Feline Health, Diseases, and Reproduction

Flashcards covering feline health, disease pathology, biosecurity, parasites, and reproductive physiology.

Nictitating Membrane

The third eyelid located on a cat's eye, whose visible protrusion or exposure serves as an indicator that the cat is ill.

Normal Feline Body Temperature

The standard baseline body temperature for a healthy cat, which is approximately $101.5^\circ\text{F}$.

Chronic Illness

A long-lasting condition where cats often neglect grooming and show general signs such as a dull coat, excessive shedding, listlessness, food refusal, and dull eyes.

Acute Illness

A severe, rapid-onset disease where end results, such as recovery or death, often occur within a few days.

Biosecurity

Methods and practices designed to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases via people, fomites, vectors, feral cats, rodents, and insects.

Colostrum

Maternal milk that provides temporary passive immunity via passive transport during the first $24\text{ hours}$ of life, lasting approximately $1\text{ to }2\text{ months}$.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)

A viral disease caused by a coronavirus that is prevalent in catteries, characterized by fluid buildup in an enlarged abdomen, eye lesions, and a mortality rate of approximately $95\%$.

Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)

A retrovirus shed in saliva, urine, and feces that impairs the immune system, affecting $25\%\text{ to }60\%$ of free-roaming cats, who rarely survive more than $3\text{ years}$ once chronically infected.

Feline Panleukopenia (FPL)

An acute, highly contagious viral disease (also termed cat distemper, cat fever, or cat plague) affecting cats, raccoons, mink, and ferrets that can persist in the environment for more than a year.

Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR)

An upper respiratory infection caused by feline herpesvirus that leads to fever, sneezing, coughing, hypersalivation, and corneal/nasal discharge, with viral shedding lasting up to a year post-recovery.

Feline Calicivirus (FCV)

A species-specific respiratory virus causing clinical signs such as oral ulceration, nasal discharge, fever, and hypersalivation, frequently combined with feline herpesvirus in a single vaccine.

Feline Pneumonitis

A bacterial infection caused by Chlamydia psittaci that causes chronic conjunctivitis lasting around $45\text{ days}$ and mild rhinitis; it is zoonotic and treatable with antibiotics.

Cat Scratch Fever

A zoonotic bacterial infection caused by Bartonella that causes no symptoms in cats but leads to blisters, fever, fatigue, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes in humans.

Ringworm

A contagious fungal skin infection presenting with circular, hairless lesions that can spread zoonotically between animals and humans.

Toxoplasmosis

A protozoal infection transmitted through oocysts in cat feces or ingestion of contaminated meat that can cross the placenta from an infected mother to cause developmental damage to a fetus.

E. Fuller Torrey's Findings (2003)

Research documenting that maternal Toxoplasma infection is linked to higher rates of schizophrenia in offspring and a $54\%$ increased likelihood of suicide attempts in infected women ($91\%$ for those with the highest antibody levels).

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD)

A group of urinary conditions also referred to as Feline Urinary Syndrome (FUS) or urolithiasis.

Flehmen Response

A characteristic lip-curling and olfactory behavior demonstrated by tomcats to detect pheromones upon attaining sexual maturity at around $9\text{ months}$ of age.

Seasonally Polyestrous

The feline reproductive cycle pattern wherein queens repeatedly enter heat cycles every $2\text{ to }3\text{ weeks}$ during long day-length periods, typically initiating $20\text{ days}$ following the winter solstice.

Lordosis

The receptive crouching posture adopted by a queen during estrus, featuring lowered front legs and an elevated rear to facilitate copulation.

Induced Ovulation

The physiological process in queens where follicle maturation alone does not trigger ovulation; physical stimulation during copulation is required to stimulate a luteinizing hormone (LH) surge.

Penile Spines

Keratinized backward-facing barbs present on the penis of a tomcat that stimulate the queen's vagina during mating to trigger the LH surge required for ovulation.

Superfecundity

The occurrence of a queen giving birth to a single litter containing kittens sired by multiple distinct toms, reported in up to $70\%$ of urban feline pregnancies.

Pinking-Up

An early clinical sign of feline pregnancy occurring around $3\text{ weeks}$ post-mating, characterized by the reddening and enlargement of the queen's nipples.

Zonary Placenta

The specific anatomical type of placenta found in felines, characterized by an attachment band circling the midsection of the fetus.

Kittening

The birthing process in queens following a gestation period of $58\text{ to }70\text{ days}$, which typically concludes in under $6\text{ hours}$.

Dystocia Red Flags

Conditions requiring immediate veterinary intervention during parturition: active labor over $30\text{ minutes}$ without delivery, weak intermittent labor for $5\text{ hours}$, dark vaginal discharge without birth in $3\text{ to }4\text{ hours}$, or pregnancy exceeding $67\text{ days}$.