Cat Channel / Cat Health and Care / All About Cats

The Neighbor cats and Einsteins Medical Drama

EinsteinsMom — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:49:39 GMT

Hello everyone.

I have posted once before about our Einstein's Medical issues.
WE took him to the Vet again yesterday, but , we now can pinpoint the problem more in dept.

Einstein was a perfectly healthy cat when we adopted him from the shelter.
WEll, he has Herpes, that used to flair up on his eyes, but now with treatment, we had no more issues.

Then we got new neighbors,and their 3 cats.
The cats are outside, ok, we have a few neighbors who have outside cats, that stay within their perimiter, not wonder off and become other peoples problem.

These cats, hang out at my door, around my house, and because of that, Einstein being a indoor cat, he developed issues with overgrooming , because these cats are on his territory.
And he is stuck inside .
It drives him insane.
He has autoimmune, so we do not let him go outside, it would be detrimental to his health.
It is so bad now, that he grooms himself raw, no more skin on his behind, legs he digs in with his paws, and he leaves marks on his body.
So yesterday he got another antibiotic shot, we got him Feli-away a calming dispenser that you plug in and it dispenses pheromones to keep him calm.
Also we got a spray that we used outside the door and driveway and the brick of the house to keep the other cats away, so his condition does not get worse.
To no prevail, that one particular cat still sits outside the door, cries, and drives Einstein insane.

WE are a quiet and upstanding neigborhood, these people are like a Jerry Springer show, going thru a break-up, the kids are not at home, that cats are now kicked out, because she is pregnant, the dogs live outside in the rain.
I have had it.

We spend an exuberant amount of money on Einstein every month to get him better, but it does not good , if those cats do not go away.

My husband is going to talk to them 1 more time, if this does not help, the cats are going away.
I have to think of our Einstein, who is suffering, on meds,we are done.
These cats are not my responsibility.
Einstein is, and , their cats are costing me money, mainly EInstein's medical issues.

the one that will not leave my property is a long haired cat, looks like a Himalayan, beautiful cat, he does not belong outside he needs a good home.
The other one is pregnant again, so they kicked her out, the other one , we nicknamed *Boots*, because he has white paws is also a very sweet cat.

what would you guys do in our situation?
Einstein is been suffering since these cats started coming around.
All the other neighbors who have outside cats take care of them, they do not come around and bother other people, because they are loved and fed .

WE are just fed up.

Urinary Tract Infections

smbrister — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:56:38 GMT

I'm hoping someone can help me out here. I have 2 little kittens that I recently took to the vet for litterbox issues. They were both diagnosed with urinary tract infections and given antibiotics. They have taken all of their medicine but are still having litterbox issues, so I assume that the problem is still there. One of the kittens has already been diagnosed and treated about a month or 2 ago for a urinary tract infection, so this is his second time. I asked the vet if I should put them on a special food,and he told me that if treatment didn't work, he wanted to get x-rays. Now, I really don't want to shell out money for x-rays. He felt their bladder and didn't feel any, though there could be some in there that are small. I read that bladder stones are usually treated with a diet anyway, so why not just go ahead and put them on special food? I wonder if I can just go up there and purchase the food without having to see the doctor first. I'm tired of spending all this money on them when the problem could easily be resolved with food. Is there any over the counter food I could use to avoid having to deal with more vet fees? Please help!

Lice-Infested Rescue Case

EquineLady — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:04:13 GMT

Hello!

Thank you for reading this!

I have two adult housecats and just rescued an orphaned kitten approximately 10 wks. old.

The kitten was infested with lice when I found him. My vet Frontlined him (although this treatment wouldn’t have been my choice), I have sanitized his environment, and I have bathed him twice.

The nits are still on his hair and my next treatment will be to comb them out.

The kitten is otherwise healthy and my family is excited about his joining the other cats, but I want to keep him in quarantine for a couple more weeks.

I have been doing some scientific research on lice but I’d just like to have some practical advice from some of you who have perhaps gone through this before.

Thanks again so much for taking the time to read this!

~EquineLady

Hemingway's dislocated hip

Mystiques81 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:45:39 GMT

Hemingway was to the vet yesterday for his dislocated hip. But unfortunately they could not get it back in it's socket. There was too much scar tissue.

When we found him it had already been like that for a while. At least he is not in pain. Though after the vet tried getting it back he will be on cat pain killers for 6 days. But she said after that he should not feel pain.

