Eye and Ear Care

The eyes and ears are the most sensitive areas in a cat's body. Gently remove any stains from the cat's eyes with a soft cotton swab. There are solutions specifically designed for cats. Cats can also collect a considerable amount of wax in their ears. Removing this will maintain your cat's health and help prevent infections. There are products available that you can use for the ears, eyes and teeth.

The Fat Cat

I usually like to use a picture that best describes the title of my blog. But don't have a fat cat so used this cute photo instead. Now on with The Fat Cat.

Obesity is becoming an increasingly serious problem for our pet cats. Many cats are kept indoors and have markedly reduced activity levels. This combined with a readily available food source (delivered with minimal nagging by a kind, loving owner) often leads to a weight issue. Cats are particularly predisposed to many weight related diseases. Obesity causes insulin resistance resulting in diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes). In addition, fat cats commonly suffer from arthritis and skin conditions.

Care must be taken when dieting a fat cat, as severe calorie restriction can result in a liver condition called hepatic lipidosis. Your vet will be able to recommend a suitable diet and the correct quantity to be fed each day. Use a smaller food bowl so that psychologically you are not quite so aware of the reduced amount the cat receives. This also reduces the damage when you are tempted to fill the bowl! Have a cup measure with the correct amount of food marked so that there is no guesswork with meal size. Any 'snacks' or 'treats' fed throughout the day need to come from this alloted quantity of food.

Encourage your cat to exercise. Tie feathers to string and pull these across the floor. Use laser pointers (carefully) to dance a little light up and down the wall for the cat to chase. Invest in catnip stuffed pillows, jingly toys, windup mice - whatever it takes to get your cat off the sofa and trotting around.

Finally, stick with the program. Weight loss needs to be a slow, gradual affair. Use your vet's weighing scales regularly to check your cat's progress and adjust his diet accordingly.

Family Love

Our Pets are a Gift

Whether it's a wag of the tail happy to see us after a hard day, the exhilaration of a wild run on the beach, a purr of contentment as one settles into sleep, or the look of your pet that says you are the most important person in the world, our pets enrich our lives. You can give something meaningful back for a happier, healthier future for your pet and to other pets that may not be so fortunate.

Your pet gives you unconditional love, what can you give in return?

High Pressured Felines

Just like us, our feline friends can suffer from high blood pressure. This is usually a condition of older cats and can occur on its own or secondary to other elderly cat diseases such as kidney failure and hyperthyroidism ( an over active thyroid gland ). Whatever the cause, the end result is a consistently high blood pressure or hypertension. Prolonged elevation of blood pressure can cause sudden blindness, bleeding into the eyeball, dilated pupils, kidney damage, nosebleeds and fitting.

Whilst high blood pressure can be measured using specialised machines, interpreting the results can sometimes be difficult. A syndrome known as "white coat hypertension" readily occures in cats. The stress of cat carriers, car rides to the vet and being attached to a monitor and asked to stay still can raise a cat's blood pressure to falsely high levels. Several readings are taken to ensure the most accurate result.

Treatment of hypertension involves treating any underlying disease and using drugs to held dilate the blood vessels. If your cat is placed on blood pressure medication by the vet, make sure you keep up with follow up checks, as the dose of medication often requires adjustment.