Why do cats require higher proteins ?

Why do cats require higher proteins ?

It has been established that the cat has a higher requirement for protein than dog. Cat being an obligate carnivore use much of the protein in a normal meat diet to meets its energy requirement. Consequently, liver enzymes that deaminate amino acids in cats have a very high, constant activity rate and their activity is not modified even when the cat is receiving a low protein diets. But in omnivores and herbivores the activity of the enzymes, hepatic transaminases is modulated and varies directly with the dietary protein content.

While most animals can survive on a minimal protein intake of 4-8% of the total dietary calories, the cat needs 18 to 20% of total calories as protein for growth as kittens and 12 to 13% for maintenance as adults. Adult cat needs 11 essential amino acids. Three others viz. cystein, glycerine and serine probably are needed by the growing kitten for maximal growth.

Which drugs should be avoided in cats

Which drugs should be avoided in cats?

Many drugs that are safe in people or dogs can be extremely toxic to your cat; dosages are often very different, and cats have metabolic differences that make many common drugs very dangerous to them.  Simple Aspirin and Acetamenophen, for example, can be fatal to cats Under dosing drugs, such as antibiotics, can lead to an ordinary infection becoming resistant to treatment. There, please DO NOT administer any drug or medication to your cat without the specific instruction from  your veterinarian.


ACETAMINOPHEN  AND PHENACETIN

ANTIHISTAMINES AND DECONGESTANTS (PSEUDOEPHIDRINE, CONTACT, BENADRYL, CHLOR-TRIMATON, etc.)

ASPIRIN (Acetylsalicyclic acid) 

NON STEROIDAL ANTI INFLAMMATORY DRUGS (Ibuprofen, phenylbutazone, naproxen,  indomethacin, piroxicam).

DEWORMERS SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION - Drontal and Drontal plus are safe dewormers for cats

Precautions in drug administration in cats - Drug sensitiveness in Cats

Drug sensitiveness in Cats

Drug therapy in feline patients has many potential roadblocks: differences in drug metabolism between cats and other species, which make dose extrapolations difficult: a paucity of good safety and dose optimization studies in cats: the relative lack of approved drugs with associated efficacy data in cats compared with dogs: the need for reformulation of many drugs designed for larger patients: and the difficulty in administering medications to many cats. 

Differences in Drug Metabolism in Cats 

Cats have important differences in drug metabolism compared with humans and dogs, two species from which feline dosages are often extrapolated. It is well known that cats are deficient in glucuronidation of some xenobiotics: for example, UDP-glucuronosyltranferase (UGT) activity for acetaminophen is tenfold lower in cats compared with dogs and humans. This is due to a nonfunctional feline pseudogene for UGT1A6, the UGT isoform that metabolizes acetaminophen in humans. This same enzyme glucuronidates morphine and serotonin and contributes to the metabolism of silybin (in milk thistle). Glucuronidation is therefore deficient for many drugs in cats . However, cats are able to normally glucuronidate endogenous compounds such as thyroxine and bilirubin.

Cats are also deficient in the enzyme thiopurine methyltransferase, which metabolizes thiopurine drugs such as azathioprine. The activity of this enzyme, which can be measured in red blood cells, is 80% to 85% lower in cats than in dogs. This may explain why cats treated with azathioprine are especially sensitive to myelosuppression, which is a dose-dependent side effect of this drug. Further individual variability in thiopurine methyltransferase among cats (almost tenfold) can be attributed to genetic polymorphisms in the feline gene, such that there is overlap between some “high-activity" cats and some “low-activity” dogs. However, a relationship between polymorphisms in thiopurine methyltransferase and azathioprine response has not yet been established in either cats or dogs.

Visual Communication in cats and Cats' ethology - Different postures and expressions of cats

Visual Communication in cats and Cats' ethology

Cats use a range of subtle body postures, facial expressions, and tail positions to communicate with other cats to defuse tension and avoid physical contact (Figures 1-1 and 1-2). Understanding body postures allows humans to recognize— and reward—calm behavior: if Postures associated with fear are recognized in time, it is possible to keep that fear from escalating to a Point at which injuries are likely (see Figures 1-1 and 1-2). Knowing how to recognize offensive and defensive behavior in cats is important because the purpose of most signaling and posturing is to avoid battle. 

Familiarity with feline body postures helps humans identify whether the cat intends to flee, freeze, or fight. Although most cats do not want to fight, they may bluff, making themselves look much larger in an attempt to scare away others.2 Figure 1-1 shows various body postures that cats use to communicate. The normal cat is in the top left corner. The cat becomes increasingly fearful in the subsequent illustrations (moving from top to bottom). The cat in the lower left-hand corner is extremely fearful but will become aggressive if no escape route is available. In the clinic a common example is a terrified cat that feels cornered and huddles in the back of a cage. As we move from left to right in the figure, the cat becomes increasingly aggressive. At first, the cat might be bluffing, but it may become aggressive if it cannot flee and continues to feel threatened. The cat in the lower right-hand corner is the most fearful and aggressive.

Whereas body postures effectively signal a cat's level of fear and aggression, even from a distance, facial signals (see Figure 1-2) change much more quickly and provide more immediate indications of a cat's level of fear and aggression. As with Figure 1-1, as we move from top to bottom in the figure, the cat becomes increasingly fearful, and as we move from left to right, the cat becomes increasingly aggressive.

