Cats Protection strongly criticize Claudia Schiffer for carrying a Scottish Fold to a premiere

 You may have seen the photos of the German model Claudia Schiffer on the red carpet at the premiere of the film Argylle in which she and Chip the Scottish Fold appear.

Claudia Schiffer and Chip the Scottish Fold in a glamorous carrier but the model, cat and carrier have all be criticized by Cats Protection.

She attended the event carrying Chip in one of those fancy cat carriers with a big clear perspex window and vent holes. It was all very glamorous but behind the veneer of glamour there is sadness really if you want to stand back and not be taken in - which is what Cats Protection have done.

They see two problems with the photos:

1. Because of the presence of a mutated gene that causes the Scottish Fold ears to fall into their signature position against the head, osteochondrodysplasia is seen in all cats of this breed to varying degrees. Read about this by clicking on this link: Osteochondrodysplasia is seen in ALL Scottish Fold cats. Claudia (as has Taylor Swift) promotes and glamourises a very unhealthy breed which some would argue should not exist. You would not be able to start the breed nowadays because there is a heightened awareness of cat health.
2. Chip would have been anxious with nowhere to hide. This is bad cat caretaking for which Schiffer is responsible at that time!

"It's extremely concerning to see a cat exposed to such a stressful environment while contained in an inappropriate carrier."

Claudia's daughter is Chips' caregiver/owner by the way.

Cats Protection's head of clinical services, Alison Richards said:

"Though some cats may appear to tolerate backpacks, the movement on a person's back is unpredictable and most lack adequate ventilation and space for the cat - leaving them cramped or uncomfortable," said the charity's head of clinical services Alison Richards."

And:

"The large window in the bubble backpack featured also means cats don't have the option to hide when they feel anxious, leaving them feeling exposed and vulnerable."

RELATED: Claudia Schiffer took her cat, Chip, to the premiere of Argylle, a film in which he appears. 

The premiere was in London at the Odeon, Leicester Square.

Update: the headlines a couple of days later are that two more major animal shelters and charities have also criticised the film makers and those involved with this film in employing a Scottish Fold. The correctly say that they are glamorising the breed and making it more desirable when the raw facts should be spelled out: this is a breed should not exist because of the mutated gene that causes the cartilage to be weak.

High rise falls by pet cats and health consequences

A study looked at the injuries sustained by domestic cats under what is called 'high-rise syndrome' i.e. falling from an apartment block usually. I don't have the distances fallen but there is an optimum height at which the cat suffers the least injuries because the cat has the time to fan out their limbs flying squirrel style and slow their descent plus stabilise their body and land on their feet.

RELATED: Highest A Cat Has Fallen And Survived.

Cat falling as the building was on fire. Image: Screenshot.

Here are the summarised findings:

• 132 cats were studied over 5 months
• The average age of the cats was 2.7 years. Comment: young cats which points to reckless behaviour by the cats and perhaps less than optimum concern or concentration by the cat owner.
• 90% of the cats suffered some type of thoracic trauma (the thorax area of the cat's body: the chest).
• 68% suffered pulmonary contusions (an injury to the lung parenchyma - portion of the lungs involved in gas exchange - in the absence of laceration to lung tissue or any vascular structures).
• 63% had pneumothorax (the presence of air or gas in the cavity between the lungs and the chest wall, causing collapse of the lung.)
• 55% had abnormal breathing.
• 57% suffered injury to the face (facial trauma).
• 39% suffered limb fractures.
• 24% were in shock.
• 18% had 'traumatic luxations'. I believe this to mean dislocations of joints.
• 17% suffered hard palate fractures inside the mouth.
• 17% were hypothermic.
• 17% had dental fractures (damaged teeth).
• 37% required emergency vet treatment.
• 30% need non-urgent treatment.
• 30% were observed and did not need treatment.
• 90% of the cats survived
• 10% died.

The study: Whitney WO, Mehlhaff CJ. High-rise syndrome in cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 1987 Dec;191(11):1399-1403. PMID: 3692980.

Cat ate 38 hair ties and survived

NEWS AND COMMENT: As reported in The State, a cat was abandoned with other cats by their owner when they moved away. And this particular cat was very ill. She was brought to an animal shelter run by the Charleston Animal Society. It is located about 9 miles north-west of Charleston and is a No-kill shelter with a hospital which cares for around 20,000 animals annually.

UPDATE: THE CAT DIED. SIGH

Sick cat after operation to remove 38 hair ties from her stomach. Image: Charleston Animal Society from video (screenshot).

