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Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Downhome posted:

I need some major advice.

We have a two year old Siberian Forrest cat, Clancy. He was our only pet for those two years. For those two years he has been an exclusively inside cat. We have taken him out every now and then on a harness, but it wasn't ever anything that he ever asked or begged for. We recently got a Boston Terrier puppy, Betty, now 10 weeks old.

Here is the problem - ever since we got Betty and we are having to take her outside over and over again to go potty Clancy has become more and more interested in going outside as well. He started just being curious about it watching, but now it's so bad that he is starting to dart outside between our legs as we go out. I can handle it for the most part, but my wife is unable to bend over quickly enough to stop him and he gets by her almost every single time. We do not want him to get outside and get spooked by something and run away in fear.

What can we do to put an end to this? How can we totally kill his interest in going outside, or at the very least stop him from darting out?

For the times that we do stop him from getting out he stands at the glass door just pawing at it over and over again just begging to be let out as well. Have any of you guys dealt with this before? I'm sure most of it is jealousy because he almost only does it when we're taking Betty out.

Cats know where home and food is. They rarely run away if you're treating them well. Ours go in and out regularly and don't stray far. They bask in the sunshine on the driveway and roll around in the dirt, mainly.

Is there a particular reason that going outside would be dangerous? Do you live on a busy road with lots of traffic, or are there known predators like coyotes around?

If not, don't worry about it. Cats spent millions of years living outdoors. They can handle it.

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Downhome
Jul 5, 2012
Growing up we always had cats, and they were all outside cats. You're right, they knew where home was and they never ran away. The problem now is that we have him exclusively indoors so he's never really been around the outside sounds. I'm afraid that he would get spooked at something and run away not meaning to, or I'm afraid that someone would steal him. We paid over $1K for him because he is the only breed I've never had an allergic reaction to and I just don't want to risk losing him.

We do take him out on a harness every now and then, and we have took him and Betty out for walks at the same time a few times. I am starting to think that may have been our fatal mistake.

Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

I guess the only real solution is to make sure the cat is closed up somewhere or restrained whenever you open the door. That's the only way to be sure it won't get out.

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!

Downhome posted:

What can we do to put an end to this? How can we totally kill his interest in going outside, or at the very least stop him from darting out?

Train him to go to a spot when you're ready to leave to go outside. Use bonito flakes or something else nice and stinky, ask him to get up on a perch, sprinkle a few treats up there and exit while he's eating. Also try to play him into exhaustion every day - a tired cat is less likely to go looking for trouble.

Angrymog
Jan 30, 2012

Really Madcats

Or take him out on the harness more so that he gets acclimatised to the outdoors so that he's less likely to spook if he does get out. And provide a sheler/hiding place outside your door so that he's got somewhere safe to come back to if he does spook then returns when you're not in.

duckfarts
Jul 2, 2010

~ shameful ~





Soiled Meat

Deteriorata posted:

Cats know where home and food is. They rarely run away if you're treating them well.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Deteriorata posted:

Is there a particular reason that going outside would be dangerous?
FeLV and cat aids are also reasons along with any road with traffic.

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now
Or raccoons, stray dogs, or rear end in a top hat neighbors/passersby who think cat outdoors = free cat and/or recognize a $1000 cat when they see it.

Can you just take them both out? Harness them both up and take them out at the same time? If it becomes a routine for him instead of something special, he might start getting bored with it.

Tamarillo
Aug 6, 2009
Every single time we open the front door, without fail, Hugo will be waiting behind it and will try to dart out as we come in. The way we've resolved this issue is to open the door a little bit first, flail a foot in the gap to make him back off (often accompanied by a rude comment), and then enter. If he tries to make a go for it he gets hooked by a foot and shoved. He only rarely gets by us.

I've not tried to kill our cats interest in outdoors but I imagine opening the door from the outside and squirting water in his face if he tries to dart out might work (or at least be funny). Also I remember you clicker trained the hell out of Clancy, does he still associate the click with treats? If he's outside you could try clicking from indoors and he might come back in. It's how I call my cats in at night.

Also with the endless whining to be let out, I've only found redirecting attention to a toy to work. Otherwise they will sit and whinge the door and bat the hanging handle back and forth forever until they finally decide to do something else. Even a spray bottle doesn't work - Decoy will run off, but be back within 30 sec to resume.

