Infectious Feline Enteritis
and Cat Diabetes
Infectious Feline Enteritis
Known as feline panleucopenia, it is a serious viral infection in the intestines, which mainly affects kittens and young cats. The virus is highly contagious and spreads through direct or indirect contact with an infected cat. It appears quickly and young kittens can die before a diagnostic is made.
- Symptoms: are varied, but include fever, loss of appetite, vomiting (generally a bright yellow liquid) and profuse diarrhea. The cat sits crouched over the water bowl but doesn’t drink. It can scream from abdominal pain. Kittens infected in the mothers womb suffer brain damage and develop a staggering walk.
- Treatment: consult your veterinarian immediately; the cat can recuperate if it is treated rapidly. Keep it away from other pets. This virus is resistant and can remain in the environment for over a year, so ask your veterinarian how to disinfect your house. Don’t visit other cat owner’s houses because the virus can be carried on clothes or shoes. Fortunately there is an effective vaccine for this sickness.
Diabetes
Is a condition provoked by inadequate production of insulin in the pancreas. There are two types of diabetes that affect cats.
- Diabetes mellitus: affects older cats, and obese cats have double the normal risk. The symptoms are drinking and urinating excessively, lethargy and a gain in appetite. Another revealing sign is a smell of “ripe pears” in the breath. Cataracts can also appear.
- Non insulin dependent diabetes: overweight cats can develop this type of diabetes. In this case, the body can’t respond to it’s own insulin because of the tension of carrying the extra weight.
- Treatment: a urine or blood sample will confirm the diagnostic. Diabetic cats require livelong treatment with insulin injections to control the levels of glucose in the blood. A weight related problem is treated with dietary therapy, the amount of insulin required is smaller. In the case of non insulin dependent diabetes, if the cats weight is normalized it will no longer need injections.
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