Now the only way to fix it is a surgery that cost anywhere between 1200 dollars and 2500 dollars according to the vet.

But we already spend over 1500 dollars over the last month on vet bills for the kitten that died and Hemingway. So we don't have that kind of money at the moment. Though if he starts to be in pain I will sell my engagement ring.

The vet did say that cats can live with a dislocated hip with no pain. But I will try save up money so he can get the surgery.

Will also have to look into a good cat insurance just in case something else happens along the way. So if anyone could recommend one that would be great.

We already have the health plan with Banfield vets, but it doesn't cover surgery.

Besides the hip problem the rest looked fine and he had gained 1 pound since last visit which is good. Though he still needs to gain some more, so he isn't so skinny.

Fleas

PeaLoki&Gabe — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:49:22 GMT

My cats are indoor only so they almost never get fleas. This year they have had two separate infestations. I ran into someone tonight who happens to be a vet and he said he's noticed that it's been a particularly bad year for fleas as well.
Anyone else think it's been any better or worse for fleas than usual?

My dad's cat

tinabohio — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:08:46 GMT

Hello everyone. I don't own a cat (right now, the search for a cat that everyone in the family will like is tough!), my dad has one.

The cat is named Seymour. He's a great cat, he was originally mine and my dad took him when I lost the house I was renting about 13 years ago. Dad and Seymour are best friends. My dad was recently diagnosed with emphysema, he and Seymour already went through a lot when dad had heart surgery back in 2001 (my mom claims she went through more because of Seymour being so upset without dad at home ). This time around, dad had a bad couple of days and now the cat is having problems. I'm going over tomorrow to get a better idea, but according to mom his urine smells like kerosene. He doesn't do his normal head butt when you pet his head. He hasn't ran to eat, he hasn't ran at all. He's sleeping in unusual spots. His breathing is just not quite right.

They don't want to run him off to the vet tonight because mom doesn't think the car ride would be good for him with how chilly it is here and how he sounds. Plus the cat always throws up in the car and they are hoping that maybe their vet may be able to help them tomorrow if they're open.

Any ideas of how to make Seymour a little more comfy would be great. I don't think my dad could take something happening to that cat about 3 weeks after finding out he's got emphysema (and it is really bad).

Thanks so much,

Tina

Not throwing up hairballs and Laxatone

dani2807 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:37:00 GMT

Our 2 year old cat Yeti started hacking but not trowing up hairballs. He will hack and hack until it comes up, but he won't trow them up. He just gets them to a certain point then he swallows them. We took him off his dry food a couple of months ago at the vets recommendation because he was getting a little heavy. That's when we noticed the hacking. We started him on Laxatone a week ago. Does anyone know how long it tales before we will see the results? How long does it take for him to stop hacking? Is there anything else we should do? There are no problems with BMs.

The "E" Collar

Neo's Mom — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:10:36 GMT

My little Balinese kitten, Poppet, underwent her spay on Monday and the e-collar is driving her completely crazy. She isn't resting or sleeping as she should because of it and I am wondering if anyone has alternative suggestions to keep her away from her stitches. The vet had no further recommendations other than keeping the thing on.

You can see a picture of her on her brother, Neo's, blog at
http://www.neomeezer.blogspot.com

You can see how totally miserable she is. We've tried a tube sock but she can wiggle it off.

Marcia and crew

How can I best care for my newly disabled cat?

prgdcpmyers — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:12:08 GMT

Hi everybody.
Two weeks ago I took my sweet, gentle 9-y/o cat, Gippie, to the vet and then to the feline cardiologist to find out why he had thrown a blood clot in his right paw. He had a cardiology workup done and has no heart disease, so we'll probably never know what caused the clot. We brought him home on pain medication, and for the first week he seemed to be on the mend.

Then we took him off the medication as instructed--and soon began wondering if the medicine had masked things we should have been seeing.

The original clot was in his right rear paw. But all last week he limped on his left paw, progressively worse. He got more and more frail until, by Sunday, we thought he was dying.

Well, Monday morning he asked to use the litter box for the first time in 36 hours. Then he got up and walked around, more than he had all week. It was like he was asking us to fight for him.

