Meowllo evewypawdy and happy purresident’s day. We don’t weally celebwate here and so mommy wuz gunna post hers luv letter to me today but she didn’t want it to get lost in da shuffle of a silly holiday. And then we membewed meez furst Blogoversawy be comin’ up on Wednesday so da day afur wuld be da purrfect time fur mommy to tell da world how much she luvs me. Don’t you agwee? Okay so maybe it’s not da World, but me will be happy anyways. So we fawt today we wuld focus on anudder healff issue suwwoundin’ unaltered cats. Specially since this be Cat Healff mumff. Ifin yous missed any of ow educational posty’s you can enter da word “educational” in da search baw of meez page and find the posty you wuld like to wead.
Mommy just checked me and now meez gettin’ sum luvvin.
We want to cover breast cancer today. Altho’ more common in females, it can occur in males also. Breast cancer, or mammary cancer as it is called usually affects older cats between the ages of 10 – 14 years of age. Again, this is not a rule and can occur at anytime. There are a few breeds that are predisposed to mammary cancer, and they are Siamese or tri-colored cats. Another at risk female is one spayed after going through a heat. Whether or not she has had a litter of kittens makes no difference. Typically it is malignant, so all mammary cancer is treated as if it is from the start. No biopsy is performed. Instead surgery is performed and the breast and surrounding glands are removed.
Treatment is most often removal of the mammary gland chain, that means all of them. It’s safer that way as mammary cancer is aggressive and removal of all the glands reduces the risk of it’s return. After removal a sample can then be tested to determine the type and malignancy of the tumor. If malignant there may be follow up treatments of chemotherapy. There is no sure fire way to prevent this dreaded disease, but you can decrease the risk with a simple spay. The prognosis is very guarded as most cats only live a year after being diagnosed. An early catch and aggressive treatment can result in an extra 2-3 years.
Feline Mammory Tumor
Some drugs used in the treatment of miliary dermatitis and some behavioral problems such as Progesterone like medicines can cause mammary cancer. It’s always good to know the side effects of a drug before you give it to your pet. Weigh the benefits to the worst case scenario before proceeding. And as always talk to your vet about all available treatments and options for any problem that arises with your pet. And just as women should be performing breast checks on themselves, you should do the same with your female cat. Remember you know your cat, her behavior, and her body. For most kitties, until there’s a serious disease; only see the Vet once a year. Your self exams may just be the difference between that 1 year and 2-3 years.
Feline Mastectomy
We wealize one or more of da fotos may be a little gwaffic, but we wanted to show da actual tumor on an actual cat. Obviously this is not the early stages, but by seein’ it we hope you will understand better what to look for. Early in ow social media time we lost a Facebook furiend to feline bweast cancer. This is a very serious disease. Purrlease Spay//Neuter your pets. Dat will go a long way toward purrventin’ a lot of da diseases dat can affect yous kitties life.
Meowllo evewypawdy, how ya’ duin’ today? As me told ya’ on or ‘bout da furst of this mumff me wuz gunna be duin’ sum educational postys this mumff seein’ as how it be National Pet Healff mumff and National Pet Dental Healff mumff and National Purrvent a Litter mumff and all. So me fawt today wuld be a good day to post one of those since mommy and me will be goin’ fur hers mumffly visit to hers doctow. Me wanted to talk a bit ‘bout dental diseases in kitties, so da learnin’ pawt of this posty’s gunna be in hooman speak so yous can all unnewstand evewyfin’.
Your cat’s dental health is very important. What goes on in the mouth can affect the rest of the body as well. It seems most cat breeds are purported to have some degree of gingivitis. This is something we know all too well as sis Lexi has had chronic gingivitis her whole life. At least for as long as she’s had teeth. When looking up information about the different cat breeds even the hearty mixed “tabby” is prone to periodontal diseases of some kind. Just what kinds of diseases are we cats prone to you ask. Well, gingivitis is at the top of the list. It comes with inflamed red gums and bad breath. But it doesn’t stop there.
