A FEW TIDBITS ABOUT CATS by Dr. George
Well, you’ve
probably been wondering why I haven’t talked too
much about cats. I’ve talked about dogs,
monkeys, and iguanas, but not too much about
cats. Well, it isn’t because I don’t like them;
there’s been plenty of other stuff to talk
about. But this article is for all you cat
lovers out there. As it turns out, I’ve owned
cats all my life; I’ve always loved cats (well,
most of them) and I’ve treated an awful lot of
them for the past 25 years. So, maybe I have a
few things to say about them.
First of all,
you don’t really own cats. They own you. They
live by their own set of rules, and you learn to
adjust to them. They tell you when it’s time to
play, and when it’s time to eat. I have one cat,
for example, who wakes me up at night and wants
to be fed even though there is ample food in the
dish. So, if I or my wife get up and go over to
the food dish, if we just wiggle our finger in
the food dish, she’ll stop carrying on. Some
cats like to get in your face in the middle of
the night and cry that it’s feeding time. Or
they decide they have to run around and chase
each other all over the house, which includes
running over the bed at warp speed, regardless
of any of your body parts that might be in the
way. If you want to pet them, it’s only if they
are in the mood. Of course there are some cats
that are absolutely wonderful and they don’t
live by these sets of rules, but most are just
plain spoiled and they just love it.
And why do they
vomit all the time? How about the vomiting that
always seems to happen just on the edge of the
rug? It’s like a conspiracy. Cats never vomit on
the linoleum or hardwood floor or tile; it has
to be on the rug – right on the edge of it, and
in such a place such that you step in it in the
middle of the night and get it between your
toes. I think cats vomit a lot for a few
reasons. One is hairballs (this is preventable
by feeding a higher fiber diet or giving
hairball medications); another reason is because
they have to eat plastic and plants and anything
else you have in your house that you don’t want
them to eat. Once I found this really nice throw
blanket full of holes. I didn’t know what had
happened to it until my cat started barfing it
up. The blanket was eventually worthless. I also
think that since cats are designed to eat mice
and other small animals and many of them do not
tolerate their formulated dry or canned cat
food, which causes vomiting, ear problems, skin
problems, etc. Pet food manufacturers put an
awful lot of effort into it; I still think they
haven’t gotten it quite right yet. I think I’m
going to invent a mouse or chipmunk-based food
and make a killing! Of course there are those
cats that eat really fast (like they’re
starving) and then throw it all back up – it’s
always nice when they re-eat that so you don’t
have to clean it up.
Let’s talk
about the number one medical problem in cats
(besides puking all the time). It’s that urinary
thing that you always hear about. Some cats just
pee outside of the litter box, or have frequent
trips to litter box, or have blood in their
urine and some develop even more serious
problems such as a urinary obstruction (males
generally); some need surgery or very major work
done in order to be corrected. This “disease” or
syndrome is one complex problem and one of my
bigger pet peeves. I often see cats that have
been diagnosed with a “UTI” (this stands for
urinary tract infection) The truth is,
statistically only about 3% of these cats have
an infection. But many veterinarians give the
owners an antibiotic and tell them the cat has
an infection. This means that about 97% of the
time, they are misleading the client. That
really bugs me. The reason this is done is
because the problem is so difficult to
understand that it is much easier to send home
an antibiotic than to spend an hour talking
about how complicated it is – most vets don’t
have an hour for every cat that has a urinary
problem. And the problem is often cyclical, so
when the antibiotic is given, the cat gets
better (on its own), so the assumption is made
that the antibiotic cured the problem – until it
happens again and again.
Then there is
all the folklore and mythology about diet. Many
years ago we thought that the problem was the
ash content of the food. When I was in vet
school, we were told that it was magnesium and
phosphorous content; a few years later it was
the urinary pH. You know what I’m talking about
– remember those cat food ads that said “are you
concerned about your cat’s urinary health?” Well
now, some people are saying that diet has very
little to do with the development of lower
urinary tract disease in cats. And a lot of vets
will tell you otherwise. So, we don’t have all
the answers. We do put a lot of cats on special
diets for this problem.
So what’s the
problem? Well, some of them can get bladder
stones (these should be ruled out with x-rays or
ultrasound) and there are those few that do get
infections. But the majority of them are (are
you ready for this?) due to stress. What the
heck does a cat have to get stressed about. Food
and comfort are provided, along with an
occasional mouse that happens along. Well, I
guess that, even though they rule the house,
they can be stressed. In general, cats like to
be alone. They would rather not be around other
cats or any other animals, and even less so
humans. Hate to break it to ya, but it’s true.
If you don’t believe me, just do some reading on
the subject. Cats want to be outside hunting
birds and mice and sharpening their claws on
trees and peeing in the ground, not living on a
couch and eating predigested food and peeing on
clay or clumping litter.
I could say a
lot more about cats, but you have to admit - you
gotta love em.
One more thing,
which should be obvious (and is an advertisement
for vets) is that if your cat does throw up a
lot or drinks or has loose stools or has urinary
issues, by all means, seek veterinary care. They
can have diabetes, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory
bowel disease, cancer, kidney disease, to name a
few. Get a check-up; sometimes these problems
can be diagnosed easily and managed.
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