The dreaded hairball!

Considering that cats are constantly grooming themselves with their tongues, it isn’t remarkable that they get hairballs—rather, it’s remarkable that they don’t get more hairballs. If you’ve never seen one of these ugly objects, consider yourself lucky. It is just what it sounds like: a ball (or wad, to be more accurate) of the cat’s own hair, which lodges in the stomach, unable to pass through the digestive tract.

Some cats never get them (my own hasn’t—knock on wood); some cats get them rarely and vomit them up with no harm to themselves (though perhaps some harm to your upholstery or carpet). The reason owners need to monitor hairballs is that occasionally they can lead to serious digestive problems, sometimes requiring surgery. Pet store shelves are well stocked with hairball preventatives, and most of the pet food manufacturers now market certain foods as “hairball preventers.”

The lactose problem

Many cats, like many humans, are lactose intolerant—that is, their digestive systems don’t produce the enzymes needed to break down lactose, one of the sugars present in cows’ milk. The end result (pardon the pun) is usually diarrhea, for either the person or the cat.

This needs to be kept in mind by doting cat owners who like to reward their pets with milk or cream, which all cats love. Most cats have no problem at all with milk, but owners who notice a milk-diarrhea connection ought to do the obvious thing and cut back or eliminate the milk they give to their pets.

Bowl and collar technology

If you have more than one cat in your home, you may be aware of the problems of feeding them: one cat may hog the food, one may insist on eating before the others, they may (because of age differences or other factors) require different types of food and so on.

In past times, owners worked out their own ways of dealing with these problems, but, of course, the pet product manufacturers have come up with their own clever high-tech solutions. One is a food bowl that links up electronically with a special collar worn by the cats you don’t want eating from that bowl. If a cat wearing the collar nears the bowl, the bowl emits a tone that makes the cat skedaddle. (Are human beings clever, or what?)

Some good ole chemical additives

You may or may not have strong opinions about chemical additives in your food, including vitamins and minerals. Some people are fussy about such things, not even wanting additives in their pets’ food. But pet food manufacturers haven’t been shy about adding nutritional supplements to cat food.

One amino acid that has been added to most cat food since the 1980s is taurine, which has been found useful in preventing blindness and heart disease. As time goes by and we learn more about animal nutrition, it is likely that more additives will be found in pet foods.

Claw caps

Until recently, you dealt with your cat clawing the furniture by one of two ways: declawing the cat or learning to tolerate the scratching (and hoping the cat will use a scratching post, but some just won’t do it). Now there is an alternative: vinyl claw caps, glued onto your cat’s nails (generally by a vet) and replaced every month or so as the old nails grow out. The cat still goes through the motions of clawing (as do declawed cats), but the claw caps keep the claws from doing any serious harm.

Cat massage

Massage is very “in” these days, with people sometimes paying high prices for the supposed benefits of getting a relaxing massage from a professional. Humans have a way of pushing their trends onto their pets, of course, so there are books explaining the “right” way to massage your cat.

The less trendy among us are more inclined to do what people have done for centuries: rubbing and stroking our cats without giving a thought to “technique” just being aware that the cats enjoy it tremendously, and so do we.

Cat meets skunk

Wild skunks are the most easygoing, amiable animals in the world. They can afford to be, for they don’t need to bite or scratch their enemies, since their malodorous spray is excellent protection. Occasionally a cat gets sprayed by a skunk, and removing the smell is no picnic.

First the cat needs a good water bath (which most of them will resist tooth and nail), then a good thorough soaking in either milk or tomato juice, which needs to stay on the coat for at least ten minutes before being rinsed with water.

Butt dragging

It’s amusing, or disgusting, or maybe both: a cat or dog scooting her rear end across the carpet, pulling herself forward with her front legs. Simply put, the animal’s anus itches terribly, and she doesn’t have fingers to scratch it. The itching is caused by worms, so your cat requires medicine, administered either by you or your vet. (But by all means, get your camcorder out while the cat is still dragging, for it makes a great video.)

The natural worm remedy (not!)

Folk medicine has long been applied not just to human ailments but to pets as well. According to an old wives’ tale (and those wives were never wrong, as you know), you could treat (or prevent) worms in your cat by adding bits of garlic or carrot to her food. This doesn’t work at all, and some cats will walk away from food that has garlic in it. In regard to deworming your cat, be glad there are plenty of effective worm medicines on the market.

Pet insurance

Well, you won’t get it through your employer, of course, or through the government. Nonetheless, more and more people are choosing to pay monthly or annual premiums for health insurance for their pets.

