Cat Illnesses: The Shortlist

Cat illnesses worry every cat owner. Does your cat have health problems? You are not sure if it’s serious? Look at the list of cat illnesses below and take your pet to the vet.

Abscess
Infection, usually the results of a cat fight. Symptom: swelling, fever, lethargy. Treatment: antibiotics. Sometimes surgery is necessary.

Cat flu
Respiratory tract infection. Cause: virus. Symptoms: sneezing, coughing, noisy breathing, runny eye, fever, loss of appetite. Very contagious. No direct treatment available, but antibiotics may prevent secondary bacteria infections. Early diagnosis followed by careful nursing gives the best chance of survival. Vaccination recommended.

Chronic kidney failure
Serious kidney disease. Symptoms: increased thirst, weight loss, lethargy. Laboratory test is needed for the right diagnosis. More common in elderly cats. This feline kidney disease is incurable, but with the right treatment (medication, protein rich diet) possible to control.

Feline diabetes
When the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, a cat may become diabetic. It is chronic and sometimes fatal, but you can treat it. Read more about it here.

Feline distemper
Also called feline infectious enteritis. Contagious disease, caused by a virus. It is potentially fatal. Especially kittens are easily affected. Read more about feline distemper.

Feline infectious peritonitis
Abdomen inflammation caused a virus. Feline illness that is more common in households with two cats or more. Symptoms: loss of appetite, swollen abdomen, weight loss, fever. Vomiting and diarrhea are less frequent, but possible. Young cats and elderly felines are most susceptible. Disease can affect other organs. Feline infectious peritonitis is almost always fatal.

Feline leukemia
A virus causes cancer in the white blood cells and elsewhere in the body. Symptoms: vomiting, fever, anemia, breathing problems, reproductive failure. Almost always fatal. Read more about feline leukemia.

Feline ringworm
Contagious. A ring worm is an organism that can spread from cats to cats, human to cats and cats to human. So it may affect you too. Symptoms: dry skin on ears and around eyes, developing into red infected lesions. Read more about skin problems.

Feline urinary tract infections
May have several causes and require different treatments, but most frequently is the feline urological syndrome, a feline bladder infection. Symptoms: blood in the urine, frequent urination. Neuters get these cat illnesses easier. Treatment (antibiotics, diet) is very well possible, but feline urinary tract infections may recur.

FIV or cat AIDS
The feline version of HIV. More common in cats that come outdoors. Spread through bites, scratches and by sexual transmission. Development of this viral infection is difficult to predict. Normally minor health problems can become serious and eventually fatal. No cure available. It is recommended to keep infected cats indoors. Based on current knowledge, this cat illness infects only felines, not people.

Worms
Of course, worms are not really illnesses, but these parasites do cause health problems. Read more about worms.

There are many more cat illnesses that are not listed here, and there are also more specific kitten diseases.

If your cat suffers from health problems, the best thing you can do is taking your pet to the veterinarian. The sooner you do this, the bigger the chance you cat will recover.

However, for some cat illnesses and symptoms of certain diseases you can save yourself the time, money and hassle of seeing a vet. There are many home remedies that are easy to apply and really work. Make sure you know some of them, even if your cat feels fine right now.

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