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I think one of my cats is becoming neurotic and I could use some advice. Recently Jake (the black cat in the picture below) has started over grooming himself. I think he's actually been doing it for awhile and I just didn't notice, but he's been getting worse about it over the past few weeks to the point where big patches on the insides of his legs and spots on his belly are becoming bare. I already have an appointment to take him into the vet to make sure it's not anything serious, but I get the feeling he's just bored or stressed. They've got lots of toy mice and such to play with (not to mention each other), and when I get home from work I spend a lot of time petting and playing with them. He's always been high strung, however over the past year or so he's become very needy. He always has to be in my lap, he follows me around my apartment, he bothers me if I stop paying attention to him, etc. I've had a handful of cats throughout my life, and none of them have acted quite like this. I think he does most of the damage during the day when I'm gone, but even now he's sitting next to me purring away, licking these bare spots. Hopefully there's nothing seriously wrong with him, but Googling has led me to believe he might be doing it because he's unhappy or anxious. Besides kitty xanax what can I do? He's about eight years old (I don't know for sure), is he just having a personality shift or something?  I don't want my kitty to be depressed.
kedo fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Jan 31, 2014 |
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Jan 31, 2014 02:34
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kedo posted:I think he does most of the damage during the day when I'm gone, but even now he's sitting next to me purring away, licking these bare spots. Hopefully there's nothing seriously wrong with him, but Googling has led me to believe he might be doing it because he's unhappy or anxious. Besides kitty xanax what can I do? He's about eight years old (I don't know for sure), is he just having a personality shift or something? Honestly, in cases like this, 90% of the time there is a medical reason he's doing it, and it's not just because of stress. It's good to bring him to the vet.
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Jan 31, 2014 02:48
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kedo posted:I think one of my cats is becoming neurotic and I could use some advice. We've got a cat that does that, and her problem was a food allergy that made her skin itch. We have to read ingredient lists on cat food now and make sure it doesn't contain rice or wheat. She's also sensitive to pork, but less so. We also have to give her some tetracycline (immunosupressant) to keep it under control. She's been a much happier cat since. Ask your vet about allergy tests.
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Jan 31, 2014 02:51
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kedo posted:I think one of my cats is becoming neurotic and I could use some advice. It sounds like Psychogenic alopecia. Jimmy has it and everything that you described matches up to how he was acting to a T. It started when he was around 8 too, he was fine and everything up to that point. At the time, he was a single cat so the vet suggested getting a friend to help with the boredom. But before we got Wendy, we tried using Feliway which didn't seem to work too well for us but then a calming collar worked well in calming him down a bit but it didn't stop it completely but we still use it today just because he seems less visibly stressed with the collar on. With Wendy here, he seems to be doing it less (even if they don't quite get on yet) so I think his main issue was boredom. He's pretty neurotic about routines and would get upset if we didn't do the usual morning routine in order or the like so try to keep to a routine as much you can (like the morning routine is that he gets brushed and some treats on his cat tree right after someone wakes up). If you have PMs, feel free to PM me about this.
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Jan 31, 2014 06:21
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Tomato Soup posted:It sounds like Psychogenic alopecia. Jimmy has it and everything that you described matches up to how he was acting to a T. It started when he was around 8 too, he was fine and everything up to that point. At the time, he was a single cat so the vet suggested getting a friend to help with the boredom. But before we got Wendy, we tried using Feliway which didn't seem to work too well for us but then a calming collar worked well in calming him down a bit but it didn't stop it completely but we still use it today just because he seems less visibly stressed with the collar on. Psychogenic Alopecia is over diagnosed. This was the diagnosis du jour probably about 5-10 years ago for cats licking themselves raw because vet med didn't understand that was how cats expressed itch. It does exist, but is very rare in comparison to Food Allergy, Flea Allergy, or Atopic Dermatitis in cats. GiantAmazonianOtter posted:Two weeks in the life of my housemate's cat: Best cat to read about
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Jan 31, 2014 07:09
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Actually popped into the thread to also ask about over grooming. My cat, shortly after I got him, started biting out the hair on his back, from about halfway up his spine all the way down to his tail, in two neat stripes. Took him it the vet, vet gave him a cortisone injection, and he was good for a few months but started doing it again recently. I spend plenty of time with him and he'll even do it while sitting on my lap or on my chest when I'm laying down (  )This is very likely a food allergy, yeah? Thing is, I'm feeding him the same stuff they were feeding him at the shelter so it's weird that he wasn't doing it there.
