A Hong Kong-based Taiwanese veterinarian advised pet owners to take their cats for regular checkups to prevent the onset of heart disease, saying that the condition is difficult to detect and often causes death in cats.
Lethargy is a sign of heart problems in animals, but cats tend to be less active by nature, making it more difficult to notice when they have a problem, veterinarian Yeh Shih-ping (葉士平) said.
Regular checkups and preventative medication are advised for cats to lower their risk of heart disease, and enable early detection and treatment, he said.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
In his book Animal Doctor (動物醫生), Yeh, who uses the pen name “Dr Eason,” said that heart disease is one of the biggest health threats for domesticated cats.
Heart disease is more of a risk to cats than dogs, as cats tend to sleep for most of the day and are rarely let outdoors to engage in physical activity, he said, adding that this lack of activity means that owners are more likely to overlook physiological changes in their pet and miss the early-treatment window.
Research by veterinary scientists in the US has shown that about 16 percent of domesticated cats develop heart disease, with the condition often leading to thrombosis or sudden death, he said.
The most common heart condition that cats develop is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in which part of the heart grows thicker and becomes less able to pump blood, he said, adding that the Maine coon, American shorthair and Persian breeds are more likely to develop this condition.
Many pet owners dismiss preventative medicine as a waste of time and simply a source of torment for cats, focusing on how frightened their cat becomes when taken to the vet, he said, adding that avoiding vet visits is a lost opportunity to prevent health problems.
With dogs, veterinarians use a stethoscope to check for a heart murmur and determine whether a dog has heart disease, but more tests are needed for cats, veterinarian Lu Tai-li (盧大立) said.
The reason is that heart murmurs are inconsistent in cats, and the presence of a murmur is not always a sign of heart disease for cats, Lu added.
About 80 percent of fatal conditions in cats are due to heart attacks, he said, adding that in most cases surgery is unnecessary.
Younger cats can get by with annual checkups and preventative shots, while those aged eight or older should have checkups every six months, Lu said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
RSS