Dr. Justine Lee, PetMD
I’ve talked before about avoiding the “hit-by-car” emergency by keeping your dog or cat under control: either on a leash or by keeping them indoors. I got a lot of grief from some feline owners and veterinarians when It’s a Cat’s World … You Just Live In It came out. Why? Because I stated my opinion: that cats should be kept indoors.
First, there are several medical reasons for why to keep your cats indoors. Let the statistics do the talking: the average outdoor cat lives to two years of age, while the indoor cat lives to a more geriatric age (approximately 15 to 18). So ultimately, it depends on how long you want to have your cat around.
As a veterinarian, I’ve seen too many cats succumb to the “trauma of outdoor living”: being mauled by dogs, maimed by cars, shot by BB guns, etc., only to have pet owners who couldn’t afford to have them treated (resulting in euthanasia).
Believe it or not, outdoor cats don’t necessary have more fun, and yes, indoor cats can be just as content living indoors. If you’ve already decided to let your cat outside, just be aware that once cats have tasted the “great outdoors,” it’s harder to keep them from crying for it, begging for it, or running out when that screen door opens. For that reason, it’s always the safest approach not even to let your cat experience the great outdoors to begin with.
Also, if you decide to let your cat outside, just be prepared to have him snatched away — permanently. A good-intentioned neighbor may think they have found a sweet cat and decide to keep your cat as their own … right after you paid for the spay/neuter and vaccines! Hence, all the “Lost Cat: Reward!” signs in the ‘hood.
If you decide to keep your cat indoors, keep your cat content by committing to exercising your cat more. It’s the simplest way to add environmental enrichment to your cat’s routine. If you love your cat (yes, I’m trying to use guilt here!), exercise your cat for at least ten minutes, once a week. First, exercising your cat allows him or her to bond to you more (and hopefully, vice versa). Second, it’s a great way to help your cat lose weight and stay trim and healthy. While the majority of cats I see are overweight and sedentary, it’s not their fault — it’s because they lack exercise by their owner. Third, exercise is important because it’s great mental and physical stimulation. Make sure your cat has plenty of cat-safe toys, catnip, cat grass, scratching posts, and laser pointers to chase.
For all you naysayers, don’t get me wrong — if I lived in the perfect environment (at the end of a cul-de-sac with minimal traffic, on a farm away from roads, etc.), I’d consider letting my cat outdoors … so there are some situations where I think it’s OK. However, most of my clients are from an urban environment, where cats and roads don’t mix. If you have a fenced in yard, or can teach your cat to walk on a leash, I think supervised outdoor time is great — provided you’re there to get them out of a bind if necessary (after all, curiosity killed the cat!).
If you do let your cat outdoors, please consult your veterinarian about appropriate vaccine protocols. I normally don’t recommend the FeLV or FIV vaccine, but that’s because the FeLV vaccine isn’t 100 percent effective and has very rare but potentially severe side effects (like a cancer called fibrosarcoma at the site of injection). That said, if you allow your cat to go outdoors, the vaccine is a must (as it is for all the other cats in your household, regardless if they go out or not!).
Finally, if your cat is declawed, please don’t let him go outside. While this seems like common sense to me (as it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and sending a declawed cat outdoors is like sending him to war without a gun), I’ve seen lots of pet owners do it. Common sense may not be so common, as I often see bird feeders in the yard also. Want to keep your cat outdoors? You lose the right to use bird feeders!
Meet Lavender, who is 6-months-old, spayed and healthy. She has a friend with whom she could be adopted, unless you have another little kitty who'd like to have Lavender as a long-term companion.What to NEVER feed a cat or dog:
Alcoholic beverages
Chocolate
Coffee
Grapes/raisins
Moldy or spoiled food
Onions, garlic, chives
Poultry bones
Salt & salty foods
Tomato leaves, stems or unripe fruit
Yeast dough
Use the SF SPCA for more pet tips: www.sfspca.org
Can Humans Contract Cat Diseases?
By Kathy Blumenstock, Animal Planet
You’re at greater risk of contracting an illness from the person in the next cubicle than of getting a disease from a cat. Most infectious feline diseases affect only cats, just as human ills afflict only people. But some, called zoonotic diseases, can be transmitted between cats and people. Through contact with an infected cat’s feces or saliva, infected fleas or ticks, a person could contract a zootonic disease from an animal. Well look at a few common ones.
Cat Scratch Fever
Known as cat scratch fever or cat scratch disease, bartonellis is a bacterial disease that can be transmitted between animals and humans. Cats usually get it from ingesting flea feces while grooming, or from infected ticks. Humans get it from ticks or when scratched or bitten by an infected cat. If an infected cat licks a human’s open wound, its saliva can also transmit cat scratch fever. Infected cats may run a fever or have swollen glands. Infected humans may get swollen lymph nodes, fever and headaches; these usually get better on their own, though it may take several months. More severe cases require antibiotics. Humans with compromised immune systems face a greater threat from cat scratch fever, and should find out if the cat that bit or scratched them has this disease.
