For the last few weeks, I’ve been preparing to be a participant on a panel that will explore the need for environmental enrichment for our pet cats. What the heck is environmental enrichment, you might say? Sounds too complicated for what is thought to be a low maintenance pet. What it means is that you make allowances for an animal’s needs that you know are important to the way they would live if they could make their own choices. And I’m finding that lots of the things that I intuitively feel about a cat’s needs have actually been documented by some swell researchers that prove the need to add another level of consideration to care we give our cats.

Here’s a little food for thought. If you were kept in the lap of luxury with fully nutritious cookies and crackers available 24/7, you’d like that, yes? But wait, there’s no books, no TV, no computer, no exercise room. But there’s plenty of cookies over in that one corner of the kitchen. You’re only allowed to be in this 15 room mansion and never given even a deck of cards to play solitaire. Maybe you’d have to live with 2 or 3 other people and one of them was a bully, not looking so good now, eh? Makes you really think about what it means to be truly happy as opposed to just taken care of. Zoos have known this for years. Think about the outrage you would have if a zoo didn’t take an animal’s behavioral needs into account when planning how to keep it.

Cats have a job. It’s to be a hunter. They’ve developed amazing skills to be really good at this over thousands of years. We’ve only asked them to come inside and live with us maybe for the last 50 or 60 years. Through years of breeding we altered dog behavior and as well as form, but we never asked the cat to change their habits. We wanted good hunters and they obliged us. But when we decided to have them live inside exclusively, we didn’t like the stalking and pouncing on our leg behaviors, or we didn’t like that they needed really clean places to go to the bathroom, or we didn’t like them doing things that made them feel more secure like scratching the furniture. So, at first, we said that all those behaviors were “wrong”. Now we know that all those behaviors are “right” and that cats that don’t do them have done a remarkable job of adapting to a highly restrictive set of circumstances. Good thing too because most cats that are seen as doing “wrong” behavior end up in a shelter.

Recognizing the need to improve a cat’s environment is the first step to helping your cat be happier living with you. Luckily, there are some really neat cheap and easy ways to do this. The most important thing is that you change your perspective and start seeing yourself as a good zookeeper as well as a loving owner.

We feed them, protect them from injury and disease, and we shower our love on them with cuddles and coos. Most of us think that we are doing the best for our cats by making a physically safe environment. But now we know that we need to rethink the needs of this wonderful creature. It’s not enough to just keep them from the physical perils of their natural life style without working on their behavioral and emotional needs.

There’s a ton of reliable information available to learn about creating a happy cat home. Here are some great resources to check out to start the journey. In a few months we’ll be able to add information from the American Association of Feline Practitioners guidelines too! I’m really looking forward to continuing my journey as well.

http://indoorpet.osu.edu/
https://ckm.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/indoorpetpublic/documents/handouts/Cats_Indoors_flier.pdf
http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/cat_friendly_home/info.html
http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/cat_friendly_home/playtime.html
http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/cat_friendly_home/Environmental_enrichment_JFMS%20article%20for%20website.pdf
http://catvets.com/healthtopics/

We all know what  a sneeze sounds like whether it is from a you or your cat. A sneeze  results from irritation in the nose, which is called rhinitis. An important part of the respiratory tract’s defense system, a sneeze is a reflex action made up of two parts. The first is an irritation within the nasal passages that causes release of inflammatory chemicals, which sensitize the nerve endings, sending a message to the brain. That triggers a series of steps resulting in air being forcibly expelled through the nose.

The sneeze reflex is the same regardless of the cause. However, characteristics of the sneeze point to the cause. If your cat’s sneezes are short with no, or clear, spray discharge and is otherwise healthy, then most likely he is suffering from an allergy or minor irritation. Plug in air fresheners, kitty litter,household products and plants(, especially cut flowers) are common causes of allergies in cats. Even indoor cats can be affected by pollen which comes in through open windows or on clothing. There are many options for treating allergic rhinitis, but the first step is to identify and remove the culprit. If that is not possible, there are many anti-allergy products that can be used safely in cats as directed by your veterinarian.

