, what can I do?" The usual answer
will be TAKE IT TO THE VET! It is an irresponsible owner who does not consult
the vet, even by phone, at the first opportunity. And if you take on the
responsibility of owning a cat, you must budget for the vet visits to keep it
healthy.
On the other hand, if you already have a vet appointment, or have had the vet
look at it and be stumped by the symptoms, rec.pets.cats can be a valuable
resource of tips on what might be wrong, or reassurances that the cat is not at
risk of immediate death, so do not hesitate to ask the group under these
circumstances.
A low-cost method to ease
anxieties over non-emergency kitty problems is to get a home vet book. (See
Literature.) These books also help explain what sort of "deviant" behaviors are
actually relatively normal for cats. However, unless you yourself are a vet,
these books should never substitute for having a vet for your cat.
In the August issue of Cat
Fancy, there is an article discussing health maintenance plans for cats that is
set up between your vet and yourself and then administrated by this HMO company.
The company is called RLI Planned Services in Peoria, Illinois.
The article included a sample plan. For $75 a year, your cat receives:
- BASIC HEALTH CARE
- 1 physical exam, no charge
1 FVRCPC booster, no charge
1 Rabies
booster, no charge
1 FeLV test, no charge
50% off FeLV series
Fecal
analysis, ear flush, worming, no charge
1 Pedicure, no charge
- MAJOR ELECTIVE PROCEDURES:
- Spay or Neuter, 40% off
Declawing, 20% off
Dental Prophylaxis, 50%
off
(anesthesia included)
- HEALTH SURVEY:
- Radiographs, 20% off
EKG, 20% off
Chemistry screen profile, 20%
off
Complete blood count, 20% off
All other medical, surgical and
hospital services (except prescriptions and diets) are 10% off.
(All of these things are included in this HMO for $75/year. OR $125 for two
years.) Here's the company's address:
RLI Planned Services Inc.
Dept. CF
9025 N. Lindbergh
Drive
Peoria, IL 61615
The article says to ask your vet about
this program. If he/she isn't familiar with it, they should contact the company
and see about setting up the HMO plan.
Vets also may be able to direct you to other pet insurance plans that they
know about. You may want to consider that $100/year over an expected 15 to 20
year lifetime is $1500 to $2000. Plus whatever you have to pay for excluded
costs, coverage limits, deductibles. Pet insurance will help with major medical
problems such as FUS, cancer, etc, or emergency care. If your pet is basically
healthy, you will pay about as much either way, for insurance or for
preventative care that keeps it healthy.
Choose a vet who you are
comfortable with and who will answer your questions. Check out the office: do
animals seem just frightened or are they also out of control? Is it bedlam, or
reasonable for the number of different animals there? Do you have local
recommendations from friends? Does the vet specialize in small animals as
opposed to, say, livestock? The best way to find a vet is word of mouth (from
someone who takes good care of their pets, of course). If that doesn't work,
here is a quick and dirty guide (written by Kay Klier, klier@cobra.uni.edu) on
some ways to find a vet if you've just moved to a new town or gotten your first
pet:
- Ask your trusted former vet if s/he knows someone good in the new town.
Often you'll get an excellent referral that way (I found my current vets
because the senior partner was well known for his excellence in surgery).
- If there's a local humane society or shelter, see if there are vets who
volunteer their time there. Many vets who care about animals are often
trustees and/or volunteer their services.
- Check with any local breed associations: see who their members go to.
- Look for memberships in associations like the American Animal Hospital
Association (which has a fairly stiff inspection), Feline Practitioners
Association, American Assoc. of Vet Cardiology, Animal Behavior Association,
etc. These are usually people who have kept up with new developments.
A good vet
will either be associated with a 24 emergency care plan or be able to give you
the number of a good place in your area. Keep this number on your refrigerator
and check with your vet when you visit that it's still up-to-date.
Any time you bring your cat to
the vet, try to bring a fresh fecal sample. Put a small, fingernail-sized sample
into a plastic bag, or ask your vet for a supply of fecal samplers. The vet
cannot always get a fecal sample from the cat, and this saves you extra trips to
return the sample and then bring the cat in if the tests are positive. If you
are afraid your cat will not cooperate and give you a fresh sample before you
need to go in, within 18-12 hours before a sample can be placed in the
refrigerator. Samples over 18 hours hold, however, will probably not be of use.
Cats largely dislike being taken
to the vet. They hate riding in the car most of all, and the smell of fear and
other animals in the office often distresses them further. Get a pet carrier. A
plain cardboard one will do for infrequent trips; get a stronger fiberglass one
for more travel or destructive cats. Carriers keep your cat under control at the
vet's and prevent accidents in the car en route. Popular suggestions to reduce
your cat's anxiety during vet visits:
- Make sure to drive your cat around (WITHOUT going to the vet) to get it
used to the car.
