Cat owners find answers to common problems

 A feral cat in the care of Feline Folks.

Feline Folks, a nonprofit organization caring for and managing feral and stray cats, gave guests the opportunity to talk to a veterinarian about cat related issues and to learn about the nutritional requirements of cats last week during its education program.

Dr. Tanya Enos, veterinarian at Veterinary Center at Fishhawk in Lithia, Fla., attended the Feline Folks’ second program of the year to answer questions from the audience about cats’ health and care and any problems cat owners face.

Conquering fleas, either on the pet, inside the house and outside in the yard, was one of the cat owners’ general concerns. While dogs can take pills against fleas, cats have to rely solely on topicals. Enos said Advance, Frontline and Revolution, are the best and safest choices to prevent cats from contracting fleas since cats a very sensitive to pesticides. For the topicals to work properly, cats should not get a bath right before or after the application. Even though cats do not need baths at all, Enos said she recommends giving them a bath every six months. However, she also said if the cat doesn’t want a bath, it is not going to get a bath without the owner getting scratched.

For the treatment of flea infested homes and yards, Enos said employing a professional service is the most effective and also, in the end, the cheapest solution. A do-it-yourself project has to involve using flea bombs inside the house. To prevent flea infestation inside the home, regular vacuuming is necessary and, most important, adding a flea killer to the vacuum cleaner, Enos said. Putting a flea collar inside the vacuum bag will do the job. Otherwise, fleas get just sucked inside the bag and then jump out to do more harm without getting eradicated.

Another concern among cat owners was the prevention of hairballs in cats. Enos said since cats clean themselves constantly, they have to vomit all the accumulated hair. A cat food high in fiber or a hairball remedy can help push it through the intestinal tract. How often to give the hairball medicine depends on the cats, some need it daily, others once a month. Enos said it is also safe to give it to each cat in a multiple cat household where it is difficult to decide which cat has a hairball problem.

Addressing feeding guidelines for cats, Enos said she sees more and more overweight cats in her clinic and therefore advises against allowing cats to eat whenever they want. While young kittens should have food available all day long, cats that have outgrown babyhood benefit from a twice-a-day feeding schedule. Leaving a bowl with portion-controlled cat food out for 30 minutes in the morning and evening and then taking it away help cats maintain their ideal weight and good health.

Cats eating too much food and gaining excess weight are prone to diabetes, just like humans. To control cats’ diabetes, daily insulin shots are necessary. In contrast to dogs, Enos said, cats do not respond to a diabetes pill. Nevertheless, if overweight cats lose weight, they most likely will not need the insulin shots any longer. Once in a while, Enos said, she sees cats with diabetes type 1, but most cases she treats are comparable to the human diabetes type 2.

Although dry cat food is better for the cats’ teeth because cats bite the tartar off, Enos said, wet cat food, cat food that comes in cans, is better for the cats’ kidneys and, therefore, would be the preferred choice of food. Making sure cats get all the nutrition they need and in an accurate amount, cat owners should shy away from making their own cat food and buy commercial cat food that bears the labels: Complete and balanced and accepted by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

Cat owners were also looking for answers about common vaccinations for cats. Some raised concern about incidents of vaccine induced carcinoma in some cats from certain types of rabies vaccines. Since rabies vaccination is mandatory and regulated by state law because human can contract rabies from rabies infected cats, cat owners have to rely on their veterinarians to choose the right inoculation treatment.

The next educational program conducted by Feline Folks will take place in August, and it will contain information about colony caretaking. To find out more about it, go to:
http://felinefolks.org/