Health

What do you do when you find a stray cat? When a cat comes to your window, meowing for food and water, what steps should you take? Identify the cat (if you can) Cats often wander away from their families and sometimes cannot find their way back. They are simply out for a stroll and plan to return to their family in some time—but that some time could be days. Meanwhile, there is a family on the other end of this situation searching for their cat with no idea what may have happened to them. Do not assume, then, that the cat you have found is a stray. If they look healthy and well-groomed, it is likely they belong to some family. Here are a few steps you can take to try and identify the cat. 1. If the stray cat is friendly, approach them and check to see if they are wearing a collar. If they are, this collar should have the contact details of their family on it. 2. If they are not wearing a collar, try and ask around to see if anyone in the neighbourhood has lost a cat. Word travels quickly. If the cat belongs to a home in the local area, news may travel back to the family. 3. If there are no easy and visible signs of identification or if no family comes forward to claim them, then you will need to take the stray cat to a local veterinary clinic or to another organisation. The cat could have a microchip. Your nearest local veterinary clinic or organisation will be able to scan the microchip to learn details of the cat’s family and reunite them with their owners. Finding the owners If there are no visible signs of identification, this does not mean that the cat does not belong to somebody. Cats are free spirits and like to wander. Your next step is to do everything you can to find your stray cat’s owner and return them to the family. Look at bulletin boards for lost cats and see if any of the descriptions match the cat you have found. Check local newspapers and listings to see if anyone has posted a similar cat missing. You can also be proactive. Print posters of the cat you have found and place it around your neighbourhood. Spread the word. Social media tends to be very effective for this, Twitter especially. Followers can retweet the picture of the stray cat.

As a responsible cat owner, it’s important to keep up-to-date with your kitten’s vaccinations to protect them from a range of diseases. Read about when to vaccinate your cat or kitten and what to expect here. Cat vaccinations are vital to help protect them from common illnesses and to help keep them healthy. Additionally, kitten vaccinations are a condition of boarding for most reputable catteries and they are completely necessary if you want to travel abroad with your cat or kitten. Cat vaccines can be divided into two different types: core and non-core. Core vaccines are recommended for all kittens, and non-core vaccines are given depending on the risk to an individual cat. Discuss with your vet which vaccines are best suited to your cat. How kitten vaccinations work? The aim of the kitten vaccine is to immunise your cat against certain illnesses and diseases. The vaccines will help your cat’s immune system to recognise certain viruses and get to action quickly to fight the infection, before the disease can take hold. What are the core vaccinations for cats? Core vaccinations are those recommended for all cats. They’re designed to keep your pet safe and free from some very serious conditions, so it’s very important you get your cat vaccinated against these conditions as soon as possible. By vaccinating against these core diseases, you can also help to protect other cats living in your environment by helping to establish ‘herd immunity’. The more cats that are vaccinated in any one place, the harder it is for viruses to become established in a population. If too many cats are not vaccinated then those viruses become more of a risk to all the cats living there. Kitten vaccinations include: Feline Panleukopenia Virus (Feline Infectious Enteritis or Feline Parvovirus) This is a highly contagious virus and can often be fatal, particularly for young kittens. The most common symptoms are vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, dehydration (even if they keep drinking), loss of appetite and, less commonly, nervous signs associated with brain damage. Feline Calicivirus This virus causes cat flu (sneezing, nasal discharge, mouth ulcers and excess salivation/dribbling). Affected cats may be reluctant to eat and have a temperature. Feline Herpesvirus This also causes cat flu, fever, sneezing and nasal discharge as well as ulcers on the eye. Chronic infection can result in nasal diseases.

If your cat seems hungrier than usual, here are a few reasons why that may be the case: from simple ones such as plain boredom to more serious conditions needing the vet’s attention. Is your cat acting hungry all the time? We tend to think of cats more as fussy eaters than food obsessed, so when your dear feline doesn’t stop asking for food, it’s natural to wonder whether this is normal or you should head to the vet. If you’re asking yourself ‘why is my cat always hungry’, here are a few possible reasons. Boredom Always-hungry cats might actually not be all that hungry. Their constant interest in ‘what’s for dinner’ could mean ‘I’ve got nothing else to do, but eat’. Keeping your cat physically and mentally active is incredibly important, particularly if they spend most of the time indoors. While it’s difficult to recreate all the exciting stuff going on outside that keeps cats active, there are a few tips guaranteed to entertain bored felines, including cat trees and puzzle feeders. Check out our article on cat mental stimulation if you’re stuck for ideas. Parasites If you’re wondering ‘why is my cat always hungry but skinny’, one possible reason is intestinal parasites. These little creatures are feeding off of your cat’s food intake and sometimes they may not leave enough nutrients to satisfy the cat’s needs. As a response, the pet will ask for food more often or in larger quantities. The vet will be able to discover if intestinal parasites are to blame for your cat’s large appetite and will prescribe de-worming medication.