- Use the relaxant acepromazine.
- Find a "cats only" vet.
- Find a vet who will make housecalls.
- Find a vet who manages the lobby efficiently to reduce waiting time.
- Keep your cat away from dogs in the waiting room.
- Keep your cat in a pillowcase rather than a carrier or box.
From kittenhood, accustom your
cat to being handled. Look into its ears (clean, white and light pink), eyes
(clear, no runniness, inner eyelids may blink but should remain open), nose
(clean and pink (or its normal color) and mouth (clean, light pink gums)
regularly. Hold it still and look at its anus; pick up its paws and look at the
pads and claws. This will have the added benefit that you will notice any
changes from normal quickly and be able to call up your vet if something is
wrong.
Do arrange for the kitten to meet plenty of people; this will socialize your
cat and it will not hide from people when adult.
You should be prepared to handle routine
costs from year to year incurred by yearly physical exams, occassional fecal
samples (and worming medication), plus yearly vaccinations. However, accidents
and major illnesses can happen. Sometimes, pet health care insurance is one way
people use to control these costs. Other times you might try vet schools which
may give you reduced rates for their students to have the opportunity to work
with your cat, especially if the problem is rare or uncommon.
You might be able to negotiate a monthy payment toward a large bill, or a
slightly reduced one in exchange for a bit of labor or other work (for example,
one accountant prepared his vet's taxes in exchange for reducing the cost of
surgery that his dog had had).
The humane society may know of lower-cost clinics or vets who are prepared to
cut prices for people who are not particularly well off. It can't hurt to call
around and ask.
But as other posters have mentioned, being a vet is a business, too, and vets
tend not to have high incomes. They also have many of the same expenses as an MD
(equipment, office staff) and the additional expenses of running their own
pharmacy (and animal medicine is just as expensive as people medicine).
Some
diseases can be transmitted from cats to people (zoonoses). Most cannot. For
example, you absolutely cannot contract AIDS from a cat with FIV or FeLV,
although the diseases are related (all are retroviruses). This misconception led
to the tragic deaths of hundreds of cats as panicked owners got rid of them.
Anyone with an impaired immune system is at risk of exposure to germs and
other things from cats that healthy people would not contract; this is
regardless of the health of the cat.
You are more likely to contract diseases from other people than your pets.
Transmission of disease generally requires close contact between susceptible
people and animals or their oral, nasal, ocular or digestive excretions. Use
common sense and practice good hygiene to reduce your risks.
From the Cornell Book of Cats:
- Viral diseases transmitted by cats are rabies and cowpox, usually through
biting or direct contact.
- Ringworm is a fungus infection affecting the hair, skin, and nails. Humans
contract it either by direct contact with the cat or by the spores shed from
an infected animal.
- Cat bites can cause a variety of diseases and infections, including
pasteurella and tetanus.
- Campylobacter enteritis, a disease of the small intestine, can be caused
by contact with contaminated cat feces.
- Cat scratch fever is an infection caused by a bacterial agent transmitted
to the human via a cat scratch.
- Conjunctivitis in humans can be caused by contact with the nasal and
ocular discharges of cats infected with feline chlamydiosis.
- Humans can become infected by Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
when a cat brings home ticks. If the cat becomes infected with plague, it can
also infect humans directly.
- Salmonella organisms, which are shed in discharges from the mouth, eyes,
and in the feces, can cause intestinal disease in humans.
- Toxoplasmosis is transmitted by contact with the feces of an infected cat.
Although it is well-known that cats can transmit toxoplasmosis, many do not
know that humans are more commonly infected by eating incompletely cooked
meat.
- Other parasites which can be acquired by humans are hookworms, roundworms,
and tapeworms: usually by direct or indirect contact with contaminated feces,
or ingestion of contaminated fleas.
If you are not planning to breed your
cat or put it to stud service, you will want to neuter it. Technically, the
general term for either sex is neutering; female cats are spayed and male cats
are castrated. However, general usage is that female cats are spayed or neutered
and male cats are neutered.
Male cats are castrated. A local
anesthetic is administered and several stitches are used to close it up. You
will want to neuter the male cat after its testicles descend but before its
urine odor changes. This is typically around 6 months of age. By neutering
earlier, you prevent spraying (if it has started spraying, it may not stop after
neutering, even though it is no longer hormonally driven). Neutering later has
been thought to help reduce the chances of FUS, but many studies have shown that
there is no difference in urinary tract development or predisposition to FUS
between early-neutered cats (as early as 7 weeks!) and late-neutered cats. As
soon as the testicles have descended is just fine. As of 1993, this is now the
official position of the AVMA. If surgery must be done on an undescended
testicle (sometimes a testicle will not descend and then it needs to be removed)
then the cost and risk increase.