This cat was therefore fortunate to end up at this shelter where she stopped eating. They x-rayed her and found a massive blockage in her stomach. Her stomach was completely full of ties. A domestic cat's stomach is quite small at about the size of a ping pong ball I am told. How do you get 38 hair ties inside a stomach that size!? It must stretch a lot.

The blockage constituted 38 hair ties which she had obviously eaten as if they were edible foods when in the ownership of the people who abandoned her.

The veterinarian who did the operation was very surprised to see that number of hair ties in her stomach. The associate director of veterinary care at the Charleston Animal Society, Leigh Jamison, said: 

"I've never seen anything like that."

The animal hospital was so taken aback by the finding that they took time to photograph the ties and here they are below.

The 38 hair ties removed from the cat's stomach. Photo: Charleston Animal Society Charleston Animal Society

Fortunately, her intestine is were not damaged but the obstruction to her digestive tract caused fat to build up in her liver which resulted in a major health issue. She is currently being fed through a feeding tube.

They are keeping up her electrolytes to ensure that they are in balance and she is improving but she is not out of the woods yet, they report.

Comment: one doesn't want to criticise but for a cat owner to allow their cat to eat 38 hair ties and then abandon them is beyond careless. It is callous and cruel. The woman (presumed woman but it might have been a man) must have noticed her hair ties going missing. She must have seen her cat playing with the ties and eating them but did nothing about it.

And of course, it does bring to mind the dangers of hair ties and objects like them. Cats like to play with small, elastic objects. They are an ideal size as a cat toy. And as cat play is play-hunting, the end result is going to be eating the object if possible. And it is possible for a domestic cat eat a hair tie but of course they remain undigested in the stomach.

The obvious moral to the story is that a cat owner who uses her ties should make sure that they are not left lying around the floor or in any other place which is accessible to their cat. Obvious stuff. Nothing extraordinary in that statement (and it has been said a million times before) but if - as this person was - the owner is careless and doesn't care about the health and welfare of a cat you can end up killing your cat.

It seems purely fortuitous that this cat ended up at a cat shelter where there was an animal hospital attached. The story might well have ended completely differently and tragically but for that simple fact.

Here is a video which might or might not run! It may stop working. But if not great.

For cat health choose a veterinarian sensibly

How many cat owners choose their veterinarian sensibly or even carefully? 😕

Personally, I go to the nearest veterinarian I can find and book an appointment; not good. The reason is because the independent veterinarians where I live have been bought up by conglomerates and therefore all their branches are exactly the same: rather poor or at best average.

However, if I was living in America I would do my best to seek out a veterinarian who did not declaw cats. That would be my criteria for selecting a veterinarian for my cat companion. The trouble with that criteria is that it may be impossible to find a veterinarian who does not declaw cats within a hundred mile radius. If that were true I would have to see a veterinarian who declawed cats which, personally, I would find deeply upsetting. It would indicate a culture and mentality towards cats which is morally bankrupt in my personal view.

Choose a veterinarian for your cat sensibly. Image: Pixabay.

But if you don't live in America you can still choose a cat sensibly. Obviously proximity is a major factor and perhaps the single factor for most cat owners but it shouldn't be.

It is nice if you have a similar attitude to your veterinarian on ethical issues. I'm back to declawing because it is highly unethical to de-claw. However, there are other ethical issues such as the frequency of inoculations and deworming. I'm referring to perhaps the old days when veterinarians encouraged clients to come into their clinic by recommending booster shots and then selling them other procedures and products.

RELATED - USA: Vet tech spills the beans on those evil declawing veterinarians

If a veterinarian has a tendency to do that they should be avoided if possible. The attitude towards cat vaccinations have changed over the years. They are given less often partly, or perhaps majorly, because vaccinations are not entirely safe. They can cause cancer at the site of the injection example.

RELATED: What vaccinations does my cat need in the UK?

You might think that you should select the veterinarian who's the cheapest. This is not necessarily the best criteria because a veterinarian may charge more because they have better equipment to diagnose illness. 

When a veterinarian invests in her business with better diagnostic equipment her overheads are higher forcing her to increase charges to cover the cost. But you'll get a better service. In fact, the service may prove cheaper in the long run because of better diagnostics and therefore reduced or more precise treatments.

Dr. Bruce Fogle recommends that when choosing a veterinarian you should ask to have a look around the clinic to meet the staff. 😦 Tricky you think? Yes, it might be but it would set the scene for a better relationship: a partnership with the mutual goal of improved cat health.

RELATED (USA): A lot of vet techs are forced to work at declawing veterinary clinics against their wishes

You should ask questions of the staff and asked them how long they've been at the clinic! That might be difficult to do in the presence of a veterinarian but it would be very effective. If staff stay at a veterinarian's clinic for decades you can be assured that the ethical standards, management and medical standards are high.

