The Annual Open House

The end of the year is coming up quickly.

For many of you, you know what that means: THE CAT PRACTICE’S ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE, which is the Saturday before Christmas. December 18 from 2-5 pm.

If you do not know of this tradition let me tell you a little bit about it. We have it catered by the same person every year. Her name is Paula, and her company is Parties by Paula. Everyone raves about how good the food is. In fact the staff looks forward all year long to eating this great food, as well and to seeing all of the special people who bring their pets to The Cat Practice. Most of them come back year after year for this social event, and for the food.

Everyone is welcome. You can stay for 5 minutes or spend 2 hours. Cats stay at home for this party. It is a fun time to get together and mingle with other cat lovers as well as get to meet some of the staff you might not know as well. It’s also a time to catch up with some of us you already know.

A fun time is to be had. We look forward to seeing you all there.

The Cat Practice took in a baby kitten on November 9^th. A kind person stopped her car to pick up this suffering kitten up after she noticed the kitten was hit by a car! The more upsetting part of this story is not that she was hit by a car, but this person watched as the cars before hers drove around the kitten. They just let her lay in the middle of the road suffering.

That day we could not handle her, as she was so scared and painful. We gave her pain medication & food and shelter for the night.

The next day we were able to x-ray her and found out she had a femoral head fracture. (The ball joint that goes into your pelvis) This requires surgery to fix.

We emailed a copy of the radiographs to our favorite board certified surgeon, Dr. John Gums to evaluate this further.

He was not sure if she also suffered from a broken back. There was a good amount of stool in that area, making it hard to see if it was broken.

The next day after she had her bowel movement, we took another picture and she DID NOT have a broken back.!!

Now she only needs one surgery. But remember she does even have a guardian.

We named her Sparrow, as she is always singing like a bird.

Watch next week for Chapter 2 of this story.

More Coccidia seen in cats this year?

This year, we have diagnosed as many of our patients (and a large amount of these have been indoor-only!) with coccidia. Most of these cases have been found by checking a screening stool sample during routine physical exam and vaccine appointments.

What is Coccidia?
Coccidia are microscopic single-celled organisms that infect the intestine.

How would my cat get Coccidia?
Oocysts (pronounced "o-o-sists") come from fecal-contaminated ground/dirt. They are swallowed when a pet grooms/licks the dirt off. In some cases, the coccidia can be swallowed by mice and the host (cat) can be infected by eating the contaminated mouse. Coccidia is actually quite common in young animals who have undeveloped immune systems, and who are housed in groups such as shelters, rescue areas, kennels, etc. This is a common parasite and is not necessarily a sign of poor husbandry.

What are the symptoms of a Coccidia infection?
Sometimes there are no signs at all, but other times there can be diarrhea or even bloody diarrhea since coccidia destroys intestinal cells.

How are Coccidia detected?
Coccidia oocysts are microscopic and can be found on routine fecal sample screening. Checking stool samples on all pets at least once a year, even on indoor-only petss, is recommended - and every 6 months for pets who have access to the outdoors. This fecal screening is also a good idea for any patient who is experiencing diarrhea. However, coccidia in small numbers can be difficult to detect, so even though a sample looks negative, doesn't necessarily mean the patient isn't infected. Sometimes several fecal test are performed, especially in a young pet with ongoing diarrhea, since parasites may not be evident until later in the course of the condition.

How is Coccidia treated?
General deworming will not treat coccidia since it is not a worm, but a protozoa. Medications such as Albon inhibit coccidial reproduction, and once the numbers of coccidia in the body stop expanding, it's easier for the patient's immune system to catch up and wipe the infection out. This also means, though, that the time it takes to clear the infection depends on how many coccidia organisms there are and how strong the patient's immune system is. A typical treatment lasts a week or two, but the medication should be given until the diarrhea resolves, plus an extra couple of days. Sometimes courses as long as a month are needed.

Can people or other pets become infected?
The Isospora species of coccidia are not infective to people. However, other pets may become infected from exposure to infected fecal matters, though this is usually an infection of young animals with immature or underdeveloped immune systems. In most cases, an infected new puppy or kitten does not infect the resident adult animal.

When was the last time my cat was screened?
Whenever was the last time you brought in a stool sample to be tested! If you aren't sure when that was, feel free to call and we can tell you when the last sample was checked. If it's been more than a year, your cat is due for a routine screening, and you can bring in a fecal sample anytime without needing an appointment. We can have the test run and call with results within a day or so of receiving the sample.

