Cats

Spaying and neutering

It is important to know that Spaying and neutering cats is a legal obligation in Belgium. Cats become sexually mature around the age of 6 to 7 months. From then on, a queen can get an average of 2 litters per year if she is mating a male during her heat period.

To prevent pregnancy, we advise you to have your cat spayed or neutered on time.

Reasons to spay female cats are the prevention of unwanted litters, no more inconveniences related to the heat period (complaining vocalisation, restless behavior, house soiling, running away, no risk of uterine inflammation and mammary gland tumors and no more transmission of certain diseases through sexual intercourse).

Advantages of having your male cat neutered are the absence of sexual behavior, less of a tendency to walk away, fewer fight incidents with paired disease infections by wounds, less strong odor urine, less chance of spraying and house soiling.

We recommend that the male and female are neutered and spayed at the age of 6 months. But if necessary it can be done from 700g of bodyweight.

Before The Procedure

In both neutering and spaying you are asked to restrict food 12 hours in advance. This is important in for the safety of the anesthesia, otherwise the cats can vomit and get complications.

Neutering and spaying are performed under general anesthesia. This means that the veterinarians must properly assess the condition of your cat before.

At Vetocambre we have three check-up options from which you can choose.

• Check up 1 is a general clinical check of your pet.
• Check up 2 is a general clinical check, urine analysis and blood analysis.
• Check up 3 is a general clinical check, urine analysis, blood analysis, ultrasound and Xray.

These check-ups will look at the blood levels of your cat to ensure that the liver and kidneys function normally and eliminate the anesthetic agent. Protein levels provide information about the binding with the drug.

The blood is also checked for signs of hormonal disease, diabetes, infection or inflammation. An ultrasound and Xray are important to look at the size of the organs; heart, lungs and kidneys. Depending on the results, the risks of the intervention are estimated.

Especially in older cats or with a medical history this is very important.

The cats are brought in at 9H00 and can be picked up between 16H00 and 19H00. We recommend keeping the cat in for 10 days after the procedure.

The procedure

Vetocambre has two operating theaters and three operating tables.

Both operating rooms have high quality monitors and materials to ensure that the operations run as smoothly as possible. For maintenance anesthesia we work with isoflurane, a very safe anesthetic gas that ensures that patients wake up quickly.

During the narcosis, specialized devices such as a capnograph and a pulse oximeter ensure careful monitoring. All patients receive an intravenous catheter and they wake up quietly in the recovery that is specially equipped for this purpose. The prevention of postoperative pains means a lot to us..

The ovaries are removed from the female cat  thru an incision in the abdomen. Only when we notice that the uterus does not look healthy anymore (filled with fluids, cysts, ...) it will be removed.

Then the belly is sutured in 3 layers. First the abdominal muscles, followed by the subcutis and finally the skin. Males are neutered by removing  the testicles thru an incision in the scrotum. The wound is not sutured but heals spontaneously.

After 10 days there is a check up to remove sutures and check if everything the surgical wound is healing correctly.

For an appointment or additional information regarding spaying or neutering you can contact us. 

Vaccinations

Until the age of 8 to 12 weeks, kittens are protected by their maternal antibodies received from their mothers. After this period it is important that a new protection is obtained by vaccinating your cat.

With vaccination a little piece of a weakened pathogen is injected into your pet. This ensures that your cat can build up immunity against this disease. If your cat later becomes infected with this disease, he will hardly get any symptom. His immune system will recognize the disease and your cat is protected against this pathogen.

Feline infectious enteritis (Feline panleukopenia)

This highly contagious disease is characterized by vomiting and diarrhea and has a fatal course in 90% of the kittens. This cat disease is caused by the panleukopenia virus. The cat can be infected thru the nose (inhalation) or the gastrointestinal tract (ingestion). The virus is found in all of the cat's secretions (saliva, vomit, tears, faeces). The cat can also be infected by indirect contact. This happens, for example, because the cat comes into contact with contaminated objects such as; food bowls, transport basket, floor, litter box and clothes. But fleas can also transmit the virus. The problem is that the virus can stay in the environment for a long time and is very resistant to most disinfectants. Even after a year it can lead to contamination. Fortunately due to the vaccinations, this disease becomes less common.

Chlamydiosis

Chlamydiosis in cats is an infection of the eyes caused by the bacterium Chlamydophila felis. You can find this disease all over the world. People can also get infected with this, but the chance is very small. The disease is very contagious from cat to cat and occurs at all ages. Especially young cats and kittens living in groups are at high risk. The characteristics of this disease are; conjunctivitis (inflammation of the lining of the eyes and eyelids), sneezing and discharge from the nose. Sometimes the lungs can also be involved. Fortunately, this disease is rarely fatal. The problem with this disease is that it is often very contagious and can cause a persistent problem in a household with several cats. The bacteria can be easily killed in the environment by disinfectants and will not survive long outside the cat.