Sometimes the sneeze is accompanied by a thick greenish-yellow discharge or runny eyes. This is usually indicative of an upper respiratory infection. If your cat also shows signs of not feeling well ( eating less, decreased energy, noisy stuffy breathing), then a visit to the doctor is the next step. Most infections are viral. Two viruses that cause the majority of upper respiratory infections are feline herpes virus and calici virus.  Veterinarians recommend that ALL cats get vaccinated against these viruses because they are quite hardy. They can live outside the body for 7-14 days and you can bring them home( via clothing, hands, or objects.) Often viral infections can be treated the same way as the common cold in humans. Occassionally however, there are complications. In rare cases, calici virus can cause serious, if not life-threatening, disease.  A thorough physical exam and consultation with your veterinarian will result in the best plan for a speedy recovery for your kitty.

Uncommonly  a sneezing cat will   have a discharge out of only one nostril. Sometimes the sneezing will be bloody. This type of sneeze can be indicative of a variety of problems. Your cat may have something stuck up its nose.( Grass seeds are a common nasal foreign body in outdoor cats.) , Sneezing may point to a dental problem; often an abscessed tooth. The roots of a cat’s upper teeth lie very close to the nasal passages. The sneezing can be the result of infection or inflammation surrounding the tooth affecting the nose.  Unilateral nasal discharge and sneezing  also can be indicative of chronic rhinitis – the result of having had an upper respiratory infection that damaged the nasal passages. In rare circumstances in older cats, one sided sneezing and discharge may point to a developing nasal tumor.The diverse reasons for sneezing often require a diagnostic work-up by your veterinarian. The prognosis and treatment plan will depend on the diagnostic results and interpretation.

Although it is  a simple reflex action, the sneeze is an important sign.. Its character is a clue to the cause of your cat’s sneezing and to the best treatment . Your cat’s doctor is the best resource for a successful plan to eliminate your cat’s sneezing problem.

Kittens learn from each other and their Mom and need them to develop their normal behaviors. They need social and physical contact to gain confidence. As they grow older, they will need each other less but remain interested in social interaction. The presence of the Mom with the litter also increases confidence. Kittens feel safe clustered around their Mom and can show interest in novel people or situations. If the Mom is confident around people the kittens will quickly learn to be sociable with humans. If she is hostile, they will learn to be too.

The first important relationship with a kitten is with his Mom. They are entirely dependent upon her for their survival. Before two weeks of age, they don’t move around much, have not developed many abilities that they will later and have poor eye sight.  She anticipates everything they need from nutrition to cleaning to toileting. By licking their abdomen, she stimulates the passing of urine and feces that she can then consume.

All social contact is limited to the litter and Mom. The family is matriarchal and independent. Related females in a colony will help with child rearing. They may help with nursing or moving the kittens. There is a lot of safety in numbers. Related Moms will guard kittens remaining behind if they have to be moved. Alone, a mother cat exposes the kittens left behind to dangers as she moves them one by one.

As kittens get older, they begin to move around more and begin to develop more independent behavior. In the early stages of these changes, they remain very dependent upon Mom for all their needs. As they begin to play with each other, they learn to communicate effectively with other cats and begin to develop the predatory skills they will need as adults.

I recently received the following question:

Why do cats completely flip out when you scratch their backs right above the tail? Our cat acts like she loves/hates it and is about to have a seizure every time.
- E. Rich

This could be a very normal reaction for your cat.  Some cats will develop “pet induced aggression” when they are petted for too long.  It can be on any part of the body. It is usually the head, the belly, or the tail base.  The best way to avoid this is to pet them only when you initiate the petting NOT when they come to be petted.

This could also be a sign of pain from arthritis or a neurological condition.  You veterinarian could best determine this with a video of the action.  Sometimes a radiograph of the area can be very helpful to determine if arthritis is involved. If this is the issue, mediations or a special diet may be extremely helpful.

