70 Bengal cats in poor condition rescued from breeder in Runcorn, UK

Bengal cats rescued in Runcorn from an irresponsible and failed breeder

NEWS AND COMMENT: The news media does not fully explain the situation but the story is that an animal charity has rescued 70 Bengal cats from a “horrific breeding situation”. It is very rare for a cat breeder to fail so catastrophically. We don’t know whether the breeder was an informal Bengal cat breeder …

Read more

Infographic on URIs in domestic cats

URIs in cats in an infographic

This is a short, very compact infographic on URIs in cats which are better described as the ‘feline viral respiratory disease complex’. The goal is to provide a quick snapshot of this very common cat health problem which plagues stray and feral cats and for them it can frequently lead to blindness through the …

Read more

Why do indoor cats need rabies shots and other vaccinations for contagious diseases?

Indoor cat

Clearly, a decreased contact with other cats is a powerful way of reducing the exposure of a cat to pathogens. And if a cat is kept indoors full-time under careful caregiving and they are the only cat in that home there is no contact with other animals from which they can contract a contagious …

Read more

38 facts about the common cold in cats

Cat has a cold and owner provides reassurance

Here are 38 facts about the common cold in domestic cats. I like to present these sort of topics in succinct, bullet-point factual terms because I think it helps to understand the subject. The facts are presented chronologically as the disease develops. I hope that you find it useful. The source of the information …

Read more

Gently stroking and talking to cats at rescue centers prevents upper respiratory infections

Shelter worker adopts shelter cat

You might not have heard of the words. I certainly hadn’t until today. They are “gentling” and to be “gentled”. Gentling is the action of stroking a cat gently and talking to them equally gently. It is the kind of thing that a rescue centre worker would want to do naturally because it is …

Read more

Hairless and eyeless cat Jasper from a horror movie

Jasper - a hairless and eyeless cat

This is Jasper who is both hairless and eyeless. He’s a Sphynx cat so that he is hairless for that reason and he lost his eyes to a feline herpesvirus infection. He lost his right eye first as it became ulcerated and had to be removed. Then five years later he lost his other …

Read more

How do indoor cats get colds?

Indoor cat

Indoor cats can get colds if they come into direct contact with infected discharge from another cat who has got a cold. Or they come into contact with contaminated litter boxes, water bowls and human hands. The disease is also transmitted by airborne droplets. The virus can be stable for as long as 10 …

Read more

What percentage of cats have herpes?

Prevalence of FHV-1

The question in the title is online and appears to be asking for the percentage of cats that are suffering from or have suffered from the herpesvirus group. It causes feline viral rhinotracheitis – FVR. One study states ‘33% of the cats with respiratory tract disease were FCV positive’ 2. Another states: ‘Following exposure …

Read more

follow it link and logo