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Cats, unlike dogs or people, are obligate carnivores - this means that they have a biological requirement for a meat diet. It is neither possible nor safe to formulate a vegan or vegetarian diet for a cat! However, just feeding them meat alone isn't sufficient either - they need a properly balanced diet, suited to their specific needs.
Like all animals, cats have specific requirements for water, the three major nutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrate), and micronutrients (such as iron, salts and vitamins). Creating a balanced diet can be tricky, because cats are adapted not to eat meat and vegetables (like us), but whole animals - meat, bone and internal organs. Of course, you could probably feed a cat perfectly healthily on a diet of whole mice, but most people are unwilling to try this! So in this guide, we'll look at each of the major nutrient groups, and briefly outline a cat's requirements.
The simplest and easiest way to feed a cat a fully balanced and healthy diet is to feed a reputable commercial diet (wet or dry). However, if you want to make up a homemade diet, that's fine - but we STRONGLY advise that you get advice from a fully qualified feline nutritionist. Talk to one of our vets, and we'll be able to direct you to someone!
Fleas are the biggest cause of skin disease for UK pets - even now, with so many great products on the market, they're still present living on cats across the country! There are two reasons they're hard to get rid of - firstly, they can jump from cat to dog to rabbit to human to cat and so evade us; and second, 95% of the fleas aren't living on the animal, but hiding away in your home, waiting for their chance.
There are a number of phases to getting your home "Flea Free", but they sit easily into two categories. Firstly, kill the adults, then break the life-cycle!
No one medication or intervention will control a severe infestation - instead, you'll need to attack them on several fronts, usually with an adult-killing medication, and environmental control spray or medication, and spotless hygiene in the home. If you need advice, feel free to call us!
It's all very well for us vets to say "give these tablets twice a day, next patient please!" - but how easy do you actually find it to give medication to your cat? In this brief guide, we'll look at some common medications, and easy tricks to help you get them into or onto your pet!
Different routes of medication are used for different conditions in cats; however, there are a few common ones we'll look at here. Remember, whatever the medication is, always follow the directions that came with it. If you can't read something, or can't understand them, or if they seem wrong - don't make it up, call and ask us!
Giving medications can be tough, but it's usually straightforward once you know how! If your cat really resents it or you're finding it really hard, don't struggle on and risk getting scratched or bitten, or hurting them. Instead, give us a call and we'll be able to show you how (or suggest a different option if even we can't get them to cooperate!).
Cats frequently develop hairballs, or "furballs", which occur mainly because when they groom themselves, they accidentally swallow some of the hair. In most cases, hairballs are retched up again (which is a bit disgusting, but not dangerous). However, in some cases a large hairball may cause an intestinal obstruction or constipation. Occasionally, they are so severe that the cat requires surgery to remove them.
Most cats probably develop hairballs from time to time; however, cats with long coats are at the highest risk, because the longer hairs are more likely to matt together in their intestines. Some cats also have more problems with processing hairballs because of other underlying diseases, such as Feline Dysautonomia (Key-Gaskall Syndrome), or Megacolon.
Hairballs are usually no more than a minor annoyance. However, for some cats they can be a major problem - fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to help! If your cat is struggling with hairballs, make an appointment to see one of our vets to discuss which option would work best for them.
In just 7 years, two cats can (given ideal conditions) produce 40,000 offspring - no wonder, then, that cat rehoming centres are full to bursting. In addition, unneutered cats are prone to a number of annoying and unpleasant habits, which can be easily prevented by neutering. In this guide, we'll look at the advantages of neutering, and then briefly discuss the procedure and aftercare needed.
The main advantage of neutering is, of course, the fact that a neutered cat cannot reproduce. With the world cat population being as healthy as it is, there is no good reason to breed from your cat unless they have excellent genetics that should be preserved. If not, neutering will make your life (and theirs) much less crowded!
Neutering may seem like a big step, but it genuinely does improve cat welfare - by reducing population pressure, and making our pets much easier to live with!
In the UK, between 40 and 50% of cats are either overweight or obese. It is by far the most common form of malnutrition we see as vets. While we may like to give our pets nice treats and extra meals, we are in fact "killing them with kindness".
To understand, and be able to control, our pets' tendency to ballooning waistlines, we need to ask a series of questions:
Obesity is a growing problem (pun intended) in the UK's feline population. Fortunately, a number of simple, minor changes in the way we interact with our pets can usually bring it under control. If not, give us a call - we run regular weight clinics with our nurses who will be able to help you!
It is remarkably hard to tell boy and girl kittens apart - at least until they reach puberty (about six months old) at which point it's usually a bit too late...! In this quick guide, we'll look at some of the simple ways you can tell whether it's a boy or a girl, in a species that's rather shy about disclosing the matter.
All of the methods below are possible ways to tell a cat's sex; however, some are more useful in kittens than others:
No one method is ideal; however, by using a combination of different features, it's almost always possible to sex even very tiny kittens with a fair degree of accuracy. If in doubt, come and talk to us and one of our vets or nurses will show you!
Cats are very prone to becoming stressed - and we now know that stress is a major factor in the development of a range of different diseases and problem-behaviours. In fact, stress and its attendant behaviours may be one of the most common reasons for cats to be rehomed. In this factsheet, we'll try to answer some of the key questions about stress in cats.
If your cat seems stressed, it's really important to check that there isn't an underlying medical problem. If not, you need to try and work out why they aren't happy! Our vets can help, and in severe situations can refer you to a feline behaviourist to help you get it sorted.
Vaccines are the key to protecting cats from infectious diseases such as cat flu, panleukopenia, and even feline leukaemia. These conditions cause untold suffering and even death to unprotected cats, and are all very common in unvaccinated populations.
Vaccines work by "teaching" the cat's immune system how to recognise and fight an infection, without their having to contract it in the first place (and take the risk of chronic long term health issues, severe symptoms or death). Vaccines do not "weaken" the immune system, nor do they "damage" it.
Vaccines save cats' lives - its a simple as that. Although very occasionally a cat will develop a side effect, for most cats the advantages massively outweigh the possible disadvantages.
Cats can suffer from a range of different worms - especially roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms. Small numbers of worms usually don't cause major problems, but if there are too many of them, weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea may result. Some species of roundworms can even infect humans (especially children), burrowing into the gut, the liver, the brain and the eye. As a result, regular worming is really important!
Most worms in cats are contracted through eating live prey. The major exceptions are the roundworm Toxocara cati (which can infect kittens in their mothers womb, or even through the milk) and the tapeworm Dipylidium caninum (spread by fleas). As a result, even cats who do not hunt are potentially at risk from worms. So, what types of worming products are available?
Worms are not only disgusting, but also potentially dangerous - so make sure your cats are protected!
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