Scandal as shops accused of failing to publicise recall of food linked to cat deaths

COMMENT: The Guardian newspaper reports that cat owners are showing evidence of chains including Sainsbury's still stocking food suspected of causing pet deaths. If you are a cat owner, I hope that you have heard of this crisis. If not please click on this link and read it carefully. It's important because there's quite a lot of cat food in the system which should have been removed from shelves it appears. It's a long list of different cat foods, all dry cat food, as I recall. Pets at Home and Sainsbury's are two chain store businesses which sell the food.

To illustrate the page only. Photo: in the public domain (believed).

But, as mentioned in the title, retailers have been accused of not doing enough to warn customers of the hazards of these pet foods which were manufactured from a single source. Although the investigation of a possible link between these foods and a disease called feline pancytopenia is ongoing, it is believed that cereal in these foods was contaminated with mycotoxins, in this instance a fungus.

Feline pancytopenia is a killer. About 60% of the cats to contract the disease after they have eaten this pet food die.  A recorded 330+ have died but it is almost certainly far more. Treatments include blood transfusions using dog blood because of a shortage of cat blood. Dog blood transfusions only provide the cat with a 24-hour respite. And they are enormously expensive at about £2,500 per session.

There is even talk of importing cat blood from Portugal at a cost of £10,000. You would have to be insured and even that probably wouldn't cover it.

If these reports from cat owners are true, it is shocking that Sainsbury's continued to stock the recalled food despite a demand to recall it and investigators raising concerns that it might be the source of this outbreak of pancytopenia some time ago.

Sainsbury's, I believe, have stated that all the bags of food "have now been taken off the shelves". Cat owners have shared photographs of Sainsbury's cat food aisles which showed that signage had not been prominently displayed or not displayed at all.

Other Sainsbury's users and Nectar cardholders said that they had not received an email (I have not and I buy from them online). One Sainsbury's customer corresponded with the business notifying them about the food on 22nd April. Sainsbury's responded by saying that they did not believe that the cat food was responsible. That is as reported by The Guardian newspaper. I can't confirm that it is true. This may have been be a rogue employee saying the wrong thing.

A spokesperson for the supermarket said "We are in touch directly with customers where we have their contact details". They have my email address and I've not received an email.

They also said "We have also displayed the recall alert on our website and installed them at our customer service desks and where the product is usually stocked on shelf."

There is a 12,000-member Facebook group on this pet food recall whose members have suffered the anguish of either losing a cat to this disease or have struggled to treat their cats. They say that Pets at Home has responded better than Sainsbury's by alerting people promptly and offering refunds.

A spokesperson for Pets at Home said "We did everything we could to make consumers aware of the issue, via our website and social channels and by writing directly to anyone who had bought one of these products in the previous 12 months."

Cats caught in the food poisoning scandal given dog blood transfusions

You might have read about the cat food poisoning scandal which it is believed has caused the death of many hundreds if not thousands of domestic cats in the UK. It's been on news media websites quite a lot recently. Pets at Home own cat food brand (AVA) is affected and other pet foods which you can check out by clicking on the links below. It is vital that people are fully aware of this in the UK. 

Photograph: Images by Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images. This image is for illustrative purposes only.

The Guardian newspaper reports that some pet food outlets are not warning their customers of the crisis. Perhaps they want to keep it quiet but all they are doing is jeopardising the lives of cats. If it is true this is highly irresponsible behaviour. It is said that several branches of Sainsbury's are still stocking these foods! I find that shocking. 

However, the foods have been formally recalled but cats are still going ill. The foods were manufactured by one facility, Fold Hill Foods. The matter is being investigated as a matter of urgency. It is believed that mycotoxins caused by a fungus on cereal which is incorporated into the foods is the culprit. 

Please click on this link to read the back story. This is an early report and it lists the foods affected.

AND here:

Three links to the PDF files which contain the recall info listing the foods:

• Pets at Home Recall Fact Sheet June 16, 2021
• Product Recall Sainsbury's Hypoallergenic food
• FOLD HILL FOODS LTD IS RECALLING A NUMBER OF PRODUCTS IT MANUFACTURES ON BEHALF OF SELECTED PARTNER BRANDS.

The Daily Mail reports today that cats are being given dog blood transfusions to keep them alive for 24-hours! The disease that this food causes is called feline pancytopenia; a disease that affects the production of blood cells in bone marrow. This is the white cells, red cells and T-cells. This is why the cats are being given blood transfusions. It's a way of instantly introducing these cells back into their bloodstream.