Gingivitis
Gingivitis migrates to the bones ad ligaments that support the teeth and if left untreated will cause the teeth too become loose and fall out. (or they can be removed by a vet.) But the bacteria that causes all this inflammation can also be carried by the blood stream to the rest of the body such as the organs (liver, kidneys, etc.) and cause damage and even organ failure. This gingivitis is caused by a buildup of plaque (food and debris) on the teeth that doesn’t get removed and then turns to tartar (the yellowing near the gums). FIV and FeLV are known to cause gingivitis, (altho’ not backed up by studies) but even an otherwise healthy kitty can be afflicted as in Lexi’s case.
Tooth Resorption
Tooth Resorption is another dental affliction that may affect your feline friend. It is estimated that 28%-67% of cats have some amount of Tooth Resorption. It’s the most common cause of tooth loss in cats. It is very painful and can cause many other problems as well. You can read more about it here. Stomatitis is another dental problem cats may be afflicted with. Little is known about the cause of Stomatitis, but it is painful and doesn’t respond very well to treatments. The best course of action although drastic is typically removal of the teeth.
Stomatitis
Stomatitis is best described as an atypical immune response to the chronic presence of organisms. The classical Stomatitis lesions are located at the back of the mouth. Again FIV and FeLV can be precursors to this disease as well. But it’s important to remember that even an otherwise healthy cat may be afflicted. The treatment for all of these diseases is similar and may include antibiotics, dental cleanings and extractions among others. Please consult with your Vet for the appropriate treatment for your feline family member. Lexi would like all of you to know that a cat can live a happy and productive life without their teeth. And can continue to eat most everything. It’s always a good idea to train your cat early to enjoy getting their teeth brushed. And if possible daily brushings are best. Remember to use a toothbrush made for your cat or dog as well as toothpaste. DO NOT use human toothpaste it is harmful to both cats and dogs.
We have barely scratched the surface of dental diseases and their effects on your feline friend, but we hope we’ve shared enough to make you think about the dental health of your pets. And take some steps to help prevent tooth loss as long as possible. And maybe talk with your Vet about your cats teeth and gums and implement your own dental program at home. Dental health is important to your cat’s health and can effect other areas of their body, so it is something to take seriously. And while weez on da subject meez gotta go and get meez teefys bwushed wight now.
Meowllo evewypawdy sure hope yous havin’ a gweat week. Weez in da mumff of luv now, a mumff when sweethearts spend too much munny on flowers dat’ll die in days and chocolates dat girlys complain ‘bout spweadin’ their middles da whole time they scawff ‘em down. But Luv is a good fing. Mommy sez dat evewy mumff shuld be a mumff of luv and we shuld all twy evewy day to show those in ow lives how much they mean to us. This also be National Cat Healff mumff and Dental Care mumff, as well as National purrvent a Litter mumff. And we ain’t talkin’ ‘bout da pawdee box kind of litter. So wiff all these celebwations goin’ on there shuld be no lack of nip or wantin’ fur sumfin’ to do. Member ifin we all did ow pawt there wuld be lots less unwanted kitties and doggies in shelters evewy where. There wuld be a lot less feral colonies in need of bein’ taken care of.
What duz me mean by yous pawt you ask? Well dat’s purretty simple. Yous can donate to da low cost clinics. And it dusn’t hav to be gween papers. Those fur sure wuld be purreciated, but yous kuld always donate yous time and help out. They also need supplies and old towels and lots of udder fings. Check wiff da local clinic in yous awea fur fings they might need. And fur all us bloggers and micwo bloggers, tweeters, etc., educate, educate, educate. Those of us in social media awe wesponsible fur spweadin’ da word. Even ifin yous just bloggin’ fur fun, you hav a wesponsibility to speak out on issues dat affect ow healff. Now meez not sayin’ yous hav to bweak wiff yous genre, but because yous in da public eye and peeps follow yous writings then you awe in a unique pawsition to speak up fur those animals dat can’t. Even in this day and age lots of peeps awe still ignowant ‘bout da benefits of spaying and neuterin’. After all yous not just stopping purrcweation, yous also purrventin’ or at least decweasing da risk of certain illnesses and diseases dat affect in tact animals. So there’s lots of ways you can help dat even involve gween papers. But ifin yous got ‘em and can giv ‘em, purrlease do. Altho’ in many aweas Vets volunteer their time, sumpawdy’s gotta pay fur da equipment, electwicity, dwugs, etc..
