(BPT) - What are some of your favorite holiday memories? Chances are they include spending quality time with your loved ones, including your favorite feline.
That said, the busy holiday season can be stressful for your cat. Holiday parties, hosting loved ones for an extended stay and just the general busyness of the season bring big changes to your cat's daily routine. When their routines change, it can lead to stress, which in turn can lead to a variety of health concerns for your cat.
"When cats are sick, they have very vague, sometimes very non-specific clinical signs," said Dr. Ashlie Saffire, DVM, DABVP (Feline), founder and lead veterinarian at the Cat Specialty Center at Faithful Friends Clinic in Dublin, Ohio, and a partner with Petivity. "And because they're solitary survivors by nature, they're very good at hiding pain and illness, even from their caretakers."
Before the holidays are in full swing, consider gifting your cat (and yourself) a Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor. This innovative technology gives you a window into changes with your cat's litter box habits - and perhaps their health.
Smart technology that gives peace of mind and saves lives
The Smart Litter Box Monitor uses advanced sensor technology to identify behavior and weight changes that may be associated with a health condition requiring veterinary diagnosis, like urinary tract infections, diabetes, kidney disease, gastrointestinal disease, hyperthyroidism and obesity. If the monitor records changes to your cat's habits or weight, it will deliver that data to the Petivity app in an easy-to-read chart.
Take Amber and Paul's cat, Ash, for example. At 3 years old, the domestic shorthair had a history of bladder inflammation and a urinary tract infection brought on by feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC).
FIC is a painful bladder disease with a high rate of recurrence. While there is no known cause, there are conditions that may contribute to FIC - including stress. Because of Ash's health history, Dr. Saffire recommended they install a Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor to keep track of his litter box habits and behaviors.
One evening, the monitor recorded 15 times that Ash entered the litter box but didn't do anything during his visit. Also, the time that Ash spent in the litter box during the night kept getting longer and longer. In fact, at one point, Ash spent six minutes in the litter box with no elimination.
In the morning, the Smart Litter Box Monitor alerted Amber and Paul of Ash's unusual litter box habits. Worried, the couple brought Ash to Dr. Saffire for treatment, where they discovered that he was experiencing an FIC flare-up that resulted in a urinary blockage. Luckily, because they caught the problem early enough, Dr. Saffire was able to quickly treat Ash's blockage. If they had waited any longer to treat Ash, Paul and Amber may have lost their beloved feline.
"These litter box monitors are such a great tool to identify diseases and subtle clinical signs early," said Dr. Saffire. "We know that delayed diagnosis can really be problematic for cats, so what do we do? We have litter box monitoring technology. I've had several cases where this has been absolutely life-saving for some of my patients."
When asked about their experience with the monitor, Amber said, "The Smart Litter Box Monitor definitely helped us in this nerve-wracking time when we weren't quite sure what was going on. It definitely helped and eased the anxiety that comes along with a sick pet or a pet that's not 100%."
Keep your mind at ease and catch cat health issues earlier
This holiday, spend less time worrying about your cat's health and more time celebrating the season. Let Petivity help you monitor changes that could signal something's wrong, so you can act fast no matter how busy life gets.
Don't forget to pick up a Smart Litter Box Monitor for your friends and family with feline companions. It makes for a thoughtful gift that helps your loved ones keep on top of their furry friends' health, too.
Bonus: Petivity, powered by Purina, and Odie Pet Insurance are teaming up to help pet parents stay proactive. When you sign up for a new Odie policy, you can receive a free or discounted Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor - a smart way to catch potential health issues early and keep your mind at ease. To learn more, visit Petivity.com.