Sneezing disease (Feline viral rhinotracheitis)

Cat flu

Cat flu is a highly contagious disease that causes cats to sneeze and have watery eyes. The animals have a reduced appetite and sometimes ulcers in the mouth or on the tongue. The disease can cause injuries of the airways and also of the eyes, in extreme cases it can evolve to death. It is a very common disease that causes about 90% of the respiratory diseases in the cat. Cats of all ages and breeds can get sneezing disease. As with other diseases, the chance of contracting sneezing disease is greater in animals that live in large groups. Cats that are used in breeding or cats that live in shelters and stray cats have an increased risk of getting the disease.

Unvaccinated cats, kittens, old cats and cats with reduced resistance are more likely to get seriously ill from sneezing disease. Due to poor appetite and dehydration, the general health of these animals can quickly deteriorate. In the worst case, animals can die from the disease. It occurs in cats of all ages and both sexes. Especially Caliciviruses and Herpes viruses cause this disease and even when a cat is cured, it remains a carrier and can infect other cats.

Feline leucosis

 This disease, caused by a retrovirus, (Feline leukemia virus) is mainly caused by a decreased immunity and the appearance of tumors. It occurs worldwide but due to vaccination the presence of the virus in Europe has decreased. Contamination can occur in cats via the saliva (biting and licking), via the litter box and via the queens milk. The infection can also occur during gestation. If a pregnant cat is infected with leucosis, it usually leads to abortion or fading kittens.

A cat can remain infected with the virus or the body eliminates the leukemia virus. This differs from cat to cat. Most cats are able to eliminate the virus and become immune to the virus. Elimination of the leukemia virus can take months. If the FeLV virus is not eliminated, the virus remains in the bone marrow. Cats that are not able to eliminate the virus usually develop tumors of the lymph node later in life, or malignant lymphomas (tumors).

This common disease is sometimes confused with cat AIDS. It is specific to the cat and can not be transmitted to humans. The diagnosis can be made with simple blood tests. Vaccination against this disease is possible from the age of 9 weeks. Because the disease does not occur so often, this vaccination is not always applied by default. So inform our veterinarians if you want to vaccinate your cat against this disease.

Feline Immunodeficiency Syndrome (feline AIDS)

FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that affects the immune cells of the body. This reduces the general defense of the cat. The FIV virus is related to the HIV virus in humans that causes AIDS. That is why FIV is sometimes called cat AIDS. FIV is also specific to the cat and can not be transmitted to humans. Contamination happens by bite wounds and fighting. Every cat can become infected at any age. FIV occurs worldwide and occurs 3 times more often in unneutered males than with females. The virus is more common in unneutered males because these cats fight more and are therefore more likely to have infections. FIV also occurs more often in stray cats or in cats that get outside a lot. The symptoms have a varying course and we speak of different phases. The symptoms may differ from diarrhea, fever or anemia or an asymptomatic period. Slowly, this can take months to years, the cat will get more and more symptoms. Gum infections, upper respiratory tract infections, fever, eating less, skin conditions and swollen lymph nodes.

There is currently no vaccine against this disease and therefore the best prevention is to spay and neuter cats. The diagnosis can be made by means of a blood test. This test can be performed directly in our lab.

Rabies

Rabies is a disease that is transmissible to humans and therefore it is subject to strict sanitary control. Rabies is one of the best known zoonoses. These are infections that can be transmitted from animals to humans through infected saliva or through bites or scratches. The disease is caused by the Lyssavirus and is usually deadly without fast treatment. After the onset of nerve symptoms she has a fatal course. In infected areas the vaccination of all cats is mandatory. In Belgium cats should only be vaccinated against rabies if they go abroad.

For an appointment or additional information regarding these diseases you can contact us. 

Dental hygiene

Tandverzorging is een zeer belangrijk onderwerp. Ongeveer 60% van de honden, katten en fretten ouder dan 2 jaar heeft een tandbehandeling nodig.

Het gebit heeft een regelmatige verzorging nodig. Zonder verzorging ontstaat eerst tandplak en daarna tandsteen dat gepaard gaat met tandvleesontsteking. Tandplak is een laagje van speeksel, voedingsresten en micro-organismen die op het tandoppervlak wordt afgezet, deze kunnen we niet met het blote oog zien.

Indien tandplak niet wordt verwijderd door reiniging, mineraliseert het en ontstaat er tandsteen. Tandsteen is de bruine, harde aanslag die u op het gebit van uw huisdier kunt aantreffen.  Tandsteen verdwijnt niet met een gewone poetsbeurt maar moet worden verwijderd door uw dierenarts met een ultrasoon detartratie toestel.