Most cat owners will be used to seeing their cat vomit from time to time without being overly concerned. Usually the occasional vomit is a result of a minor problem such as overeating or playing too vigorously immediately after dinner time. However, if your cat is vomiting more frequently, it can be a sign of a more serious condition which requires immediate veterinary attention. Chronic vomiting (lasting a number of days to weeks) can be due to gastrointestinal or systemic (whole body) disorders. What is cat vomiting? Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth. It should be differentiated from the more passive regurgitation in which expelled food is more gently brought up from the oesophagus with no stomach contractions. Vomiting cats usually show signs of nausea including drooling, lip-licking and excessive swallowing before they throw up. Potential causes of vomiting in cats If your cat is vomiting, it can be due to a wide range of causes and in chronic cases, it is vital for your veterinary surgeon to find out the exact cause in order to determine the optimal treatment for your cat. Common causes of your cat sick include: • Hairballs. • High speed of eating. • Sudden dietary changes or the introduction of new food without a gradual transition. • Ingestion of something inappropriate such as spoiled food, toxins or foreign bodies. • Intolerance, allergies or sensitivities to certain food ingredients. • Gastrointestinal infections, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. • Inflammatory bowel disease (inflammation of the stomach and/or intestinal tract). • Tumours of the stomach, bowel or other organs. • Diseases affecting other parts of the body such as kidneys, liver, pancreas or thyroid gland. Treatment when your cat is being sick Following a single episode of vomiting, check your cat for any other signs of illness such as listlessness, fever or diarrhoea. If possible, locate and remove any item which may have caused your cat to vomit in the first place, and also remove your cat’s food bowl for a few hours.

Do kittens teeth? All kittens go through a teething process – it’s a natural part of growing up. But whilst some kittens deal with teething well, others may need a little reassurance from you. Whatever the case, rest assured that teething is completely normal. Keep reading to find out more about the process of kitten teething. When do kittens start teething? Just like humans, kittens do not have visible teeth when they are born. Your kitten’s 26 ‘baby teeth’ only start to appear at around three weeks of age. Once the baby teeth start to break through and pierce the gums you may start to see your kitten behaving differently – for example, they might begin to chew things. Don’t worry, this is completely normal. By about six weeks of age, most kittens will have grown all of their ‘milk teeth’ (or ‘baby teeth’). If your kitten hasn’t grown all of their teeth by this stage, don’t worry. Not all kittens’ teeth grow at the same rate. However, if there are a number of teeth missing once your kitten reaches nine or ten weeks, you may want to contact your vet to check everything is okay. At around six months of age, most cats should have lost their baby teeth to make way for their adult teeth. As the baby teeth are slowly replaced by 30 adult teeth, this is when the majority of kitten teething issues begin. The new teeth that are beginning to poke through will replace the baby teeth and will be the final set of teeth your cat will have, so it’s particularly important to take care of them. If you find your kitten’s baby teeth on the floor during this time, don't worry – kitten tooth loss is a natural part of the growing-up process. Kitten teething symptoms When your kitten is teething, they may be experiencing some discomfort. The most obvious signs of dental discomfort are: • Your cat has started to eat less. If they are chewing slower than usual, or more tentatively, it could be a sign their gums are hurting. It may be a good idea to pay a visit to your vet, just to be on the safe side, particularly if they also lose weight. • Urgency to chew. Another sign that your kitten is teething is excessive chewing. If your cat or kitten is chewing everything in sight including its bed, your furniture and its toys it may be a sign that teething has begun. • Inflamed or sore gums. As their adult teeth erupt, kittens may experience mild gingivitis, which can lead to inflamed gums and bad breath. If this is down to teeth erupting, it will usually resolve itself. • Other signs of dental discomfort are drooling, bleeding gums, and pawing at the mouth. These can also be signs of other dental conditions, so see a vet for a check-up. • Increased irritability. This is most likely due to sore gums and a sign that your kitten is teething.

Keeping your cat at a healthy weight is important for their well-being. But sometimes it is difficult to tell what that ideal weight should be. Discover an easy, step-by-step tool to check your cat’s current and ideal size. Cats come in all shapes and sizes so it’s sometimes tricky to determine whether yours is the right weight or not – after all, you love them regardless of any extra pounds! But size does matter when it comes to health, and excess weight on your cat can cause problems. So, what is a healthy cat weight? What is the average cat weight? The ideal cat weight varies from breed to breed. According to Web MD, the average cat weight is about 10 pounds, but while smaller breeds can be happy and healthy while weighting as little as 5 pounds, larger breeds such as the Maine Coon can be 20 pounds and happy. This is where cat weight charts and body condition tools come in handy for checking the healthy cat weight for your pet. Why is keeping a healthy weight for a cat important? A healthy cat is a happy cat, and one much less prone to illness and health problems. If your cat is overweight, they may not live as long as their healthy counterparts, and they’ll be less able to enjoy themselves when they’re exercising and playing, because of potential joint problems.