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1913 results for “pica”
Can Cats Get a Fever?
Yes, cats do get fevers, though their naturally higher body temperature makes it hard to spot. Watch for a dry, hot nose, warm ears and tail tip, lethargy, and heavy drinking, and confirm with a rectal thermometer reading.
Canine Parvovirus: What Every Dog Owner Should Know
Canine parvovirus is a highly contagious, often fatal disease, especially in unvaccinated puppies, with a sudden cardiac form that kills within hours. Vaccination is the only reliable shield; suspected cases need immediate isolation, vet testing, and careful fluid support.
Are Mosquito Coils Dangerous for Cats?
Most mosquito coils and plug-in vaporizers rely on pyrethroids, which a cat's liver cannot break down — so even a small whiff lingers in the body and can cause lasting damage. Signs of poisoning range from drooling and wobbly walking to seizures, and because recovery is slow, the only real cure is keeping pyrethroid products away from your cat entirely.
How to Choose a Cat: Picking a Reputable Source
The safest path to a healthy kitten runs through a registered cattery — one tracked by CFA, WCF, or TICA, with pedigree papers and genetic testing — while backyard breeders skip the certificates and cat traders often sell sick 'week cats.' Once home, a full vet check and a few quiet days to decompress set the kitten up to thrive.
Cats for Busy Professionals: How to Make It Work
A full-time job is no barrier to a happy cat — pick a resilient mixed-breed (or adopt), and if your hours are long, take home two littermates so they keep each other company through the day. Adults need less hands-on care than kittens, and a neutered male is typically the calmest, cuddliest companion.
Feline Stomatitis: The Complete Guide
Feline stomatitis is a painful, relapsing inflammation of the whole mouth — gums, oral mucosa, and pharynx — driven by an over-active immune response to plaque and viruses like calicivirus. Signs run from foul drooling and weight loss to a cat that stops grooming and hides in pain; treatment pairs steroids and antibiotics with dental cleaning, and extracting the premolars and molars resolves or greatly eases symptoms in roughly two-thirds of cats.
What You Must Know About Your Dog’s Coat
A dull, shedding coat usually traces to genetics (unfixable) or daily-care gaps. Fix it with low-salt food, weekly egg yolk and lecithin, regular brushing, pet shampoo only, and sunlight—while avoiding the big don'ts: human shampoo, a monotonous diet, over-bathing, and poor hygiene.
Health Checks to Do Before Adopting a Stray Dog
Before a stray moves in, work through four steps: a professional bath that also reveals wounds or lumps, internal and external deworming, a 10-day home observation before any vaccines, then a clinic visit for a full exam and shots (distemper combo, rabies, toxoplasmosis). Only after that is your new dog truly safe to cuddle.
Why Cats Open Their Mouths When They Sniff
When a cat sniffs something pungent and then freezes with a half-open mouth, it is performing the flehmen response, channeling scent into the vomeronasal organ to analyze it. Common triggers include a queen's urine, catnip, silver vine, and human sweat or feet; the organ also underlies pheromone detection used in mating.
Why Cats Cough: Feline Herpesvirus (Cat Flu)
Feline viral rhinotracheitis, or cat flu, is a highly contagious upper-respiratory infection; over 90% of cats carry the virus and show signs only when stress drops their immunity. Typical signs are fever, lethargy, poor appetite, eye and nose discharge, conjunctivitis, and sneezing, with coughing in some; kittens can develop pneumonia. A caught cat needs eye/nose care, L-lysine, and antibiotics against secondary infection.