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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.191 (continued) ---------------- This article is Copyright (c) 1992 by Cindy Tittle Moore. It may be freely distributed in its entirety provided that this copyright notice is not removed. It may not be sold for profit nor incorporated in commercial documents without the author's written permission. This article is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty. Cindy Tittle Moore Internet: tittle@ics.uci.edu UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucivax!tittle Bitnet : cltittle@uci USmail: PO BOX 4188, Irvine CA 92716 ---------------- Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu rec.pets.cats:18647 news.answers:4531 Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet From: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore) Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats,news.answers Subject: rec.pets.cats FAQ (part 2/3) Supersedes: <cats-faq/part2_722325617@athena.mit.edu> Followup-To: poster Date: 11 Dec 1992 06:02:31 GMT Organization: University of California at Irvine: ICS Dept. Lines: 1353 Sender: tittle Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Expires: 14 Jan 1993 06:02:10 GMT Message-ID: <cats-faq/part2_724053730@athena.mit.edu> References: <cats-faq/part1_724053730@athena.mit.edu> Reply-To: tittle@ics.uci.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: pit-manager.mit.edu X-Last-Updated: 1992/09/30 Archive-name: cats-faq/part2 Version: 1.7 Last-modified: 29 September 1992 Periodicity: 20 days This is the second of three parts of the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) List for rec.pets.cats. It is posted every twenty days: updates, additions, and corrections (including attributions) are always welcome: send email to one of the addresses below. Copies of both parts of this FAQ may be obtained by anonymous ftp to pit-manager.mit.edu (18.172.1.27) under /pub/usenet/news.answers/cats-faq/*. Or send email to mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu with send usenet/news.answers/cats-faq/part1 send usenet/news.answers/cats-faq/part2 send usenet/news.answers/cats-faq/part3 in the body of the message to have both parts emailed to you. D. Feline Urologic Syndrome (FUS). Feline urologic syndrome or FUS is the name given to a group of symptoms that occur in the cat secondary to inflammation, irritation, and/or obstruction of the lower urinary tract (urinary bladder, urethra, and penile urethra). FUS is NOT a specific diagnosis: there are many known and some unknown factors that may cause or contribute to FUS. Any cause resulting in particulate debris in the urine is capable of causing obstruction in the male cat. Males are much more likely to get this disease than females. There is no known means of prevention. Treatment can vary from diet to surgery. Cats usually recover if the disease is caught in time; often the cat must be watched for any recurrence of FUS. 1. Symptoms May appear periodically during the life of the cat. * Females: straining to urinate, blood in the urine, frequent trips to the litter box with only small amounts voided, loss of litterbox habits. * Males: In addition to the above symptoms, small particles may lodge in the male urethra and cause complete obstruction with the inability to pass urine-this is a life and death situation if not treated quickly. Obstruction usually occurs in the *male* cat and is most often confined to the site where the urethra narrows as it enters the bulbourethral gland and penis; small particles that can easily pass out of the bladder and transverse the urethra congregate at the bottleneck of the penile urethra to cause complete blockage. (note that the female urethra opens widely into the vagina with no bottleneck). Symptoms of obstruction are much more intense than those of bladder inflammation alone; this is an emergency requiring immediate steps to relieve the obstruction. Symptoms include: * Frequent non-producing straining-no urine produced, discomfort, pain, howling. * *Gentle* feeling of the cats abdomen reveals a tennis ball size structure which is the overdistended urinary bladder. * Subsequent depression, vomiting and/or diarrhea, dehydration, loss of appetite, uremic poisoning, and coma may develop rapidly within 24 hours. * Death results from uremic poisoning; advanced uremic poisoning may not be reversible even with relief of the obstruction and intensive care. Bladders can be permanently damaged as a result. 2. Causes of FUS In general: any condition that causes stricture, malfunction, inflammation, or obstruction of the urethra. In addition, any condition that causes inflammation, malfunction, or abnormal anatomy of the urinary bladder. Known causes: * Struvite crystals accompanied by red blood cells-generally caused by a diet too high in magnesium relative to the pH of the urine. * Fish-flavored foods tend to be worse * The ability of a given diet to cause problems in an individual cat is highly variable: only those cats with a history of this kind of FUS may respond well to strictly dietary management. Many cats do not have problems with a diet that may produce FUS in some individuals. * Bladder stones, may occur from struvite crystals, or be secondary to bladder infections. There are metabolic disorders (not all are understood) that