In most cases, a cat is a pet, just as humans contact deadly diseases, research shows that cat diseases can spread through wounds as a result of a play or a fight. However, in a situation where numerous cats are running your surroundings, it is advisable you prevent your cat by keeping them indoors from getting in contact with them.
A large number of cats worldwide are homeless, roaming about without proper care and medication. As a result, they could contact and develop any of these world most deadly cat diseases. Your pet is at risk playing or having any body contact with them.
Check this: Cat Fat: 23 Best Foods That Make a Cat Fat and Healthy
9 World Most Deadly Cat Diseases
In America, Cat make up to 40% of household pets, below are the list of cat diseases;
Renal Failure
This disease, renal failure is the top-ranking cause of death in aged cats. This is caused as a result of liver failure usually in age, genetics and environmental factors such as ingesting poisonous substances.
Symptoms of Renal Failure
This disease comes most in 2 forms (acute or chronic). Acute renal failure is related to a sudden stop of kidney function, while chronic renal failure results from a progressive deterioration of kidney function.
A number of symptoms can show up as a result of renal failure, including excessive urination, increased thirst, nausea or vomiting, dehydration, constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss, halitosis or call it bad breath and lethargy.
This is a very deadly disease and should not be observed. In a situation where your pet undergoes any of these symptoms, we advise you to visit or call your veterinarian.
How to Prevent Renal Failure
You can prevent this disease by:
Blood tests: This can be checked for elevations in the kidney function values. However, these tests will only be raised if there has been at least an 80% loss of function.
Urinalysis tests: This is done to check for loss of protein and to see if the cat’s urine is diluted can detect disease at earlier stages.
N/B: Research shows no cure for feline renal failure, it can be managed through adjustments to your cat’s diet, medication, and hydration therapy.
Leukemia Virus
The leukemia virus is a disease a cat contacts through urine, nose discharge, and saliva. Some cats will immediately become ill upon contracting the virus. Cats transmit the virus through bites, eating and drinking with each other, sharing water bowls, and litter boxes, and from grooming each other.
Symptoms of Leukemia Virus
The symptoms of the disease are diarrhea, skin disease, bladder infection, infertility, it doesn’t occur immediately, it takes a few weeks or sometimes years to manifest all depending on your pets. The leukemia virus possesses lots of threats to your pet, its main purpose is to tackle the defense or immune system of your cat and this will lead to bone marrow failure or even worse.
However, the kittens are most likely to contract this virus, the cures for this disease is not yet found, the disease is easily preventable.
How to Prevent Leukemia Virus
You can prevent your cats from contracting these diseases by:
- Keeping your cats indoors.
- Restricting movement with other cats.
- Keeping your living environment clean always.
- Take your cat for regular checks and see that it is vaccinated.
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus(FIV)
This deadly disease is usually spread through a bite, wounds, and interacting with outdoor cats. Sharing food and water bowls doesn’t significantly increase the risk of contracting the disease.
Symptoms of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
The symptoms of this deadly disease are weight loss, dry coat, skin disease, diarrhea, once it gets into the blood of your pet it causes a lot more danger, it might not manifest immediately until it grows into active disease.
This is another deadly disease that tackles the defense system of your pet. However, once your cats infected, it is at the high risk of infections.
How to Prevent Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
You can prevent this virus by, keep your cat indoors and have them cared for to prevent fighting. Studies show no effective vaccine against the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).
.
Feline Panleukopenia
This cat disease is very popular among cats, it is usually seen in kittens born from female adults that are not vaccinated. Death comes to the kitten even at treatment, after contracting the disease.
This disease can spread through body contact and fluids, feces, and fleas. However, it can be transmitted by allowing your pet to eat contaminated food and water bowls, cabbage, and dirty trays.
Symptoms of Feline Panleukopenia
When your pets start exhibiting these symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, malnutrition, anemia) you should know that the intestinal tract and the immune systems is at risk. This disease kills a cat within a few days.
How to Prevent Feline Panleukopenia
The cure to this cat disease is yet to be found. In order to prevent this disease, you should vaccinate your cat and a veterinarian can diagnose feline panleukopenia through blood tests.
