Common Cat Illnesses

Recently, a visitor was looking for some information on common cat illness.

The most common cat illness is sands, or crystals in the urine. This is caused by the foods we give our babies. If left untreated, the waste can back up in the system. This is potentially life-threatening. Any cat having trouble urinating should be seen by a vet immediately.

Next are parasitic diseases, such as fleas, worms and other nasty things that come from parasites. Best way to handle that is to control the flea population - meaning eliminate it.

The most usual reason for a cat to die before their time is dehydration. Cats may stop drinking water if they can't smell it. An older cat is particularly prone to this because of confusion and loss of the sense of smell. If you see your cat is not drinking or the skin is losing it's elasticity, get some children's unflavored pedialyte into your cat if you can, and get the baby to the vet to be seen. The vet can hydrate the cat to keep it alive and try to figure out why the dehydration is happening in the first place. Be sure to tell the vet how long ago you noticed it and how much pedialyte you got into your cat.

There is FeLV and FIV, both scary cancer-type disease. FeLV is feline leukemia. Treatment is blood transfusions and medication. The other is FIV, or feline immunodeficiency virus - kitty aids. Both of these are very contagious. You need to keep your cat away from other cats. Wash your hands after handling your cat so that you don't pass these on.

I've had experience with something called rodent ulcer. This is a condition where the skin is raw and fur falls out around the mouth and face. Prednisone helps. I recently had something that looked like rodent ulcer, but was an irritation from a flea collar.

Rabies has a vaccine, and you should get your cat vaccinated. I know that it's something about the brain and water, but other than that, I'm not a doctor. I know that it used to be very bad. Many wild animals carry the disease, and if you allow your cat outside, you must vaccinate your cat.

There is something called feline distemper, but I have never seen it. Maybe all those vaccinations really work!

So, that's what I know about diseases in cats. I hope this helps you with your search.