Elderly Cat Health Problems

Common Cat Health Problems

No matter how you often you take your cat to the vet and how well you treat her, she will still get sick occasionally. This is just a fact of life. She is still going to sick even though she also grooms herself faithfully. How she will get sick, you will never know until it happens. However, there are common health problems that do arise in our feline friends. They are:

Vomiting:

Yes, even the healthiest cat will have a spell now or then in which she will vomit. Being a cat lover, this will break your heart when it happens. However, don't panic. Kitty may simply vomit because of a furball problem or because she swallowed a bug.

If the vomiting continues and she seems to be dehydrated, or is drooling, then you can panic. Call the vet or better yet take kitty to the vet. You may even want to take a sample of her vomit with you for testing purposes.

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) can occur in both male and female cats. It generally occurs in cats that are overweight, out of shape and eat a lot of dry food.

Symptoms include:

• Straining to urinate
• Bloody Urine
• Crying when Urinating
• Licking around urinary area
• Lack of Appetite
• Vomiting

If you suspect that your cat may be suffering from feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease take her promptly to the vet.

Fleas

Fleas are more than an annoyance to your pet. They can cause skin infections and many cats are allergic. For this reason, you must take fleas seriously.

Signs that your cat may have fleas include:

• Flea dirt on skin
• Your pet is scratching more than usual
• Your pet is licking herself more than usual
• Her skin seems to be irritated
• She is beginning to lose hair
• Her skin seems infected or sores are forming

Tapeworms

A tapeworm is a worm that can grow inside your cat's intestine. It can grow to be 2 feet long. The worm will cause your cat to vomit or to begin losing weight. A subtle sign that may indicate that your cat may have this worm is to check her anus and look for signs of little white worms that look like grains of rice. These worms may also appear in her feces.

Diarrhea

If your cat suffers from diarrhea (watery stools) it can be many things. Your cat may have just ate something that hasn't agreed with her. She may have: allergies, a hairball, or an infection. Yet, if this diarrhea is frequent or doesn't go away, you need to consult your vet. This could be a sign of something serious like liver disease or even cancer.

Yes, we love our feline friends. For this reason we need to understand some of the common health ailments they may acquire.

Sources:

pets.webmd.com