result in a higher concentration of a given mineral that can remain in solution; hence stones are formed. Diet may greatly modify the concentration of a given mineral in solution in the urine. Water intake may modify the concentration of all minerals in the urine, and bacterial infection increases the risk of stone formation. * Anatomical abnormalities such as congenital malformations of the bladder and/or urethra (early neutering is NOT a factor) OR acquired strictures of the urethra and/or scarring of the bladder. * Trauma. * Neurolgenic problems affecting the act of urination (difficult to diagnose except at institutions capable of urethral pressure profiles) * Primary bacterial infection-RARE! * Tumors (benign/malignant) * Protein matrix plug (generally urethral obstruction of males); can be from non-mineral protein debris, viral-based, other causes are unknown. * Suspected or unknown factors include non-bacterial infections, toxins, stress, and seasonal influences. 3. Management of FUS Obstruction of the male cat is a medical emergency. The obstruction must be relieved immediately. Failure to produce a good stream of urine *after* relief of obstruction is indicative of urethral stricture and/or stones or matrex plugs. Failure of bladder to empty after relief of obstruction is indicative of bladder paralysis (usually temporary unless present prior to obstruction). In either event, a urinary catheter must be placed to allow continual urination. Treatment of uremic poisoning requires IV fluid therapy with monitoring of blood levels of waste products until uremia is no longer present. Permanent urethral damage with stricture, inability to dislodge a urethral obstruction, or inability to prevent recurring obstructions are all indications for perineal urethrostomy (amputation of the penis and narrow portion of the urethra to create a female-sized opening for urination). This procedure is usually effective in preventing reobstruction of the male cat, but this procedure should be a last resort If FUS is indicated without obstruction, 75 to 80% of FUS cats without obstruction may be sucessfully managed by diet alone if urine reveals typical crystals and red blood cells. Unobstructed male cats or non-uremic obstructed males who have a good urine stream and bladder function after relief of an early obstruction may be managed as above initially. Cats who are symptom-free after 7 to 10 days of dietary management and who have normal follow-up urines at 21 days, may be maintained indefinitely with dietary management only. E. Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) is a viral infection of cats that is considered essentially fatal. Now there are blood tests that can help determine whether a cat is infected, and there is a new vaccine available to prevent FIP. 1. Course of the disease Weiss (1991) presents a flow-chart of possiblities for FIP infections; the pathways presented here are probable, not proven. FIPV carrier | virus shed, ingested by another cat __________________/\ / \ Inadequate exposure; no infection \ infection | replication of virus | macrophages (white blood cells) "eat" virus, are infected | transport to lymph nodes, peristent viral infection establishes | dissemination of virus to liver, lymph nodes, spleen _________________________________/\__________ ?/ | With strong cell- With antibodies and partial or mediated immunity no cell-mediated immunity and good antibodies | | persistent secondary viremia NO DISEASE | / \ circulating immune complexes complete persistant subclinical | recovery infection inflammation of vascular system | tissue death in eyes, brain, carrier cat w/o symptoms? lungs, kidney, mesentery | | immune system supression | due to drugs, stress, aging | | | FIP infection reactivates? | | _______________________________/ \ | | with partial cell-mediated immunity? with no cell-mediated immunity? | | NON-EFFUSIVE (DRY) FIP DEVELOPS EFFUSIVE (WET) FIP DEVELOPS 2. Considerations * A good portion of the population may be carrying FIP, and yet not come down with the disease. These animals are infectious. * Because the virus will bind to antibodies, a cat that has some antibodies but not a well-functioning total immune system with good cytotoxic and suppressor T-cells may actually get sick faster: the virus-antibody complexes could cause inflammation and tissue destruction, or may be more readily picked up by white blood cells, infecting them, and further reducing the cat's immune system to shambles. * Exposing cats to small doses of inactivated FIP virus, through vaccination, could actually kill cats faster if they are later infected with the "real" virus _if_ the cat makes antibodies but does not have T-cells that recognize the virus. This apparently happened in the course of developing the vaccine; *the current vaccine is thought to be safe.