Other than one childhood family dog, I've always had cats and have five right now. I love your writing and would love to see more on cats.

Looking at the list of common complaints, I've dealt with about six of them (diabetes, CRF, UTI, teeth, URI and #15). It occurs to me that the others would be more common in outdoor cats and am thankful to have avoided them by keeping cats indoors.

I'm most curious to hear your thoughts on the causes of chronic renal failure in cats. It seems to me that it's a modern phenomenon and can't help but think it's food-related.

My own personal theory is that one possible cause can be a dry-food-only diet. Cats have a low thirst drive and if they don't get moisture in their food, they stay in a chronic state of low-level dehydration, which eventually takes a toll on the kidneys.

Thanks for remembering that "pet" is not just another word for "dog!"

Though I love my dog dearly and wouldn't give her up for the world, I am really a cat person and would love to see more posts here about kitties.

Regardless of cat or dog, I love this blog and make sure that I read every day. Thanks for taking so much of your time to make it happen.

Dr. Patty;

I'm an avid reader ~ although this is the first time I've posted. I am (mostly) a cat person although someday I hope to have a dog too.

I would love to see a dedicated cat blogger on PetMD. And, I hope you keep talking about cats as well! They need more advocates.

Thx for asking!

I have three cats. All of them have the "hair ball" issue. What is the best way to help them digest their food and prevent this problem?

I'm very much the cat lover. I have 15 rescue kitties, some live indoors, some outdoors and some in and out. I also foster for my county's animal protection league (www.jcapl.org). By far URI is the #1 issue, eye infections follow. I cannot afford health insurance for my babies so I just pray they don't get injured. After seeing the cost of a tooth extraction, if my cat was in extreme pain, I would start shopping around for the lowest cost of putting them to sleep. That's the only humane choice I would have. My desire to give homeless cats and kittens a home, spay/neutered, and basic shots, my budget is severly strained. I must say my vet is a God send and he works with me knowing how many I try to help and how limited my resources are. Please give me and others all the info you can about helping our kitty babies.

I also have dealt with many of these issues in my cats. But I have to say, I believe that over half of this list can be attributed to feeding cats a completely incorrect diet. Since feeding my cats a raw diet for the past 10 plus years I have seen very few of these issues come up. LUTD and CRF being the two most likely caused by a dry food only diet. Even on raw I had my male Bengal almost block a few years ago. I began adding more water to his meat mix and have not had another issue with him since. So dilute urine, in my experience is a "cure" for LUTD and I will see in time if it keeps them from getting kidney disease as they are both 7 years old now. I also had 3 Abyssinians with chronic cystitis that completely cleared up on a raw diet....they went through round after round of antibiotics. This was years ago and was what made me look into the feline diet and made me put my animals on raw foods. I would love to see more cat blog info and would love to see these issues addressed. I would also love to know how Vincent is doing....I have a 9 month old Frenchie girl with the same symptoms as Vincent....but no pain.

I have three dogs, no cats, but would like to see more cat coverage. I think cats get a lot less attention and are accorded less value by society in general.

My Fellissa, lived over 21 yrs, She was a lovely little Lady. Her only problem, was fur balls. She did not like other cats, .Now my grandcat, Charley is so much fun. But no more litter boxs for me. you really have to love cats to deal with that. Both Fellissa and Charly came from the Shelters. Yes, little more about Cats health...Thank-you Doctor Khuly

I have 2 male neutered cats. I also have 3 Beagles. I have had the cats longer and love them dearly, even though I am truly a dog person. I have experienced one of the conditions in my oldest cat, who is 7. About eight months ago I had to rush him to vet because he could not pee. He had crystals in his urine which was causing his problem. I was feeding Royal Canin for adult neutered cats, which was supposed to help prevent this condition. It cost me around 700.00 dollars to get him fixed and change his food. I would love to see more on cats. My cats are strictly indoor pets. They are very loved and provided for very well. I understand that Snickers could be prone to urinary problems. I also realize he may develop more urinary problems in the future. Right now is doing great. I was never so happy to see my cat urinate in my life! I am always looking for problems that may occur in cats as well as my dogs. So please write more on cats. Thank you.

I've got... 10/15. Or rather have dealt with them at some point or helped a fellow cat person. The only one that's currently on my mind that isn't up there is heart murmur. And, thanks to a healthy respect for veterinary specialists that this blog has helped foster, that's a little less scary.

I think a cat blogger would be nice. But s/he needs to be able to set the right, welcoming tone. One of the best things about us cat folk is how eccentric we tend to be. But that can also lead to some cat bloggers having a very... narrow focus and can be a little off-putting if you don't share their views.

Thanks for asking, Dr. Khuly. We have 2 dogs and 3 cats, all rescues. (Only planned on 1 dog and 2 cats). I joke that having dogs has made me a cat person. I worked for a cat vet and agree with Welso above, the most horrific issues are usually with outdoor cats. Ours are strictly indoors with lots of windows for them to observe the outdoors and get fresh air.

