Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: February 9, 2023 by Crystal Uys
Welcome to our regular “Ask the Vet With Dr. Kris” segment! Once a month, Dr. Kris answers as many of your questions as he can, and you can leave new questions for him in a comment.
Dr. Kristopher Chandroo is a veterinarian, scientist, photographer, animal welfare advocate, and creator of Stress to Success (STS): The Essential Guide to Medicating Your Feisty, Grumpy or Reluctant Cat. Dr. Kris wants your cats to be twenty years old. And counting! And he wants to provide medication and therapy to them in a way that respects the bond between cat and human.
Here are Dr. Kris’ answers to some of your questions asked in June. If your question didn’t get answered here, Dr. Kris will answer them on his own website in the future. Subscribe to his updates so you’ll be notified when the answers are published.
Are “fixed” male and female cats identical in behavior?
Tom: I have a general knowledge type of question, not a medical question, but I don’t know who else to ask. Are “fixed” male and female cats identical in behavior or do some gender-related traits remain. For example, relating to outdoor cats, males have much larger ranges than female cats. Does neutering make any difference to things like that, or is a male cat still a male cat except for ability to reproduce, and ditto for females?
Ooohhhh good question.
I would not be surprised if there are gender specific traits that are still there, despite the sterilization. I would go further and say there are individual personality differences that are intact despite sterilization.
Would be a cool study to be apart of!
Dr. Kris
Helping cats with arthritis
Beth: Dr. Kris, I really enjoy your monthly Q&As and love the idea of you doing an “arthritis masterclass”. My current cats do not have an issue, but both of my previous cats seemed to have issues during their last years (17 and 18). We moved things around, changed the litter box set up(s), put steps & kid stools near the windows, and basically tried to make it easier for them to get around and still be cats. It would be so beneficial to know what to look for and how to you tell if your cat has arthritis. What are the early signs? Is there anything we can do to prevent it? What are the options with medicine and homeopathy? What else can we do to help them so that they can still enjoy being cats? Thanks for all that you do.
Ok, I hear this loud and clear! Arthritis masterclass is in development! It’s going to take a while but I hope it is worthwhile for everyone who is managing this for their cats.
Dr. Kris
Cat with advanced kidney disease
Kate: I have a senior cat with advanced chronic kidney disease. She only has one functioning kidney; however she is still playful and full of spunk for a 15 year old cat. I am not a fan of feeding those “prescription” foods. I am currently giving her premium wet food with the phosphorus dry matter basis below 1%. I understand the lower the phosphorus level, the better. I also understand that I should watch her sodium levels in her food. My question is (1) What is the acceptable sodium percentage on a dry matter basis? (2) What other minerals, vitamins and amino acids should I monitor in her food on a dry matter basis percentage?
Hi Kate,
Phosphorous and sodium for sure are the ones to watch for. Then I want awesome sources of vitamin B12. Most importantly, I want a stable body weight – and I’ll take a stable body weight no matter what the micronutrient content of the food is (assuming it’s a quality food).
When you can get a constant, healthy body weight, they just tend to do better overall. It’s associated with longevity as well – so most of my nutritional goals are aimed at trying to eliminate maladaptive weight loss.
So my main tool in figuring out if I’m doing things right nutritionally?
A weigh scale.
You need one that measures accurately in their weight range – so a small pet or baby scale.
If their body condition is working out, you are doing it well!
Dr. Kris
Side effects of Gabapentin?
Melody Carnell: Hi Dr. Kris, it’s me again with the Gabapentin for arthritis question. I will talk with my vet again about the 100 mg of Gabapentin being too high but since then, Sweet Pea (maybe 10-12 years of age said my vet because the arthritis in her rear spine and hips shows prominently on her xray) has been taken off the prednisone and is now still on the 100 mg Gabapentin and had her first acupuncture which from the look on her face was mind blowing! It appeared to work quite well! I have never seen her in such bliss, made me cry, she deserves it!!!
My question now is, I’ve heard long term use of prednisone in cats has a high risk of causing diabetes, does that also apply to Gabapentin? It that harmful with long term use? Should I just try the acupuncture alone? Do you know of any non-medication things I can do for her to help with the arthritis? I have asked my vet about the Assisi Loop but she’s not familiar with it and wants to read up on it before prescribing. Thanks for any assistance!
Hi Melody!
