St. Louis Cat Clinic

09/04/2026

Can't move....

09/04/2026

Kitties, tongues, beans and a bowl.

09/04/2026

A wide variety of conditions can precipitate sudden blindness in a cat, including a burst of bleeding into the eye’s interior or a traumatic blow to the head. In rare cases, a cat’s ingestion of an antibacterial medication called enrofloxacin has also been shown to damage the feline retina and cause sudden blindness.

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09/03/2026

Hypertension, or persistent elevation in blood pressure, is a relatively common and potentially serious threat to feline health. In cats, secondary hypertension, which is related to an underlying systemic disease process that disrupts the body’s regulatory systems responsible for maintaining normal blood pressure, is the most common form of this hypertension.

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09/03/2026

Hyperthyroidism is a common disease in cats, and mostly afflicts cats middle-aged and older.
Also called thyrotoxicosis, hyperthyroidism is caused by an increase in production of thyroid hormones (known as T3 and T4) from an enlarged thyroid gland in a cat’s neck. In most cases, enlargement of thyroid glands is caused by a non-cancerous tumor called an adenoma. Some rare cases of hyperthyroid disease are caused by malignant tumors known as thyroid adenocarcinomas. Although the cause of feline hyperthyroidism is not known, possible contributing factors include deficiencies or excesses of certain compounds in the diet and chronic exposure to thyroid-disrupting chemicals in food or the environment.
Thyroid hormones affect nearly all of the organs in the body; therefore, thyroid disease often causes secondary problems.

Suggested ArticlesHypertensionChronic Kidney DiseaseDiagnosis: Heart DiseaseVomitingDiarrheaAnorexiaAnesthesiaHyperthyroidism is a common disease in cats, and mostly afflicts cats middle-aged and older.

09/03/2026

Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, is one of the most prevalent diseases in older cats, affecting up to 40% of cats over the age of 10 and 80% of cats over the age of 15. Healthy kidneys perform many functions in the cat, including filtering the blood, making urine, and helping to regulate blood pressure. CKD refers to the persistent loss of kidney function over time and can have many health consequences. The only known risk factor for the development of CKD in cats is age, so it is very important for all senior cats to be regularly monitored for this disease.

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09/03/2026

Aging is a natural process. Although many complex physical changes accompany advancing years, age in and of itself is not a disease. Even though many conditions that affect older cats are not correctable, they can often be controlled. The key to making sure your senior cat has the healthiest and highest quality of life possible is to recognize and reduce factors that may be health risks, detect disease as early as possible, correct or delay the progression of disease, and improve or maintain the health of the body's systems.

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09/02/2026

Not long ago, cats were considered seniors at eight years old. Today, it's not unusual for veterinarians to have feline patients in their twenties. Thanks to improved nutrition, living indoors, and advances in veterinary medicine, cats live longer and are now considered older at 12 to 14 years, says Richard Goldstein, DVM, assistant professor in small animal medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, whose oldest feline patient reached a healthy 22 years old.

When your favorite feline friend is aging, give some extra TLC. Suggested Articles Cognitive Dysfunction The Special Needs of the Senior Cat Is Your Cat Slowing Down? Is It Time to Say Good-Bye? Chronic Kidney Disease House Soiling Obesity

09/02/2026

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is one of the most common and important infectious diseases in cats, affecting between 2-3% of all cats in the United States and Canada. Infection rates are significantly higher (up to 30%) in cats that are ill or otherwise at high risk (see below). Fortunately, the prevalence of FeLV in cats has decreased significantly in the past 25 years since the development of an effective vaccine and accurate testing procedures.

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09/02/2026

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a viral disease of cats caused by certain strains of a virus called the feline coronavirus. Most strains of feline coronavirus are found in the gastrointestinal tract and do not cause significant disease. These are referred to as feline enteric coronavirus (FeCV). Cats infected with FeCV usually do not show any symptoms during the initial viral infection, but may occasionally experience brief bouts of diarrhea and/or mild upper respiratory signs from which they recover spontaneously. FeCV-infected cats usually mount an immune response through which antibodies against the virus are produced within 7-10 days of infection. In approximately 10 percent of cats infected with FeCV, one or more mutations of the virus can alter its biological behavior, resulting in white blood cells becoming infected with virus and spreading it throughout the cat’s body. When this occurs, the virus is referred to as the FIPV. An intense inflammatory reaction to FIPV occurs around vessels in the tissues where these infected cells locate, often in the abdomen, kidney, or brain. It is this interaction between the body’s own immune system and the virus that is responsible for the development of FIP.

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