Cat Health & Diseases Flashcards
signs of illness
coughing, sneezing, vomiting, nasal discharge, lumps under skin, nictitating membrane exposed
nictitating membrane
“third eyelid”, shouldn’t be visible in healthy cats
disease prevention methods
biosecurity, nutrition, tooth hygiene, sanitation, vaccinations, parasite control
biosecurity
people=main method of disease spread
contact with feral/other cats, rodents and insects
fomites
inanimate objects than can spread disease (shoes, dirty cage, etc.)
vectors
animals who can spread disease
quarantine
difficult to do effectively
nutrition
good diet includes adequate vitamin a, niacin and taurine
obesity
biggest health problem in cats
tooth care
brush teeth
dental is very expensive
vaccinations
form of active immunity
give antigen, usually mild or killed
body responds to antigen, antibody production
passive immunity
cat does not produce immunity, passed from something else
usually from colostrum: first milk mother produces after giving birth
short term protection
active immunity
key is that cat itself produced immunity
long term due to memory factor
parasite control
feed cooked food, avoid consumption of bird/rabbits/rodents
treatments/preventatives
risks of being outdoors
infectious diseases and parasites
predators
poisonous substances
cars
damage from cats (bird predation)
viral diseases
feline infectious peritonities (FIP)
feline leukemia virus (FELV)
feline panleukopenia (FPL)
feline herpesvirus and calicivirus
rabies
FIP
not very common
high mortality rate
enlarged abdomen (peritinium=lining of abdomen)
vaccine but no cure
FELV
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
FPL
raccoons tend to carry
acute disease
feline herpesvirus and calicivirus
URI (upper respiratory infections)
vaccine but can’t treat
rabies
infects all mammals
WI legally requires rabies vaccine
bacterial diseases
feline pneumonitis
cat scratch fever
feline pneumonitis
can infect humans (conjunctivitis)
can treat with antibiortics
cat scratch fever
not a problem for cats but is zoonotic
occurs from bite, sometimes scratch
fungal diseases
ringworm
protozoal diseases
toxoplasmosis
toxoplasmosis
lives in intestine of cat, can only reproduce there
humans, other animals can get it
can affect fetus in pregnant women
toxoplasmosis research
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
other medical problems (noninfectious)
feline urinary syndrome/urolithiasis: crystals in urinary tract
diabetes
allergies
hairballs
posions
