Archive for the ‘Cats’ Category

Why older pets can benefit from our veterinary nurse team

Compared to human years, animals at around the age of 8 are generally classed as senior pets. As they reach more mature years, it is important to recognise changes that may take place. Regular checks are important and our Goddard Veterinary Nurses can help and advise you on the types of things you may see with your pets as they get older. 

So what type of things can you advise on?

Mobility

Just as in humans, when animals get older joint problems such as arthritis can develop, especially in cats and dogs. Have you noticed your pet being reluctant to move after a period of rest? Does your older cat seem uninterested in jumping up onto higher surfaces? These are things that are worth noting and mentioning during a senior pet health check.

With joint problems, movement can become harder for your pets and can start to affect their quality of life, by following advice from the nursing and vet team, there are ways to make movement that bit easier including:

  • Limiting exercise to a more appropriate level
  • Use of anti-inflammatory medication
  • Maintaining an ideal weight for your pet
  • Use of joint supplements
  • Use of hydrotherapy centres

Diet and appetite

Our nurses can give you advice on nutrition and dietary requirements for your pets, regardless of their age. Older pets can have changes to their needs, for example you wouldn’t want to feed an 8-year-old dog puppy food.

Different foods contain varying nutritional values and calorific content and our nursing team can help you decide the best for your pet. For example, older pets are generally less active, so would possibly require calorie reduced diets, thus helping to control their weight. Some breeds also have foods specifically developed by pet food manufacturers and tailored to your pets needs – we can advise on these as well.

During the senior pet health check (or at any time) if you have noticed your pet is going off their food or treats, please let us know. There are several reasons this might be happening and should be investigated by our vets. A simple blood test can help determine the problem. Alternatively if your pet has massive appetite, this can also be a sign of diabetes or thyroid problems as well as others, so again please let us know!

Nails

Older pets tend to not wear their toenails down so quickly because they might exercise less. An active younger dog may run around lots on hard ground, naturally wearing down their toenails, whereas older dogs may be walked on softer ground for shorter distances.

Older cats may not use scratch posts as much (or the furniture!) to keep their claws short. Dew claws can cause a particular problem as they can curl around and dig into pads, causing soreness and even infection.

Our nurses can check nails and claws to make sure they are not getting too long, trimming them where necessary to keep your pets comfortable.

Coat

Coat changes can happen in senior pets and it’s not always just part of them getting older, Sometimes there is a reason behind it. For example matted fur can mean your pets are unable to groom themselves and this can be for reasons such as a sore mouth (which could mean dental treatment), or they simply cannot reach the area to groom, and this can be due to joint pain.

Our nurses are happy to look at any coat changes you are concerned about, referring back to the vets if necessary. Also the team can advise on a number of supplements, as well as shampoos to help improve the coat, especially if greasy or flaky.

These changes can be subtle or quite visible, so it is definitely worth speaking with our nursing team who can liaise with the vets, should your pet need further treatment.

Does my cat have epilepsy?

It depends on what you mean by “epilepsy” – your cat can have seizures WITHOUT being epileptic! 

What do you mean? Aren’t fits and epilepsy the same thing?

No, there’s an important difference – a fit, or seizure, is the result of abnormal, uncontrolled electrical activity in the cat’s brain (it’s sometimes referred to as an “electrical storm”). Epilepsy technically means ANY disorder resulting in repeated seizures.

However, most people use the word “epilepsy” to refer to “Idiopathic Epilepsy” (IE), a specific disease (complicated, isn’t it?!). This is a fairly well understood genetic disease in dogs (and people) causing epileptic seizures in the absence of any physical disease process – and this does not occur in cats.

Cats can, though, develop “Epilepsy of Unknown Cause” (EUC), which appears similar but does not have a genetic cause and is probably due to microscopic damage to brain tissue (but no-one’s certain if it’s just one disease or several very similar ones). It may occasionally be referred to as “Primary Epilepsy”.

OK, so what DOES cause seizures in cats?

Seizures can be caused by a wide range of different conditions:

Structural Lesions – 47% of seizures in cats are caused by physical damage to the brain tissue, such as:

  • Strokes (a bleed or a clot in the brain, starving brain cells of oxygen, typically associated with high blood pressure in older cats)
  • Tumours (even benign tumours can cause seizures as they press on the brain tissue)
  • Meningitis (caused by infection or an abnormal immune response)

Metabolic Disease – 31% of seizures occur in cats whose brains are basically healthy, but other diseases are affecting the brain’s ability to function normally. Such diseases include:

  • Kidney failure (as toxins build up in the body because they aren’t being filtered by the kidneys)
  • Liver failure (as ammonium builds up in the blood because the liver isn’t breaking it down)
  • Diabetes (abnormally high or low blood sugar levels)
  • Poisoning

EUC is responsible for only 22% of cases.

What do seizures in cats look like?

There are two types of seizure in cats:

Generalised seizures are the most obvious, although they are less common. Typically, the symptoms include:

  • Initially, changes in behaviour (the Pre-Ictal stage, not shown by all cats)
  • Collapse and loss of consciousness
  • Violent shaking or convulsions
  • Chewing or twitching of the facial muscles
  • Salivating
  • Loss of bladder and bowel control
  • In recovery (the Post-Ictal stage, which may last minutes or hours) the cat is often disorientated, confused or even appears blind
  • Full recovery is expected within a few hours

Partial seizures occur when the electrical storm only affects part of the cat’s brain. They are more common than generalised seizures in cats, are very variable in appearance and duration, and are often difficult to recognise. Possible symptoms include:

  • Drooling
  • Twitching
  • Vocalisation
  • Abnormal posture
  • Abnormal behaviour

How long does a seizure last?

Usually only a couple of minutes – essentially, the brain then realises something’s wrong and “reboots” itself. In cluster seizures, there may be repeated seizures over a few hours or a few days, then a prolonged period without any.

When is a seizure an emergency?

Any cat who suffers a seizure should be checked over by one of our vets. However, if a seizure lasts over five minutes, or two seizures occur without complete recovery in between, your cat needs to be seen right NOW. This may be “Status Epilepticus” which is usually fatal without immediate veterinary treatment.

What can be done about seizures?

In cats, it’s really important to determine the underlying cause if possible. Then treatment can be aimed at managing that condition, preventing further seizures. If this isn‘t possible, there are a range of anti-epileptic drugs that our vets can use (although not as many as for dogs) to reduce the risk and severity of future seizures.

If your cat has had a seizure, make an appointment for them to be checked over by our vets within 24 hours if possible. If they’re still fitting, get them to us NOW.