MORE THAN JUST VACCINATIONS



Connolly Animal Clinic

Kitten Notebook

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Congratulations on your new kitten! We have some kitty information in this notebook that we hope you find helpful. We are looking forward to seeing you and your kitty!

MORE THAN JUST VACCINATIONS

Today pets have become part of our family. They are our close companions and part of our everyday life. Comprehensive Veterinary care today is three fold and is directed at making your pet a healthy and well-adjusted companion. We are here to provide and guide you toward the best experience possible with your pet. This involves:

1. Comprehensive medical care for your pet

2. Good nutrition

3. Understanding behavior and socialization

VACCINATION SCHEDULE

Many common diseases, including Feline Leukemia, are deadly to your cat. During the first days of nursing, kittens receive antibodies against certain diseases from their mother’s milk. These protective antibodies are gradually lost between the ages of 6 and 16 weeks of age. A series of vaccinations are given during this period to stimulate your kitten’s immune system to produce its own antibodies. Following our recommendations for vaccinations gives your pet the best chance to grow into a happy healthy adult.

Our recommendations are as follows:

Appointment date ___________________________________

6-8 weeks

Feline Leukemia Test

Feline Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia (FVRCP)

Appointment date ____________________________________

9-12 weeks

Feline Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia (FVRCP)

Feline Leukemia

Appointment date____________________________________

12-16 weeks

Rabies

Feline Leukemia

Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis and Calicivirus

Is a virus that can cause severe respiratory infections, ulcers in the mouth and on the corneas. They may lay dormant and then become active years later. Some cats develop chronic sinus infections because of the virus

Panleukopenia Virus

This virus causes the disease known as feline distemper. It severely affects the white blood cells allowing affected cats and kittens to develop life threatening respiratory infections and pneumonia.

Feline Leukemia Virus

Is a virus, which is spread from an infected queen to her kittens or by direct contact with the virus. The virus is passively shed in the urine and saliva, therefore, an infected cat can pass the virus through bite wounds, sharing water or food bowls, grooming one another or sharing litter pans. Cats may be asymptomatic carriers for months to years before it causes damage to the immune system allowing the cat to develop secondary infections, anemia, or even tumors.

Rabies

Is a viral disease that infects all warm-blooded animals including humans. It is generally passed by an infected animal’s saliva to another animal or human by a bite. Rabies is always fatal; therefore it is important to protect our pets. Many of the wildlife species in our area can carry the virus. In the state of Texas, it is also law that you have your cat vaccinated against rabies.

HOW TO CHOOSE A PET FOOD

One of the most common questions we are asked is “What should I feed my cat?” Since the most important contribution you can make to your pet’s health and well being is his or her daily diet, it’s a question that deserves a good answer.

There Are Lots of Choices of Cat Food. What Should I Feed My Kitten?

Cats are “obligate carnivores.” They have to eat MEAT! There are several different diets available for your cat, but it is important to choose a diet that best fits your cats’ nutritional needs. For a healthy balanced diet, cats need a high protein content and low carbohydrate content for a well balanced diet.

Dr. Connolly has done some extensive research on feline diets and he recommends a diet called Innova from Natura Pet Products. Natura Pet Products was the first company to apply advancements in nutrition to pets. This company uses fresh, whole ingredients from the five food groups in a pet food along with the use of probiotics and prebiotics for improved digestion and intestinal health.

Innova’s protein levels and high meat content are compatible with your cat’s true carnivore requirements. Fresh turkey and chicken provide more than just good flavor, they are available sources of protein.

Canned Diets

Cats also need an adequate amount of water intake for their kidneys to perform well. Feline lower urinary tract disease is common in cats that have lower water consumption and in cats that are inactive and obese.

In the past, the recommendation was to feed cat’s a dry diet, but it is important to regulate their water intake and canned food will increase their water consumption. Dry cat foods have a high content of grain, so cats will eat more calories to meet their protein needs. Attached you will find a list of canned food diets that Dr. Connolly recommends for your cat along with the canned Innova. These canned food diets are high in protein and low in carbohydrates which meet their nutritional needs.

UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOR

Behavior problems are very common in cats and dogs. It is very sad to report that most of the animals that are put to sleep are a result of behavioral problems. Medical care is very important, but we try and focus on other aspects of care which will help you raise a good cat. Cats are very inquisitive and adventuresome, which could lead to problems so here are some tips for behavior problems.

Inappropriate Scratching

Scratching is a normal behavior of cats. It is a grooming behavior which loosens the old layers of the nails and hones them into sharp points. Provide at least one scratching post for your cat to use. Even declawed cats like to stretch and knead their paws. It is important to place the post in an area where your cat spends most of its time. The more your kitten likes his post and the more he is encouraged to use it, the less he will scratch at the furniture or rugs.

