Common Cat Ailments

Even though felines tend to be very healthy for the duration of their lives, they do have some common cat ailments. For the most part, a healthy diet and careful grooming will alleviate and even prevent many common cat ailments. If your cat changes its behavior or schedule of activities, a checkup with a veterinarian is highly recommended. While the turnout may be one or more common cat ailments, it never hurts to be on the safe side.

Sometimes it seems like cats and hair balls go hand in hand. Even a short haired cat will occasionally develop a few. If you have a medium to long haired cat, brushing and combing is essential to preventing this and other common cat ailments. Aside from helping your cat look like a show piece, brushing will help remove dead hair that your cat would swallow in the course of washing.

In order to prevent hair balls, you may also want to add a teaspoon of fish oil to cat food once a week. This will help any hair that the cat ingests pass through the digestive system. You may also want to try feeding your cat a teaspoon of bran or canned pumpkin each day. If your cat is feral, it may chew on grass or other plants to help manage this and other common cat ailments.

Fleas can wreak absolute havoc in your cats life. Not only are they itchy, they can spread diseases. Some cats develop physical allergies to fleas, while others will experience emotional and mental distress. Similar to hair balls, routine grooming will help keep fleas to a minimum. Flea collars are also readily available to treat this and some other related common cat ailments. There are also environmentally friendly fur rubs that will deter fleas and give your cat a pleasant odor at the same time. If your cat is highly intolerant of fleas, you may also want to ask your veterinarian about flea inoculations.

If you notice your cat scratching inside his/her ears, some other common cat ailments may be present. Similar to fleas, ear mites and wax buildup can be very annoying and disturbing to your cat. They also rank well near the top when it comes to easily treated common cat ailments. Chances are your cat's veterinarian will notice ear mites and wax during annual checkups. The medication for both conditions is fairly easy to administer, and will provide a great deal of relief to your cat. It is important to treat ear mites early, as they can do a great deal of damage to your cat's hearing and long term health.

Finally, few people realize emotional and mental distress are common cat ailments. As an example, if you move out of one home and into another, a grown cat may find it difficult to adapt. There are many stories of transplant cats taking to their paws and returning to their old home, even if it is thousands of miles away. When you own a cat, it is important to realize that they have very stringent rules about their physical territory. They will guard their property" much as a human owner might. While we cannot see the cat version of fences created by stool and urine markings, cats most certainly recognize the territories of others of their species.

As with humans, cats can suffer from a wide array of ailments that start off with very subtle symptoms. Aside from yearly check ups, it is very important to take your cat to the veterinarian if you notice changes in what time the cat eats, or engages in other occupations. That said, for the most part, if you adopt a kitten or full grown cat, you can look forward to at least one decade of living with a happy, healthy companion. That said, common cat ailments should not be overlooked or ignored.