This mumff we hope to bwing you a foo of ow educational posties as well as lots of fun, and as always weez’ll be sharin’ da luv. We awe so blest to hav ow mommy and all of you in ow lives. We wuldn’t wanna magin’ ow lives wiffout you all at this point. You hav made a weal impact on ow lives fur da better, and we hope dat in sum small way we hav touched yous lives as well. And on anudder subject, we hav entered a foto contest on Facebook dat be sponsord by Chewy.com. Da winner weceives a years worff of noms. We wuld luv to win and kuld certainly use da purrize. So ifin yous not mind, wuld yous Purrlease paw us a vote evewyday? Just click here to be twanspowted to their page and ow foto, to vote. We fank you in advance fur all yous luv and suppowt and votes. Gotta go now and spwead sum luv.
Meowllo everypawdy, da weekend’s here. WooHoo Well yesfurday fur National answer yous cat’s question day we let you choose da questions. And we got sum good ones dat’s fur sure. See, we ask mommy questions all da time and she answers ‘em wight then and there. And usually ifin hers can’t answer ‘em hers will find da answer. Whether dat means duin’ wesearch or askin’ sumpawdy els, so weez didn’t weally hav anyfin’ to ask hers. And we usually do da same fing wiff all of you. Ifin weez wunnewin’ sumfin’ ‘bout ya’, weez just ask. Yous always answer, so Fank you fur dat. Now me will get on to da question and answer portion of this posty.
Da first question by ow pawsum furiends da Trout Town Tabbies wuz: Why dusn’t mommy grow us more gwass in da house?
Mommys answer: I ought to. the girls love their grass, but we just don’t have the room to put a football field of grass in the house, and I get tired of stepping in and cleaning up the grass puke. MOL A little grass goes a long way.
I’z lubz da grazz too. Fankz awnty Jennifer.
Ow nex questionwuz fwum meez fellow Cat Scout and furiend Shoko fwum da Canadian Cats. She wanted to know where me sleeps.
Meez gunna answer this one. Me sleeps wight beside mommy. We hav a twin size hospital bed and mommy sleeps as faw over to one side as hers can to make room fur me to curl up at hers waist. Sis Lexi sleeps between mommy legs and rests hers head on mommys thigh.
Ow nex question got asked by a kupple of ow wunnewful furiends. Timmy fwum da Tomcat Commentary and Annabelle fwum Manx Mnews wanted to know what toy wuz boff Lexi and meez favowit.
Sissy and me talked this one over a while and came to a consensus. Ow favowit toy wuz da Cat’s Meow. we actually played wiff it so much we ran da motor out and it dusn’t work anymore. So, now ow favowit toys awe those wiff da nip in ‘em. You know da nana, da made wiff luv toys weez won and ow ball and twack toys.
Ow furiends da Florida Furkids wanted to know what ow favowit pizza is.
OMC It’s Pepperoni!!! Weez luv, luv, luv da pepperoni pizza. Dat weminds me of a question me has, when can we hav anudder pizza mommy? Oh, mommy sez soon.
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Anyways on to ow nex question which comes fwum ow adventurwous furiends da Purrfect Kitties. They wanna know ifin weez ever seen a weal live mousey.
Well… me hasn’t ever seen a weal live mousey but mommy sez she finks me wuld be a weal hunter and killer. Sis Lexi on da udder hand…she has seen a weal mousey and she joined mommy up in da chair while hers bwofur Lucky chased it down and made short work of it. C’mon now, weez posh pampurred inside Service kitties. MOL
Come here mousy meez gunna get you.
Ow dear furiend Tribble hoo got a new bwofur last year has da nex question. And she wants to know why weez hav no bwofur and do we want one. MOL Even tho’ this be a fun question it has a very serious answer, so meez gunna let mommy take this one.
