RHINOTRACHEITIS-CAT DISEASE

Rhinotracheitis is a herpes virus. Just like herpes in people, it keeps coming back. It is almost certainly the most common cause of chronic, non-responsive conjunctivitis in cats. It doesn't respond to any anti-bacterial agent because it isn't a bacteria. Anti-viral eye drops are available but may not be very effective, either. There is some evidence that administration of L-lysine is helpful in control of this condition. I am not sure how helpful. It can still be useful to use an anti-bacterial ophthalmic drop but the best recommendation is to use one that will work well against gram positive bacteria, which is gentamycin's weak area. A triple antibiotic drop with polymyxin and bacitracin may work better than gentamycin in this case. This is especially likely in a cat that had pneumonia because of the high probability of rhinotracheitis being involved in that, too. Unfortunately, if this is the problem, chronic non-responsive disease until the body can finally develop immunity for a while is not uncommon. Sometimes, nothing seems to aid this process.

DROOLING IN YOUR CAT

Drooling can occur for a number of reasons in cats. Probably the most commonly identified reasons are gum or teeth disorders. Oral ulcers can sometimes cause excessive salivation. Problems that lead to nausea, such as renal failure or gastrointestinal disease also cause excessive salivation. Some cats salivate excessively when they are nervous or stressed. This is a common reaction to oral medications and application of flea control products, too. Your vet can help sort through these possibilities and hopefully find a treatable cause.
Foaming at the mouth or excessive salivation is common when cats have ingested something more noxious than they expected it to be, when they are nervous, when they have been sprayed with a spray containing alcohol (many flea sprays are alcohol based), when they are nauseous and with a few diseases such as dental disease and calicivirus. There are probably other causes. A brief episode is probably related to ingesting something that was upsetting. I have seen this after one of my cats ate a spider. Licking toads will do this, too.
Hair balls are obviously one cause of feeling nauseous. If you live in an area with heartworms it is another cause of the hacking and vomiting problem some cats have. Inflammatory bowel disease is another. Your vet can help sort through these, too. In general it is a good idea to consider pursuing a diagnosis of vomiting if it is occurring frequently and coughing is almost always abnormal.

TAPEWORM IN YOUR CAT

Here is the short version of the tapeworm.
Tapeworms release muscular egg packets into the intestine. These egg packets are about 1/2 to 3/4th of an inch long when they first exit the rectum and are capable of movement. They wiggle around, spewing out tapeworm eggs until they use up all their energy stores. Then they dry up and look like rice granules stuck in the hair of the cat.
Tapeworms are carried by fleas and are not uncommon in indoor only cats, due to this. Good flea control will prevent recurrence after your cat is dewormed for the tapeworms he has now. There are safe and effective tapeworm medications available from your veterinarian. They are prescription products so your vet may need to see your cat prior to dispensing them if it has been a while since his last visit.

MEDICINE-GIVING YOUR CAT A PILL

Here is directions to giving your cat pills.
Extend your cat's head backwards just enough that her nose is pointing straight towards the ceiling. Most cats will open their mouth slightly at this point. Open the bottom jaw a little more with the little finger or ring finger of the hand holding the pill. It may be necessary to hold her top jaw with the other hand while doing this. The drop the pill or lightly throw it so that it hits beyond the slight hump in the tongue. Most cats will swallow instinctively. Some pills are small enough to hide them in food. A good "last resort" is to find a compounding pharmacy and have them make a flavored gel or liquid out of the medication

FLEA LIFECYCLE

Even though flea season is ending we thought we would give you some information now so you will be prepared for next flea season.
Understanding the life cycle of the flea is necessary in order to control it. The flea has several stages to its life cycle. Adult fleas spend most of their time on the dog or cat - they must be dislodged to leave since they will not do so voluntarily. Despite this, when the flea population on the dog becomes excessive humans tend to be an acceptable alternative to the flea. The average life span of an adult flea is probably about 6 weeks - but fleas can live as long as a year under certain conditions. A female flea can lay 20 to 28 eggs a day. She may lay several hundred eggs over her life span. These eggs fall off the pet and develop where they land. They are small and can even develop in the cracks in wood floors or other small crevices. A larvae hatches from the flea egg. It takes as few as 9 days to as long as 200 days to go through its growth stages. At this time is forms a pupae and waits for the right time to hatch. Fleas prefer temperatures of 65 to 80 degrees and humidity of 75 to 85 per cent. This range determines the period of time that fleas are a problem in your particular area. For some areas of the country, this is all year. In others, the flea season is relatively short. It is estimated that for every adult flea found on the pet, there are about 10 developing fleas in the pet's environment.