Yesterday I took him back to the vet, who said he's probably thrown another clot (thus far, they've been small enough not to completely block his circulation). He's getting a blood supply to his toes, but it's like after you sit on a limb and it falls asleep--that tingly "needles and pins" feeling, all the time.

We're putting him on baby aspirin to thin his blood. Hopefully, since they're small, the clots will break up. He probably will one day get a larger one that will take his life--but until that happens we are going to love him, care for him, and give him the best life possible. Since then, he's been much more "with-it", our sociable, expressive-faced Gippie.

However...he's lost partial use of his left hind leg. The vet says this is a permanent disability.

If there's anybody on this board who has ever dealt with something similar, how can I best care for Gippie and give him the fullest life possible for the time he has left?

Thanks...sorry this is so long.
Shannon

feral and stray kittens

love my charles — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:20:43 GMT

My daughter and I trapped 2 kittens we saw at a KFC resturant. They were very frightened and hungry. We spent a few days getting acquainted. The first one we trapped seemed healthy, normal stool,and good appetite. The second had diahrea and vomited blood, but a good appetite. We kept them away from our house cats in a small room. We took them to the vet today. Did the cat leukemia and aids testing both negative. They had fevers of 105. The vet did not look at them to my knowlege. She said they probably had distemper. We could take them home with antibiotics, Our concern was for our other five cats. We are heartsick at the thought of endangering them and spending hundreds of dollars that seill could end up with a negative outlook. What to do? What to do? I think that they are probably about 12 weeks old

Revolution reactions...your stories please?

mittens79 — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:49:07 GMT

Hello. I'm a newbie here, despite being a long-time cat lover (ok, cat-obsessor).

My two cats are indoor-only. Still, because I live in a high-mosquito/heartworm area and mosquitos get into the house every now and then, my vet prescribed Revolution.

Today I put it on them for the first time. Immediately after both cats started cleaning themselves obsessively. (They couldn't reach the site of application.) One of my cats seems fine. My other cat seems very disturbed. She's scratched the site with her hind paw a few times and I notice a tuft of hair coming out. Needless to say, she won't let me touch her to inspect. But I'm concerned about the signs I should be looking for in case she (or my other one, he) has a more serious reaction.

What have been your experiences with Revolution? What were the initial signs? And on what sort of timeline did any reactions occur? Are we talking within a few minutes, hours, days? And when should I take my cat to the vet?

Basically I'm feeling very stupid for not taking the time to research Revolution more extensively before applying. Now I'm kicking myself, feeling regret, feeling despair at the thought of either one of them getting ill. I know I might be overreacting here, but my cats are the loves of my life.

Please help. Thank you.

weird bump thing?

Hannamarie91 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:57:18 GMT

Hi, im concerned.
I noticed shortly after we got my older kitty, Fish, that she has a weird little flap of skin on the back of her ear. At first i thought it was a clump of hair but after i inspected it more, there is skin under there! im concerned that it could be something bad... (the thought of cancer has come to mind) i don't think it's getting any bigger since we got her, but it's not going away either... it doesn't seem to bother her, should i just leave it be or should i go see a vet?

Newbie: Cat food for kidney issues

DNC — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:38:16 GMT

Hi friends, I am new to this web site and need some help with a very old cat who has kidney problems. My vet has put my cat on a special dry cat food (Hill's prescription Diet k/d) and she has a problem keeping her weight up. At this point I am trying to find anything she will eat. Can I have some suggestions for healthy people food that I might prepare for my cat? I am assuming protein is the problem for my friend. Many thanks, DNC

Senior cat sprained his leg

beahaven — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:19:14 GMT

My 17 yr old cat slept late this morning and was limping when he got up. He cannot put any weight on paw. He won't eat.
What can I do at home? I lost my job and have no car or money to get to a vet.

Raine and FIP

markem — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:55:36 GMT

Raine is an orange tabby with some tiger strips. (Like the one on the "Cats Pride" ads.) About a month ago she came down with some terrible condition which we could not identify. She stopped eating and began wasting away. We took her to our main vet. He gave her an antibiotic shot and fluids. He also urged us to have blood work done on her. Unfortunately, I'm unemployed and my wife is a teacher. So I make no money and she makes very little. After a week I took Raine to a second vet (another one we use every now and then) and asked him to look at her. (Second opinion.) He gave me a week's worth of antibiotic pills and also suggested we get the blood work done.

