Health Spotlight: Mycoplasma felis A friend posted recently that her beloved kitty had been diagnosed with this, and wondered what it meant. Naturally, I had to research it! Here's what I found: What is Mycoplasma felis? Mycoplasma are microscopic bacterial plant life (flora) that live everywhere in nature. This includes in humans, plants, insects, and in your cat's nasal and respiratory passages. They are thought to be the smallest organisms that can grow independently. A few can worsen infections in a cat's eyes or lower respiratory tracts. Others are suspected culprits in arthritis or uri ..read more

Photo: Staci Machado Health Spotlight: Feline UveitisA recent Facebook post to the CatCentric group devoted to healthy cats described the poster's cat's diagnosis as lymphocytic plasmacytic uveitis. The kitty is pictured above. She couldn't find anything on this condition and asked for help, so here's what I discovered upon researching it. What is Uveitis?Uveitis is a medical term for inflammation of the middle layer of the eyeball, which is known as the uvea. This portion of the eye contains a large number of blood vessels that nourish your cat's eyes. Uveitis is not a disease in and ..read more

  Frankie, enjoying our front porch in better days Molnupiravir Shows Promise in Treating FIP Cats Feline Infectious Peritonitis -- more commonly known as FIP. It's the diagnosis no cat parent ever wants to receive. Caused by a relatively benign feline coronavirus as ubiquitous as the common cold in humans, in some cats it morphs into a three-stage spiral toward death -- like syphilis in humans. It most commonly claims cats under two years old, but can also affect older cats in rare cases.  FIP can manifest in several ways:  effusive - the "wet" form that produces th ..read more

Black Cats Matter! Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day. Usually celebrated in October in the UK, the American observance is held in August. Many shelters and cat rescue groups offer discounted adoption fees for black cats on this day. Why a special day for black cats? Statistically, they get adopted less often than other cats in shelters. Folks who work in animal rescue decided to draw attention to these beautiful "house panthers" by dedicating a day to celebrating them. It's a mystery to me why black cats should be less desirable to people as pets. They are sleek, gorgeous companions, with ..read more

  Photo: Pixabay Cat-Safe Flowers Today is St. Gertrude's Day, the patron saint of cats (although she's always eclipsed by that man). In her honor, why not give or plant some flowers that are safe for your cat to nibble? Whether you're assembling a spring bouquet or planting your garden, you want to make sure that the flowers and plants you choose won't harm your cats. That's where the ASPCA's list of plants that are toxic and non-toxic to cats comes in handy. Access the full list at that link, but here are some selected flowers that will get you started. USDA hardiness zones ar ..read more

Good News for Cats' Health It's unfortunate that funding for studies of cats' health lags far behind that for dogs'. Many diseases that are fatal or untreatable for cats would have been cured long ago if they afflicted canines. Fortunately, there are organizations like The Winn Feline Foundation, which provides funding for research to improve cat health. Winn has funded almost $6 million in feline health research. Eleven studies are being funded this year. If successful, new treatments and procedures could soon be available for these feline health issues: Feline Diabetes A study at Louisian ..read more

  Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/adorable-animal-cat-cat-s-eyes-236603/ Cat-Friendly Lilies? Yes, There Are! Lilies are popular at this time of year as Easter approaches. But did you know that all parts of the Easter lily plant are highly toxic to cats? Indeed, even if your cat is not a nibbler of plants, a mere few grains of pollen from an Easter lily is enough to shut down kitty's kidneys. If that pollen gets on your cat's fur and kitty ingests it when grooming, you're going to have a very expensive vet bill at minimum and could even lose your feline friend! To ..read more

Q&A for World Spay DayFebruary 28 is more than Mardi Gras this year, it's also World Spay Day! Aside from being fun and rhyme-y to say, World Spay Day draws attention to the need for de-sexing female pets. So let's look at some questions you may have about spaying cats: What is spaying?Most simply put in feline terms, spaying is the surgical removal of a female cat's reproductive organs, her ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and uterus. It's similar to a human hysterectomy. In fact, if you want to get all medical, the actual term for the surgery is ovariohysterectomy. When male cats are de-sexe ..read more

 How Old is My Cat? We've all heard the old adage that a year in human-years is worth seven years in a dog's life. That's not entirely accurate, but is a good rule of thumb. But what about cats? As it turns out, the figures are not quite the same for our feline companions. Various sources contain different absolutes for this, but if one human year is a certain multiple in cat-years, it would stand to reason that each year should be a range of cat ages. So a cat who is 5 years and 0 months old would be younger than a cat who's 5 years and 11 months old. Not to mention that a cat who is ..read more

The Latest News on Feline Cardiac HealthIt's widely known that spending on research for feline health issues lags far behind that spent on canine health. But there are new discoveries being made in feline heart health that could make a difference for your cat. The latest involves a new treatment for kitty heart disease, the most common form of which medical professionals call hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM. One in every seven cats is affected by HCM, so this is an important development. A New Drug For Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)The December issue of PLOS ONE included a paper deta ..read more