Who do I talk to if I have other questions?
You can call us anytime to speak with a technician for more information, or you can talk to your tech and veterinarian if your cat is in for an appointment.

Stray & Feral Kitties

By this point, you may have already heard that somebody has taken to leaving feral kitties on our doorstep. Needless to say, this makes us not happy for a whole lot of reasons, and we are doing what we can to catch the person responsible for this action.

First of all, leaving an animal just sitting outside, even in a carrier, can easily be considered cruelty! The carriers provide little protection from the elements, especially the cardboard carriers. Plus, it makes the kitties in the carriers a total target for anything that may want to do them harm, from other animals to evil humans.

Speaking of cardboard carriers, they are fine for a temporary way to move a kitty from one place to another, but they are not made to be a permanent solution, especially when left sitting outside! If it's at all wet, the cardboard will absorb the wet and become soggy, collapsing around the kitty inside. Plus kitties have claws, and the cardboard always loses in the claw vs. cardboard battle. This means that we could suddenly have a kitty loose, and considering the traffic in the area, that could prove fatal.

Another large problem is that while we are a vet who clearly loves kitties, we are not set up to be a shelter. This means we do not have the resources necessary to take in strays and ferals the way people seem to think we can. We do not have the manpower to work with feral kitties to tame them, so our only options are to euthanize or release after neutering. I'm fairly certain that whomever left these kitties in our care did not take this into consideration. We are going to do some checking with a woman we know who does some feral cat rescuing to see if there is information that she can give us, but right now things are not looking great. Along with this is the fact that shelters get funding from donations and various government bodies to operate, we do not. So whomever has dropped these kitties on our doorstep has then also saddled us not just with a hard decision, but also with the financial burden of anything that needs to be done. Unless the decision is made to euthanize on arrival, it literally runs us hundreds of dollars per cat, between equipment, testing and manpower, and that doesn't include any time spent trying to socialize a cat that may or may not ever be friendly. Our office is not conducive to got socialization techniques, and none of us who work here have a good setup at home to foster a kitty, or are home enough to spend the necessary time with one.

If you ever find yourself in the position of having stray or feral kitties, and need help, please do not hesitate to call! We're in the process of putting together a list of local low-cost spay/neuter options, as well as local shelters that are no-kill. Depending on how many we already have, we do take in kittens to adopt out, but they do need to be young and already social. Unfortunately we do not have the space to take on adults to adopt out, as they don't fit in our little display cage in the front. Anybody who's been in this summer knows that we had a tough time adopting out our crew of all boy kittens, but they have all found homes now, so we were working with a shelter to take in a few more kittens. That plan has been derailed until we can decide what to do with the now 3 cats that have been left on our doorstep. There is the possibility that one of them may actually be adoptable, but one is for sure feral, and the third we have yet to have a chance to assess as she was found at the door this morning. We are also checking with a couple of shelters that take feral kitties, with the hopes that they are not full.

Please, please, PLEASE! If you have any information about these three kitties, let us know! We would like the people who left them to understand why it's so important not to leave kitties outside like this. Also important is that if you do run into a situation with feral or stray kitties, don't hesitate to call so we can help. That will give the best possible care for these poor kitties that are wandering on their own.

The Last few Days for Special Advantage Multi Pricing!

I know I've said it a few times lately, but I cannot stress it enough. The special on Advantage Multi ends on August 31! This means that a box of 6 doses goes back to it's regular price of $87.96 from it's special price of $58.64. Huge difference! Because we do recommend giving the Advantage Multi year-round, it would make the most sense to stock up now, as it won't expire for a year or more.

I know, I know, historically we've always said to give until after the first frost. However, in the last couple of years we've realized that only treating for part of the year doesn't fully take care of the issue at hand. Fleas and ear mites are perfectly capable of surviving through the winter in a warm house, mosquitoes (the carriers for heartworm) will happily take a snooze until there is a day that they think is warm enough to venture forth again. This means that when we get that warm snap in February, they are ready and waiting to pass on their charming parasites! Plus, fleas grow a tough shell for winter, making a winter infestation much harder to kill than a summer one. Ear mites, while they don't seem to get harder in the winter, they can appear at any time, and cause itchiness and ear infections, which can cause ruptured ear drums if left untreated.

Before anybody starts to say that their cat doesn't go outside, I want to point out that it has absolutely no bearing on whether your cat ends up with fleas, ear mites or heartworm. All of these things can come through an open window, on a shoe, on your clothes, on a mouse that decides to visit. Just because you have never had a flea issue doesn't mean that it cannot strike at any time!

