I have a new kitten that I found out in my street about 4 months ago.  He has been kept separate from my 2 other cats the bulk of this time.  He has been tested for everything and has been neutered.  He is probably about 7 months old.  He was neutered 12/7.  It went well, but for about 2 weeks after he was not eating much at all.  He lost weight.  I then went away from 12/13-12/17.  I had a cat sitter coming in twice a day and he started eating around this point.

My two other cats are 9 ½ year old Bengal Sisters.  They are literally sisters.  When I returned from my trip, Ali had diarrhea and was not eating, plus she had lost weight.  After multiple trips to the vet, being admitted, and a crazy amount of testing, all they found was inflamed intestines.  They wanted to biopsy them 1/4, but I ended up canceling this appointment as she seemed to make quite a turnaround over the weekend.  She is eating (not as much as usual), doesn't appear to have diarrhea and has an almost normal energy level.  She is still quite skinny and I will be watching her for further weight loss.

NOW, her sister, Emily, has stopped eating and has diarrhea PLUS vomiting.  The Vets have no idea what's going on here.  One idea is that the kitten brought home a virus that I transmitted through my touch & clothing to the other cats.  If Ali keeps losing weight, I will probably submit to the biopsy within the week.  I am just trying to figure out how to keep Emily from getting worse & worse?  She is supposed to be on a special diet as she had a stone removed several years ago.  But I gave in to force feeding (dropping in her mouth) fresh chicken and brown rice pureed today.  Any ideas or thoughts as to how to get this under control?  The ideas on Ali's inflamed intestines were also inflamed bowel disease or intestinal lymphoma.  But I can't ignore that all the cats seemed to have come down with something, one right after the other.

As the H1N1 virus is on the rise in pets as with humans, improving feline care is of utmost importance. According to a recent study conducted by the Morris Animal Foundation, the American Pet Products Association and Maddie’s Fund, cats outnumber dogs in the United States, yet receive less veterinary care.

Dispelling Myths about Cats
In the study, it was found that more than half of those surveyed had negative attitudes toward cats, citing the litter box smell, shedding, biting and a “perceived inability for cats to get along with other pets” as top reasons to not own cat. Other behaviors cited include jumping on countertops, scratching furniture and spitting up hairballs.  

The organizations concluded that the negative perception of cats is due to a lack of awareness; the behaviors seen as reasons to not own a cat are easily reversible, and can be addressed with behavior training, specific diets and scratching posts. To learn more, view the survey summary at www.MorrisAnimalFoundation.org/cattitudes.

Maintaining Feline Health & Preventing H1N1
The misconception that felines do not need the veterinary care required for dogs may be a link to the increasing amount of the H1N1 (and H5N1) virus among cats. Even though it is believed that humans are unable to catch the virus from pets, it is important to take precautionary measures. Have the pet taken to the veterinarian if it has been exposed to humans with the virus or to birds, as they play a role in the spread of all influenza viruses.