Whitie's big night out

Whitie ready for his surgery

Whitie came home with a sore paw a few days ago and has got lamer and quieter since.
When he came in to see us we saw a cut on the side of his paw but once we had him under anesthetic and could clip the hair away we found a big abscess.
With the pus drained and pain relief on board Whitie is feeling heaps better.

Feed the cat more meat!

Cats are carnivores and have quite complex dietary needs. Vets are now strongly advising that cats are fed a primarily wet diet. This means good quality canned or pouch foods coupled with meats like chicken, rabbit, roo, beef or lamb. I like to feed the meat as stir fry strips or chunks so that my cats chew on them and clean their teeth.
To protect their kidney and bladder health cats must consume water in their food as well as drinking it. Cats on wet foods have a much higher intake of fluids than cats on dry foods.
A good quality commercial food is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. In the wild cats consume very little carbohydrate ie wheat, maize and a lot of animal, not plant, protein.
In our busy lives we are forced to feed our cats some dry food for convenience sake but wet foods should provide the bulk of their intake.

Flea allergy

Kaiser has been out enjoying the warmer weather - and so have the fleas! 

Poor Kaiser has been grooming more than usual and has lost some of his beautiful coat  especially over the rump. Normally cats are only mildly irritated by fleas but Kaiser is allergic to flea saliva. Just one flea bite causes intense and long lasting itchiness.

To make Kaiser more comfortable we must try to eliminate all fleas from him and his environment.

Capstar or Comfortis kill the fleas and paralyse flea mouthparts preventing deposition of saliva.

Every month his owners will give him Advantage, Revolution, or Comfortis  to keep flea numbers as low as possible.

Because fleas spend most of their life cycle off the cat as larvae and pupae in bedding, carpet, dirt and leaves they will have to wash his bedding in hot water and dry it in the sun.  They should also vacuum carpets and furniture often. they may decide to call a professional to fumigate the house.

Kaiser has had an injection of cortisone to block the allergic reaction and give relief from the intense itching.

Niles has his spring clip

Niles came in for his annual check-up, clip and dental examination today. Because his coat gets so matted in spring his carer opts to have him clipped all over every year. Eleven year old Niles passed his physical exam and blood tests with flying colours. 

He had a general anaesthetic so that we could scale and polish his teeth and take out one decayed canine tooth. 

Niles does not like the clippers and the matts were perilously close to his skin so Nurse Eliza clipped him while he was still asleep.  

He was very frisky when he woke up, demanding a late breakfast asap! 

Niles before his clip

Nurse Eliza does a thorough, stress-free clip

Niles in his smart blue coat ready to go home

Fat Cats

Time for a diet, Tiny!

Obesity in cats is no joke.  Every day I see cats with arthritis, diabetes, bladder problems and liver disease as a result of overeating and lack of exercise.  (Where have we heard that before??!) 

Just a 20% increase in weight – a 1kg increase in a 5 kg cat – makes a cat obese.  Cats hide their fat under their bellies and along their ribs so their owners often miss the early signs of expansion. 

Neutered cats, particularly neutered males, and cats that live indoors are more likely to be overweight. When kittens are neutered their energy needs decrease dramatically.  We need to reduce their daily intake by 25% and make sure we keep them playing and active.  

If your cat is already overweight consult your veterinarian before starting the diet.  Too rapid weight loss may result in a fatty liver, which is often fatal.  Aim to lose about 1-2% of the current weight per week.  For a 5 kg cat that is about 50-100 grams per week. 
Nurse Leanne runs a weight control clinic at Canberra Cat Vet. She will recommend a diet and a target weight for your cat, discuss exercise and encourage you through the difficult first days.

A 33% to 50% reduction in current food intake combined with exercise should be effective. If possible, cut back the dry food to less than 50% of the daily intake and offer more meat and canned food.  A good chew on raw stewing steak, chicken wings, a rabbit leg, osso bucco or lamb cutlets makes puss feel full and cleans her teeth as well.

Ensure that she does not have access to alternative food sources such as the meals of other pets in the household or friendly neighbours!

Increase the opportunities for exercise.  A cat tower and a variety of toys that you can rotate out of the cupboard are a good start. Tunnels and hideouts made from cardboard boxes are cheap and fun to play in.  You can join in the fun by tugging a simple length of ribbon or a feather along the corridor. This will trim your cats’ waist lines, increase their muscle mass and make them – and you - feel good.

Living with allergies AND cats

Ragi has a look around her new hospital

Do you suffer wheezing, sneezing, watery eyes and itchy eyes and arms around your cat? For me, these allergy symptoms are a small price to pay for the company of my cats – although some mornings when I wake with a heavy head and red eyes I wonder!

Cat allergies are not caused by cat hair as most of us assume. They are caused by a protein found in cat saliva, urine and skin cells, or dander. The immune systems of people with allergies mistake this harmless protein for a dangerous invader like a virus or bacteria and mount a full scale attack on it.

Here are some tips for minimising our allergy symptoms without giving up our cats.

• Made your bedroom a cat free zone
•  Reduce the load of cat allergens in your bedroom by washing or replacing bedding, curtains and pillows. Then cover pillows and mattress with allergen-proof covers.
• Open windows wide at least once a day to air the house and dilute the allergen load
•  Send your cat outside, preferably into an outdoor run, to disperse some of the dander
•  Eliminate allergen traps such as carpet, rugs and upholstered furniture as you can. Carpet accumulates up to 100 times more allergens than vinyl or wood flooring. If you can’t take it up steam clean it regularly and vacuum with a high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) filter or us and allergen-proof vacuum cleaner bag.
• Brush your cat outside and/or in an outside enclosure to minimise contamination of your home with dander
• Wipe the dander away with a moist cloth or wipe to remove saliva and dander.
• Spray the house with anti-allergen sprays
• Use a low dust cat litter and ask non-allergic family members to clean the litter box frequently
• Take the antihistamines, decongestants, eye drops and aerosol inhalers your doctor recommends. Antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E also have anti-allergen effects.

 Don't let allergies come between you and your feline friend.

Canberra Cat Vet is open!

Gus recovers in his hospital bed

Tomorrow we meet a new kitten, check a few feline senior citizens and put our new dental suite through its paces. 

Gus couldn't wait for our official opening. He was very down on Monday morning and came in with a sore belly and very dehydrated. A night in our quiet, warm hospital on a drip has revived him enough to go home this afternoon.

Phone us on 6251 1444 for all your cats' health needs.