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Jan 31, 2014 07:36
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Maybe food allergy, maybe some other kind of allergy. Basically, food allergies in dogs and cats can develop over time - just like people and allergies (or "sensitivities"). I've seen animals on similar diets for years and they suddenly start reacting to something in their diet. The response to the steroid shot is very telling. Steroids tamp down inflammation. Allergies create inflammation. If it was something psychological, steroids wouldn't have done anything. Pets don't tend to get behavioral changes due to steroids (roid rage!) like some people apparently can. But, it could also be something where you live, either something in your home (dust mites, human dander, indoor plants, mold), or outdoor seasonal plants (flowers/pollen, grasses, etc.) or... who knows what. Maybe even fleas! I would consult with your vet again. With allergies, depending on their severity, amount of recurrence, and ability to treat, they may recommend prescription limited ingredient diets to test out for food allergy (try to think of every protein source your kitty has had!), allergy tests with/without hypo sensitization shots, antihistamines, steroids, antibiotics, or immuno modulators. Most people only think of itching as the whole ear scratching thing. Dogs like to lick their legs and paws, cats lick their bellies, groin/inner thighs, and back. Dogs are the "scratchers" while cats are the "obliterators" - instead of just trying to calm the itch you scratch it until you bleed - you see that in people too.
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Jan 31, 2014 07:51
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I don't think the vet ever did food allergy tests but she ruled out flea allergy/skin issues because his skin wasn't red or anything. I doubt it's anything environmental as he started a couple of years ago and we've moved since then and he still does it sometimes. I'm not his favorite human so I was able to see how much his behavior changed when she wasn't there and if any of his routines were interrupted in some way, he'd start grooming himself most of the time after some fretting. Jimmy is a Burmese too and apparently they're a bit more susceptible to it than usual. I vaguely recall the vet mentioning that and Google confirms it. I'll ask about testing for food allergies the next time he sees the vet though.
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Jan 31, 2014 08:04
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HelloSailorSign posted:Best cat to read about He is extremely affectionate and entertaining so I can abide his assholishness.
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Jan 31, 2014 09:38
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Thanks very much folks, I appreciate all the info! I actually wouldn't be surprised if it was food related – both cats were on prescription food for a long time while the vet was trying to work out a stomach bug my other cat was having, though they both just went off it about a little over a month ago. I'm not sure if the timing works out perfectly, but I know for a fact he wasn't doing this on the prescription food, so I'll probably ask the vet about that. Come to think of it, I've caught him kinda gnawing on these bare patches a few times in addition to licking them. That certainly sounds like kitty itching to me.
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Jan 31, 2014 16:42
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Tomato Soup posted:Jimmy is a Burmese too and apparently they're a bit more susceptible to it than usual. I vaguely recall the vet mentioning that and Google confirms it. I'll ask about testing for food allergies the next time he sees the vet though. There's no good diagnostic test for food allergies. The only way to diagnose it is to put the animal on a strict hypoallergenic food trial for 2 months, then reintroducing the old food and see if the symptoms flare up again.
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Jan 31, 2014 22:31
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Tomato Soup posted:I don't think the vet ever did food allergy tests but she ruled out flea allergy/skin issues because his skin wasn't red or anything. I doubt it's anything environmental as he started a couple of years ago and we've moved since then and he still does it sometimes. I'm not his favorite human so I was able to see how much his behavior changed when she wasn't there and if any of his routines were interrupted in some way, he'd start grooming himself most of the time after some fretting. Don't need the redness to know it's allergies. Dogs are more keen to have rashes, though cats like to get scabby. When a cat is over grooming, allergies are my cause number 1, 2, and 3.
