Why there are no healthy vego cats out there

As a vet I see and hear a lot of opinions on how to care for animals. I hear from breeders, owners, lecturers, food reps and veterinary specialist among others. Often there is no ‘Best Way’ and what works in one situation or for one animal, might not work for an other. Rarely though, there are some instances where the answer is black and white and one of those is that cats need meat!

(Not like Sushi and Wasabi or Lamb and Rosemary either)

Cats, as a general rule, are not Hoovers (in the classic labrador-style sense) but some cats will eat random things and sometimes those things are bad things- Lilies are one of those bad things.

‘Lilies’ actually refers to a number of plants of a number of species, some of which are very harmful and others are not.

Cats, Exercise- The two words are not often seen together, however exercise is important to your cat for a number of reasons.

Cats have not changed much in the 10,000 or so years since their domestication started. Until recently, they were roaming the countryside earning a living. For example, a scottish wild cat can have a territory of up to 40 square kilometers to patrol!

As well as food and exercise, this activity provides another essential component to cat welfare - mental stimulation.

After about 40 years of dormancy there has recently been an outbreak in Sydney of Feline Parvovirus. This is also called Feline Enteritis (that's what it's called in most vaccines now) or panleukopaenia (that's what it used to be called in the vaccines). 

Heat stroke (hyperthermia)

Heat stroke or hyperthermia is a really serious, potentially fatal condition that should be taken really seriously. The body is made to run at a safe temperature and if overheats the internal organs basically cook. Often the effects of excessive heat exposure aren't obvious immediately.

For example:

Choose a cage that is enclosed & can be pulled apart

Cats find a trip in the car terrifying. When cats are scared they try and hide. Hiding reduces their anxiety levels, if they can’t hide their anxiety levels increase more and more with time. By the time they arrive at our end they are ready to explode and some are just impossible to deal with.

A good cage is completely enclosed so the cat can feel like it’s hiding away.

Manxi came into us a few weeks ago because she had stopped eating and was very weak and had lost a lot of weight.

To cut a long story short she had diabetes and because her body was being deprived of glucose (sugar) and when she stopped eating her metabolism had changed and she was mobilising fat. The fat had accumulated in her liver and stopped it from working properly.

1. Check for ticks every day regardless of whether you use a prevention or not.
2. Feel for the tick, don't just look. You’ll feel them before you see them.
3. Frontline Plus needs to be applied every 2 weeks to control paralysis ticks.
4. There is a new tick collar for dogs we have available that doesn't smell!
5. In cats you need to use frontline spray every 3 weeks, the spot-ons don’t work for ticks in cats.

What is Heartworm?

Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) is a potentially fatal worm that is spread by mosquitoes and affects dog and cats. When a mosquito bites the animal,  heartworm larvae are injected into the skin . The larvae then develop into small immature worms that travel to the right side of the heart via the peripheral veins. The worms become mature approximately 6 months after infecting an animal and can reproduce inside the infected animal. Heartworms can grow up to 10-30cm long and live for up to 5 years. A dog can be infected with up to 250 worms!

A recent episode of Sunday on channel Seven aired a story about toxoplasmosis and I don't think that it really gave a true reflection on what the true facts are about toxoplasmosis. I believe that the story was inspired by this article in The Conversation. It should be noted that the author of this article begins the article by stating:

"I should admit straight up that I’m no fan of cats"