Senior health care

Why is it that dogs are taken to the vet twice as often as cats? Dogs average 2.3 visits per year while cats are only taken 1.1 times per year.
I don’t think it’s because their owners care less about them, but I also don’t think that they are inherently healthier!
Signs of illness in cats are often subtle. An unwell cat will often curl up away from you, reducing the chance of you noticing anything amiss. Cats pride themselves on their hardiness and self-reliance and are stoic in the face of chronic pain or illness.
Sometimes the only obvious sign of illness and pain is weight loss. Gradual loss of appetite and behaviour changes are harder to identify unless you are very observant.
Cats age FOUR times faster than us at equivalent ages. A 2-6 year old cat is in her prime. By 11 years of age she is starting to show signs of age but is not considered geriatric until 15. At 15 years of age she is equivalent to a 76 year old human. Many cats live up to 20 years with regular health checks and veterinary care.
To ensure that those years are healthy and happy we recommend an individualised preventative health care programme.
From about 10 years of age all cats deserve at least two wellness exams a year. This lets us detect and treat chronic diseases like bad teeth, failing kidneys, arthritis and hyperthyroidism early and reduce long term health care costs.
We will also discuss changing dietary requirements and any supplements that might improve your cat’s health and happiness.
Regular visits ensure that your cat’s quality of life is maintained and that she shares many comfortable and happy years with you.

Arthritis

Old cats suffer from arthritis just as often as old people or dogs. Over 22% of all cats X-rayed have arthritic changes in one or more joints. Many people are surprised when we tell them that their cat is arthritic. However, if you know what to look for you will identify arthritic pain in your old cat without too much trouble.
Changes in jumping behaviour are readily noticed in most arthritic cats because it is most common in elbow and knee joints.
Cats with elbow arthritis are reluctant to jump down and seem to ‘pour’ themselves off the bed or cupboard. Because they lose agility they jump down with a thud and stand a while before moving off. My cat Cleo crouches with her sore elbow angled out from her body if she jumps off the washing machine and jars it.
Cats with arthritic knee joints are reluctant to jump as high as before. They may use chairs to get onto tables or abandon high resting places altogether. Painful knees may make them hesitate before jumping, scramble rather than jump or even miss the target. Some cats pull themselves up onto the couch or bed rather than spring up.
Toilet accidents may happen because of unwillingness to strain joints climbing in to the litter tray.
Cats that move stiffly have arthritic backs. Because it is difficult for them to groom their sides and backs their coats look rough or matt into tufts. Some of these old kitties get cranky when picked up or petted because of the pain in their backs. Many spend the day resting and avoiding play.
If you suspect your cat has arthritis mention it at the next checkup. Your observations are very important to making the diagnosis.
We have many tools for reducing arthritic pain and making our cats’ senior years comfortable and enjoyable.

New vaccination guidelines

New Australian vaccination guidelines recommend that adult cats have core vaccination boosters every 3 years once they have had their first booster at 15 months of age. The core vaccine protects against feline parvovirus (also known as enteritis), feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus (also known as cat flu).

At the annual examination we review the health and vaccination status of each individual cat. Many factors influence the effectiveness of vaccination and the need for re-vaccination. These include the cat’s age, breed, vaccination history and health status, the disease prevalence in the local area, the likely exposure of the animal to other animals, including stray or feral animals, current best practice, contemporary guidelines and published veterinary literature.
The vaccination program for each individual cat is determined within a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, taking all these factors into account.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (AVPMA) and the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) advocate three yearly vaccination of cats.
The APVMA is the Australian government statutory authority responsible for the registration of all agricultural and veterinary chemical products in the Australian marketplace. The APVMA is working with vaccine manufacturers to update label recommendations.
The AVPMA’s position statement on cat and dog vaccinations can be found on its website:
AVPMA

The AVA’s policy on vaccination protocols is found on:
AVA

Frozen yoghurt fiend exposed

Toby Cat - Frozen Yoghurt Fiend
RIP

Goldie and Trudie

Goldie on the lookout

This is better than television, says Trudie watching Goldie's shadow

Tiger on the prowl

Tiger spent a few days in hospital this week after a paralysing encounter with a brown snake. As you can see he was unsteady on his feet and stayed close to the ground when trying to move. If he'd waited any longer before alerting his humans to his condition he would have been like a floppy doll and completely unable to walk. At the end of summer and autumn when snakes are low in venom cats can take several hours to develop the muscle weakness.  Untreated the paralysis can immobilise them altogether and stop them swallowing and breathing.
We gave Tiger brown snake antivenom as well as drugs to prevent any reaction to the antivenom and hospitalised him on a drip to flush the antivenom and venom complexes from his system.

Tiger in a cage

Places to go...people to see...Tiger after 24 hours, impatient to get home. 

Once Tiger was able to swallow his food we could take him off his drip and send him home.  He is still not strong enough to resume his neighbourhood prowls but at least he can relax and be waited on in the manner to which he has become accustomed at home.

CATcerto - Nora the famous feline pianist