Ears are erect when the cat is alert and focusing on a stimulus (top left corner). Ears are swiveled downward and sideways in a defensive cat (bottom left): in the aggressive cat, the ears are swiveled, displaying the inner pinnae sideways (bottom right).

The pupils specifically are the most instructive feline signal. Slit pupils indicate the normal state (top left corner), widely dilated pupils are associated with fear and the fight or-flight response (lower left corner), and oblong pupils signal aggression (lower right).Pupil size generally correlates to the intensity of the situation, as moving from top to bottom in Figure 1-2 illustrates. Cats understand these subtle differences and use them to help prevent fights. (It is important to recognize that ambient light can also affect pupil size.)

Two other eye communications are very important: knowing these can help to reduce lhe cat's stress levels. First, blinking is believed to signal that the cat is seeking reassurance in a tense environment. Fortunately, this behavior works for both intercat and human—cat communication. Blinking slowly or making “winky-eyes” in the direction of the cat can help comfort the cat. Second, because prolonged eye contact, especially from an unknown cat or human, constitutes a threat to cats, people who are not well known to the cat should not stare. Veterinary team members should be taught to blink slowly in the cat's direction and refrain from staring to make the veterinary visit less stressful for the cat.

The cat's tail is remarkably expressive. When the tail is held up vertically or wrapped, it signals relaxed, friendly intentions. A tail held straight down or perpendicular to lhe ground indicates an offensive posture. The cat lashes the tail vigorously from side to side when very agitated, annoyed, or aroused or during conflict. If this signal is unheeded, the cat's behavior can escalate to aggression.

History of cats

HISTORY OF CATS

The earliest known ancestors of the Felidae family existed 45 million years ago. The modem cat, Felis catus, is descended from Felis libyca, also known as the African wildcat or small African bush cat. Recent discoveries indicate that cats began to live among humans when agriculture began in the Fertile Crescent (modern-day western Asia and the Middle East) approximately 10,000 years ago. 

The relationship between cats and humans likely began because it was mutually beneficial, with cats killing rodents attracted to stored grain. The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication occurred 9500 years ago, when a kitten was buried with its owner in Cyprus. 

Archaeologists found a feline molar at a site in Israel dating to roughly 9000 years ago (7000 bce) and also discovered an ivory cat statuette estimated to be 3700 years old (1700 bce), also in Israel. Some 3600 years ago (1,600 bce) in Egypt, cats were worshiped and mourned at their death. 

Mourners shaved off their eyebrows, and cats were mummified for burial in sanctified plots, often with mummified mice added for use in the afterlife. Egyptian paintings from that time depict cats poised under chairs, sometimes collared or tethered and often eating from bowls. The cat population increased and spread to other countries, likely by people who prized cats' ability to control rodent populations.

The cat's good reputation in Europe began to plummet in the late Middle Ages, when Catholic leaders declared cats to be agents of the devil and associated them with witchcraft. From approximately 1400 to 1800, vast numbers of cats were exterminated, and individuals who kept them were accused of being witches and also killed. Louis Pasteur’s discovery of microbes in the nineteenth century helped to reinstate cats to their former high regard: they were considered the cleanest of animals. 

By the late 1800s, the growing middle class became interested in cat shows and developing and establishing distinctive breeds, especially long-haired breeds. During the twentieth century, cats became even more cherished, often living long and comfortable lives. 

Other domesticated species have undergone genetic selection. For example, there are specialized breeds of dogs for hunting, herding, and guarding. However, the mutually beneficial relationship between humans and cats made such genetic selection unnecessary. As a result, domestic cats have retained many aspects of their wild predecessors. Cats are true carnivores and have amazing athletic abilities and keen senses to allow them to hunt successfully. 

They can sense and avoid danger, and they possess a heightened fight-or-flight response. Like their wild ancestors, they hide illness and pain as a protective mechanism, which adds to the mistaken impression that cats are independent and require little or no care.

Indeed, cats are social animals, but their social structure differs from that of humans and dogs. Given sufficient food resources, free-living cats will choose to live in social groups, called colonies. The social organization of the colony is based on females cooperatively nursing and raising their young. within a colony, cats will choose preferred associates, or affiliates. 

These cats show affection toward one another by allogrooming: grooming one another, generally on the head and neck. Because the head and neck are preferred areas for physical touch, cats may become upset and even aggressive when people try to pet them in other areas. Therefore, unless a person knows an individual cat's  

preferences, stroking or petting in other areas should be avoided in favor of rubbing or stroking the cat around the neck and head (e.g., under the chin).

Feral cat colonies are quite insular, and strangers are generally driven away. If a new cat continues to visit the colony, it may eventually be integrated into the group, but the process requires several weeks. This is why gradually introducing a cat into a household with resident cats is so important.

Although social, cats are solitary hunters. They catch small prey and may need to hunt as often as 20 times a day. Because cats are solitary hunters, they must maintain their physical health and avoid fights with other cats whenever possible. Much of feline communication serves to prevent altercations over food and territory, and most cats try to avoid the risks associated with active fighting.