Roundworm
Humans can also contract roundworm, a parasite common in cats. Roundworm eggs in an infected cat’s feces, if ingested by a person, produce a worm that can migrate to a human brain, liver, eye or lung. If the worm invades the eye, permanent blindness can result. The risk of roundworm is higher for children, who may eat dirt contaminated by roundworms, handle animal feces, and neglect washing their hands before touching their faces. Depending on how many roundworms are ingested, symptoms in humans may be non-existent or consist of abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea. A doctor can prescribe anti-parasitic drugs to treat the problem.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease common in outdoor cats, is a risk to pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. Cats get it from eating infected prey or raw meat; it can also appear in unpasteurized milk. The parasite invades the cat’s digestive tract, producing oocysts (zygotes), which the cat sheds in its feces. Contact with the cat’s feces can result in an infection in some humans, with infected mothers passing it to their infants. While most infected babies do not show symptoms at birth, later in life they may develop blindness or mental disability. Infected humans can be treated for toxoplasmosis with a combination of drugs, but the parasites can remain in tissue cells indefinitely. Toxoplasmosis in cats can be treated with antibiotics.
Prevent toxoplasmosis by keeping your cat from hunting and if you are pregnant, have someone else handle the litter box. However, you don’t need to give away your cat.
Ringworm and Rabies
Unlike roundworm, ringworm (dermatophytosis) has nothing to do with worms. It is a common fungal infection in cats that can be transmitted to humans by direct contact with a cats fur or skin. Contracted from spores that grow in warm, humid environments, from bedding to brushes, or on another infected animal, ringworm will result in bald circular patches on your cat. Its skin may be dry or greasy, and if its nails are infected, they may be malformed. In humans, the infection causes ring-like lesions. While ringworm in cats will cure itself over time, infected humans can apply OTC antifungal lotions or powders, and keep skin dry and clean.
Although most cases of rabies in humans result from contact with bats or raccoons, any mammal, including cats and dogs, can have the rabies virus (rhabdoviridae), which is why rabies vaccinations for pets are so important. If youre bitten by an animal you believe is rabid, immediately wash the bite with soap and water and a commercial antiseptic like iodine; then seek medical attention. A series of vaccinations administered over a month will treat the virus, which is always fatal if untreated. If the cat’s rabies shots arent up to date or if it hasnt been vaccinated, it should be quarantined for 45 days and observed for signs of rabies.
The Truth About Feline AIDS and Herpes
Humans cannot get these diseases from cats, because they are feline-specific illnesses. FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus), sometimes referred to as feline AIDS, weakens the cat’s lymphatic system, and ultimately attacks its entire immune system. FIV is from the same virus strain as the feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes AIDS. No cure exists for FIV, although FIV-positive cats can live several years after contracting the illness. Cats usually get FIV through a bite from another cat.
Feline herpes (FVH-1) is a virus that causes upper respiratory infection in cats. Sneezing, runny eyes and nose, and sometimes inflammation of the cat’s eyelid lining, result from FVH-1 infection. Discharges from another cat’s eyes, nose or mouth transmit the disease, often via food or water dishes. While there’s no FVH-1 cure, medications can control it, and a vaccine to prevent it is available.
Staying Safe from Cat Diseases
Fighting cat illnesses takes common sense and cleanliness. Always wash your hands after touching your cat and follow a regular flea-control program. Carefully handle your cats litter box, avoiding soil contaminated by feces. Following these few suggestions will greatly lessen your chances of catching any diseases from your feline friend.
This is a Courtesy Posting for one of the Friends of ASB!
Rudie is 5-years-old and is Polydactyl! She is spayed, healthy and gets along with other animals. Please contact ASB for more information.
Summer is travel season, which means pet sitting season is in high gear.
My mother has a favorite saying: no good deed goes unpunished. This aphorism seems to hold especially true in the field of pet sitting. I work at an emergency veterinary hospital, and I regularly see unfortunate pet sitters who are forced to make important medical decisions on behalf of owners who are completely unreachable because they are on flights to Europe or cruises to Antarctica or halfway across the trans-Siberian Railroad. These poor pet sitters often have no prior instructions or advance directives for veterinary emergencies. They often have no means of paying for expensive veterinary procedures such as surgical correction of gastric dilatation with volvulus (known colloquially as bloat) in the owners’ absence.
I recently returned from a trip to Bolivia. I was unlucky: Denise couldn’t come with me. However, this was lucky for my pal Buster, since it meant he got to stay home with his mom. If something goes wrong with the dog while I’m out of town, Denise has a large network of my friends, colleagues, coworkers, and former vet school drinking buddies that she can call day or night.
