A glossary to help you understand any technical words you might come across when reading advice about how to look after your cat.
Don’t get stuck on terminology ever again…all the words are in alphabetical order to help you find things quickly.
Anaemia
A deficiency (a lack / not enough of) iron – haemoglobin in the blood.
Haemoglobin carries oxygen around in your cat’s body in the red blood cells.
Anthelmintic
A medicine used to kill internal worms (parasites) in cats.
Antidote
This is a remedy to counteract the effects of a poison.
Anti-emetic
A medicine to help stop vomiting.
Anuria
This means a failure to produce urine (wee).
Atopy
An inhaled (breathed in) allergy, can cause itchy skin.
Atrophy
The wasting away of the muscle or any other part of the body.
Aural
Anything to do with the ear. An Auriscope is an instrument used to look in the ear.
Aversive stimulus
A stimulus that the cat will move away from.
Bilateral
Meaning on both sides.
Biopsy
To take a small sample of tissue for tests and diagnosis.
Breech birth
In cats this is when the kitten comes out backwards, instead of head and legs first.
Cat Calling
When the female cat is in season (oestrus) and is ready to mate.
Cardiomyopathy
This is the disease of the heart muscle.
Castration
The neutering of the tomcat – male cat by removing the testes. Cryptorchidism – none or one testis has descended into the scrotum.
Coitus
Meaning the act of mating.
Congenital
A problem present at birth; it has happened during pregnancy and whilst the kitten was in the womb. It does not mean a hereditary condition.
Corticosteroid
This is a steroid hormone that is produced in the adrenal gland.
Dewclaw
In cats, this is the fifth claw of the front feet and is the equivalent of a thumb.
Diabetes
There are two types of diabetes:
Diabetes insipidus
This is a disease of the pituitary gland (found in the brain) and causes excessive thirst in a cat.
Diabetes Mellitus
A lack of insulin produced in the pancreas – sugar diabetes.
Diuretic
Medicine prescribed to increase urine output and therefore also gets rid of excess fluid in the body.
Domestic shorthair cat
A non-pedigree cat with a short hair coat. Domestic longhair cat – a non-pedigree with a long-haired coat.
Dyspnoea
This means difficulty in breathing.
Embolus
A clot or object moving in the blood that causes a blockage.
Ectoparasite
A parasite on the outside of the cat’s body, for example, a flea or tick.
Endoparasite
A parasite which is on the inside of the cat’s body, for example, worms.
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)
A slow-acting virus that weakens a cat’s immune system. Symptoms may not show for many years.
The cat will be more susceptible to other infections and may need to be kept in an indoor environment.
Feline Leukemia Virus (FelV)
This is a transmissible virus and is a very common cause of death in domestic cats. The virus can be spread via sharing water and food bowls, mutual grooming, using the same litter boxes. Kittens can contract this in the womb or from their mother’s milk. Fighting with other cats can lead to infection from bites and scratches.
Feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL)
A condition where the tooth enamel has been lost and the dentine is exposed causing pain.
Gestation
Cats usually have a pregnancy of around 63 days.
Granuloma
Where an inflammatory reaction causes a little lump or nodule. It is caused by immune cells clumping together to try and destroy a foreign substance.
Haemothorax
Bleeding into the lungs or chest which fills the air spaces.
Hypertension
High blood pressure.
Idiopathic
A disease of an unknown cause.
Leucopenia
The white blood cells have a lower than normal count.
Lymph
This is the fluid from the intestines which contains red and white blood cells, proteins and fats.
When cats ‘mark’
A cat will deliberately spray urine over furniture, bedding, walls, bags and indeed any surface which the cat wants to mark as part of their territory.
What does ‘metastasis’ mean in cat cancer?
This is the process of how cancer can spread to the parts of the cat’s body from a cancerous area.
Where does a microchip go in a cat?
The microchip (a small sensor) is put just under the skin in the neck area. This is used to identify
the cat if it is lost or injured. A scanner is needed to read the chip.
