Cat Illness List

"Sati had some big scratches on her head a few times, once even some major swelling on her forehead. It healed so well that you can't even see a scar."

This cat illness list will show you the most common illnesses and symptoms. Never try to treat a cat illness on your own, unless you have at least talked to your vet about it first.

Cat Illness 1: Upper Respiratory Infection

This is actually very dangerous for kittens. Gauravani had one when she was just a few weeks old. It is similar to a human cold and is sometimes also called 'Cat Flu'. Gauravani had no appetite, was tired and listless, had a fever, a discharge from her eyes and would only lay still and sleep all day.

Because she was so little, the situation was quite serious. After injecting her with something to bring her fever down, the vet gave sent us home with some medicine to administer orally and syringes full of a hydration solution that we had to inject under her skin. The injection would initially leave a bubble under her skin, (to be expected) but it would re-hydrate her enough to help in the recovery. If you don't do that the kitten will die from dehydration. In older cats you will usually give antibiotics that are prescribed by the vet and try to keep the cats separated (if you have more than one), because upper respiratory infections can be contagious.

Cat Illness 2: Abscess

Infection, usually the result of a cat fight. The symptoms can include swelling, fever, and lethargy. Sati had some big scratches on her head a few times, once even some major swelling on her forehead. Cats usually lick their wounds. There is some kind of healing property in their saliva. But because it was on her forehead and we didn't know if the other cats would take care of it, we decided to wash out the wound and put some anti-bacterial cream on it (Please note that we do not recommend this treatment for anyone, this is just what we did - to get proper treatment, see a vet)

Cat Illness 3: Urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections in cats show symptoms like UTI's in humans. Your cat might be in pain, might whine a lot, possibly visit the litter box more frequently than usual and may have problems passing urine. Sometimes there might be a little bit of blood in the urine too. Early diagnosis is important, so if you notice any changes in behavior, check with your vet. If treatment is not started immediately, your cat might end up with a chronic infection which is hard to combat. Antibiotics are usually used to treat these cat UTI's.

Other cat illness include feline panleukopenia, Diabetes, Feline Leukemia, chronic kidney failure, feline infectious peritonitis and FIV (a cat illness similar to HIV in humans)