The reason is obvious: medical care for pets (as for their owners) is getting more expensive as it gets more sophisticated, and there is no Medicare or Medicaid for old (or poor) pets. As veterinary costs rise, and as more people (particularly single folks) own pets, the more likely it is that people will choose to pay for pet insurance.

“All-natural”

Humans have a habit of involving their pets in their own trendiness. This is evident in the “natural healing” movement, in which people replace or supplement traditional medical care with “natural” remedies, such as herbs. Some pet owners believe that “natural” medicine will benefit their pets, so there is an American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA), with a membership of several hundred vets and other animal care professionals.

Pregnancy and litter boxes

So what’s the connection? Cats may ingest toxoplasma, a nasty microscopic parasite often found in undercooked meat—and in mice or birds they happen to catch.

It usually does not harm cats, but since it is passed through the feces, it is possible for a human cleaning a litter box to take in the toxoplasma. If that human happens to be a pregnant woman, the toxoplasma can cause severe damage to the unborn child. So, as a general rule, pregnant women should avoid litter boxes.

Thin-skinned white cats

Many solid white cats are pink-skinned—and, literally, thin-skinned. This has led to occasional health problems and even death from a flea bath. Some of the solutions used to kill fleas can kill the cat as well, even when veterinarians or their technicians give the bath.

The pink skin of a white cat is more sensitive to flea baths (and any kind of chemical) than the skin of other cats. If you own a white cat, be aware of this, and don’t be shy about reminding your vet that your pet has sensitive skin.

The New Testament disease

That is, leprosy—the disfiguring skin disease that causes lesions and inflamed lymph nodes. In cats, the lesions occur mostly on the head, neck and legs. Feline leprosy is, thankfully, very rare among cats in the United States, although for some unknown reason it does crop up occasionally in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There are no drugs available for the disease, but the skin lesions can be removed surgically.

Caught it at the gym, maybe?

Ringworm, as you probably know, is not a worm at all, but a fungus that causes itching and redness on human skin, most commonly on the feet (athlete’s foot) or groin (jock itch). Humans can pick up ringworm fungus in warm, moist places like shower stalls, so it won’t surprise you that ringworm is most common in warm, humid climates.

Ringworm fungus is highly contagious, passed on by skin contact, and humans can pass it on to cats (and vice versa). Ringworm on cat skin isn’t always red nor always itchy, so sometimes a vet is needed to determine the condition. It isn’t dangerous, just irksome, and, as already noted, it can be passed on to humans, so a cat who has it needs to be treated.

Even their insides are finicky

Like humans, cats can be allergic to certain foods, and the allergy is usually manifested in itchy skin. It isn’t dangerous, just irritating, and as with human allergies, a certain amount of trial and error is needed to determine which food (or which ingredient) is causing the problem. Luckily for cats, food allergies are rare among them.

The flea collar problem

Contact dermatitis is a skin ailment of cats, and the most common cause of it—is flea collars. Most cats wear them without any problems, but some cats break out in the neck area, and the only solution is to remove the collar. There are many other excellent flea treatments available now, so flea collar dermatitis is nothing to fret over.

Frozen cat

Frostbite is not funny. At extremely low temperatures, human skin can suffer tissue damage, which in mild cases leads to temporary pain and numbness but in more severe cases leads to tissue death.

It happens most often to the ears and nose, the areas least likely to be covered. And that is precisely where cats get frost-bitten: the areas with the least hair, their ears, nose and paw pads. (For some odd reason the tip of the tail seems vulnerable also.) An obvious bit of advice to pet owners in cold areas: don’t let the cat outside if it is extremely cold.

Feline sunburn

The vet calls it by the fancy name actinic dermatitis, but let’s call it what it is: sunburn. Most cats won’t burn, but the ones most likely to are white cats with blue eyes. (In other words, cats who correspond to blue-eyed, fair-skinned, easy-to-burn humans.) A sunburned cat shows redness around the ears, eyelids, nose and mouth.

With a bad burn, there may be hair loss, peeling and itching. Needless to say, it is more common in summer than in winter. Over time, the “fair” cats who have been overexposed to the sun can develop skin cancers, which is also true for sun-worshipping humans. One obvious way to avoid this is keep the cat inside, especially at midday.

The bad news about skin cancer

The good news is that most human skin cancers are benign. The bad news is that most cat skin cancers are malignant, and they are also the second most common cancer found in cats. (Lymphoma is the first.) They are more likely to occur in older cats, and the cats most at risk to develop it are white cats, especially those with blue eyes.

The danger of skin cancers is their ability to spread to other organs, usually the lymph nodes first, then the lungs. Vets try whenever possible to remove the cancers surgically. Obviously, as with human skin cancers, the earlier the cancer is found, the more likely that treatment will be successful.