Have you ever glanced up from reading a book and found your cat staring at you from across the room? There may be other times when you've observed your cat staring at a wall or with their head angled upwards, gazing intently at the ceiling. There are many reasons why cats stare, so let's explore this feline behaviour. What does it mean when your cat stares at you? So …
Signs Your Kitten is Teething and How to Help
How do you know if your kitten is teething? If they are suddenly biting you and chewing everything in sight, there’s a good chance they’re teething and need a little help from you to ease their discomfort. What age do kittens start teething? Kittens first start teething at around 2-4 weeks. By the time they’re 5-8 weeks old, they will have all 26 of their baby teeth …
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Thiamine Deficiency in Cats: Everything You Need to Know
In May 2017, a popular cat food was withdrawn from the Australian market amid fears it was causing cats to become seriously ill with symptoms of thiamine deficiency.This wasn’t a one-off incident. In recent years, there have been several recalls of commercial cat food around the world, due to insufficient levels of thiamine. Let’s take a look at everything you need to …
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Permethrin Poisoning in Cats: What You Need to Know
Permethrin and pyrethrum are insecticides that help control parasites, such as fleas and ticks. Sadly, there have been many instances of permethrin poisoning in cats, often by cat owners who have unintentionally poisoned their cat by applying their dog’s spot-on flea treatment. Unlike dogs, cats lack the enzyme needed to detox products containing permethrin or pyrethrum. …
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Cat Scooting: What it Means and What to Do
Have you ever seen a cat dragging its butt along the ground? Cat butt scooting is definitely less common in cats than dogs, but it’s still most definitely a ‘thing’ and can indicate a medical problem that you may need to get checked out. What is Cat Scooting? It simple terms, it’s when a cat drags their bottom along the floor. Carpet is a particularly rewarding surface to …
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High Blood Pressure in Cats: Signs and Treatment
High blood pressure in cats can have a sudden impact even when their owners thought they were fit and healthy. It is shocking and upsetting, when your cat goes from “well” to “very poorly” in the space of a few hours. To learn how to reduce the chances of a dramatic deterioration, read on. Imagine your senior cat that is sprightly as a kitten: She’s so well for her …
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10 Signs it’s Time to Visit the Vet
How do you tell the difference between a cat that is having a relaxing snooze and one that is sleeping because she’s sick? How do you know when it's time to visit the vet? When a cat isn't feeling well or is ill, instinctively she lies low. This is to avoid bringing attention to her infirmity because in the wild, to alert a predator to weakness makes her vulnerable. All …
Heart Murmurs in Cats
There are few things guaranteed to worry a cat guardian more, than when the vet casually mentions, “Do you know your cat has a heart murmur?” A thousand thoughts (none of them good) fly through your mind at once. Numb from worry, the only coherent words you can string together are, “Is it serious?” An Awkward Question Actually, as a vet the “Is it serious?” question …
Steps to Solving Cat Behavioural Issues
Imagine it’s the school holidays, but you have to work. You leave the kids home alone. . . but the TV’s broken, they’re too young to read, and you’ve locked most of their toys away. When you come home would you expect them to be perched like little angels on the sofa, hands folded in their laps, without a hair out of place? No! Of course not. You’d be lucky if the …
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Understanding Feline Panleukopenia
How much do you know about feline panleukopenia - the disease against which you vaccinate your cat? You probably have an understanding that these diseases are “bad” and that vaccination is recommended. Even so, it’s easy to become complacent. After all, you have an indoor cat who doesn’t meet other felines, so the risk of infection is low. Right? Well kind of, but the …