So we had to wait until my wife got paid again. Meantime I continued to stuff pills down her throat and I used what little money I had to buy some good quality canned cat food which I mixed with water and tried to get down her throat. Unfortunately, almost everything I got down her she immediately threw back up. Finally, I began reducing the amount I gave to her down to about a 1CC (on a syringe the doctor gave me) of watery food. I also had gone from doing this twice a day to almost hourly. Surprisingly, Raine fought me with a strength I would not have thought she would have since she had lost over half of her body weight by this time.

After a week we were able to take Rainey back to the first vet and had the blood work done. The news was not good. Feline Infectious Peritonitis or FIP for short. Almost always fatal. My wife(Kris) began getting upset at the fact that Raine was not eating by herself or pooping at all. (Although she was still urinating.) I was getting food into her and she was keeping it down although every few days this huge amount of mucus would be thrown up by her. Kris became more upset as the days went by. She didn't want Raine to suffer. How could I tell her that although Raine was very skinny now - her spirits were high, she would come into my work room and ask for attention. Even going so far as to leap up onto the table and sit on the keyboard of my computer. Still, she was very skinny and she did tire quickly.

So I kept my eyes on her all day long. Tiring as it was to keep up with her, to force food down her throat, to put pills down her throat, she and I had gotten to the point where, when she began swatting at the syringe - I knew she had had enough to eat and I would stop.

Then came the night where Kris had had enough. She started yelling and we got into a real screaming match. She was for putting Raine to sleep. I was for keeping her alive. When all was said and done Kris agreed to wait a while longer. "But if she doesn't start eating on her own or pooping - we are going to put her to sleep." It is true that for an entire week Raine had not pooped. But it was also true that I was feeding her mainly water with a little cat food in it. So I did not expect her to have to poop as there probably wasn't much inside of her and mainly she was getting the nutrients from the water. Still, I had agreed.

So I decided that what I needed to do was to try to get Raine to get more exercise so that maybe her appetite would come back. We have one of those sticks with the feathers on it and I took that upstairs with me. I began to play with Raine and she played. Only for a few minutes - but that was ok with me. The next day I played with her more and then even more the next day. But would she eat?

Things took a turn for the better when, two days later, I decided to not give Raine any more of the watered down cat food and to instead try putting some of the cat food directly onto her tongue. I did so. At first she spit it back out but she also sat there mouthing what was left in her mouth. So I tried again. Same results. So then I took less in my fingers, put it into her mouth and caught the rest when she spit it out. I held it to her mouth and she began to eat.

Like people who have gone on starvation diets - Raine had forgotten how to eat. But it didn't take long for her to remember. In the days to come I would feed her first four times a day, then three, and now we are back to two. She still refuses to eat the high-protein dry cat food all of the other cats eat, but she is beginning to put on weight again and is becoming more lively every day.

According to the latest tests - she still has FIP but she is no longer showing the symptoms. Since all of our cats are indoor only cats - we have no idea where she could have gotten it. All we can assume is that maybe it is just something she has had all of this time. That she has lived is the best thing I could have ever asked for and did every night in my prayers.

So don't give up on your pets just because they may have something thought to kill 98% of any pet who contracts the disease. There may be hope yet for those you love.

Mark

Coccidia

BastetLady — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:57:44 GMT

Has anyone else had a cat that got coccidia?
Ivanka has had it on and off since she was 3 mo old, when i took her to the vet. he started injecting her with all sorts of stuff and gave me 4 liquid antibiotic and anti-diahrrea meds and one in pill form to give her every day on top of special cat food that cost 17 dollars a can, costing a total of 116.00 dollars...She was cured for a bit then a few days ago it reared its ugly little head back up (ALL OVER MY WHITE CARPET) so i decided to take her to a different vet (the first one just seemed off...) and he said that coccidia once cured shouldn't come back, then he asked if i had another cat and i said yes, i have her brother Hiro, and he said well there is your explanation, if one cat has symptoms of the disease but the other doesn't both still have it just the one who isn't pooping all over the floor is the CARRIER of the disease!!!!!
GRRRR! you see i told the first vet that i had another cat but he just said it was odd that he wasn't sick too, he said it was a STRESS disease, not a parasite so here i am Back at the vet again after cleaning up tons of watery diahrrea from my carpet a second time only to find out the first vet had no clue what was going on!!!!!
on a good note I'm happy to say now both cats are being treated with medicine specifically for coccidia and NO MORE DIAHRREA!!! and both for a grand total of 77 dollars! how sweet is that, im I'm glad i got a second opinion!

