Feline Infectious Peritonitis

Feline Infectious Peritonitis is one of the strangest diseases in the animal kingdom. Caused by the feline enteric coronavirus, the disease is one of conditions more than of infection. F.I.P. appears as a disease when cat environmental conditions are that of over-crowding. A lone cat is highly unlikely to get FIP. A cat, especially a kitten, in a house of forty cats though, can very likely develop the signs of FIP infection. The most pronounced of which is an abdomen full of serum fluid that makes the belly noticeably large.

Testing for the disease is controversial in that it is an antibody titer measurement versus a positive or negative test result. So, a cat may show positive for the FIP virus, but never develop signs or symptoms of the disease. The level of the titer is fairly indicative of the cat's long term prognosis. A low titer (1:100) is evidence of exposure to the virus, but not a state of illness. A high titer (1:1600) or higher is a test result that indicates the long term prognosis may not be good. Again, the vagaries of the diagnostic results are what annoys so many veterinarians.

Treatment of FIP is purely symptomatic and is largely steroidal antiinflammatory drugs like prednisilone and sometimes an antibiotic. It is that cat's own immune system that is the problem in that the antigen-antibody complexes formed by the bodies' defensive system are actually the elements that form the granulomatous inclusions that accumulate in the abdominal organs, like the liver, kidneys, and intestines.

Prevention of FIP remains controversial too, in that the vaccine is not one hundred percent effective. It is a nasal vaccine given intranasally to create IgA type antibodies versus IgG antibodies that would result if the vaccine were given by injection. The IgA type antibodies remain in the mucus membrane surfaces of the nose, which is the primary point of entry for the FIP virus. How efficacious the vaccine is remains uncertain. The general consensus is it may be sixty to ninety percent effective.

So here we have a disease that originates from a common intestinal virus in cats, only becomes a disease when the environmental or immunological conditions are right, has no clear diagnostic tests, and no real treatment. And the disease has no analog in other species. What is a person to do? Mainly hope your cat doesn't get the disease. Avoiding crowded conditions is the most important factor in preventing cats from getting FIP, as any owner of a cattery clearly knows.

Dr. Doug Ikeler http://www.drdougikeler.com/

Life Extension

On this 40th Anniversary of Mankind Landing on the Moon, we should appreciate that most of our knowledge from medical science came from animal studies. It was on animals of various species that the Caloric Restriction with Optimal Nutrition diet proved and quantified that a calorie restricted diet dramatically extends life in all species. Get a copy of my book today and see how easy it is to do the diet and start living dramatically longer and healthier!

Dr. Doug Ikeler http://www.lifeextensionbooks.net/

Do Rodent Ulcers Have Anything To Do With Rodents?

If your cat is diagnosed with Rodent Ulcers, you are hearing a colloquial term that comes from the era of common misunderstanding, but the terms of which survive today. Rodent ulcers have nothing to do with rodents. It was thought that the large excoriating lesions on the upper lips of a cat were from it having caught some disease from a mouse. They were wrong, but the diagnostic label survives even today. The real diagnosis is Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex, or EGC for short. It is a quasi-autoimmune disease that comes from the bodies' reaction to transitional cells at the muco-cutaneous junction of the lips. At this transition point, the cells are not skin or mucus membrane, and so the immune system of a cat thinks they are foreign cells and need to be destroyed. Unfortunately there is no good cure for this condition, but it is treatable with ongoing use of corticosteroids like prednisilone pills and Depo-Medrol (methylprednisilone) injections.
Your cat should be given the least amount of these medications that control the symptoms, as corticosteroids suppress the immune system and compromise your cat's health in many ways. The alternative is to not treat the ulcers, which is worse for your cat, as their lips can roll outwards from the lesions and permanent damage to the lips can result. No other disease resembles rodent ulcers and they can be diagnosed empirically by a physical exam alone. Cats don't get to catch mice any more, but a disease blaming the mouse for it's symptoms remains.
Dr. Doug Ikeler http://www.drdougikeler.com/

Kidney Failure in Cats

As commonly as people die of heart failure, cats die of kidney failure. It is the number one cause of death in cats as they grow older. The number two cause is cancer.
Cats are a desert animal, and because of this arid adaptation, their kidneys over-concentrate their urine throughout their lifetime. This excessive effort by the kidneys comes with a cost and that cost is the decline and loss of functional nephrons in the kidney parencyma. No loss of function is noticed physiologically until over seventy five percent of the kidney function is gone. The first stage of compensation by the patient is excessive water drinking. An owner notices the excess water consumption and usually sees the litter box filling up faster too, especially with clumping litter. The next stage is that the cat loses weight and eventually fails and becomes dehydrated. A visit to the veterinarian comes next.
Blood tests measuring the blood urea nitrogen and creatinine will reveal insufficient kidney function in the cat. Primary treatment includes initial diuresis and a change to a low protein diet like the Science Diet K/D. Home care fluid therapy may need to be included as an ongoing treatment to keep the cat flushed of lethal toxins that build up without extra fluid intake. Ultimately the cat will succumb to it's failing kidneys, but I have seen many do well for years on prescription diets and home care subcutaneous isotonic fluid therapy. A cat will live for more than twenty years if it doesn't get kidney failure or cancer. In my practice, I saw many cats over twenty years old and one that even made it to twenty nine!
Dr. Doug Ikeler www.drdougikeler.com

Cat Litter Box Problems

Cat litter box problems are some of the most commonly seen complaints in a feline specialty practice. The dividing line for diagnosis comes with the first question: Is it horizontal or vertical? Meaning is the cat urinating on the floors or on the walls. As a first level impression, the behavioral problems tend to be vertical. The horizontal tend to be physiological.
Probably ninety eight percent of litter box problems are physiological. In short, the cat is usually trying to avoid pain that it is receiving while in the litterbox. The pain can come from urinary tract infection, stones in the bladder, interstitial cystitis, or blocked anal glands, infected anal glands, or pain originating in the rectum or lower back of the cat. What ever is the cause of the pain, the cat will avoid the litter box and go on other surfaces that it thinks will be pain-free and comfortable. Places like the bed, a pillow, the laundry basket, or different areas around on the carpet are typical signs that a cat is avoiding the litterbox and is trying to find a place that doesn't hurt when it eliminates.
The diagnostic database must include: The history, a thorough physical exam, a urinalysis, an anal gland expression, a fecal parasite test, and sometimes xrays and blood work to rule out other diseases. This is a general review of the issue, but I will post more information on the topic as poeple inquire about various associated issues.
Lastly, your cat is not urinating on the bed to make you mad or get even with you. It is trying to avoid pain when it eliminates. And if the tests all confirm the problem is behavioral, then your cat may have to be put on some type of behavior modifying medication like valium, prozac, or buspirone to control it's anxieties and emotional need to mark the house with urine.
Dr. Doug Ikeler www.drdougikeler.com

Opening Day!

Welcome all friends of felines. As a cat specialist veterinarian, I will use this blog to offer advice on the many unusual diseases of cats and how you can managed and treat them. I will always conclude that you need to take your cat to a vet for a real examination and diagnosis, but this blog will be helpful as a first level discussion forum for problems you may be having with your kitty. Also, I will answer questions about human health and bring in topics of human medical concern as they arise. This will be fun and interesting for us all. I hope you like our sponsors advertisements as well.
Dr. Doug Ikeler www.drdougikeler.com