As a cat owner, you've likely experienced those moments when you rush your cat to the vet, only to discover that the issue could have been managed at home... if only you had had the knowledge and the confidence to recognise it and treat it yourself.
In recent weeks, I've seen numerous cases of cats who I felt were exactly that. These cats fall into several categories including blood in their poo, runny eyes, itchy skin, cats peing outside their litter box and some cats with vomiting or diarrhoea. These were all cats that were well, but had these symptoms that the owners did not know how to resolve at home without vet advice. A visit to my local "Repair Cafe" with my long broken (but now repaired!) SodaStream, inspired me to do something similar for cats.
Which is why next week I will be hosting a Repair Cafe For Cats, where I will discuss all of the above symptoms and take your questions live on Zoom and "repair" your cat... for free! You can register here, and submit your query or cat "repair" that you need!
In the meantime, this week's cat tip is a double helping of the two most common of these I am seeing right now. The first is the more unusual reactions cats can have to fleas, the second is fresh blood in poo.
At the moment fleas are absolutely LOVING life because we have started to turn our heating on. Heat causes fleas to hatch out, so fleas that have been laying dormant since the summer start to hatch out in October and November. Many people think that fleas are a summer problem, but I see the most fleas at this time of year. An autumn flea problem is often accidentally made worse because many people stop treating their cat for fleas at this time of year because they think that the danger has passed.
As cat owners we are pretty used to the typical signs of fleas, including itching and overgrooming. But some cats can also get a swollen lip as a result of their flea allergy and some will lick one particular area to create a "hot spot".
Both of these symptoms will resolve once your cat and your home are treated for fleas. But remember, many flea products bought in the pet shop, pharmacy or supermarket do not work well on fleas. Vectra Felix and Advantage are the only 2 non-prescription products that work well in the UK. I will go into more detail on how you can help your cat if you see these symptoms in the webinar.
Fresh blood in poo is the second most common reason I see cats when I do not need to. This often has a surprising cause and it can be an easy fix for most cats, without the stress and expense of a vet visit. I will talk about that in the webinar because it is probably the symptom that worries owners more than any other, yet it can have the simplest and most inexpensive solution - without a vet visit.
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