Can Cats Spread Bed Bugs?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: Can cats carry bed bugs, and if they can, how do you get rid of them on the cat? The place where I’m staying has bed bugs and I have three cats. ~ Jammie Siouxsie: Well, Jammie, bed bugs sure are a drag, and they’re the just about single biggest pain-in-the-tail pest of modern life in the U.S. But the good news is that no, your cats will not carry or spread bed bugs. Thomas: Bed bugs generally don’t live on their hosts. They hide in cracks and crevices and come out at night to feed. Once they’ve eaten their fill, they hop off again and go about their nasty business…
Should I Trim My Cat’s Burned Whiskers?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: Last night I found my 18-year-old cat, Pinky-Boy in front of our space heater, and his whiskers and “eyebrows” are now severely burnt from standing that close. He’s going blind, so maybe he just didn’t realize where he was. I know the space heater seems like a safety hazard, but we have three other cats, and nothing like this has ever happened before. But yes, the heater is now out of reach from Pinky. Anyways, back to my question: can I cut off the burnt edges of his whiskers? I know that whiskers are very sensitive, but because they are so burnt, could the ends be cut? Thank you so much! ~…
My Cat Is Borderline Diabetic. What Do I Do?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I have a 7-year old Siamese mix cat who came to my house as a starving kitten. She was terified of humans, but hunger won out, and after many weeks she allowed me to pet her. I brought her inside where she has stayed since then. She only likes dry food, except for tidbits of chicken which I give her for good behavior. She was drinking lots of water and peeing massive amounts, so I took her to the vet about two weeks ago and had a metabolic panel done. It turns out she is borderline diabetic, and the vet put her on Hill’s Prescription diet m/d for weight…
Ellen and Halo: No Plans for Vegan Cat Food
Since we’re part of the crowd that amplified the rumor, we feel ethically obligated to set the record straight. When we responded to a letter from a reader who heard Ellen De Generes and Halo Pet Foods plan to introduce a line of vegan pet foods, we had no idea how much response we’d get to this post and how far it would spread around the blogosphere. We were a little concerned when we were able to source the story to a gossip blog in the Chicago Sun Times, but it didn’t occur to us to ask Halo directly. Yesterday, another blogger asked Halo Pet Foods whether the rumors about a vegan cat food are…
Can A Cat Be Healthy on a Vegan Diet?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I recently heard on the radio that Ellen DeGeneres is coming out with a line of vegan cat food. Is that even a healthy possibility for our cats? I thought they naturally ate meat proteins. ~ Donna Siouxsie: After all four of us (that would be the three of us cats and Mama too) went “WHAAAAT?!?” when we heard that Ellen’s pet food company is coming out with a line of vegan cat foods, we did some research to verify this fact. It seems that this tidbit has been reported in more than one place, so we’re reasonably certain there’s some truth to it. (Update Dec. 12, 2011: it seems the…
How Can I Stop My Cat From Yowling?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I have a 9-month-old male cat. He’s been an inside cat since I got him — other than a few overnight outings when he’s gotten out an open window or a door left open half a minute too long. My only problem with him is his yowling. His meows vary from a normal meow to a deeper-toned one that almost echoes in the hall. I leave a window open for him so he can enjoy the outside world even though it reaches -40 outside during the winter. I’ve bought him every toy imaginable, keep his bowls filled and his litterbox clean. I also give him as much attention as…
Can Kidney Failure Appear in Just A Year?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: Last year, one of my cats did from chronic renal failure at age 14. Because we were concerned about our other cat, Gizzy, we had the vet give him all the appropriate tests. All the results seemed good, and we were relieved. But then last week Gizzy wasn’t acting like himself and his breath smelled bad. We took him to the vet, who said he was fine — no fever, his chest sounded good, and he wasn’t dehydrated — and since all the tests came back good last year, he probably just had a stomach bug. Gizzy got worse that night, so we took him to an emergency clinic,…