Downhome
Jul 5, 2012
I don't have a problem with taking him out. The problem right now more than anything is that we're in the process of house training Betty and sometimes we need to get outside quickly, and it just doesn't give us enough of time to deal with Clancy the way I would if the little pup could hold it like she'll be able to when she's older.

We bought one of these to help keep Clancy away from the blinds and certain other things...

http://www.petsmart.com/cat/repellents/sunbeam-sensor-egg-cat-deterrent-zid36-5201283/cat-36-catid-200020?_t=pfm%3Dsearch

He hates it so much that I never even had to get a refill for it. All I have to do is bring it out and he will stop whatever it is that he's doing that is a no no. Maybe I'll take it and set it by the door? I just don't want him to always hate going outside. I'll see what happens with it maybe.

Tamarillo posted:

Also I remember you clicker trained the hell out of Clancy, does he still associate the click with treats? If he's outside you could try clicking from indoors and he might come back in. It's how I call my cats in at night.

You are right, it's cool you remember that. Yes he does still associate the clicker with treats. We're starting to train Betty and Clancy goes INSANE when he sees and hears us doing that, lol. That's a good idea, maybe I'll try something out based around the clicker for him as well.

Downhome fucked around with this message at 17:49 on May 17, 2014

Skwid
Aug 20, 2011

I got tired of being a loser so I spent money to not be a loser anymore.
Sorry if something like this has been brought up before, but we're having a problem with our cat. He's about 6 months old I think, and we got him when he was about 6 weeks. He was using traditional litter until we got him and ever since we've used that fancy Breeze litter system. It's worked fairly well but lately he's taken to pissing on things that are not his litterbox. We had this happen once or twice early on and chalked it up to him testing his boundries, but it's been happening more frequently. Lately his targets have included a towel, some of my clothes that were on the ground, some packing paper that he plays with, and a blanket that he normally loves to sit there and make biscuits on.


Any idea what might be causing this behavior? It's got us paranoid about our living room furniture, and seems kind of out of character. Should we get him to a vet ASAP? Or is it a dominance thing? We also noticed that lately he's been scratching at the floor and meowing after finishing his business, and the other day he seemed a little lost on his way to the litter box, he was on the wrong side of a little seperating wall and meowing and pawing at where his box would be if he was on the right side.

Maybe we need to switch to a real litter box?

duckfarts
Jul 2, 2010

~ shameful ~





Soiled Meat

Skwid posted:

Sorry if something like this has been brought up before, but we're having a problem with our cat. He's about 6 months old I think, and we got him when he was about 6 weeks. He was using traditional litter until we got him and ever since we've used that fancy Breeze litter system. It's worked fairly well but lately he's taken to pissing on things that are not his litterbox. We had this happen once or twice early on and chalked it up to him testing his boundries, but it's been happening more frequently. Lately his targets have included a towel, some of my clothes that were on the ground, some packing paper that he plays with, and a blanket that he normally loves to sit there and make biscuits on.


Any idea what might be causing this behavior? It's got us paranoid about our living room furniture, and seems kind of out of character. Should we get him to a vet ASAP? Or is it a dominance thing? We also noticed that lately he's been scratching at the floor and meowing after finishing his business, and the other day he seemed a little lost on his way to the litter box, he was on the wrong side of a little seperating wall and meowing and pawing at where his box would be if he was on the right side.

Maybe we need to switch to a real litter box?

How long has it worked for before the rogue peeing started? Have you tried setting up a second box(breeze or normal, whatever)?

Skwid
Aug 20, 2011

I got tired of being a loser so I spent money to not be a loser anymore.

duckfarts posted:

How long has it worked for before the rogue peeing started? Have you tried setting up a second box(breeze or normal, whatever)?

Well he's done it outside the box about 3 times before this episode but they were pretty far between, recently though it's been every two to three days, he'll still use his box regularly though in between. He's also not been neutered yet, not sure if that may have any bearing on it.

No we haven't tried a second box, we live in a small 1 bedroom apartment so he's never very far from his box, but I keep reading the general rule is 1 per cat + 1 so maybe we'll give a second one a shot with regular litter.

Skwid fucked around with this message at 12:09 on May 18, 2014

duckfarts
Jul 2, 2010

~ shameful ~





Soiled Meat

Skwid posted:

Well he's done it outside the box about 3 times before this episode but they were pretty far between, recently though it's been every two to three days, he'll still use his box regularly though in between. He's also not been neutered yet, not sure if that may have any bearing on it.

No we haven't tried a second box, we live in a small 1 bedroom apartment so he's never very far from his box, but I keep reading the general rule is 1 per cat + 1 so maybe we'll give a second one a shot with regular litter.

