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Incredible advances in veterinary medicine are making it possible for cats to live longer, healthier lives than ever before. The quality of your cat’s health is the result of a partnership between you and your veterinarian. You must be confident that the vet you have chosen will take good care of your cats.

When you first get your cat, be sure to have your veterinarian examine her within 10 days. In addition to getting baseline weights and measurements on her, your vet will want to check her blood and stools for illness and parasites. If you have never had a cat before, the first visit is a good time to get a demonstration in cleaning your pet’s ears and clipping her toenails properly.

A proper diet and sufficient exercise are key factors in keeping your cat healthy. You must make sure the food you give your cat is of good quality to provide her with the correct amounts of nutrients to keep her systems running. If you are confused by the variety of brands of cat food available, ask your veterinarian for some help. Don’t be embarrassed to tell him how much you are able/willing to spend for pet food. There are some excellent brands that are not very expensive, and some expensive brands that are not very good.

Exercise not only keeps your cat’s weight under control, it strengthens her muscles and enhances her immune system. Some cats are naturally active. Others need anywhere from a little to a lot of encouragement from you to get moving. Set aside some dedicated playtime each day with your cat, and she’ll be more inclined to get physical.

Yearly “well-cat” appointments with your veterinarian help track your cat’s health. A thorough going-over under the vet’s expert eye can catch early skin or eye conditions and other physical changes that you might not notice on a day-to-day basis. Blood and stool samples allows your vet to diagnose and treat disease and parasites before they reach a critical state.

The yearly vet visit is also a good time to mention any “strange habits” your cat may have developed over the last year. Often, these have simple explanations, but some behaviors, such as licking paint or eating strange substances can indicate a medical condition.

One of the most important aspects of the yearly vet visit is updating your cat’s vaccinations. Even if you keep your cat strictly indoors, it is important to have her vaccinated against diseases such as rabies, panleukopenia, calcivirus, Chlamydia and feline leukemia virus. If your cat were to get out of the house and wander, she has protection against some of the diseases that cost less fortunate cats their lives.

How Do You Find a Veterinarian?

* Get recommendations from other cat owners in your area.

* Ask cat groomers or emergency clinics for recommendations.

* Neighbors or your local pet supply store may be able to make suggestions.

* If you’ve just moved to the area, ask your former veterinarian if he/she could recommend a veterinarian in your new hometown

The process for selecting a veterinarian is very much like choosing your own personal physician. You want to find a doctor that you feel comfortable talking with, someone who encourages all of your questions and supports you in all the health care choices you make on your cat’s behalf.

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The classic early warning signs of diabetes were all present when I brought my canine companion of twelve years into the Veterinarian’s clinic. Muffy was lethargic, unsteady on her feet, drinking large amounts of water, and experiencing incontinence for the first time in her life. I knew something was seriously wrong.

After blood work and a physical examination, the veterinarian said that Muffy had developed type-two canine diabetes. After a brief discussion, we decided to try and regulate her blood sugar level with diet modification and insulin twice daily.

At first, it was rough going. Weekly checkups revealed Muffy’s sugar levels continued to bounce from one extreme to the other. Determined not give up, I monitored her urine samples at home for sugar content and adjusted insulin injections as necessary. Gradually, we began to see improvement.

After just a few months Muffy was once again her frisky self. You would never know by watching her race about that she had a serious health problem. A special diet, proper amounts of insulin and regular exercise have worked together with Muffy’s routine veterinary care to turn the tide. As a result, I can look forward to many more happy years with my little dog.

Wyoming veterinarian Mary Flitner, who recently moved her practice to New Mexico, received her D.V.M. degree at Colorado State University and an award for excellence in large animal surgery in 1997. Flitner states that diabetes in dogs and cats is more common than most people realize. According to Flitner, a pet’s chance of developing diabetes will increase with age.

“This is especially true in overweight, less active dogs.”

Besides weight and age, diet is another significant factor. Dogs given table scraps without discrimination are particularly at risk. The importance of diet cannot be over emphasized, warns Flitner.

“A high fiber diet, low in fat and sugar, is vital. And an annual checkup by a qualified professional is also an important part of proper pet care, as early detection of health complications increase successful management of the problem and helps prolong the quality of life for that pet.”

Flitner notes many pet owners mistakenly feel caring for a diabetic pet would be too difficult for them, an assumption that complicates the decision making process at a critical time.

“A diagnosis of diabetes in a family pet is hard enough to handle without misconceptions compounding the problem,” said Flitner thoughtfully.

