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.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS