fight she know she can't win.

There are some highly infectious and common diseases that affect a cats health and you'll want to watch for:

• Feline Immunodeficiency or FIV
• Feline Leukemia or FeLV
• Feline Distemper

FIV has no cure, FeLV can be controlled. FIV is a retrovirus, similar to the human AIDS virus, and erodes a cat's immune system making her vulnerable to diseases and infections she might normally be resistant to. FeLV is a cancer many times resulting from an FIV infection. Feline Distemper can be immunized against while your cat is a kitten. All of these diseases are extremely contagious and all too common. They can result in a cats health demise and are not to be taken lightly. A tour of our section on Cat Health lists many cat health problems with brief descriptions of symptoms for each problem. But, these descriptions are not to be taken as professional diagnosis. Only your veterinarian can give that kind of information. If you suspect anything is not right with your cat, only your veterinarian can give you the best answer to the problems your cat might encounter. Schedule a visit ASAP at the first sign of trouble.

Finally, regarding self medication, keep in mind that a cat's physiology is delicate and only medications designed for cats are going to be safe and effective. Diagnosing and prescribing medications on your own will be putting your cats health at risk.