Simple Rules of Preventing Scratching Problems in Cats

• Provide a desirable surface

• Make inappropriate surface aversive

• Punish the cat immediately and consistently, or use remote punishers such as double-sided sticky tape or aluminum foil to off-limit items such as the arms of furniture.

• The punishment must be appropriately intense so that the cat stops scratching but does not become afraid or aggressive.

Inappropriate Elimination

Inappropriate elimination means that a cat is urinating and/or defecating in the house in places other than its litter box.

This can be caused either by medical problems or a behavioral disorder. Behavioral causes of inappropriate elimination fall into two general categories: 1) a dislike of the litter box or litter-box aversion, and 2) a stress-related misbehavior.

One of the main reasons for this is because the litter box has become objectionable to the cat. This usually occurs because it is not cleaned frequently enough or because the cat does not like the type of litter in it. In a mulicat household it is suggested to have one litter box per cat plus one and all the litter boxes should be cleaned daily. The litter boxes can be covered or uncovered but make sure the cat can easily get into and out of the litter box without having an unpleasant encounter.

Aggressive Behavior

There are two types of feline aggression that is displayed by cats; play and fear motivated aggression. Play-motivated aggression is when your cat takes a stalking stance and pounces on you. This is the behavior of a single cat household and they have nothing else to play with. It is important to buy toys that your cat can play with during the day so he will be less likely to use a family member for these activities.

In fear-motivated aggression, cats occasionally direct their attention to people. Visitors may be lunged at or bitten by a cat that perceives them as intruders. Normally a cat is frightened of the individual or they feel as through they are cornered and cannot get away. Cats with this tendency should either be confined to avoid guests or intentionally exposed to them. If you want your cat to get used to visitors, allow your cat to be exposed to the person but not to close so they don’t feel threatened. Slowly allow the person or visitor to move closer to the cat and then give the cat a treat each time. It is important to do this gradually so they cat learns that good things happen when visitors are around.

How do I insure that my kitten is well socialized?

The prime socialization period for cats occurs between two and twelve weeks of age. During that time, the kitten is very impressionable to social influences. If it has good experiences with men, women, children, dogs, other cats, etc., it is likely to accept them throughout life. If the experiences are absent or unpleasant, it may become apprehensive or adverse to any of them. Therefore, during the period of socialization, we encourage you to expose your cat to as many types of social situations and influences as possible.

HEARTWORMS IN CATS

Heartworms are less common in cats than in dogs, but cats can get them too. Cats that are infected usually only have a few worms in their heart, but because their hearts are so small 1-2 worms could be fatal. Signs of heartworms disease in cats include chronic coughing, wheezing or vomiting and sudden collapse. There is no effective treatment for cats that have heartworm disease, but there is now a once a month preventative medication.

Indoor Cats Can Get Heartworm Too

Since heartworms are transmitted through misquotes, outside cats are more at risk. Since it takes so few heartworm parasites to cause disease in cats, even the occasional mosquito flying into the home can carry more than enough heartworm to be fatal.

There Is No Treatment

There is simply no good treatment for heartworm-infected cats. Effective drugs are not available, and cats that seem to be doing well may die suddenly. Treating heartworm infections in cats is risky at best, and not treating these cats is just as risky. It will take about two years for the parasitic infection to be eliminated in the cat, and serious clinical signs can suddenly appear at any time during this period.

Prevention Is Easy

Advantage Multi for cats is a topical that is applied once a month for prevention of heartworms, intestinal parasites, fleas and ear mites.

FLEA CONTROL

As a new owner of a kitten, it’s important to know how to protect your pet and home from parasites and their harmful effects.

Fleas Pose a Serious Threat to Kittens

Fleas are irritating parasites that bite and feed on kitten’s blood. This can lead to serious problems such as skin infection and flea allergy dermatitis. Heavy flea infestations on puppies can cause anemia and sometimes even death.

Cats and dogs share the same fleas. It is important that all pets in your home are on a flea preventive. Treating your pet for fleas has never been easier. With the many choices we have today, we can provide you with the safest and most effective flea preventive for your pet’s needs. Sentinel, Advantage, and Frontline are the products we offer for the prevention of fleas.

Life Cycle of the Flea

A single female flea may produce up to 2,000 eggs over her lifetime. Eggs hatch and can develop into adults within only three weeks. Adult female fleas feed by ingesting blood from the pet and subsequently lay eggs, which drop off the pet’s coat. Within days, larvae hatch from the eggs and live undetected in the pet’s surroundings, such as carpet and bedding. The eggs and flea larva can last for months in the environment. Flea larvae spin a cocoon, and, when appropriately stimulated, a young adult flea emerges and jumps onto the pet to continue the life cycle.