For instance, a pet owner might opt to euthanize a pet diagnosed with diabetes because they feel incapable of managing the problem. However, with proper instruction and guidance, that same pet owner could gain the confidence necessary to properly follow the care plan developed by the veterinarian, and enjoy many more quality years together with their pet.

“People need to know by regulating their pet’s diabetes, that pet can still live to their full potential,” said Flitner, acknowledging most care givers consider their pet an important part the family and struggle to make right health care decisions for them.

Flitner notes grocery store quality pet foods are not good choices for diabetic pets because of added fillers and sugars used to improve the taste.

“Some grocery store brands of cat food actually have trace elements of antifreeze in them, because cats are attracted to it. These type foods often have a high content of sodium, which is also unhealthy for the pet.

“A healthy well-balanced diet is important for any pet, but especially for those diagnosed with diabetes.”

Early warning signs that might indicate diabetes in your pet include: an unusually high consumption of water, increase in appetite, incontinence, lethargy, extreme changes in eyes (i.e. cataracts), lack of coordination, and vomiting. Care givers who note such changes in their dog should promptly call a qualified professional, because examination by a veterinarian is important and necessary for proper diagnosis.

Flitner also acknowledges the temptation to remove the water bowl from the pet’s reach if incontinence is a problem.

“But, this is not the correct thing to do,” instructs Flitner.

In the case of diabetic canines, drinking large amounts of water is the dog’s attempt to flush glucose out of the kidneys which has spilled over from the blood. If the glucose doesn’t get flushed out, serious damage to the kidneys and other organs can develop.

The best preventative measures against serious health problems in the family pet remain simple and practical: regular veterinary check ups, and a healthy diet. Exercise is also very important. Among other benefits, exercise helps increase the body’s effective use of insulin.

For more canine health information, information on a special dog food formulated specifically for diabetic dogs, or other dog products, visit the Savvy Dog Lover web site .

© Lori S. Anton
Savvy Pet Editor

Published writer and dog lover, Lori Anton, has been writing for nearly 30 years. She is founder and editor for Writers Write Now, a web site that offers original professionally written content, and SEO content for web sites; visit Writers Write Now. Lori lives in rural Wyoming with her husband, Jeff, and their diabetic canine companion, Muffy.

Lori is also Savvy Pet Editor. Savvy Dog Lover web site offers valuable information on pet health, care, and training, as well as top pet products. Visit Savvy Dog Lover. Savvy Dog Lover - where the best bones are buried!

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Emergency pet care starts with trying to define what an emergency is in terms of pet health.This can be more difficult than one would expect because what constitutes an emergency is usually defined by the pet owner.

The interpretation of an emergency therefore can vary widely
depending on that person’s previous experience, there knowledge of what is normal, and the extent of the human- animal bond.

An emergency can usually be divided into 2 broad categories. The first is usually an obvious emergency e.g. Pet is run over by a car or bitten by a known poisonous snake. In these cases the pet has been fine up till the incident that triggers the emergency.

The second broad category is the “end stage” of a medical condition and for most people this is far more difficult to recognise as an emergency. In these cases the pet may not have been 100% healthy for a preceeding period of time, but this might not have been evident or the pets altered behaviour was deemed to be of no consequence.

An example here would be a male cat with a blocked bladder.
The signs might have been there for a few hours or days (e.g. spending long periods in the litter box) while the condition developed. However, once the urethra becomes totally blocked and the cat cannot pass any urine, the situation rapidly becomes a life threatening one.

There is probably very little you can do from a first aid point of view for the second broad category of emergency. The best thing you can do for a pet in this situation is to get the animal to a vet as fast as you can. Phone ahead if possible to alert the vet to the situation and try to write down as much as you can about the pets behaviour over the past few hours/days/weeks.

For most pet owners, pet emergencies are a traumatic experience usually undertaken in a blur of activity. By writing everything down, you force yourself to slow down and think. Once at the vet
the written notes decrease the chance of you forgetting to tell the vet something that might be of importance. Although you might be in an agitated state, remember that the vet will have
to ask you a range of questions in order to focus the search for a diagnosis and then institute the appropriate treatment.

Category one emergencies such as wounds, snake bites, heat stroke etc lend themselves more to first aid procedures. This does not mean you should delay getting to a vet as fast as possible as emergency pet care is only a stopgap, albeit a very useful one, that can be applied between the occurrence of the emergency and getting professional help.

Keith Perrett is a qualified Veterinarian
http://www.pet-health-for-humans.com

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