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Jan 31, 2014 22:41
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My kitty, in the space of one month, has lost nearly every toy I got her. I live in a 500 sq. foot apartment. There's nowhere for her toys to go! I've checked under the couch, fridge, my bed...a cursory check on the Internet tells me this is normal. My cat will eat wet food but hates dry now apparently. (This after the saga of her not eating at all.) She'll only resort to the dry if I don't give her anything else all day. I hate to let my cat get hungry, but how else to get her back on dry food?
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Feb 1, 2014 01:38
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Is hairball/vomit frequency related to fur length? Would a DLH leave more surprises when I get home than a DSH?
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Feb 1, 2014 01:42
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Xibanya posted:My kitty, in the space of one month, has lost nearly every toy I got her. I live in a 500 sq. foot apartment. There's nowhere for her toys to go! I've checked under the couch, fridge, my bed...a cursory check on the Internet tells me this is normal. For the toys check to see if there is a hole under your cabinets she's using as a kitty soccer goal. If not they are under the stove. For the food, just keep giving her the dry food, she won't starve to death before she gets the hint.
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Feb 1, 2014 14:43
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Xibanya posted:My kitty, in the space of one month, has lost nearly every toy I got her. I live in a 500 sq. foot apartment. There's nowhere for her toys to go! I've checked under the couch, fridge, my bed...a cursory check on the Internet tells me this is normal. Were the toys the kind that she could have eaten? Or would you have spotted that in her poo already?
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Feb 1, 2014 15:21
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Ow. I still havent been able to burrito Pudding for a claw clip and all I have to show for it is a lot of scratches and punctures. edit: Tired him out with chasing the feather on a stick for a while, was too tired to struggle after that. All clipped. Good cat! edit edit: Bad cat! There's water marks all over the aquarium stand and the lid is busted open. 
Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 13:12 on Feb 2, 2014 |
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Feb 1, 2014 23:59
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I got my 12y.o. cat a heated bed and she now spends most of her time there. Should I be happy that she likes it, or concerned that she's spending most of her time asleep? I worry about her all the time because she's old. 
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Feb 2, 2014 19:58
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How is Ssscat? Getting pretty infuriated with our new kitten, I swear it's gonna be that or proximity based shock collars.
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Feb 2, 2014 20:03
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This isn't really asking questions, but my fiancee's (and at this point my) 2-year-old cat got really sick Friday afternoon--not eating, not playing, vomiting a lot. We waited to see if he improved over night, but by Saturday morning he looked the same, so I called the emergency vet and we brought him in ($100 down). She checked him out and his vitals were fine, so we brought him back home and I planned to call our normal vet once they opened. They never called me back, and by 2PM he was still sick and his vomit was green. We brought him back to the emergency vet and had them x-ray and run blood tests: no foreign object, but his ALT--controlled by the liver--was 1900 (regular is anywhere from 20-100) and he was dehydrated. Obviously this indicated liver disease (which turns out is a really broad diagnosis). I've done some research, and spoke with the vet, and the most reasonable diagnosis is something called acute cholangiohepatitis, which is essentially a bacterial infection of the liver. We left him with the hospital for the weekend ($400 more), and he's receiving fluids via IV, and oral antibiotics as well as steroids. We're picking him up tomorrow and taking him from the emergency vet to the regular vet (the same people run it, so he'll be receiving the same care), and hopefully he'll only have to stay on IV until Wednesday or so. We're really hoping the antibiotics clear things up and he can recover--from what I've read, the prognosis for acute cholangiohepatitis is fairly good if it's caught early enough--and it's been a pretty depressing weekend. If anyone has experience with this or other related problems, I'd like to hear about it. Thanks for listening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqPph0Qz9uo
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Feb 2, 2014 21:03
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Emasculatrix posted:I got my 12y.o. cat a heated bed and she now spends most of her time there. Should I be happy that she likes it, or concerned that she's spending most of her time asleep? I worry about her all the time because she's old. 12 isn't really that old for a cat, and cats generally sleep most of the day anyway. My cat barely leaves the bathroom in winter because it's where his cat bed is and it's the warmest room in the house.
