Pet Loss Prevention: Cat Health Care

Did you know that when dogs and cats live in the same home that dogs receive more healthcare than cats? It’s alright for the behavior of cats to be a mystery, but their health shouldn't be. Despite the cat's status as America’s number one pet (there are more than 82 million felines in U.S. homes), according to the Catalyst Council, cats receive less veterinary care and research than dogs. . The number of pet cats in the U.S. exceeds pet dogs by 10 million, but cats do not receive nearly the same amount of veterinary care as dogs do, and scientists are busier studying dog health issues than they are feline health issues.

I’m living proof of this myself. When I lived in New York City with my indoor cat Mira, I never took her to the vet. I naively made the assumption that because she never went outdoors, that she was never exposed to anything and so had no need to be seen by a doctor. I had her since she was a little kitten and always controlled what she ate. I couldn’t imagine that anything could ever be wrong with her. I think that many of us make these types of assumptions. Fortunately for me, I was right, she is still very healthy today, but that is not always the case.

It is in a cat’s nature to hide their illnesses from us, so regular preventive care is important. A comprehensive list of common feline diseases categorized by age can be found at research4cats.org. If you find your cat showing any of the following signs, you should contact your veterinarian immediately:

• Decrease in social interaction - avoids touching or withdrawal
• Increased urination and/or “accidents”
• Inability to urinate (this is an emergency situation)
• Changes in eating, chewing and drinking habits
• Noticeable changes in activity level including sleeping more or hyperactivity
• Increased vocalization
• Drastic weight loss or gain
• Behavior that is out of character
• Grooms less or grooms certain areas excessively

Several of the most serious feline diseases, which include hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and kidney and heart disease show very few clinical signs until the disease has progressed to seriously advanced stages, at which point treatment options can be limited. For this reason, it is very important to have regular checkups for your cat(s). Fortunately, on the other side of the coin, many feline diseases progress slowly, enabling them to be easily managed through nutrition or drug therapies. They can be detected via routine blood and urine tests.

The Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) has launched the Happy Healthy Cat Campaign to help eliminate suffering and premature death in cats. This is an unprecedented worldwide effort to promote feline health research and training of scientists. The initiative holds the most promise of any research campaign ever undertaken to help the cats we love.

You can educate yourself further by watching their campaign video at the MAF website, which also provides more information about cat diseases and health warning signs, MAF research success stories, and resources for cat owners, pet blog entries and pet podcasts.

We all want our pets to live long, healthy and enjoyable lives. We want to put off that fated day for as long as we can when we find ourselves preparing for the loss of our pets, writing pet memorials or shopping for a pet urn. Let’s keep ourselves educated so that we can keep our animal companions alive and well for as long as possible.

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