Apart From Irritation, are Fleas Particularly Harmful?

Fleas can cause anemia in heavy infestations, especially in young or debilitated cats. A single female flea can take up to 15 times her body weight in blood over the several weeks of her adult life. In addition, biting fleas can cause medical problems such as flea allergy, anemia, secondary skin infection, and tapeworm infection. One of the most common tapeworms of the dog and cat is Dipylidium caninu. When fleas bite, the pet chews and ingests the flea which is infected with the tapeworm. Tapeworms segments look like flatten grains of rice on the pet’s feces. Stopping fleas from biting and eliminating fleas on the pet can help prevent tapeworm infection.

How Do I Prevent Fleas on My Cat?

There are several different preventative products for flea control which include Advantage, and Frontline Plus.

A. Advantage is a topical product that is applied once a month, which will stop the biting of fleas as quickly as possible. Advantage kills 98-100% of the fleas on dogs within 12 hours. In just 3-5 minutes Advantage stops fleas from biting. One treatment prevents further flea infestation for at least three weeks, and it kills the fleas before they lay eggs.

B. Frontline Plus kills adult fleas, flea eggs, and flea larvae for up to a month. It is applied topically once a month and is very fast acting. Frontline Plus also kills ticks and chewing lice for at least one month.

DECLAWING

What is Declawing?

Some owners who have indoor cats prefer to have their front paws declawed. Declawing is a surgical removal of the entire nail and nail bed of the front claws. This is preformed under general anesthesia with sufficient pain management throughout the recovery procedure. The healing process takes a few days before your cat can knead and scratch comfortably. Your cat will stay in the hospital one night after the surgery so proper pain medications can be administered along with monitoring his/her progress after the surgery.

Should I Get My Cat Declawed?

It is important to give your cat a chance to learn how to use its claws appropriately before making the decision to declaw. As stated in the other hands it is important to provide a desirable surface, make inappropriate surface aversive, punish the cat immediately and consistently, or use remote punishers such as double sided stick tape or aluminum foil to off-limit items such as furniture for prevention of inappropriate scratching. Regular nail trimming can also be very useful to prevention destruction. Declawing your cat maybe the only option if your cat continues to cause continuous destruction in your home.

Do Behavior Problems Arise From Declawing?

Declawing does not alter the cat’s behavior. It is common for cats to continue to scratch furniture after declawing, but of course no damaged can be caused. It is a concern to some owners that if your cat happens to “escape” outside they will not be able to defend themselves against other predators seeing that they have no front claws. This is the prime reason that Dr. Connolly does not recommend declawing all four feet. The only mechanism that cats have for protection are of course their claws and their teeth, so declawing the back feet would not be ethical in case a situation like this arises.

What Age Can I Get My Cat Declawed?

Dr. Connolly recommends declawing at 12 weeks of age. Declawing at 12 weeks of age makes the recuperation time shorter and easier on the kitten. Adult cats and those that are heavier may take longer to heal and adapt. Dr. Connolly will declaw older cats, but if declawing is something you are interested in doing it is better to do it sooner than later.

NEUTERING YOUR CAT

We recommend neutering all male pets. Male cats are attracted to female cats in heat and will climb over or go through fences to find her. Male cats that are not neutered are more aggressive and more likely to fight, especially with other male cats. The benefits to your pet’s health and to help reduce the pet overpopulation crisis make this decision easier. Male cats tend to become territorial and start to mark areas, even inside the house, by spraying urine. This urine has a particularly offensive odor and is difficult to remove.

There are several advantages of neutering your cat

• Reduces the risk of prostate cancer and prostatitis

• Reduces the risk of hormone-related diseases such as perianal adenoma

• Eliminates the risk of testicular cancer, the second most common cancer in intact cats

• Removal of sexual urges, which usually decreases roaming behaviors

• Reduction of certain types of aggression

• Prevent spraying

Perceived disadvantages

Many pet owners have perceived disadvantages of neutering their pet. Some of the misconceived disadvantages include: pets will become obese or lazy, or develop a change in personality. Obesity, the most common of theses concerns, is a result of overfeeding and a lack of physical activity not due to neutering your pet. By regulating these factors obesity can be prevented. Dr. Connolly recommends neutering your pet between the ages of 5-6 months. The longer a tomcats sprays and fights, the less likely neutering will stop these behaviors.

Anesthesia and your pet

Neutering is considered a major operation and requires general anesthesia. Many pet owners worry unnecessarily about anesthesia in their pets. Although anesthesia can never be completely free of risk, general anesthesia has become safer in recent years with the advent of newer drugs and better patient monitoring. We recommend a pre-surgical blood profile to ensure that your pet is in a low risk category prior to procedure. This profile is similar to tests human physicians require before their patient goes under anesthesia. The results of these tests provide vital information about the functioning of internal organs, particularly the liver and kidneys.

