• Emergency care for kittens
• How I approach... Heart murmurs in kittens
• The Cat Friendly Practice program
• Feline infectious peritonitis
• Ophthalmological conditions in kittens and young cats
• Tritrichomonas foetus in young cats
• Feline feeding toys

Kittens will frequently present as emergencies at first opinion veterinary clinics, and the initial care they receive can make the difference between life and death. Guillaume Hoareau gives some basic pointers as to how such cases should be approached.

All clinicians will have been in the position of detecting a heart murmur in a young, apparently healthy kitten presented for vaccination or other routine examination. Meg Sleeper and Camden Rouben discuss a practical approach to such cases and identify which diagnostic tests are best employed.

Cats and veterinary clinics may not be natural companions – indeed all veterinarians will have encountered more than a few unwilling feline patients. Paula Monroe-Aldridge briefly describes a scheme designed to make things a little less traumatic for all concerned.

Amongst the many feline viruses, the agent that causes FIP is perhaps the most elusive and frustrating to diagnose and treat. Elizabeth Berliner offers a review of the disease and some pointers as to what may be around the corner in terms of therapy.

Kittens and young cats are frequently presented at veterinary clinics with “eye problems”. In this article Thomas Large and Ben Blacklock give an overview of some of the most common — and not-so-common — conditions that may be encountered.

Large intestinal diarrhea is a common complaint in young cats presenting to primary care veterinary practices, and Tritrichomonas foetus is an important differential diagnosis for this condition, as Dan Thompson describes.

Many cats are subjected to their owner’s choice of feeding times and methods, which is a very artificial situation. Foraging toys can be used in almost any home environment and offer cats both mental and physical stimulation, as Ingrid Johnson describes.