[ April 15th, 2009 at 2:55 pm ]

Twinkie and I learned a few things at the vet the other day.

1. Cats get acne too! Specifically, older cats apparently sometimes suffer from blackheads. To an untrained eye these may look like scabby sores that never seem to heal. Luckily the problem is much more benign than that. My vet shaved Twinkie’s chin, cleaned up the inflamed area, and gave me some topical zit cream to put on it. Problem solved.
2. If your cat has more earwax in one ear compared to the other, it could be a sign of an ear infection or an injury. In Twinkie’s case it was just earwax.
3. Twinkie may have a thyroid gland condition called hyperthyroidism, common in older cats. (In fact, Mia, the temperamental Siamese cat who was my childhood pet, had a pretty bad case of hyperthyroidism that eventually left her skeletally thin and even more temperamental by the time she died at 18 years old.) Blood tests can highlight a thyroid problem, but other symptoms to look for include an increased appetite and decreased weight, along with more vomiting and random meowing in the middle of the night. Treatment could involve orally medicating the cat for the rest of her life, or alternatively there is some sort of radiation therapy that’s effective. The jury’s still out on whether Twinkie really has a thyroid problem, but I’ll know more in a couple of months.