The trouble is that cat blood is apparently rare in the UK and so they are resorting to dog blood. In one instance a cat owner had to decide whether they should spend £10,000 on cat blood from Portugal. Obviously if they have insurance this is the kind of situation where it comes into its own but even then, there will be limits to how much that can be spent.

Owners have racked up bills of £14,000 for dog blood transfusions that can cost £2,500 a time but which only buys time. Apparently, it isn't a cure because it is dog blood. The Cat Welfare Group is trying to create a central donor database to help manage this crisis. It is a silent crisis because hundreds of cats are dying and probably many more than records show because often people don't take their cats to their veterinarian.

Investigators have yet to find a direct link between the premium food brands concerned such as Applaws and Sainsbury's Hypoallergenic Recipe. Feline pancytopenia is a rare disease normally which is why it was so noticeable when many cases started to surface.

At the last report at least 330 cats were known to have died from the illness with over 500 contracting it which provides us with an idea of the percentage of cats who died once they get the disease. But the Royal Veterinary College state that this figure is not comprehensive.

Blood transfusions are a life-saving procedure. It can be whole blood or blood components. Where does the cat blood come from? It appears that it might come from a cat that lives at the veterinary practice or from cats owned by the veterinary staff. I find that a bit surprising to be honest because it indicates that there is no system in place as there is with respect to humans. 

They may be cat guardians who sign up to allowing their cat to donate blood. It is an interesting issue because the owner is consenting to a procedure on their cat without the cat's consent. And the procedure is carried out for altruistic purposes.

There are obviously strict requirements for a donor cat. Before this crisis, my research indicates that there were at least two cases of cats had receiving blood from a dog as a last resort. They are known as xenotransfusions. Both the donor and the recipient can develop health complications. These are immune-mediated or non-immune-mediated.

Domestic cat contracts TB from badger

A domestic cat in Ireland contracted TB from a badger which had been vaccinated with the BCG vaccine. I don't have any more information as it is reported on one website: fginsight.com but that site requires registration to access their content. The report is troubling as I think it is the first report that I have seen of a domestic cat contracting TB from a badger. 

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay 

The information would seem to be at least potentially of a real concern to domestic cats anywhere particularly in countries where it is normal for domestic cats to be indoor/outdoor cats as in the UK. I am particularly aware of this hazard as I put out food for foxes and I also know that a couple of foxes and a couple of badges eat the food. 

Thirdly, my cat walks around the same places as these wild animals. Is there a chance that my cat could contract TB? I think that it is highly unlikely but the story tells us that there is a possibility.

Although the document is undated (presumed middle of 2020), and article online from the University of Edinburgh tells us that they were investigating a cluster of TB infections in cats which may have been linked to a certain type of raw pet food. I wrote about this at the time - click here to read the article. 

They also say that most cases of TB in cats are caused by infected bites. The prevalence is low in the UK, in that they write: "More than a hundred cases of TB in cats are reported in the UK each year. The majority are caused by infected bites from wild animals."

This seems like a very low number and they don't report that TB can be transmitted from cattle to domestic cats.

Cat Thin Fur Above Eyes

I will keep this very short because I only want to say one thing about the cat who has thin fur above the eyes. Quite a few people search for this, looking for answers. It is not possible to provide a complete answer unless you are a veterinarian and the cat is in your presence. However, in my estimation, people who search for information about why their cat has thin hair above the eyes are referring to something that is normal and unrelated to health. The coat immediately above the eyes is, in my experience, more sparse in terms of hair strand density, than any other part of the body except the tips of the ears.

So if you are searching for information about what you perceive as a lack of sufficient hair above the eyes you're probably looking at something that is completely normal. That said you need to observe other behaviours and symptoms to confirm it. If, for example your cat is scratching or over-grooming above the eyes or around the face then you have to conclude that there is some sort of parasite infestation causing irritation and therefore scratching and hair loss around the eyes.

But without more; without any further signs or symptoms or indications and provided the cat is behaving normally and eating well while defecating and urinating normally, then I think you can conclude that a thin coat of hair above the eyes is perfectly normal.

Colloidal Silver To Treat Cat Illness. Good or Bad?

There are two schools of thought about the efficacy of colloidal silver in the treatment of a variety of feline diseases but essentially focusing on viral and bacterial infections.

What is interesting is this. Every webpage that recommends the use of colloidal silver as a health treatment for cats (including FIV) contains information from people which is anecdotal.  It is from people who have used colloidal silver either on themselves or a pet and sometimes a cat, or the information comes from a supplier of the product.  Amongst suppliers, the product's wondrous properties tend to be overhyped as an alternative to "expensive" veterinary care.

