Environmental Effects

So why do we see these changes in the medical problems facing cats? The cat evolved as a lone hunter, seldom meeting other cats.

When we moved cats into catteries, rescue centers, even our homes, we changed their environment dramatically: far more than when we began our domestication of the dog, which was already gregariously sociable.

Mixing cats from different backgrounds increases the risk of infectious disease. Simply living in our centrally heated homes changed the nature of feline disease.

Feline asthma, once rare, is now commonly diagnosed both in outdoor and indoor cats. Another effect of this new lifestyle has been a dramatic increase in their risk of trauma. The danger of road-traffic accidents is obvious.

Less evident but more worrying is the incidence of air-rifle and gunshot wounds, regrettably common injuries to cats in some localities.