Six year old cat with cronic diarrhea

ejingram — Sun, 28 May 2006 12:31:14 GMT

Hi,

I have 2 tabbies. Both are 6 years old. One, Bogey, was a stray and two days later we adopted Corey from the vet. A few days after bringing home Corey, he got "yuckies" in his eyes and they were swollen. I called the vet and she gave me medicine to clear that out. She said he might have herpes in his eyes. The medicine never worked. My husband and I finally took him to an animal opthomologist and he said the same thing that the vet said about his eyes. He gave Corey medicine, which didn't work, and we took him back a few weeks later and the doc gave him something else. That didn't work. The doc said that his eyes were ok that he can see fine it's just that they are swollen.

Anyway, he's always had cronic diarrhea. The vet checked him for parasites and diseases, which to say he is very healthy. He weighs 12 pounds. My concern is, is that how healthy can it be for him to have watery stools? A better way to put it is, after he eats, he runs to the litter box right away. If he eats chicken or fish, his stools have the consistancy and color like melted peanut butter. If he eats turkey or beef, it has the consistancy and color like liquid chocolate. I would love to give him a quarter of an Immodium AD tablet just to give him some relief.

I took him to a holistic/homeopathic vet and we did accupuncture and had him on holistic medicine. Nothing helped. She also said to change his food. I went out and bought the food she suggested, but neither cat ate it and I tried many different brands. Corey eats both wet and dry food, but mostly wet. I feed them once a day with the wet, but the dry is out all day. I have also tried to just leave the dry out and not feed them with the wet. Both my husband and I got meowed at very adamantly and head-butted by Corey when he wanted to eat. I went and bought dry food for sensative stomach. He's been eating it for about two weeks and nothing has changed. The sensative stomach food has helped Bogey, too. He was always constipated and went once every 3 - 4 days. Now he goes every other day.

I don't know what to do about Corey. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you,
Ellen, Corey & Bogey

older cat with stiff joints-help please

Kittynut — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:44:43 GMT

My 15 yr old male cat has developed stiff joints. I tried the treats the vet prescribed and had to hide it in his food. But then he did not want to eat. The vet said that an at home shot was available, but that sounds kind of scary and traumatic. Has anyone tried something more natural like fish oil and gotten good results?

What's wrong with my cat?

Ling — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:08:05 GMT

I've taken Otter to the vet and had blood, urine and stool tests done. It turns out she has very early stages of kidney disease, but the kidney disease is in too early a stage to explain her frequent vomitting. So then I had to feed her antibiotics for 3 weeks in case the vomitting was due to a bacterial infection. Well, it's 4 weeks later and she's still throwing up. She also does this butt scooting thing and tends to poop outside the litter box during these vomitting episodes. Do these symptoms sound familiar? I need help!

Please Help!

Luci's Mama — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:33:10 GMT

Today i found a cat on the side of the road. It is extremeley skinny and we are afraid it is malnurished. We are keeping it seperated from our other cats but we need some tips on how to take care of it. When we gave it a bath it unvoluntarily left some very liquified presents in the sink. It won't eat much and once when we were drying it off it got all glazed over looking but when my son started petting it it stopped. Please help with some ideas.

Good idea/bad idea?

PantherPride — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:55:35 GMT

So heres the issue. In a few months to a year I will be moving into a group home. The program director said I could take my 2 cats (Bindi/Lepalorn) with when I move. I plan on training Bindi to accpect soft claws. Bindi is also neutered

However my moms cat Monty 12 and Bindi 3 fight allot. No bites as far as I know but claw to claw. This has resulted in serious wounds to Monty. Monty is now an indoor cat but this was not always the case

Monty was found by mom 10 to 9 years ago as a tomcat/was neutered shortly after word . He has been allowed to roam free for years in an area by farming country/ northern MN. Wild/feral cats live in the area along with skunk,fox,coyote,ect.

Mom was lax in taking him in to be checked for cat to cat diseases, when she did take him in they tested him for Feline luk, and other issues. Vet said there was nothing wrong, but besides feline luk I have no idea what diseases they tested him for

Should I have Bindi tested for FIV?

