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Zratha posted:This morning around 4 am I heard my cat, Oreo, vomiting a couple of times. When I got up at 6 I discovered there was also little spots of diarrhea everywhere as well. For the next hour he kept changing locations, leaving spots of poop and occasionally vomiting and making grumbling noises. I also discovered that at some point before I got up he had peed on a pillow that was on the ground. About a half hour ago he left a bunch of solid poop behind and since then has pretty much calmed down and is just lying down in the hallway. UPDATE: In true cat fashion, he is fine today and acting like nothing ever happened.
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Feb 7, 2013 11:25
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Zratha posted:UPDATE: In true cat fashion, he is fine today and acting like nothing ever happened. I'd still bring him to the vet
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Feb 7, 2013 11:58
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Shnooks posted:I'd still bring him to the vet Cats are resilient. It takes a lot for them to wince. A vet visit should still happen.
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Feb 7, 2013 14:58
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Agree with all of the above. I lost a cat once because I put off taking her to the vet for too long because she "seemed fine". Believe me, you will hate yourself forever if you put it off and it turns out to be serious. I still do. 
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Feb 7, 2013 15:42
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MixMasterMalaria posted:I just took over care of an older cat (age unknown, suspected 11-13) who has major overgrooming issues. He licks and scratches until he bleeds then starts on another spot. Several trips to the vet for a steroid shot, deworming, antibiotic, blood work (everything came back normal), and flea medicine have had basically had no effect. He's on Solid Gold Indigo Moon and is part of a 2 cat household with another cat he gets along fine with (they're cuddling now but his grooming is clearly annoying his cat friend). What should I try next? I was thinking of changing his food to the wellness and getting rid of my rug/cloth chair in case there's some dust mites... but beyond that, I'm at a total loss. The vet doesn't seem to know what to do either and I've already dropped more than I can afford on the situation. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated, I just want him to have good quality of life! Please, does anybody has any insight on this?
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Feb 7, 2013 16:08
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MixMasterMalaria posted:Please, does anybody has any insight on this? Is he floofy? Have you tried brushing him or skritching him? If so, how does he react? Did the vet try any creams or anything to put on the skin rather than internal medicine? Do you bathe him too much? Is there a lot of outside noises or causes for him to be skittish? Have you had any major changes happen? Is yourhouse dirty/dusty? Allergies? Just throwing things out there. If a vet looked at him and deemed him okay, there isnt much more to go on.
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Feb 7, 2013 16:25
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:Is he floofy? Have you tried brushing him or skritching him? If so, how does he react? Did the vet try any creams or anything to put on the skin rather than internal medicine? Do you bathe him too much? He's a domestic short hair. She gave me something to spray on his problem areas (Gentamicin Sulfate with Betamethasone Valerate), but I can never get more than a squirt in before he's under the bed. His whole haunches are chewed up and he's been going after his stomach the last few days, so one squirt at a time isn't going to get all the areas. I don't bathe cats, but I guess I could try that if it would help. quote:Is there a lot of outside noises or causes for him to be skittish? Is yourhouse dirty/dusty? Allergies? He's had this problem in 2 apartments before settling in at my parents house, which has hard floors that are vacuumed/mopped regularly and is fairly quiet. There were some changes in the form of two moves in the last 6 months - he's been at his current location for about 6 weeks. Before that he had stress from living with a 3rd cat that would aggressively bully him (though he had the grooming problem prior to the introduction of that cat). The vet wanted to put him on daily steroid medication, but I've been told that he's extremely resistant to taking medication - so I'm skeptical of an open-ended schedule of oral dosing. The vet was also very wary of giving him the steroid shot saying that it could kill any cat over 10 years old. MixMasterMalaria fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Feb 7, 2013 |
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Feb 7, 2013 17:08
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MixMasterMalaria posted:I don't bathe cats, but I guess I could try that if it would help. No, this dries skin and would cause irritation. Thats why I asked if there was too much bathing going on. quote:He's had this problem in 2 apartments before settling in at my parents house, which has hard floors that are vacuumed/mopped regularly and is fairly quiet. There were some changes in the form of two moves in the last 6 months - he's been at his current location for about 6 weeks. All in all this looks more like stress to me. From what I read from your post it seems like it started as you were moving? Even packing and getting ready to move would be a stress to a cat with the move itself compounding it due to all the changes. Throughout the moves, has there been a specific area that he can have to himself or has it been pretty much open everywhere? Also, has there been any noticeable patterns? More tugging after moving, more after the third cat was an rear end, more tugging after vet visit, that of the sort. It just seems like he hasn't had much time to accumulate to new surroundings and doesn't have a safe area and puts up with shared areas. On the other hand i'm making assumptions to get to those conclusions.
