Feline Panleukopenia

Kruse BD, Unterer S, Horlacher K, et al. Prognostic factors in cats with feline panleukopenia. J Vet Intern Med 2010;24:1271-1276.

Feline panleukopenia is a highly contagious and frequently lethal disease affecting all members of the cat family. Clinical disease can range from subclinical infection to a peracute form with sudden death. The more typical signs include fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite. Cats may present with vomiting and develop watery to bloody diarrhea. Patients die from complications that arise from secondary bacterial infections, sepsis, dehydration, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. The cats most affected and at risk of death are kittens up to the age of 12 months. This study looked at potential prognostic factors for survival of cats with panleukopenia. The medical records of 244 cats were evaluated retrospectively. In this study, indoor cats were more commonly affected than outdoor cats, and 14.5% had no contact with other cats indicating that indirect transmission is an important mode of transmission. Transmission can occur by means of contaminated clothing, cages, and insect vectors. The survival rate amongst this group of cats was 51.1%. Age, living conditions, and clinical signs were not associated with illness severity and outcome. It was noted that leukocyte and thrombocyte counts as well as serum albumin and potassium concentrations did represent prognostic factors in feline panleukopenia. Also, vaccination protocols that do not include vaccination of kittens beyond 12 weeks of age may not be adequate to prevent panleukopenia.  [VT]

Related articles:
Truyen U, Addie D, Belak S, et al. Feline panleukopenia ABCD guidelines on prevention and management. J Feline Med Surg 2009;11:538-546.

More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

Kruse BD, Unterer S, Horlacher K, et al. Prognostic factors in cats with feline panleukopenia. J Vet Intern Med 2010;24:1271-1276.

Feline panleukopenia is a highly contagious and frequently lethal disease affecting all members of the cat family. Clinical disease can range from subclinical infection to a peracute form with sudden death. The more typical signs include fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite. Cats may present with vomiting and develop watery to bloody diarrhea. Patients die from complications that arise from secondary bacterial infections, sepsis, dehydration, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. The cats most affected and at risk of death are kittens up to the age of 12 months. This study looked at potential prognostic factors for survival of cats with panleukopenia. The medical records of 244 cats were evaluated retrospectively. In this study, indoor cats were more commonly affected than outdoor cats, and 14.5% had no contact with other cats indicating that indirect transmission is an important mode of transmission. Transmission can occur by means of contaminated clothing, cages, and insect vectors. The survival rate amongst this group of cats was 51.1%. Age, living conditions, and clinical signs were not associated with illness severity and outcome. It was noted that leukocyte and thrombocyte counts as well as serum albumin and potassium concentrations did represent prognostic factors in feline panleukopenia. Also, vaccination protocols that do not include vaccination of kittens beyond 12 weeks of age may not be adequate to prevent panleukopenia.  [VT]

Related articles:
Truyen U, Addie D, Belak S, et al. Feline panleukopenia ABCD guidelines on prevention and management. J Feline Med Surg 2009;11:538-546.

More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

Read More

Natto – The Wonder Food For Scoliosis

By Dr Kevin Lau

Many, many years ago, when the Samurai roamed feudal Japan, they got many things wrong. A warlike and brutal enemy, the Samurai would often kill and pillage hundreds in their professional lifetime. 

They still had to maintain the lifestyle though, and without the processed foods that are available today, manage a daily routine that often involved a lot of trekking and probable combat. They also had to maintain the horses that were so valuable to them to. These horses, warrior steeds that they were, were actually fed something close to a modern health snack by their Samurai owners. Natto is gaining massive acceptance in these modern times as a great dietary component for people who not only want to look after their inner organs, but also their bones too.

The first thing you need to think about when you approach natto as something you may like to try for a food item is the smell. It is often compared to a strong cheese, so strong is the aroma that it emits. If you can get over the smell, then you have a chance at trying one of the true powerhouse foods available today.

Natto is packed with nutrients. It offers more vitamin and mineral content than most things you can buy in a supermarket. The substance s made up of steamed soybeans, and presents as a paste that soon becomes an item with a stringy texture.