Hiervoor moet uw dier onder narcose gebracht worden. Op het tandsteen verzamelen zich vele bacteriën die dan tandvleesontsteking kunnen veroorzaken. Dit veroorzaakt een slechte mondgeur bij uw huisdier en leidt uiteindelijk tot loszittende tanden of zelfs tandverlies. Andere complicaties van tandvleesontsteking zijn nier-, lever- en hartaandoeningen doordat bacteriën in de bloedcirculatie komen van deze organen. De vele bacteriën kunnen ook abcessen veroorzaken.

Het is dus heel belangrijk de vorming van tandsteen te voorkomen. Bij uw jaarlijks bezoek bij de dierenarts voor de inentingen zullen wij altijd het gebit van uw dier even controleren.

Hoe merkt u tandvleesaandoeningen bij uw dier op?

De adem van uw huisdier gaat steeds slechter ruiken. Uw huisdier heeft last van overmatig speeksel of moeite met eten. Indien dit het geval is, kunt u hier een afspraak maken. Zoals ook bij mensen, gaat het om een onderhoud dat volgens de individuele behoeften moet herhaald worden.

De behandeling

De behandeling gebeurd onder anesthesie en vereist het plaatsen van een tube in de luchtpijp om te voorkomen dat geïnfecteerde stukken tandsteen samen met het spoelwater in de longen terechtkomen. Eerst worden grote stukken tandsteen met een speciale tang verwijderd, indien het tandvlees rond de tand te ziek is wordt deze verwijderd. Daarna wordt met behulp van een ultrasoon apparaat, onder constante spoeling om het glazuur niet aan te tasten, het resterende tandsteen verwijderd.Daarna worden de tanden gepolierd door middel van een speciale pasta om de tanden zo gaaf mogelijk te krijgen. Hoe gaver de tanden zijn hoe langer het tandsteen wegblijft.

Voor een afspraak of bijkomende informatie in verband met onze diensten kan u steeds met ons contact opnemen.

Parasites and prevention

Whoever has cats will sooner or later have to deal with parasites. A parasite is an organism that feeds on its host. Most frequently they will not kill their host but can seriously weaken it.

Some parasites have a limited influence on their host, but others cause serious discomfort or illness. In addition to the risks for the cat itself, there is also a potential risk for transmission to humans. It is therefore essential that parasites are thoroughly and effectively controlled especially when living with small children. There are internal and external parasites (endo and ecto). Internal parasites nestle in the body of your cat. Common endoparasites are Toxoplasma gondii and worms. External parasites live in the coat or in the skin. Common ectoparasites are fleas, ticks and mites.

Many problems can be prevented by good hygiene and preventive measures, such as regular monitoring, cleaning sleeping place and pesticides. At Vetocambre we can recommend antiparasitic treatments adapted to the age and lifestyle of your cat. Contact us for more information and an appointment.

Toxoplasmosis.

The disease caused by this well-known single-cell parasite toxoplasma gondii, is called toxoplasmosis. It goes through various cycles during his life. Cats are the only animals that carry the adult form of the parasite. This means that toxoplasmosis only propagates in cats. The eggs are spread by the cat's feces. The parasite in the body spreads via blood and lymphatic fluid to other organs such as the heart, eyes and nervous system. Affected organs will die off without treatment. Healthy cats usually do not get many symptoms because of this parasite, but older or weaker ones do. Fever, reduced appetite, anxiety and eye problems are some common symptoms.

Tapeworms

Tapeworms and roundworms are the most common parasites found in cats. Tapeworms live in the small intestine of your cat. If your cat is infected you will find pieces of tapeworm around the anus. Tapeworms have a flat and white appearance and look a bit like rice grains. These segments of the tapeworm contain a lot of eggs. Your cat can spread these eggs throughout the house and end up in your floor covering, for example. Good hygiene is therefore very important.

The infection happens mostly thru fleas. The fleas in the coat of your cat multiply quickly. Tapeworms mix with the flea eggs and larvae. In the flea larvae this tapeworm egg is developing into a tapeworm larva. Once the flea eggs have been laid, it will take another 6 to 8 weeks until they hatch. Then they will jump on your cat, including the tapeworm larva. If there are no pets present, they jump on humans. You can recognize a flea bite from as spot on your legs, which are often very itchy. Therefore it is very important to tackle both tapeworms and fleas with the same treatment.

Roundworms

Roundworms are the most common internal parasites in cats. They live in the small intestine of your cat and can grow up to 18 cm long. An infection is difficult to notice because adult worms rarely occur in the feces or in the vomit. The eggs (about 200,000 per worm per day) are also not visible to the naked eye. These eggs are very resistant to temperature fluctuations and cleaning agents and they can remain contagious for months to years.

Most cats have to deal with it at a young age. Roundworms are not only transferred thru worm eggs in the stool of pets but also directly via mother cat to kittens. Kitten can be born with roundworms. Adult cats often show no symptoms in case of infection. Infected kittens often get diarrhea and a swollen belly, they are thin and often have growth retardation. A mother cat also easily gets infected via her kittens. You can prevent infection by regularly deworming both the mother and the kittens.