Common Medical Issues

Today we are pleased to welcome Patrick Denney, DVM, as our Guest Presenter and Moderator for this session of Feline-Human Relations 101.

Dr. Denney has practiced veterinary medicine in Fairfax County, Virginia for the past 26 years. Originally from a small town called Rose Hill, in southeastern Iowa, he received his DVM degree in 1985 from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation, Dr. Denney moved to the East Coast and accepted a position with Pender Veterinary Centre, where he still practices today. From personal experience of many years, I know Dr. Denney to be an outstanding feline diagnostician and an exceptionally caring person. I am proud to have him be the veterinarian for my personal cats. Click here (https://www.pendervet.com/doctors/patrick-denney.html) to read his Bio on the Pender Veterinary Centre website.

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As your Moderator today, I will be presenting two topics of importance in feline medicine, Retrovirus Infections and Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. I will begin with the topic of Retrovirus Infections.

Retrovirus Infections are still responsible for some of the most common infectious diseases encountered in veterinary medicine. Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) are especially important to rescue organizations and shelters. They are also important to feral cat programs that use TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) methods because of the high risk lifestyles of these cats and their unknown background status. The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has recently released guidelines for management of retrovirus-infected cats. These include testing, prevention, management, and treatment. Today we will sort through this information and explain in understandable terms what we can do when encounters with infected cats and high risk situations occur.

The second part of today's presentation will deal with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD), an equally frustrating problem for both owners and veterinarians. I will present what is currently known about FLUTD and the new findings on Feline Idiopathic Cystitis or Feline Interstitial Cystitis.

Both of these topics should stimulate thought-provoking discussion about medical conditions we commonly see in the cats brought into our clinic.

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PLEASE NOTE: Much of the information presented in Feline-Human Relations 101 is widely accepted and practiced throughout the feline rescue community. Other recommendations are derived from the experience and knowledge of the instructor. However, in neither case are guarantees stated or implied that these methods will work 100% of the time.

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