Cats and Bats!

“Louise, you were right to be concerned when your cats killed a bat.  Fortunately, our records show Calico, Blackie, and Daisy are current on their rabies vaccinations.  If they were bitten by the bat or even if they ate it they should be protected”.

            Rabies in cats is a greater problem in the country than rabies in dogs.  More people are bitten by rapid cats than by rapid dogs perhaps because they tend to befriend and cuddle small, warm, soft animals, i.e. cats and kittens. 

            Although it has not been shown that rabies is spread among cats by biting each other it is well known they can contract rabies from bat and skunk bites.  Both bats and skunks are reservoirs for the infection in the wild.  People can also be infected with rabies by bats and skunks and for that reason should leave these animals alone, for when infected they can survive for long periods with the virus in their tissues and can infect other animals or people months after they themselves have been infected.

            I have worked with rabid animals, but not in the Imperial Valley.  Early in the disease, affected animals seem to have difficulty seeing well or may be a little uncoordinated when moving.  They behave apprehensively as if realizing something is wrong that they do not understand and not knowing what to do, they may seek human comfort and become inordinately affectionate.  As the disease progresses their alarm mounts, they become fearful and may want to hide.  Then, within hours or days affected animals become very depressed or vicious, attacking objects, humans, or animals that move.

            To avoid exposure to rabies people should be skeptical of any abrupt change of attitude in their pets.  As a rule stray animals should be left alone.  Children should be especially careful and avoid them.  If one thinks he or she has an animal with rabies, they can call their veterinarian for advice.

            Vaccination against rabies is the best prevention, although annual vaccination of dogs is required by law, vaccination of cats is even more advisable.

Ear Mites!

Crystal, a girl of the backstreets, was a pretty cat.  Several months ago she had a liaison with Horatio.  Her owner wasn’t aware of the clandestine relationship.  Really, there was nothing to tell. Two months later Crystal started scratching her ears.  There was dark- brown, cruddy exudate in them.  When I looked there were tiny white bugs crawling around in her ears.  Ear mites!  I heard of a veterinarian that put some ear mites in his own ears just to experience what a cat goes through with these pests.  They nearly drove him nuts as they crawled around.  These mites spend much of their life crawling around on a cat’s body where ear treatment doesn’t work.  Therefore, treatment in the ears must have a prolonged effect to kill the mites when they periodically visit the ear canals.  We see a lot of cats with mites, treat them, and send home drops to be administered when the cat starts to scratching again.  This is about once a month for indoor-outdoor cats where exposure to feral cats causing re-infestation can occur.  Strictly indoor cats are usually free of mites after two treatments.  But, all cats in the house must be treated.  If not, any untreated cat will be a source of re=infestation of all the others.

Another condition in cats that is clinically similar to ear mite infestation is due to a polyp growing in the ear chambers.  This can be confused with infection or mites and requires surgery for a cure.

Ear problems are very common in dogs.  But mites are rare.  I have only seen one case of ear mites and that was in a pup.  Yeast infections in the ears of dogs are very frequently encountered.  They cause dark brown to black exudate to form in the ears that is similar to that seen with cats that have ear mites.  However, treatment is very different for mites and yeast infections.  If yeast infection of dogs is not treated properly it can result in rupture of the ear drum leading to middle ear infection which is a serious, difficult problem to treat.

Urinary blockage in a cat

Jack was in last week.  He needed vaccinations and his teeth cleaned.  I hadn’t seen him for a while, but for an old cat, he’s 18 now, he was sleek and vigorous.

     He wasn’t always this way.  One cold winter evening five years ago his owner brought him to me.  She thought he was dead but wanted to be certain.  At the time he was an indoor-outdoor cat and had been missing for several days.  When he came home his owner found his lifeless body on her back porch.  As she gently laid him on the exam table a quick glance convinced me it was time for condolences.  As the comforting words formed in my mind I saw just the slightest hint of a movement of his chest.  Could it be he was still alive?  If so, there surely wasn’t any time so spare.  The examination was hasty.  His heart was beating slowly and the pulse was so weak I could barely feel it.  There were no eye reflexes.  Body temperature was so low the mercury didn’t budge from the bulb.  His belly held a clue; the bladder was grossly distended with urine.  Quickly I performed a cystocentesis and drained the bladder of thick brownish urine.  He had feline urologic syndrome.  The urethra was plugged with exudates and crystals so he couldn’t void.  Metabolic waste products had backed up and accumulated in his blood and he had gone into a coma.  A blood sample showed an extremely high level of urea, confirming that he had uremic poisoning, complicating his condition.

     Jack was catheterized so urine would flow freely.  Intravenous fluids were given to flush the poisons from his system and we put him on a heating pad to warm him.  Amazingly, in an hour he was stirring, six hours later he sat up on his sternum and in two days he went home.  Now in his waning years, he lives the good life indoors.  Perhaps, because it is so easy to become the caretaker of a cat some people view them as expendable.  But not his owner, he has been her valued friend for many years.  A relationship that has grown over time, especially since his close encounter with death.

Illness of a kitten

“Doctor Howard,” Robin called from the intensive care ward, “he ate, the kitty ate, a little.” 