On the other side of the coin there is one organisation which is against the use of colloidal silver. The organisation is the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It took me a little while to find this information and the relevant webpage whereas by contrast there are many pages of information from users or sellers which, in general, recommended the product.

The FDA state on their webpage from 11th February 1997 (which is now an archived page and may of course be out of date) that they have received reports that products containing colloidal silver were being promoted for use in the treatment of various conditions affecting companion animals.  The product was also found on dairy farms.

The FDA state unequivocally that:

FDA is not aware of any substantial scientific evidence that supports the safe and effective use of colloidal silver ingredients or salts for any animal disease condition.

As for the use of colloidal silver in food producing animals the FDA states that this constitutes a potentially serious public health concern.  With respect to companion animals they say that the use of colloidal silver to treat serious illness could potentially endanger the health of the animal in delaying prompt veterinary treatment.

In short, this product is not approved by the FDA for use in any animal species.  At the time they were continuing to investigate the promotion and use of this product in animals.

As can be seen, the official assessment of colloidal silver is a complete rejection which is in stark contrast to either rather vague information from users or heavily promoted information from suppliers and manufacturers.

It has crossed my mind trying it myself to treat Charlie's chronic sinusitis because my veterinarian, regrettably, has not got a handle on the problem, which puts the onus on me to do something about it but of course I will not take any steps that are in anyway risky.

I think most people would agree with me if I said that colloidal silver should not be used unless there is some overriding reason based upon science or hard evidence which recommends it to the cat owner.

Do you have any personal supporting evidence?

FIV Positive Declawed Cats Are Vulnerable to Life Threatening Infections

This is an instructive story from the Paw Project-Utah.  The story concerns a cute and beautiful long-haired tabby cat whose name is Jules. Jules is a declawed cat (front declawed). He was treated by Paw Project-Utah to remove two bone fragments left behind after the declaw operation. It is not uncommon for this rather crude and I say botched operation (by design) to leave bone shards in the paw which can become infected and develop abscesses.

Sadly, Jules is also FIV positive, which compromises his immune system.  If you combine a bacterial infection in the paws with a weakened immune system you can see where it might lead: a potentially very serious health situation which could be fatal under certain circumstances.

Paw Project-Utah were able to raise money quite easily for the operation; in fact, within 72 hours which indicates a wonderful base of supporters against declawing.

Jules's story indicates to us that there are many possible complications and side-effects, some of which are unforeseen, to the declaw operation.  I hope people take heed of this instructive story.

Deadly Feline Virus Will Ravage Feline Population on Hawaiian Island

Maui, Hawaii, is as I understand it, the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands and we are told in a news article that the rather nasty feline disease (and one of the worst feline viruses) called panleukopenia or panleuk for short has been confirmed to be present in a cat from a populated, central area of the island.

The director of the local Humane Society's veterinary service, Miyasaki-Kim, said that the identification of feline panleukopenia in such a highly populated area means that they are unable to stop the spread of this virus.  He says that the disease will have a big impact upon their shelter on the island.  What he's saying is that there's going to be a lot of feline euthanasia, I suspect, on the shelter.

In all eight cases have been identified.  It is rather sad and ironic that this news follows on from an earlier report that the authorities on adjacent island, Kauai,  had decided to instigate a mass trap-neuter-release program on feral cats because they were having a damaging effect upon the seabird population and no doubt seabirds are a major feature of these islands.

It appears that Hawaii is set to see an increase in the death rate of their cats one way or another which I find very sad.

Feline panleukopenia is commonly called feline distemper.  From infection to death can be as short as 3 to 5 days.  This disease acts very quickly.  It is a multi-symptom disease.  It is a highly contagious disease.  In addition the virus can survive in carpets and other areas for over a year.  The virus can be killed by bleach-sodium hypochlorite.

I'm not sure that the director of the local Humane Society is being accurate or perhaps he's being too pessimistic about the spread of the disease.  Vaccination is the most effective method for prevention which begs the question of whether there has been sufficient vaccination for this disease amongst the feline population on the island.

No doubt they will be ensuring that all their cats are vaccinated.  The vaccination process takes up to 12 weeks and there is a need for annual booster vaccinations or biannual vaccinations.  There are plenty of things to do to prevent the spread of this disease so my impression is the prognosis for the feline population on this island is rather pessimistic.

Story

 

Tilting Windows Are A Danger To Cats

Tilting Windows Are A Danger To Cats - a cross post to spread the word.

