Category Archives: Medical & Health Care

Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

The Costs of Cat Ownership – Can You Afford a Cat?

Adopting a new cat or kitten is exciting, but it’s important to understand the initial and long-term costs of cat ownership before you actually bring your kitty home. There are the initial expenses of purchasing supplies to prepare for your new cat, and there are recurring expenses that you’ll incur throughout the year and over the cat’s lifetime. In addition, there are often unanticipated veterinary costs that can happen at any time during the year that need to be factored in to your annual expenses.

INITIAL COSTS

Initial Expenses
Type of Expense Food – Wet & Dry (for 2+ weeks), Cheaper vs. Premium/High Quality Brands/Food $40 – $65
Spay / Neuter (Male vs. Female) $45 – $100+
Any Needed Vaccines, Deworming, Basic Routine Exam with a Veterinarian (Establish Baseline/Check Overall Health) $100
Microchipping $40 – $50
Food & Water Bowls $15 – $25
Litterbox $25 – $50
Litter $20 – $40
Cat Carrier $25 – $65
Scratching Post and/or Board (Tall is best) $25 – $70
Toys, Misc. Cat Supplies (replacing or adding cat beds, scratching posts, etc.) $25 – $40
Initial Total $360 – $600
 Cat Carrier

Cat carriers are needed for trips to the vet, emergencies, disasters, and for travel. It’s important to purchase a sturdy carrier, one that doesn’t collapse or fold, but provides structure and durability so your cat won’t be injured inside the carrier. The cat should have ample room to move and turn around and stand up in case they’re in the carrier for a prolonged period of time. It’s a one-time purchase so buy a quality carrier that will last. Never buy a cardboard carrier, cats can get injured or lost when using them. Good cat carriers will cost between $40 – $65.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Watch Out for Signs of Heat Stoke in Your Cat

WATCH OUT FOR SIGNS OF HEAT STOKE IN YOUR CAT

Heat stroke or heat exhaustion is a very serious, life-threatening condition for cats. It can cause permanent damage to multiple internal organs, and can cause kidneys and the heart to stop functioning or fail. It can be fatal if not treated with urgency by taking your cat to a veterinarian or emergency veterinary hospital. 

Heat stroke can happen anytime throughout the year, but it happens more often during the warm summer months. Cats are no different than people when it comes to tolerating heat. But it is even harder for cats to respond to heat and cool their bodies since they pant and sweat only through the pads of their paws to reduce excess heat. It’s much harder for cats to regulate their body temperature as a result. If they cannot cool themselves fast enough, they will quickly become overheated and suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which can be fatal. Don’t wait until the eleventh hour to seek treatment when it can be late. Watch out for signs of heat stroke and know what to do.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

How to Afford the Cost of Veterinary Care

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When you adopt a cat, you aren’t thinking about the day when your cat may become ill, or get injured, or need emergency care. But cats do get sick and sometimes do require expensive diagnostic tests and emergency care. You may be faced with veterinary expenses far beyond what you can afford, or need unexpected medical care that you didn’t anticipate and don’t know how you’re going to pay for it. Of course, you want to make the best decision for your cat, regardless of the cost, but how to pay for it? Here’s how to afford the cost of veterinary care.

I have been in this situation countless times with our many rescue cats. So often, I have needed to pony up and pay for complicated dental care, full-mouth extractions, multi-day emergency hospitalizations, or treating kidney failure to the tune of thousands of dollars—and I had no idea how we were going to pay for it.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

How to Determine Your Cat’s Age in Cat Years

Ever been curious how old your cat is in cat years versus human years? Well, there’s no absolute or reliable scientific calculation for determining exactly how old your cat is in cat years, but there are good calculations that come close to estimating your cat’s approximate age. So here’s how to determine your cat’s age in cat years.

What Factors Determine How a Cat Ages?

There are many factors that go into a cat’s aging and lifespan including how well they have been cared for, whether they are indoor or outdoor cats, their daily diet and quality of food, whether they have received good veterinary care and annual wellness exams, whether chronic diseases and short-term illnesses have been treated in a timely manner, if they have received good dental care, the environmental stresses they have been subjected to, and their genetic predisposition to disease. Continue reading How to Determine Your Cat’s Age in Cat Years →

Cat Care Tips, Elderly Cat Care, Medical & Health Care

How to Provide the Best Care for Your Senior Cat

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Getting older is a normal, natural part of life for all of us. Today domestic cats are living longer than they ever did in the past—thanks to improved nutrition and better food, improved medical care, and more people keeping their cats indoors. But advancing age does not necessarily mean automatic degeneration. And aging does not necessarily mean inevitable disease. Many cats do grow old remaining relatively healthy into their geriatric years, while other cats in their senior years develop chronic or degenerative diseases. And know that even cats that do develop chronic diseases can live well into their late geriatric years—or 20+ years old—given excellent care and attention.

