PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

The thyroid is a gland in the neck that secretes two hormones; thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). These hormones are vital for metabolism. Everyone has a thyroid and it does the same thing whether in a cat, dog or human. When the pituitary gland in the brain produces thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), it triggers the production of T4 and T3. But things can go wrong with the thyroid.

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I’ve known about the condition mastitis for quite some time now, learning about it in an animal husbandry course I took in college, but I learned about it in farm animals like cows. And even though I’d taken numerous animal anatomy and physiology classes, biology and even a course in animal diseases, I never thought that this condition could manifest in our pets. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me, but it didn’t.

Mastitis is an infection, an inflammation of the mammary glands. Anything that ends in ‘itis’ means inflammation. I learned that in biology. Since the mammary glands, or teats, have an opening, they are susceptible to bacteria getting inside. Ordinarily, the glands aren’t doing anything, so the chance of bacteria crawling through that small opening is slim. However, when an animal lactates, or produces milk, then the gland is engorged and each time milk is expelled or the offspring nurses, there’s a chance that bacteria can make their way up into the gland.

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Animals aren’t all that different from us. Any pet owner already knows this. Sometimes, in fact, it’s hard to think of our pets are animals and not another member of the family. They have a lot of the same ailments that we do and can even get hurt feelings if we scold them. So then, it shouldn’t be strange to think that some pets can have sensitive skin that requires a little extra care.

I currently have three cats. Two rescued mixed breeds and a purebred Sphynx. Out of all of them, I would have expected my hairless Sphynx to have skin issues, but she doesn’t, other than needing a bath every week. My sensitive cat is my troublemaker, Skylar. He’s the one who always seems to have problems. I’ve previously written about some of them. Here’s a new one. He has very sensitive skin. I didn’t always know this. In fact, I’ve only just recently discovered this new problem.

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Okay, I’ll admit that I’m a huge cat lover. I put up with a lot from these furry four-legged purr machines, but the one thing that drives me crazy is the frequent up-chucking. Yuck. I think almost every one of my cats has puked at one time or another. And I’ve had a lot of cats. One time, I had 14, mostly kittens from a failed attempt at breeding polydactyls (extra toes), but we won’t get into that.

Anyway, apparently a cat’s digestive tract is susceptible to regurgitation - evacuating the stomach quickly after consumption. Cat’s also frequently cough up hairballs, but I’m talking about that disgusting process of scarfing down their food and then promptly vomiting it back up, usually on or under the furniture. I think they really enjoy finding the most difficult locations to puke up their dinner, but I digress. Over the years I’ve found out that some degree of regurgitation is actually a normal, albeit annoying, action in cats. It’s most likely to protect them from ingesting poison or spoiled food.

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My Teary Eyed Jelly Belly

One bright sunny Spring day, I was outside watering my garden when my cat, Jelly Belly, came over to me and brushed against my leg. I gave him a little scratch behind the ears, but when he looked up, I noticed that his eye was watering. Now, Jelly has always had a weepy eye, maybe because he’s got a lot of Persian in him and his face is slightly smooshed in, but this wasn’t normal. The eye was tearing a lot and he was having trouble keeping it open.

I tried to have a look at it, but he struggled and growled. It was really bothering him and must have been sore, so I decided to try to make him comfortable by taking him inside and getting him settled in his favorite bed. Then I sat down beside him with a damp cloth and gently wiped his tears.

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Enjoying the Outdoors

I currently have three cats. Two of them, Jelly Belly and Skylar, like to occasionally go outside and lie around in the sun. They’re both altered males and both are getting on in years. Jelly is 12 and Skylar is 11, so neither of them wander out of the yard. Because of this, I let them go out to sit in the yard or on the back deck to soak up the sun. I don’t, however, let them stay outside if I’m not at home and I always bring them in before dark. My third cat is little 8 month old Sophia, a female hairless Sphynx. She cost more than a pretty penny, so she doesn’t go out unless I have her on a harness and leash.

One sunny spring day, Skylar wanted to go outside. I went out with him and while I was watering my garden, he rolled around in the grass, nibbling at the blades and purring his head off. He was sleeping in the grass when I went back inside, but after only a short time, he was at the glass patio doors wanting to come back in. That wasn’t like him. If I’d let him, he’d stay out all day.

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I think most people, including me, have heard of ringworm, but most probably don’t really understand what it is. I certainly didn’t, and I have a degree in biology. I guess because I never had it, I didn’t think much about it.

The name indicates that it’s a worm, but it really isn’t. It is a fungus.

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The Problem with Tartar

Just recently I’ve been undergoing periodontal treatment at the dentist. You know, the ever-fun root planing and scraping to get rid of built up tartar and bacteria below the gum line. Not really a fun procedure, to be sure, but necessary. While I was lying in that dentist chair as the hygienist was scraping away, I remembered that people aren’t the only ones who suffer from tooth tartar.

Tony the Ginger Tabby

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The Chat

A few months ago, my co-worker and I were talking about our cats. Like me, she’s a cat lover and we often exchange stories about our babies. So when she told me that one of her cats, her altered male, Simon, seemed to be having trouble urinating, I wanted to help. I once had a neutered male cat with symptoms very similar to what she’d been describing. She said Simon went to the litter box, scratched around and squatted, but didn’t urinate, or only urinated a tiny bit. If he did manage to pee, he’d cry and then lick himself very carefully. My cat, Tony, (who died quite a few years ago) did basically the same thing. It turned out he had an anal gland infection and after treatment with antibiotics, it cleared up and he was fine. But, the more my co-worker told me about Simon, the more I realized that his symptoms really didn’t sound the same. Tony had a discharge while Simon didn’t. I asked my friend if she’d been feeding Simon anything different. I thought that maybe she’d switched food which might have caused an intestinal blockage or something.

The Problem

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The Story

Not so long ago, one of my cats, Skylar, a nine year old altered smoke tabby, got into a fight with another cat. I don’t usually let Skylar or my other cats outside, but when the weather’s nice, I like to let them out to get a little sun. I do have harnesses and leashes, but there are times when I don’t have the time to spend walking with them around the yard. So, Skylar was out alone and although I never heard any of the usual cat howls and screams, I knew right away he’d been fighting when he came in. He had the telltale saliva in his fur around his neck and rear quarters.I immediately checked him over because I didn’t see any blood or obvious scratches.

He didn’t seem hurt, until I probed his left hip. He growled at me and pulled away. I quickly gave him a sponge bath to clean him up and gave him another once-over. Other than his tender back end, I couldn’t find a single wound. I did, however, have a sneaking suspicion that he’d been bitten. Being a smoke tabby, Skylar looks black, but the fur close to his skin is pure white. This meant that I should have been able to see any cuts or scratches, but as hard as I looked, I couldn’t find a single mark.

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