I cant test monty/not my cat and mom threw out the vet records sense nothing was amiss/ I know its spread mainly through biting and that it can reman unnoticed for years in a healthy cat.

The course of action I am thinking of is to test Bindi and if positive just leave things the way they are and get Leopalorn tested ( leopalorn is not involved with monty like this). if negitive then I may see if a pca friend can take him until I move/thereby removing him from the fighting.

at Vets yesterday, everything looks good.

peppersully — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:03:06 GMT

Hello I have posted several times in extreme worry over my 4 yr old MN cat who had a recent episode of fast breathing, panting, poor appetite, history of very mild HCM. Found have mildly elevated creatinine (upper limit lab reference limit 203 - think his was 212 or 220) and dilute specific gravity of urine indicating renal insuffiency. Anyway since then he has been feeling good, had a normal heart and abdominal ultrasound (probuably posted all about that earlier here lol), heart actually looks a little better, some of his anatomy is a little big but specialist thought normal for his size. Specialst thought maybe resp issues were related a type of inflammatory resp response ie allergies/asthma. He has been active, happy, no further breathing episodes. I have him on about 1/4 - 1/3 cup dry diet and a 5 0z can of wellness mixed well w/ water per day (I was giving him kidney wet food but he just started refusing it one day.).

Anyway to vets yesterday for recheck, weight remains stable at approx 15.3 lbs. BLoodwork done showed creatinine down to 187 so happily within the normal limit !!! Vet states considers it "high normal" level (I wasnt really thinking that but oh well). She would like me to try and collect a urine sample w/ a kitchen ladle for a specific gravity test and if that is sucessful/normal we can keep him on his current diet of regular and kidney food until next check. If the kitchen ladle doesnt work then he may need vet to remove sample. She asked me if how I felt about the proposed tracheal washing to asess for respiratory inflammation and we both agreed to not poke around with this when he has shown no resp symptoms for the past almost 1.5 months.

Anyway, happy and relieved for now. I was very scared a few months ago, I thought he had a very serious combination of kidney and heart failure and was in for a rough ride. I rec'd some great support here and Laurie you a true godsend. I have now learned to stop freaking out emotionally and jumping to conclusions (like I should already know as a nurse but yeah right)!!

have a great day all!!

My cat sheds small yellow particules

hndglkc — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:42:39 GMT

Hello everyone,

I have a black kitten, she is 3 months old. I have addopped her a month ago from outside. She had her parasites removed now she is going to have her vaccines. She is all healty but she is shedding small yellow particules looking like sesame. First I coundn't figure out what they were, but i am sure now that thay are comming from my cat. Tommorrow i will going to hand some samples to the vet. But i am very curious now, has anyone ever seen something like this. I looked after 3 cats but I have never seen something like this.

Thank you,

Food for Thought: the Nutrition Challenge

CAT MODERATOR — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:46:33 GMT

As carnivores, cats need a diet that is rich in digestible protein to thrive. From playful kittenhood through curious adulthood and into the senior years, cats’ nutritional needs change with each life stage. Special formulated diets help with certain conditions, such as hairballs, obesity, diabetes, digestive problems or kidney disease.

Do you read cat food labels and pay attention to the list of ingredients?

Do you know the purpose and benefit of each ingredient on the label?

Did you put more thought into your cat’s diet when she was a kitten?

Have you had to adjust your indoor adult cat’s diet to maintain optimum weight?

Do you know about and have you used special formulated diets to treat specific feline conditions? How helpful were these diets?

How about your senior cat? Have you found a diet that seems supportive of your cat’s less-active lifestyle or age-related conditions?

Tell us how you approached your feeding decisions.

how long the diarrhea happen that I should take Ginger to the vet?

tsnowice — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:16:28 GMT

I think after Ginger went outside, and she got diarrhea, it is not like she went to the bathroom a lot, just when I found out her behind was so dirty, and kind of ugly mess stuck with her, so I tried so hard (she was crying and mad and scratched us a lot finally, we cleaned,) but we realize she really felt no good, could not clean herself better, because of the diarrhea, but i think this two days her poos kind of soft, not quite normal, I wonder should I take her to the vet or buy some medicine at pet store ? please advise, anybody?

Best Auto Feeder?

1957chevy — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:20:19 GMT

Our cat Kasey has decided that he does not like the care he gets when we board him at our local animal hospital. As nice as they are, his disposition gets nasty when we leave him (very unlike his normal behavior).

