Odd and Unexpected Feline Issues

I did know about feline urinary tract infections before Cupid ever was suspected of having one and it is possible that one can lower the probability that a cat will develop one by neutering him, but I have heard tales of Cats who were neutered at a very young age and still developed the infection.  Another possible culprit is the dry food that we feed our Cats.  Some Cats, including most of my Puttikins, actually prefer dry food to food in tins and there are reasons why a parent SHOULD give a Cat dry food on occasion.  It is good for the teeth for a start.

Both medical theory and feline fashion have changed the composition of dry food over the decades. For indoor cats, dry food is made that contains grass as it now is believed to be beneficial to cats to consume some grass on a regular basis.

The main problem with any dry food is the need for cats to have lots of liquids in their diet.  If they drink enough water, the dry food will not pose any health risks.  If they do not drink sufficient water, it is possible that they will develop problems similar to those that Cupid developed.  Urinary tract infections, concentrated urine as well as urines containing crystals all can be due to a lack of sufficient liquid.

I always fed the Puttikins tinned food twice weekly and made certain that there was plenty of water for every one and yet, evidently it was not sufficient for Cupid.  He is very fond of the dry food and will not be happy with the doctor's latest proclamation that he should be placed on a diet that does not include ANY dry food at all.

The urinary tract infections, crystals and so on can be fairly serious health problems.  They certainly can cause significant pain and discomfort in a Cat.

There is another problem that I have discovered in male cats that is simply rather peculiar.   Through the years, I have noticed that certain cats tend to have greasy tails.  The greasy area always develops in the same location, about an inch from the place where the tail meets the rump of the Cat.   It is possible that this is a difficult area to reach when a Cat is grooming himself.  Whatever the cause, the grease, if not washed off, can create an actual black tar-like substance on the skin that will be hidden by the cat's fur.  It is not enough to comb the Cat regularly either.  I always comb my Cats and yet, two of my Putti have this problem.    Cupid is one and Pumpkin is the other.

I imagine that bathing a Cat regularly would prevent this problem from occurring but recently there have not been many actual Puttikins baths even though I do groom every one and make certain their costs are clean and have no tangles.  Today, I gave Pumpkin a half-bath, washing his tail twice with shampoo.  The skin in the area that had been covered by the grease was red, although there was no rash or wound.  I shall have to be vigilant in future about the boy's little tail!