In summary, it may be behavioral and minor modifications may be the solution.  Videoing of the incident may be very helpful to your veterinarian.  If it is a physical problem, other diagnostics and medications may be the answer.  In either instant, visiting a veterinarian should help diagnosis and treatment.

Part 1: A Hefty Debate

Last year, a study including 450,000 cats was released called “State of Pet Health 2011 Report”. In that study, obesity ranked in the top three diagnoses for cats. The study also found that the incidence of diabetes in cats over the last five years has increased by 16% – not surprisingly, the two are related. They are both related to diet, as are several other medical issues we see in cats. This makes a cat’s diet one of the most important parts of good preventive health.

Over the past few decades, with increasing vigor, veterinarians and animal nutritionists have been debating the merits of dry foods (kibble) versus canned foods. One downside to feeding dry foods is that even though all commercially available diets are formulated to meet certain nutritional standards, dry food is quite the opposite of what cats naturally need. (Click here for more on feline obesity and diet from Dr. Lund.) The best way to encourage weight loss in a cat is to minimize the dry food and feed most calories as canned foods. Two recent studies were released this year demonstrated that the addition of water to similar diets resulted in weight reduction and increased activity^{1, 2}

The bottom line: Canned food is more like a cat’s natural diet in consistency, nutritional content and caloric density. Canned food will help your cat lose weight and keep it off. And most cats just plain like canned foods better!

Part 2: The Tooth of the Matter

In the past, many veterinarians made the recommendation to switch from feeding canned diets to feeding dry kibble for the sake of cats’ dental health; a canned-food-only diet was the prime suspect for the poor dental hygiene seen in the majority of cats. In 2011, in the “State of Pet Health 2011 Report”, the number of cats with dental disease surpassed the number of healthy cats seen after age 3 (over 50% of cats!), making it the most common feline disease.

The reality of feline dental disease is that genetics has a large part to play in your cat’s oral health, just as it does in humans. While canned food really does not help eliminate plaque and tartar, neither do many of the commercially available dry foods, either! Most of the commercially available dry diets have kibbles that are small enough that cats will gulp them down whole. More recent research has shown that in order for a dry food to help with dental care, a larger-sized kibble, typical in special diets designed specifically for oral health, is required³. Larger kibbles allow for more tooth penetration and “scraping” of the tooth. Some of these special diets also have anti-plaque additives that help. Some diets advertise anti-calculus agents, too, but these do not seem to help. Once the plaque has hardened, it seems a professional dental cleaning is the best way to get the teeth clean again.

If you try out a dental diet, you will notice that your cats are significantly noisier when they eat – suddenly, you will be able to hear the crispy crunching sound of food being chewed, when before, the only dinnertime sound was the tink-tink-tink of kibbles being pushed around in the bowl.

The bottom line: Canned food is not your cat’s oral enemy, and not just any dry food will help keep their teeth healthy. A combination of special dental-focused diets and annual oral exams by your veterinarian are the best team for cats’ teeth.

Part 3: Litter-ally a Matter of Concentration

If you consider the cat’s natural diet, a rodent is about 70-78% water. Dry food contains about 10% water. Cats are descended from desert animals, so their instinct is to take in water from their prey versus looking for water sources. While a cat will noticeably drink more water when feeding a dry food versus a canned food, they never drink enough to compensate for the lack of moisture in their food, and will exist in a perpetual state of mild dehydration. In fact, their water intake is about ½ that of a cat that eats canned food, even if you have a cat fountain, give your kitty a “princess cup”, put ice in the water bowl, or let your cat drink from the faucet.

Mild dehydration, while not life threatening on its own, does mean that cats produce less urine than if they are well-hydrated, and that urine is more concentrated. Overly concentrated urine has been linked to urinary issues such as bladder stones or urinary crystals. Urine concentration is a measurement of how much “stuff” is in the bladder. The more “stuff” there is floating around in there, the more likely it is to stick together. The more it sticks together, the bigger it gets, until it starts to irritate the lining of the bladder as it sloshes around. Blood may or may not be visible in the urine. This irritation makes urinating an unpleasant event and may cause your cat to choose to eliminate somewhere other than the litterbox. (More information about litterbox issues from Dr. Colleran.) If the “stuff” gets too big, it may even cause a blockage in the urethra, which can become an emergency very quickly.

