Cat Health: Feline Arthritis

Cat Health: Supportive Cat Bed

Like older people, cats can also develop arthritis. Veterinary medicine has products that can help relieve the pain of feline arthritis and even repair the damage to the cartilage in the joints that has already occurred.

Signs to Look Out For

If your cat has developed:

an altered gait,
a reluctance to jump up on their usual cat tree or jump for toys like they used to,
obvious pain when trying to walk,
and even personality changes that can result from the pain of sore joints, including depression, agression, or nervousness/agitation.

How is Arthritis Diagnosed in Your Cat?

You will need, after you notice the signs above, to take your cat to your vet for an exam.

My young cat developed a pain and walking reluctance to move, but it turned out that she had strained a muscle and needed to rest and recover. This was found by a simple physical examination.

To diagnose arthritis may require more extensive tests, such as blood tests, x-rays of the joints, or ultrasound scanning, in addition to the physical exam.

Treatment for Feline Arthritis

Like people with arthritis, cats can benefit from glucosamine and chondroitin. Glucosamine is a major component of the joint’s cartilage and chondroitin helps the formation of cartilage and inhibits the factors in the body (enzymes) that break down the joint’s cartilage. http://www.arthritis-cats-dogs.com/glucosamine-for-pets/

If they were good enough for my dad’s arthritis, they should be good enough for your cat.

Your vet can supply these medications made just for cats in powder or liquid form which help the arthritis progression and provide pain relief for your sore kitty.

Many people with arthritis use corticosteroids, but these have many negative side effects and should be a last ditch effort agreed to with your vet to help your sore kitty.

Many people with arthritis use what are called nonsteroidals (NSAIDs). These have potentially harmful side effects for people, such as kidney, liver, and heart complications, and there are very few nonsteroidals certified for cat medicine.

What Can You Do At Home?

1. Weight control. Obesity can cause extra strain on the arthritic joints in your cat, just as it does in people. If your cat has developed arthritis and is obese, a weight loss program can help by putting less strain on sore joints.

2. Exercise. I know, a cat with sore joints, just like a person with sore joints, is not in a mood to exercise, but really, exercise can help in 2 ways: by helping with the weight loss and by keeping stiff joints warmed up.

Heated Cat Bed

3. The Big One — Heat. Cats love to lie in warm spots — sunshine or in front of a fire — but an arthritic cat is especially helped by heat, just like people. Providing a heated cat bed is a wonderful way to comfort your sore cat.

4. Massage. Cats vary in whether they will tolerate being massaged, but is can be very helpful. Learn more in The Healing Touch for Cats: The Proven Massage Program for Cats, Revised Edition

Cat Product Reviews: Simply Clean(tm) Litter Box

Cat Product Reviews:

Simply Clean(tm) Automatic Litter Box

Cat Product Review: Simply Clean Automatic Litter Box

The Simply Clean(tm) Automatic Litter Box works to keep your cat’s litter fresh and clean by rotating once per hour, scooping up the litter clumps, and moving them up a conveyor system to a waste receptacle. You can use recycled plastic shopping bags to store the litter until you are ready to empty the receptacle.

There are no moving parts to catch you kitty’s fur, and it moves so quietly and slowly that it won’t bother your cat, but will keep you and your cat happy by removing the wastes all day/night, keeping everything fresh and odorless.

Some assembly required, no tools (see the video below). Just plug in and go.

Must use premium clumping litter.

Good for cats up to 12 pounds, so unfortunately my Maine Coon, who weighs 15 pounds, cannot use this product, but many people with smaller cats love it.

Dimensions: 25.8″ long x 18.8″ wide x 10″ high.

Cat Facts: Cutest Kittens of 2010

I was watching Animal Planet earlier this week and saw the show of video clips of cats, going for the Cutest Cat of 2010. The winner was my favorite cute kitten of the year:

They didn’t include what I considered the runner-up on the show, but I think this is the First Runner Up for Cutest Cat of 2010:

The Animal Planet cable channel is a great source of information about animals of all kinds. I have learned a lot about cat care from watching it, and I highly recommend it.

Cat Products Reviews: Cat Calendars 2011

Cat Product Reviews: Cat Calendars 2011

If you are like me, the end of the year almost takes you by surprise. We get so busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas, that it’s the New Year before we’ve even finished packing things away.

One thing I always like to do for the new year is get my new cat calendars. There are two I get for myself every year because they are my favorites:

Cat Calendar A Day

I always have 365 Cats Page-A-Day Calendar 2011 on my computer desk where I work all day.

As I start up my computer in the morning, I turn to the next page to see the beautiful picture and read my “cat quote” of the day to get me started. That and my coffee in the morning. I don’t think I could start the day off without them.

Then, to keep track of my monthly schedule, I always get the wall calendar What Cats Teach Us 2011 Wall Calendar (Life’s Lessons from Our Feline Friends)

What Cats Teach Us Wall Calendar

I find this calendar to be so adorable, and, yes, cats do teach us lessons about life — like always remember to get enough sleep!

This is also a very pleasant way to keep track of birthdays, etc., and have an excuse to look at it.
Of course, everyone has their favorite type of calendar. You can find any type of cat calendar you want — whether it’s Bad Kitties, Siamese Cats, or Sleepy Kitten calendars at Cat Calendars.

Cat Health: Feline Diabetes

Diabetes can be diagnosed with a routine blood test at your vet that checks glucose levels in the blood, but most cases are diagnosed when the owner notes changes in their cat’s behavior:

frequent or excessive urination
frequent or excessive drinking.

Symptoms:

Hungry Cat

Your cat will eat more because she feels hungry, because the food she eats isn’t getting into the cells of her body to keep her going because of low insulin levels.

Your kitty will drink and pee a lot more, as the kidneys try to flush out the extra glucose that is stuck in the bloodstream and not able to make it into the body’s cells because of the shortage or lack of insulin.

Effects:

Diabetes in a cat can cause:

kidney damage
eye damage
nerve damage.

Treatment:

Treating diabetes in a cat has the same goal as treating it in people — keeping the blood glucose level in the healthy range.

Like people, some cats get diabetes that can be controlled with diet. Fill your pet’s prescription with Wysong Rx Prescription Pet Diets

Some will need medication — also like people, some may be controlled with pills and some may need insulin shots every day.

Caring for a diabetic cat can be very expensive, so getting pet insurance while your cat is still healthy can be a good way to prevent the difficult decision whether you can afford the care your cat will need or need to euthanize your cat. Your kitty can live a long and happy life with you with the right care.