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Feb 2, 2014 21:44
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Emasculatrix posted:I got my 12y.o. cat a heated bed and she now spends most of her time there. Should I be happy that she likes it, or concerned that she's spending most of her time asleep? I worry about her all the time because she's old. This is how Buffy (who is 15 this year) spends the vast majority of every winter  It's normal, be happy that you gave her somewhere really cozy to curl up.
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Feb 2, 2014 21:59
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Vehementi posted:How is Ssscat? Getting pretty infuriated with our new kitten, I swear it's gonna be that or proximity based shock collars. Its pretty startling to the cat, dont know if it's had quite the effect I wanted yet since I wasnt around to watch when the fishtank dunk took place, but the first time he jumped up with it active, it definitely shooed him off fast. Its possible the SSSCat startled him so much that he stepped back onto a corner of the tank lid and that's when it flipped over then, but that's just guessing.
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Feb 2, 2014 23:48
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12 year old cats sleep pretty much all the time.  It's actually kind of hilarious going from my boyfriend's place and hanging out with his 1 year old cat to my apartment with my 12 1/2 year old cat. His apartment is full of toys and leg ambushes and sudden sprints and mine is full of snuggles and snoozes. Ssscat was fantastic for keeping the kitten away from the Christmas tree, and now for keeping her off the table when we have a puzzle out. The problem is when it doesn't spray until the cat is close enough to do some damage, because the OMG WTF reaction can cause more problems if they land wrong. Make sure it's placed strategically.
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Feb 3, 2014 20:27
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Any recommendations for toys for a super destructive cat? He's torn up pretty much every toy we've given him, and if it doesn't move he doesn't give a poo poo about it. He's also the kind of cat that likes to run off with his 'kill' so every toy that's a stick with a string is ruined because he will pounce on it and rip the stick from our hands to run away with it. We got some motorized feathers on a stick thing and he ripped the stick off that too. He's bored and I'm frustrated. He's starting to just rip up paper for the hell of it. The other cat doesn't want anything to do with him because he plays too rough for her, and he's way bigger than her now.
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Feb 3, 2014 23:06
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Dowel rod + twine + (optional: object). Hot glue or just wrap and tie off the twine to the dowel rod. Attach the optional object to the end of the twine (my cats like hair ties). It's pretty close to indestructible if you buy good twine and if they managed to break something, it costs like $2 anyway so whatever.
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Feb 3, 2014 23:13
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What about a laser pointer? You could eventually lead the dot to super special laser-pointer-only treats lying on the ground so it feels to him like he's "caught" something.
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Feb 3, 2014 23:45
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I have learned a valuable lesson in why it's a terrible idea to allow cats to play "Feet under the blanket", no matter how much they enjoy pouncing on hidden prey. It involved a piece of male anatomy that sometimes moves of its own accord. Under a blanket. Early in the morning. Sampson, you are a bastard cat  
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Feb 4, 2014 00:25
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So was it teeth or claws?
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Feb 4, 2014 00:33
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I think lazer pointer is the only thing I haven't tried because I lost the one I had. The problem with dowel with twine is that he will rip the whole thing out of my hands. If I do manage to hold on to it he gets frustrated that he can't run away with his kill and then he will go back to tearing poo poo up in the house. I am also looking for something he would be interested in without me, I've haven't able to tire him out in a few months.
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Feb 4, 2014 00:35
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SynthOrange posted:So was it teeth or claws? Just a pounce; he doesn't tend to use his claws or bite when he's playing. Thank god. Still loving hurt to basically get a dick punch with all his weight behind it. Not the best way to wake up.
