Muffin Can't Breathe!

Muffin lives indoors.  She is a normal very frisky young girl cat , but since the hot, humid, muggy weather of August, she has been less active and very wheezy.  She now stops playing to cough.  She arches her neck out to catch her breath.  She literally can't breathe!   Muffin's owners were preparing their home for sale:  painting walls, cleaning floors and cabinets, deoderizing carpets.  They had even put scented deoderizing crystals into each room to make things smell nice.  Remember that a cats sense of smell is 14 times that of a humans.  What may smell nice to us may be offensive or irritating to our cats!   Remember too that our home is only part of our overall environment, but for our indoor cats, it is their ONLY environment.

Air quality affects the respiratory tract.  Aerosol sprays should not be used unless the cat is put out of the room (including hairspray, deoderant, perfume) .  Be aware of the cleaning products, paint fumes, scented cat litter, potpourris, plug-ins, carpet fresheners, spray cleaners, fabreeze-type sprays.  Particulate matter (dust) comes from furnaces with dirty air filters, pollens and molds, wood stoves, dust-laden forced air vents, cigarette smoke. 

Any and all of these items can cause your cat (and you) to cough, wheeze, have a runny sore nose, or irritated eyes.  If you use  these products often , your cat could even  develop asthma symptoms: chronic coughing spells and shortness of breath, decreased energy, decreased appetite .   If your cat is coughing, please contact your veterinarian. 

This story has a happy ending!  After removing all the scented products, cleaning smells and deoderizing crystals from the house, and airing it out well, Muffin is now back to her young frisky cat behavior.  Now we can all take a deep breath....and hug the cat :) !
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

Another cat -a great idea or a nightmare?

Adding another cat to your household can be either a great idea and a nightmare .  The end result depends on many factors:  the size of your home including vertical space, the number, health, and temperament of your present cats, and your own patience and expectations.
 
First, chose the right newcomer.  It is MORE important to chose a new cat for their  personality than their beauty.  The newcomer should be friendly, confident, and relaxed around other cats. Kittens are less threatening to a resident adult cat, but their youthful exuberance may not always be appreciated. If you have an older resident, they may appreciate a more mature, less energetic adult friend.  Young male cats tend to play rough at times, and also weigh more, so consider this with an older female cat.

Have PLENTY of vertical space for your cats to perch and observe. This allows even a small home environment to be  multiple-cat friendly.  Padded window seats, multi-level cat towers, access to tops of shelving, are all examples of vertical space, and cat friendly perches should be present in most rooms in your house.

Cat society is a delicate balance of solitude and sociability and you are now messing with the balance.
A newcomer will be viewed as an invader of the territory.    To decrease the liklihood of fighting, housesoiling, stress and  hiding, confining the newcomer to their own space (room) initially  is ESSENTIAL, and so is TAKING THINGS SLOWLY.  The newbie sanctuary should be equipped with all the needed comforts of home, but well away from the resident cat(s). Spend quality play time with the newbie every day.   This will allow the new cat  time to adjust to you, and his room, his new food, his new litter box, and will greatly decrease HIS  overall stress level.

This is the perfect  time to use FELIWAY.  Feliway is a spray or plug-in  to use in your home, that helps cats to relax and relieves anxiety.  Want more more information on Feliway? , click here.

Remember, your newcomer is a source of potential disease: fleas, ear mites, ringworm, lice, intestinal parasites, herpes virus , feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, and more. Confining the newcomer until after they have been examined by your veterinarian, and given the "all clear" signal is a smart move, and may prevent you from having to treat your whole menagerie for a disease or parasite.

During this ESSENTIAL confinement period (days to weeks) , you have work to do.  First,  STEP ONE:  scent swapping. Scent swapping allows the cats a non-confrontational way to become acquainted.  Taking a towel, give the newcomer a  daily rubdown around the face and back (assuming no contagious skin diseases), then leave the towel near a spot that your resident cat frequents.  Repeat in the opposite direction for the newcomer.  Do this daily and place the scented items in a variety of places, and gauge the responses. Go to step two only when you are seeing NO NEGATIVE responses with step 1.

