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Indoor Cats are Not Immune to Cat Illnesses

It has been proven that indoor cats are healthier and do live longer.  This does not mean, however, that a cat who lives indoors is complete immune to cat illnesses.  Most indoor cats live a pampered life.  Their people buy them all sorts of toys and climbing apparatus, such as a cat playpen and crinkle toys. Quality grooming supplies are also a good way to prevent the familiar hairball problems experienced by almost every cat, regardless of whether it spends the majority of its time indoors or out.  For this reason, it often comes as a total surprise to a person when their indoor cat contracts one of the cat illnesses.

The cat illnesses most common in indoor cats include urinary tract infections, feline diabetes, cat flu and various types of worms.  Of the previously listed cat illnesses, cat flu is the easiest to recognize and the hardest to treat.  The symptoms of cat flu include sneezing, coughing, and wheezing.  This cat illness is caused by a virus and is extremely catching.  Other symptoms include runny eyes, fever and loss of appetite.  Giving your cat an antibiotic may help prevent a secondary infection, but these cat illnesses usually need to run their course.  In multiple cat households, this can be very difficult because the flu is one of the cat illnesses that are very easily passed on.

Another of the cat illnesses that seems to affect mostly indoor cats is diabetes.  This illness occurs when the cat’s pancreas stops functioning properly.  Part of the cause for this is the diet often eaten by indoor cats, which may include human food. This cat illness is lasting and it can possibly cause death if not treated.  The good news is that it can be treated.  This will require regular visits to a vet and a special diet, and possibly insulin, but your cat can enjoy a long life if treatment is consistent.

Urinary tract infections are yet another of the cat illnesses.  These occur most frequently when there is not enough water in the cat’s diet, such as when being fed only dry food and not having water nearby.  These infections require an antibiotic and often a change in diet for the cat but urinary tract infections are treatable.

One of the potentially fatal cat illnesses, is worms.  The most common are tapeworm and roundworm.  Both of these are parasitic and inhabit the cat’s intestines.  They feed off the cat and symptoms often include a severe loss of weight as the worms are stealing the cat’s nutrition.  To treat worms of any type requires a vet visit and medication.  This cat illness can be prevented with a few simple precautions, one being to treat and rid your cat’s home of all fleas.  Fleas often cause ringworm. 

With a few precautions and prompt treatment, cat illnesses need not keep your cat down for long.

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