The bottom line: More water is better for your cat’s urinary health, and the best place to get it is from a canned diet.

1. Cameron KM, Morris PJ, Hackett RM, Speakman JR. The effects of increasing water content to reduce the energy density of the diet on body mass changes following caloric restriction in domestic cats. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). Jun 2011;95(3):399-408.
2. Wei A, Fascetti AJ, Villaverde C, Wong RK, Ramsey JJ. Effect of water content in a canned food on voluntary food intake and body weight in cats. Am J Vet Res. Jul 2011;72(7):918-923.
3. Clarke, DE, et al. Effect of Kibble Size, Shape and Additives on Plaque in Cats. J. Vet. Dent. Summer 2010; 27(2): 84-89

Pumpkin came to us through our hospital’s adoption program. He was a healthy little kitten in need of a home. Although we aren’t supposed to have favorites, he was mine. He grew to a small, fluffy orange tiger with a sweet, outgoing and gentle nature. His one challenge was that he refused to eat the monthly chewable heartworm preventive (Heartgard). At the time, topical preventives were not available, and there was still much we didn’t know about feline heartworm disease. Although my other cat would gladly eat the whole box if I let him, I could not get Pumpkin to take the medication easily, so I was lax with forcing him to take it.

One day, when Pumpkin was four years old I came home from a quick run to the store to find him lying on the floor, taking his last breath. I ran to him and tried to resuscitate him, but it was too late -he was already gone. How could this be?! He was fine a half hour ago. He was young and healthy and was in the house with no sign of trauma. He was still so cute and sweet, but gone. In shock, we sadly said our goodbyes.

I brought him to the University of Connecticut to be examined. I had to know what had happened and if my other cat was in danger. After an extensive examination all they found was one adult heartworm- small, but enough to kill him. That was it.

Feline Heartworm disease is much different from heartworm disease in dogs. It is often difficult to detect, almost impossible to safely treat, and disease symptoms vary greatly. While some cats infected with heartworm may have frequent coughing or vomiting, one of the more common signs is sudden death. Heartworm has been diagnosed in all 50 states and indoor cats are not immune to the disease. In one study, almost one third of cats with heartworm disease were indoor only cats. The good news is that it is almost 100% preventable with safe monthly medication.

As pet owners, we decide what care our pets get: what risks we are comfortable with and what dangers are unacceptable and keep us up at night. As a feline veterinarian, my job is to make sure each of you know what dangers your cats face and how to avoid these. Luckily, when it comes to preventing Heartworm disease, we now have several options, including safe and effective topical medication for finicky cats like Pumpkin. I urge all cat owners to make Heartworm disease an unacceptable risk. Losing a beloved pet is difficult. Knowing the death was preventable is tragic.

More information can be found at http://www.knowheartworms.org and http://www.heartwormsociety.org

Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum) are incredibly poisonous to cats. Well, all lilies, really – Tiger Lily ( Lilium henryi and lancifolium spp.), Day Lily (Hemerocallis spp.), Asiatic lily (Lilium asiatica), Stargazer lily (Lilium orientalis) and the rest of the Lilium family. (Not sure if you have a lily? Wikipedia has images of many of the lily species which will help with identification.) All parts of the lily plant are dangerous, including the flowers, stamens, stems, leaves and roots – even the pollen. If a cat gets pollen on its coat and then grooms, it could still cause fatal illness. Cats that get pollen on themselves should be thoroughly bathed as soon as possible.

