We all love our pets because they make us happy especially our adorable little cats. However, it is heartbreaking to see them get sick and in pain. Did you know that cats make up about 30 to 35% of the pets in American households, but still people do not know how to differentiate if their cat is affected with a serious disease or a common one?
So, here is a list of some common as well as fatal cat diseases and symptoms so that you can contact the vet on right time and take proper care of your furry little friend.
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Diseases (FLUTD)
Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) is a group of cat diseases with multiple reasons. It is common in both male and female cats and usually occurs in overweight or unfit cats or who eat dry food. Stress and a multi-cat household can also raise a cat’s risk of FLUTD. FLUTD symptoms include:
- Straining to urinate
- Urinating in unusual places
- Crying when urinating
- Bloody urine
- Lack of appetite
- Licking around the urinary area (mostly because of pain)
- Dehydration
- Depression
- Vomiting
Fleas
Fleas are a common external cat health issue and can last more than a year. However, it’s one you can treat easily, but if the problem gets serious, your cat risks anemia. Here are the signs your cat has fleas:
- Flea dirt on its skin (look like tiny black dots)
- Frequent licking
- Hair loss
- Constant scratching
- Red or irritated skin
- Skin infections or hot spots
Kidney Disease
Kidney disease can affect cats of all ages and breeds, but it is particularly found in cats around seven years of age and above and long-haired breeds such as Persians and Angoras. If your cat consumes a toxic substance like pesticides, antifreeze, or human medications like ibuprofen, acute renal failure can also take place. Symptoms include:
- dry coat
- drooling
- bad breath
- increased urination
- thirst
- weight loss
Diabetes
Diabetes is common in cats and seems to be on the rise as cat food today includes high carb content. Type 2 is more common and results due to the resistance to insulin, while type 1 is less common and occurs due to a lack of insulin. Here are the symptoms:
- increased urination and thirst,
- weight loss,
- vomiting,
- plantigrade stance (cat walks on her rear hocks instead of her toes)
Leukemia
Leukemia refers to the cancer of the white blood cells, which spreads by a virus found in urine and saliva. Cats face a high risk of contracting leukemia if they live with or come into contact with infected ones. The virus can also transfer through shared bowls, mother’s placenta, and fighting.
Leukemia is mostly fatal in cats as there is no cure. Cats who do respond to chemotherapy have an average survival rate of less than a year. So, getting your cats vaccinated, and keeping them away from infected animals is the way to go. Symptoms include:
- diarrhea
- skin disease
- bladder infection
- infertility
Rabies
If you think only dogs get rabies, you are wrong. According to an estimate, cats get rabies more often than dogs. It is a viral infection which spreads through saliva or a bite of an infected animal, and once it enters the body, it attacks the cat’s nerves, brain, and spinal cord and is fatal. Symptoms include:
- fever
- weight loss
- hyperactivity
- aggression
- muscle spasms
- drooling
Conclusion
Cats make us laugh and feel happy with their lovely ways, and we don’t want to see them in pain. So, if you notice any signs mentioned above, immediately contact a vet and have your cat checked.
So finally, I hope you found this article useful and informative. Let me know your answer. What do you think? Are there more Cat Diseases and Symptoms you know? Write them down below.
If you have any other question or different opinion about it, leave a comment below.
Today’s Quote: “Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause most inconvenience.” –Pam Brown
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Hello Dr. Alkhawaldeh, I enjoyed reading your article on Cat Diseases and symptoms. There’s a lot of helpful and interesting information.
I have some furry friends. I have a orange cat whom I adopted from Pet Smart a few years back. Also, I have a miniature schnauzer and Maltese.
My cat had all of his shots when I adopted him and when I took him to the Veterinarian for his yearly checkup, he got all of his shots again. I did not take him this year for all of his shots just his rabies. I know your pet needs the rabies shot, but is it necessary to give him all the shots again every year? How often does a cat need all of his Shots? Thank you for sharing.
Warm Regards,
Margaret
Hello Margaret,
Learning new information about diseases that might infect our fluffy friends is important. I keep saying and writing that because I want everyone to understand how important is to prevent the diseases from spreading and causing complication. Prevention is the key!
As for vaccination as I said in one of my articles, READ HERE, It is important to discuss it with your vet. Some areas require the pet owner to take certain vaccines and some other areas don’t. Why? because simply in some countries there are diseases that don’t exist in other countries. Rabies is one of those vaccines that need to be taken every year. But again it is always the best to discuss that with your vet.
