Common Cat Ailments

The biggest clue that a cat has an ear infection is that the cat will shake her head in an effort to get the debris and fluid out of the ear. She may also scratch at the ears. The ears will look red and inflamed and will have an offensive odor to them. You may also see a black or yellow discharge coming from the ear.

Ear mites can create different symptoms such as a black discharge, head shaking and scratching at the ears. Kittens usually have ear mites and not older cats usually.

Other causes of ear infection in a cat may be a foreign body in the ear canal, a tumor or a polyp in the ear canal. A vet must know exactly what is causing the ear infection in order to prescribe the correct medication.

An untreated ear infection can lead to a ruptured eardrum and loss of hearing.

A vet will examine the ear canal with an otoscope that will magnify and light up the ear canal so that the vet can get a really good view of what is going on in the ear canal. The vet using the otoscope can tell if the eardrum is intact or not and can see if a tumor or polyp or even a foreign object is present in the ear canal.

Hairballs and cats seem to go together and a cat owner may feel that it is useless to try to separate the two. Fortunately you can help your cat deal with hairballs. You can add a teaspoon of fish oil to the cat's food once a week. This will help the cat to pass through the digestive system any hair that may have been ingested. You can also feed your cat bran or canned pumpkin once a day. You can also give your cat grass or other plants to chew that will help manage hairballs.

Fleas are another cause of cat ailment. They can cause itching, and spread disease. Some cats can even be allergic to fleas. Other cats can become emotionally or mentally distressed by the presence of fleas.

Regular grooming can control both the hairballs and the flea problems. There are many flea preparations including collars, fur rubs and flea treatments such as dips and baths.

Cats often have a difficult time making adjustments to changes such as a move. Cats become quite attached to their home and may have emotional or mental distress when they are taken from a familiar home environment and put into a new home. A cat faced with an emotional upset like moving may stop eating, hide, or have a change in behavior.