Most of the time, we only know that a cat has eaten a lily because some part of the lily appears in a very inconveniently placed puddle of vomit. Many people may even initially write it off, thinking, “Oh well, Fluffy got into the spider plant again. Guess I’ll go get the carpet cleaner.” (Spider plants are non-toxic, by the way, so Fluffy can eat away at them all she likes!) However, when it comes to lilies, it is imperative that you seek emergency medical treatment for your cat as soon as possible to ensure proper and effective treatment. In approximately 2-4 days after ingestion of the plant, your cat may begin to show signs of kidney failure. If enough toxin is absorbed to cause acute kidney failure, then the likelihood that your cat will respond to treatment is poor.

A cat affected by lily intoxication will initially show signs of an upset stomach (gastritis): vomiting, a lack of interest in food and lethargy. These initial signs may appear within 2-12 hours of ingestion and may disappear after 12 hours. The cat may improve briefly or appear to act normal before the condition progresses to serious acute renal failure within 48 to 72 hours.

Once a cat’s kidneys have been damaged to the point of failure, they will show a variety of signs such as lethargy, vomiting, increased thirst, and urinating large quantities (in some cases, urine production may stop altogether – anuria). Affected cats are also likely to be dehydrated. If left untreated, death can occur in as little as 3 days.

Diagnosis and Treatment:

There is no “lily poisoning test”, diagnosis is usually made due to someone witnessing the cat eat the lily or vomit part of the plant. Blood tests that check the kidneys (BUN and creatinine levels) will help confirm ingestion, though severe increases are not likely to be seen immediately. If your cat’s kidney values are normal after eating part of a lily plant, this is GOOD! It means that treatment is more likely to be successful.

Within 6 hours of exposure, depending on how quickly the cat is brought to the veterinary hospital, doctors and staff may try to induce vomiting and/or give medications to prevent further absorption of the toxin. Even if blood values are normal and the cat vomits up the lily parts you will likely be advised to hospitalize your cat for monitoring and IV fluid administration for a minimum of 24 hours. If your cat is treated immediately after ingestion, prognosis is good.

Up to 48 hours post-exposure, immediate hospitalization and intensive IV fluid therapy will be recommended. The length of time that your cat will need to be hospitalized depends on how badly his kidneys have already been affected, and how he responds to treatment. Prognosis is guarded to poor – mild to moderate kidney damage may be permanent.

Two to four days post-exposure, depending on laboratory testing of the kidneys, humane euthanasia to end suffering may be the only option. Prognosis is very poor – severe, irreversible kidney damage may result in the inability to produce urine. Left untreated for longer than 18 hours, one can expect death in almost 100% of cases.

If you or anyone in your household suspects that your cat may have ingested any part of a lily, no matter how small, please seek immediate veterinary attention. Hesitation may mean the difference between life and death for your cat!

Calla Lily

Peace Lily

Note: While Calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) and Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum spp.) are not true lilies, they are still toxic to a lesser degree and can cause oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing

Lily of the Valley

Peruvian Lily

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is also not a true lily, however, it is also toxic and can cause vomiting and cardiac problems such as irregular heart beat, low blood pressure, disorientation, coma, and seizures. Peruvian lily (Alstroemeria spp.) is another lily to be aware of. While many florists advertize it to be non-toxic, large amounts of this lily-lookalike can cause stomach irritation, vomiting and diarrhea. Peruvian lilies come in all colors and are also valued in floral arrangements due to their long life as a cut flower.

For further information:

• ASPCA Toxic Plant List
• Pet Poison Help Line – learn the common signs of poisoning, make a pet poison first aid kit and more!

How does that affect their urine, or their drinking and urination habits?

Our pet cats have an ancestor that was a desert animal. Cats stay hydrated more than they get hydrated. Cats are not inherently great drinkers. They lose very little volume when they urinate in the normal situation. By losing very little volume when urinating a very well-concentrated urine, cats do not have to be great drinkers. Having said that, we should always encourage drinking well in our pet cats. Cats do not like their water in direct proximity to their food. By offering their water and their food separately, you may improve their drinking habits. We should also embrace any particulars that encourage good hydration in your cat. Some like a faucet, possibly allowing us to use a fountain. If you try a fountain, give it time and realize that cats do not embrace change in any circumstance. We also can try bottle or filtered water, ice cubes or even hot water to find what your cat likes best.