Natto has been something that the Japanese have been committed to as a food source for a number of years. Thousands of years, in fact. As stated previously, the Samurai used it on their horses to make them stringer and faster. The famous warrior Minamoto was the man responsible for bringing natto to Japan, and at one point it was even used by pregnant women to build strength.

Bacillus natto is added to soya beans to create the natto substance that is used as food stuff. The Bacillus natto acts upon the soya beans to produce the natto kinase enzyme. The food presents as pretty valuable even compared to meat, bringing the eater more fibre and iron than beef, for example.

So how does this work for scoliosis sufferers? Well, natto offers a great amount of support for bones and joints. Essentially, it boosts the calcium levels in bones, adding much more than other substances that are readily available on the market. However, it also adds something extra that makes it a real boost for sufferers of the condition.[K1] 

Vitamin K is present in natto to a high degree, and this benefit is passed into the eater almost immediately. Natto has a large part to play in the healthy development in bones, including massive benefits to cartilage health.

There have been many supporters of natto as a food stuff that can help sufferers of scoliosis. For example, Dr Kevin Lau has been a high profile believer in the benefits of using natto in the diet of anyone who needs help as regards the growth of their bones. In recent times, especially with the scoliosis problem developing in youngsters who need high level and intense support in a short space of time, natto is becoming a viable choice.

---

 [K1]More info about vitamin K and the benefits for cartilage and bone and hense the spine. Reference is also needed in this article.  Example: http://healthmatters.rgmultimedia.info/2010/08/06/vitamin-k2-and-vitamin-d-put-calcium-where-it-belongs/

By Dr Kevin Lau

Many, many years ago, when the Samurai roamed feudal Japan, they got many things wrong. A warlike and brutal enemy, the Samurai would often kill and pillage hundreds in their professional lifetime. 

They still had to maintain the lifestyle though, and without the processed foods that are available today, manage a daily routine that often involved a lot of trekking and probable combat. They also had to maintain the horses that were so valuable to them to. These horses, warrior steeds that they were, were actually fed something close to a modern health snack by their Samurai owners. Natto is gaining massive acceptance in these modern times as a great dietary component for people who not only want to look after their inner organs, but also their bones too.

The first thing you need to think about when you approach natto as something you may like to try for a food item is the smell. It is often compared to a strong cheese, so strong is the aroma that it emits. If you can get over the smell, then you have a chance at trying one of the true powerhouse foods available today.

Natto is packed with nutrients. It offers more vitamin and mineral content than most things you can buy in a supermarket. The substance s made up of steamed soybeans, and presents as a paste that soon becomes an item with a stringy texture.

Natto has been something that the Japanese have been committed to as a food source for a number of years. Thousands of years, in fact. As stated previously, the Samurai used it on their horses to make them stringer and faster. The famous warrior Minamoto was the man responsible for bringing natto to Japan, and at one point it was even used by pregnant women to build strength.

Bacillus natto is added to soya beans to create the natto substance that is used as food stuff. The Bacillus natto acts upon the soya beans to produce the natto kinase enzyme. The food presents as pretty valuable even compared to meat, bringing the eater more fibre and iron than beef, for example.

So how does this work for scoliosis sufferers? Well, natto offers a great amount of support for bones and joints. Essentially, it boosts the calcium levels in bones, adding much more than other substances that are readily available on the market. However, it also adds something extra that makes it a real boost for sufferers of the condition.[K1] 

Vitamin K is present in natto to a high degree, and this benefit is passed into the eater almost immediately. Natto has a large part to play in the healthy development in bones, including massive benefits to cartilage health.

There have been many supporters of natto as a food stuff that can help sufferers of scoliosis. For example, Dr Kevin Lau has been a high profile believer in the benefits of using natto in the diet of anyone who needs help as regards the growth of their bones. In recent times, especially with the scoliosis problem developing in youngsters who need high level and intense support in a short space of time, natto is becoming a viable choice.

---

 [K1]More info about vitamin K and the benefits for cartilage and bone and hense the spine. Reference is also needed in this article.  Example: http://healthmatters.rgmultimedia.info/2010/08/06/vitamin-k2-and-vitamin-d-put-calcium-where-it-belongs/

Read More