Training your cat to tolerate the AeroKat...

The coughing cat

Nick enjoys some fresh air

Nick's carer wasn't sure if he had a hairball or was coughing until we saw him at the hospital. He crouched down with elbows out, hacked and hacked and then swallowed - he was definitely coughing.
To help you work out whether your cat is coughing have a look at this video. Some people mistake 'hairballs' or vomiting for coughing.
When we listened to Nick's chest he had a wheeze, which his owner had also noticed at night. His wheezing has been much worse this spring and summer.
We decided to Xray Nick and found that he had thickening of his bronchial walls, typical of chronic bronchitis or asthma.
Like humans, cats can have frightening episodes of not being able to breathe. They panic and can die if not treated with a bronchodilator like Ventolin immediately.
Nick is now on steroids and is training his owner to use an AeroKat inhaler.

Vaccinations and regular check ups

Bella has her annual check up

Because cats are so good at hiding illness and discomfort it is imperative that they have a check-up at least once a year. Cats older than 9 years of age may need a physical twice a year especially if we identify any problems.
During the examination we check their eyes, mouth, teeth, ears, heart, lungs, skin, joints and belly for any abnormalities. Many cats start having dental problems as early as 3 years old. Skin disease, allergies and gut upsets an happen at any age.
We discuss the optimal diet for your particular cat because every cat is an individual.
Behavioural problems like inappropriate urination, yowling or attacking often come up in discussion, too.
If your cat is likely to go into boarding or other stressful situations then we recommend an annual vaccination for enteritis (also known as panleukopenia or parvovirus) and the two flu viruses (calicivirus and herpesvirus). This vaccine is also known as the F3 or 3 in 1 vaccination.
Inside cats who don't go into boarding may need less frequent F3 vaccination.
Cats who go outdoors or who may escape home, particularly if they fight, require an FIV vaccination against feline AIDS every year. It is important that cats receive the FIV vaccine boosters exactly 12 months apart.
We also give or recommend the best worming and flea treatments for your cat during the annual visit.

Allergic dermatitis

Does your cat scratch or groom more than normal? or are patches of fur missing perhaps with areas of broken, red or raw skin?
If you answer yes to any of these questions your cat may have allergic dermatitis - the feline equivalent of human hayfever.
We will rule out flea allergy dermatitis - very common - and food allergy, which is less likely, before deciding that your cat has allergic dermatitis.
A treatment specific for allergic dermatitis in cats has just been released. Atopica is designed for cats so is easy to administer and in cat-size dosage bottles. It relieves the irritation, allows the skin to heal and the hair to grow back within 6 weeks.
Your cat will soon be back to her/his happy, beautiful self.

Weight Loss

Cino (and Cino's mother) are worried that he is losing weight despite a hearty appetite. Burmese are more likely than other breeds to develop diabetes so we checked his blood glucose first. It was normal and so were his kidney and liver tests.
Hyperthyroidism is more common in older cats like Cino who turns 12 shortly. However the blood test showed that his thyroid is functioning normally.
Cino occasionally vomits. Because everything else seems normal we will zero in on his intestinal tract. First we will try a diet that will minimise inflammation in his stomach and intestines. If we don't get any response to that we will scan him from top to bottom for abnormalities.
Some cats suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, which may escalate into mild or, less frequently, severe lymphoma. Many of these bowel conditions are treatable and well-managed cats do well.

Cat Friendly Clinic

We were thrilled to hear that we have been awarded the Cat Friendly Clinic gold standard!
This is awarded by the International Society of Feline Medicine to veterinary practices that meet very strict criteria. We planned Canberra Cat Vet to conform to their standards but still had to do a lot of work to document our efforts.
We had to demonstrate that Canberra Cat Vet:

• understands the unique needs of cats and has made veterinary visits more cat-friendly
• understands how to approach and handle cats in a gentle, empathetic and caring manner
• has good standards of equipement for investigating and treating feline diseases
• has a high standard of facilities and care for hospitalised cats.

Cat body language

It's easy to misinterpret our cats' body language. Watch this great video to find out some of the common signals our cats are giving us.