Even Healthy Cats Act Sick When Their Routine Is Disrupted
Date: 10.1.2011
A cat regularly vomiting hairballs or refusing to eat probably isn't being finicky or otherwise "cat-like," despite what conventional wisdom might say. There is a good chance that the cat is acting sick because of the stress caused by changes in its environment, new research suggests.
The researchers documented sickness behaviors in healthy cats and in cats with feline interstitial cystitis, a chronic illness characterized by recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and often both an urgent and frequent need to urinate.
When the cats experienced what were called "unusual external events," such as a change in feeding schedule or caretaker, the healthy cats were just as likely to exhibit sickness behaviors as were the chronically ill cats.
Original Paper:
Judi L. Stella, Linda K. Lord, C. A. Tony Buffington. Sickness behaviors in response to unusual external events in healthy cats and cats with feline interstitial cystitis. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2011; 238 (1): 67 DOI: 10.2460/javma.238.1.67
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110103110357.htm