Rabies
Rabies is one of the most deadly cat diseases, usually its spreads to other cats through bites from wild animals.
However, keeping your pets indoor, bats or rodents that most have gotten into your home can still bite them. This cat disease targets your pet’s nervous system.
Symptoms of Rabies
Once your pet is bitten it takes about 7-10 days to manifest, this disease tortures your pet slowly. The disease can multiple in a cat’s system for weeks, or even years in some cases. Symptoms are sluggishness, yowling, drooling, and frequent fever.
How to Prevent Rabies
For now, there’s no cure for rabies. For prevention, vaccines are used and it works effectively, and in the case of a born cat, these vaccines should be given regularly.
Preventing your cat from getting close to infected wildlife and keeping them indoors will reduce the risk of the cat disease.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a very common cat disease and It is rapidly increasing as a result of more aged cats, There are 2 types of diabetes, Type 1 is less common and occurs when there is a lack of insulin.
However, type 2 is more rampant and occurs when there is an obstruction to insulin. Although the treatment is all the same.
Symptoms of Diabetes
The symptoms of this deadly cat disease are increased urination and thirst, weight loss, vomiting, plantigrade stance.
From time to time, you need to go for checks to see if your pet high levels of glucose, and, ultimately, diabetes, your vet will run urine and blood tests.
How to Prevent Diabetes
In a situation where your cat is ill of diabetes, insulin injections should be given twice daily together with its diet and the weight of your pet should be watched.
To ensure your pet is sound and safe, you might need to go for a diabetes check-up, also monitoring its blood and urine at home, and get her on a high protein/low carb diet.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)
This disease comes in 2 forms wet and dry, it is a disease caused by a feline coronavirus (FCoV) and is transmitted through feces.
The dry form causes inflammatory lesions called pyogranulomas throughout the body. The wet form causes promote in the chest, resulting in abdominal distension or respiratory problems.
Symptoms of Feline Infectious Peritonitis
These symptoms weight loss, lethargy, fever affects vital organs and systems like the kidneys, liver, and nervous system. The Feline Infectious Peritonitis usually targets young cats from the age of 2 and is often hazardous.
How to Prevent Feline Infectious Peritonitis
Preventing your cat from contracting FIP and even diagnosing him is difficult due to limited research and study. There are no screen tests to verify infection, and although vaccination is available.
We are not recommending this due to its insufficient proof of a good result. Once more research is carried out, the only treatment for this disease in intensive care.
Heartworm
This cat disease is very hazardous and in some cases could be worse, it infects your pet’s lungs and hearts. However, It’s transmitted by mosquitoes and studies prove it regardless of the temperature and weather.
Symptoms of Heartworm
These symptoms coughing, vomiting, weight loss, seizures are a lot more difficult to find in cats than in dogs, It causes sudden death.
How to Prevent Heartworm
You should take your pets for regular screening, testing, and administration of prescribed preventative medicine in order to prevent a heartworm attack.
However, having a long-term plan of proper vet care and good upkeep prevention like pills, or shots really helps.
Hyperthyroidism
This cat disease occurs from the growth of multiple thyroid hormones, increasing the metabolic rate of your cat’s body and causing unnecessary stress on her kidneys, heart, liver, and other vital organs. If observed only can be very harmful to your pet.
Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism
This symptoms vomiting, diarrhea, increased urination and thirst, dry coat, change in appetite, heart disease causes serious stress, in some cases could be worse, We advise seeing a veterinarian.
How to prevent Hyperthyroidism
Proper checks and tests need to be carried out to see if your pet has hyperthyroidism, also heart rate and blood pressure should be observed.
In a situation where your cat has this deadly disease, there are 3 possible ways to treat and prevent it, they are:
- Proper medication,
- Major surgery,
- Radioactive-iodine therapy.
This is the best form because of its low risk, high success, and lack of side effects.
Conclusion
Knowing all this, in a case where your cat is sick of any of these cat diseases, you will be spending a whole lot trying to bring back your pet’s sound health.
You can equally save yourself from these expenses by choosing the best cat insurance plan that will cover the bills.
We hope this will help you care and prevent your cat from certain dangers, we’ll like to hear from you soon.
About The Author
