It may be hard for a pet owner to notice a pet cat getting older. Outside, pet cats may show the same things- playing with toys around the home, taking naps sprawled on a favorite spot inside the home, snuggle up with you on the sofa. But inside, it might be a whole different thing.  And health care for cats as they get old may change a little bit.

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Click Here For A Vet’s Secrets To Keeping Your Cat Healthy

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When caring your an aging cat, there are some things that a concerned pet owner should know about. When a cat approaches somewhere between the ages of eight or twelve years, this is the equivalent of a human being approaching middle age. This will be the time that your pet cat may be needing a bit of extra attention.

Most veterinarian generally estimate that cats start their geriatric years when they reach twelve years. This will be the time that caring for your pet cat would have to change to accommodate the needs that aging brings.

A major part of caring for older pet cats involve feeding them. As cats get older, their digestive systems do not function as efficiently as before. Aging cats may need to eat smaller and easily digestible meals in a day rather than just two square meals. Try also to make sure that you give your cat a variety of food to eat to ensure that it gets a well balanced diet.

There are also a number of cat food now available as food for the different life stages of your pet cat. There is cat food that is specially formulated for older cats as well as for the less active ones. The best advice in feeding your aging pet cat would be to ask your vet about the nutritional needs of your cat.

When cats age, they also start to lead a less active lifestyle. Whereas cats enjoy playing around and hunting during their younger years, older cats seem to prefer spending more time quietly around the home. This would be a benefit for some pet owners since they no longer have to worry about their once playful cat overturning and breaking things around the house. But this sedentary lifestyle would not be good for the cat.

Even though your pet cat would  you may still need to keep them active since the exercise would help keep them healthy. Try to have them active as often as possible to keep them active. As they age, cats may also need to have their vaccinations up to date. Older cats have a less efficient immune system and may need vaccinations to keep them protected from diseases.

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Click Here For A Vet’s Secrets To Keeping Your Cat Healthy

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Dental problems may also become a concern for old cats when they become prone to having loose teeth, tartar buildup, and sore gums. This can have a big effect on your pet cat’s well-being. Dental problems may be the reason why they are not eating well. A regular dental check up might be needed as part of health care for old cats.

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If you have problems with your cat sneezing there are a couple of possibilities. There could possibly be a respiratory allergy or in more serious cases a virus. In many cases it could just be an allergy to something in the environment. In the more serious cases the could have picked up a virus and should be vaccinated. If the problem is chronic it is advised to take your cat to the vet for a proper check up.

Cats just like humans are prone to sicknesses. In fact, cats succumb to two cat viral infections that will be discussed shortly. The good news is that there is a cure for many cat illnesses.

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These two common viral infections are Feline Herpes 1 virus known as rhinotracheitis virus and infection with the organisms called Chlamydia psittaci and mycoplasma.

When a cat is infected, they will experience a fever, have weepy eyes, a crusty nose and sneeze a lot. This can go away with or without treatment but this can come back.

When this happens, the condition is called Feline Keratoconjunctivitis the virus settles in the nerves around their face. Corneal scars can be seen to a little over a centimeter in diameter. This makes it hard for the cat to see and it usually happens due to stresses associated with boarding, weather change, a new pet in the house or as mentioned earlier other diseases.

Things are going to get worse as the outer coating of the cornea will be lost to the invading virus. Secondary bacterial and mycoplasmal infection of these areas may cause deep ulcers around the eye and in some cases damage the surrounding areas as well.

Fortunately, this can be treated using an amino acid called –lysine by reducing the amount of another amino acid called arginine that is present in the cat’s body. The vet will prescribe a dosage between 200 to 500 mg per day and sprinkled into their food. There are different brands available and when you look for one, make sure it is glycol free.

You can also try topical antibiotics that have also proven to be effective but they are only designed to quell secondary bacterial invaders.

Another option is for you to use topical anti-virals that are designed to directly fight the virus. Some examples of these include  Herplex  (idoxuridine), Viroptic (trifluorothymidine, and Vira-A (vidarabine).  These medications are relatively expensive and have to be given 5 times a day. Only when the cornea is indeed infection should this be given.

Something more affordable than the topical anti-virals is an oral solution called Oral Interferon. Although it has never been scientifically proven to treat cat viral infections, cat owners that have used this have claimed that it does shorten the length of the infection. The best part is that there are no known side effects so you don’t lose anything by trying it. 

Vaccines seem to be the best way to prevent these diseases from happening. Ideally, this should be given to a cat during their 9th, 12th and 14th week of age. It should be administered using a 25 gauge needle on the anterior side of a rear leg and massaged afterwards to prevent tumors from forming in the injection sites.

There are other eye infections that mimic what was just mentioned. One example is eosinophilic conjunctivitis. So before any medication can be given, the vet will first have to do a test to make sure that the proper medication is given. 

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This is known as PCR or the Polymerase Chain Reaction test. It is a DNA test that amplifies the presence of viral DNA so that even one single virus can be detected in a sample from a conjunctival swab.

Cat viral infections are common among kittens but they can be prevented and cured. You have to know first which one you are dealing with so the proper medication can be given. For more information about them, do some research online and go talk to your vet.  

 

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