* 3. Prognosis and course of treatment Once FIP is apparent, most cats die within 5 weeks, though some animals may survive up to 3 months. Corticosteroids will slow the disease, but may also stir up latent infections; this seems to be the most common treatment offered, along with good nutrition, and perhaps antibiotics for bacterial secondary infections. Though it seems odd to try to supress the cat's immune system, it seems that most of the disease symptoms are caused by damage caused by some of the immune reactions. UC Davis has used a treatment protocol of high amounts of predisone or prednisolone with cytotoxic drugs like cyclophosphamide or phenylalanine mustard, together with intensive supportive and nursing care. Cats are kept on the regimin for 2-4 weeks, then re-evaluated; if there is no improvement, euthanasia is recommended. If there is improvement, drugs are continued for at least 3 months, then slowly withdrawn. Even after treatment, recurrences are common, and reports of spontaneous remissions are few. Abstracts of recent journal articles indicate that interferon as a treatment for FIP is being explored: interferon, alone or in conjuction with a bacterial extract that tends to "kick up" the immune system seems to be showing promise. Other labs are working on cytotoxic agents coupled to FIPV-specific monoclonal antibodies: this is very exciting, but probably a long way off. Antiviral drugs like AZT, Ribavirin, Suramin, and Foscarnet are also possibilities for FIP treatment. The ones that look most promising are these and Inosiplex. Interferon and drugs that promote interferon synthesis are also possibilities. Not all of these drugs are approved for use in animals, but the FDA has not yet objected-- though there may be some legal complications possible for the vet who uses antivirals. 4. Symptoms General symptoms early in the course of the disease are mild digestive or respiratory symptoms, vague malaise and lethargy, poor appetite, and progressive debility with fever. Abdominal enlargement, neurological symptoms and ocular symptoms are present in 30-40% of all clinical cases. The fever may fluctuate until later stages, when it subsides and body temperature becomes subnormal. The effusive form of FIP includes fluids building up in the peritoneal or pleural cavity or both. The cat becomes pudgy, is not in pain when touched, and may have sudden trouble breathing if the pleural cavity is affected. The non-effusive form of FIP often has associated neurological or ocular symptoms, including nystagmus, disorientation, lack of coordination, paralysis, seizures, and various eye problems that can be seen on eye exams. Enlarged lymph nodes and kidneys can be felt. 5. Diagnosis Diagnosis of FIP will probably include a coronavirus titer of 1:128 or more, but this is not diagnostic, since there can be cross-reactions with FECV. The vet will probably want samples of any fluid accumulations, and may want to take needle-punch biopsies of kidney, liver or other organs for microscopic exams. The vet will have to make sure s/he is not dealing with a number of other diseases, including cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, infections, cancers, liver problems, kidney disease or toxoplasmosis or systemic fungal diseases. 6. General information Summarized from Pedersen, 1991: FIP (feline infectious peritonitis, sometimes also called feline peritonitis) is a fairly recently recognized disease in the US. It is caused by one of the coronaviruses (which are RNA viruses, like HIV), not the ordinary DNA viruses that often affect animals. FIP is most decidedly NOT RELATED to HIV (AIDS virus)-- just has some of the same structural components. FIP was first recognized in the 1960's, about the same time as transmissible gastroenteritis in pigs, a closely related virus. FIP is now worldwide in distribution. It is also closely related to canine coronavirus, and the three viruses have been described as strains of the same species. FIP appears to be a mutant of the FEC (feline enteric coronavirus). In fact, some consider the two be almost the same, with a great deal of the difference in how they cause disease stemming from how individual cats' immune systems react to infection. FIP infects mainly domestic cats, but has also been seen in lion, mountain lion, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, lynx, caracal, sand cat and pallas cat Incidence peaks in cats 5-6 years old, but it is seen in all ages. There is no correlation with the animal's sex, but purebreds and multiple cat households seem to be more affected than single cat households with "just plain cats". FIP is apparently on the rise in the colder areas of Europe. Apparently, "healthy" cats can carry and shed FIPV (FIP virus), and it may also be shed by FECV carriers. Kittens may be infected before birth, or within the first five weeks of life; route of infection can be oral, respiratory, or parenteral. There is a highly variable and lengthy period between the time of infection and time of disease. Apparently there are some highly virulent (deadly) strains of FIP virus that can kill high numbers of cats quickly, but the ordinary strains of the virus are less deadly: the majority of FIP infections probably go unnoticed due to the low virulence of most of them. What happens after a cat is infected with FIPV depends on what strain of virus, the cat's natural resistance, and the cat's immunologic response to the virus. The virus probably multiplies in white blood cells in the lymph nodes, or the intestinal lining. The hallmark of all systemic viral infection is that they replicate in macrophages or sometimes lymphocytes. Their nastiness and ability to spread around the body is expressed in their ability to infect the very mobile cells of the immune system that are out there trying to destroy them. FECV infections, on the other hand, do not succeed in infecting