Cats can suffer from a variety of health problems like any other animals. It is our responsibility, as cat parents, to understand whether something is wrong and if we need to take our feline companion to the vet. In this post, we’ll look at ten of the most common health problems that some cat parents might have to deal with at one point or the other.
Cat Fleas
Fleas are not only capable of infesting your entire home and causing anemia in cats, but they can also be tapeworm carriers. Try to keep an eye on your cat as best as possible and see whether he/she has fleas so as to treat them before things get out of hand.
When choosing a flea treatment, consider the cat’s health status, the cat’s weight, the pet’s age, as well as whether it’s safe for your specific friend. Kittens younger than two to three months can’t be treated with the same products designed for adults, and that’s because the medicine concentration is often far too potent for them not to suffer from possibly severe side effects.
Feline Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is a somewhat common disorder of older cats. It’s caused by an increase in production of thyroid hormones. Since the thyroid gland is in charge of regulating quite a few body processes, whenever too much of the hormone is produced, the cat can suffer from a variety of clinical signs.
Hyperthyroidism makes a cat burn up energy fast and as such, she ends up suffering from weight loss even though she has a healthy appetite and eats a reasonable amount of food. Hyperthyroidism is usually caused by a neoplastic change in one or both of the thyroid glands that a cat has – some can be malignant while others are benign. This disease is generally seen in cats older than 6-7 years of age.
It is important to treat hyperthyroidism, since thyroid disease is a leading cause of death in cats.
Diabetes in Cats
Although the incidence of diabetes remains unknown, it’s estimated that around .5 to 2% of the whole feline population ends up suffering from diabetes mellitus. This condition is more common in older and obese cats, but the truth is that it can nowadays show up in younger and fitter ones due to the presence of carbohydrates in commercial cat food. In theory, cats should never eat carbs, but many cat food manufacturers use grains and other fillers.
Diabetes in cats is characterized by increased urination and thirst, and many cats will show a ravenous appetite despite them losing weight. Insulin can be used to manage diabetes in cats.
Cat Diarrhea
Diarrhea in cats can be caused by a variety of factors ranging from what food you give your cat to whether she receives milk or too fatty foods. However, it can be caused by other types of factors, such as bacterial infections, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, or intestinal parasites. Even some medications have diarrhea as a side effect, as well as some infectious diseases.
If your cat is undergoing treatment for diarrhea, you should make sure that you keep her well hydrated. If possible, try to switch to wet food for a while and maybe add some probiotics to your cat’s diet.
Cat Vomiting
Vomiting can be caused by anything from gastritis, colitis, enteritis, or pancreatitis, to milk consumption, hairballs, or just a poor diet. Like diarrhea, vomiting is not a disease – it is a symptom, so the underlying problem must be diagnosed in order for the cat to be treated correctly.
Unfortunately, vomiting has the same dehydrating effect as diarrhea, but in this particular case, the cat can often find it impossible to retain the liquids that she consumes. That’s why if you think that your cat hasn’t thrown up just because of a hairball, you should take her to the vet clinic.
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease
FLUTD is quite a common disease that affects cats. It can be caused by urolithiasis, urinary infections, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, as well as a variety of other problems. It typically becomes complicated with one of its clinical signs being urethral obstruction. Repeated cystitis can lead to FLUTD, especially in cases where cats aren’t changed their cat litter too often.
If your cat has a history of struvite formation, using special diets can be a way of preventing feline lower urinary tract disease.
Eye Problems in Cats
Cats can suffer from eye problems just like humans and dogs can. They can have several severe conditions such as uveitis, corneal lacerations or retinal detachment, but they can also suffer from eye infections or conjunctivitis. Since cats’ eye problems can often go unnoticed and some of them can be life-threatening (such as glaucoma), you should learn to make the difference between physiological and pathological cat’s eyes watering.
Cancer in Cats
Unfortunately, cancer has become a more prevalent disease among cats in the past several decades. Lymphoma is one of the most common cancers that affect cats, but so are mammary tumors and squamous carcinoma.
Cancer is more common in older cats, but this is due to several reasons. One of them is the fact that the life expectancy of cats has increased significantly over the years as cat care has become better. Another is suspected to be environmental – commercial cat food and exposure to carcinogenic substances. Cancer is also transmitted genetically.
Treating cancer can usually be done using three main methods – surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy. Unfortunately, early diagnosis is extremely important when it comes to prognosis and cancer recovery.
Tapeworms in Cats
Adult fleas are the most common vector of tapeworms. While grooming, cats can swallow one or more fleas and while it is digested, the tapeworm is released, hatches, and then anchors into the cat’s intestinal lining. Since some tapeworms can be transmitted to humans, keeping your cat worm-free and flea-free is paramount.
Make sure you choose a safe deworming product as some of them can cause all of the parasites to die in the cat’s intestines, which leads to the accumulation of toxins that could be life-threatening to the cat.
Heartworms in Cats
Heartworms are carried by mosquitoes and they are extremely dangerous to both cats and dogs. It can take around six months for the parasite to become an adult and start affecting the cat’s health, which means that telling whether the cat is healthy or not can be challenging.
Two of the symptoms you can notice in a cat that has heartworm disease are coughing and vomiting. Heartworm infestations can be prevented with medication, so talk to your vet as soon as possible.
There are many other health problems that can affect our feline companions, and the most dangerous ones are infectious diseases. Getting your cat vaccinated can prevent several of the most severe ones, including rabies, which can be transmitted to humans. Among the most devastating diseases that cats need to be vaccinated against are Feline Calicivirus, Feline Panleukopenia, and Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus/Herpesvirus 1.
About the Author
Cristina Vulpe is a former vet who has been working in content marketing for the past six years. She manages a site about cats, My Feline Buddy, where she gives advice about managing cat behavior and cat health, as well as other cat-related things. She has a PhD in veterinary oncology and is passionate about animal nutrition, welfare, as well as veterinary infectious diseases.