That is great she responded so well with the gabapentin.
With most drugs you are just trying to use the lowest amount to give you the best result (the lowest amount meaning none for some cats, or it can be relatively high for others).
You drop the dose, stay there for two weeks, and see if we are looking just as good. Then you drop the dose again. Wait another two weeks. Of course you want to check with your vet or at least advise them that you want to do this.
Diabetes isn’t a typical side effect of gabapentin though. Being really really overweight checks that box.
Thanks for letting me know how she did – and I’ll keep you comments in mind as I start to write out an arthritis guide!
Dr. Kris
Alternative pain medications for arthritis
Jenny French: Your arthritis masterclass would fill a void, since cats are living longer and arthritis is so common and yet drugs often seem to be the only answer. I want to understand everything I can about pain management. I’m looking for alternatives to the pain medication (Buprenex) the vet gave me for my 14-year-old female. X-rays revealed arthritis along her spine. Interestingly, the images suggested her body seems to have fused the vertebrae, which would explain her stiff gait. She takes Amlodopine for high blood pressure but nothing else. A recent blood test showed all other values within healthy range. I’ve tried to make the home comfortable for her. I pick her up with a lot of support. She is very sensitive to touch on the lower back, so I avoid stroking her there. Buprenex makes her sleepier than usual, even for a senior cat, and wobbly too. And is long-term use advisable anyway? I need other options to try. She’s a loving cat and I want to repay that love with the best life possible.
Hi Jenny!
Ok, thanks for your comments – they really help formulate what can go into an arthritic masterclass. Keep those coming people!
You are completely right – our cats are living longer (average age has come up since the 90s), so we will expect to see more arthritis. People (and vets) are also better at knowing what it looks like – and are more willing to treat it nowadays.
As she is 14, it is completely understandable that you don’t want her gorked out on buprenex for the rest of her life. It’s a reliably safe drug and I have had patients on that off and on for years, but it can cause the drowsiness you are observing.
There are plenty of options though that don’t have drowsiness as a side effect – tell your vet you want a less drowsy choice. With every new choice you make, you will have some who call it the devil, and some who call it their savior for their cat. It really depends.
There isn’t a perfect drug, but there is a process that you can figure out what works best for your cat as an individual. That’s what I’m hoping the masterclass does – help people figure out faster what works for their cat.
Thanks,
Dr. Kris
How to acclimate cat to getting topical flea treatment
Patricia: Hi Dr. Kris, can you recommend a good way to get my cats acclimated to taking the flea drops on their neck? I got scratched up pretty good the last time. I have to get through this as my cats are indoor and my dog is indoor outdoor. Protection against fleas and other pests is important. Please advise.
First, I’ll assume you’re using a product that doesn’t bother them or is noxious in any way. I’ve used thousands of doses of topical revolution out west in flea country, and I’ve only had two cats resent the feeling as the liquid is absorbed.
Assuming the product you are using is good, you need to use it, and they just hate the experience of it, then you want to do something called counter-conditioning.
What that means is that something that they do not like is paired with something that they DO like, and if you can do it the right way, they learn to tolerate or even enjoy what they previously disliked.
It REALLY helps if they love treats or food, and they are hungry before you do this.
Here are the steps, assuming they are like the stereotypical Walt Disney fat kid in a candy shop (all the Disney movies of the 90’s have them).
1) In your left hand, present the food/treat etc. Give it to them.
2) While they are eating it, just touch the back of their neck/shoulders.
3) Take away the food, and stop touching their neck/shoulders.
4) Give them back the food/treat, and start touching their neck shoulder.
5) Repeat every 3-5 seconds.
Can you do that? If your cat lets you do it, you then take the tip of the applicator (the plastic part unopened so no liquid comes out), touch them with that in exactly the same way as written above.
If they can handle that, then there is a good chance you can give the topical medication with them feeling much better at it.
If at any point it doesn’t work, go slower and back to the previous step where they didn’t care about what you were doing back there. I should make a video for this – it’s so much easier to show that tell. Wait – I DID make a video showing this (Stress to Success) although I would try what I’ve written above first.
Good luck!
