Educational Posts

5 "Silent" Killers of Cats

9/29/2020

When it comes to caring for your cat, we have a few simple recommendations:

Maintain a safe environment (keep your cat indoors)
Feed high quality food (e.g., a meat based protein)
Think about preventative care (e.g., an annual physical examination, laboratory tests, and appropriate vaccines)
Provide lots of affection and exercise

By following these basic tips, you can help keep your four-legged, feline friends healthy - potentially for decades! But as cat guardians, you should also be aware of five "silent" killers in cats. By knowing what the most common silent killers are, you can know what clinical signs to look for. With most of these diseases, the sooner the clinical signs are recognized, the sooner we veterinarians can treat.

1. Chronic kidney disease
One of the top silent killers of cats is chronic kidney diseases (CKD) (This is sometimes called chronic renal failure of chronic kidney injury). These terms are all semantically the same and means that 75% of both the kidneys are ineffective and not working.

Clinical signs of CRD include: (Please note: Not all patience necessarily show all symptoms)

Excessive drinking
Excessive urinating
Large clumps in the litter box
Weight loss
Bad breath
Lethargy
Hiding

When it comes to Chronic Kidney Disease, time of diagnosis plays a crucial rule in the treatment outcomes and expanding patients' life span.

Thankfully, with early diagnostic and appropriate management, cats can live with CKD for years (unlike dogs where CKD usually progresses more rapidly).

2. Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is an endocrine disease where the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone. This is seen in middle-aged geriatric cats and can result in very similar clinical signs to chronic kidney disease including: (Please note: Not al patients necessarily show all the symptoms)

Excessive thirst
Increased water consumption/urination
Vomiting/diarrhea
Weight loss
Change in temperament and being more vocal

However, as hyperthyroidism increases the metabolism of cats, it causes one defining sign: a ravenous appetite despite weight loss. It can also result in:

A racing heart rate
Severe hypertension (resulting in acute blood loss, neurologic signs, or even a clot or stroke)
Secondary organ injury (e.g., a heart murmur or changes to the kidney)

Thankfully, a treatment for hyperthyroidism is very effective and includes either a medication or radioiodine therapy. With hyperthyroidism, the sooner you treat it the less potential side effects or organ damage will occur in your cat.

3. Diabetes mellitus
Another costly, silent killer cats is diabetes mellitus (DM). As many of our cats are often overweight to obese, they are at a greater risk for DM. With diabetes, the pancreas fails to secrete adequate amounts of insulin or there is resistance to insulin. Insulin is a natural hormone that drives sugar (i.e., blood glucose) into the cells. As a result of the cells starving for glucose, the. body makes more and more glucose, causing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and many of the clinical signs seen with DM. Common clinical signs for DM are similar to those of Chronic Kidney Disease and hyperthyroidism and include: (Please note: Not all patients necessarily show all the symptoms)

Excessive urination and thirst
Larger clumps in the litter box
An overweight or obese body condition with muscle wasting (especially over the spine or back) or weight loss
A decreased or ravenous appetite
Lethargy or weakness
Vomiting
Abnormal breath (e.g., acetone breath)
Walking abnormally (e.g., lower to the ground)

Treatment for DM can be costly, as it requires insulin injections that you have to give under the skin. It also requires changes in diet (to a high protein, low carbohydrate diet), frequent blood glucose monitoring, and frequent veterinary visits. With supportive care and chronic management, cats can do reasonably well; however, once diabetic complications develop (e.g., diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar, hyperglycemic syndrome), DM can be life threatening.

4. Cardiac disease
Heart disease is very frustrating for both cat owners and veterinarians. That's because, while dogs almost always have a loud heart murmur. (i.e., one we can hear with our stethoscope) indicative of heart disease, cats often don't have a heart murmur present. In fact, it's estimated that 50% of cats with heart disease have no auscultable heart murmur.

Clinical signs of heart disease include: (Please note: Not all patients necessarily show all the symptoms)

A heart murmur
An abnormal heart rhythm (e.g., an abnormal beat and rhythm)
A racing heart rate
Collapse
Passing out (e.g., syncope)
Increased respiratory rate
Difficulty breathing
Blue-tinged gums
Open mouth breathing
Acute, sudden paralysis (e.g., typically of the hind limbs)
Cold, painful hind limbs
Sudden pain
Sudden lameness
Sudden death

Once cardiac disease is diagnosed (typically based on physical exam, chest radiographs, Cadiopet® proBNP Test, and an ultrasound of the heart called an "echocardiogram"), treatment may include emergency care for oxygen therapy, diuretics, blood pressure support, and heart medications. Long-term prognosis is poor, as the heart medication does not cure the heart disease; it prevents cardiac disease from getting worse. The exception is when cardiac disease is causes by hyperthyroidism, which often gets better once the hyperthyroidism is treated!

5. Cancer
As dogs and cats live longer, we as veterinarians are seeing more cases of cancer. The most common type of cancer in cats is gastrointestinal cancer, often due to lymhosarcoma. Clinical signs of cancer include: (Please note: Not all patients necessarily show all the symptoms)

Weight loss
Not eating
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Difficulty breathing
Abdominal distension or bloating
Weakness
Lethargy
Hiding
Fever
Generalized malaise

Once diagnosed, the prognosis for cancer is poor. For this reason, the sooner you notice clinical signs, the sooner diagnosis and treatment may be initiated.

With staying on top of yearly physical exams and blood work, most of the mentioned diseases carry a much better prognosis and with the good management some might not cause any serious issue for pets.

If you've found any of these symptoms in your loved pets, please call (949) 426-7700 and schedule an appointment. We will take care of your pet's health before it leads to a serious issue.

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5 "Silent" Killers of Cats