Some male cats may have undescended testicles. These must be surgically
removed, as they often turn cancerous later. This is a more serious (and
expensive) surgery than the usual castration, as the vet will have to use a
general anesthetic and exploratory surgery to find the undescended testicle and
remove it.
An intact male cat (a "tom") will spray a foul-smelling urine to mark his
territory, he will roam widely, and he will be involved in more fights. Often,
he will be more aggressive. He will be at higher risk for certain diseases, such
as cancer; he will also be more prone to infection from the injuries in fights.
A neutered male cat will lose the foul-smelling odor in his urine (but may still
spray); he will not roam as widely nor fight as often. You will be able to keep
him indoors if you wish. Contrary to popular opinion, he will not become more
lazy or fat. Laziness and fatness depend on cat temperament and how much you
feed him.
Female cats are spayed; this is an
ovario-hysterectomy (uterus and ovaries are removed). There are two methods:
ventral entry which is through the stomach muscles in the belly (where a large
patch of fur will be shaved to prevent later irritation of the incision), and
the lateral entry which is through a small incision in the cat's side. Ventral
entry is less expensive, lateral entry has a quicker recovery time. You may have
to bring your cat back in after ventral entry to remove stitches; lateral entry
uses internal sutures which dissolve. Ventral entry is much more commonly
employed; lateral entry is relatively rare, and not all vets may know how to do
it.
The cat must be put under general anesthesia. There is always an element of
risk in general anesthesia and while it is rare, a few rec.pets.cats readers
have had their cats die under anesthesia. The earlier the female cat is spayed,
the better. Any time after four months is good, preferably before the heat cyles
start. Heat cycles may begin as five months.. On occasion, a female cat will not
have all of her ovaries removed. The ovaries produce the hormones that induce
heat: if your cat still goes through heat after being spayed, you may have to
take her in for exploratory surgery to find the missed ovary, or even piece of
ovary.
An intact female cat (a "queen") will go through heat which can be as
frequent as every other week, and may last eight to ten days at a time. It may
even appear as though she remains in heat constantly. You must keep her confined
to prevent breeding, and she will do her best to escape. During her heat, she
may "spray" a strong smelling urine just as tomcats do. Many cats will meow
loudly for long periods of time. She will twitch her tail to the side and
display her vulva. If she becomes pregnant, she will undergo all the risks and
expenses associated with pregnancy (extra visits to the vet and extra food).
Male cats will try very hard to get at her; there are documented cases, for
example, of male cats entering homes through the chimney.
An unbred, intact queen has a much higher risk of developing cancer of the
reproductive system. Queens also risk pyometra (a life threatening infection of
the uterus). Spayed cats have a much lower risk of cancer and will not contract
pyometra.
Female cats may come into estrus within a few days of giving birth. If you
have a queen that you want to stop from having more litters, try to get her
spayed as soon as possible after the kittens are born.
You will need to watch to
make sure your cat does not try to pull out its stitches. Consult your vet if
your cat starts pulling at its stitches. You might, in persistent cases, need to
get an elizabethan collar to prevent the cat from reaching the stitches.
Puffiness, redness, or oozing around the stiches should be also reported to the
vet.
Some stitches "dissolve" on their own; others require a return to the vet for
removal. Some vets, especially with male cats, may use "glue" instead, which
works as well in most cases and does not require later removal.
You should note that male cats will take some time to flush all testosterone
and semen out of their systems. There have been recorded cases of "neutered"
cats impregnating female cats shortly after their operation. Three to four weeks
is sufficient time for neutered toms to become sterile.
The cost can vary widely, depending on where you
get it done. There are many pet-adoption places that will offer low-cost or even
free neutering services, sometimes as a condition of adoption. Local animal
clinics will often offer low-cost neutering. Be aware that spaying will always
cost more than castrating at any given place since spaying is a more complex
operation. Vets almost always charge more than clinics, partly because of
overhead, but also because they often keep the animal overnight for observation
and will do free followup on any later complications (a consideration in the
case of missed ovaries).
In the US, there is at least one group, "Friends of Animals" (1-800-321-7387)
that will give you information on low-cost spay/neutering places, or do it
themselves. They often have price-reduction certificates that your vet may
accept.
Quoting actual prices may or may not give you an idea of the cost for you in
your area. Costs can range from US$10 for castration at a clinic to US$100 for
spaying at the vet's. This is money well spent. One pair of cats, allowed to
breed, and with 2 litters a year and 2.8 surviving kittens per litter, will
account for 80,000 cats in 10 years!
