Copious cat concerns

Dear Dr. Forsythe:  Do you have any suggestions to help keep my strictly indoor cats cool during the summer?  I do not have air conditioning so I get a little worried that my cats will overeat during a warm summer day trapped inside my house.  I’d appreciate some advice. – Trying to keep my cats cool

Dear Trying:  When air conditioning is not available and the house is warm, I’d start by investing in a fan to keep air circulating throughout your home.  Cats tend to be very adaptable to temperature changes.  When it gets warmer, they will slow down their activity level and try to stay cooler by resting in naturally cooler places such as tile flooring or the back of a cool dark closet.  When the temperature in your home goes up significantly, cats will start to feel a discomfort and may show signs of open mouth breathing in order to cool down and pant off excess heat.  There is a product available at pet shops called a therma-cool mat.  These are mats that can be chilled and stay cool when they are unfolded and placed throughout your house.  These can be supplemented with frozen discs that you can place strategically around the mats and under blankets to create a cool micro-environment for the cat.  Provide cool fresh water with ice cubes to make sure there is cold liquid available.  Usually temperature savvy indoor cats will self regulate using these items to make themselves more comfortable until you get home from work.  As you know, once you are home from work, your cats will expect your complete devotion, which may even include fanning them manually to make sure they are cool, calm, and collected.  Good luck with your cats, I hope this advice helped. – Dr. F

Dear Dr. Forsythe:  My male cat stopped urinating two days ago, and when I got him to the vet, they told me he was blocked up, and the best way to help him was to do a sex change operation on him.   I have no idea why turning him into a female will help this problem, and as if that weren’t enough, I love my big beautiful macho cat.  I can’t imagine mutilating him like that.  What do you say?  – Angelo’s mom

Dear Angelo’s mom:  The veterinarian was most likely suggesting an operation called a PU, which stands for perineal urothrostomy.  This is a surgery that removes the penis and most of the blocked, plugged up male urethra.  Afterwards, your cat effectively ends up with a shorter urethra and a larger opening that resembles a females anatomy.  That is, the opening is larger and allows for easier and more plentiful urination.  Many veterinarians recommend this surgical procedure in cats who have blocked up more than once in the past because it is not unusual for cats who suffer from F.L.U.T.D.  (feline lower urinary tract disease) to block up over and over again.  The operation, with is more of an anatomical “redirection” rather than a sex change, simply changes the way your pet urinates and makes the opening larger so that another blockage won’t occur.  Assuming that your cat is a big, handsome neutered male, this surgery will provide a permanent solution to the painful and dangerous blocked cat syndrome, and your big macho cat should stay as masculine, handsome and much like the “king of beasts” as before.  Well, you may notice that he hunkers down to pee from now on, but aside from that, he will still be “all beast.”  And a healthier beast as well.
– Dr. F

Dear Dr. Forsythe:  My cat has a long front pointy tooth that is a little bloody and I think could be loose.  I was wondering if there is a way to clean his teeth without anesthesia and maybe pull the tooth without having him put under?  I just worry about something happening to him if he is put under.

– Bad Tooth

Dear Bad Tooth:  I understand that you have concerns about anesthesia, and the risk of anesthesia is certainly worth thinking about when you are faced with a problem like this with your cat.  Unfortunately, cats are terrible candidates for any kind of dental work without being under general anesthesia.  First of all, it hurts to have teeth cleaned and to have the scaler go up under the gum line where it can work to eliminate the most dangerous germs that build up in a cat’s mouth.  Since dogs and cats are not cognitive thinkers, reasoning with them to hold still and tolerate cleanings and extractions is not an option.  Fortunately, the sedatives, tranquilizers and anesthetic agents used today are remarkably safe.  So if your cat is a healthy pet except for his teeth, (and the veterinarian has some pre-op lab work to verify this) you should feel very confident in a good outcome.  What’s more, it is just unacceptable to consider pulling a rotten canine tooth without anesthesia – I can’t imagine any cat holding still for this.  And proper medical protocols call for the root pocket to be flushed out thoroughly after the tooth is extracted – even if the tooth “popped out” at the veterinarian in the exam room, the process of flushing and rinsing out the residual dental pocket calls for anesthesia in order to make the procedure effective.  I laud you for your concerns, but hope you will opt to continue seeking best medicine for your cat including knowing when and how to use anesthesia to do what’s best for your pet.
– Dr. F