STEP TWO, allow the newbie to roam the house AFTER CONFINING ALL RESIDENT CATS.     Depending on newbie's confidence level, this exercise may need repeating several times before the whole house has been explored in a relaxed manner.  The opposite of this is confining the newbie to a carrier, putting the carrier in a closed room, and allowing the resident cat access to the newbie's sanctuary.  Remember,  do this daily until you see:  NO growling, no puffy back hair, no flat-to-the-head ears -just relaxed happy inquisitiveness from ALL cats.

Once you are seeing no negative responses, it is time for STEP THREE, visual introductions, in a controlled manner.  Again, using your cat carrier, confine the newbie, and set the carrier in the middle of the family room, allowing the resident cat a slow, gradual, non-threatening view and smell of the newbie.  Stay close and use a calm relaxing encouraging tone to your voice.  Do not reprimand or say "NO" to growling or hissing.  This is an expected response initially.  Reverse the scenario the next time with the resident in the carrier.  Be positive and relaxed, as the cats will pick up on your reactions.

LAST STEP, they meet.  You will need 1 person per cat for this, each with food treats and control of their cat.  Stay separated in a large room  where the cats can see each other, but at least 5+ feet apart.  Using food treats, gauge the response of the cat(s).  If everyone is eating and happy, you can let them interact. If not, separate and attempt this again the next day.  Be patient. Go as slow as necessary.

Even after the introduction, I would recommend separating the newbie when your are gone (to work) and when you are sleeping at night.  This will help to control their interactions until you are certain that everyone is behaving appropriately.

Taking these steps slowly -days or even weeks -will help insure that your new family member will be accepted as one of the gang.    Congratulate yourself on a job well done!  Now you can honestly say, "adding another cat was a GREAT IDEA"!
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

Are you moving to Mars?

From your cats perspective, moving to a new home or apartment is like moving to a  new planet.  There may be steep mountains to climb (stairs), and dangerous cliffs to avoid (balconies).  There will be foreign terrain (carpet/ flooring) and dark scary caves (basement or storage areas), and also strange smells.   The old safe spots and hidey-holes have disappeared.  Perhaps even foreign-smelling new furniture has been delivered. 

Moving is stressful for people too, but at least we are prepared for the changes in store.  It may be tempting to throw away the old hairy cat beds, and well used litter boxes when you move, but these "smell" like security and familiarity to your cat.  Any change you make will be one more thing that is foreign is a new world of foreign-ness.

Ideally, set up a small room with all the cats favorite "old" things:  toys, cat trees, beds, favorite chair, scratching post, blankets, litter boxes, food and water - and remember to add some places to hide.  Then use this room for the temporary cat sanctuary.  Let them de-stress in the sanctuary (with the door closed) until the moving chaos  and noise comes under some control.  Exploring the new world at their own pace (once things have settled down), while having access to the sanctuary if scared, is the perfect way to accustom them to their new home.   Allow the sanctuary to exist as long as they need this added security.   You will know when they have conquered the new world with the first midnight relay race thru the house!
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

The Season of Kittens

Did you know that there is a "kitten season".  It starts mid summer and stretches until late fall.
You see, female cats cycle seasonally:  as the days start get longer (February), adult female cats start to become amorous.  Sixty three days later, kittens start to be born (late spring) when the weather is warm, and babies are most likely to survive.
 These early kittens, at 8 weeks of age (mid summer) are ready to find a home, and often end up at a shelter or rescue or a rummage sale or a flea market.  This "season of endless kittens " continues until the days start getting shorter and cooler again (autumn) when adult females will lose their interest in intact males (until it starts all over again next year.)

Seasonal ovulators, like cats and rabbits, also have the ability to have up to 3  litters in a season, and will have between 1-8 kittens per litter on average.  And also like many mammals, female cats can become pregnant while they are themselves still young -as early as 6 months of age.

So the average unspayed female cat, in her lifetime, could have over 100 kittens.  It is said that  a single pair of cats and their kittens can produce as many as 420,000 kittens in just 7 years. 

If you know anyone that has an unspayed female or intact male cat, please encourage, cajole, nudge, sweet talk, hint,  or offer to pay to GET THEM FIXED.  There is nothing in the world as cute as a kitten, but there is nothing in the world sadder than seeing the shelters and rescues in late summer once again FILL UP with kittens, young adults, and adult cats that have no home.
Spread the word. 
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

Cat Vomit Making You Crazy?