Kidney dysfunction is also very common in cats. Many times, the urine concentrating ability is the first defense lost. The affected cat may begin to produce larger volumes of urine. If they are inside and using the litter box, you might notice a larger clump in the box or even hear them urinating larger volumes. Whenever cats are drinking a lot and urinating a lot, the urination volume has often been the first change. The affected cat is drinking more but is only doing so in response to dehydration that has been brought on by a loss of their natural defense. The defense is their natural concentrating ability which is helping them less nowadays. Owners are often puzzled that we want to give fluids to kidney patients in early stage renal disease. The owner thinks that one of the main “problems” is that the cat drinks excessively and then urinates large volumes. Actually, it happens the other way around, where the lose urine volume excessively and now they are dehydrated. They will in turn drink more than the cat that is not losing large volumes of urine. The most important aspect is that a cat that “drinks excessively” should never have water withheld. Instead, we see this a symptom and go see the cat doctor right away! Instead of limiting their access to water, we increase the access and availability.

Kidney disease is only one cause of dilute urine and excessive drinking. Diabetes Mellitus and any other syndrome that results in dehydration, can lead to excessive drinking being observed by the owner. Again, we should embrace the ability to drink as much as desired, even if it seems more than normal. If the cat drinks more than they have historically, the urine puddles will also be large in almost every case. They may have also suffered some other cause of hydration loss (vomiting, diarrhea, etc.). The bottom line being that any cat that is a “good drinker”, may be showing us a symptom of disease. The normal cat was not built to be a good drinker, like most desert animals.

Lastly, I will mention the wonderful hydration that can be achieved when your kitty eats canned food multiple times daily. Again, with their desert background, pet cats are meant to hydrate through their diet. A healthy young cat that eats canned food 3-4 times daily, may rarely be seen drinking water from a bowl. In sharp contrast, the cat that eats dry food only will be observed drinking more water than the canned food cats. When hydration parameters are followed later, the canned food cats will have more effectively hydrated themselves. So make the water available, but realize that that is not the ideal way to hydrate in the cat world.

Two glowing eyes peer out at you from under the bed. A paw darts out from under a chair to grab your ankle as you walk by. Your house becomes strangely empty when the cat carrier appears. Why do cats hide?

Despite myths to the contrary, there are a lot of normal, healthy reasons that cats may find a hiding spot. Some of these reasons include curiosity, comfort, or even boredom. Cats may also hide due to stress, age-related changes or illness.

A cat’s high level of curiosity about her surroundings drives her to explore new nooks and crannies, especially empty bags and boxes, or suitcases and garment bags. That drawer you left open while you reached for a stack of shirts to put away? Check behind it before you close it, because a cat may be settling down in the darkness. Did you leave the dryer door open? Check to make sure there are no furry feet massaging your toasty warm towels into position for a nap before you close the door and press “Start”. Did you turn away from the refrigerator while the door was open? Check for paw prints in the butter!

When curling up for a nap, they will also often find a quiet place where they are less noticeable, and may prefer a shoebox, laundry basket or paper bag. It is a confident, well-adjusted and happy cat that sprawls across the couch, or sleeps belly-up in the middle of the floor. Pregnant females looking for a nesting spot may be found hiding in strange spots, or may choose to have their kittens in previously unexplored areas – such as behind a large piece of furniture.

Cats may hide in some specific spots because of the temperature. They may seek out spots near air vents to benefit from a warm or cool breeze. They may curl up in the sink or bathtub to cool off, or worm their way under a pillow or blanket to warm up. The perfect afternoon sunbeam may end behind a chair or under a table.

Your cat also may hide because they are lying in wait for a game to begin. Some cats will find a hiding spot near a high traffic area in the house and then launch themselves out at unsuspecting feet. What could be more entertaining?

