Cat advice articles
Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, so if you share your home with a feline friend, you’re joining an ancient tradition! Whether your cat is a cuddly kitten or an elderly bundle of love, we’ll help you care for it like an expert and enjoy a long and happy life with this most enigmatic of pets.
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Ticks And Your Cat
Cats are fastidious creatures, and their regular coat cleaning means they are much less likely to pick up ticks than dogs. Click here to find out more.
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Mites And Your Cat
Mites live on the skin of your cat, and can make them itchy, uncomfortable and looking less than their best. Keeping your cat mite-free will keep them feeling and looking great!
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Toxoplasma And Your Cat
While lots of warm-blooded animals, including humans, can be infected with and carry toxoplasma, cats are the only ‘definitive host’.
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Tritrichmonas And Your Cat
Tritrichomonas is a microscopic parasite which lives in the large intestines of cats, where it causes diarrhoea. Without intervention, affected cats may have diarrhoea for several years before clearing the infection naturally! Although cats of all ages can develop tritrichomonas diarrhoea, it is most commonly seen in young cats and kittens, and these cats often have a history of being in multi-cat environments such as rescue shelters.
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Hookworms And Your Cat
Hookworms are blood sucking intestinal worms but are very rare in cats, especially in the UK.
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Giardia And Your Cat
Giardia are a type of protozoa – a microscopic, single-celled parasite – which lives in the small intestines. Affected cats can get nasty diarrhoea, as well as spreading the parasite to others – including us!
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Heartworms And Your Cat
Heartworms are thankfully not found in the UK, but are a risk for cats that travel abroad – although cats are at a much lower risk than dogs.
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Toxocara (Roundworms) And Your Cat
It is estimated that a quarter of cats in the UK are currently infected with roundworms! Picked up from contaminated faeces, roundworms can cause poor growth.
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Lungworm And Your Cat
Cat lungworm and dog lungworm are not the same parasite, and feline lungworm is usually less severe than its canine counterpart. Lungworm disease in cats is quite rare in the UK but, like many parasites, the number of cases seems to be rising.
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Lice And Your Cat
Lice live on the skin of your cat, and feed on the skin itself. Lice can be uncomfortable for your cat, and can make them itchy and sore in large numbers.