Last week was the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in Seattle. This meeting is a beehive of educational activity for board certified veterinarians in oncology, internal medicine, neurology and cardiology. Veterinarians from The AMC attended. Some took tests leading to board certification, some attended educational talks and others presented new scientific information to their colleagues. One of the most important abstracts presented changed my way of thinking about feline health. The results of the study were presented by one of The AMC’s board certified cardiologists, Dr. Philip Fox.
Dr. Fox and his international team of researchers evaluated over 1,300 cats from 20 countries across five continents. Two groups of cats were studied: cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common form of feline heart disease, and cats that were believed to be healthy and not have heart disease. The cats were studied for five years and the results demonstrate cats with heart disease have a shorter lifespan than cats without heart disease. The healthy group of cats did not stay healthy forever and the investigators found the most common causes of death in cats without heart disease were cancer, kidney failure and intestinal disease.
So what does this mean to the diligent cat owner? Talk to your veterinarian about how the following tests might help your favorite feline furball:
- Have a heart-healthy feline checkup at least once a year. Cats with heart disease frequently have a heart murmur that can be detected using a stethoscope. A routine physical examination can detect feline heart disease early. But if your cat never goes to the veterinarian, the murmur can’t be heard.
- Prevent cancer in your cat by keeping them indoors and having them tested for feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus. These viruses increase your cat’s risk for cancer, one of the common causes of feline fatality. If your cat tests negative for these viruses and you keep her indoors, she can’t get infected as the infection comes from other cats.
- Have your cat weighed. Weight loss is a common clinical sign associated with intestinal disease, cancer or kidney failure. If your cat loses weight and your veterinarian recommends additional testing, please agree for your cat’s sake.
- A simple urine test can help determine if your cat has early kidney disease. Collect a urine sample and take it to your cat’s next visit with his veterinarian. The results of a urine test plus a blood test gives your veterinarian a more complete picture of your cat’s health. Here are some helpful hints for collecting urine.
- Older cats lose weight from overactive thyroid glands and this disease is diagnosed with a routine blood test. Treatment of hyperthyroid cats can restore them to their optimal weight.