I'll be honest and say that I'm not completely sure how tilting windows hurt and kill cats but they do. I'll have a guess at how it happens.  A cat uses the window as a means to go outside and come back inside.  On returning the cat jumps onto the window and it swings upwards and the cat ends up near the edge of the window where she becomes trapped between the tilting window and the window frame.

The reason why a cat might jump onto the window itself rather than the windowsill is because a tilting window can be in a horizontal position and provide a flat surface.  A cat will not realise that this flat surface is not solid.  Instead it is like a seesaw.  When the cat jumps onto the flat surface the window rapidly swings upwards at one end and somehow the cat finds herself at the edge of the window at which point the window PVC edge of the window slams down onto her as she is trapped against the window frame.

Picture by Ruth aka Kattaddorra

The picture above shows one such window where a cat was trapped and her back was broken by the window.  The cat was rescued by the RSPCA but could not be saved and was euthanised.  It happened in the UK where tilting windows are quite commonplace particularly for double glazed windows.

If you click on the link at the top of the page you go to another page on the same subject written by Ruth who was the person who created the image on this page and who has experienced at first hand the tragedy of a cat being trapped in the tooting window.  The window was not hers.  The accident happened at a neighbour's home.

Cats can also be trapped in doors that are slammed shut. A cat runs through a door and at the same time the owner slams the door shut accidentally trapping her cat.

Flame Retardants and Cats

There is a lot on the internet about the toxic chemicals that are flame retardants. The chemistry of flame retardants is complicated. I won't therefore go into that in detail. Proving that flame retardants cause health problems is difficult. You have big business bearing down on people, using their wealth to lobby government (and worse?) to ensure that they can continue putting dubious chemicals into household items for limited benefit.

The insurance industry is probably in league with the big chemical manufacturers. This is probably a 'bent relationship' - a scam because insurance companies have a history of scamming. Insurers will insist that certain items have flame retardant before insuring. This certainly applies to furniture in apartments and houses that are let in the UK. Are they receiving a kick-back from the manufacturers? Probably, yes.

To sum things up. We have nasty chemicals put in household items that retard burning which could be replaced with less toxic chemicals or the benefits (retarded burning) are less than the downsides (poisoning people and domestic animals). In short the poisoning problems probably outweighs the safety issues.

Is he safe? Photo Todd F.

This brings me to cats. Cats, especially full-time indoor cats, are often on furniture that contains flame retardants in the foam. They are close to the foam. They spend hours next to flame retardant. Has anyone done any research on the impact of flame retardant on the domestic cat? I doubt it.

However, there is a large body of work on how these nasty chemicals affect people. How the chemical stays inside you for a long, long time. An example is brominated flame retardants. They are widespread environmental contaminants and they are persistent. They degrade slowly. They accumulate in animals and humans and they cause a range of health issues such as liver tumors and a disruption to the endocrine system  - production of hormones.

In North America and in Europe the demand for brominated flame retardants is reducing but rising in developing countries. When the big manufacturers get found out they move to less well developed countries and peddle they rubbish there because they know that lax government and corruption will let them carry on poisoning people for big bucks. This is happening with cigarette manufacturers exporting to Africa for instance.

There is a petition on Causes.com that demands that the manufacturers become more transparent and let independent scientists assess the product.  Please sign it.

This is a classic battle between people with a conscience and big business which rarely has one. And don't forget the politicians who are often bought by big business.

Cat Food with Tranquilliser

I had not heard about this cat food until today. Perhaps I am out of touch. I can certainly see the usefulness of this cat food. Although I can also see its dangers.

The product is Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Calm (a mouthful of a title). It is dry cat food that contains a naturally occurring chemical that is a tranquilliser.

The tranquillising ingredient is described as "casein milk proten hyrolysate and L-tryptophan (that is a shortened version).

Lovely shelter cat. Mackerel tabby & white.
Mendocino County Animal Care Services

Picture above: Shelter cats can be very stressed. Do they feed them Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Calm?

On a forum it is said that the chemical that calms cats is Zylkène. On the Zylkène website it is described as "natural product derived from casein, the protein in milk". I therefore have decided that this dry cat food does contain Zylkène. Zylkène can also be given to dogs.

You can buy it in pill form. You can buy it in the internet in the UK and probably elsewhere.

How do you know if your cat is stressed and might benefit from being fed Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Calm?

Well on the Zylkène website, they ask some questions in the form of a quiz which helps you to decide.

Examples of questions are:

• Is your cat going into a boarding cattery soon? We know that can be stressful for our cat (and us).
• Does your cat over-groom?
• Are you about to introduce another cat into the household? This can cause a change to the dynamics in the house and the existing cats might become stressed. Sociable domestic cat.
• Is your cat hiding more than what might be considered normal? Cats need places to hide as it is natural behavior.
• Have you moved home recently?
• Does your cat soil the home?
• Is your cat a full-time indoor cat? This is an interesting point to make. Obviously the manufacturers of this product believe that a full-time indoor environment can be stressful to some cats.
• Does your cat like to perch on high platforms more often?
• Are your cat's pupils dilated often?

