Fisherville Animal Hospital and Bird Clinic ~ 108 Fisherville Road, Mall at Fisherville, Concord, NH  03303
  Phone 603-229-0674 | Fax 603-229-0697  ~ Email:
info@fishervilleanimalhospital.com

 

 

Our Staff  ·  Veterinary Services  ·  Pet Care Sheets  ·  Emergency Tips  ·  Online Pharmacy
Newsletter  
·  Directions  ·  Related Links  ·  Home

Compassionate, capable care for all your pets including dogs, cats, birds, rodents, reptiles and other exotic pets.


Dr. Messenger, DVM - Fisherville Animal Hospital and Bird Clinic
George A. Messenger,
DVM, Dipl. ABVP-Avian

 

Office Hours
By Appointment Only

Monday, Thursday, Friday
8:00AM - 5:30PM

Tuesday & Wednesday
8AM - 7PM

Saturday
9AM - 12:30PM

Closed Sunday

 

 

EMERGENCY INFORMATION
If you have an emergency during non-business hours, please call our office and follow the instructions on how to proceed.

 

FISHERVILLE ANIMAL HOSPITAL NEWSLETTER
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.

view past articles written by Dr. George (.doc format / Word Documents)

 


You can now order medication and products for your pets online!
click here


Fisherville Animal Hospital & Bird Clinic
108 Fisherville Road, Concord, NH  03303

Phone 603-229-0674  / Fax 603-229-0697
Email: info@fishervilleanimalhospital.com 

Copyright © 2004-2009 Fisherville Animal Hospital & Bird Clinic