Brick City Cat Hospital

05/09/2026

Happy Caturday from the beautiful Betty! 🐈‍⬛🩷

05/06/2026

🐾 Planning a Housecall for Your Cat?

Housecalls can be a wonderful option for some of our established feline patients, but they do take extra planning since our availability for them is limited.

Please note: Housecalls are not available for new clients or new patients.

To help the visit go smoothly, please remember:

🐱 Call ahead to schedule your housecall appointment
Housecall times are limited and may not be available on short notice.

🐱 Have your cat in a catchable space before we arrive
A smaller room, bathroom, or quiet bedroom works best. Please avoid letting your cat hide under beds, behind furniture, or in large open areas.

🐱 Use pre-visit anxiety medication if prescribed
If your cat has been prescribed gabapentin or another calming medication, please give it as directed before the appointment.

A little preparation helps keep the visit calmer, safer, and more comfortable for your cat — and helps our team provide the best care possible. 💛

To schedule, please call Brick City Cat Hospital at (352) 732-7877.

05/05/2026

This cat should enroll in our weight loss study!

A 38-pound cat named Crumbs stole the internet’s heart after a hilarious and surprising incident at a veterinary rehabilitation center in Perm, Russia. Known for his extreme overweight condition, Crumbs was placed on a strict diet and exercise program to help him lose weight safely. Despite his size, he attempted a daring escape, squeezing into a shoe rack but getting hilariously stuck with his face wedged into a blue Crocs shoe.

The photo of Crumbs caught in the shoe quickly went viral, with people amazed by both his massive size and his determination as a furry escape artist. This incident also highlighted the serious health risks of feline obesity and the efforts required to rehabilitate overweight pets.

While his escape attempt was funny, it also showed signs of Crumbs’ growing mobility as he began to get healthier. His story serves as a reminder of the importance of pet health, proper diet management, and the unexpected humor pets bring into our lives.

04/28/2026

Veronica and her fluffy assistant 🩷

04/22/2026

Big Announcement:

Our Lead Technician, Amber, will be retiring from Brick City Cat Hospital at the end of April. She has been with us since the day we opened in April of 2000! It will be a new era for us without the steadying, reliable presence of Amber, and her wealth of knowledge in feline care and procedures.
We invite our clients to stop by and sign her retirement card at the front desk. We know how beloved she is by all of you, and has been a trusted face of Brick City Cat Hospital for many years.
Please join us in wishing her the best as she takes her career in different directions after giving a quarter century to veterinary medicine.
She will be greatly missed!

04/22/2026

🩷🩷

03/31/2026

03/30/2026

FDA flags Quest Cat Food lots with near-zero thiamine (vitamin B1), urging vets and owners to act fast to prevent dangerous deficiency.

The US FDA is warning veterinarians and pet owners that 8 lots of Quest Cat Food contain extremely low or no thiamine (vitamin B1), an essential nutrient for feline health. The agency said continued feeding of the affected diets could lead to thiamine deficiency, which can cause serious illness and may be fatal if not recognized and treated promptly. The FDA also noted that only 3 of the 8 affected lots have been recalled so far.1

The advisory involves frozen and freeze-dried Quest Cat Food products marketed by Go Raw LLC doing business as (dba) Steve’s Real Food. The FDA said the affected products are distributed nationwide, and that testing confirmed all 8 lots contained thiamine levels far below the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ minimum cat food nutrient profile standard of 5.6 mg/kg.1-2

Clinical signs of thiamine deficiency in cats can begin with gastrointestinal abnormalities, such as decreased appetite and vomiting, but the condition can progress to neurologic signs, including ventroflexion, weakness, ataxia, circling, and seizures. The FDA said some cats may develop signs within a week, whereas others may not become symptomatic for months. The Merck Veterinary Manual similarly describes feline thiamine deficiency as causing vestibular signs, head tremors, ataxia, severe ventroflexion, seizures, and death if untreated.1,3

The FDA said it first learned of the issue after receiving a report from a veterinary neurologist about a cat with severe thiamine deficiency after eating one of the affected products. Additional complaints prompted further testing, which showed extremely low or absent thiamine in all 8 lots examined.1

The FDA recommends that owners of any of the affected products consult a veterinarian to determine whether to continue feeding it, and to stop feeding it immediately if a cat shows signs of illness.

Author(s)Bob Alaburda, Associate Editorial Director
Fact checked by: Yasmeen Qahwash

03/28/2026

Although the high winds shut us down early, we managed to share over 100 cat ear headbands and made new friends! Thank you Ocala!