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Reply: My favorite pet health websites

Hi Dr Hohenhaus, Just another few websites that I suspect you would also recommend: ...

Posted by srstephanie

3 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:My favorite pet health websites Hi Dr Hohenhaus, Just another few websites that I suspect you would also recommend: ...

Reply: dry food and water

Hi Home2strays, In this case, many of the researchers and specialists would disagree...

Posted by srstephanie

Hi Home2strays,

In this case, many of the researchers and specialists would disagree with you about early age neutering. There have been a number of studies that have not shown any connection between early neuter and smaller urethras. Here are a couple quotes:

1) From an article on the Winn Feline Foundation website by Dr Susan Little who is a well known and respected Board Certified Feline Specialist with a special expertise in reproductive medicine. You can read the whole article here:
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Pages/Early_Age_Spay_Neuter.pdf

In it she wrote:

However, several scientific studies have now shown these concerns are unwarranted. For example, it is has been shown that early-age altering of cats:
"022 does not cause stunted growth in cats (University of Florida study, 1996).
"022 does not contribute to increased surgical and anesthetic risks or post-surgical complication rates (University of Texas studies, 1997 and 2000).
"022 does not cause serious behaviour problems in cats (University of Cornell study, 2004, and Mercer University study, 2001).
"022 does not contribute to feline lower urinary tract disease (University of Minnesota study, 1996, and University of Texas study, 2000).
"022 does not cause obesity (University of Minnesota study, 1996).
In fact, a large-scale study from Cornell University of over 1,600 cats—adopted from a humane society in New York State and followed for up to 11 years—showed early-age altered cats had less risk of certain health problems including gingivitis, asthma and abscesses—than cats altered at traditional ages.

2) From a 2007 article in the Journal of the AVMA by Margaret V. Root Kustritz who is Board Certified in reproductive medicine, which you can read at:
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.231.11.1665

"Despite numerous vehemently declared anecdotes of an increase in the incidence of urethral obstruction in male cats castrated when young, numerous studies (35,132,135) have failed to detect a correlation between gonadectomy of cats at any age and a decrease in diameter of the urethra or an increase in incidence of FLUTD, with or without urethral obstruction."

3) The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) have a Position Paper on early spay/neuter and are in support of the practice. You can read it at:
http://www.catvets.com/uploads/PDF/EarlySpayCastration2010NEW.pdf

The AAFP Statement begins:

"The American Association of Feline Practitioners supports neutering early in life as a safe and effective method of decreasing cat overpopulation, and one which confers long-term medical and behavioral benefits to the individual cat."

If you know of a study that shows that early neutered males have smaller urethras, I'd be interested in a reference.

As I'm sure you know, there are two primary types of crystals that cats get (struvite & calcium oxalate) one caused by too high pH and the other by too low. I think many of the "crystal" diets now aim to get the pH in the optimal range that will help prevent either type of crystal ... rather than just trying to raise or lower the pH to prevent one type of crystal.

Hope that helps.

Stephanie in MontrealView Thread

Posted bysrstephanie

5 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:dry food and water Hi Home2strays, In this case, many of the researchers and specialists would disagree...

Includes Expert Content

Reply: How to Get Your Cat in a Carrier

Hi Dr Cruz, Another option for a carrier is to get one with an entry door in the top...

Posted by srstephanie

8 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:How to Get Your Cat in a Carrier Hi Dr Cruz, Another option for a carrier is to get one with an entry door in the top...

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Reply: Pet-to-Human Weight Translator: How much would you...

Hi Dr Ward, I agree that pet obesity is a problem and something we pet owners need...

Posted by srstephanie

5 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:Pet-to-Human Weight Translator: How much would your pet weigh if it were you? Hi Dr Ward, I agree that pet obesity is a problem and something we pet owners need...

Reply: What I found not to feed your cat.

Hi Anon, I'm glad your cat is doing well now with just a diet change. Many cats...

Posted by srstephanie

Hi Anon,

I'm glad your cat is doing well now with just a diet change. Many cats have food sensitivities and feeding a good diet is always helpful.

I'm not a vet and have no credentials ... but my own kitten had a bout of cystitis and I like to listen to talks given at veterinary conferences by some of the leading experts. So, I'll try to share a little of what I "think" I have learned.

As I'm sure you know, cystitis is an "inflammation" of the bladder. In young cats under 10, it is rarely (only about 1%) caused by an "infection". So, antibiotics are generally not helpful, though many vets prescribe them, "just in case". In older cats that are prone to more dilute urine, infections are much more common.

The vets who didn't know the cause would be correct in many cases of cystitis ... hence it is often called "Feline Idiopathic Cystitis" (FIC) which means cystitis of unknown origin.

Studies have shown that many cats with FIC will get better in 5-7 days ... with or without any medication. I know we owners often want a pill or something to "fix it" but that often isn't the case with cystitis.

However, recent research has identified a link between cystitis and how a cat responds to stress. They are not sure if cystitis is primarily a bladder problem that causes neurological signs or if it is a neurological problem that manifests in bladder problems. Cats that are susceptible to cystitis respond physically in a different way to stress than cats not prone to cystitis. Episodes of cystitis often occur during or after episodes of stress ... even their picking up our stress. Dr Larry Adams of Purdue, in a talk on cystitis commented that when he began vet school, his own cat had regular episodes of cystitis about four times a year. By his senior year, his own stress level dropped and his cat's episodes of cystitis dropped to twice a year and later once a year.

So, modifying the environment and doing what we can to reduce a cat's stress can be very helpful with cystitis. The Indoor Cat Initiative at Ohio State Univ, headed by Dr Tony Buffington, has much info on reducing stress in the cat's environment. They have developed what they call "MEMO" (multimodal environmental modification) with ways of reducing stress and have shown that it helps reduce the episodes of cystitis in many cats. The Indoor Cat Initiative can be found at:
http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/indoorcat

While a high quality diet (no grains, high and good quality animal protein, low carbohydrates, pH balanced, etc) is always beneficial, nearly every study has found that the most important factor is adding more water into the diet. One way of doing that is using a canned food diet and even adding water to it.

It makes sense. When a cat doesn't get enough water, the urine becomes very concentrated and is more likely to irritate the bladder. Since the urine sits in the bladder longer waiting for it to fill, it has more chance to cause irritation and for crystals or stones to form. I don't know if they have found the exact mechanism, but increasing water intake always helps.

While some vets try prescribing antibiotics or steroids or NSAIDs or Glucosamine/chondroitin, etc ... Dr Larry Adams said placebo controlled double-blinded studies with each of them have shown no difference in resolving an episode ... i.e. most cats get over it in 5-7 days with or without treatment.

However, he does recommend giving pain medication since it is thought to be painful (and certainly is for human women) and suggests a narcotic like Buprenorphine (aka Buprenex).

I have a number of friends with cats that have had cystitis episodes. It seems that it is more common now. I don't know if that is partially from feeding more dry food, or increased stress or just genetic susceptibility. It is certainly a frustrating disease for all.

Good luck with your cat.View Thread

Posted bysrstephanie

1 Reply | ReplyReport This| Share this:What I found not to feed your cat. Hi Anon, I'm glad your cat is doing well now with just a diet change. Many cats...

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