NEWS AND VIEWS – KUNO NATIONAL PARK, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA: There is speculation that the GPS tracking collars placed around the necks of the relocated cheetahs from South Africa to India are killing some of them because the cheetahs are irritated by the collars in damp conditions and are scratching their necks causing a killer …
Are GPS tracking collars on cheetahs in India causing infections and deaths? Read More »
Sometimes people are unfair on domestic, stray and feral cats. The last group is particularly vulnerable to criticism particularly with respect to ‘spreading disease’. It is the classic rallying cry of the anti-cat brigade when campaigning to kill feral cats. Here is an infographic listing 6 diseases that cats are sometimes unfairly blamed for giving …
Infographic on diseases that cats don’t pass to humans Read More »
I have had to interpret a very complicated study on the Toxoplasma gondii protozoan parasite published on the Cell Host & Microbe website. But it is an interesting study if you take the time to try and interpreted as a lay person i.e., non-scientific person because this parasitic disease is very important in the world …
Wily toxoplasma parasite hijacks immune cells to travel around the host Read More »
Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) was, I’m told, first reported in Hong Kong and mainland China in 2012. It has been associated with kidney inflammation (nephritis). It can infect domestic and wild cats. A study in 2016 published on the National Library of Medicine in the USA, concluded that the association between morbillivirus and chronic kidney disease …
Feline morbillivirus linked to feline chronic kidney disease Read More »
A natural cure for cat’s ear infection can become an effective means to end the constant shaking of the head and scratching of the ear that accompanies this common ear problem. Or it may alleviate the condition. While your feline will most likely dislike any remedy that comes in contact with their ultra-sensitive ears, it …
Natural cure for cat’s ear infection – from pau d’ arco to Hepar Sulph Read More »
As feline viruses can be confusing to the average cat caretaker and I put myself in that category, I thought an overview page might help. The intention is to stand back and try and make sense of all the long words and slightly confusing names such as “feline distemper”, a misleading description. This is not …
Noisy breathing in domestic cats indicates an obstructed airway. The airway that I’m referring to is the passage through the nose (or mouth), the back of the mouth, down the trachea (windpipe) and into the bronchail tubes of the lungs. If there is an obstruction in this airway breathing might be noisy and the classic …
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 days …
The Times newspaper this morning reports on a highly contagious virus that originated in China (as did Covid-19) and which has spread across the world killing millions of rabbits. It is now a viral wildfire in the USA. In that part of the world, it started in Mexico. We don’t know if it is zoonotic …
Another virus originating in China is killing millions of rabbits. Is it zoonotic? Read More »
Pictures showing mouth and nose swabs being taken from tigers at Miami Zoo to test for Covid-19. They tested negative but had symptoms of a feline infection perhaps a cold.
Don’t be alarmed because it is appears to be infinitesimally rare but cats can give humans ear mites causing otitis externa. ‘Otitis externa’ means an inflammation or infection of the external part of the ear canal, the part from the ear drum to the outside. It took me about 20 minutes to research this and …
When a cat has ear mites a dark brown waxy discharge can be seen when you look in the cat’s ears which looks like coffee grounds and which MAY BE FOUL SMELLING. The answer to the question in the title is that the presence of ear mites in a cat’s ears may cause the ears …
Yes, cats can get colds but the viruses that causes them are different to those that cause the human cold. You can’t get a cold from your cat and vice versa. Firstly, the word ‘cold’ in in this instance refers to a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. It used to be thought that …
Most of Kansas has been declared a high risk for West Nile Virus (WNV) and the disease has been reported in domestic animals including cats. I think this is a risk worth mentioning. I don’t know how commonly domestic cats are infected but there is a risk. It is also present in other areas of …
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 to …