Early neutering is increasingly an
option, especually used by human societies and shelters to ensure that the cats
they adopt out will not produce any more kittens. Studies have shown that there
are no adverse effects to neutering kittens at 7 weeks of age. See the CFA's position on this
issue.
Matted fur is a perfect breeding
ground for parasites and encourages inflammatory skin diseases. If your cat has
matted fur, do not try to cut it off as you may injure the cat. Mats are
difficult to comb out and may be painful. You may have to have the vet sedate
and shave the cat. Do groom it regularly to prevent mats.
Often caused by itching and
irritation of some sort. Fleas, allergies, eczema, and ringworm are all possible
culprits. Sometimes it is simply stress; Vets may prescribe hormone shots or
even tranquilizers to control the scratching.
If ringworm is indicated, you must take care not to get it yourself. It is a
fungus just like athletes foot. Tresaderm and similar medications are used to
treat this. Since ringworm spreads by spores, you can reduce transmission and
spreading by cleaning everything you can with bleach (save the cat itself), and
washing bedding and clothing in hot water. It may take some time (like several
months) to get ringworm under control.
If the cat is scratching its ears and
you can see black grit, that's probably earmites. Consult your vet for
appropriate ear drops. Ear mites stay in the ears, but can be passed from cat to
cat, especially if they groom each other. The life cycle of an ear mite is
entirely within the ear, so you do not have to worry about ridding your house of
them the way you do fleas. Cats typically shake their heads when given the
medication; unless the medication actually comes back out, that is OK. An
additional step to take is to soak a cotton ball or pad in mineral oil (baby oil
is fine), and clean out the outer ear (do not poke into the canal). That rids
the upper ear of any ear mites lodged higher up than the canal, and makes it
difficult for the ear mites to reestablish themselves.
Scratching and a discharge from the ears means a bacterial or fungal
infection and the vet should be immediately consulted. Other possible causes of
scratching include fleas, lice, eczema, allergies, or stud tail (in male cats).
Cats can develop acne just as humans
do. Usually it is only on the chin. It will appear as small black spots. The
reasons for feline acne are as complex as it is for humans. Sometimes a food
allergy (such as chocolate with humans or milk with cats) can cause it or
sometimes the cat does not clean its chin properly.
Tips on caring for feline acne
It is important to keep food dishes
clean. Acne has bacteria associated with it. The cat's chin comes in contact
with the edge of the food/water bowl, leaving bacteria. The next time the cat
uses the bowl, it can come in contact with this bacteria and spread it on the
chin.
- Use glass or metal food/water dishes. It is next to impossible to remove
the bacteria from acne from plastic dishes.
- Wash the food and water dishes daily. This removes the bacteria from the
dishes and helps to keep the problem from getting worse. Also, in multi-cat
households, it will help reduce the chance of others breaking out with it.
- Bathe the cat's chin daily with a disinfectant soap/solution from the vet.
Nolvasan, Xenodine, Betadine soaps are a few of the ones to try. More severe
cases may need to be washed twice a day. DO NOT USE HUMAN ACNE SOLUTIONS.
These are too strong for cats and may cause serious problems. Don't try to
pick the spots off, just clean it well.
Visit the vet if you can't get
the acne to clear up within a week or two, or if the acne is severe or infected.
The vet may prescribe antibiotics or other acne treatments for these cats.
Once the acne is cleared up, keep an eye out for reoccurrences. Washing the
cat's chin once a week is a good preventative measure.
Cats, like humans, have tartar
buildup on their teeth called plaque. An accumulation of plaque can lead to
peridontal (gum) problems, and the eventual loss of teeth. Plaque is a
whitish-yellow deposit. Cats seem to accumulate plaque primarily on the exterior
face of their upper teeth. Reddened gum lines can indicate irritation from
plaque.
Some cats are more prone to plaque buildup than others. Some never need
dental care, others need to have their teeth cleaned at regular intervals. Many
vets encourage you to bring your cat in annually for teeth cleaning, using a
general anesthetic. The cost, which can be considerable, and the risk of the
anesthesia itself are both good incentives for doing some cat dental care at
home.
If you must have the vet clean your cat's teeth, see if your vet is willing
to try a mild sedative (rather than putting the cat under entirely) first when
cleaning the teeth. If your cat is an older cat (5 years or more) and it must be
put under, see if the vet will use a gas anesthesia rather than an injected
form.
What you can do:
Brush your cat's teeth once a week. Use little cat toothbrushes,
or soft child-size toothbrushes, and edible cat toothpaste (available at most
vets or pet stores). Cats often hate to have their teeth brushed, so you may
have to use a bathtowel straightjacket and a helper. If you are skilled and
have a compliant cat, you can clean its teeth using the same type of tool the
human dentist does.