The upside to this product is obvious. There are numerous circumstances under which our cat can become stressed. For the short term, feeding this food will probably help provided the cat likes the food.

On the downside there may be a temptation by car caretakers to use Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Calm as a standard food to keep their cat permanently chilled out. This might be an opt out from taking up the responsibilities associated with cat caretaking.

An alternative is to buy the pills but then you have to give your cat a pill. They say it is easy to give, however.

Picture of Cat with Feline Polydipsia

This cat, at the Nottinghan Vet School has three conditions: polydipsia, facial and ventral erythema and alopecia. The first is an increased thirst. The second is redness of the skin and the last is hair loss. Nottingham Vet School do not say what diagnosis they made. What links them?

Photography by Nottingham Vet School on Flickr

I don't know for sure what links these symptoms. But it interesting to try and find out. It would have been nice if the vet school had told us so I could check.

My research indicates that one condition links polydipsia and alopecia. The third symptom, redness of the skin may be due to overgrooming causing the alopecia.

Hyperthyroidism may cause an increased thirst. It is almost always linked with cancer, usually a benign adenoma (a tumor of glandular origin).

About 33% of all cats with hyperthyroidism show "areas of alopecia. The hair is pulled out easily".

The increase in thyroid hormones may also cause an increase in appetite and activity. There may be weight loss and panting.

Accordingly, this black and white cat might have hyperthyroidism.

Source: Book 1 on this page.

Picture of Cat's Ingrowing Claw

A very clear, clean picture of a cat's ingrowing claw. You can see how the claw has grown into the paw pad. Cats tend to tolerate this despite the discomfort. This can happen quite easily in cats that are inactive and/or full-time indoor cats. Older cats are particularly susceptible even if they do go outside because of a much reduced activity level. This means that the claw is not worn down naturally during use. The claws of a cat's polydactyl thumbs are sometimes not worn down as they are off the ground and need to be trimmed and not surgically removed, please.

The moral is to check a cat's claws from time to time and trim them when necessary. I realised that my old cat had a claw problem when I heard the claws clattering against a hard floor. This indicated to me that at least one claw was too long. A cat's claws retract and don't make contact with hard surfaces if the cat is walking normally over the surface. Teeth and claws need to be checked routinely!

You can see from this picture of a cat's ingrowing claw provided by Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic, how painful it is. It is not that difficult to trim a cat's nails but to trim the nail in the picture will be very difficult and probably or possibly requires a vet to do it. It's a bit late in the day - proactive is best.

Cat ingrowing claw (nail). Photo copyrightCuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic

This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at this website.

Note: Never declaw a cat (see some declaw posters to see why). You don't need to. Evolution (or God depending on your point of view) gave a cat all his or her anatomy for a reason. It is wise and the decent thing to do, to leave it all in place. We shouldn't play god for our convenience.

Feline Oral Resorptive Lesion Picture

A very clear picture of a feline oral resorptive lesion and periodontal disease plus gingivitis. In short, multiple feline oral health problems.

A feline oral resorptive lesion (FOTL) is damage to the tooth itself in which at the least serious end of the spectrum involves the enamel being "barely" penetrated to loss of the "entire crown" of the tooth in the more serious cases¹.

Please click on the link below to see the image. I can't show it here because advertisers don't like it as it is little difficult to look at.

Feline oral resorptive lesion, gingivitis, periodontal disease Photo copyright; Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic

Twenty-eight to sixty-seven percent of adult cats suffer from feline oral resorptive lesions¹. The premolars and molars are normally affected but other teeth can be affected. Loss of the outer layer of enamel probably means pain for the cat. Sometimes cats chatter their jaws due to the pain. Some will lose appetite due to discomfort.

Siamese and Abyssinian cats (purebred cats - these are very popular cat breeds) are, it seems, predisposed to this oral health problem.

Causes? Periodontitis, exposure to viruses, kidney problems, dry cat food, acidic diet.

Treatment? See a good vet such as those at the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic, who kindly provided the picture.  This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at this website.

Associated: Feline Gingivitis Picture.

Note: 1. Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook. Pages 243-244. ISBN 978-0-470-09530-0

Feline Eosinophilic Keratitis Picture

Feline eosinophilic keratitis is a cat health eye problem in which a lot of blood vessels grow into and across the cornea of the eye. You can see the blood vessel in the picture below coming from the top left and going across the eye.

