Understanding Cat Arthritis Symptoms - Caring For An Arthritic Cat

Author: Moses Wright
The increasing amount of cat owners feeding highly processed commercial cat food is reported by many veterinary experts to be a contributing factor in the increasing amount of cat arthritis happening in cats.

It is certainly not coincidence that owners who feed their cats homemade and raw food see lower occurrence of degenerative arthritis in their cats.

Today, although there are no concrete proof to show that commercial cat food contribute to arthritis development in cats, it is widely believe that they play a big part, From there, we understand that your cat’s diet would play a major effect in preventing this stressful cat disease.

Apart from diet, overweight older cats are also more likely to develop arthritis because of the extra pressure they put on their joints causing the cartilage and bones to wear off faster. Naturally, a cat who enjoys a healthy diet and who exercise regularly will be less likely to suffer from the same condition.

The symptoms of arthritis in cats would be that he will find it difficult to walk around and run. Moving around stiffly, he will not make jumps that he use to make and will have difficulty in climbing up stairs. Showing signs of depression, your cat would hide away and appear listless and even bad tempered. Not allowing you to touch and stroke him in areas where he is painful, he might cry out if you touch him on a painful joint.

To diagnose arthritis in cats, veterinary will observe, use blood test and most importantly the x-ray examination. The X-ray will show joint degeneration in areas of worn, irregular bone position and possible distortion of the joint and see if the bone is causing pain and forcing the cat to stand in an awkward position to compensate for the discomfort.

Arthritis treatment will include medication to help your cat ease the pain on his joints, to aid the regeneration process of cartilage and bone, to build up the fluid within the capsular joints to provide a cushion for the joint itself. Your veterinary will prepare dose of glucosamine and chondroitin that are use for the same purpose in humans for your cat.

You can help your cat to recover by encouraging him to walk whenever possible to prevent the joints from stiffening further. You should try to create a warmer environment for him to rest. A warm water bottle place under his bed might do the trick. The warmth will help your cat to ease pain and loosen his muscles which might be tense because of the constant pain that he is suffering.

Recovery from arthritis is possible with the right treatment and care. Although a hundred percent recovery is not possible, your cat will still be able to enjoy a high quality of life.
About the Author:

Moses Wright is a webmaster of http://www.Catcustomer.com and he provides more information on Cat Health, Cat Veterinary Diseases and Cat Illnesses Symptoms on his website. You are welcome to reprint this article if you keep the content and live link intact.
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Cat Vaccinations – An Important Preventive Procedure To A Healthy Cat

Author: Moses Wright
Cats seem independent and self-sufficient, but cats need just as much care and attention as other pets. Cats are prone to a number of serious diseases and it is extremely important to ensure that your cat is vaccinated from an early age. Further prevention from diseases is necessary to maintain your cat’s health with annual booster injections.

Anyone who has seen a cat in pain and distress because of a condition that could have been easily prevented by adequate care will understand why vets are so keen to promote preventive vaccination for all cats. This not only helps to prevent the development of the disease to a terminal stage but also limit the spread of these infectious diseases to the surrounding feline population.

Vaccinations are important as almost all catteries will only permit cats that have past records of vaccinations. This measure serves to protect your cat as well as to ensure other cats in the cattery are not infected should your cat be ill. Even cats that have been vaccinated can sometimes contract a variant of the disease and the less risk there is to the cattery as a whole the better.

Travel restrictions for pets can be stringent for most European countries. If you are considering traveling with your pet you will need to carry all available documentation concerning your pet's health and vaccination record, and you may need to show evidence of feline veterinarian treatment including deworming schedules. Without these documents, your cat may have to be quarantined for up to six months, thus it would be import, so do check with your travel agency to make sure you have all the documentation you may need.

Kittens should be vaccinated from the age of nine weeks. They are then vaccinated again at 12 weeks, and then go on to a program that would include annual booster injections.

Your vet would also advise you on the necessity of giving your cat a rabies shot, particularly if your cat has contact with other feral cats in the neighborhood and gets into scrapes. A point to note is that the rabies shot is a requirement if you are traveling to any country within Europe.

The four main vaccinations a cat can have from the age of nine weeks are the following:

Feline infectious enterovirus (FIE, also known as the feline panleukopaenia virus.

Feline herpesvirus (otherwise known as feline calcivirus, or cat flu)

Feline leukaemia. A vet will test a cat's blood to see if there is already an immunity built up from previous contact, and if the test shows negative i.e. there has been no contact and therefore no immunity built up the cat should be vaccinated.

Feline Chlamydophila, which causes conjunctivitis. Again your cat may already have built up an immunity so your vet can check for antibodies in the bloodstream and vaccinate if the test comes back negative to previous contact.

Vaccination may save your cat’s life should it get into any contact with any horrifying diseases. Although vaccines do hold risk for a small minority of cats who received them, proper vaccination is still the best solution and protection your cat can have against infectious disease.

About the Author:

Moses Wright is the webmaster of http://www.CatCustomer.com. He provides more information on Cat Health, Cat Veterinary Diseases and Cat Nutrition that you can learn in the comfort of your home. You are welcome to reprint this article if you keep the content and live link intact.
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Introducing Your New Cat With The Other Pets

Submitted By: Abdul Hafiz
Before you bring a second (or even a third) cat into your home, you should make sure you are familiar with cat behaviour, both with regards to territorial behaviour and aggression, and the basic principles of cats will accept a newcomer, especially a kitten(which may perceived as less of a threat), but others will not.

You will help this integration by gradually introducing the newcomer to your cat(s), keeping it separated in one room until it has gained confidence (especially if it is a kitten) and your existing cats have got used to it. The newcomer is probably unsure and may be frightened, and it is moving into new and unfamiliar territory which is already occupied (and may be defended) by the current feline inhabitants. Feed them separately to reduce competition for food, and make a fuss of your existing cats so that they do not feel neglected because of the new incumbent.

If you already own a dog, the introductory process is similar to tat described above – gradual and non threatening. Once again, the dog may immediately accept the cat. Sometimes a female dog will accept a kitten and relate it to it rather like the way she would to one of her own pups, even to the extend of offering it some protection. Make sure that you give the incumbent dog as much fuss and attention as usual (or even more), and praise and reward it for good behaviour

Introducing a new cat to pet birds can pose a problem. If it is a kitten purchased from a breeder, it may never have experienced the sight or stimulation that a bird presents. Although its basic hunting or playing instinct may cause it to react, it may be w\quite easy to train your cat to ignore the bird or even to accept it as a companion. If, however, it is a kitten from a domestic cat that has had the opportunity introduce the kittens to bird prey, or is an adult cat that has already learned to catch birds, then you have a more difficult task on your hands. If you find that you do have such a problem, talk to your veterinarian.

Goldfish are yet another pet that can be threatened by an incoming cat. Those kept indoors in an aquarium tank with a glass lid and artificial lighting should be safe, but any that are exposed to an inquisitive cat may stimulate an unwanted reaction. Gold fish in an outdoor pond are also susceptible to a cat’s attentions, and you may need to train your cat to leave them alone. Protective measures including barriers such as netting, and the installation of plenty of water plants, such as lilies – the fish can hide under the leaves
About the Author:

For more interesting cat care tips, funny cat videos, cat photos and stories, please visit my blog at http://cuteycats2u.blogspot.com Thank you
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