Cavities in cat teeth often occur just at
or under the gum line. If your cat has an infected tooth, you will have to have
root work done on it. It is typical to do x-rays after such a procedure to
ensure that all of the roots have reabsorbed. If the roots haven't done so, then
the infection can easily continue on up to the sinus and nasal passages and from
there to the lungs. Such infections require long-term antibiotics.
If your cat has smelly breath,
there are various possible causes.
- Teething: at about 6 months of age, cats will lose their baby teeth and
get permanent ones. If the gums are red and puffy and you can see the points
of teeth breaking through here and there, the cat is just teething and the
odor will subside as the teeth come in.
- Gingivitus: if the gums appear red and puffy and you've ruled teething
out, your cat may have a gum infection of some sort. Take the cat to the vet.
- Diet: certain foods, usually canned foods or prescription foods, can make
your cat's breath smell. If possible, try changing your cat's diet.
- Abscessed tooth: may show no symptoms other than smelly breath. Drooling
sometimes occurs in conjunction. The cat must be taken to the vet to have the
abscess drained and possibly the teeth involved removed. If this is not done,
the infection can easily spread to the sinuses and cause the face to swell,
especially just under the eyes.
Declawing is the surgical removal of the
claw and the surrounding tissue that it retracts into. Usually the claws on the
front feet only are removed, but sometimes the digits are as well. This is
sometimes used as a last resort with inveterate scratchers of furniture, carpet,
etc. However, if trained in kittenhood, most cats are very good about scratching
only allowable items such as scratching posts (see Scratching). Britain and a
few other countries have made declawing illegal. Show cats may not be shown
declawed. Many vets will refuse to do this procedure.
Declawed cats often compensate with their rear claws; many can still climb
well, although their ability to defend themselves is often impaired and they
should not be allowed outside without supervision. Many declawed cats become
biters when they find that their claws no longer work; others develop displays
of growling. Scratching is one way of marking territory (there are scent glands
among the paw pads), so declawed cats will still "scratch" things even though
there are no claws to sharpen.
Alternatives are trimming the claws (see section on Trimming Claws) or "Soft
Paws". These are soft plastic covers for the cat's claws. Generally, the vet
will put them on, but cat owners can do so themselves if shown how. They will
last about a month despite efforts to remove them. Check the July 1992 issue of
Animal Sense. There is an informative article titled "Fake Fingernails
for Felines?" by Dr. Marilyn Hayes at the Rowley Animal Hospital in Rowley, MA.
They can make a useful training tool if used in conjuction with techniques to
redirect clawing and scratching to approved items.
Kneel on floor and put cat between
knees (cat facing forwards). Cross your ankles behind so cat can't escape
backwards; press your knees together so cat can't escape forwards. Make sure
your cat's front legs are tucked in between your knees so it can't claw you. Put
the palm of your hand on top of its head and thumb and index finger on either
side of its mouth; the mouth will fall open as you tilt the head back. If it
doesn't, gently push down on the cat's lower front teeth eith your middle finger
of your other hand (the first two fingers are to hold the pill). You may wish to
stop at this point and use a flashlight to examine the cat's mouth to see what
you are doing. You want to drop the pill in on *top* of the tongue as far *back*
as you can. Keep the head tilted back and stroke its throat until pill is
swallowed. Then let your cat escape.
Another trick is to buy a bottle of gelatin capsules. Take the capsule apart,
dump the contents, put the pill in the empty capsule (in pieces if it won't
otherwise fit) and reassemble the two capsule halves. Some places, especially
natural food stores, will sell empty gelatin capsules, try and get size "00".
This makes the administration of small pills much easier, and can also allow you
to give more than one pill at one time, if they're sufficiently small. The
capsule itself just dissolves away harmlessly. Do NOT use capsules which have
been filled with any other substance but plain gelatin, since the residue may
not agree with your pet!
You can try babyfood as a deception: get some pureed baby food meat, dip your
finger in the jar, and sort of nestle the pill in the baby food. Offer it to
your cat and it may lick it up. Be warned, some cats are very good at licking up
everything BUT the pill.
You can get a pill plunger from your vet. This is a syringe-like tool that
takes the pill on one end and lets you "inject" the pill. You can insert the
pill deep down the cat's throat this way.
To administer
liquid medication if the cat will not lick it up: use the same procedure for
pilling, but (using a needle-less syringe that you can obtain from your vet)
squirt the medicine down its throat instead of dropping the pill. Cats do not
choke on inhaled liquids like humans because they rarely breath through their
mouths.
Cats can vomit easily, so keep an eye on them for a while after they've been
dosed: it's not impossible that they'll run off to a corner and upchuck the
medicine. Giving them a pet treat after dosage may help prevent this.
