The number one condition that we see in cats for skin issues is allergies. We'll get a little bit more into that in just a second. We can also see problems with ringworm, which is caused by a fungus, not a worm. On occasion, we see issues with cancer, sadly, but they can be addressed as well. Sometimes, we'll see behavior issues that can also result in skin issues.

That's a really good question. One of the questions that come up quite a bit is about clients who want to feed raw food to their dogs or their cats. I don't have any problem with that whatsoever. The big problem that I have is if somebody goes to Walmart or Sam's Club or the local grocery store and they buy a chicken carcass, and they put it on the floor and let their pets have at it. That's okay from a protein standpoint, but what about all the micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, and a few carbohydrates, fiber, and fat they need? They're missing out on so many other nutrients if they get a chicken carcass or catfish that you filet that you bought at the grocery store. That's the problem. They're missing out on so many nutrients. So I want you to think about going to a website: Balance It. It is a veterinary nutritionist that runs an organized website with a lot of information about trying to feed a raw diet to a cat, or a dog, for that matter. I don't have any problems with raw diets. You just have to make sure that you're not just feeding meat. With meat, they may be getting a little bit more than just the protein, but that's not going to be suitable long term to meet the nutritional needs of any pet, dog or cat.

Potentially. It just depends on the cat. Here is the problem. As we've already mentioned, dry cat foods are too high in carbohydrates, so they don't feel as satiated or as full. In many cases, but not all cases, they don't feel as full. They want to go back to the food bowl, and of course, they'll scream and scream, and we cave in and give them more food. That's not free feeding, but they train us to put more food into the bowl, which means they're getting a higher carbohydrate diet. Guess what? They're probably going to get too heavy over time.

Maybe. It depends on the food. I'm not going to demonize human food for cats because, let's face it, we eat steaks, venison, chicken, tuna fish, or something like that. If you give that to your cat, I don't have any problem with that at all. But again, we want to make it a protein. If you started trying to give Cheetos and pizza crust to your cat, that would be a no. Don't do that. Human food can be harmful, but it can also be beneficial. You just have to be aware of a cat's nutritional needs.

No, he's a cat. That's what cats do. Watch Animal Planet! Granted, they're going after mice and moles, not gazelles and antelope. But they're not missing something in their diet. They are hunting. It's the same as somebody taking a little fishing line out of the house and they put a little stuffed mouse at the end of it. Cats are also just hunting. That's what they do. Their nature is to hunt. He's not lacking anything. He's just doing what he's supposed to do.

It depends on your cat's condition. In general, no, because they're targeted for specific medical needs. If you've got an otherwise healthy cat, there would be no reason to put them on a prescription diet. The more common issue we see with commercial diets is with cats with urinary tract issues. In some cases, those cats do need to be on a prescription die to try to prevent the formation of crystals or stones in the bladder, which can lead to a blockage in male cats, which sadly can be life-threatening. We would look out for those things in cats having urinary issues. But in general, no, we don't just uniformly want to say cats need to be on a prescription diet until there's a specific medical need for it.

I hate to use the word nutritious, but I will make this one comment where there's a significant difference between cat canned food, or wet, food and dry food. That involved the protein content as opposed to the carbohydrate content. As I just mentioned a few moments ago, cats have a very high need and demand for protein. Unfortunately, dry cat foods are too high in carbohydrates and too low in protein. We've known this for some years. That's why the recommendation is that at least half of cats' diets should consist of wet food because of the higher protein content. We know that dry kibble can contribute to obesity and cats because they're just getting too many carbohydrates and not enough protein.

That would be a no. They cannot. Cats have a very high demand for protein. Let's think about the hierarchy of animals in the animal kingdom. The one animal, at least that I know of, that has the highest demand for protein is cats. Big cats, little cats, all cats in between. Dogs also have a higher demand, but not as much of high demand for protein as cats. We're lower on the spectrum. We can have a little bit more of a blended diet. But cats cannot sustain long term on a vegetarian diet because of the lack of protein they'll get.

If we check a pet's stool sample, we're not looking for the worm. We're actually looking for the eggs of the worms. A cat or dog can have roundworms or hookworms, and I will mention whipworms because that can show up in dogs too, but it is very rare in cats. I personally, in a 40-year career, have never seen whipworms in a cat. Can it happen? Yes, but it would be extremely unusual. But if they get those worms, they live in the intestinal tract. They lay their eggs and keep the cycle going. However, it's easy to get rid of intestinal worms. We shouldn't have any problem getting rid of it. Just know that your cats can have it, and yes, they can keep them alive. It's virtually the same situation with a tapeworm since they get them from ingesting a flea. They get them from eating a small mammal, but they don't lay the eggs in the intestinal tract. Those little rice-like segments that I described pass out into the environment, and the eggs are in those segments. We're not going to find the eggs in the intestinal tract, which is why if your veterinarian does a fecal sample and checks for intestinal worms, they'll almost never see evidence of tapeworms simply because the eggs are not laid in the intestinal tract. That's what we're looking for. We generally rely on the owners to see the tapeworms pass in their own pets' poop. If we know that your pet has a flea problem or if they're a hunter, then yes, they will likely have tapeworms.

Very common in kittens. In fact, most kittens and puppies have intestinal worms, roundworms, and/or hookworms. That's very common in household cats. At least, once we get rid of the roundworms and hookworms, if you've got an exclusively inside cat, there's virtually no chance they would get them again because, as an adult, they can only get roundworms and hookworms from going outside and grazing and getting it from the grass. The larva lives around the grass in the dirt. As for tapeworms, they can get them from ingesting a flea, so if you should have any risk of exposure or getting fleas, or you've got other pets that come in the house and expose your indoor cat to fleas, they can absolutely get tapeworms. But again, they're not going to get the tapeworms from eating a small mammal unless you've got mice running around the house. If they consume a mouse, they can pick up the tapeworms that way, but if they're not going outside to hunt or catch chipmunks and mice and bowls and such, they're not going to get it any other way. Indoor cats can get intestinal worms, but it would only be the tapeworms as an adult.