DrBarchas.com is a free resource for people with pets. Searchable articles are available on diseases, behavior, symptoms, and medical treatments for dogs and cats.
Cats
Obesity is a syndrome in which the amount of excess body fat an individual carries is great enough to cause harm to health and well-being. Obesity is a debilitating syndrome that is linked to a number of serious health consequences for cats.
A number of factors play a role in the development of obesity in cats. However, the root cause of obesity is the consumption of more calories than the body needs.
Middle-aged and elderly cats.
Hyperthyroidism is a disease of the thyroid gland. Located in the neck, the thyroid gland produces a hormone called thyroid hormone. Although thyroid hormone plays a complex role in the body, its main effect is to increase the rate of metabolism. Hyperthyroidism causes excessive production of thyroid hormone. Therefore, the main problem in hyperthyroid animals is increased metabolism.
Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:
Cats
Feline leukemia virus, or FeLV, is a virus that infects cats. It is related to FIV and HIV, the virus that causes human AIDS. There is no evidence that FeLV can infect humans.
FeLV does not sicken every cat that is infected with it. However, some cats that are infected with FeLV suffer suppression of the immune system or develop cancers. These cats often die from the virus.
All animals, regardless of species or age, experience pain.
Animals feel pain under the same circumstances as people. Anything that would cause pain in a person will cause pain in pets.
Symptoms of pain differ among species.
Cats:
Cats instinctively hide pain. Therefore, signs of pain in cats are usually subtle. A cat in pain may:
Cats
Feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, is a poorly understood and extremely dangerous disease of cats. The disease is resistant to treatment and very difficult to diagnose. Almost all cats that contract FIP die from the disease.
Ringworm affects dogs, cats, people, rodents, rabbits, and other mammals.
Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin. Contrary to its name, worms are not involved in ringworm infections. In pets, ringworm primarily is a nuisance. However, the infection can spread from pets to people. This makes ringworm infections in household pets a serious concern.
Cats
FIV is a virus that is related to HIV, the human AIDS virus. Experts do not believe FIV is capable of infecting humans. FIV causes a syndrome in cats that is similar to human AIDS.
Most FIV-infected cats catch the virus by fighting with other cats. The virus spreads when an infected cat bites a cat that is not infected. A much smaller number of cats catch the virus from their mother as kittens. Sexual transmission of FIV does not appear to be common.
Cats and dogs.
Dogs and cats
Foxtails, or grass awns, are arrow-shaped stickers that are produced by some types of grasses that have gone to seed. Foxtails carry grass seeds. They evolved to embed in the skin and be spread by animals.
Cats and kittens
Upper respiratory infections, also known as URIs, are very common in cats. They are similar to colds in people, but they are caused by different types of germs.
URIs are especially common in kittens, and almost all cats will have experienced an upper respiratory infection by the time they reach adulthood. A very large proportion of kittens adopted from shelters suffer from URIs shortly after adoption.