Out of all the majority of infectious diseases panleukopenia is most familiar to holders of cats.
Panleukopenia, or infectious parvovirus enteritis is dangerous disease, which poisons animal's organism. Virus that causes panleukopenia affects intestines, dehydrates the organism of animal and reduces total amount of leucocytes in blood. Panleukopenia virus is also dangerous by its' stability to temperature and disinfectors. However it can stay intact at low temperature in organs of ill animals and faeces for a year. The incubation period varies highly - from three to twelve days.
To indicate the disease in time holders should pay much attention to the wards. A sudden depression, high temperature, vomiting, flux are sure signs that a cat is unhealthy. Very often being in such state a cat looks for a secluded and cool place, lies on it's belly head upturned and limbs stretched, or sits near the bowl of water but doesn't drink. Palpation of belly is always painful and may provoke vomiting. Intestines of ill animal are like solid cords by touch, emitting sounds of splash and rumbling.
If notices such signs holder should necessarily take his pet to a vet. The disease may proceed in benign (during a week the cat gets better) or in severe form (the course of disease is very acute and a cat suddenly perishes as if being poisoned).
Sometimes in case of benign form of disease it is enough to take a curse of treatment that consists of rigorous diet, two or three injections of antibiotics and several microenemas of calendula or chamomile decoction. One should dilute one teaspoon of calendula decoction in a cup of cold boiled water and give this cocktail to your pet. If you have an activated charcoal or an alohol in your home medicine chest, you can give the patient one half of tablet of first medicine and one tablet of the second.
Viral rhinotracheitis is also one of the most widespread infectious diseases. It affects adult animals as well as kittens. The infection that strikes the organism causes inflammation of mucous membrane on the upper part of respiratory tract. The virus that is responsible for rhinotracheitis is very stable in acid medium, very insensitive to heat, ether, chloroform, formalin and carbolic acid. Yet this dangerous infection has a weak point: on the dry surface it dies in 12 hours. Incubatory period depends on the degree of lesion and may last from 2 to 6 day (in case of minor and medium form of lesion) and up to 10-14 days (in case of acute course of disease).
Virus affects the organism of cat and causes depression, sneezing and cough, progressive photophobia, cerumen and matter egesta out of eyes, as well as eyes reddening and edema of mucous membrane, and high temperature. Sometimes an ill animal display fits of sneezing and deep tracheal cough: a cat bends its' head and coughs hoarsely, shaking with all its body as if it's going to vomit.
If this has happened to your pet, don't despair, be patient and treat it. If an adult animal falls ill it usually goes without help of vet. A holder himself is able to treat his pet by means of antibiotics (penicillins and cephalosporins). Drop Levomycetin or gentamycin in eyes and nose along with penicillin diluted with 0.5% solution of Novocain. On no account one should not drop albucid. As a remedy for cough, one may give thermopsis grass with soda, dissolved in warm water.
Lethal outcome in adult and old animals is very rare, and in kittens reaches 20-30 per cent. Often kittens fall ill in prenatal state or right after birth, though a queen may not be ill. If your kitten fell ill, the first thing you should do is to dissolve penicillin and drop it into its' eyes and nose and then at once call for a vet.
Kidney urolithiasis is the most spread disorder and entails formation of nephroliths in nephritic ducts, pelvises and urinary bladder.
Causes of urolithiasis are studied poorly and the role of microbes and viruses is still obscure. It is thought that a high concentration of salts in urine causes this disease. Abundance of salts alters chemical composition of urine. This entails formation of nephroliths of different form. Nephroliths are usually as big as grains of sand and so are especially dangerous for male-cats: gravel may plug up the urinogenital duct and lead to its' impassability. Inflammatory process begins in urinary bladder and toxic products of metabolism are accumulated in blood. All this results in self-poisoning of organism.
In foreign literature while investigating the reasons of urolithiasis much attention is paid to exposure of animal organism to environment. Thus, Doctor Peter Teichman points out that male-cats that rarely satisfy their natural requirement outside suffer urolithiasis. Hereditary factor is also important. There are examples of male-cats, which have never been outside, were fed up mainly with fish, stayed virgin but till old age didn't show any signs of disease.
Clinically this disease shows itself suddenly. At first, the urine goes out in small portions, and then urination stops. Pupils are widened, animal moves with difficulty, falls suddenly down and tries to roll and press itself to wall, throws back its head and bends its' back. The belly is solid, hot and very painful.
To cure this disease, a home medicine chest wouldn't be enough. One should call for a vet, who will take all necessary measures: from prescribing homeopathic remedies and antibiotics to animal sterilization.
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).