THE FELINE HEALTH CENTER • CORNELL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE March 2019 - Vol. 23, No. 3 Expert information on medicine, behavior, and health in collaboration with a world leader in veterinary medicine THIS JUST IN Catnip May Help With Cancer Drugs Great Tree-Climber The process by which catnip produces the chemical This man rescues cats that makes cats crazy may help develop cancer meds ccording to the Atlanta Journal- Constitution (AJC), Normer Adams, esearchers at John Innes Centre in Norwich, England, have learned how catnip Aa retired social worker, is a “treed- produces the chemical that sends cats into a state of wanton abandon, and this cat rescuer on a rampage.” He rescues Rinformation may apply to developing cancer treatments. an average of one cat a week from “We have made significant progress in understanding how catnip makes trees. Over the last two years, that’s nepetalactones, the chemicals that makes cats crazy. Catnip is performing unusual and 91 cats. He doesn’t charge, and he has unique chemical processes, and we plan to use these to help us create compounds that a YouTube channel (https://tinyurl.com/ can be used in the treatment of diseases such as cancer,” says study cattreerescue) where you can watch him lead author Dr. Benjamin Lichman, who is now a lecturer at the rescue each cat. Some of the cats were in University of York. the tree for days. Once he reaches the cat, The researchers believe that understanding the production of Adams places the cat in a bag to safely these nepetalactones could help them recreate the way that plants bring him back down the tree. synthesize other chemicals like vinblastine, which is used for “During a rescue, Adams arrives on chemotherapy. This could lead to the ability to create these useful the scene, aims for a sturdy branch above medicines more efficiently and more quickly. the cats (he doesn’t want them climbing Usually in plants, terpenes are formed by a single enzyme. In higher than him) and uses a tall slingshot their paper published in Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers to launch a beanbag with attached rope report that, in catnip, terpenes are formed in a two-step process: An to the preferred spot. He then tugs the enzyme activates a precursor compound that is then modified by a climbing rope over the branch and ties second enzyme to produce the substance of interest. The researchers | Deposit Photos haraldmuc Catnip one end to the bottom of the tree. Then suspect something similar occurs in the synthesis of anti-cancer he scurries up with the help of knee drugs vincristine and vinblastine from Madagascan periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus, and foot ascenders, contraptions that and elsewhere in olive and snapdragon plants. n basically allow Lichman, BR, et al. Uncoupled activation and cyclization in catmint reductive terpenoid biosynthesis. Nature you to ‘walk’ Chemical Biology, 2018; 15 (1): 71 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-018-0185-2 (Science Daily release) up a hanging rope in mid- 5 THINGS air,” reported AJC.com. Tree Feline Food Facts You Need to Know climbing is a growing sport. Diets must include nutrients that a cat cannot get elsewhere Learn more about it at Cats are obligate carnivores. They need meat protein in their diet. Vegetarian treeclimbing. udiets are not safe for cats. com. n Sentavio | Deposit Photos Arginine is an amino acid. Cats naturally lack the enzyme to create the arginine so they need to have it in their diet. Meat is an excellent source. INSIDE THIS ISSUE v Implement a Simple, Safe Feline Diet.........2 A lack of dietary taurine can lead to vision and heart conditions. Cat foods are Can’t Wait for an Ask Elizabeth Reply? ........2 wsupplemented with taurine to provide necessary levels for healthy cats. Mammary Cancer Often Spreads ................3 Cats need vitamin A and the animal form of vitamin D (D3) in their diet as they When Is It Time to Go to the ER? ................4 xare not capable of efficiently producing enough of these important vitamins Bloodwork for Liver Problems ....................5 on their own. Cats also require niacin, or vitamin B3, in their diet to have adequate Why Do Cats Eat Grass? ..............................6 amounts for good health. Normal vs Excessive Shedding ...................7 Dog food lacks essential nutrients for cats. Do not feed your cat dog food or she When Your Cat Demands Attention ............8 ywill develop some serious and potentially life-threatening deficiencies.n Happening Now ........................................8 vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/12/cats-are-not-small-dogs-unique-nutritional-needs-of-cats SHORT TAKES Implement a Simple, Safe Feline Diet Study shows it can be a simple reduction in food EDITOR IN CHIEF Bruce G. Kornreich, DVM, martBrief tells us that “Overweight, sedentary cats will lose weight if the size of Ph.D., Dipl ACVIM their daily meals is gradually reduced, according to research published in the SAmerican Journal of Veterinary Research, and although there was no statistically EXECUTIVE EDITOR significant change in activity, it’s possible some cats will become more active as Cynthia Foley the weight comes off.” The report says, “The researchers reduced the cats’ food consumption by 20 percent initially, then continued with regular reductions, and TECHNICAL EDITOR the cats in the study lost weight and experienced changes in their gastrointestinal Debra M. Eldredge, DVM bacteria.” ADVISORY BOARD The guidelines we shared from the American Association of Feline Practitioners James A. Flanders, DVM, Dipl ACVS, in our January 2019 issue (catwatchnewsletter.com) offer ways to make your cat’s Associate Professor, Clinical Sciences mealtimes more natural, including “hunting” for food, which can help with both exercise and behavioral problems. Margaret C. McEntee, DVM, According to a report in Pet Product News, Nationwide pet insurance states that Dipl ACVIM, DACVR, Professor of Oncology pet obesity has risen 24 percent over the last eight years. Nearly a fifth of Nationwide pet insurance claims in 2017 were related to pet obesity—equaling a sum of more than William H. Miller, Jr., VMD, Dipl ACVD, $69 million in veterinary expenses. Professor, Clinical Sciences According to Nationwide, the top 10 conditions related to or made worse by obesity are: Pamela J. Perry, DVM, Ph.D. � Bladder/urinary tract disease Lecturer, Clinical Sciences, ACVB Behavior Resident � Chronic kidney (renal) disease � Diabetes CatWatch is an independent � Asthma newsletter produced in collaboration with the Cornell College of Veterinary � Liver disease Medicine Feline Health Center � Arthritis � High blood pressure � Heart failure � Gall bladder disorder � n Immobility of spine | Deposit Photos TopVectors For information on your cat’s health, visit the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell Feline Health Center Can’t Wait for an Ask Elizabeth Reply? website at www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/. Send Ask Elizabeth questions and letters to the editor: You can try Cornell’s Camuti Consultation Service CatWatch® 535 Connecticut Ave. ur Elizabeth loves answering reader questions in her column every month, but Norwalk, CT 06854-1713 she wants to be sure you know that Cornell’s Camuti Consultation Service also [email protected] can help you out. 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Postmaster: Send address corrections to Since his death in 1981, friends have sought to honor his CatWatch, P.O. Box 8535, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8535. lifework through the Dr. Louis J. Camuti Memorial Endowment Express written permission is required to Fund, which continues his tradition of compassion, reproduce, in any manner, the contents of this issue, either in full or in part. For more information: dedication, and a pioneering professional commitment Permissions, CatWatch, 535 Connecticut Ave., to the health and well-being of cats. n Norwalk, Connecticut 06854-1713. 2 CatWatch March 2019 DISEASE metastasis. After weighing the results, Mammary Cancer Often Spreads the next option is often a lumpectomy, which is surgically removing the lump A lump requires immediate veterinary action and sending the sample for a biopsy. If surgery is a concern, a mammary tumor, needle biopsy (removing only aka “breast cancer,” some cells from the lump) A is the third most may be done.In the biopsy, common type of cancer in a pathologist examines the cats.