Dr. Kris
20-year-old cat in hospice care
Louise Ayers: I would love to hear about those senior cats. It may be to late for mine by the time you respond, but my vet I trust explicitly said I will always want to do whatever I can or beat myself up if I don’t try. My female cat is in hospice care with us, and each day may be her last. 20 is a good number to live, she has never eaten table food, or treats, just her good quality cat food, now all wet. This has been her choice. It doesn’t make it any easier as she is a very picky eater. She has in the last couple months developed a tumor that has grown rapidly under her ribcage. She had a biopsy on it and though large it doesn’t spread to her other organs. When we started the procedure to remove it and find out for sure where it was attached, we did the initial bloodwork. We found out she had anemia, with a value of 15, 2 days later it was 16 after the liver supplement, then Saturday it had dropped to 8 so we put her on Buprenorphine to help her pass normally, as we figured it was only a matter of days. She is still eating and drinking, though seems nothing has progressed so far that she is ready to go. Our bed has been on the floor for 2 months, her cat tree was disassembled to a floor model now, so she wouldn’t hurt herself jumping. Just wanted to say, which ever path you choose for your baby has to be the right one for you. Do not grieve and wonder what if, do the best you can.
Louise I have a special post for you titled “When You Don’t Want to Say Good Bye” – I’ll put that up soon on my website. In the meantime, you may want to watch this video.
Sue Lamothe: Would you recommend Lysine as a supplement for a 6 yr old cat diagnosed FIT + ? ( never been sick)……if so, which Lysine brand / form do you prefer? thank you
Lysine is one of those things that it almost never hurts to try (always nice if it comes in a treat form so they voluntarily eat it – less stress for them that way). Does it work?
Some people say yes, some say no.
A lot of us still use it as it could help, and side effects – I’ve yet to see one.
If it’s stressful for your cat to consume it, then I probably would look for alternatives though.
Cheers,
Dr. Kris
Sonja R Copley: I have a blind cat that started having what I called night terrors, take to vet,put him on phenobarbital, didn’t help much. Finally videoed it, took him back, this time they put him on lorazepam, which did help alot. But then he went right into one when I gave him the pill.the episodes have changed, you can visibly see him getting shocks, can’t afford neurologist, started giving him CBD OIL, it helps, doesn’t seem to get shocks when I do. It’s heartbreaking to see him go through these.any ideas?
Sorry to hear this Sonja.
I’m going to assume that your cat has an illness with his nervous system based on the treatment choices here. But there are many pieces to this puzzle that I don’t know from his description.
He’s the kind of kitty that I would need to lay hands on to really appreciate what he might be going through.
It’s ok if you can’t afford the neurologist.
You and your vet can make some educated guesses about what this might be, and trial and error things from there – as long as he’s not suffering, right? He should be eating, and recovering from those fits pretty quickly if things are going smooth enough.
Some pets can seizure, then they go on with their lives, and other than the seizures, they are perfectly normal. Other cats, especially if they are geriatric, start to seizure but it’s not good when they start doing it at an older age.
I know it’s really hard to see this happen. Many cats need to try several different medications before you find the right combination that works, so you can ask them what other options you have in addition to the lorazepam.
Good luck,
Dr. Kris
Do you have a question for Dr. Kris?
Leave it in a comment and he’ll answer it next month!
About the author
Ingrid King is an award-winning author, former veterinary hospital manager, and veterinary journalist who is passionate about cats.
Hello,
My cat is 6 years old and from the last 1.5 years he has become anaemic and his condition is very serious. His haemoglobin is right now 1.8 and the RBC are 38000 . Please if you can help me save him this would be a great thing .What can we do to save him. Please reply as soon as possible
You need to visit your local vet ASAP.
Hi Dr. Kris,
I got a young female, (maybe two yrs old by now) from the shelter last year (was very underweight). I put her on wet food (Natures Calling, Organix) when she got here and over the months her breath got worse and worse until it was extremely bad. When she came her breath actually smelled good. I assume she had only been getting dry food before and attributed the bad breath to the wet food. I phase it out and sure enough her breath improved a lot. Then I started adding in raw food hoping that would be better, but she got the same result. Now I have her on exclusively dry food. I’ve been brushing her teeth but it doesn’t help much. I know that dry food is bad for cats. Do you know why this is happening and what I should do? Thank you.
my 13 yr old female cat who is fixed has a polyp in each ear.. she gets yeast and shakes her head at times. my vet said the specialized vet would have to take the polyps out so they don’t come back. can these be cancerous at her age and should they be removed?
