Category Archives: Cats

A cat loving client of the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center is fostering a young male cat. In preparing for his neuter surgery, she found out the cat has a retained testicle and will require additional testing to determine where the testicle is and how best to approach the neuter surgery. The medical term for retained testicles is cryptorchidism, with the root, orchid coming from the Greek for testicle or órkhis. I’ll discuss this uncommon condition in today’s blogpost.

November is American Diabetes Month. While exact data is not available, diabetes is probably the second most common hormone disorder in cats, after hyperthyroidism. Approximately 0.08–1.24% of cats develop diabetes. Today’s blog focuses on prevention, remission and new treatments for feline diabetes.

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), of which AMC is a member, maintains guidelines for the life stages of cats in conjunction with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP). These purr-fectly tailored guidelines help veterinary professionals make recommendations for wellness care for cats of different life stages. The guidelines address four feline age groups: kittens (birth to 1 year of age), young adult (1-6 years of age), mature (7-10 years of age) and senior cats (> 10 years of age). In today’s blogpost, I’ll discuss the nuances of veterinary care for each of these age groups and the one thing all cat owners should do to ensure the health and vitality of their feline friends.

The American Association of Feline Practitioners just released its new Guidelines on Intercat Tension. That might not seem breaking news to most pet owners, but if you are a reader with more than one cat, you may be acutely aware of the tension between your cats, or you may be missing the subtle signs of intercat tension in your home. Not only were these guidelines created by a highly qualified task force, but they have also been endorsed by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior and the International Society of Feline Medicine. This set of guidelines has fabulous information for veterinarians and cat families alike.

A few years back, one of my dog-owning clients asked me about getting a stroller for her dog. She wanted to walk to the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center for her dog’s appointments, but her dog tired easily and she thought a stroller would make the walk to AMC easier for both her and her dog. My first reaction was “that’s dumb, a dog stroller” but after thinking about it a bit, I realized the dog stroller had many uses to improve a dog’s quality of life and wrote about it in a previous blogpost. Never did I think of putting a cat in a stroller. Now, a new research study is investigating if strolling with your cat is a good idea. I’ll discuss the study in today's blogpost.