I know how you feel!   I would estimate that up to  1/4 of all cats vomit at least once a week.  Most cat owners accept this as "normal".  Or they believe that if their cat vomits up hairballs weekly, that the cause is hairballs.   Or if their cat vomits right after eating,  the simple answer is that "my cat eats too fast".

First let me say that acute vomiting can be the first sign of serious disease -pancreatitis, intestinal blockage, cancer.  This type of vomiting can be differentiated from chronic vomiting this way.  Acute vomiting is seen with cats that are listless, not eating well or at all, hiding, vomiting multiple times in 24 hours and are always dehydrated.  This type of vomiting is SERIOUS and should involve a physical exam ASAP.  This blog is talking about chronic vomiting:  once or twice a week or less with NO weight loss and NO loss of appetite or energy.

OK, back to my ramblings......Consider this-  Only some cats vomit (hairballs) but all cats groom their hair coat daily.  So, if all cats are swallowing hair daily and the hair is a problem,  why aren't all cats vomiting on a regular basis?
Consider this -all cats eat fast when they are hungry.  People eat fast.  Dogs eat fast.  Eating fast is not a reason for vomiting.  Vomiting is NOT normal, and should not be considered normal by cat owners.

I would like to propose another view of this common problem.  Lets suppose that some cats have a MILD inflammatory condition in their gastrointestinal tract that causes occasional vomiting.  When a cat vomits, up comes (undigested) food or a ball of hair.  The vomiting is the primary problem.  The hair and food  are "along for the ride". 

Inflammatory gastrointestinal disease is VERY common in cats, but can be challenging to diagnose.  Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a common name for a group of GI diseases with similar and variable symptoms:chronic vomiting, decreased appetite, soft stool, gradual weight loss.  Early cases of IBD can  start with chronic vomiting of food.

What can be done to decrease or control mild GI signs in your cat BEFORE they lead to trouble?     Here are some things to consider.

Some cats, like some people have a food sensitivity or food allergy.  If this is the case with your cat, the vomiting will stop when the allergy is controlled.  Hypoallergenic food or limited ingredient foods  needs to be fed for 8-12 weeks exclusively to rule this problem out.  Check out this link for more info on feline allergies:  ALLERGIES

Some cats are indiscriminate eaters -food scraps, grass, house plants, yarn, paper, plastic bags -and any of  this will cause GI upset.  Controlling their access to inedibles will solve this problem.

Some cats require a diet that is closer to what nature intended them to eat (some days I sounds like a broken record).  A trial of high protein canned food and NO dry food for 4-8 weeks is needed to see if this is the cause of the vomiting in your cat.  This is a link to one of my favorite Cat Nutrition web pages:  http://www.catinfo.org/

I have had great sucess in treating many of these "chronic vomiting" cats with herbal formulas  to decrease the inflammation in the GI tract,  strengthening  the health of the GI tract, allowing it to heal naturally  over time. This type of approach is holistic, in that it takes into consideration the previous history of the individual patient and  other related  sypmtoms and patterns.  This information is then used to prepare an herbal formula specific to the individual patient.  Want more information on my latest interest -Chinese Herbal Medicine?- continue following my blog!  I am currently enrolled in the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society's Certification course in Chinese Herbal Veterinary Medicine and expect to be certified in 2012.  And it is an amazing and effective approach to veterinary care.

Until next time, hug the cat for me!
Dr. Maureen Flatley
thanks for following my blog -I would love to hear your comments!

Keeping your ca'ts food FRESH is essential

A patient I saw recently, a cute little 3 year old orange and white tabby, was brought in for her annual wellness exam.  I was shocked to see that she had lost 2 1/2 lb since I had seen her last  (20% of her weight!!). 

After inquiring about her eating habits and diet, I discovered some dangerous facts:  She was being fed from a food dispenser.  Her large bag of dry food was being stored for months at room temperature.  One can of food was being fed a tablespoon at a time over a 2 week period.  This poor little girl was starving for fresh food, but unknowingly the owner was allowing the food to become rancid...

Here are the rules of thumb that I gave to the owner:

-Never -ever-ever (ever) use a free choice "fill-er-up" food dispenser.  Feed the cat fresh food DAILY, and throw away any of yesterdays leftovers.   This keeps the food fresh AND allows you to monitor your cats food intake.