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Feb 7, 2013 17:50
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MixMasterMalaria posted:Please, does anybody has any insight on this? At this point, for recurrent skin issues that your regular veterinarian hasn't been able to solve, I would go look for a board-certified dermatologist and see if they can find out what's going on.
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Feb 7, 2013 18:28
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Has your vet considered food allergies before?
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Feb 7, 2013 19:55
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:All in all this looks more like stress to me. From what I read from your post it seems like it started as you were moving? Even packing and getting ready to move would be a stress to a cat with the move itself compounding it due to all the changes. Throughout the moves, has there been a specific area that he can have to himself or has it been pretty much open everywhere? Psychogenic overgrooming is actually falling out of favor as far as a default diagnosis for cats who pull their hair out. Both veterinary behaviorists and veterinary dermatologists are seeming to agree that it's extremely overdiagnosed and actually very rare. People are leaning more towards a sort of additive effect of a number of factors, some controllable (hypoallergenic diet, flea control) and some not (dust, pollen, etc). Which you treat by trying to control the ones that you can and see if that gets the cat below the level of itch that causes the hair pulling. Also, Mix, I'm not trying to be contrary here, but I don't really know how you want your vet to treat the cat if you can't do oral meds or actually do any of the treatments because of the cat's temperament. There's no magic wand anyone can wave.
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Feb 7, 2013 21:23
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My cat has started knocking over his Hagen Catit fountain. You'd think it would be too heavy but I caught him standing on top of it and pushing off the lip with his back legs. I'm actually a little impressed. The first time he did this I thought it might need cleaning and fresh water, but nope he's just being an rear end. Time to invest in some double-sided tape I guess!
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Feb 7, 2013 22:28
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Topoisomerase posted:Psychogenic overgrooming is actually falling out of favor as far as a default diagnosis for cats who pull their hair out. Both veterinary behaviorists and veterinary dermatologists are seeming to agree that it's extremely overdiagnosed and actually very rare. People are leaning more towards a sort of additive effect of a number of factors, some controllable (hypoallergenic diet, flea control) and some not (dust, pollen, etc). Which you treat by trying to control the ones that you can and see if that gets the cat below the level of itch that causes the hair pulling. It's happened with me twice with two different cats. With a vet already involved it leads me to think of what a vet wont diagnose. In that case paying attention is what'll help the most. Since this has been happening with three different locations dust/pollen could be ruled out or less likely at least. Definitely try going the food allergy route. That can easily be a constant. Otherwise I can't think of much else.
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Feb 7, 2013 22:52
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:It's happened with me twice with two different cats. With a vet already involved it leads me to think of what a vet wont diagnose. In that case paying attention is what'll help the most. Since this has been happening with three different locations dust/pollen could be ruled out or less likely at least. Definitely try going the food allergy route. That can easily be a constant. Otherwise I can't think of much else. With dust it could easily still be happening at three different locations. Or with something constant like laundry detergent, etc. It is much, much more likely to be an allergy than psychogenic alopecia. I am battling with trying to figure out my own cat's source of overgrooming and hair loss, but if you deworm them and then try to give them some more mental stimulation and lower their stress and nothing's working, well... I do wonder about the environmental allergy bit though because if it was, steroids should have helped with that.
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Feb 8, 2013 00:58
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Braki posted:
I would also expect any allergy to get better with steroids, but it doesn't sound like this cat has had any if the vet won't give an injection, the owner can't do pills, and the cat runs away from the spray. This could just be a case of the cat not getting adequate treatment. But seriously, what do you expect the internet to accomplish? Find another vet, preferably a specialist (dermatologist) if you really want this figured out. People who are not vets and/or have not examined your cat and seen the records to know what has been tried and how well it worked, will be throwing out random guesses at best.