Most people aren’t so fortunate when it comes to pet sitting and veterinary care. Sadly pets get sick, sometimes fatally, at a disproportionately high rate when in the care of pet sitters or boarding facilities.
It is true that, in very rare instances, pet sitters allow their wards to run free in fields of foxtails located between 100 foot cliffs and busy highways. The inevitable problem that occurs as a result of this behavior is caused, proximately, but the pet sitter. But the ultimate cause of the problem in these cases lies with the pet’s owner, who should have chosen a better pet sitter. It is the pet owner’s job to do his due diligence.
The overwhelming majority of pet sitters are not irresponsible. In fact, I see a different scenario far more frequently than the one mentioned above. A concerned and responsible pet sitter brings in a pet. She states that the owner mentioned, prior to leaving for his ascent of Everest during which he will be unreachable for 21 days, that the dog had been vomiting and not eating for about a week. The dog is really sick now, and needs major treatment. But the dog was sick before the owner left him with the pet sitter, and the pet sitter must now deal with the crisis. I believe that teenagers these days refer to the owner’s actions in this scenario as a “douchebag move.” It’s an appropriate term.
However, by far the most frequent scenario of all is as follows. A seemingly healthy pet is left with a pet sitter. The pet was slowly developing an illness prior to the owner’s departure but was showing no outward symptoms of disease. The stress of the owner’s absence disrupts the pet’s equilibrium, and the pet gets sick while the owner is away. Neither the owner nor the pet sitter has done anything wrong whatsoever. But the situation is the same: the pet sitter must now make important medical decisions, and possibly pay for treatment on behalf of the owner.
These situations are unfair to pets, pet sitters, and pet owners. Fortunately, there are some tactics that help all parties involved in these sorts of crises.
Here is my advice for pet owners:
Take your pet with you if you can. It’s usually fun for you and your pet.
For god’s sake, don’t leave a sick pet with a pet sitter. That is super uncoool. If you have any doubts about your pet’s health, get a checkup before your trip.
Leave clear instructions about your desires for care in the event of an unfortunate incident. Leave them in writing. Leave a credit card number as well.
Take your cell phone with you. Keep it on. Check your e-mail regularly. Stay in touch.
If you will be unreachable, choose a pet sitter you trust, provide written instructions stating your desires in the event of an emergency, state in writing that you absolve the pet sitter of any liability for medical decisions made in your absence, and state that you will pay for any treatments authorized by the pet sitter (using the credit card number provided in the bullet point item above).
Let your vet know that you’ll be out of town, and that your pet sitter is authorized to make medical decisions on your behalf. Give your pet sitter your vet’s contact information, as well as the contact information for the nearest after hours emergency clinic.
Provide other contact information as well. Give the pet sitter your brother’s phone number, or your best friend’s number, so that they can help participate in the decision. Warn your brother and your best friend that you will be doing this, and make sure they share your philosophy on veterinary treatments so that they can actually help with problem, rather than get in the way.
Enjoy your trip. You have planned for the worst, now hope for the best. Most of the time nothing goes wrong. But keep your cell phone on and with you nonetheless.
Here is my advice for pet sitters:
Make sure that the pet owners do all of the above.
Develop a personal relationship with a veterinarian who may be able to provide guidance if all of the above tactics fail.
Don’t let pets play in fields of foxtails that are situated between 100 foot cliffs and busy highways. (Just kidding, of course).
As an aid to both owners and pet sitters, I am happy to provide a copy of the written instructions that Denise and I leave with our pet sitter when we both go out of town and can’t take Buster with us. The instructions haven’t been reviewed by an attorney, so I can’t vouch for their legal validity. But I think you’ll still get the point.
[Date]
To Whom It May Concern:
[My pet sitter], [my sister-in-law-to-be] and any staff veterinarian at [my vet clinic or my local emergency clinic] have authorization to make medical decisions regarding the care of my dog, “Buster” in my absence from [date of departure] to [date of return].
Major procedures such as surgical correction of gastric dilatation with volvulus, enterotomy to remove gastrointestinal foreign body, bone plating for fractures, and others are authorized as long as a veterinarian at [one of my trusted facilities] believes there is a reasonable chance the procedure will result in a successful outcome.
I ask to be called on my cell phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX or XXX-XXX-XXXX in the event of any medical problem involving Buster. However, if I cannot be reached then the people listed above shall have decision making power. I agree not to hold any above party liable for competently performed treatments that do not succeed.
Medical bills can be charged to my MasterCard: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Signed, Eric Barchas
Two cats are searching for a new home after their owner passed away. Maggie is 10-years-old, good-natured, and enjoys quiet time. Ginger is 8-years-old, feisty, and playful. They are both declawed in the front and have been fed dry food. They both miss their owner and need a new loving home. Contact ASB if you can help!
