Jill Bowen

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas and has taught at Texas A&M. She lives with her veterinarian husband and two cats in Blacksburg. If you have a question, please write to her in care of The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 540, Christiansburg, VA 24068, or send an e-mail to mjbowen@radford.edu

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• Illness or change in environment may cause cat to stop using litter box
• Column archive

I have just adopted a female dog from the humane society and have agreed to have her spayed. One of the reasons for having this done was to prevent her catching pyometra , the shelter worker said. How do they catch this disease?

Pyometra is a condition that occurs as a result of an imbalance in a bitch’s reproductive hormones. This causes an overgrowth of the lining of the womb.

Most bitches come into season twice a year. Repeated exposure of the lining of the womb to high concentrations of reproductive hormones without a pregnancy leads to an overstimulation of the secreting glands. This produces an excellent growth medium for any bacteria that enter the womb. The womb is filled with a purulent material that is life-threatening.

This constitutes a true veterinary emergency and any bitch exhibiting signs of pyometra needs to see a veterinarian immediately.

Most cases of pyometra develop in bitches that are older than 6; it can develop in younger animals, especially those that were treated with a mismating injection.

There are two types of pyometra, open and closed. In the open variety there is a thick foul-smelling discharge. Closed pyometra is more serious; the bitch shows signs of a generalized illness that if not treated quickly progresses to septicemia , shock and death. Most cases of pyometra occur three to four weeks after a bitch is in heat. She becomes depressed, loses her appetite, drinks excessively and may vomit. The abdomen may become swollen as well.
Treatment is surgical removal of the reproductive tract with supportive intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Neutering nonbreeding and retired-breeding bitches will prevent this condition.

Cats can get pyometra, but it is not as common as in dogs.

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A Blacksburg woman couldn’t keep a 5-year-old cat, so I took it! I brought it home in a carrier and set it on the back porch where there is access to the basement. When I checked on the cat, it was gone. I assumed it went into the basement, where there are hiding places. I have set out food and water and it’s gone in the mornings, so I know the cat is eating. I have one other cat that is also 5. I have not seen the cat in the basement for several weeks. How do I get the cat upstairs to start bonding with it?

I do hope that by now the cat has emerged from the basement and become acclimatized to its new home. When we first moved into this house, our older cat disappeared above the drop ceiling in the basement and remained out of sight for several weeks.

When moving a cat to a new home it is advisable to keep them shut in one room for a minimum of two weeks before letting them have free range of the house and another week or so before allowing them outside. If allowed out too soon, there is always a risk that they will disappear, either trying to find their way back to their old home or merely getting lost in the new surroundings.

It takes time for cats to take to new owners, and the fact that the food and water is gone overnight does not necessarily mean that it is your cat that is eating it unless you have shut it in the basement. All you can do is to continue putting out food and a dirt tray in the basement, making sure there is no exit, and in time the cat will emerge from its hiding place and gradually let you approach it.

There may still be a problem with your other cat, which may well resent the arrival of a second cat.