Dr. Sharon
Butzke
Veterinarian Author (DVM)
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Dr. Sharon
Butzke
Veterinarian Author (DVM)
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Having to make the decision to euthanize a beloved companion is one of the hardest parts of being a pet parent. Even if your cat has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, knowing exactly when to say goodbye is tricky....
You may not have heard of hepatitis in cats (more accurately referred to as cholangitis/cholangiohepatitis), but it is one of the leading causes of liver disease in our feline friends.1 This article will explain the different types of inflammatory liver...
It is not uncommon for cat owners to get scratched from time to time, whether by accident during play or as a result of an irritated swat. Most of us know how important it is to clean the area right...
If you have a cat, you know that they can go from zero to 100 in no time. This may make you wonder if your cat could have ADHD. The short answer is that there is currently no clinical evidence...
Cat scratch disease is caused by a bacteria called Bartonella henselae and is, fortunately, rare in the United States. A retrospective study performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at years of health insurance data (for...
Cats are known for their beautiful eyes. They even have special pupils that change shape! When fully open (dilated), their pupils are round, but when constricted, they have a vertical ellipse shape. Pupils change size to regulate how much light...
Lymph nodes are found throughout your cat’s body, and are an important part of their immune system. Peripheral lymph nodes are located on the outside of the body, which means your veterinarian is able to check them during your cat’s...
Cats have their own type of parvovirus, called feline panleukopenia virus (FPV). But they do not get it from dogs. While cats have been shown to carry and shed certain variants of the dog parvovirus (canine parvovirus type-2), aside from...
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a medical condition that results in consistently high levels of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. This can be due to either insufficient amounts of insulin or resistance to insulin, but in...
If you have just returned home from a veterinary visit with oral medication for your cat, you may wonder, “How on earth am I going to get this pill into them?” Administering medication to our feline friends can be tricky,...
If the idea of finding a tick makes you shudder, you are certainly not alone! Hopefully, if you live in an area where ticks are commonly found, you thoroughly check yourself after spending time outdoors. You have probably heard that...
Dreaded by veterinarians and cat parents alike, feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a serious disease. There are some promising new treatments on the horizon, but in many cases, FIP is sadly still fatal. If your cat has been diagnosed with...
You may be aware of the importance of heartworm prevention for dogs, but did you know that cats also need to be protected from this potentially deadly parasite? Heartworms affect cats differently than dogs but can still cause severe disease....