Never assume that changes in your older cat are simply due to “old age,” then write it off as normal aging for them. Most likely there is an underlying medical condition that is causing the changes you are observing in your cat’s behavior or physical appearance. That should always be the first consideration. The main thing is to give your cat the healthiest and best quality of life possible—by watching them closely, noticing any changes that take place, then getting them to a veterinarian to get the medical help they need.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Signs of Dehydration in Cats

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Your cat’s body is made up of 70-80% water or three-quarters of your cat’s body weight is water, so it’s critical that your cat gets enough fluids daily to maintain good health and prevent dehydration. Water is essential for cat’s urinary and kidney health, circulation, digestion, and waste removal. With hot summer days now upon us, it’s even more important that your cat has access to and drinks enough water, as dehydration can lead to a number of serious medical problems and even death. Here are the signs of dehydration in cats and why it’s so important to treat dehydration immediately.

Why Hydration is So Important

Dehydration happens when your cat loses body fluids faster than he can replace them, and it can happen when your cat is either not drinking enough water or is losing too many fluids. Fluids lost through daily urination, elimination and respiration all need to be replaced to normal levels everyday. But if your cat hasn’t been drinking enough water; has been vomiting or has diarrhea; or has been ill or had a fever; or your cat is old, then rehydration is even more critical as all of these can leave your cat severely dehydrated.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Tips for Buying a Pet Health Insurance Plan

Planning ahead for your cat’s health care is no different than planning for our own health care. We never know if or when we’ll get sick and need insurance, but having it gives us peace of mind. Knowing your cat will need medical help at some point is inevitable, so it’s good to plan ahead and be able to provide the care your cat will need. Here are some tips for buying a pet health insurance plan that will meet your needs.

Pet health insurance is just one of the many options available to help pay for emergency or unexpected veterinary bills. If you’re worried about being able to pay for your cat’s chronic illness or life-saving care, an accident, or an emergency—it may be good to know there’s a safety net under you. As with any insurance, you may never need it, but if you worry about affording those one-time emergencies or unexpected expenses that you feel could cripple your finances—having pet insurance may be a good option.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

What Are the Warning Signs Your Cat is Sick?

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Don’t miss the warning signs your cat is sick and may be in pain. Research shows that cats feel pain just like we do. But they tend to hide their pain—so just because they don’t show you obvious signs of pain, doesn’t mean they aren’t suffering or in distress. It’s up to you to know the signs that something is wrong and advocate for them by getting them the help they need.

When cats aren’t feeling well they give us clues. The clues may be physical or behavioral, or both. Some signs require immediate veterinary attention like respiratory problems or changes in breathing; straining to urinate, defecate or crying in the litter box; dilated pupils, or having any dramatic changes in behavior from normal. Some signs may increase over time with illness and won’t go away until your cat is diagnosed and treated by your veterinarian.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Preventing and Treating Fleas in Cats – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Summer is a favorite season for picnics in the park, enjoying the seashore, and dining al fresco—but with warm summer temperatures also come the fleas! Fleas can wreak havoc on cats causing discomfort, severe skin conditions, allergic reactions, parasites (tape worms), anemia and even death in the worst cases, if left untreated. So it’s important to protect your cat from fleas, but it’s also important to know the dangers of some flea control products on the market today. In this article, you’ll become knowledgeable about the different flea treatment options, some of the health consequences associated with them, and you’ll learn ways to provide your cat with the safest possible flea treatments and precautions available. Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly on preventing and treating fleas in cats.

Does Your Cat Have Fleas?

To check whether your cat has fleas, you can run a flea comb through your cat’s fur pressing along the skin to check for adult fleas or flea feces and eggs. These will look like little specks of salt and pepper or tiny black and white grains in the fur. The white grains are flea eggs, and the black grains are flea feces. If you have found and removed some grains on your flea comb, rub the grains onto a piece of white paper and if the grains turn a reddish-brown color, you know you have a flea problem.

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Cat Care Tips, Medical & Health Care

Preventing Lower Urinary Tract Problems in Cats

Lower urinary tract problems in cats can be life threatening, are extremely painful, and need immediate attention and treatment by a veterinarian. Preventing lower urinary tract problems in cats is critical for your cat’s health.

Urinary crystals can quickly turn into kidney stones, and kidney stones are deadly in a short period of time, so never wait or postpone seeing your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment. Your vet will determine if there are underlying medical conditions causing the symptoms through conducting a urinalysis, culture and cystoscopy and a complete medical review. If your cat is visiting the litter box repeatedly in a short period of time, straining in the box and sitting in the box trying to urinate, or urinating outside the litter box, it’s time to visit your vet.

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