Pet Health & Care

Health A - Z Advice for cat owners: International Cat Care's information on care & welfare for cat owners and those who work with cats.

Cat Health & Care guides available from Cats Protection’s ‘Essential Guides’ series.

All About Pets: the Blue Cross pet care information service. Free dog, cat, horse and small pet care leaflets available to view and download.

Free Symptom Checker created by vets, and Ask a Vet Forum

Useful pet advice section on the Wood Green website - filter by animal (cats, dogs etc)

Advice from other cat lovers in this helpful cat community

Plenty of advice and help available from Purrs in our Hearts Forum members.

Information regarding the different allergies that may affect cats and dogs.

Learn how to spot the early signs of feline arthritis, and improve your cat's comfort and wellbeing.

Blind and one-eyed cats - some helpful tips when living with or adopting a blind or one-eyed cat.

Caring for a blind cat. See how well blind cats can cope with getting around, check out the videos at Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary in North Carolina.

Every day cats and dogs just like yours need blood transfusions. Find out more about Cat Blood Donors, and how to register your cat as a donor.

Every day cats and dogs just like yours need blood transfusions. Find out more about Dog Blood Donors, and how to register your dog as a donor.

CH Kitty Club offers worldwide support for Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats and their humans.

Wobbly Cats - What is Cerebellar Hypoplasia? - Cat Chat blog about feline Cerebellar Hypoplasia (Wobbly Cats) and how to care for them.

Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats & Kittens: About CH cats, CH Kitty FAQ, Adopt a CH cat, CH news.

Adopting and adapting to life with a deaf cat.  Tips to make life easier for deaf cats.

Declawing is illegal in many countries including the UK, but is still practiced in the USA and elsewhere. Help to solve the issue of problem scratching. Cruelty-free alternatives to declawing.

Stacks of Links about de-clawing facts. If you need any convincing not to declaw, here are links to an overwhelming amount of evidence, articles and veterinary opinions against declawing, and alternative cruelty-free ideas.

FelineDiabetes.com is a complete pet health guide to treatment of diabetes mellitus in cats. Help, support, information, advice, message board.

Cats Protection keep a register of people with experience of diabetic cats, who are willing to offer support and advice (non-veterinary) to others with a diabetic cat. Email: helpline@cats.org.uk or visit the website to download their guide (PDF).

What is Feline Diabetes? Symptoms, Treatment, Management, Adoption of diabetic cats - see Cat Chat's advice page.

Diabetes Mellitus (feline diabetes): Causes, signs, diagnosis & treatment. International Cat Care (formerly the Feline Advisory Bureau).

Disabled cats may require a little additional care or consideration for their environment, but their ability to adapt will amaze and inspire. Here is some advice on adopting a disabled cat, and ways to help them overcome their physical impairments.

Cat Chat's page of information about Feline Leukaemia. What is it? How is it transmitted? Testing and treatment? How effective are vaccinations?

FIP causes, prevention, symptoms, treatment for FIP - from International Cat Care

Successful antiviral FIP treatment - Royal Veterinary College, London

Cat Chat’s FIV information page. What is it? How is it transmitted? What about Treatment? Down to earth, factual information about the FIV virus.

Meet other FIV owners in the 'FIV Owners Club' section of the Cat Chat Forum. Thinking of adopting an FIV positive cat? Already an FIV Owner? Share information and ask questions.

The Gun Control Network campaigns for tighter controls on guns ownership and use in Britain. If your cat has been involved in an airgun incident, their ‘Cat Champion’ can contact you to offer support. To report an incident, or to get practical or legal advice, visit their website.

Management of Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats: diet, management, treatment, prognosis. International Cat Care.

A comprehensive, practical and detailed guide to feline chronic kindey disease (CKD).

Hand-rearing kittens can be a daunting task. ‘BottleKatz’ is a complete care guide for orphaned kittens. The author has been taking in and hand rearing orphaned kittens for over 20 years and has learned much to greatly increase the number of kittens who reach healthy adulthood. This book contains detailed, very specific answers to the many questions that 'kitten parents' might have.

Caused by Asbestos exposure, mesothelioma can affect pets as well as humans. The Mesothelioma Cancer Center have created a pets-specific section on their website, which covers how pets can be exposed, what symptoms they may exhibit and how to prevent exposure.

Why should you neuter your cat? When should you neuter? Where to get low cost neutering.

Advice on how to monitor and maintain a healthy weight for your cat.

If your cat tends to chew your houseplants, you need to know which ones are harmful or potentially fatal depending on the quantity ingested. Cats Protectiom has a full list of plants which are harmful to pets.

Interactive Online Advice from Vets. Vet Help Direct is the equivalent of NHS Direct for animals. Maintained by UK vets, the service is free to use, helping pet owners to decide how urgently their cat needs to see a vet.

Offering either free, basic vet advice during office hours, or become a paying member to access 24/7 phone support. Advice is from qualified RCVS registered veterinary nurses.

If your cat is in any discomfort, pain or distress please consult your own veterinary surgeon. However, if you have a routine non-urgent question which cannot be answered through any of the links above, you can email our veterinary adviser at: vet.adviser@catchat.org (Please note: our adviser is a practising vet, answering queries on Cat Chat's behalf on a voluntary basis, so will not always be able to answer queries on the same day).

Directory of UK veterinary practices provided by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons - find veterinary practices in your area (UK only).

The PDSA (People's Dispensary for Sick Animals) offers free or low-cost veterinary treatment to pets of those in receipt of certain benefits, through their network of PetAid animal Hospitals and PetAid vets practices across the country. They treat dogs, cats and all 'small furries' such as rabbits, hamsters etc. For details, Tel: 0800 731 2502, or vist their Website to locate your nearest PDSA centre or PetAid vets practices.

If your pet (or a human) has an adverse reaction to a veterinary medicine, or if you suspect a lack of efficacy in any veterinary product (pills, flea treatments, vaccinations etc), you can report it on-line to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate via the DEFRA website. The information you provide can help to improve the safe and effective use of veterinary medicines.