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Feb 8, 2013 02:02
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I was basing the steroids off the first post which said:quote:Several trips to the vet for a steroid shot, deworming, antibiotic, blood work (everything came back normal), and flea medicine have had basically had no effect. Really at this point, I do think a dermatologist, although pricy, is your best bet.
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Feb 8, 2013 02:19
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Recently our cat has started to get a bit irregular with her eating habits. Normally we feed her first thing in the morning and then again in the evening. When we do feed her she's usually really hungry and jumps up at us and cries for the food, and eats it all in one go. However in the past couple of weeks she's taken to not eating all the food when we put it down, and also not going crazy for the food like normal. Also this evening I put food down a couple of hours later than normal as she didn't come looking for any, and she hasn't touched it yet (it's been down for about 5 hours now; she seems content to sleep on her cushion). She's only 7 and is perfectly healthy as far as I can tell, so I'm a little worried. The only thing I can think of is that recently some new people moved in nearby, and I've seen and heard their big cat yowling outside our catflap. Our cat is microchipped so only she can get in, but I've heard this cat test the mechanism. Could the stress of new neighbour cat cause her to not eat? She's very tiny compared to other cats so could easily be scared by the new one which is quite big. Or maybe she's eating the neighbour's food?
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Feb 8, 2013 02:42
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I have kinda posted this before in an offhand way but more to the point: why does Sadie bring me toys? During the day she will bring floofs from near where she likes to watch birds into my office, "baroo!!!"-ing very loudly as she does so. At night she will bring the same floofs (or other toys) up into the bed, also meowing as she does so. Once she has "delivered" the toy to me she has little interest in it at all, and also doesn't seem all that interested in petting or attention in general. If I move them back to the living room she will normally bring them again, but not always. Here is her bringing me one today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hj20HLEIBc It is adorable, but a bit confusing. I know it isn't anything to worry about I just wonder what this behavior "means". Is she hunting for me because I am bad at it? Or is the answer "she is a cat, they are
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Feb 8, 2013 04:48
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e: ^^^ :itisacat:^^^Lady Gaza posted:Recently our cat has started to get a bit irregular with her eating habits. Normally we feed her first thing in the morning and then again in the evening. When we do feed her she's usually really hungry and jumps up at us and cries for the food, and eats it all in one go. However in the past couple of weeks she's taken to not eating all the food when we put it down, and also not going crazy for the food like normal. Also this evening I put food down a couple of hours later than normal as she didn't come looking for any, and she hasn't touched it yet (it's been down for about 5 hours now; she seems content to sleep on her cushion). In this case if she is indoor/outdoor and the only change is eating habits with no other behavioral quirks, i'd guess she's snackin. If there are other issues like noticeable distress, i'd check with a vet. Sounds like snackin 
Alpha Kenny Juan fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Feb 8, 2013 |
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Feb 8, 2013 04:54
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Shifty Pony posted:It is adorable, but a bit confusing. I know it isn't anything to worry about I just wonder what this behavior "means". Is she hunting for me because I am bad at it? Or is the answer "she is a cat, they are Yes and yes. Probably sees your interest in the toy and thinks it's something for you.
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Feb 8, 2013 04:57
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My cat does this too. She will get a toy and just yowla dn yowl until we pay attention to it and praiser her, and then show no further interest in it whatsoever. She'll also leave the toys in our bed. God I'm glad she's never caught a mouse
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Feb 8, 2013 05:23
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:e: ^^^ :itisacat:^^^ Sorry, what do you mean snacking? As in she's eating more food elsewhere?
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Feb 8, 2013 12:26
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Lady Gaza posted:Sorry, what do you mean snacking? As in she's eating more food elsewhere? Yeah. You mentioned a new cat neighbor who tried getting into your pet door. That tells me, if it's the same cat, that it is indoor/outdoor and so there's a chance they have an outdoor food dish. It would explain the change from 'OHMYGODITSFOODGIMME' to 'Eh, i'm good.  'Again that is if the only change is eating habit but she is just as happy, active, cuddly and playful as before. Anything else changes then i'd go to a vet.
