Tag Archives: cat health

When Cats Drool

Last week when taking my shift at Petco to look after the shelter cats housed there, I met the strangest feline. He was a real sweetheart; he adored being petted and wanted to climb onto my shoulders. But he drooled. As I held him a puddle grew on my shoulder. I would have been concerned for this cat’s health except that the shelter’s feline coordinator left a note saying that he was fine, drooling was just something he did. Still, I found the experience so odd I decided to research drooling cats. Cats actually drool for a number of reasons, … Continue reading →

Tin Foil is Not a Food Group!

Okay, I call it “tin foil” even though it’s actually aluminum foil. And for pets, that crinkly, shiny stuff can be scary… or very attractive. Roll it into a ball, you’ve got a fun toy to bat around. Shake the sheet and it makes a noise! But leave used aluminum foil in a place where your pets can reach it and you might have a health emergency on your hands. Case in point: my dog Moose (who has no sense of self-preservation!) recently ate the better part of a sheet of aluminum foil that had been used for roasting asparagus. … Continue reading →

Pet Owner Poll Tackles Health Issues

Would you perform CPR on your pet? Do you know how to do it? These are just a few of the questions asked of pet owners in a recent poll. In October 2009, Petside.com and the Associated Press sponsored a survey of pet owners about health care and emergency care. Nearly twelve hundred pet parents participated in the phone survey, answering questions about emergency plans, health care, and common owner boo-boos. More than half of those surveyed would indeed try to perform CPR on their pets in the event of an emergency. (The number was higher in dog owners than … Continue reading →

The Subtlety of Pets and Health

We recently had a guest at the cats-only boarding facility who was very sick. We just didn’t know it. This particular cat is one who comes to stay with us every few months. She’s an older lady of fourteen, with no apparent health issues and a love of a good brushing. As compared to other guests, she’s a quiet one. She’s happy to curl up on her fleece blanket most of the day, watching the world go by. But out of nowhere, she threw up one morning. A few days after that, one of my coworkers noticed a strange smell … Continue reading →

Is Your Cat Too Fat?

Most everyone recalls that old doctored photo of a man holding a cat the size of a German shepherd in his arms while smiling at the camera from the warmth of his living room. Although that photo was most certainly a fake, obesity in cats can be a real problem. This condition presents its own set of problems, but there are some solutions. One of the easiest and most logical steps (or at least a move in the right direction towards a solution) is to realize that the fat cat in your home got that way because it is consuming … Continue reading →

Ringworm: Does Your Cat Have it?

Ringworm is one of those terms that doesn’t say what it means or mean what it says. It has, in fact, nothing at all to do with worms (opening or closing cans of) or rings (trilogies, engagement, wedding, brass or through the nose). It is an infection caused by fungi that grow on the dead surface layers of the cat’s skin and claws. On an infected animal, it will show itself in small hairless patches on the head, ears and tips of the paws. These patches have a gray, scaly “cigarette ash” appearance and are often inflamed. There is a … Continue reading →

Making Your Own Catfood: Should You Or Shouldn’t You?

Recently, one of my cats developed an allergy and no one was quite sure what it was (and still isn’t). I know that sounds almost funny, as you hear of people being allergic to cats but not usually the other way around. We are sure, however, that it is not people that our Maine coon cat, Jasmine, is allergic to! To change all of the cat food and replace it with specialty brands was too expensive an alternative as there are five animals in our household. (Or put another way, that’s a total of twenty legs!) After some thought, I … Continue reading →