by Nomi Berger
 
Have you noticed your kitty drinking water from her water bowl, not with her tongue but with her front paws, using them like a tiny furry paddle or cup? A common sight, purr-haps, and yet, have you ever wondered WHY she’s behaving this way?
 
If so, paw-lease consider the four following paws-ibilities.
 
The water bowl is too small: Since our feline friends favor having easy access to a large supply of water, and that supply, i.e., their bowl is too small, they may have difficulty drinking from it properly and comfortably. Enter ingenuity! How clever of them to dip their paws into the water as their way of getting several cool and refreshing sips from the bowls to their mouths. If your kitty is drinking water like this, check the size of her bowl and replace it with a larger one.
 
She may be experiencing “whisker fatigue”: As odd as this phrase may seem, truth, as they say, is often stranger than fiction. Cats have extremely delicate and sensitive whiskers on their faces that can be easily irritated by rubbing against the unforgiving sides of their water bowls. It makes purr-fect sense then, for them to drink their water by using one or both paws and avoid irritating their whiskers even more. And so, if your kitty is getting her water in this manner, replace her current bowl with one of the many available commercial bowls designated as being “whisker-friendly.”
 
She may simply be playing: As naturally curious, not to mention, creative, animals, kitties enjoy experimenting and doing things differently. Case in point: they LOVE “playing” and engaging with various parts of their bodies, such as chasing their tails and grooming themselves. Therefore, when your “meow-meow” uses her front paws to splash around in her water bowl, she may “see” this as another form of experimenting, exploring and engaging in play.
 
Cats turn up their noses at tepid water. Finicky about what they drink, felines tend to avoid any water in their bowls that fails the “fresh” test. And because they LOVE moving water, they’re never shy about sipping water from the sink faucet or attempting to drink from the toilet bowl. By using their paws in their water bowls, they’re literally “stirring” the water up to create more movement and flow. The solution: invest in an automatic pet fountain that will allow your purr-ecious puss to either drink from the fountain’s bowl or from its continual stream of clean and fresh falling water.

by Nomi Berger
 
What purr-cisely is this condition called alopecia?
 
Alopecia is the partial or total lack of hair in areas where a cat’s hair is normally present.
 
Hair loss can be either congenital or acquired. Congenital hair loss is caused by the failure of hair follicles to develop and is obvious shortly after a kitten is born. In some cases, kittens can be born with a normal coat only to suffer local or generalized hair loss as young adults.
 
Acquired hair loss, on the other hand, occurs in cats born with normal hair coats, only to lose it because of a disease that destroys the hair follicles or shafts or interferes with the hair’s growth. These diseases range from inflammation in a cat’s bladder, kidneys, gastrointestinal system or anal sacs, hyperthyroidism, recent metabolic stress, such as pregnancy, nursing or fever to cancers, including cutaneous lymphoma, thymoma, pancreatic carcinoma and bile duct carcinoma. While acquired hair loss can be inflammatory or noninflammatory, the most common cause of alopecia is an inflammatory disorder.
 
Capable of damaging or destroying a cat’s hair shafts and/or follicles and causing itching or pain are bacterial, fungal or parasitic infections and allergies such as flea allergy dermatitis; deep skin infections; skin trauma such as burns or radiation; and, on rare occasions, iodine, mercury or thallium poisoning. Culprits that either slow or inhibit the growth of hair follicles include nutritional deficiencies -- especially protein deficiencies -- or hormonal imbalances. Significant hair loss is also quite a common occurrence in cats recovering from respiratory infections. Not to mention friction from poorly fitted halters or collars and excessive grooming, so often caused by stress.
 
Congenital hair loss can either be symmetrical in nature or localized to one region on a cat’s head and body and isn’t usually accompanied by inflammation. Signs of acquired hair loss are varied and include change in a cat’s skin color, excessive shedding, inflammation, itching and redness or thickening of the skin. In some cases, secondary skin conditions may develop such as an infection or fluid discharge. Alopecia caused by hormonal disorders isn’t usually itchy at first unless a secondary skin infection is involved.
 
Should your kitty be suffering from alopecia, bring her to the vet who will take a detailed history and perform a thorough physical examination of her skin. But for a more precise diagnosis, your vet will, in all likelihood, order lab tests to check for bacterial, fungal or yeast infections, do a flea combing, collect skin cultures, and do skin scrapes to look for parasites. If your vet suspects a hormonal problem, blood and urine tests will be ordered. A skin biopsy may be performed, and an elimination diet trial recommended using prescription food for eight to 12 weeks to test for food allergies.
 
Because a successful treatment plan depends on a specific diagnosis and may take some time, your vet will either provide or prescribe medication(s) to relieve some of your kitty’s discomfort, including any itching and scratching. Once the underlying cause of her alopecia is identified and appropriate treatment pursued, her hair will probably grow back. But it’s essential that you work closely with your vet, follow instructions and schedule regular follow-up visits to achieve the best outcome paws-ible.