Cat Diseases

There are many diseases that are all too common in cats. Some of these include cat scratch disease, cat Lyme disease, liver disease in cats, cat eye disease, mouth disease in cats, heart disease in cats and kidney disease in cats. Kidney disease and liver disease In particular are common in elderly cats and both cat diseases can be fatal.

Cat Lyme disease is a very common tick-borne illness that is caused by the bacterium "Borrelia burgdorferi." This disease not only affects cats but dogs and also human beings alike. Lyme disease in cats is most common in the hot summer months and is carried inside Ixodes ticks which are to be found in woodlands and grasslands and most often feed on animals to be found nearby such as deer, horses, sheep and rodents. These ticks are very much like fleas In that they are parasitic creatures.

The first signs of Lyme disease in your cat include fatigue, a high fever, painful joints and muscles and/or stiff joints and muscles, a loss of appetite and a sudden collapse of the animal. Lyme disease often is not diagnosed until a tick or tick bite is found on the cat. Antibiotics are used to treat Lyme disease, which can make an animal sick in less than a 24-hour period. In some cases the herb cat claw is used to treat Lyme disease but there are not a lot of documented studies on the effectiveness of this herb at the present time.

Liver disease in cats is known as fatty liver disease and it is most often found in senior cats. In this case there is a build up of fats (or lipids) in the tissue of the liver. It is believed that this cat disease, which is unique to cats alone, has to do with the manner in which proteins and fats are metabolized by cats. This cat disease can be reversed if it is caught In the nick of time.

Kidney disease in cats is called chronic renal failure or chronic renal disease and It Is a serious condition that affects a lot of geriatric cats. This type of cat disease takes place when there is damage to the kidneys that has developed over time and cannot be reversed. Often the cause of kidney disease in cats is unknown but sometimes it is brought on by polycystic kidney disease, tumors in the kidneys, bacterial infections of the kidneys or other things such as harmful toxins, such as what has recently taken place with the recall of a number of different brands of pet food.