Lifespan - cat lifespan

There are many diseases, which are common to cats. If ignored some of these diseases may turn out to be fatal. But most of these diseases can be prevented by taking care of simple things. Firstly, keep your cat indoors. Secondly, get your cat vaccinated against some common cat diseases .

Also known as feline infectious enteritis, cat plague, feline distemper & feline ataxia, feline panleukopenia is a severe & highly infectious disease caused by a virus from the Parvovirus family. It has a high mortality rate of 25% - 70%. The name panleukopenia is derived from the very low white blood cell count in infected cats.

Symptoms of feline panleukopenia include; depression, listlessness, loss of appetite, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration. Infected cats may hang off their food or water bowl, they often have a hunched up appearance & their coat quickly becomes rough. The skin loses it's elasticity due to dehydration caused by vomiting & diarrhoea.

The prognosis for kittens is poor, especially in younger kittens. There are no medications available to kill the virus, therefore the cat is given supportive therapy, giving the cat a chance to fight the virus off with it's own defences. Strict isolation is essential during this period to ensure other animals aren't infected.

Related Links: http://www.catwebsite.org/cat-diseases.htm