Dear sweet Tribble after losing Devon to cancer and then Lucky and Ransom who both had UTI’s that essentially robbed them of their lives and me of them, I just couldn’t go through that again. Although females can get UTI’s it is more of a risk for males. So after Ransom died I prayed and asked God too send me a sweet little girl to love. And He did. He sent Dezi to me, and she is perfect in every way. I love all the boys that are in our lives including your sweet brother, but my heart couldn’t take another loss like that. So that’s why the girls don’t have a physical brother. You and your mommy are family to us, your not just online friends. That means your family is our family, including Indy.
Da nex question is by one of ow pawsum Facebook awnties. She’s been wiff us since almost da beginnin’. And she wanted to know when mommy had hers accident and ifin meez still fwaid of da loud noises.
Mommy had hers accident November 21, 1994. And yes, there awe sum loud noises dat still scare me. And meez purrawlly gunna fweak out again this year when spwing finally awwives and da lawn crew shows up fur da first time in mumffs. MOL
We saved this question fur last, cuz it might take a little time to answer. Ow furiends Pipo and Minko fwum We bees Siamese want to know how we learned to be Service Cats.
Dat’s a loaded question and wuld take a lot more time than we hav in this posty. We posted back on April 19, 2014 ‘bout Shad, Mommy’s Original Service Cat who twained herselff. And after she died and mommy wealized dat kitties kuld be twained to do such fings mommy stawted twainin’ hers very nex kitty, Devon. And while volunteerin’ wiff a wescue gwoup mommy adopted Lucky and then Lexi and twained them also. Devon helped wiff their twainin’ as well. We posted a little ‘bout Lexi’s twainin’ back on April 21, 2014 in Lexi Becomes a Service Cat. And finally me joined mommy and Lexi and they hav boff had a hand in twainin’ me.
As we hav had quite a foo new furiends join us in wecent mumffs we will be tellin’ more stories ‘bout ow twainin’ in da future. Although ow posts awe in no way meant to be a twainin’ manual as we don’t cover minute by minute. It wuld be way too boring. Twainin’ isn’t always fun or funny. We twy to post the joyous and funny times, and even lots of da oopsies. Just know dat there’s a lot of time put into twainin’. We wusn’t born Service cats, but any cat can be twained to become one. And we also posted the diffewence between a Service cat and Therapy cat on April 18, 2014. They awe not the same thing or interchangeable terms. Lexi and me awe twained Service Animals. Me has also been fwu da certification purrawcess to be a Therapy cat cuz mommy likes to giv back to da community when she can and weez not hav munny to giv but we do hav time.
Well, dat wraps up da questions and answers fwum National answer yous cats question day. We hope you learned a little more ‘bout us. As always ifin yous hav a question fur us anytime, just ask. Weez not mind answerin’ anyfin’ so long as it’s wespectful and nice. Yous know weez a rated G bloggy dat wuld be safe fur da peeps gwandchildwen to wead. so just member to keep it clean. There wuz anudder question dat rian asked. Hims didn’t actually ask us, but we wanted to share it. Hims not been feelin’ so good of late and wanted to know why hims sisfurs wus always hovewin’. Hims dad did a gweat job of answerin’ him and we just wanted to say dat we kitties be very empafetic. And when we luv, we luv deep. And we just want ow furmily to be okay. They hover Brian cuz they luv you, as do we. Yous in ow purrayers as is yous furmily.
And speakin’ of purrayers, weez askin’ you to keep sis Lexi in all yous purrayers. She will hav da bloggy nex time to tell yous ‘bout da rest of hers and mommys day togedder and giv yous an update on hers pill takin’ and eatin’. So be sure to come check it out. And check out da pawsum Purrs and Purrayers Badge ow sweet furiends fwum da Kitty Cat Chronicles made fur us. Yous can display on yous bloggies ifin yous wuld like. Fank yous so much sweet furiends, we luv it. They used lots of happy colors cuz they sed we wuz always happy. Isn’t dat da sweetest fing?
Service Cats U.S. 