We're going to cruise to the Lead East 50's party next weekend, & have decided to try to leave Kasey at home from Friday to Sunday evening.

What automatic feeders/ waterers does anyone recommend? What have you had good luck with?

We just bought the old fashioned plastic kind. Are these still the best?

Thanks

Co Co always bite me

tsnowice — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:57:11 GMT

Co Co never bite anyone, if I was not home, he never bite my brother, only me. Is this opposite attach? He is four years old Maine Coone mix with Russian Blue

food

blueyes132 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:13:29 GMT

I have 3 cats. 2 are siamese and one is a mutt. I've been feeding them prescription diet but money is tight and I would like to find another food that is cheaper but is good for them. can anyone help?

Cat drinking a lot of water

czsat — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:28:50 GMT

My 15 year old female cat has started drinking a lot of water and is losing weight. I took her to the vet about a month ago and she could not find anything wrong. I had extensive blood work done in January of this year and everything was normal. She is also urinating on the floor in the laundry room instead of the cat box. She doesn't do this everytime, but on a regular basis. I just have a feeling something is wrong. She is still eating normally. She also seems to be a little weak in her back legs, but it could be just arthritis.

Does anyone have any ideas what is wrong with my cat?

Thanks,

czsat

Teething 3 year old cat

slegned — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:19:17 GMT

My Tabitha is finally getting the little teeth between her lower fangs. I was starting to think that she would never get them, then last week they started poking through. Know that these teeth were delayed due to her starvation at an early age when her teeth were forming (she's been delayed in growth as well).

She has been needing a lot of extra hugs and TLC lately. She has also been very whiny. To help with the new teeth have been giving her soft food daily.

What else (besides patience) would work with teething?

Courage Getting Bored with His Canned Food

karebu — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:15:43 GMT

Courage is getting bored with his Wellness Chicken canned food and I am trying to find something that is both good for him and gives him a little variety so he doesn't end up stuck in eating one flavor and brand of food.

I order his food from petfooddirect.com and so far, plan on ordering him a half case of Evo and a half case of something else. Is Evolve a good brand to feed him?

He doesn't like beef or vension, not that I want that to be a part of his diet. My mom had ordered a variety case of wellness that had beef and venison. Mom's cats wouldn't eat it so she gave it to me and I offered it to Courage, who promptly "buried" it with my shoes.

Vaccine side effects

tookie1978 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:18:06 GMT

I took my 2 cats yesterday to Petco for their vaccinations. I usually go to the vet, but $$ is very tight this year and it was a HUGE savings.

Lucky got his rabies and leukemia shot and Kringle got his rabies, leukemia and distemper.

They are both very lethargic and not interested in food. Kringle is 1yo and I've never given him shots before so I don't know what his normal reaction is (his first round of shots was given by the shelter when he was a kitten), Lucky is 3yo and I don't ever remember him acting like this before. Is it normal?

there are 2 strange things my cat does (1) takes the dry food out by the pawful puts it on the floor and eats from there and (2) before using the litter box goes through a lot of scratching all over the box sides, top etc. and if he used it to dump in wont use it again till its'cleaned

Lew Rader — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:29:39 GMT

My cat has 2 unusual behaviors (1) he'll take out pawfuls of the dry food(which he seems to like much more than the canned)and make a small pile of it next to the food dish and eat it from the carpet.(2) before he uses the litter box, he'll spend a quite a bit of time scratching all over the box inside and out, also if he has dumped in the box, he becomes vocal about it being cleaned and having some fresh litter added to the box before using it. My question is, is this quite common behavior or do we have a finicky kitty?

Revolution

Gobo — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:58:57 GMT

The vet recently perscribed Revolution for my cat for fleas and heartworm prevention. The only thing is it's a little on the expensive side. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and had any comments or complaints about it before I spent all the money on it.

Need help with fatty!

Texancat — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:21:17 GMT

My cats could both stand to lose a litle bit of weight. Forrest, maybe one and a half, and Jack, maybe 500... Or at least 3. He is okay eating playing Porky now, but what about when he's ten? I don't want to have to deal with arthritis because he hates taking pills. He's also not the most playful and would NEVER tolerate going outside on a leash, so walks aren't gonna happen. All he does is lay on the ground eating grass.