Fleas and ear mites are really the least of the issue, though. They mostly cause itchy bug bites (unless you have a cat allergic to them - then it's a huge issue), but heartworm...that is a big scary deal. It turns out that Michigan has a very high heartworm rate in cats, and about 25% of the cats that are found to have it are indoor only cats. That's right - 1 in 4 cats that are diagnosed with heartworm do not go outside at all. Ah, thank you lovely Michigan mosquito population! The even scarier fact is that many of the cats that likely have had a heartworm, we will never even know it until the damage is done. Unlike dogs, heartworms almost never end up in the blood stream, so we don't have much concern for artery blockage. The issue for cats is that the heartworm ends up in the lungs, causing damage that becomes asthma. By the time the asthma shows up, the worm is already dead, and not necessarily detectable on a test.

Since all of this (plus protection against some intestinal parasites) is available in one easy monthly dose, doesn't it make sense to protect your kitty?

Cat in a Box!

For those of you who are not familiar with Simon's Cat, I highly recommend that you wander to YouTube and catch all of the cartoons. You'll be amazed at how well Simon has portrayed our fuzzy buddies!

The most recent offering - Simon's Cat in "The Box"

Food, Part 2: Veterinary Diets

Everybody who comes in to our office has noticed that we have a wide array of wet and dry foods sitting on our shelves. With a couple of exceptions, all of these diets are prescription diets, and dispensed almost the same way a medication is dispensed! This means that somebody coming in off of the streets is not able to purchase it without a written prescription, as the wrong food can harm a sick kitty, depending on the illness and the food.

Why prescription foods? Well, if you had the choice of treating an illness with food rather than medication, wouldn't you jump at the opportunity? While we can't promise your kitty will not need medications if they are prescribed one of these special diets, the diet can help to cut down on flareups, or maybe make an illness more treatable.

What can these diets treat? A huge variety of issues! Intestinal issues, urinary crystals, weight management, kidney issues, food allergies - we have diets appropriate for all of these things, in a variety of brands. The reason we carry so many different types of foods is because every kitty is different, and not all will respond to every food the same way. Several foods also will help to treat more than one issue, which can be very important.

The most varied category is the intestinal foods. They are mostly designed to be a bland diet, and easy to digest. This is very important for kitties that have pancreatitis, and IBD. Some of the foods are also high in fiber, which helps to cut down on constipation, and also helps to bind together diarrhea into stool that is more formed and solid. Yes, fiber really can be magic!

Some of the weight loss diets are also high in fiber. Most, however, are higher in protein, which forces the body to work harder to digest. Even more than humans, kitties need the higher protein, lower carb foods to help cut down on the pudge! These diets also tend to be lower in calories.

Also in the high protein scale are the diabetic diets. These sometimes co-mingle with the weight loss diets, but don't necessarily have the low calorie aspect that the weight loss diets have. For cats (and humans!) that are diabetic, avoiding the starches and carbs is a very important step in keeping their blood sugar down to a normal rate. Some diabetic cats can be managed on food alone, but more often they will still need insulin. Keeping their foods low in carbs will help cut down on the amount of insulin that they will need to be given, and help prevent glucose spikes.

On the other end of the protein scale are the kidney diets. Science has been telling us for years that kitties in renal failure need lower protein diets to help keep their kidneys from fighting to function. Recent research is starting to show that this may not actually be the case, but the renal foods still can be very beneficial, as they also have a lower phosphorus content, and generally help to increase drinking.

Urinary diets are made to help control the formation of crystals in urine, and help maintain a normal pH level. Most formulas have been revamped in the last few years, and will now help prevent the formation of both struvites and oxylates, the two most common types of crystals. While there is no food that will also dissolve oxylates, the foods will dissolve struvites, the type we usually see. Keeping the pH level is also critical, as crystals will form quicker in urine that is too acidic or alkaline.

Allergy diets are made with novel proteins so that a kitty with food allergies can eat and avoid some of the awful symptoms they've been having. Anything from ear and skin infections to diarrhea or constipation can be caused by food allergies! By introducing a novel protein, the kitty's body can start to purge the bad allergens out, and still get all of the nutrition that they need.

If we do end up recommending one of these diets for your cat, please remember that we do this for a good reason: we think it will help. Depending on what food you are feeding now, it may be priced a little higher per bag or can, but if it helps keep your kitty healthier, it's well worth it in the end. It may well help keep your kitty from coming in between well visits!