Amir Anwary a TikTok veterinarian gives us three vital tips on cat caregiving

It is always nice to have a veterinarian provide cat caregivers with useful tips on how to improve cat ownership. There is always a need to improve it although I think we can argue that the Internet has been incredibly useful in educating millions of caregivers.

Amir. Screenshot.

Amir Anwary says that three important cat caregiving tips would be to (1) if you need to change your cat's diet do it slowly to avoid stomach upset and (2) watch out for your cat's changes in behaviour as it might point to a severe disease and (3) know the signs of kidney disease because this is a very common disease in older cats.

@amirthevet Must know for all Cat owners !! The advice you needed to hear ! #catowners #catlovers #veterinarian #learning #vet #cats #catlearning #kidneydiseasecat #fyp ♬ original sound - Amir Anwary

I will briefly touch on these three points.

Changing diet slowly

For me, this applies mostly to reducing your cat's food intake because they are obese. There is an obesity epidemic according to veterinarians amongst the cat population in the West and therefore a lot of cat caregivers will be considering reducing their cat's diet. It should be gradual in order to avoid hepatic lipidosis which is fatty liver disease, a serious disease. You can read about that disease and how it develops by clicking on this link.

As to changing a cat's diet by changing the wet cat food you provide them, I don't think that will cause upset. I am presuming that you buy decent or high quality commercially prepared wet cat food. They are very similar if they are balanced and complete. Your cat will like the food or possibly reject it. You are currently giving them a food they like. If you give them new cat food which they reject then there is no change in diet! Problem solved.

Changing from a good quality wet food diet to a full-time low quality dry food diet will probably cause stomach upsets and may well affect a cat's health detrimentally. There are strong arguments for not providing dry cat food as the sole diet for a domestic cat because it's too unnatural and cats don't compensate sufficiently by drinking more water. 

It's been argued that this kind of diet can lead to cystitis if the environment in which the cat's lives is also stressful. Stressing cats is probably more common than people think particularly in multi-cat homes. Cat caregivers should look out for signs of stress particularly in timid cats who might be prone to hide and are being bullied.

Changes in behaviour

If everything else has stayed as normal by which I mean the environment in which the cat lives, and the cat suddenly starts to behave differently by hiding or becomes lethargic and losses appetite (common signs of illness) then a caregiver might presume there cat is ill. It might be a serious illness. There would be a need to take him or her to a veterinarian for diagnosis.

These changes should be pretty apparent to an observant and reasonable cat owner. Amir Anwary is simply reminding cat caregivers to be aware of these changes in order to allow a veterinarian to tackle any underlying health problems promptly. That I think is the message he is trying to deliver in his TikTok video. A good one.

Kidney disease

As Amir Anwary states this is a very prevalent disease in elderly cats in the West and is probably due to cats living longer (as occurs in humans) and the environment in which they live which may contain pollutants which are hidden or unknown by the owner and thirdly the diet might predispose the cat to this particular health problem. More work needs to be done on this in my view. There may be an inherited genetic element too.

Diabetes can damage the kidneys and diabetes is a growing disease in our feline companions. The increase in kidney disease may be linked to the increase in feline diabetes. Diabetes in fact has a severe negative impact on health in various ways so it's important that caregivers ensure that their cat maintains a healthy weight.

The biggest sign of kidney disease in elderly cat would be drinking a lot more water and urinating more and more often. That's because the kidneys are malfunctioning and not processing the liquid and so it passes straight through them. This means they're more thirsty and so they drink more and then pee more. Watch out for that particular sign as it will pretty well certainly be kidney disease if your cat is elderly. There is no cure the kidney disease and it often leads, sadly, to humane euthanasia.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Around 10% of Taiwanese domestic cats are infected with hepadnavirus linked to chronic hepatitis in cats

I find the conclusions of this study rather alarming. Scientists in southern Taiwan researched the prevalence of domestic cat hepadnavirus which is associated with chronic hepatitis in cats. They say that it is similar to hepatitis B virus infections in humans. It's the first study to investigate the level of infection in Taiwan although it was first identified in Australia in 2018.

Image believed to be in the public domain.

They tested 71 cats, eight of which (11.25%) were positive for this virus (DCH). They say that the "study highlights the importance of continuous surveillance of DCH and further research to elucidate the pathophysiology and transmission route of DCH."

The National Institutes of Health tells us that the first hepadnavirus to be isolated from carnivores came from a domestic cat in Australia. It was subsequently detected in Asian and European cats. It is associated with hepatic disease in cats.

Hepatitis is a liver disorder caused by bacterial or viral infections, parasites or metabolic diseases. It can cause the liver to become inflamed and prevented functioning properly or at all.

In a separate study dated 2022 from Japan, the scientists asked whether the "global prevalence of domestic cat hepadnavirus [is] an emerging threat to cats' health?"

In the abstract of the study, they state that it's prevalence rates were "6.5% in Australia, 10.8% in Italy, 12.4% in Thailand, 12.3% in Malaysia, 3.08% in the United Kingdom and 0.78% in Japan."

Separately, hepatic lipidosis is quite a common condition in domestic cats affecting the liver. It can be caused by anorexia, a loss of appetite which triggers this condition. It's characterised by an excessive accumulation of fat (triglycerides) within the liver which leads to liver failure.

The MSD Veteran Manual says that the cause is unknown but linked with a period of poor appetite.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

How do you define "cat obesity"?

