Cat Health & Diseases

Question 1

signs of illness

Answer 1

coughing, sneezing, vomiting, nasal discharge, lumps under skin, nictitating membrane exposed

Question 2

nictitating membrane

Answer 2

“third eyelid”, shouldn’t be visible in healthy cats

Question 3

disease prevention methods

Answer 3

biosecurity, nutrition, tooth hygiene, sanitation, vaccinations, parasite control

Question 4

biosecurity

Answer 4

people=main method of disease spread
contact with feral/other cats, rodents and insects

Question 5

fomites

Answer 5

inanimate objects than can spread disease (shoes, dirty cage, etc.)

Question 6

vectors

Answer 6

animals who can spread disease

Question 7

quarantine

Answer 7

difficult to do effectively

Question 8

nutrition

Answer 8

good diet includes adequate vitamin a, niacin and taurine

Question 9

obesity

Answer 9

biggest health problem in cats

Question 10

tooth care

Answer 10

brush teeth
dental is very expensive

Question 11

vaccinations

Answer 11

form of active immunity
give antigen, usually mild or killed
body responds to antigen, antibody production

Question 12

passive immunity

Answer 12

cat does not produce immunity, passed from something else
usually from colostrum: first milk mother produces after giving birth
short term protection

Question 13

active immunity

Answer 13

key is that cat itself produced immunity
long term due to memory factor

Question 14

parasite control

Answer 14

feed cooked food, avoid consumption of bird/rabbits/rodents
treatments/preventatives

Question 15

risks of being outdoors

Answer 15

infectious diseases and parasites
predators
poisonous substances
cars
damage from cats (bird predation)

Question 16

viral diseases

Answer 16

feline infectious peritonities (FIP)
feline leukemia virus (FELV)
feline panleukopenia (FPL)
feline herpesvirus and calicivirus
rabies

Question 17

FIP

Answer 17

not very common
high mortality rate
enlarged abdomen (peritinium=lining of abdomen)
vaccine but no cure

Question 18

FELV

Answer 18

common in free roaming cats
impairs immune system, FELV won’t kill them directly
rarely live longer than 3 years
vaccine but no cure, treatment is to control secondary infections

Question 19

FPL

Answer 19

raccoons tend to carry
acute disease

Question 20

feline herpesvirus and calicivirus

Answer 20

URI (upper respiratory infections)
vaccine but can’t treat

Question 21

rabies

Answer 21

infects all mammals
WI legally requires rabies vaccine

Question 22

bacterial diseases

Answer 22

feline pneumonitis
cat scratch fever

Question 23

feline pneumonitis

Answer 23

can infect humans (conjunctivitis)
can treat with antibiortics

Question 24

cat scratch fever

Answer 24

not a problem for cats but is zoonotic
occurs from bite, sometimes scratch

Question 25

fungal diseases

Answer 25

ringworm

Question 26

protozoal diseases

Answer 26

toxoplasmosis

Question 27

toxoplasmosis

Answer 27

lives in intestine of cat, can only reproduce there
humans, other animals can get it
can affect fetus in pregnant women

Question 28

toxoplasmosis research

Answer 28

study that found toxoplasmosis made rats not afraid of cats, evolved to make rat easier to eat by cat, toxoplasmosis needs to reproduce in cat
could also affect human brain, cause mental health problems

Question 29

other medical problems (noninfectious)

Answer 29

feline urinary syndrome/urolithiasis: crystals in urinary tract
diabetes
allergies
hairballs
posions