Your cat will be reluctant to inform you of illness

To most, cats appear to be among nature’s most independent creatures. Yet they rely on us in ways we don’t always appreciate.

The reason? Evolution has made our feline friends extremely adept at hiding illness.

We know that cats evolved as predators and hunt small prey. But because of their small size, they were also prey for larger predators.

“The problem with cats is that they’re designed by nature to mask any sickness,” says Dr. James Richards, a spokesman for the American Association of Feline Practitioners. “In the wild, if they somehow broadcast that they might be an easy catch, then obviously that is detrimental to them. So they’re going to try to hide illness for as long as they can.”

As a veterinarian, I can’t tell you how many times a cat owner brought in a cat – thinking it might be a little under the weather – only to find out after a thorough physical examination and extensive laboratory testing that the cat was on its eighth life, about to draw its last breath.

One time a cat owner brought a beloved kitty into my Twin Falls, Idaho, practice because family members noticed it had missed breakfast. When we weighed the cat, it was a fur-covered skeleton, having lost almost 40 percent of its body weight from a kidney problem.

“With cats, it’s not unusual for health problems to be occurring that owners are not aware of,” says Richards. “And by the time they do notice more dramatic signs of illness and get the pet to the clinic, those illnesses can be quite advanced and much more difficult to deal with successfully.”

The mismatch between the perception of a “minor illness” versus the reality of a “major medical problem” isn’t that the owner doesn’t care or doesn’t want to spend the money to get the cat well.

The problem typically is the result of the cat owner not knowing the subtle signs that the cat was sick, in pain or discomfort until it was too late to prevent unnecessary pain, expense or worse.

That’s why pet owners have a special challenge to watch for the subtle signs of illness in cats.

To help educate owners about just what those signs are, the AAFP has launched a nationwide campaign called “The Great Cat Watch, for Wellness Sake.”

The Great Cat Watch draws its inspiration from the Feline Behavior Guidelines, a 42-page, AAFP booklet that offers a comprehensive guide to normal and abnormal feline behaviors. The guidelines, which are available on AAFP’s Web site, www.aafponline.org/resources/practice_guidelines.htm, were compiled by a panel of experts from information presented in more than 300 articles and numerous books on feline behavior.

So what are signs of illness in a cat? They can vary depending on the cat’s age and lifestyle.

In general, they include:

• Changes in social interactions.

• Inappropriate elimination behavior.

• Changes in activity.

• Changes in grooming.

• Unexplained weight changes.

• Signs of stress.

• Bad breath.

• Changes in vocalization.

• Changes in food and water consumption.

• Changes in sleep habits.

As part of The Great Cat Watch, the AAFP is also emphasizing the importance of taking cats to the veterinarian for twice-yearly wellness visits. The campaign is being underwritten by Fort Dodge Animal Health.

America’s cats can certainly benefit from more regular veterinarian visits. Even though the 90 million cats owned nationwide outnumber dogs by 20 percent, they see the veterinarian only half as often.

“When you think about the life span of a cat, which is about 15 to 20 years, it’s pretty short compared to ours. So a six-month period of time in a cat’s life is a significant amount of time, physiologically,” Dr. Richards says. “Twice-a-year wellness visits also provide a perfect opportunity for veterinarians to help educate owners about behavior clues.”

Along with helping pet owners identify potential health problems, regular veterinary visits and a solid understanding of normal feline behavior can reduce undesirable feline traits, such as eliminating outside of the litter box or damaging furniture. It is important to recognize these signs, since behavior problems remain the most common cause of euthanasia in pet cats.

Richards says there’s another plus to paying closer attention to your cat’s behavior.

“You get to know the animal better and get more out of the friendship,” he says. “It’s like any relationship: The more you invest, the stronger it becomes.”

So join the Great Cat Watch and see if it doesn’t enrich your life, along with that of your feline friend.