If your cat has an
affected *area* that you must clean or swab or otherwise handle, try this
strategy, especially if the cat is uncooperative:
Start with lots of handling. At first don't handle the affected area, at all
or for long. Gradually increase the amount of handling of the affected area.
Move closer to it day by day, spend more time near it or on it. Talk to the cat
while you're handling it. At the same time you're handling the affected area,
pet the cat in an area it likes to be handled. After handling the affected area,
praise the cat, pet the cat, give the cat a food treat, do things the cat likes.
As long as the medical problem you're treating isn't acute, don't restrain
the cat to apply treatment. Gradually working up to a tolerable if not pleasant
approach is much better in the long run.
If you must restrain the cat, grab the fur on the back of the neck with one
hand, holding the head down, and clean/medicate with the other hand. Have your
vet show you how. Sometimes wrapping the cat in a towel helps too.
This information is condensed from Taylor.
- Roundworms: can cause diarrhea, constipation, anemia, potbellies, general
poor condition. They are present in the intestines and feed on the digesting
food.
- Whipworms and threadworms: fairly rare, can cause diarrhea, loss of
weight, or anemia. Whipworms burrow into the large intestine; threadworms into
the small. Both may cause internal bleeding.
- Hookworms: can cause (often bloody) diarrhea, weakness and anemia. They
enter through the mouth or the skin and migrate to the small intestine.
- Tapeworms: look for small "rice grains" or irritation around the anus.
They live in the intestines and share the cat's food. Tapeworms are commonly
transmitted through fleas. If you cat has fleas or hashad fleas, it may have
tapeworms.
- Flukes: can cause digestive upsets, jaundice, diarrhea, or anemia. They
are found in the small intestine, pancreas and bile ducts.
If you
suspect worms in your cat, take it (and a fresh fecal sample) to the vet. Do not
try over the counter products: you may not have diagnosed your cat correctly or
correctly identified the worm and administer the wrong remedy. In addition, your
vet can give you specific advice on how to prevent reinfestation.
General tips on preventing worm infestation: stop your cat from eating wild
life; groom regularly; keep flea-free; keep bedding clean; and get regular vet
examination for worms.
Note that a fecal exam may not be enough to determine if a cat has worms. In
particular, tapeworms are often not visible in a fecal exam.
Actually, you can have fleas and ticks in your
home even without pets. But having pets does increase the odds you will have to
deal with either or both of these pests. There is a FAQ on fleas and ticks
available via ftp to rtfm.mit.edu under
pub/usenet/news.answers/pets/fleas-ticks. If you do not have ftp access, send
email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send
usenet/news.answers/pets/fleas-ticks" in the body of the message. Leave the
subject line empty, and don't include the quotes in the send request.
The information in this section is mostly condensed from
Carlson & Giffins. The list of poisons is not intended to be conclusive. Nor
are the treatments intended to be sufficient: call your vet in the event of any
internal poisoning.
In particular, notice that the list of problematic plants cannot be all
inclusive. There are many plants with multiple names and even a botanist can't
come up with a conclusive list. This is why you will almost never see identical
lists put out by different organizations. When in doubt, try to go by the most
regional information you can find, which is the most likely to use names current
in your regions.
To
induce vomiting in cats:
- Hydrogen peroxide 3% (most effective): One teaspoon every ten minutes;
repeat three times.
- One-fourth teaspoonful of salt, placed at the back of the tongue.
- Syrup of Ipecac (one teaspoonful per ten pounds of body weight).
Do NOT induce vomiting when the cat
- has swallowed an acid, alkali, solvent, heavy duty cleaner, petroleum
product, tranquilizers, or a sharp object (i.e., something that will cause as
much or more damage coming back up)
- is severely depressed or comatose
- swallowed the substance more than two hours ago
You will also want
to coat the digestive tract and speed up elimination to help rid the cat of the
substances: To delay or prevent absorption
- Mix activated charcoal with water (5 grams to 20 cc.). Give one
teaspoonful per two pounds body weight.
- Thirty minutes later, give sodium sulphate (glauber's salt), one teaspoon
per ten pounds body weight, or Milk of Magnesia, one teaspoon per five pounds
body weight.
- In the absence of any of these agents, coat the bowel with milk, egg
whites, vegetable oil and give a warm water enema.
If your cat has a
poisonous substance on its skin or coat, wash it off before your cat licks the
substance off and poisons itself. Use soap and water or give it a complete bath
in lukewarm (not cold) water.
Plants from commercial
greenhouses may be sprayed with systemics to control pests. Some are fairly
nasty and long-lasting. More enlightened greenhouses use integrated pest
management techniques and vastly reduce the costs of pest control, and costs to
the environment.