I love this article! My little Marlon seems to be healthy enough, but I get paranoid if I notice him acting differently. When scooping his litter, I make sure there is a healthy proportion of both pee and poop. I noticed a certain food he likes always makes him puke, so I had to move on.
I just hate it when people ignore the misery of their pets! And we’ve all met people who do. 🙁
Keep up the good work with this website. It’s awesome, and I’ll definitely be back!
Hello Cathy,
That is my point! Learning about these diseases for cats or even other diseases for other pets is important to be able to help our fluffy friends to manage their sickness, they can’t speak to us to tell us what is wrong. So, it is our job to notice any changes or unusual behavior to help them. How to know if this behavior is related to a disease, SIMPLY read about common diseases and how to deal with them.
Thank you so much for the article! It is so important to watch for changes in behaviors in our furry friends, we know what their “normal” behavior is. We had a cat that wasn’t acting right, we called the vet and were told that if he was up to date on all his shots, it was probably just a virus. By the time we got him to the vet, it was too late, we were heartbroken! Thank you for educating!
Hello Lisa,
I am sorry to hear about your cat. Understanding and knowing these diseases is important for any cat owner. Actually, such diseases are important to be known for any pet owner. There are many reasons for that, to prevent complication and further damage to our cats and to prevent the disease from spreading. Our pets are unable to talk and whine about their pain and disease so it is our duty to figure out these things.
I have 5 cats total (and a dog) 2 at my mom’s house and 3 at my dad’s house. The dog technically belongs to my brother haha. But anyway, fortunately I haven’t had any of my furry buddies come along with any of these diseases. I recently had my oldest kitty pass away a year ago 🙁 I’ve had him since I was 9 (now I’m 22) so I was very sad about that. He passed away from something but we never were even aware that he was even sick. Reading your article though, I feel it might’ve been Diabetes. It’s hard to tell but he did start losing a lot of weight all of a sudden and we thought it was because he was an older man. He also vommited a lot and drank a lot of water but, again, we didn’t pay much attention to it until later we lost him. I wish I lived at my mother’s house then becuase I might’ve noticed it and looked into it. But I’m very happy I ran into this article becuase now I know what to look for in my other furry little friends.
Thank you so much for this information. I really appreciate it.
Hello Misael,
It is awesome that you have a big fluffy family. Sorry to hear about your cat. It is understandable to not know what is the reason behind its death. However, it is great that you are here reading about these diseases to make sure to prevent anything like that to happen again. Knowledge is power, prevention is the key. You need to always pay attention to any unusual changes in their behavior or personality and act accordingly.
This is a well written article and I learned a little something. I have a furry friend, actually I have a dog too, but she is my sweetie. Fortunately, I’ve not had to deal with any of the issues you speak of, but i do have one question. My baby girl has had an ear infection for months now. I think she may have had it when we adopted her. She’s been to the vet several times. They’ve cleaned her ears twice, given us ear drops, pills and the means with which to clean her ears at home. She still has an ear infection (or so they say). Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Beth
Hello Beth,
Our fluffy friends are vulnerable to diseases, even more than us. That’s why we need to pay attention to them and make sure we give them the best prevention. I hope your fluffy friend gets better soon. I suggest seeking another professional opinion. That what I would do. Also, some people reported that natural remedies could be useful for pets, you may want to try that BUT always ask your vet before using anything.
Thank you for your article. I have two indoor cats. I am worried about their health. They are still young (2 years old), but they are fat. I give them incredibly healthy food, but they like dry food a lot more than wet. It makes me worry. I try to play with them every day, but sometimes one of my cats limps. I don’t know why. She is too young for that. We took her to the vet, and he said it was because she is fat. I don’t think she is that fat, but I have them on a diet now. I will be more cautious about all the other symptoms you listed. Thank you.
Have a nice day.
Katja
Hello Katja,
Paying attention to such symptoms is important. When we read more about our fluffy friends’ life and problems we have the power and knowledge to prevent such diseases. Your cats need more exercise and good diet to get rid of that extra fat. I am glad that you are doing your best to make them healthy and happy! Keep it up.
My children have cats and this is a wonderful article that I will be sharing with them. It is important to know these diseases to be able to prevent them from happening and act quickly if we notice any signs for these diseases.
Thank you so very much.
Hello Geri,
That is true. Knowledge is power. Knowing these diseases is a great way to help our cats to avoid bad complication and treat them as soon as possible. Prevention is the best treatment.