-Only buy one month's supply of dry cat food at a time.  The food, once it is opened, will not stay fresh beyond 30 days at room temperature.  Store dry food in a sealed rubbermaid always.  Scrub the rubbermaid out completely between EACH fresh bag of food.  Oils go rancid quickly, especially in "natural" brands of food.  A cat's sensitive nose will detect this off-smell LONG BEFORE WE WILL, and they will stop eating!

-Canned cat food is meat.  Meat does not keep refrigerated beyond 5 days before going bad.  It is best to only store opened canned cat food for 1-2 days, as most cats are not fond of "old leftovers". 

The bottom line is that every cat needs and deserves FRESH food daily.  Along with lots of loving, play time, head scratches, brushing, belly rubs, a super clean litterbox, a fresh cool bowl of water, and any and all additional forms of feline appreciation!!

I firmly believe that health starts with good nutrition! 

Hug the cat,

Dr. Maureen Flatley, Fox Valley Cat Clinic
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The Scary World of Pet Food Recalls

We live in a global ecomony. What that means for pet food is that ALL pet food manufacturers are buying some  ingredients from inexpensive overseas suppliers.  And, just about EVERY CAT FOOD manufacturer has had at least ONE recall in the last 5 years.  That is a scary fact when you think about it.  They have left out  essential vitamins, they have  added  mineral at 10 times the recommended level, they have used ingredients that were laced with  toxic ingredients.  The most recent recall involved Salmonella contaminated meat. 

How can we protect our pets?  What can we feed that is safe?  I am now recommending to my clients to chose at least 3 or more reputable pet food companies (that are not owned by the same parent company) and rotating foods.  Specifically feed a different canned food every day if possible.  Rotate from one SMALL bag of dry food to another brand.  Consider rotating in a home made diet, or balanced raw diet.   Just rotating flavors from the same company is not enough.  Most of the recalls have included a large percentage of foods from the same company.  For example, the last wellness cat food recall, ALL their canned  cat food was lacking essential B vitamins except their 2 flavors of Wellness Core.

What does rotation do?  It reduces the likelihood that you will be feeding an unsafe food over an extended period of time.  The key is ROTATION and VARIETY.

More on home made diets and raw alternative diets next time.

If you enjoy my blog, please consider joining my email list!
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY

This is the first of several short blogs on what every cat owner needs to be concerned about...
How healthy is  the CAT FOOD we feed.
Today I will expound on DRY CAT FOOD.  (Hang in there, this is exciting stuff!)

First the GOOD news:
 -Dry food is convenient.  It will stay fresh in the bowl for days. 
-Cats like dry food. All dry food is surface sprayed with a very 'tasty" coating.
-Dry food  is nutritionally complete.  Dry food contains all the needed nutrients that your cat needs to live.
-Dry food  is inexpensive when compared to canned food, homemade diets, raw diets.

Here's the BAD news:
-Dry food  is processed under very high heat.  This kills bacteria, viruses, molds etc, but also destroys and degrades the nutritional quality of the ingredients.
-Dry food is very refined.  Look at the ingredients and you will see "meat meals".  This is like meat flour. All dry foods use a meal form of meat in their formulas
-Dry food contains plant proteins.  Cats are carnivores -meat eaters.  Their systems are NOT built to process and utilize plant proteins.  But, plant proteins are a much cheaper ingredient. 
-Dry food contains a large amount of carbohydrates -even "grain free" diets.  Carbohydrates are what makes dry food crunchy.  Hi carb diets are also responsible in part for  feline obesity , diabetes and possibly thyroid disease.
-Dry food contains ALMOST NO moisture, which can lead to dehydration, urinary tract disease, and more.  Because of this, dry food should not be fed as a solo diet to any cat over 14 years of age.

The UGLY:
Many less expensive dry foods are LOADED with artificial flavors, colorants and preservatives, and are very high in carbohydrates.  That is why they are cheap!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CHOSING A DRY FOOD:  The first 2 ingredients should be meat based proteins.  Avoid foods that include corn gluten, wheat gluten, as these are plant proteins.  Try to chose foods that use complex carbohydrates.  Chose brown rice over white rice.  Chose sweet potatoes over white potatoes.  Stay away from corn -it is very undigestible (which means it ends up in the litterbox!).  The most important thing is to READ THE LABEL and know what you are feeding.

Coming up ...canned foods and more.
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic