In addition to regular physical examinations, injections of vaccines on time, and understanding of common diseases in cats’ daily life are also one of the important means to prevent and detect diseases. Today, let’s talk about 6 common symptoms of cats to ensure the health of cats.
Cat Urinary System Disorders
Urinary system disease is one of the most common high incidence diseases in cats, about 10 cats go to the hospital, 1 is because of urinary problems . Urinary diseases refer to a group of diseases related to the cat’s urethra, including spontaneous cystitis, urinary tract stones, urinary tract emboli and urinary tract infections, as well as other urinary tract diseases.
1) Disease classification
1. Spontaneous cystitis: about 60% of the time, the cause of the disease is unknown (spontaneous), and generally it can be cured by itself.
2. Urinary tract stones: about 20%, urinary tract stones are commonly known as cat stones. Due to the carnivorous nature of cats, their urine pH is generally between 6.0-6.5. If the pH is too high or too low, it is easy to cause alkaline stones or acid stones.
3. Urinary tract emboli: about 10%-20%, this disease occurs when stones block the urethra.
4. Urinary tract infection: Urinary tract infection is usually caused by bacterial infection. Generally young cats rarely appear, and older cats (over 8 years old) have this disease.
2) Common symptoms
1. Unable to urinate, easily accompanied by pain Calling
2. Urinating indiscriminately
3. Excessive licking of the ass or urethral opening
4. Blood in urine
If you find your home If your cat has the above symptoms, you need to be vigilant and go to the hospital immediately.
3) Common causes and preventive measures
1. Eat less dry food. Dry food with low water content is the most common cause of urinary problems in cats. Cats need about 2.5 times the weight of dry food every day. Parents can observe whether their cats drink enough water.
2. Reduce cat stress. Cats are prone to urinary problems when they are overly stressed and frightened.
So try to minimize the fright of cats and reduce the consignment and transportation of cats. A friend’s cat had blood in the urine because of the long shipping time.
3. Control the cat’s weight. Obesity is also a common cause of urinary disease. There are many reasons for obesity, such as eating too much (obviously), the carbohydrate content in the diet is too high (cats are not easy to digest carbohydrates, the lower the carbohydrates, the better, plant-based food carbohydrates high content).
4. Take more care of older cats. Older cats are relatively more susceptible to the disease.
5. Choose an open litter box. Personally, it is recommended to manually shovel excrement every day, so that you can intuitively understand the cat’s defecation and urination in a timely manner.
Infectious Diseases
Respiratory infections are one of the most common infectious diseases in cats. Symptoms of respiratory infection in cats include: runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, fever, etc.
Most respiratory infections are caused by viruses, and there is currently no specific treatment drug available, but it is still necessary to take the cat to the veterinarian for an examination to ensure that it will not develop into other serious diseases.
Periodontal disease
Teeth are very important for cats, 85% of cats over three years old are more or less Rarely have oral problems.
The cat’s mouth will produce plaque, and if the plaque is not cleaned carefully, it is easy to form tartar, which will eventually become cat calculus and periodontal disease. Please don’t believe that eating dry food can clean your teeth.
Once you notice that your cat starts to experience symptoms such as difficulty eating, bad breath, and changes in chewing habits, you need to pay close attention to your cat’s oral health.
If you notice obvious lumps (yellow or other color lumps) on your cat’s teeth, you need to go to the hospital for cleaning.
Precautions
1. Brush your teeth regularly. It is recommended that cats get used to brushing their teeth when they are young. No cat likes brushing, but it’s the easiest and most effective way to protect their teeth.
2. Go to the hospital regularly to check your teeth and have your teeth cleaned if necessary. Parents who are really unsure about brushing their cats’ teeth can choose to take their cats to the hospital for dental check-ups and cleanings on a regular basis.
Parasites
1) Common cat parasites
1. In vivo: roundworms, heartworms, etc.
If cats are infected with different internal parasites, there will be different phenomena. If the cat shows abnormal conditions such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and painful neighing, it is recommended to send it to the hospital immediately.
2. External: fleas, lice, etc.
Cats are infected with external parasites, usually scratching frequently, starting to lose hair, and even bald patches on the skin. Find black particles on the cat or where they sleep, and the black particles turn red in contact with water.
2) Preventive measures
Regular deworming of cats in vitro and in vivo is important to prevent cat parasites means. Don’t think that there is no risk of parasites when cats eat food every day at home. They may catch flies or small flying insects inadvertently.
In addition, I have heard of cats infected with internal parasites by stealing toilet water, so please close your own toilet as well.
Cat moss
Cat ringworm is also a common disease, mainly a fungal infection of the skin, mostly in Circular or oval tinea plaques appear on the face, limbs, and tail.
The coat
color is rough, the tinea patch is shed, and it is extremely itchy and repeatedly scratches to form alopecia areata. Due to the long treatment period, it is difficult to cure, easy to contagious, easy to recur, and can also be transmitted to humans, causing itching and peeling of human skin.
Cat ringworm is more common in malnourished and sickly cats.
Preventive measures
1. Enhance nutrition for cats, especially increase the intake of B vitamins, It is beneficial to improve the cat’s resistance, thereby speeding up the treatment of cat ringworm.
2. Avoid keeping cats in damp and dark places.
Ear mites
If your cat frequently shakes its head, try to scratch its ears with its hind legs. At this time, if you look carefully into its ears, you can observe brown-black dirt, some in the form of oil, some in the form of dry flakes. Then you have to pay attention, this is ear mites fighting in your cat’s ears.
1) Treatment methods
For ear mites, the easiest and most effective way is to use anti-inflammatory ear drops specially designed for cats. There are many on TB. Use cotton swabs to dip ear drops with care Gently wipe the ear canal for the cat to clean the dirt inside. If the ear mites are serious, they should be cleaned every two or three days. Generally, it will be effective for about a month.
2) Preventive measures
Regularly (every 1 to 2 weeks) cleaning the cat’s ear canal with a special cleaning solution can effectively prevent the occurrence of ear mites.