No, I meant how long has he been using the breeze system one without peeling outside the box? This helps get a better idea of whether he simply doesn't like the box, or if it might be a medical or recent behavior thing.

Skwid
Aug 20, 2011

I got tired of being a loser so I spent money to not be a loser anymore.

duckfarts posted:

No, I meant how long has he been using the breeze system one without peeling outside the box? This helps get a better idea of whether he simply doesn't like the box, or if it might be a medical or recent behavior thing.
He's been using the breeze ever since we took him home, so like right around 4 months or so? He's been scratching outside the box after he's finished and meowing a lot lately, I don't know if maybe he wants a bigger box or the ability to better bury his gifts but we keep it clean, we scoop once a day and change out the pad every week and litter every month as directed by the packaging.

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now
It sounds like he might have a bladder problem. I tend to worry a lot more than the average bear, but if I was in you I'd be on the way to the vet ASAP.

Peeing on soft things us a sign that urination is painful, and so is the crying. This can be a deadly issue: I wouldn't delay. Better to rule it out quickly.

Downhome
Jul 5, 2012
Just to update my last post, I have pretty much eliminated the problem. The egg sensor did the trick, he wont even get close to it. I also clicked and treated him to give him some positive association with not running out as well, so the mixture of the two methods solved that little headache.

He does NOT like that thing, lol.

brand engager
Mar 23, 2011

My cat Mars started scratching a spot on the underside of his head a few days ago and it has turned into a sore. I've got an e-collar on him now so he can't scratch at it. Will this kind of thing heal on its own or do I need to bring him to the vet again? He was just up there on the 12th to get all his shots and a check-up.

The sore:



Him in the e-collar:


Mars before the sore:

Minarchist
Mar 5, 2009

by WE B Bourgeois
I found/adopted a stray 2 day old kitten about a year ago. I think due to him not having a mom or littermates he grew up a bit weird, and my roommates at the time thought allowing him to play and bite their hands was the cutest thing, and did it despite me forbidding it. Well, he's a year old now and he bites all the time. Two weeks ago I moved into a new place with a female friend of mine and he's taken to hissing, growling, and he even peed on her side of the closet. He's also being destructive with her property and broke a fan yesterday when he knocked my desk chair over onto it, and he even chewed up her iPod charger!

I've been trying to get him to stop biting us, but I've never seen the growling or hissing when I'm around, I always hear about it from other people when I'm at work or wherever. I work at a vet clinic as a lowly attendant so I was able to get a cage for him to stay in the interim until I can figure out what to do. I don't know if he's really trainable at this point or if I have to give him up. My housemate is absolutely fed up with him and it's causing a lot of friction between us.

We just signed a 14 month lease and getting out of it is prohibitively expensive. I love my kitty but if he's going to be bad then I don't think I can keep him around for much longer :smith:

- Age: 1 year
- Sex: Neutered Male
- How long have you had your cat? 1 Year
- What food do you use? Royal Canin Indoor Feline
- When was your last vet visit? Last week, regarding bad behavior.
- Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors only, we allow him on the 2nd floor balcony with supervision.
- How many pets in your household? 1
- How many litter boxes do you have? 1

edit: he also has a bit of a licking problem on his belly and hamstrings, he doesn't have mites or fleas, and he doesn't lick to the point of the skin abrading but his belly and hindquarters are pretty well bald aside from some soft downy undercoat with the skin visible.

Minarchist fucked around with this message at 19:50 on May 18, 2014

Mellow_
Sep 13, 2010

:frog:

It looks like it's going to heal just fine, keep an eye on it and take to a vet if it gets worse though.

aghastly
Nov 1, 2010

i'm an instant star
just add water and stir

Minarchist posted:

I found/adopted a stray 2 day old kitten about a year ago. I think due to him not having a mom or littermates he grew up a bit weird, and my roommates at the time thought allowing him to play and bite their hands was the cutest thing, and did it despite me forbidding it. Well, he's a year old now and he bites all the time. Two weeks ago I moved into a new place with a female friend of mine and he's taken to hissing, growling, and he even peed on her side of the closet. He's also being destructive with her property and broke a fan yesterday when he knocked my desk chair over onto it, and he even chewed up her iPod charger!