At the cat vet we saw a lot of gastritis/vomiting/diarrhea and it was amazing how switching from a crappy low end (but famous name) food to an all natural wet and dry would often "cure" the problem. More vets should educate on foods and ingredients, and avoidance of fillers, and artificial additives in food and treats.

The best way to prevent hairballs is to brush the cat once a day, or at least every other day, and do it for at least 15 minutes. We have one cat that sheds all the time and he has hairball issues even with the brushing but the brushing does minimize the problem. I do think that hairballs are a fact of life with some cats, but brushing sure does help.

Well, of course, a cat blog is in order. I have a Siamese and would like to read more about that "breed." Cato is on a raw/hypo allergenic diet (by raw, I mean "wild" the original raw). He is FIV positive and a "hefy" boy. I am interested in dogs, but there is sooo much more I would like to know about cats.....would you be able to speak to behavioral issues as well particularly aggression? Do you have a cat? You never write about that, maybe you should.

I love most any animal as a rule ~ but living in a high-rise means that cats get first billing over a Great Dane, per se. My quirky cat is never-ending joy and while I don't mind hearing about other animals, I like a little more of what I can do to make her life as enriched as possible.

After a couple of clawings, I think that my cat (all cats) might be adverse to some smells. In this case, I don't think she likes my bath soap and so she lashed out. I've tried to find links online about this, but invariably it comes up with cat litter box smells (not the same thing).

Please continue to talk about all animals, with maybe a small bit more air time to cats. Great job BTW!!!

And other animals, too. I know you have chickens and goats, what about small furry animals or reptiles? Maybe the occassional guinea pig post? I don't know that any of these need their own blog but it's nice to see a mix.

As a pet sitter I forward your blog to clients whenever the situation applies to their case. Most of them appreciate the information.

Based on all the above comments, we just thought we'd chime in to let you know that posts of the feline variety rarely make it past our inbox. No offense, it's only that having been featured as the primary dog nuts in Nature's Why We Love Cats and Dogs, we're much more inclined to read and comment on your canine compositions.

With that said, it is a veterinary blog and should therefore address all species commonly cared for in your practice. But we especially enjoy hearing about the antics of your hen house! :-)

Yes to more on cats. They have their own set of problems. What happened to IBD or is that # 15?

Hi. I'm new to this discussion group, but have been reading the blog for a few months and greatly enjoy your point of view.

We currently have three dogs (two bostons and one pug--all rescued) and four (indoor/all rescued) cats. I'm all for more cat info and don't require a separate space because I read your blog every day no matter what the topic. Any information that specifically targets our breeds and that spotlights issues relating to rescued cats and dogs would also be appreciated.

Everything I've read so far is spot on--very helpful and informative. Our vet has also been very interested in some of your topics!

I am an animal lover - pure and simple - love and adore them ALL!

But right now, we share our home with two pampered Ragdoll cats whom we ADORE! I do feel like cats get the short end of the stick, though, as so much of the "pet" focus in this country seems to be directed to dogs.

So, with that in mind -- I would LOVE to see a well-written, authoritative cat blog! PLEASE and THANK YOU???!!!!

I have a 13 year old cat who was diagnosed with diabetes 3 1/2 years ago and also has bladder stones and early stage kidney disease. It's very hard to sort through all the information even with my vet. My main concern is feeding her good ingredients vs ingredients in the prescription foods.

I feel that cats would benefit by having their own blog. I do not mind occasionally seeing a post about cat issues but feel that since most people only have so many minutes a day to read their e-mail or blogs, most would be better served if each species had their own blog.

BTW ~ I am not a cat hater. I have owned cats for over 25 years. We just do not currently have a feline family member.

ChiMommie

I have been solely responsible for my cats since I was a jr in college. In that time the health of my totally indoor cats has deteriorated with the use of dry kibble diets. The worst came when my vet recommended prescription diets for kidney disease when they were at most 13 years old. I kept going back and they changed brands but my cats' health continued to deteriorate until I realized the diets were mostly various formulations of corn and no real animal product. Same thing happened to my friend's cat who was treated for FUS with no improvement. All of these problems got better when I switched to a canned meat diet and then slowly to a raw meat diet. Although one of my cats has since died, he was 17.5 years and his brother is now 19 years. A big improvement for cats that had kidney failure at 13. Yes they have kidney failure again now but I think that is fairly normal for how old they are. My vet monitors them and they are doing well. And a huge improvement was their dental health.

Like skinnybonedog I think the biggest problem for cats today is their dry grain filled kibble diets. They need appropriate diets; meat either canned and preferably raw.

I have both a dog and a cat, and would read a cat-dedicated blog if the blogger was as fearless and open-minded and witty and congenial as you. I do think cats get short shrift of both health and behavior analyses considering there are more of them as pets than dogs.

I would be an avid devourer of more cat-specific health information. I subscribe to Cornell's cat health newsletter.

I can attest to the high cost of cat dentistry. My vet clinic is on Capitol Hill and for perfectly understandable reasons (high cost of living), their prices are not cheap. One of my cats had a cleaning and extraction last month. Total cost including pre-cleaning blood work was almost $450. So it's another year of staycations for me. But I love my cat and understand that good care while he is an adult will give him a healthier old age.