Sometimes, hiding can be your cat’s way of “getting away from it all”. When something in the house becomes too stressful, the flight or flight survival response kicks in, and many cats will choose flight before a fight. What causes stress in an animal that can sleep up to 20 hours a day? A cat’s surroundings can be downright terrifying! That brand new kitten you got? It’s gone and stirred up a whole mess of stress by using the same litterbox! The new baby in the house has totally rearranged the household sleeping schedule. The party last week interfered with kitty’s squirrel-watching schedule. The new couch smells funny. And now that your oldest child has gone off to college, the bed where kitty used to sleep is now empty. If two cats in the household don’t get along well, the more timid one may absent himself in order to avoid a confrontation. Oh, and one more thing…ever since that last horrifying trip in the cat carrier, you’ve been shoving things down your cat’s throat twice a day. Who wouldn’t hide?

Cats plagued by fleas may hide in elevated hiding spots, trying to get away from the critters in the carpets. (More information about flea control from Dr. Sundahl.)

Cats deprived of a healthy variety of changes during early growth development may never develop the normal curious and tolerant behavior expected in healthy young cats. This is often true of feral kittens that are trapped and socialized. Others will adapt, but slowly. (See Bodaishin’s story) On the other hand, some cats are simply naturally, genetically, timid cats and not likely to change.

If your cat is a timid cat, and all indications of illness have been eliminated, then behavior modification and desensitization could be considered to help the cat better adjust to the home environment. Occasionally, antianxiety drug therapy may be helpful in getting the timid cat to overcome his fears and become more outgoing.

As cats age, they may develop subtle changes in personality. It is important to determine whether these changes are normal or related to health issues. Some cats even can become senile or suffer from dementia, and brain tumors are not unheard of in cats, all of which can cause cats to become more antisocial or hide more often.

So how do you tell if your cat is just doing normal cat things, or if it is an indication your cat isn’t feeling well? If your cat is normally a social animal, making the rounds of the couches and chairs, reminding you that it’s time for dinner, and cuddling with you in bed at night and you notice that he is choosing to nap in the closet instead of eating dinner, and he curls up under the bed instead of on top of the covers, then you might have something to be concerned about. Cats are creatures of habit, and a change in their normal routine is something noteworthy. However, if your cat has always been the type to sit behind the couch instead of perching on the backrest, it is probably just your cat’s normal, shy personality.

If you are concerned about the amount of time your cat spends hiding, the location that they are hiding, or have noticed a recent change in behavior, your best course of action is to call your veterinarian for advice.

Lilies are perhaps the most common and the most poisonous plant your cat may encounter.  All parts of the lily are poisonous, including the yellow-brown pollen that so easily gets on your clothing (or your cat if he brushes up against the flowers).  Treatment is successful only if started early.

While cats tend to be more cautious than dogs in regards to what they eat, they often surprise us by eating unusual things.   It is important to be aware of what dangers may lay in and around your house and how you can best keep your cat safe. Remember that since most cats are good groomers, they swallow particles from most things they touch.  In other words, whatever they touch, they swallow.  In addition, if your cat chews or eats part of a plant, they will also be swallowing any fertilizer and/or pesticides that were applied to the plant. Know that even if your cat looks fine, exposure to certain plants or other toxins requires early intervention for successful treatment. While many plants (such as Aloe) will usually cause obvious symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, tremors and lethargy) fairly quickly, for some toxins, by the time a cat shows symptoms of being sick, treatment may come too late.

Other common plants that are poisonous to cats when eaten include:  Marijuana, Sago Palm (including the seeds and nuts), Tulip Bulbs, Azalea, Oleander, Castor Bean, Cyclamen (especially the root) and Yew.

When looking to cat-proof your house (and yard), consult an expert source for information on poisonous plants. The ASPCA’s website has a very complete list at http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control.  You can also reach the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center 24 hours a day at 888-426-4435 (there is a fee for the consultation).  Please call your vet immediately if you think that your cat may have been exposed to a poisonous plant.