Mrs. Andrews had found a dying kitten in the alley behind her home the previous day.  When she brought him to the hospital he was so weak he could not stand.  About four weeks old, he was mostly bones, frizzy fur, and fleas.  A Siamese, and quite handsome we thought, in spite of his wretchedness, with black outline of his eyes, nose, and mouth.  On closer examination we found the black markings were flea dirt.  There was no outward sign of infection other than the parasites, but the membranes of the mouth and eyes were almost white because he was so anemic.  I supposed the anemia was due to fleas draining his blood as they fed, which was partially correct.

            Our first order of care was to rid him of the fleas.  JoAnn, knowing the little fellow might be killed by routine flea treatment, dampened a piece of cotton with flea spray and gently rubbed the hair against the lay getting the chemical to the fleas but not on the kitten’s skin.  Then, with a flea comb she and Phyllis removed the poisoned pests.  This took more than an hour. 

            In the meantime, John found the kitten’s blood cells had hemoplasma organisms on them.  These bacteria, spread by fleas, sensitize blood cells which are then destroyed by the spleen faster than the bone marrow can replace them.  We had our diagnosis, but what to do?  While JoAnn bathed, dried and warmed the little tyke, we caught Tazz, the clinic cat, varmint control officer, and donor of blood for ailing kittens.  We transferred six milliliters of his blood into the kitten’s abdominal cavity so it would flow into his circulation giving him essential blood cells, protein and immune factors.  Then, just a tiny bit of antibiotic was injected to start controlling the hemoplamas.

            By this time it was getting late in the day so Robin fed him milk replacer with a dropper and put him to rest in a small cage with an insulated heating pad to warm him.  The next day he was able to stand and, as mentioned earlier, eat.  The day following he was released to Mrs. Andrews’ care with two more weeks of antibiotic treatment.  He recovered and grew to be a handsome cat.  Never cross or arrogant, he seemed to understand that he was in debt for his life.

            When you consider adding a new pet from any source to your household, you should realize that the new animal may be carrying a disease that can spread to resident animals.  To help avoid trouble be sure your existing pets are current on vaccinations, and regardless of how healthy it seems, have the new pet examined by your veterinarian before it is introduced to its new home as Mrs. Andrews did. 

A Big-Stinky Problem

“Doctor, my cat has a big, stinky problem!  Every-once-in-awhile she will leave a small, really foul-smelling spot somewhere in the house.  What is this and what can be done about it?”

            This problem is more common to dogs than cats, but it is the same in both species.  Animals have a gland on each side of the anus that secretes a smelly material thought to be used for marking territory as the animal defecates or rubs against the ground.  Sometimes these glands spill their contents spontaneously resulting in a spot somewhere in their surroundings and a nauseating odor.  Also, sometimes the glands become blocked this irritates the animal which tries to correct the problem by scooting across the floor.

            Permanent correction of the problem demands surgical removal of the glands by a veterinarian.  It takes a few days to a week for healing to occur and the dog or cat forever remains free of the problem.

Treatment of Calicivirus Stomatitis in Cats

We have treated three cats in the past six weeks that had calicivirus stomatitis.  They all responded well to treatment, which may be encouraging news for other cats and their caring owners.  The first case was a six-year-old spayed female that lived out of doors.  She had been lethargic, not playing for five days, and eating very little.  Her temperature was normal but there were thick mucous masses on the surface of her eyes, no nasal discharge, but a large ulcer was on the middle of her tongue.  By the fourth day of treatment her eyes were clear, her appetite had returned and she was playing again.  But the tongue ulcer remained.  Treatment was stopped after seven days and the ulcer was healed by day 14.  With antibiotic-based treatment regimens recovery may take two weeks or more if it occurs at all.

            The second cat was very sick.  Temperature 105°.  His eyes were sealed closed with mucous, which also plugged the nostrils inhibiting breathing.  The cat drooled fetid saliva and there were extensive deep ulcers in the mouth.  He lived outdoors and could not eat because of illness and mouth pain.  With seven days of treatment he had almost recovered, drooling had stopped and he was eating.  Two days after treatment ceased clinical illness returned.  Treatment resumed but was limited to every other day. He now appears to have recovered but this may be transitory, dependent upon perpetual medication.   In my experience such dramatic response is unusual.  Most cases become chronic and severely emaciated, for the virus survives in the tissues.  The fact that this cat required prolonged treatment indicates the disease had already become chronic but the treatment limited extent of lesions and made the cat comfortable.  Only time will tell whether or not a cure has been affected. 

The third case was a cat with large open, raw lesions in the angle of the jaw at the rear of the mouth.  The lesions extended forward along the gums almost to the canine teeth.  This poor cat had been afflicted for several years.   In the past I had tried unsuccessfully to treat it with different regimens.   The cat had become quite thin, it could not chew its food, only swallow the kibbles whole.  With one week of treatment the cat was much livelier and crunching its kibbles.  One week without treatment and lassitude and difficulty eating had returned.  But, when treatment was resumed every other day the cat behaved normally again.  The condition is chronic in this cat and continuous low-levels or intermittent treatment may be required for life to control clinical disease.

 Treatment of these cases was the same, how levels of interferon once daily administered in the mouth.   Interferon is a small protein produced in virus infected cells.  It circulates through the body of the infected animal and inhibits virus development.   As a drug interferon is not generally considered an effective treatment against calicivirus infection.  For that matter, there is only one other effective treatment that I am aware of for this disease and it is experimental.  However, in my judgment, these three cats were benefited by interferon treatment.  Their symptoms diminished and their quality of life improved.