This week Sufa came in. I’m so glad she’s still alive.

Cats do not handle uterine problems very well if and when these develop- Martin Debattista

Sufa is a reserved, nine-year-old, black and white, flat-faced, female cat, and sister of Sacha, Beauty, Timmy, Tutina, Betty, Micha, Cici and Vince.

Sufa had already come in two weeks earlier looking extremely thin and dehydrated; her eyes deep in their sockets, very lethargic and completely off her food.

I’ll jump ahead here and skip the diagnostics to say straight up that she was suffering from a uterine infection which is medically known as a Pyometra.

We pumped Sufa up with drip for her dehydration plus a good dose of vitamins and the appropriate antibiotics.

Sufa was well-loved and her owner was very worried. I saw and treated Sufa again the next morning; the medication that I had given her just a few hours before had done its job and that same evening she was well enough to be operated on and have the infected uterus removed.

I had not seen her since her operation, and with no phone call from her owners to report her progress, I had no idea how she was faring.

I was finally delighted not only to see her well and truly alive, but also to see that she had gained some weight and was looking good.

Having no crisis to deal with during this visit, I learnt that, of the nine cats residing in this household, only the male cats had been neutered.

Male cats are neutered because they have a tendency to urinate around the house and will almost certainly fight other tomcats in the vicinity given half the chance.

Apart from the physical harm this could cause, there are a number of viral diseases that they can contract when they scratch each other. Most dangerous of these are Feline Leukaemia (also known as Felv), and Feline Immune Deficiency virus (known as Fiv). Both of these diseases are very serious and are often found among stray cats.

It is also recommended to neuter female cats that are not intended for mating. Cats are on heat every three weeks in the spring and in autumn.

The call signs made by female cats on heat may be very vocal and, as in Sufa’s case, cats do not handle uterine problems very well if and when these develop.

Pyometra occurs mostly in cats which have not fallen pregnant for a number of cycles. This can happen at any age, but usually in cats which are at least five years old.

The reason for this is due to the hormonal changes to the uterine wall which favour the establishment of an infection.

Problems start approximately four to six weeks after being on heat. Symptoms can vary depending on whether the cervix is open or not, which may result in a vaginal discharge. Typically, among the first symptoms to occur is a loss of appetite and an increase in water intake.

What did amaze me with this case was the love and concern shown by the owner towards Sufa, even though she was one of nine cats. I’m sure that it is not easy to be able to feed and take care of so many cats.

And yet these cats have now been living together for a number of years, with ages spanning from as young as two to as old as 15.

Reading through, I am glad that I managed to avoid saying the obvious play on words that if one cat has nine lives, what happens when you have nine cats ….

Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com