Senior Cat Health & Gazelles...?

Hey Cool Cats! I researched two stories for today, one that concerns health and one that is just a little bit strange. The first one is titled, “Overactive thyroids can age cats quickly,” and it was written by Melissa Wheeler, DVM for the Central Veterinary Hospital and 24 Hour Animal Emergency.The second article talks about how we cats must now accept gazelles into the family! Read on for more…

Last month Lucky the 15-year-old kitty that lives with V-E-T Wheeler started behaving strangely. Wheeler brought Lucky into her office and ran some tests. They came back showing that Lucky has hyperthyroidism, which is common in senior aged cats. Most of the time hyperthyroidism disguises itself as, “old age,” and is mistaken as just another common ailment of getting on in the years.

This is how Wheeler describes hyperthyroidism:

“Two thyroid glands are located in the neck on each side of the trachea. These glands produce thyroid hormone. In hyperthyroidism, too much of this hormone is produced. Cats with this disease may suffer from weight loss, hyperactivity, poor grooming, vomiting or diarrhea. Oftentimes, they’ll have great appetites but can’t seem to maintain themselves.These outward symptoms can be distressing, but the real danger of hyperthyroidism occurs on the inside. Commonly, hyperthyroidism causes an abnormal heart rhythm and increased stress on the kidneys and liver."

The article states that there are three types of treatment: radiation, surgery, and oral medacine. If you are feeling off color, please talk to your human about going to see the V-E-T. They are not always bad. I have recently researched and found out they do more than just cut off man parts!

Read the full article here:

http://www.thetimesnews.com/articles/hyperthyroidism_10958___article.html/cat_cats.html

Now to lighten up the subject, I would like to speak about an article titled, “Baby gazelle thinks it’s a cat and believes its mother is a human.” There is this crazy (non-vishus) gazelle that was separated from his mother when he was only a day old. At this time a nice human lady decided to foster him in her house. Apparently this crazy gazelle gets along with the ladys cats very well, and they even PURR at him! You must read this article!

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10194355.html


I have to ask, what do you cool cats think about accepting a non-vishus gazelle into the family? Would you do it? Would you PURR at it?

Until Tomorrow,
Cecil