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Feb 4, 2014 00:37
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Dead Cow posted:I think lazer pointer is the only thing I haven't tried because I lost the one I had. Any luck with these? http://www.amazon.com/Catit-Design-Senses-Speed-Circuit/dp/B004G8EJOK/ref=pd_sbs_petsupplies_2 http://www.amazon.com/Bergan-Turbo-Scratcher-Colors-Vary/dp/B000IYSAIW/ My cat's been pretty good about entertaining himself with these once I sat down and played with him on these for awhile. The turbo scratcher goes in a circle, while the speed circuit can be assembled in a variety of configurations, from a loop to a windy track. It also has peaks and valleys so the ball slows down and speeds up, or rocks back and forth and really winds him up.
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Feb 4, 2014 01:07
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SynthOrange posted:Any luck with these? That one that lights up may be a good one. I have two of the other kind, both slightly different, and he doesn't care about them unless I'm actively sitting there pushing the ball around (well ones a mouse) for him. Thanks I'll check it out.
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Feb 4, 2014 01:23
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So i'm syringe feeding my cat an antibiotic/antiinfamatory after his hospitalization and i feel him swallow but when I let him go he starts working his mouth and makes foamy drool (no cough, no vomit posture/noise) is this just a reaction to the taste and he is salivating a lot or is he possibly getting the medicine back up? My wife was afraid he was spitting it up and gave him a bit extra just in case and the exact same amount of foamy drool came back as the full dose so my money is on saliva but I'm not sure. Gonna call my vet about it tomorrow when the office opens but would like some peace of mind now, tia.
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Feb 4, 2014 01:41
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Don't quote me, but I think it's one of the side effects of most pastes is foamy drool or excess salivation.
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Feb 4, 2014 04:39
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The toys were under the oven. You all are mad geniuses.
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Feb 4, 2014 04:48
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Xibanya posted:The toys were under the oven. Nah, we just spend way too much time with furry assholes.
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Feb 4, 2014 04:59
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Real hurthling! posted:So i'm syringe feeding my cat an antibiotic/antiinfamatory after his hospitalization and i feel him swallow but when I let him go he starts working his mouth and makes foamy drool (no cough, no vomit posture/noise) is this just a reaction to the taste and he is salivating a lot or is he possibly getting the medicine back up? Depending on the medication, excessive salivation is basically the "gently caress this is bitter or gross tasting" response of cats. Is the medication colored? If so, if the salivation is not the color of the meds, then it's fine. If the meds are clear and you see him swallow, then you're as fine as you're gonna get. For the antiinflammatory, I would not do more dose if you don't think it all got in. They've got a fairly safe window of doses, but of the two medications, they're the more potentially harmful at higher doses. Unless the antibiotic is Baytril.
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Feb 4, 2014 07:15
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I got my cat to stop jumping on my feet at night by shoving her off the bed with my feet every time she pounced on them. I had a night or two of peace. Just now she woke me up with a new game - pounce on my head. I grabbed the pillow she was on and dumped her off the bed, but she just kept on sinking her claws into my scalp. So I kicked her out of my bedroom again. Now she's making some sort of loud thudding noise from the living room. She can't be body slamming the wall, can she? Christ, what an rear end in a top hat.
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Feb 4, 2014 07:29
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Braki posted:There's no good diagnostic test for food allergies. The only way to diagnose it is to put the animal on a strict hypoallergenic food trial for 2 months, then reintroducing the old food and see if the symptoms flare up again. gotcha, was hoping there was something better than that to test for allergies  Jimmy is a former show cat so he was pretty used to a hectic schedule but when his owner decided to stop showing, we got him and he's been a spoiled indoor cat ever since then with no shows so I think that seemed plausible enough for the vet to say it was stress-related from boredom without trying elimination diets. It was his 10th birthday the other day and I took this picture to celebrate it No party hats so I had to make do with his toys.
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Feb 4, 2014 08:05
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