Northernlights Equestrian Scotland
A few words on cats
Cats are carnivores and cannot be fed a totally vegetarian diet. A cat has a higher protein requirement than a dog, plus a crucial need for
some protein nutrients, for example amino acids such as taurine, which is only obtained from animal proteins.
Cats also need animal fat, as they cannot convert plant proteins into essential vitamin A.
generally food is best left out at all times as cats tend to be good at regulating there appetites. They usually eat small frequent meals
throughout the day, often feeding from 8 to 16 times in a day.
A good balanced diet throughout the cats life is a valuable asset in promoting a good and long life.
Fresh water is essential for good health.
Avoid sugary treats they are not only calorific but can cause dental problems
Older cats may need fewer calories than when they were younger.
Worm facts
it is estimated that 6 out of 10 cats are infected with worms at any one time.
A female tapeworm can pass up to 2000,000 eggs in one day.
A cat tapeworm can measure up to 60cm in lenght.
There are 2 types of worms roundworms that affect cats an affected cat can vomit roundworms or pass them out in faeces.
Tapeworms segments can cause irritation around a cats bottom and can cause the cat to groom this area excessively.
Most cats show no obvious signs of having worms, but young kittens can get worms from there mother.
Worms can also weaken a cats immune system, so a cat will be more prone to infections.
A roundworm called toxocara cati can also affect people, children are especially at risk.If a human eats the eggs, the worm larvae
may migrate through the body, which can damage ogans like the eye.
cat owners most dispose of cat litter carefully each day and make sure hands are washed well also after stroking and playing with the
cat.
Your vet will be able to advise you on a worming programme.
Cat owners also need to have a regular flea treatment programme, as the flea is part of the life cycle of the tapeworm.
Cats also have another parasite disease that can affect humans is a micro organism called toxoplasma gondii.
Toxoplasma can infect many different types of pets, but cats are the only type of animal where it changes to an infectious form. kittens
are usually infected when they first go hunting and eat an animal that has the organisim in its tissue.
The infected cat will excrete microscopic egg cysts in its faeces. These are only shed for about two weeks after the initial infection
but maybe reactivated in a cat affected by feline leukaemia (felv) or immunodeficiency virus (fiv).
Symtoms in cats, toxoplasma rarely causes symptoms in pets unless severe lack of appetite depression, difficulty in breathing and
fever being the main symptoms.
The main risk of infection is to the unborn child as the organism can pass from mother to baby, and to people whose immune
systom is weak such as patiant on strong anti cancer drugs and people affected by aids.
Travelling your cat to a foriegn country, Please refer to the article on travelling dogs on previous pages .