cells beyond the intestinal epithelial cells. Thus FECV is considered a localized infection. Also, regarding transmission, FIP is considered to spread primarilty by a fecal-oral route, or also by wounds inflicted in cat fights. In other words, it is not a virus with long life floating around in the air, so requires fairly close contact with infected cats to be transmitted. Since FIP is a corona virus, it is sensitive to destruction by the environment. Coolness and dampness promotes survival, heat and dessication will not. This means once a household has had a cat with FIP, all areas of the house should be cleaned with bleach and detergents where appropriate and dry them thoroughly. In addition, laundering all bedding and other launderables the cat may have come into contact with, and thorough vacumming (and disposal of the contents) of the carpet and upholstered furniture is advisable. Areas the cat defecated or voided on should definitely be disinfected or disposed of. Replacing the cat toys is also recommended. This should reduce or eliminate the risk to a new cat. F. Thyroid Problems. Treatments: 1) Regular doses of Tapazol. 2. Surgery to remove most of the thyroid. This is a difficult and potentially dangerous operation (especially for an older cat), and it is not necessarily effective. That is, it will reduce the thyroid activity, but not necessarily stop the runaway thyroid growth--it may only reduce or delay the problem and you'll have to give Tapazol anyway. At the other extreme, you might also end up having to give the animal thyroid supplements... 3. Radioactive Iodine treatment of thyroid. This is reported to be very effective in _solving_ the problem. The troubles are it is very expensive, and it means leaving your cat at the facility where it is done for up to two weeks (they have to monitor the cat to make sure all the radioactivity is gone before letting it go home). Leaving a cat at a facility where there are other cats can expose it to the health problems of the other cats there. G. Skin Problems. 1. Matted fur Matted fur is a perfect breeding ground for parasites and encourages inflammatory skin diseases. If your cat has matted fur, do not try to cut it off as you may injure the cat. Mats are difficult to comb out and may be painful. You may have to have the vet sedate and shave the cat. Do groom it regularly. 2. Bald patches Often caused by itching and irritation of some sort. Fleas, allergies, eczema, and ringworm are all possible culprits. Sometimes it is simply stress; Vets may prescribe hormone shots or even tranquilizers to control the scratching. 3. Scratching If the cat is scratching its ears and you can see black grit, that's earmites. Consult your vet for appropriate ear drops. Ear mites stay in the ears, but can be passed from cat to cat, especially if they groom each other. The life cycle of an ear mite is entirely within the ear, so you do not have to worry about ridding your house of them the way you do fleas. Cats typically shake their heads when given the medication; unless the medication actually comes back out, that is OK. An additional step to take is to soak a cotton ball or pad in mineral oil (baby oil is fine), and clean out the outer ear (do not poke into the canal). That rids the upper ear of any ear mites lodged higher up than the canal, and makes it difficult for the ear mites to reestablish themselves. Scratching and a discharge from the ears means a bacterial or fungal infection and the vet should be immediately consulted. Other possible causes of scratching include fleas, lice, eczema, allergies, or stud tail (in male cats). 4. Feline Acne Cats can develop acne just as humans do. Usually it is only on the chin. It will appear as small black spots. The reasons for feline acne are as complex as it is for humans. Sometimes a food allegery (such as chocolate with humans or milk with cats) can cause it or sometimes the cat does not clean its chin properly. 1. Tips on caring for feline acne It is important to keep food dishes clean. Acne has bacteria associated with it. The cat's chin comes in contact with the edge of the food/water bowl, leaving bacteria. The next time the cat uses the bowl, it can come in contact with this bacteria and spread it on the chin. * Use glass or metal food/water dishes. It is next to impossible to remove the bacteria from acne from plastic dishes. * Wash the food and water dishes daily. This removes the bacteria from the dishes and helps to keep the problem from getting worse. Also, in multi-cat households, it will help reduce the chance of others breaking out with it. * Bathe the cat's chin daily with a disinfectant soap/solution from the vet. Nolvasan, Xenodine, Betadine soaps are a few of the ones to try. More severe cases may need to be washed twice a day. DO NOT USE HUMAN ACNE SOLUTIONS, these are too strong for cats and may cause serious problems. Don't try to pick the spots off, just clean it well. Visit the vet if you can't get the acne to clear up within a week or two or if the acne is severe or infected. The vet may prescribe antibiotics for these cats or other acne treatments. Once the acne is cleared up, keep an eye out for reoccurances. Washing the cat's chin once a week is a good preventative measure. H. Disease Transmission (Zoonoses). Some diseases can be transmitted from cats to people (zoonoses). Most cannot. For