Feline Medicine

Rockville, Md. -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning veterinarians about a possible risk of fractures associated with a device used to deliver the feline leukemia vaccine through the skin of cats.

Timonium, Md. - CATalyst Council says an initiative rolled out in early 2011 is starting to make inroads on reversing the decline in feline visits to veterinarians.

This study examined the effect of an exogenous glycosaminoglycan on cats with this painful urinary condition.

In this interactive case, investigate why Misou has lost her appetite.

Kansas City -- Do you have catitude? According to feline expert Margie Scherk, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (feline) understanding behaviors of your feline patients can improve care and ease anxiety associated with feline visits to veterinarians.

Use these six pointers to ensure the successful use of inhalants in asthmatic cats.

Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. - moisture-enhanced feline diet, coupled with increased activity, may inhibit the rate of weight gain in cats, according to research published in the June issue of the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition.

A look at composition provides insight into ways to prevent plugs in the first place.

What characteristics make this species different from us or from dogs? By understanding our feline patients better, we can provide a better experience and environment for them. The basis of working cooperatively with cats is empathy based on an understanding of their nature and behaviours and trying to imagine what their experience is like.

Among the key frustrations is a lack of understanding about exactly what this condition represents (i.e. Is there really a causal relationship to some form of infection? is it immune-mediated? Allergic?...). Since it is a diagnosis of exclusion, there is also always a bit of doubt about whether or not I may have missed a primary nasal diseas.

Is the feline diabetic patient every veterinarian's nightmare? Since diabetes mellitus is one of the most common endocrinopathies in cats, it is likely you will face this disease many times in your veterinary career.

Over the last several years, there has been a shift in the mineral content of uroliths in cats from predominantly magnesium-ammonium phosphate (MAP) to calcium oxalate (CaOx). Of the nephroliths and ureteroliths analyzed by the Minnesota Urolith Center in 2002, 70% of 170 renolith submissions and 98% of ureterolith submissions were CaOx.

When hyperthyroidism was first reported in cats as a disease entity approximately 25 years ago, the majority of cases were advanced. The cats were thin, aggressive, polyuric, polydipsic, polyphagic and had large palpable goiters.

What began as an astute observation by a very sharp dental technician has resulted in discovery that the mandibular symphysis of the cat is very easily and frequently separated.

In spite of repeated efforts, pleas for Divine intervention, and promises to God, you cannot get the catheter to pass into the bladder

Infectious diseases can often be insidious in their clinical presentation. Case studies will be used to highlight some interesting infectious diseases that can affect the feline patient.

Unfortunately, we don't really know how common clinically relevant pancreatitis really is in our feline patient population. Based on necropsy studies, pancreatic inflammation may be found in anywhere from <1% to 67% of cats, which is obviously an enormous range.

Endoscopy is a wonderful diagnostic tool that allows exploration and biopsies of areas without invasive surgery. Given the option, many clients may prefer endoscopy instead of surgery. What types of cases are suited to endoscopy? How do you prepare a cat for endoscopy?

The use of inhaled medications is certainly not a new phenomenon in feline medicine. It makes intuitive sense that local delivery of medication might result in different actions than systemic administration. There are two primary methods for delivering inhaled medications to cats: 1) use of metered dose inhalers (MDI) or 2) use of a nebulizer to aerosolize liquid medications.

FLUTD refers to a spectrum of diseases that result in pollakiuria, hematuria, stranguria, dysuria and/or periuria in the cat. Common causes of these clinical signs include urolithiasis, urethral plugs and neoplasia (most commonly, transitional cell carcinoma).

Anemia is a common blood work abnormality in many species, including cats. Determining the regenerative nature of the anemia guides the workup of the case. Regenerative anemias suggest blood loss or red cell lysis. Red cell lysis can be due to toxins, infectious agents, neoplasia (as a secondary immune-mediated phenomenon) or primary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia.

Cats presenting with pleural effusion are nearly always in respiratory distress, ranging from an increased respiratory rate and effort to open mouth breathing. In the latter situations, therapeutic intervention must be initiated quickly to prevent respiratory arrest. The therapeutic intervention also provides your first diagnostic test.

A new study performed at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine is radically changing our understanding of how heartworms affect the cat. In this study three groups of cats were studied for 8 and 16 months with antibody and antigen tests, radiographs of the heart and lungs, and necropsy examinations of the heart and lungs.

Bartonellosis is an important emerging disease in humans and has been recognized to cause clinical disease in several other species, including dogs and cats. Bartonella henselae is the primary etiologic agent in Cat Scratch Disease, which causes fever and lymphadenopathy in humans.

Feline lower urinary tract diseases are characterized by hematuria, pollakiuria, and dysuria, and are common problems encountered in feline practice. It is estimated that they affect over one half million cats in the United States annually. Although there are numerous recognized causes of these signs, the exact cause is never identified in the majority of cases.

These metabolic strategies mean that they are less efficient at "sopping up" post-prandial glucose loads that occur with high carbohydrate meals. Commercial dry diets, by virtue of the processing that must occur to create a dry diet, contain higher quantities of carbohydrates than the comparable canned diet.

Although feline asthma is among the most commonly diagnosed respiratory conditions in cats, there is still a lot of confusion about how to define or classify this condition or how to differentiate it from other lower respiratory tract problems.

Use better e-mail practices to protect yourself and your veterinary practice from criminals trying to snatch personal information.

This brochure and how-to video on acclimating cats to carriers help remove barriers to visits to your veterinary practice.

Veterinary internist Dr. Laura Smallwood reviews the choices for pain medication to send home with cat owners.