Welcome to our “Ask Dr. Paola” collection, the place each Monday we deliver skilled recommendation instantly from Dr. Paola Cuevas (MVZ) to lend a hand our readers higher perceive their cat’s well being and well-being.
Whether or not you’re a brand new puppy father or mother or a seasoned cat lover, Dr. Paola is right here to supply solutions on your maximum urgent questions. From vitamin pointers and preventive care to troubleshooting commonplace behavioral problems, Dr. Paola is able to be offering insights that can stay your kitty satisfied, wholesome, and pussycat nice. Keep tuned for skilled steering on a variety of subjects that subject maximum to you and your cat, so you’ll be able to make knowledgeable choices and give you the highest imaginable take care of your bushy better half.
Have a query? Ship it in right here!
Assist! My Hepper is At all times Rubbing!
“Pricey Dr. Paola,
Why does my cat, Blue, all the time rub on me proper after my different cat, Louis, rubs on me?”– Bri
Hello Bri,
What you might be noticing is a superbly customary and somewhat captivating a part of pussycat verbal exchange. Cats have odor glands on their cheeks, chin, and brow, and after they rub towards you, they’re leaving at the back of pheromones that mark familiarity and belonging. If Louis rubs on you first, he’s necessarily “including” you in his odor profile. When Blue follows and rubs on you, he is not only reacting to Louis’s odor however actively including his personal, making a shared team odor.
In multi-cat families the place cats are well-bonded, this combined odor works like an invisible signature that claims: “we are family.” It is helping scale back tension, support social bonds, and take care of team solidarity. Blue’s habits is his method of creating certain he is a part of that shared id, and it’s in fact an indication of convenience and connection moderately than contention. Via “re-marking” you after Louis, Blue is solely weaving his odor into the circle of relatives tapestry, a steady reminder that you just all belong in combination.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paola
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Assist! My Hepper Has Been Recognized with Center Failure!
“My cat Chick (an 11-year-old neutered male) has been diagnosed with heart failure. The vet took 170 ml of liquid from his chest and gave us a diuretic to give him twice a day. What else can we do? The vet said his condition will worsen.” – Felizitas
Felizitas,
I’m sorry you and Chick are going via this. In cats, middle failure frequently results in fluid accumulation across the lungs (pleural effusion) or inside of them (pulmonary edema), making respiring tougher. The fluid removing your veterinarian carried out is named thoracentesis, and the diuretic is helping the frame scale back additional buildup. Sadly, as your veterinarian defined, middle failure is a innovative situation, however there are methods to stay Chick comfy and doubtlessly sluggish its development.
Along with giving the prescribed medicine precisely as directed, common follow-up visits are very important so your veterinarian can observe Chick’s middle serve as, regulate the diuretic dose, and take a look at for any electrolyte imbalances or results at the kidneys. Relying at the underlying explanation for his middle failure, your veterinarian may counsel drugs similar to ACE inhibitors, pimobendan, or others to give a boost to middle serve as. At house, protecting his atmosphere calm, keeping off tension or over the top exertion, and tracking his resting respiring charge allow you to catch adjustments early. When you understand his resting charge is constantly above 30 breaths in keeping with minute, or if he’s running more difficult to respire, this is an pressing state of affairs that wishes quick veterinary consideration.
Whilst the outlook with middle failure is guarded (that means the result is unpredictable), attentive care, widespread reassessments, and instructed reaction to adjustments can lend a hand take care of Chick’s convenience and high quality of existence for so long as imaginable.
Very best needs,
– Dr. Paola
Assist! My Hepper Is going in to a Trance!
“Hi Dr. Paola,
Once I scratch my cat on her chest, she opens her mouth and is going into a unusual trance, and it’s like her eyes roll again in her head with excitement. It’s wild! She turns out to experience it, however it’s additionally just a little loopy to peer. I used to be simply questioning if it was once customary (or a minimum of ok) for me to stay scratching her there! Cats are so humorous. Thank you, Dr. Paola!” – Hallie
Hello Hallie,
What you might be describing is in fact somewhat commonplace and, most often, completely risk free. Cats have a top focus of delicate nerve endings in positive “sweet spots” just like the chest, chin, cheeks, and base of the tail. Whilst you scratch her chest, you can be stimulating a cluster of sensory nerves that ship robust satisfying indicators to her mind. That “trance-like” state, with at ease jaw and half-closed or rolled eyes, is largely her slipping into deep enjoyment, just a little like an individual zoning out all through a perfect therapeutic massage.
So long as she is beginning or leaning into the touch and displays no indicators of discomfort or agitation in a while, it’s protected to proceed. Simply control her frame language in case the feeling ever shifts from excitement to overstimulation. Overstimulation occurs when an excessive amount of petting reasons a cat’s nerves to transform overly delicate, which will briefly alternate their enjoyment into inflammation. This humorous, blissed-out response is among the some ways cats display how deeply they may be able to experience delicate, relied on contact from their favourite other folks, even if it’s all the time sensible to stay responsive to their cues.
Very best,
Dr. Paola
This newsletter is part of our weekly Ask Dr. Paola collection
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