example, you absolutely cannot contract AIDS from a cat with FIV or FeLV, although the diseases are related (all are retroviruses). This misconception led to the tragic deaths of hundreds of cats as panicked owners got rid of them. Anyone with an impaired immune system is at risk of exposure to germs and other things from cats that healthy people would not contract; this is regardless of the health of the cat. You are more likely to contract diseases from other people than your pets. Transmission of disease generally requires close contact between susceptible people and animals or their oral, nasal, ocular or digestive excretions. Use common sense and practice good hygiene to reduce your risks. From the Cornell Book of Cats: * Viral diseases transmitted by cats are rabies and cowpox, usually through biting or direct contact. * Ringworm is a fungus infection affecting the hair, skin, and nails. Humans contract it either by direct contact with the cat or by the spores shed from an infected animal. * Cat bites can cause a variety of diseases and infections, including pasteurella and tetanus. * Campylobacter enteritis, a disease of the small intestine, can be caused by contact with contaminated cat feces. * Cat scratch fever is an infection caused by a bacterial agent transmitted to the human via a cat scratch. * Conjunctivitis in humans can be caused by contact with the nasal and ocular discharges of cats infected with feline chlamydiosis. * Humans can become infected by Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever when a cat brings home ticks. If the cat becomes infected with plague, it can also infect humans directly. * Salmonella organisms, which are shed in discharges from the mouth, eyes, and in the feces, can cause intestinal disease in humans. * Toxoplasmosis is transmitted by contact with the feces of an infected cat. Although it is well-known that cats can transmit toxoplasmosis, many do not know that humans are more commonly infected by eating incompletely cooked meat. * Other parasites which can be acquired by humans are hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms: usually by direct or indirect contact with contaminated feces, or ingestion of contaminated fleas. I. Toxoplasmosis (when you are pregnant and own a cat). Toxoplasmosis is a disease that can be picked up by handling contaminated raw meat, or the feces produced after ingestion of such meat. This means you can catch it by cleaning the litter box, or by working in a garden used as a litter box. Most commonly, people catch it by handling raw meat or eating undercooked meat. Most cat-exposed people have had toxoplasmosis; the symptoms are similar to a mild cold. (Nomenclature: Toxoplasma gondii is the organism, toxoplasmosis the disease, and Toxoplasma is a protozoan.) The problem occurs when pregnant women contract toxoplasmosis. This will severely damage the fetus. Simple precautions will prevent this problem; unfortunately many doctors still recommend getting rid of cats when the woman is pregnant. A good idea is to get tested for toxoplasmosis *before* you get pregnant; once you've had it, you will not get it again. To prevent human contraction of toxoplasmosis: a) Cook any meat for you or your cat thoroughly. b) Use care when handling raw meat. c) Wear household gloves when handling litter. d) Use disinfectant to clean the litter pan and surrounding area. e) Keep children's sandpits covered when not in use. f) Wear gardening gloves when working in the garden. Better yet, the litterbox and meat-chopping chores should go to someone else if you're pregnant. J. Vomiting. Some cats vomit all the time; other cats do so relatively rarely. Vomiting is not a sign of the same sort of distress as it is in humans. Because they are carnivores, they need to be able to vomit quickly and almost at will without feeling sick. On the other hand, a cat that suddenly starts to vomit, or vomits more than usual or in some way demonstrates a departure from its normal habits should be checked by the vet. 1. Reasons Most commonly, a cat vomits because it has hairballs. To check for this, examine the vomit carefully for small grayish pellets or lumps (it doesn't matter what color your cat's hair is). If these are present, then hairballs is the problem. Hairballs occur even with shorthair cats. All cats benefit from regular brushing to help minimize shedding and ingestion of hair. If your cat is vomiting because of hairballs, its normal behavior is not affected. That is, it will be its usual self immediately before and after vomiting. To help prevent this kind of vomiting, feed your cat on a regular basis some petroleum jelly (aka as Vaseline). If they don't like it, you can try Petromalt, a malt-flavored petroleum jelly. Pats of butter will also work. To give it to them, if they won't eat it of their free will, smear some on top of their paw and they will lick it up as they clean it off. Be careful to rub it in thoroughly, otherwise when they shake their paw, you'll have gobs of vaseline go flying onto the walls or carpet. Give it to them daily for a few days if they've just upchucked or are in the midst of dry heaves; go back down to a weekly dose once they've gotten rid of existing hairballs and this should keep them hairball free. Frequent brushing also helps; every bit of hair on the brush is less hair in your cat's stomach.