The clinic gave me a folder with before and after pictures of his teeth inc the x rays.

Alas, these costs are nor covered by his indoor cat policy. Oh well.

I am a dog person. So I'm quite happy with the blog the way it is :-)

I'm a cat person - just because I'm lazy! I use my inner dog person on my patients (I'm a vet tech) and my occasional fosters. But yeah, as a mom of a 11 yr old, 14 yr old and 6 month old kitteh, I'm thrilled to have none of the 15 major problems on the list. For the two oldest, I may be lucky because due to severe tartar (they were shelter cats who found their way into my house less then two years ago,) they have pretty much no teeth left after a dental.

For the record, my 17 yr old cat who passed away last year had CRF, hyperthyroidism, arthritis, high blood pressure, a mast cell tumor (removed by splenectomy)...and of all things he got knocked out by a URI.

I am a small-animal veterinarian with an emphasis on feline medicine. I see cancer all the time in cats, whether its metastatic, lymphoma, nasal, oral, etc. I see this more than sprains in cats. Flea-related illness could also make the list for me. Overall though, I thinks its a great top 15.

I've been a reader of this blog, but never posted before.
I live with 4 rescued cats (my fifth died of heart disease in the spring) and we have seen lots and lots of these health issues. One was in the early stage of the toxic pet food and had her kidneys damaged (and then metacam did even more damage). She has also had several teeth removed for resporptive lesions. She is currently 14+ and is stable and doing well, except for arthritis and, of course, continuing kidney disease. One of my 7 year olds has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (stable) and had surgery for megacolon early summer. Another 7 year old has some kind of allergies and takes Zyrtec daily (which has been very helpful).
They are all indoor cats who, for the most part, are devoted kibble addicts. I know it's not ideal, but they have to eat and they flat out refuse any "people" food or wet. Only the 14 year old will eat some wet morning and night.
I'd love more cat writing - they do get overlooked, in my opinion, in a lot of blogs.

I, like many of these folks responding, love just about anything on 4 legs. I grew up with a dog always present, and then gradually learned that cats are so unique and fascinating that they would also have to become part of my life. Once my family adopted a stray cat and watched his relationship develop with out german shepherd, we realized what pleasure could come from observing the dynamics of two such different creatures becoming pals. The dog/cat thing is so special and sweet when it works.

That said, I would love to see a dedicated cat medical blogger added to your site. I currently have the pleasure of sharing my home with 3 adopted cats and 1 pit bull I found through a wonderful rescue group. Both sides of the medical issues being discussed would be very welcome. But I'd especially love some more chat about the amazing relationships that can develop between species. It seems to me that such friendships are enriching, and therefore beneficial to the health of, all species concerned, including human.

I too am a cat person (I currently have ummhmm number of cats) but I don't have time two read two separate blogs (I also have two dogs). I think if we could have maybe one blog a week dedicated to cats would be nice - maybe addressing redirected aggression, raw diets, training (yeah right) and may be enough. As for me right now, I would like to feed my cats a better diet, so do you or other readers have a recipe for a homemade food (what is a "raw" diet)?

As the current owner of four dogs and seven cats I would like more cat health posts. Since I foster for the county shelter and though my own pets I have encountered thirteen of the above symptoms.

Thank you so much for your blog!

I prefer ONE blog... I really don't want to take the time to flip through multiple blogs looking for the interesting bits. I think computers are time-eaters anyway :)

Regarding kitty health issues - our cats don't have any health problems, right now. Our Exotic Shorthair's brachiocephalic features mean his eyes get wiped more often than our Tuxedo's, and he eats tinned food because he can't, easily, pick up the little kibble pieces. Both our cats are pretty young though, only a year and change :)

Definitely tooooo focused on dogs.

Cats are now the #1 pet.

I have 11 and would spend more time here if there were at least as much cattalk as dogtalk.

I guess not too high on the insurance claims forms, but inappropriate urination is a biggie IME. And a big cat killer, whether through euthanasia at the vet hospital, being kicked out of the house and hit by a car, or dumped at the shelter to be killed.

We have one dog, and two cats. While we're interested in hearing about both types of animals, our cats seem to get sick or have issues more often than our dog.

Don't know that you need a blog specifically for cats, but a cat page on this blog would be very nice.

"Dedicated cat people are just like that … pleasantly eccentric and all that. "

um.. thank you?

You wonder if there is a chicken egg thing going on, I'd say yes and no. There are a number of people out there who are growing by the day who want more information on how to properly care for their cats and keep them at optimal health, but there is still a large population who feel cats are still disposable pets. I think that your including more cat posts would help dispell that feeling - granted it would take time. But if even one more person thinks that they should take their cat into the vet as often as the dog goes, then that would be a great thing.

don't forget all the other pets out there. Rabbits, turtles, birds, gerbils, etc :)

While I'd love a cat only blog as well, I think adding more cat posts to this blog would be great.