I've been trying to get him to stop biting us, but I've never seen the growling or hissing when I'm around, I always hear about it from other people when I'm at work or wherever. I work at a vet clinic as a lowly attendant so I was able to get a cage for him to stay in the interim until I can figure out what to do. I don't know if he's really trainable at this point or if I have to give him up. My housemate is absolutely fed up with him and it's causing a lot of friction between us.

We just signed a 14 month lease and getting out of it is prohibitively expensive. I love my kitty but if he's going to be bad then I don't think I can keep him around for much longer :smith:

- Age: 1 year
- Sex: Neutered Male
- How long have you had your cat? 1 Year
- What food do you use? Royal Canin Indoor Feline
- When was your last vet visit? Last week, regarding bad behavior.
- Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors only, we allow him on the 2nd floor balcony with supervision.
- How many pets in your household? 1
- How many litter boxes do you have? 1

edit: he also has a bit of a licking problem on his belly and hamstrings, he doesn't have mites or fleas, and he doesn't lick to the point of the skin abrading but his belly and hindquarters are pretty well bald aside from some soft downy undercoat with the skin visible.

Is there a room you can confine him to for a week or two? It would be just him, his food, his toys and his litter box.

It sounds like he might be stressed as all get out from the move, which could explain the bad behavior and the peeing. A smaller room to stay in by himself would give him more time to adjust on his terms.

Minarchist
Mar 5, 2009

by WE B Bourgeois

aghastly posted:

Is there a room you can confine him to for a week or two? It would be just him, his food, his toys and his litter box.

It sounds like he might be stressed as all get out from the move, which could explain the bad behavior and the peeing. A smaller room to stay in by himself would give him more time to adjust on his terms.

It's a 1 bedroom apartment, there's the common living room area connected to the kitchen, then a bedroom/bathroom area behind a single door. The only other rooms are a single walk in closet with a door and the shower/toilet in a smaller room off the sink/mirror part of the bathroom. He's mostly been hiding under her bed except when he wants to come out for food or play, he's been sleeping next to me like always and hasn't been howling or acting sketchy as far as I've noticed.

I think he has some underlying stress/behavior issues in general due to his bald tummy (I never ever see him licking at it, he must do it in private or when I'm not home) and his tendency to bite all the time.

Pet him? I get bit. Play with him? My hands and arms are delicious, apparently! Be sleeping soundly at 2 in the morning? My feet and hands must taste amazing because I'm getting ambushed and chewed on at night. He's never been much of a lap cat and will only tolerate a little bit of petting before he gets nippy, and since the move he's acting kind of bipolar and going from neutral/playful to hissing and growling.

My boss/vet suggested putting Feliway around to maybe calm him down a bit but I don't know what to do about his tendency to bite and wrestle, I've been trying to get him to stop but he's really stubborn :(

Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Sounds like some serious aversion therapy is needed. A light bop on the nose when he starts biting might help (it's what mother cats do when their kittens are acting up), or keep a spray bottle of water around and give him a spray when he starts biting.

When he plays nicely, give him treats. Also, Da Bird and laser pointers he can chase around without directly interacting with you. A scratching post will give him something else to work out his energy/aggression on.

mephology
Jan 14, 2012

We have two cats that we adopted over a year ago, one as a 4 month old and the other 9 months old. They were rescued together and we adopted them as a pair since they were foster sisters. One has pretty constantly had a weeping eye. When we first got her we had her on several courses of antibiotics and the antivirals. No real improvement and a year later it's still kind of goobery. We take her into the vet every 2 months for check ups and he does not seem worried. It doesn't seem to bother her outside of blinking that eye a lot. Is there something else that we can try or is it maybe a foreign body in the eye? Or just assume that she is a big fat goober kitty?

ONE YEAR LATER
Apr 13, 2004

Fry old buddy, it's me, Bender!
Oven Wrangler
When the two older cats I live with were first introduced together one of them started licking himself a lot, to the point wherehe was bald around his hind legs and stomach. We brought him to the vet, they apparently told his owner at the time that they thought it was "stress induced alopecia" and said to just watch it and he should adjust to the other cat and stop eventually. For a while we went with that diagnosis until I noticed he had worms. After another vet trip and a treatment he stopped licking himself and the hair grew back.

Also you should use Da Bird to play with your cat, you won't get close enough to get scratched. And have your roommate play and feed the cat along with you, if the cat is having positive interactions with both of you it might be quicker to adjust and become less stressed.

Dienes
Nov 4, 2009

dee
doot doot dee
doot doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot


College Slice

Deteriorata posted:

Sounds like some serious aversion therapy is needed. A light bop on the nose when he starts biting might help (it's what mother cats do when their kittens are acting up), or keep a spray bottle of water around and give him a spray when he starts biting.

