Sunday, January 18, 2009

Cat and their health issues

Proper cat health relies heavily on preventative measures; this includes routine veterinary care as well as grooming on a regular basis. To make sure you cat stays both happy and healthy it is a good idea to watch for any changes in their condition. The best time to judge the health of your cat is the time when you are grooming it.

Cat Health According To Life Stages

The best way to keep on top of your cats health is by knowing the life stages and what proper cat health is for each stage. This way you can easily recognize when something is going wrong with your cats health and seek medical attention as soon as possible.

The debut life stage starts from day one on the planet till sixteen weeks. At this stage the feline animal begins to grasp survival tactics form the surrounding environment. During this phase of life cat are playful but shy away from human beings. Cat health is also extremely important in this stage so that they can grow up to be healthy throughout the rest of their life.

The next stage is from sixteen weeks to one year. During this period, cats are often still very playful. To maintain cat health you should make sure you cat is spayed or neutered at about six months old unless you are planning on using them as a breeding cat.

Next comes the one to eight year period, which are the prime years for cat health. During this stage of your cat’s life, it is very important to have yearly visits to the veterinarian. Here onwards comes the stage which continues for next ten to twelve years. This is when pre-geriatric cat health comes into play. Your cat will often slow down but their behavior will remain the same.

Geriatric cat health will start when they turn twelve. At this age, you will start to notice health problems in your cat and they will often become worse as they age. Cats will often move very slowly since their joints will start to become stiff. Elderly cats may also be very irritated.

Common Cat Health Issues

There are varieties of health conditions that can affect your cat. A big part of keeping your cat healthy is proper prevention. Contact your veterinarian right away, if you notice any health problems. The following are some of the more common conditions your cat may get.

Flea allergy is a common problem for cats. A cat’s sensitivity to fleabites will increase as they age. Similar symptoms can be observed in an event of a food allergy or a flea bite allergy, the symptoms are vomiting or diarrhea , skin rashes and severe itching.

Hairballs are a persistent cause of vomiting in cats. You can reduce this issue by maintaining a regular schedule of coat brushing. Even with short hair cats, they can get hairballs if you don’t keep them down with routine brushing. You should take your cat into a veterinarian if they have persistent vomiting since this can also be a sign of thyroid or kidney problems.

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