Keeping your cat healthy or dealing with an illness is much easier if you understand all the terms that researchers and veterinarians use regarding your cat's health.
There are so many things that affect our cat’s health that it can be overwhelming, and if your cat becomes ill, it is much easier to communicate with your veterinarian if you understand their language. Besides the things listed below, there are also many diseases and illnesses that are much like their human-related counterparts, like hypothyroidism, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Cats can also get constipated or get diarrhea. They get fleas and ticks and a variety of worms. Cats can even have mental disorders like Compulsive Disorder. The list below is in no way all-inclusive, so regardless of how simple or severe your cat’s disease or illness is, it is important to learn all you can and carry through with all follow-up visits and treatments with your veterinarian.
A
- Alopecia – Bald spot where hair normally grows
- Antibiotic – Medicine to stop bacteria growth
- Asthma – A respiratory problem that causes difficulty breathing
- Asymptomatic – Showing no signs of a disease
- Autoimmune disease – Where the body’s defense system attacks healthy tissue
B
- Booster vaccination – Shots given to adult cats to keep their immunity up
C
- Cardiomyopathy – A genetic heart defect that leads to heart failure
- Carrier – A cat that carries a disease but may not necessary have or be affected by the disease
- Cataract – Growth on a cat’s eye
- Cherry Eye – Prolapsed gland of the third eyelid
- Colitis – Intestinal inflammation
- Congenital – A birth defect that wasn’t acquired genetically
- Cryptorchid – A male with un-descended testicles
- Cyst – A swelling containing fluid other than pus
- Cystitis – Bladder inflammation
D
- Dander – Dead skin
- Dehydration – Occurs when your cat hasn’t retained enough water in her tissues
- Demodex – A mite that causes mange
- Dermatitis – Skin inflammation
- Dysplasia – Abnormal development of body parts
E
- Ear mites – Parasites that live on a cat’s ear lining
- Eclampsia – A disease caused by calcium deficiency that occurs at the end of pregnancy or shortly after
- Enteritis – Intestinal inflammation caused by bacterial infection
- Epidermis – Outer layer of skin
- Estrus – In heat
- Euthanasia – Humanely ending a cat’s life
F
- FeLV – Feline Leukemia
- FIV – Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (Feline AIDS)
- FIP – Feline Infectious Peritonitis
- Fracture – Break in a bone
- Fungicidal – Medication that stops the growth of fungus
- Fungus – Growth that can act like a parasite (ringworm, for example)
G
- Gastric – Of the stomach
- Gestation – Term of pregnancy
- Gingivitis – Gum inflammation
H
- Heat – The time when a female cat can become pregnant
- Hemorrhage – Internal bleeding
- Hip Dysplasia – Malformed hip sockets
I
- Immune Response – Body’s reaction to infection
- Inflammation – Pain, swelling, and redness
N
- Neuter – Removing the male cat’s testicles (castration)
P
- Panleukopenia – One of the viral diseases protected by kitten vaccinations
- Parasite – Organisms that live off your cat, either internally or externally, like fleas and worms
- Pathogen – Organisms that cause disease
- Pericarditis – Inflammation of the membrane covering the cat’s heart
- Peritonitis – Inflammation of the membrane covering the cat’s abdominal cavity
- PKD – Polycystic Kidney Disease, a genetic disease where cysts cover the kidneys
Q
- Quarantine – Isolating a sick cat from other cats
R
- Renal – Of the kidneys
- Renal Amyloidosis – Genetic kidney disease
- Ringworm – A skin fungus
U
- Umbilical Hernia – A hole in the abdomen (normally near the umbilical cord or navel) that allows part of the intestines to poke through
V
- Vascular – Of the blood vessels
Z
- Zoonosis – Contagious to humans
You might also enjoy, "Feline and Cattery Terminology," and "At Home Health Care for Cats."
