Ear Infections in Cats: Mites, Bacteria, and Yeast, and How to Tell Them Apart
Head shaking and scratching can point to mites, bacteria, or yeast, and they can look similar enough that guessing at home usually isn't reliable.
Urinary Tract Infections in Cats: Symptoms and the Male Cat Emergency You Shouldn't Ignore
Straining in the litter box with little coming out looks minor. In a male cat, it can be a blocked urethra, a genuine emergency that can turn fatal within days.
Feline Panleukopenia (Feline Distemper): The Vaccine-Preventable Disease That Still Kills Kittens
Panleukopenia is rare in vaccinated cats for good reason: even with treatment, mortality in unvaccinated kittens can run as high as 50 to 90 percent.
Stomatitis in Cats: The Painful Mouth Infection That Sometimes Needs Full-Mouth Extraction
A cat's own immune system can turn dramatically against its mouth. For many cats, removing the teeth isn't a last resort, it's the treatment that actually works.
Ringworm in Cats: Symptoms, Treatment, and Is It Contagious to Humans?
Despite the name, ringworm is a fungal infection, not a parasite, and in cats it often shows up first on the paws and claws before spreading further.
Plasma Cell Pododermatitis ("Pillow Foot") in Cats: Causes and Treatment
When a cat's paw pad turns soft, puffy, and purple instead of firm, it's a specific immune-mediated condition with a real, if incomplete, medical explanation.
Cat Bite Abscesses: Why Fight Wounds on Legs and Paws Get Infected
A small puncture from a fight can seal over and quietly turn into a swollen, painful abscess days later. Here's why it happens and what treatment involves.
Diabetic Neuropathy in Cats: Why Some Cats Start Walking on Their Hocks
A cat dropping down to walk flat-footed instead of up on its toes is showing a recognized, and often reversible, complication of uncontrolled diabetes.
Arthritis in Cats: Why Limping Is Rarely the First Sign
Studies suggest most senior cats have some degree of joint disease, yet only a small fraction ever actually limp. Here's what to watch for instead.
What Is the Flehmen Response? Why Cats Make That Weird "Stinky Face"
The open-mouthed grimace a cat makes after sniffing something interesting isn't disgust. It's a second scent organ at work, and it's been documented since the 1970s.
Why Do Cats Chirp and Chatter at Birds? The Prey Frustration Theory Explained
That rapid jaw-clicking at the window has a few competing explanations, from frustrated hunting instinct to a documented case of prey mimicry in a wild relative.
Why Do Cats Meow at Humans but Not at Each Other?
Adult cats rarely meow at other cats. The meow is largely a human-directed sound, and the research behind that finding goes back to a 2002 Cornell study.