When you think of the word "obesity" you think of very fat people or sometimes very fat cats (and I don't mean the human fat cat namely the greedy, alpha male smoking a cigar happy in the knowledge that they have ripped off people to make a large profit).

Just 15% above the normal

But it might surprise people that feline obesity refers to cats with a weight which is 15% above the ideal. That's not much more than 10% above the ideal. You might think that is acceptable. You might not even really notice it and I wouldn't blame you. That's because people, including me, tend to normalise weight gain. You gradually lose your bearings as to what is the correct weight both for yourself and for your companion animal. The problem creeps up on you almost invisibly sometimes.

So, a weight gain of 15% in your cat might not be noticed but a veterinarian would describe your cat as obese. And it might not surprise you that the most prevalent nutritional problem for domestic cats and dogs in Western Europe and the United States is obesity!

You may have heard about the obesity epidemic both in humans and cats and I suspect dogs as well. It affects between 10 and 20% of pet cats but that figure is probably out of date as it is constantly climbing. The figure relates to a book published in 2007. That's long enough ago for the obesity epidemic to become much worse.

Infographic

Overfeeding

The reason for cat obesity might be a medical condition and it should be ruled out before a weight loss program is started. However, in the vast majority of cases weight gain is associated with over-nutrition i.e. feeding too much. The cat is taking in an increased calorific intake or there is a reduced requirement for the body to burn up those calories. The infographic above mentions other issues.

To put it another way, the cat is either eating too much or not burning off enough calories or both. My mind immediately turns to the trend which I believe is taking place in America and in the UK to keep cats indoors full-time. This restricts activity. Cats become bored and they eat addictive foods for pleasure. This is a formula for obesity.

Health problems as a result of feline obesity

And the problems associated with obesity include:

• Respiratory difficulties
• decreased cardiac reserve
• insulin resistance and the development of diabetes
• poor response to infectious diseases
• fatty infiltration of the liver
• increased surgical risk due to increased risk of anaesthesia, fat necrosis, slow wound healing, technical difficulty in performing surgery and
• feline lower urinary tract disease.

A quite comprehensive list which comes from (verbatim) NUTRITION AND WELFARE in my book The Welfare of Cats Edited by Irene Rochlitz.

Slow weight loss

Veterinarians would provide a word of warning about reducing a cat's weight. It should not be done too fast as this can lead to hepatic lipidosis which itself is a serious disease which can, unless it is turned around, lead to the death of the cat.

Clearly, for an obese cat to lose weight requires self-discipline on the part of the cat's caregiver. It's probably wise to obtain veterinary support to encourage the owner to follow dietary recommendations. This may be crucial to success on occasions.

Eating less is more effective than exercising

In respect of people becoming obese and desiring to lose weight, my personal research indicates that the strongest way to lose weight is to reduce food intake compared to doing more exercise. The latter will certainly help but the former will have a more dramatic effect and it should be a permanent change in diet for the lifetime of the person and the cat!

Picture of overweight, startled gray cat tells a story

You know the saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words' well this picture of a badly overweight gray, startled cat being carried by a smiling woman got me thinking about the backstory. Is the young woman the cat's owner? Is the room a kitchen in a residential home or is the woman a veterinarian or vet tech and is the room a part of a veterinary clinic? Or, an animal shelter - my preferred choice. You can see how pictures can also mislead. They don't always tell the truth even if they are worth a thousand words. Fake news comes to mind.

Is this a vet clinic or a kitchen in a residential home? Pic: Reddit.com

Looking at what is on the counter (medical stuff?) and the general layout and functionality of the place, this looks like an animal shelter of veterinary clinic. The cat might have been brought into the clinic for a health check and to start a diet which is sorely needed. The diet should be immediate, gradual and permanent to avoid hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease being started). But he is probably an abandoned cat at a cat shelter or the owner has died leaving behind this chonky feline.

Putting aside the cat's obesity, which is unpleasant to see, the cats' face is cute. Startled and bemused. Domestic cats do pull some funny faces but they are fleeting moments captured by the camera.

Someone commented that the cat could be pregnant too. I think this is just good old, plain obesity. Killing by kidness. It is ironic that some cat owners give their cats treats because they feel it is the kind thing to do, as it pleases their pleading cat, but in truth it is a silent form of cat abuse.

Feline obesity causes real harm to health over time. Type II diabetes immediately comes to mind as a consequence of obesity just as it is for humans. There is an epidemic of obese domestic cats just as there is an epidemic of obese humans in the greedy (metaphorically and actually) West. Obesity has become somewhat normalised. People can no longer tell what it is to be overweight and they pass this failing onto their poor cat who loves those threats.

Perhaps the obese cat owner wants to be loved but is deprived of it because they are obese. They make up for this hole in their lives by seeking the love and approval of their cat companion. Result? Too many treats and feline obesity.

I'd bet that almost all obese cats live with obese cat owners.

P.S. The fact that domestic cats can overeat is interesting. You would have thought that they would self-regulate better. In the wild, the wild cat species don't become overweight even if there is an abundance of prey animals to kill and eat. They self-regulate. I can only conclude that the reason why domestic cats do not sometimes successfully self-regulate their diet is because they are bored. They eat for pleasure when offered a treat. They enjoy treats so they ask for more and the owner gives it to them. It's a sort of toxic partnership.