When a caregiver contacts me regarding a cat having difficulty breathing, coughing fits, and/or wheezing – my first guess is asthma. My second guess would be heart disease. Then again, it could be as simple as an upper respiratory infection (the cat’s version of the common cold.) There’s not a lot you can do for [...]
Archive for the ‘Feline nutrition and health’ Category
Puff asthmatic kitty
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged asthma, cats, Studley on September 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Feline triaditis
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cats, cholongiohepatitis, feline, IBD, Latifah, liver, lymphoma, pancreas, pancreatitis, Rumpelmintz, triaditis on September 29, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Feline triaditis is actually three conditions occurring simultaneously: pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), cholongiohepatitis (inflammation of the liver), and inflammatory bowel disease or IBD (inflammation of the intestines).
There may be no known “cure” for triaditis, though I would argue that proper nutrition is the absolute BEST method of treatment and prevention. By proper nutrition, I mean [...]
Nature’s WORST
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, dry food, feline nutrition, Hills, nutrition, pet food on June 24, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Apparently they are giving out free samples of Hills’ “Nature’s Best” dry dog and cat food somewhere near work. Someone left a sample on the table at work yesterday and today there was a woman on the elevator holding three samples. I could NOT hold my tongue in the elevator – and simply told her [...]
Using U-40 insulin with U-100 syringes
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged diabetes, insulin, syringes, U-100, U-40 on June 23, 2009 | 6 Comments »
I’ve generally used a U-40 insulin (PZI-Vet) with U-100 syringes. The advantages being that U-100 syringes are more widely available, and by using U-100 syringes with U-40 insulin I was able to make smaller dose adjustments. (Before Meow Meow went off insulin, she was getting 0.2 units (two-tenths of a unit) of insulin! NOT TWO UNITS [...]
Cat still fat
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, cats, fat, feline nutrition, obesity on June 15, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Is your tabby too tubby? Is your cat extra-fluffy and not in a good way?
Well, if you haven’t already, start by eliminating ALL DRY FOOD. ALL OF IT. Attempting to get a cat to lose weight on dry food is a losing battle. I know, I tried it for over a year with my cat [...]
Carnivorous cats
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, homemade cat food on February 15, 2009 | 5 Comments »
A couple questions were posed recently regarding diets for dogs versus cats.
Dogs are opportunistic carnivores, or omnivores, like human beings. If you can prepare healthy well-balanced meals for your human family, you can do so for your dog. Dogs might not only enjoy a homemade casserole, in fact they’d probably enjoy a side salad of [...]
Dental dilemmas
Posted in Feline nutrition and health on January 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Another question I see posted frequently is whether the caregiver should get a dental for their cat that is older and/or has health concerns. My answer is generally a resounding YES.
Insulins for diabetic cats
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged diabetes on December 17, 2008 | 2 Comments »
So, your cat is diabetic and you’re wondering which insulin you should be using to get those nasty blood sugar levels down (hopefully permanently so your cat can be managed on diet alone!)
My personal preference is PZI (protamine zinc insulin). It’s duration is a little over 12 hours, which works well for a twice-daily dosing [...]
Vets and pet food
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged cat food, cat nutrition, cats, dry food, feline nutrition, IBD, pancreatitis, raw food on December 11, 2008 | 2 Comments »
This post has actually been a work-in-progress for some time, but a phone call today pushed me to try and finish it. That phone call took place with the internal medicine specialist treating Studley. The specialist has diagnosed Studley with pancreatitis and IBD, based on an ultrasound performed Tuesday. Today he got back the results [...]
Canned cat food – which one?
Posted in Feline nutrition and health, tagged canned food, cat food, cats, feline nutrition, IBD on December 10, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Another of the “frequently asked questions” I get is *which* canned food to feed. Well, in general the answer is simple – look for one with little-to-no grains, fruits, or vegetables. You want something as close to “mouse in a can” as possible. Poultry and/or rabbit is best – as these are closest to a [...]
