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Can Cats Get Leukemia? (Feline Leukemia Virus)
Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a usually fatal cat-only infection spread through saliva, bites, and shared dishes — never to people or dogs. There's no cure, but screening, isolation, and good hygiene prevent it.
Spring Care Tips for Dogs and Cats
Spring warms things up but also kicks off parasite and disease season, so make deworming, coat care, and early infection watch your priorities. Keep the environment clean, brush daily through the shed, and see a vet fast at any sign of lethargy, vomiting, or discharge.
Why Is My Cat Suddenly Coughing and Wheezing?
A sudden cough or wheeze can be a simple cold, a hairball, feline asthma, or a heartworm/airway issue — and a healthy cat that suddenly struggles to breathe likely has a cold or something worse. See a vet to pin down the cause and keep the air irritant-free.
Can Cats Take Children’s Cold Medicine?
Never give a cat human cold medicine, even children's formulas often contain acetaminophen, which is highly toxic to cats and can be fatal in small amounts. Confirm the cause of the cold, support mild cases at home, and use vet-prescribed antiviral or antibiotic care for serious ones.
Why Cats Get Diarrhea When the Weather Changes Suddenly
Cats are sensitive to abrupt temperature swings, and a sudden cold snap can trigger stress-related diarrhea as gut motility speeds up. At home, keep their bedding warm, skip frequent winter baths, and use a cat probiotic mixed into food or warm water to steady digestion and rebalance gut flora.
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.
How to Tell If Your Cat Is Sick
A sick cat hides its discomfort, so the earliest clues are changes in sleep, litter-box habits, appetite, weight, coat, and water intake. Red flags such as vomiting, diarrhea, labored breathing, a head tilt, or straining to urinate need a vet, and routine checks also catch fleas, hairballs, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and urinary disease.
Can a Cat Recover from Feline Distemper on Its Own?
Feline distemper (panleukopenia) almost never clears without treatment; only a "false" case, where a vaccinated or robust cat carries the virus without symptoms, can be managed by boosting immunity. The virus is highly contagious, survives in the kidneys for over a year, and causes appetite loss, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, so veterinary care and strict hygiene are essential.
Why Your Cat Throws Up Undigested Kibble
When a healthy cat on a hairball regimen vomits only its food, the usual culprits are bad or abruptly changed kibble, overeating, eating too fast, or an underlying gut problem. Switch foods gradually over a week, portion the meals, slow the eating with a puzzle bowl, and see a vet if lethargy or diarrhea joins the vomiting.
How to Tell If Your Cat Has a Fever
A cat's normal temperature runs 38.0–39.0°C for adults and 38.5–39.5°C for kittens; a hot, dry ear or, more reliably, a rectal reading above 39.5°C signals fever. Short-term cooling (shade, paw-pad wiping, cool towels) helps, but the underlying cause, from infection to pyometra, needs a vet.