Crate training is a technique that can be used to curb inappropriate elimination problems in cats with chronic behavior or medical problems, and promote limited territoriality in kittens. The process has evolved in response to the increased number of owners dealing with medical and/or behavior conditions, resulting in inappropriate elimination, which were undermining their relationship with the animal and, hence, the treatment process for the specific problem at hand.
The most common causes of esophageal strictures in dogs and eats are gastroesophageal reflux during anesthesia, persistent vomiting, or ingestion of foreign bodies or caustic agents.(1-5) In humans, esophageal retention of oral medication is a common cause of severe esophagitis.(6-8) Of the medications proven to lead to esophageal ulceration, doxycycline is most often implicated.(6) It has been suggested that pill-induced esophagitis also could occur in small animals but has yet to be reported.(9) The purpose of this publication is to report on three cases of presumptive doxycycline-induced esophagitis with resultant stricture formation.
Solar radiation may stimulate skin disorders such as actinic dermatitis and skin carcinoma,(11,16,6) mainly among white animals,(9,11,16,7,20,13,15) due to lower levels of melanin, which protects the skin against solar rays.(15) Squamous cell carcinoma is malignant neoplasia characterized by its present masses or irregular cords of originated cells of the epidermis, its proliferatation throughout the interior of the derma, and existing structures characteristically called keratin pearls.(11) Actinic dermatitis is a dysplastic alteration of the epidermic keratinocytes induced by light and is considered a precursor to squamous cell carcinoma.(6,13) The damaging photochemical effects are related to hair density,(9) (11,16,1,13,15) wave length, and intensity of radiation,(9,11,19,5,16,7,20,13,15,17) besides genetic inheritance.(19,16,17) The lower the hair density, the higher exposure to solar radiation(9,) (11,16,7,13,15); the longer the wave length and intensity of solar radiation, the worse the effect on the skin.(9,11,19,5,16,7,20,15,17) Genetic inheritance is related to the distribution of keratin and melanin, as well as to the quantity of Langerhans cells.(16) Choice of the treatment for squamous cell carcinoma can include surgical excision,(8,11,14,7,18) cryosurgery,(8,11,7) radiotherapy,(8,11,14,7,18) electrosurgery, chemotherapy,(11,14,7) photodynamic therapy,(7) and hyperthermia.(8,12) However, several aspects related to the neoplasia should be considered, such as the location, extension, and apprenticeship of its development and metastasis presence. The choice of treatment should be based on the animal's condition and the coloration and availability of the owner prior to treatment. Priority is given in regard to the quality of life of the animal.(12) The treatment of actinic dermatitis should begin as soon as possible to avoid the evolution of lesions secondary to solar radiation to neoplastic lesions. The treatment includes the decrease in solar light exposition and topical application of filters in order to protect against ultraviolet rays. The filters should never be PABA based.(1) This paper describes skin lesions in seven white cats, attributed to solar radiation.
Abamectin, an avermectin anthelmintic, is the principle ingredient in some commercially administered Pharaoh ant poisons. Abamectin is mixed with food stuffs that would, consequentially, make it palatable to felines (corn grits, soybean oil, and chicken fat). As with ivermectin, abamectin acts by increasing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter activity. GABA is a central nervous system inhibitory neurotransmitter in mammals, but a peripheral transmitter in many nonmammalian species. Avermectins apparently effect GABA activity in several ways - increasing presynaptic release, increasing postsynaptic binding, and as a direct GABA agonist. Most studies on the toxicology of this class of drug have been done on ivermectin toxicity in dogs. Clinical signs include mydriasis, a decreased menace response, blindness, ataxia, muscle tremors, disorientation, CNS depression, hyperthermia, bradycardia, coma, and death. Signs of ivermectin toxicity in felines include agitation, vocalization, anorexia, mydriasis, rear limb paresis, tremors, disorientation, blindness, head pressing, and an absent menace response. Avermectins do not normally cross the mammalian blood-brain barrier, but cause the death of susceptible parasites through peripheral neuromuscular blockade and paralysis. To date there are no published reports of abamectin toxicity in cats.
Vision and pupillary abnormalities are common abnormalities associated with nervous system diseases in cats. Diagnosis requires fundamental understanding of neuroanatomy and physiology for localization of the lesion. The visual pathway includes the retina, optic nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract, lateral geniculate body, optic radiations, and the occipital cortex. Sixty-five percent of the visual fibers cross midline to the opposite optic tract in cats. Muscles necessary for controlling ocular movement are innervated by cranial nerve III (oculomotor), cranial nerve IV (trochlear), and cranial nerve VI (abducent). Ocular sensation is controlled through ophthalmic branch of cranial nerve V (trigeminal).
Toxoplasmosis in cats in generally a subclinical infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Cats are the definitive host and usually become infected by ingesting tissue cysts found in the tissues of infected animals. Following ingestion, both asexual and sexual cycles occur in the intestine (enteroepithelial cycle), and infected cats shed large numbers of environmentally resistant oocysts in their feces. Simultaneously with the enteroepithelial cycle, T gondii tachyzoites multiply in the lamina propria of the intestine and disseminate throughout the body via vascular routes. Clinical disease associated with systemic feline toxoplasmosis is occasionally a manifestation of this dissemination, as replication of tachyzoites in cells such as fibroblasts, smooth muscle, macrophages, neurons, and myocardiocytes can result in necrosis. Antemortem diagnosis of clinical toxoplasmosis in cats is rare. Clinical disease is generally manifested as pneumonia, and necropsy findings generally document multisystemic organ involvement, including lung, liver, brain, pancreas, lymph node, intestine, eye, and myocardium. Most commonly, lesions occur in the lungs and in descending order of frequency in brain, liver, pancreas, and heart. This report documents an unusually case of clinical systemic feline toxoplasmosis in which clinical signs and necropsy findings were centered on pancreatitis. Clinical and morphological findings are presented.
The first cases of vaccine-associated fibrosarcomas in cats were reported in the USA in 1991 and certain adjuvants were implicated, especially aluminium hydroxide.(2,3) The most common site of vaccination is also the usual site for most therapeutic injections (i.e., between the shoulders). This report describes a fibrosarcoma that a cured in a 13-year-old neutered male cat 2 months after it was given drug injections for treating gastritis long-acting benzylpenicillin[D1] (Duplocilline(R), Intervet, France), metoclopramide (Primperid(R), Sanofi, France), dexamethasone(Cortamethasone(R). Vetoquinol, France). No vaccination or booster injections had been given to this cat for at least 6 years prior to the occurrence of the fibrosarcoma.
The case history of a domestic shorthair cat with acute tracheobronchitis is described. The most important clinical sign was a productive cough. A pure culture of Bordetella bronchiseptica was isolated on culture of an airway wash sample. While antibiotic sensitivity testing showed the bacteria to be sensitive to enrofloxacin, treatment for 18 days with this medication failed to resolve the clinical signs and did not clear the bacteria from the lower respiratory tract. Antibiotic therapy was changed to trimethoprim-sulfadiazine, which appeared to lead to resolution of the clinical signs, as well as elimination of the bacteria from the respiratory tract. B bronchiseptica appears to spread easily and quickly among cats and seroprevalence appears to be high. Practitioners should consider it in the differential diagnosis of bronchopulmonary disease in the cat, especially in multi-cat households and catteries. Preliminary work on a vaccine appears promising, although the canine vaccines are currently being used on a limited basis in cats at risk.