You'll need to ask about what the sprays are, how often, etc. They should
have MSDS (material safety data sheets) on hand for everything they use. Many
greenhouses also buy foliage plants (esp.) from commercial growers in southern
states, rather than raising their own plants, so you need to ask about that too.
- Gives a rash after contact: chrysanthemum; creeping fig; weeping fig; pot
mum; spider mum.
- Irritating; the mouth gets swollen; tongue pain; sore lips -- potentially
fatal, these plants have large calcium oxalate crystals and when chewed,
esophageal swelling may result, resulting in death unless an immediate
tracheotomy is done: Arrowhead vine; Boston ivy; caladium; dumbcane (highly
fatal); Emerald Duke; heart leaf (philodendrum); Marble Queen; majesty;
neththyis; parlor ivy; pathos; red princess; saddle leaf (philodendron); split
leaf (philodendron).
- Generally toxic; wide variety of poisons; usually cause vomiting,
abdominal pain, cramps; some cause tremors, heart and respiratory and/or
kidney problems (difficult for you to interpret): Amaryllis; azalea; bird of
paradise; crown of thorns; elephant ears; glocal ivy; heart ivy; ivy;
Jerusalem cherry; needlepoint ivy; pot mum; ripple ivy; spider mum; umbrella
plant.
- Vomiting and diarrhea in some cases: Delphinium; daffodil; castor bean;
Indian turnip; skunk cabbage; poke weed; bittersweet; ground cherry; foxglove;
larkspur; Indian tobacco; wisteria; soap berry.
- Poisonous and may produce vomiting, abdominal pain, sometimes diarrhea:
horse chestnut/buckeye; rain tree/monkey pod; American yew; English yew;
Western yew; English holly; privet; mock orange; bird of paradise bush;
apricot & almond; peach & cherry; wild cherry; Japanese plum; balsam
pear; black locust.
- Various toxic effects: rhubarb; spinach; sunburned potatoes; loco weed;
lupine; Halogeton; buttercup; nightshade; poison hemlock; pig weed; water
hemlock; mushrooms; moonseed; May apple; Dutchman's breeches; Angel's trumpet;
jasmine; matrimony vine.
- Hallucinogens: marijuana; morning glory; nutmeg; periwinkle; peyote; loco
weed.
- Convulsions: china berry; coriaria; moonweed; nux vomica; water hemlock.
So what plants can
cats nibble on with abandon?
To start with, you can assume anything with square stems (in cross-section)
and opposite leaves is OK. That's the hallmark of the mint family, which
includes catnip, _Nepeta_ and _Coleus_. Catnip can be grown in a bright window
in the winter, but the cats may knock it off the sill. Coleus is easy, and kind
of bright and cheerful with its colored leaves. Swedish Ivy, _Plectranthus_, is
also in this family and incredibly easy to grow. Good hanging basket plant.
Tolerates kitty-nibbles well.
- Tulips are OK, daffodils and lily of the valley are not.
- Miniature roses.
- Cyclamens, the genus _Cyclamen_, seem to be OK.
- African violet, Saintpaulia; Hanging African Violet (=Flame Violet),
Episcia; gloxinia, Sinningia; goldfish plant, Hypoestes; and lipstick vine,
Aeschynanthus are all members of the african violet family, the Gesneriaceae.
- All the cacti are fine -- but not all succulents are cactus. Make sure it
has spines like a prickly pear or an old-man cactus. There are some look-alike
foolers that are not good to eat! (But they don't have spines). (One cactus,
Lophophora (peyote) will get you arrested.)
- Airplane plant, also called spider plant, Chlorophytum, is pretty commonly
available and easy to grow. They come in solid green or green and white
striped leaves, usually grown in hanging baskets.
- Wax begonias, Begonia semperflorens are easy and non-toxic. These are the
little begonias you see in shady areas outside now in the north; in the
southern states, they're often grown as winter outdoor plants. The other
begonia species are OK too, but tougher to grow.
- Sweet potatoes, Ipomoea, if you can find some that haven't been treated to
prevent sprouting! Looks like common philodendron at first glance.
- Shrimp plant, Beleperone guttata.
- Prayer plant, Maranta (needs humidity).
- Burn plant, Aloe vera.
- Grape ivy, Cissus (several different leaf shapes).
- Asparagus fern, Asparagus (several species).
- If you've got the humidity, any of the true ferns are OK, including
maidenhair, Adaiantum, Boston fern (lots of variants!) Nephrolepis, Victorian
Table Fern, Pteris...
- Wandering jew, Zebrina, and its close relatives that are often called
"Moses in the boat" -- the flowers are in a pair of boat-shaped bracts.
- Impatiens, or patience plant, Impatiens.
- Common geranium, Pelargonium, in any of the many leaf forms and scents.
