Vomiting in cats is not normal. Far too many cat parents rationalize occasional, or even chronic, vomiting with explanations such as “he just eats too fast,” “she has a sensitive stomach,” or “it’s just a hairball.” Chronic vomiting can be an indicator of serious diseases of the small intestine, including inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal lymphoma.Continue Reading
vomiting
Probiotics: One of the Most Important Supplements for Your Cat
There has been a fair amount of research on the human side on how critical a healthy gut is for a strong immune system, healthy body weight and composition, and even mental health. A healthy gut also minimizes the risk for numerous diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Probiotics are crucial to promoting good intestinal health, and while there are far fewer studies about the beneficial effects of probiotics for animals, the studies that do exist have found that probiotics have the same positive effect on animals as they do on humans.Continue Reading
Plants and foods that are toxic to cats
Guest post by Amanda McIntosh
If your cat is anything like mine, he is curious and adventurous, and more often than not he will try to get into things he shouldn’t.
Plants
The first time I took my cat outdoors, he was fascinated by the grass in the yard. He wouldn’t stop eating it. Thinking it could potentially harm him, I discouraged him from doing it. I later found out from my vet that cats will often enjoy eating grass and it’s perfectly safe for them. You can even buy kits to plant grass for indoor cats.
However, there are other indoor and outdoor plants that aren’t as safe. My cat had a random obsession with a Dieffenbachia plant, a medium-sized houseplant with large, thick leaves. I removed it out of his reach when he started gnawing on it. I found out after the fact that Dieffenbachias are toxic to cats. Thankfully, they are not life-threatening, and he suffered no ill effects.
The good news is there are plenty of indoor plants that won’t be harmful for cats. The ASPCA website offers a complete listContinue Reading