Eosinophils are white blood cells, a part of the cat's immune system. In a cat with this condition, the outer layer of the cornea has many eosinophils and mast cells (another component of the cat's immune system). The eye has a white plaque over it. These cells are associated with immune reactions and allergies.

Eosinophilic Keratitis - Photo copyright Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic

The cause of eosinophilic keratitis is unknown. Apparently herpesvirus may be the cause or one cause.

The treatment is more about controlling the condition by the use of anti-inflammatory drugs (topical steroids and oral corticosteroids)¹.

Associated: Shocking truth about the feline herpesvirus.

Thanks: This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at PoC. The photo was provided by Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic.
Note: 1. Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook 195-196 ISBN 978-0-470-09530-0

Cat Pattern Symmetry Means Good Health?

Rarely, do we see cats with perfectly symmetrical patterns. Sometimes, perhaps most times, it is due to selective breeding. Cat breeders focus on appearance so in certain breeds a nice symmetrical pattern will make the cat more desirable. Siamese cats are naturally symmetrical. The classic inverted "V" on the forehead of the Turkish Van is symmetrical. That cat is all white except for a patterned tail so the classic Turkish Van is symmetrical. You'll find that the most attractive Japanese Bobtails have symmetrical patterns. These are bicolour cats and the bicolour lends itself to nice symmetrical coat patterns. Tabby coats are more random.

I would say that there are more purebred cats with symmetrical patterns than there are random bred. But when random selection, Darwin style, throws up a nice symmetrical pattern is it a sign that a cat has better health than other cats? In purebred cats I don't think that a symmetrical pattern means better health because the pattern was created artificially (regarding procreation).

The reason why I ask is because in the human species the opposite sex is attracted to regular features, which could be construed to mean symmetrical features. This apparently is a sign of good health and such a person is a better bet in terms of providing an improved chance of creating offspring, which in turn promotes survival. It is all about survival, bottom line. So symmetrical animals are better at procreating, it seems. And the opposite sex subliminally believe that a symmetrical creature is better made and therefore healthier.

Update: My speculation about a symmetrical appearance indicating good health is, it seems, purely that because a study published around 2014 on asymmetry in humans and how it might signal ill-health in humans could find no real connection between the two. The conclusion is that symmetry in humans does not indicate that those humans are healthier than humans with asymmetrical appearances. I have therefore got to conclude that the same applies to domestic cats!

If you have a cat with a symmetrical pattern, why not show him/her to me and other visitors to the site and perhaps enter him into the pictures of cats competition at the same time? Update: Competition is over, sorry 😢.

Here is a picture from the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic.  This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at this website.

Symmetrical random bred cat - Photo copyright: Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic

This cat's pattern is not quite perfectly symmetrical, but close nonetheless. Very cute cat.

Picture of Cat with Gingivitis

Here is a veterinarian's photograph of a cat with gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). It is quite educational, I think. We all need to spend a bit of time looking at our cat's teeth! It is easy to forget about them. They are rather tucked away in the mouth aren't they? LoL.

However, judging by the number of photographs on the Flickr channel of the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic, periodontal disease is commonplace in dogs and cats. Often mouth disease can progress to a serious state. This can be avoided. The source of this photo is Flickr channel referred to. This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at this website.

Cat with gingivitis - Photo Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic

In a healthy mouth the gums surround the teeth is a nice, clean fit along the gum line. Cats with gingivitis have gums that have been pushed away from the teeth in an irregular manner because of a build up of rough-edged, dental calculus. At these points food particles are trapped and bacteria accrues. This causes inflammation. The gums become infected.

Calculus (tartar) is hardened plaque. Plaque is made up of food particles and organic and inorganic matter together with bacteria. Calculus is made up of "calcium phosphate and carbonate with organic material" (Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook). It is yellow in color. It appears that the cycle of plaque to calculus is self-generating as the irregularity of calculus is an ideal place for plaque to form.

Feline gingivitis is mainly caused by calculus. Infections such as panleuk can also cause gum infections.

Other than seeing inflamed gums as shown in the picture, signs of gingivitis are: loss of appetite, failure to groom, drooling and bad breath.

A veterinarian will have to clean the teeth and the cat's diet looked at. Some cats are more prone to gum disease than others as far as I am aware. Cats that are susceptible need greater care, obviously. It might include a regime of teeth cleaning at home. Teeth cleaning under anesthetic carries a certain amount of risk. Ask your vet about that. It is a balancing act in terms of health benefits to the cat. Abyssinian cats suffer a higher than average incidence of feline gingivitis.