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Feb 8, 2013 14:49
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I live in the UK and I'm getting a Ragdoll kitten in March and I have a major worry about him getting out a window and something terrible happening as his primary reaction to stuff is to lay on his back and purr. I've looked at a couple of "cat screen" style things (Flat Cats and Cataire) and I was wondering if anybody had experience with them or some similar system that stops cats diving through open windows. Preferably something that I can leave unattended, ie have the top window open at night in the summer without him busting through it.
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Feb 8, 2013 15:41
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Slickdrac posted:Yes and yes. Probably sees your interest in the toy and thinks it's something for you. I was thinking when she does it during the day that maybe it is similar to how some cats have redirected aggression when they see an outdoor cat they can't get to, except in this case she grabs something small and fluffy to "kill". But that doesn't explain the night behavior at all. Mirthless posted:My cat does this too. She will get a toy and just yowla dn yowl until we pay attention to it and praiser her, and then show no further interest in it whatsoever. She'll also leave the toys in our bed. I really worry that the next place I live will have mice, because I do not want any twitching rodent carcasses to be delivered to me as i'm trying to fall asleep!
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Feb 8, 2013 17:24
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Shifty Pony posted:I have kinda posted this before in an offhand way but more to the point: why does Sadie bring me toys? Two of my cats do this, for them it means "throw the god damned toy, bitch.  " Jingly balls elicit this response more than floofy toys, but anything can be turned into fetch. Including a tube of neosporin once that was promptly destroyed when I tried to take it away from one of them. :itisacat:
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Feb 8, 2013 18:34
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Shifty Pony posted:I really worry that the next place I live will have mice, because I do not want any twitching rodent carcasses to be delivered to me as i'm trying to fall asleep! I TNR'd a kitty outside my patio once and made sure to feed and skritch it every day. He made sure to chase off other cats. One day I went outside without glasses to feed it, looked at the floor and thought 'Huh. Weird looking worm.' Went inside, got my glasses, back outside. '... a snake??!!??   ' Then he came, sat in front of it proudly, and went on to the foodbowl. I moved the snake towards him, he then took the snake to eat it while leaving me with about half kibble left. Share and share alike I suppose and he gave me first dibs.Miss the guy, but i'm very sure that my neighbors took him and adopted him before they moved.
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Feb 8, 2013 19:49
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Live snake, my bedroom, 3am.
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Feb 8, 2013 20:28
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:I TNR'd a kitty outside my patio once and made sure to feed and skritch it every day. He made sure to chase off other cats. One day I went outside without glasses to feed it, looked at the floor and thought 'Huh. Weird looking worm.' Went inside, got my glasses, back outside. '... a snake??!!?? He loved you very much.
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Feb 8, 2013 20:29
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My TNR'd stray left a half-eaten mouse outside my front door once.  Regarding toys, Indy brings hers to me when she wants to play; usually it'll be plastic springs for fetch, but every once in a while she'll haul a whole wand toy around the apartment instead. When she was younger I'd wake up to a bed full of cat toys, but now she sleeps when I do instead of spending the night fruitlessly covering my bed in fuzzy mice and jingly balls.
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Feb 9, 2013 00:32
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Are torties known for being kinda bitey? Sometimes I tease Holly by poking her stomach a little, and she always freaks the gently caress out, latches onto my arm and bites my hand. Not super hard, mind you, and her ears aren't usually pulled all the way back. Is this considered play, or is she legit angry? I'd think if she was angry she'd try and get away and not bite my fist then lick it a little for some weird reason. Am I actually just pissing her off? Also I tried doing the cat burrito trick and yeah no. It was a storm of claws and teeth. How the hell am I gonna clip your furry rear end now cat 
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Feb 9, 2013 02:06
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Pollyanna posted:Are torties known for being kinda bitey? Sometimes I tease Holly by poking her stomach a little, and she always freaks the gently caress out, latches onto my arm and bites my hand. Not super hard, mind you, and her ears aren't usually pulled all the way back. Is this considered play, or is she legit angry? I'd think if she was angry she'd try and get away and not bite my fist then lick it a little for some weird reason. Am I actually just pissing her off? If not really biting hard, then providing she's rolling over for you to get belly, then :itisacat: It is wrong to ever not rub a belly when one is presented for rubbing. My white kitty does the bite/luck thing too. On a side note, he playfully beat the poo poo out of my Grey today! Getting blood checked tomorrow, hoping for improvement given as active as he's been.