His food bowl is ALWAYS full , but he doesn't get a lot of treats and no human food because he hates it anyways. He eats Purina one, for indoor cats. He and Forrest are okay eating that but Jack needs to get off his fat behind and do something! He's so lazy and you can't exactly tell him running around is for his health. How do I get him to be playful. Maybe I should just chase him around all day... lol.

I am worried because it hurts when you pick him up (and it breaks your arms!) He is 15 lbs by the way. Forrest is 12 or 13 but also slimmer. Forrest doesn't look fat though, just kind of squishy. Anyways, he once hurt his back somehow and couldn't lie down for DAYS! (kind of funny, but not good) I have had two dogs die from arthitis in their olf age and I don't want Jack to go that way either. I need to whip my kitties into shape but they can't go outside and they are so lazy! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

2 cats: 1 thin, the other FAT!

KittyRIP — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:23:19 GMT

I have 2 cats. One is getting very fat, and the other is thin. Not overly thin, but just right and very active. I want my Kobe to lose weight, and I've tried to cut the portions in half so he could eat less, but they eat it all in one sitting. I just put more food out in the dish about 10 minutes ago, and there's only a couple of bites left. I wasn't planning on feeding them again until I got home from work at about midnight. Kobe just lays around in the dining room chair all day long, and Phoenix sleeps a little bit, but is also a very active cat; curious about everything. I've tried setting out 2 dishes to try and eliminate competition. Kobe just eats out of both bowls. I'm worried that if I keep cutting the portions in half, I'll be depriving Phoenix of his food, and that he wont get enough and eventually starve. I've tried putting one bowl higher than the other, but Kobe just jumps up to eat the food. Phoenix is not a jumper. He'd rather run and play on the ground than jump from here to there. We feed them Iams because Phoenix cannot tolerate a change in diet. He gets diarrhea when we change his food.

Ulcers in Eyes due to Herpes

SkyDaisySofia — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:33:53 GMT

Good evening everyone,
I'm really upset. I came back from the vet with Sofia, not too long ago. My cat Sofia is a Himalayan. I rescued her in May 2005 from an urban animal shelter. She was in terrible shape. When I say terrible, I mean this poor thing went through a lot of trauma and neglect. I love her so much... she's my daughter! Today, Sofia is 7 years old.
She's extreme face and has always been prone to upper respiratory infections. She also is prone to contracting the herpes virus, which she did. Today when I took her into the vet, the vet showed me that she has an enormous ulcer in her left eye and a smaller one in her right eye. Apparently the ulcer in her left eye is deep. However, blood vessels have begun to grow, which the vet said is a positive sign. She's going on 2 different meds now. Antiviral eye drops to be given every couple of hours. I am also mixing L-Lysine amino acid into her wet food, which I've been doing for years.
I'm so scared and nervous. I cried at the vet's office and on my way home. I feel so sorry for her. I don't want Sofia to suffer.
I just wanted to express my feelings. Has anyone else gone through this? Will she lose her eye? I am supposed to follow up on Saturday with a feline ophthalmologist. I just want to hold her and hug her but she's in her little corner and wants to be left alone. This is not like her. (((

St. Louis Diseases?

renosteinke — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:00:53 GMT

I have just moved to St. Louis from Reno. "High Desert" to "Missouri Mud"

Along with me I brought my Motzie, the cat in my avatar. She's an indoor cat, with only brief periods outdoors, on a leash.

I am curious ... are there any specific worries that I might need to address here, that were not present in Reno? Ticks? Fleas? Heartworm? Indeed, need I worry about 'worming' her with any regularity?

sore/swollen paw pads

willie1 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:45:14 GMT

Our 8 year old male has cracked and very sore pads (both paws). Now they seem puffy/swollen. The vet gave us fish oil capsules to give to him. We've tried opening them and putting them on his food....but he won't eat the food now. Any suggestions to ideas to help with this?

As an additional measure we thought we might try changing the cat litter to something that might be more gentle on his paws. We currently use The World's Best Cat Litter. Someone suggestion Yesterday's News or something like that. Any suggestions on that?

Thanks so much!!

Kitty Kidney Trouble

renosteinke — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:28:15 GMT

One of the cats I care for has been diagnosed as being in the early stages of kidney failure. No surprise there; she's 15.

Have any of you been faced with this? What treatments did you use? How much longer did the cat live?