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Cat Diseases That Are “Silent and Quiet”
There are many of us around the world who enjoys the company of cats. Perhaps its due to their fluffy fur, their adorable behavior, or their cute attitude that makes us want to keep a feline companion for ourselves. But before we even think about getting a cat, we have to assess first whether or not we could take care of them, give them proper shelter, adequate food, healthy environment, and nutrition for their health.
Cats, by nature, are discreet animals that would rather shy away from you instead of showing any signs of health deterioration or sickness. They hide their symptoms of being sick, so you have to be careful about providing them quality shelter so that there would be no problem like this in the first place. There are a few precautions you could do to avoid making your cat vulnerable to many of the diseases. Good health is, after all, the greatest enemy of illnesses.
Here are some ways to prevent your cat from getting ill:
- Regular checkups with the Vet
- Provide them with high-quality cat food
- Give them healthy treats
- Keep them in a safe environment
- Play with them more often and exercise them
Cat Diseases
If not properly taken care of or observed, your cat could pick up a disease that works silently. These kinds of diseases would usually take a long time to become dangerous, but the difference in a split-second decision could mean the life of your pet.
Here are the infamous quiet diseases that could sneak up on your feline:
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Cardiac Disease
Just like in the case of human beings, cardiac diseases are a hassle to everyone and could happen to anyone. But it could be deadlier to cats as compared to humans and dogs since they occur silently – without any noise. Clinical symptoms of a cardiac or heart disease are:
- Fast-paced heart rate
- Abnormal heart rhythm
- Breathing with their mouth open
- Having difficulty in breathing
- Passing out suddenly
- Blue-stained gums
- Lameness
- Heart murmurs
- Pain attacks
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Cancer
The older our companions live, the more they are likely to have disease. There are many kinds of cancer that a cat could have, so take note of your friend’s age and assess if there’s a need to get them checked up or not when they have these clinical signs.
- Loss of weight
- Refusal to eat
- Extreme diarrhea
- Having difficulty in breathing
- Bloating
- Showing signs of weakness
- Constantly hiding
- Vomiting frequently
- Generalized malaise
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Diabetes Mellitus
Most of the cats nowadays are around the range of being overweight to obese. It can’t be helped for some since some cats would rather stay at home rather than go out and have exercises. If your cat is overweight, they are prone to having diabetes mellitus in which their pancreas would neglect to secrete enough amounts of insulin, or there might be a resistance towards insulin. Insulin is a critical component in their body since it is a hormone responsible for directing sugar into the cells. Symptoms include:
- Constantly urinating and having a severe feeling of thirst
- Bigger stools in the litter box
- Overweight body
- Either an insatiable hunger or decrease in appetite
- Showing signs of a weak and frail body
- Vomiting
- Walking differently
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Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
It is the most infamous and top disease that a cat could have. It would mean that only 25% of your feline’s kidney is active and adequately working while the other 75% is failing its functions. Signs of your cat having CKD include:
- Constantly drinking
- Uncontrolled urinating
- Larger stools found in the litter box
- Loss of weight
- Stinky breath
- Having a weak body
- Always in hiding
-
Hyperthyroidism
It is an endocrine disease wherein the gland responsible for secreting thyroid hormones produces too much of them. With this disease being common to older cats, you have to look out for these signs if your cat is at its middle ages:
- Always thirsty
- Excessive drinking
- Uncontrolled urinating
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Loss of weight
- Insatiable appetite despite the loss of weight
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High Blood Pressure
Hypertension, which is more commonly known as high blood pressure, appears when the arterial blood pressure of a cat is continuously increasing than the normal levels. As this is a common disease for cats, we should look out for these kinds of symptoms:
- Seizures
- Blood in the urine
- Blindness
- The pupils are dilated
- Constant bleeding in the nose
- Showing signs of weakness
- Circling
- Disorientation
- Their eyeballs are rolling in an involuntary manner
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Worms
As disgusting as it sounds, cats could also get worms even if they are kept inside a secure house. Several worms such as roundworms and tapeworms are the most common worm you could encounter in a cat’s stomach due to eating infested insects, birds, or rodents. Here are some of the signs that your cat might have stomach worms:
- Strings in their stool or vomit
- Small oval shaped substances in a cat’s feces or anus
- A bloated belly
- Lack of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Loss of weight
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Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
It is a virus that’s the very definition of a “silent” worker. The symptoms usually occur several years after they are infected with the virus slowly eating away their immune system. It is a dangerous virus because through this alone, and they could contract several other sickness and infections. If you have a cat showing any of the named symptoms, rush them to your veterinarian.
- Fever
- Scruffy coat
- Hair loss
- Unhealable wounds
- Lymph nodes are enlarged
- Anemia
- Low appetite
- Constant sneezing
- Liquid discharges from the nose or the eyes
- Changes in behavior such as lethargy
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Feline Leukemia Virus
It is a dangerous transmittable RNA retrovirus that targets a cat’s immune system. It works similarly to the FIV, with it showing symptoms several years after the infection. Here are a few signs:
- Inflamed gums
- Skin/fur is bad
- Upper respiratory infections
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Jaundice/yellowing of the skin
- Seizures
- Several cysts
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Respiratory distress
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Feline Panleukopenia
Feline Panleukopenia, or more commonly known as feline distemper, is a contagious disease in cats in which it could result in the death of your cat. This highly infectious disease could spread through feces, bodily fluids, and fleas transferred from one contaminated cat to another. It directly attacks the intestinal tract of a cat and their immune system. Cats who have this disease are likely to experience:
- Vomiting
- Malnutrition
- Lethargy
- Dehydration
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Anemia
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