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Feb 9, 2013 02:34
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Pollyanna posted:Are torties known for being kinda bitey? Sometimes I tease Holly by poking her stomach a little, and she always freaks the gently caress out, latches onto my arm and bites my hand. Not super hard, mind you, and her ears aren't usually pulled all the way back. Is this considered play, or is she legit angry? I'd think if she was angry she'd try and get away and not bite my fist then lick it a little for some weird reason. Am I actually just pissing her off? Bite then lick? Sounds like discipline. I bet you tickled her I have 2 tortie-sisters and they both do the same thing if I pet the belly too lightly.
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Feb 9, 2013 04:48
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Robo Kitty posted:Regarding toys, Indy brings hers to me when she wants to play; usually it'll be plastic springs for fetch, but every once in a while she'll haul a whole wand toy around the apartment instead. One of my friends' cat used to fetch the fuzzy boa wand and bring it to wherever you are in the house. One of their other cats is obsessed with wand handles so the big tabby male would be carrying the fluffy part of the wand while the smaller female would be behind him pouncing on the other end as it was being dragged . Then for some unknown reason that changed into him carrying the wand around and stopping every now and then to kinda slowly hump it  Also isn't it pretty rare to have a cat that actually enjoys belly petting? Most I've met will latch onto your arm with four paws and kangaroo-kick while biting if you try to do anything to the lower belly while they are on their back. Sadie will grab and mouth, but not really claw or bite; then she gets confused after a second and try to force my hand into a position where she can scratch her cheeks using it
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Feb 9, 2013 05:46
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Every cat I've ever had (granted, only five in my lifetime) has loved belly rubs. Or at least tolerated them without complaint.
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Feb 9, 2013 06:15
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My Indy loves getting belly pats, but he will still do the INVITING TRAP when he isn't trying to occupy the same exact space I am at all times.
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Feb 9, 2013 06:34
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Pollyanna posted:Also I tried doing the cat burrito trick and yeah no. It was a storm of claws and teeth. How the hell am I gonna clip your furry rear end now cat Have you tried the binder clip trick? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9TmmF79Rw0
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Feb 9, 2013 09:59
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I have a kitty behaviour question! We have two cats around 5 years old, both have always been indoor cats and we've been happy to keep them that way. However Hector has 'escaped' a couple of times since we adopted them last summer. Once for a few hours (we were out having a BBQ and didn't notice he'd sneaked through an open window) and once for just a minute or two after he legged it out the front door while we were carrying boxes in. We immediately chased him down and brought him back in but he was happy to go off wandering and exploring. Ever since his second escape, Hector has been meowing pitifully at the front door and scratching at it. I don't want to start any kind of 'should cats play outside' argument, but I just want a bit of reassurance that we're not bad cat-parents for keeping him indoors  Our decision to keep them indoor cats is based on us not having a catflap (we're renting) so they couldn't get in and out easily if we're not home, plus there's lots of other cats around and we're near quite busy roads and we don't want them getting hurt!
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Feb 9, 2013 12:00
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Does he have plenty of toys/spaces to explore/places to climb/hide indoors? Maybe try buying him a couple new toys so there's more novelty in home. It's not bad to keep a cat indoors, for their safety and the safety of local wildlife. If you feel like your cat can't be happy unless he gets fresh air, could you maybe buy him a harness and give him supervised tethered yard time?
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Feb 9, 2013 14:22
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It's a fairly large house with plenty of places for him to explore, we do try and play with him regularly but he seems scared of the teaser style toys we mainly use with our other cat! Goes wild for the laser pen though  We have considered a cat harness and some supervised outdoor time, I'm just imagining the hilariousness of trying to get him to actually wear it! Might be worth a try though
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Feb 9, 2013 14:49
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