S
Scoliosis (skoh-lee-oh-sis): Lateral curvature of the spine due to a congenital or developmental abnormality or trauma or injury
Sepsis (sep-sis): A toxic state, also called septicemia and blood poisoning, caused by the absorption of disease-causing microorganisms and their products into the bloodstream or tissues
Serum (seer-uhm): Blood serum is the clear yellowish fluid component that can be separated from clotted blood plasma and does not contain coagulants and blood cells
Skin tent: A “test” to determine hydration, which involves lifting the skin between the shoulder blades and seeing how quickly it falls back into place; this test may be unreliable in kittens under 6 weeks of age
Spay: Sterilization by surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus of a female animal
Stenosis (sti-noh-sis): The narrowing or stricture of a passage or vessel, which may lead to nasopharyngeal stenosis following upper respiratory infections
Strabismus (struh-biz-muhs): A medical condition in which one or both of the eyes are deviated from one another
Stropping (straa-puhng): Conditioning the front claws by dragging them on a horizontal or vertical surface to loosen and remove the outer sheaths and expose sharp claws
T
Tachycardia (tak-i-kahr-dee-uh): A high heart rate, typically above 220 beats per minute (bpm) in cats; a normal heart rate is 120-150 bpm when resting and 150-220 bpm when stressed
Tachypnea (tak-ip-nee-uh): Excessively rapid respiration, which may occur with hyperthermia
Tapetum lucidim (tuh-pee-tuhm loo-sid-uhm): A thin layer of tissue located in the back of the eye behind the retina that reflects light back to the retina, allowing it to absorb more light and the cat to see better in the dark
Tendonectomy (ten-duhn-ek-tuh-mee): A surgical alternative to declawing that severs the tendon that controls the claw, which results in the cat keeping the claw but being unable to control, scratch or groom
Tenesmus (tuh-nes-muhs): Straining to defecate with repeated attempts at defecation, which may be a symptom of constipation, the infrequent or difficult passage of hard, dry feces
Toxoplasmosis (tok-soh-plaz-moh-sis): A zoonotic illness caused by an infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii that reproduces in the intestinal tracts of cats
Tragus (tray-guhs): The vertical open pocket along the outermost side of the pinna (outer ear flap), which widens and narrows to detect and convert vibrations traveling into the middle and inner ear into sounds
Trichobezoars (trih-koh-bee-zawrz): Hairballs, which are normally vomited or passed in the feces, may occasionally get trapped in the GI tract and can cause dangerous partial or complete obstruction
Tube feeding: A method of providing liquid nutrition via a flexible tube passed from the mouth into the stomach, which may be used, for example, if a kitten has a cleft palate or weak suckling reflex
Turgor test: A “test” to determine hydration, which involves lifting the skin between the shoulder blades and seeing how quickly it falls back into place; this test may be unreliable in kittens under 6 weeks of age
Turner Syndrome: A genetic condition in females that results from one of the X chromosomes being missing or misshapen, having symptoms of incomplete sexual maturation, short stature and pterygium colli (webbed neck tissue)