Cats Suffer Stress

Experts have scientifically confirmed what cat-lovers already know from experience. Cats can suffer from stress-related illness like humans, a study by animal experts suggests. Rivalry with another cat is the biggest source of feline anxiety closely followed by moving home or the arrival of a new member of the owner’s family.

Experts compared 31 cats with bladder disease to 24 healthy cats in the same households and used a control group of 125 other healthy cats. Sick cats generally got more stressed by other cats in the house, they said.

Dr Danielle Gunn-Moore, senior lecturer in feline medicine at Edinburgh University’s school of veterinary studies, said feline lower urinary tract disease was frustrating for vets and owners because most cases had no apparent cause. This group of diseases of the bladder is most commonly seen in pedigree, middle-aged, overweight male cats which don’t go out much and eat a dry food diet. Moore said that researchers believed that stress could be a trigger for the disease.

Welcome to our new veterinarian!

Dr. Lynda Ewald did a 3-week externship at Tree House in 1997 and said she is happy to be back with us again, this time on our veterinary staff! She has been working at the Cat Hospital of Chicago for about 5 years. Dr. Ewald comes from Pennsylvania and studied at Michigan State University . She said she has noticed some positive changes at Tree House since she was here last including “a good surgery suite, new isolation wards and our FIV room.” Ewald said she was interested in doing shelter medicine because it is so fulfilling. “I am doing what I was meant to do,” she said. She is clearly passionate about animal welfare issues and the pet overpopulation problem. She has seven cats and a dog at home and has been working in shelters or as a veterinary assistant since she was 16.

Featured Volunteer, Terri Treiman

Terri Treiman, this issue’s featured volunteer, started down her path to Tree House nearly 25 years ago! In the early 80’s, a colleague of hers at an adolescent mental health program told her about a unique shelter where he brought the teens to pet cats. “The kids came back from Tree House feeling really good about themselves,” she said. She made a mental note to check out the place herself some day.

Terri didn’t grow up with animals but she was always intrigued by them. So, when she finally adopted her own cats, she started to notice the large number of cats on the streets of Chicago. I thought these cats were just as worthy of love as mine were, but they got bad breaks in life,” she said. Terri wanted to do something to help the cats that she couldn’t take in herself. She had started rescuing some of the “street urchins” and was devastated by the death of one of her first rescued kitties. That is when she finally decided to make that fateful visit to Tree House. She started helping with caretaking duties and said she still remembers the first Tree House cats she fell in love with, Farfalla and Alamea, two beautiful long-haired twin tabbies. The cats at Tree House were the first ones she got to know that didn’t belong to anyone and she said they helped to confirm just how loveable they were. Terri was hooked.

She has many stories of rescue triumphs and downfalls: something that spurred her to start the Tree House Pet Grief Counseling Program last year. “I wanted to help people who felt they had nowhere to go for help to deal with their pet’s death,” she said. Through the years, Terri has worked in just about every department and says she feels a great bond with the animals and the Tree House family. Terri is especially proud of the Pet Grief Counseling Program she runs with another long-time Tree House volunteer, Elizabeth Keating. “It’s cool that Tree House is recognizing the need in the community,” said Treiman. “It honors the bond people have with animals. Group members have often come early to play with Tree House cats and it’s so therapeutic for them.”

Treiman recommends volunteering at Tree House “if you want to get to know some wonderful animals and see where it takes you. Any way that you give is worthwhile and it is rewarding to know you are helping kitties that have been overlooked,” she said. “It’s really about doing more for them. They appreciate everything you can give.”

We certainly appreciate all the love and hard work Terri has given to Tree House and our cats. Thank you, Terri for many years of service!