Hi! My 5 year old indoor cat has a vomiting problem. The last vet appointment we took him to, he got a clean bill of health and the vet suggested giving him smaller amounts of wet food. He seems to gorge when eating sometimes. We also have changed the type of treats from meat sticks to crunchy small nuggets. My question is, could there be an underlying problem with his digestive system? Is this something the vet can test for? He is otherwise a clean, healthy, active and loving cat. Appreciate your feedback.
Thank you!
Tracey S./Boston, MA
I studied feline nutrition for literally 100’s of hours when my Diamond kitty was sick from Feline Leukemia. I’m willing to bet that it is what he’s eating. Neither dry kibble treats or meat sticks is good for Cats digestive system. Read ingredients not deceptive labels! Most Cat food sadly is full of cheap ingredients ingredients that are making our beloved cats have all sorts of health problems that lead to death. Dry food is bad. If your Cats treats or food has the following ingredients, stop feeding. *animal by-products (NOTHING with the word “by-products” or “meal” this is animals that died of or were euthanized because of disease!)
*corn, gluten, soy or wheat
(Cats don’t have the proper enzymes to digest these)
*Carrageenan
*artificial or natural “flavors”
My Luna did the same thing. I switched her to canned food with zero of the above ingredients. She stopped vomiting and started playing again and she is 7!
I agree that a study on the personalities of altered male and female cats would be interesting. I do adoptions, and people always ask if the boys are different from the girls. I usually tell them that the sexes aren’t that different from each among neutered cats. Girls, however, tend to have more “attitude” while boys seem to be more cuddly. Sometimes the boys can bully others, but I think that’s a function of size. I have found that female cats are harder to introduce into an household if the resident cat is a female.
not sure this is a vet question but I wasn’t sure where else to ask… why do my cats get so involved with me changing my bed linens? They run in from somewhere else when I start, as though it is their duty or something. I might be less exhausted and handle it better if I understood it better. They get angry when I remove them so I can get on with it.
I’m sure Dr. Kris will chime in, Sheila, but I think it’s a great game for cats. They can hide, they can stalk the “sheet monster,” they can chase the folds – it appeals to all of their hunting instincts. Mine love to “help,” and I consider it playtime for them. They’re having so much fun with it, I just build in the extra time to get the job done!
I have an 11 year old cat with a heart murmur. She sleeps most of the day. Is it because of her heart murmur she’s sleeping so much? What can be done for my cat? My cat is female and can’t have kittens anymore(spayed and/or neutered) what can be done other than monitoring?
No questions – the only one I have is probably more appropriate for Jackson Galaxy, haha – but I wanted to thank you for your website, Dr. Kris. When my 16-year-old baby boy was going through acute on chronic renal failure (likely due to a tumor) it helped me a lot. Helped give me hope, helped me realize there was no hope. Of course I looked at more websites than I can count and practically sped-read the bible that is Tanya’s website. It was like a 16-day marathon that ended with me slamming into a brick wall the day I took him for his last vet visit. And it’s coming up on the 2-year anniversary so thinking a lot about it right now. So anyway, thank you for all your common-sense with a dash of veterinary wisdom that you provide. Thank you for sharing your experience with your kidney kitty Zack. Talking about the feeding tube. All that jazz. It helped this person that was losing her mind keep her sanity just a little bit.
Thank you Dr Kris
I have two 8 1/2 year cats in good health and both neutered. At least once a day, sometimes more, the male lets out a series of terrible “yowling” noises. They actually sound human. Not like he is in pain. This can happen day or night. He is always in another room than I am. What could this possibly mean? He acts fine the rest of the time.
Hi Dr Kris,
What do you recommend for a cat that wheezing episodes, about 2 or 3 per week where he seems to struggle to breathe? He’s 7 years old and this is not new behavior. His vet said he had a minor heart murmur on his intake exam when I adopted him but now when I mention the wheezing I get no feedback. Could it be asthma? Could it be his heart? How can I help my poor guy?
Ann, my girl has always panted excessively during play, butwhen she had a similar episode I took her to an animal emergency hospital. They took some chest xrays and prescribed some terbutiline. She did have to visit a cardiac specialist because her heart appeared slightly large for a 1 year old. But they ruled out heart issues. She was also suppose to see a Internal medicine specialist, but because she has had no more issues since starting her medicine we’ve just been taking a wait and see approach.
I hope you find some resolve for your situation.