- AVOID anything with a milky juice or colored sap. Almost guaranteed toxic
(wild lettuce and dandelion are the two major exceptions).
- Poinsettas: Many books continue to indicate that poinsettias are poisonous
to animals and children. The Ohio State University conducted some tests and
confirms that they are NOT poisonous to children or animals. The furor was
because of a story about a child who ate a bunch of poinsettia leaves and
died. According to Norsworthy's 1993 Feline Practice (thanks to Kay
Klier), eating leaves will give a cat an upset stomach and maybe some diarrhea
that can be cured with Kaopectate.
- Strychnine, Sodium fluoroacetate, Phosphorus, Zinc Phosphide:
rat/mouse/mole/roach poisons, rodents killed by same. Phosphorus is also found
in fireworks, matches, matchboxes, and fertilizer.
- Arsenic, Metaldehyde, Lead: slug/snail bait; some ant poisons, weed
killers and insecticides; arsenic is a common impurity found in many
chemicals. Commercial paints, linoleum, batteries are sources of lead.
- Warfarin (Decon; Pindone): grain feeds used as rat/mouse poison, Also used
as a prescription anti-coagulant for humans, various brand names, such as
coumadin. The animal bleeds to death. Vitamin-K is antidote: look for purplish
spots on white of eyes and gums (at this point animal is VERY sick).
- Antifreeze (ethylene glycol): from cars. Wash down any from your driveway
as this is "good tasting" but highly toxic to most animals.
- Organophosphates and Carbamates (Dichlorvos, Ectoral, Malathion, Sevin (in
high percentages) etc), Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (Chloradane, Toxaphene,
Lindane, Methoxychlor: flea/parasite treatments, insecticides.
- Petroleum products: gasoline, kerosene, turpentine.
- Corrosives (acid and alkali): household cleaners; drain decloggers;
commercial solvents.
- Many household cleaning products. Pine-oil products are very toxic and
should be avoided or rinsed thoroughly (bleach is a better alternative). In
particular, avoid items containing Phenol.
- Garbage (food poisoning): carrion; decomposing foods; animal manure.
- People Medicines: antihistamines, pain relievers (esp. aspirin), sleeping
pills, diet pills, heart preparations and vitamins. Anything smelling of
wintergreen or having methyl salicylate as an ingredient. Tylenol
(acetominophen) will kill cats.
Chocolate: theobromine, which is found in
chocolate is toxic to cats. The darker and more bitter the chocolate is, the
more theobromine it has. More information can be found in the Summer 1992
edition of Cat Life.
Caffeine: can cause problems for your cat. Do not feed it coffee, Coco Cola,
or other foods containing caffeine.
(From
Norsworthy, 1993:)
Medications that cats should NEVER be given:
- Acetominophen (=tylenol, paracetamol) (1 tablet can be fatal to an adult
cat)
- Benzocaine (the topical anaesthetic) (available in spray and cream
forms--- Lanacaine and several hemhherrhoid preparations have lots of
benzocaine)
- Benzyl alcohol
- Chlorinated hydrocarbons (like lindane, chlordane, etc.)
- Hexachlorophene (found in pHiso-Hex soap, among others)
- Methylene Blue (used to be used for urinary infections, many cats cannot
tolerate it)
- Phenazopyridine (used in combination with sulfa as AzoGantrisin: fine for
humans, deadly for cats)
- Phenytoin (=Dilantin) often used for seizures in other species
- Phosphate enemas (including Fleet (tm) enemas): may be fatal
Medications that can be used in certain cats with restrictions, and
ONLY on the advice of a vet
- Aspirin: but not more than 1 baby aspirin (1/4 regular tablet) in 3 days!
- Chloramphenicol: generally safe at doses of less than 50-100 mg 2x/day
- Griseofulvin (=fulvicin)
- Lidocaine: another topical anaesthetic
- Megestrol acetate (Ovaban, Megace) may cause behavioral changes, breast
cancer, diabetes. Extremely useful for some conditions, so use needs to be
monitored.
- Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Agents (things like ibuprofen)-- tend to
cause perforated ulcers. Banamine and aspirin are the best tolerated of this
class of drugs
- Pepto-bismol: too high in salicylates
- Smooth muscle relaxants (like Lomotil): strange behavior
- Tetracycline: may cause fever, diarrhea, depression; better antibiotics
available
- Thiacetarsamide (Caparsolate) used to treat heartworm in dogs
- Thiamylal sodium (Biotal) used for brief surgeries. Animals become
sensitized after repeat exposures. If you change vets, be SURE to get your
records so that the new vet can tell if this drug has been used previously.
- Urinary acidifiers; be careful of dosage.
Basic Health Care FAQ