The procedure

Before the surgery Dr. Connolly will examine your pet and pre-anesthetic blood tests will usually be performed. If everything is acceptable, your pet will then be anesthetized. After your pet is anesthetized, a breathing tube will be placed in her trachea or windpipe. This will allow the delivery of oxygen and the gas anesthetic directly into the lungs. A technician closely monitors the heart rate and respiration rate during the entire surgery, and monitors your pet after surgery. The surgery consists of making a small incision in the scrotum and removing the testicles. There are no sutures to be removed after surgery.

SPAYING YOUR CAT

We recommend spaying all female pets. Almost all unspayed female cats will eventually develop either mammary tumors (breast cancer) or severe uterine infection called pyometra. The benefits to your pet’s health and to help reduce the pet overpopulation crisis make this decision easier. Dr. Connolly recommends spaying between five and six months.

There are several advantages of spaying your cat

• Prevention of “heat” or estrus

• When in “heat”, the female experiences an urge to escape in order to find a mate. This unwanted and dangerous behavior is eliminated.

• It eliminates the possibility of false pregnancy following the “heat cycle”

• Prevention of uterine infection known as pyometra

• The prevention of breast cancer. Cats spayed before the first “heat” have less than 0.5% chance of developing breast cancer.

• Elimination of the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer

Perceived disadvantages

Many pet owners have perceived disadvantages of spaying their pet. Some of the misconceived disadvantages include: pets will become obese or lazy, or develop a change in personality. Obesity, the most common of theses concerns, is a result of overfeeding and a lack of physical activity not due to spaying your pet. By regulating these factors obesity can be prevented.

Anesthesia and your pet

Spaying is considered a major operation and requires general anesthesia. Many pet owners worry unnecessarily about anesthesia in their pets. Although anesthesia can never be completely free of risk, general anesthesia has become safer in recent years with the advent of newer drugs and better patient monitoring. We recommend a pre-surgical blood profile to ensure that your pet is in a low risk category prior to procedure. This profile is similar to tests human physicians require before their patient goes under anesthesia. The results of these tests provide vital information about the functioning of internal organs, particularly the liver and kidneys.

The procedure

Your pet will be examined by Dr. Connolly and pre-anesthetic blood tests will usually be performed. If everything is acceptable, your pet will then be anesthetized. After your pet is anesthetized, a breathing tube will be placed in her trachea or windpipe. This will allow the delivery of oxygen and the gas anesthetic directly into the lungs. A technician closely monitors the heart rate and respiration rate during the entire surgery, and monitors your pet after surgery. The surgery consists of making a small incision just below the umbilicus and removing the ovaries and uterus. Dr. Connolly uses absorbable sutures so that you do not have to return to have them removed.

DENTAL CARE

All of us know about the benefits of routine dental care for ourselves. Daily brushing and flossing, and regular visits to the dentist, keep our teeth and gums healthy. Dental disease is very common in cats and unfortunately routine dental care is still often a neglected item of general health care. Most cats will show few signs of dental disease, so that is why it is important as a new pet owner to begin dental care with your kitten.

Periodontal disease

Periodontal disease is a term used to describe inflammation or infection of the tissues surrounding the tooth. Accumulation of tartar and calculus on the teeth contributes to gum recession around the base of the tooth. Infection soon follows and the gums recede, exposing sensitive unprotected tooth surfaces. Untreated infection then spreads into the tooth socket and ultimately the tooth loosens and is lost.

Brushing your kitten’s teeth

Teaching your kitten to accept teeth brushing will take time and patience, but will be well worth it once they get accustomed to the process. It is best to begin teaching your cat to accept brushing while he/she is still a kitten.

Start by rubbing your finger over your kitten’s teeth in a back and forth motion. This will get your kitten used to your finger being in his/her mouth. Pet toothpaste is recommended for several reasons, and we have several different flavors. Pet toothpaste cleans the teeth enzymatically, thereby reduces the amount of actual brushing that you will have to perform. Human toothpaste should not be used as it can upset you kitten’s tummy. These products are foaming products and are not meant to be swallowed.

Once the cat has accepted the taste of the toothpaste, apply a small amount to a toothbrush and begin by placing your free hand over your cat’s head with your thumb and index finger on opposite sides of your cat’s upper jaw. Gently raise your cat’s lip on one side and begin by brushing one or two cheek teeth. A finger-brush toothbrush works well for most cats.

If your cat will tolerate teeth brushing then it would be best to brush for at least 30 seconds per side.

Remember that cat’s carry harmful bacteria in their mouth, so wash your hands and the toothbrush after every brushing.

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