When he plays nicely, give him treats. Also, Da Bird and laser pointers he can chase around without directly interacting with you. A scratching post will give him something else to work out his energy/aggression on.

Conversely, if he bites, make a loud, high, abrupt noise. Then walk away and ignore him for a few minutes. Appropriate play gets more play, and inappropriate play leads to boredom.

Kerfuffle
Aug 16, 2007

The sky calls to us~

SperginMcBadposter posted:

My cat Mars started scratching a spot on the underside of his head a few days ago and it has turned into a sore. I've got an e-collar on him now so he can't scratch at it. Will this kind of thing heal on its own or do I need to bring him to the vet again? He was just up there on the 12th to get all his shots and a check-up.

I'd be at a doctor yesterday if that was on my skin or my cat. They'll probably just give you some ointment.

IdeoPhanthus
Oct 22, 2004

mephology posted:

We have two cats that we adopted over a year ago, one as a 4 month old and the other 9 months old. They were rescued together and we adopted them as a pair since they were foster sisters. One has pretty constantly had a weeping eye. When we first got her we had her on several courses of antibiotics and the antivirals. No real improvement and a year later it's still kind of goobery. We take her into the vet every 2 months for check ups and he does not seem worried. It doesn't seem to bother her outside of blinking that eye a lot. Is there something else that we can try or is it maybe a foreign body in the eye? Or just assume that she is a big fat goober kitty?

Did the vet mention the possibility of allergies? We had the same sounding issue, and the conclusion our vet came to was that it wasn't anything more than allergies. Some days his one eye will water & he will be congested, so he tends to keep that eye closed (or blinking) more frequently. Other days it'll just be a little watery, or even perfectly fine. We basically got told it was seasonal allergies & that it wasn't a big deal.

mephology
Jan 14, 2012

IdeoPhanthus posted:

Did the vet mention the possibility of allergies? We had the same sounding issue, and the conclusion our vet came to was that it wasn't anything more than allergies. Some days his one eye will water & he will be congested, so he tends to keep that eye closed (or blinking) more frequently. Other days it'll just be a little watery, or even perfectly fine. We basically got told it was seasonal allergies & that it wasn't a big deal.


Maybe! I had not considered it. She does get a cough every so often usually associated with purring too hard. I'll bring it up with the vet next time he sees her. Side note, her name initially from the foster home was banshee because she has the loudest purr they had heard.

Edit: the kitty in question:

mephology fucked around with this message at 05:57 on May 19, 2014

Name Change
Oct 9, 2005


mephology posted:

Maybe! I had not considered it. She does get a cough every so often usually associated with purring too hard. I'll bring it up with the vet next time he sees her. Side note, her name initially from the foster home was banshee because she has the loudest purr they had heard.

Edit: the kitty in question:


What do you know, cats can make the Dreamworks face.

Drythe
Aug 26, 2012


 
Towels are also good for cat aggression too apparently. I leave one out on the floor for mine and she just mauls the poo poo out of it.

MeatwadIsGod
Sep 30, 2004

Foretold by Gyromancy
I skimmed the OP and didn't see anything specific to this, but are there any good resources about converting an outdoor cat to an indoor one? I've been looking after a male cat for about 18 months now. He's about 2 years old, neutered, microchipped, etc., but he's been outdoor his whole life with the exception of when I bring him inside to play or nap. I'd say he spends 2-3 hours per week indoors on average.

Minarchist
Mar 5, 2009

by WE B Bourgeois

Dienes posted:

Conversely, if he bites, make a loud, high, abrupt noise. Then walk away and ignore him for a few minutes. Appropriate play gets more play, and inappropriate play leads to boredom.

Looks like I'll be making a lot of high, abrupt noises, then. :(

His idea of play is to tear around the room and kill whatever toy is present, but if he starts getting nippy and we ignore him, he seems pretty content to just hide under the bed or stare out the window. I guess he's not bored easily.

Drythe posted:

Towels are also good for cat aggression too apparently. I leave one out on the floor for mine and she just mauls the poo poo out of it.

He's had a small plushie doll since he was a small kitten, and he beats the everloving crap out of it. He also has a favorite catnip mouse tied to a shoelace (he likes the shoelace more, go figure) so he has plenty of things to hunt and kill. The aggression just extends to humans as well.

He might just not be the kind of cat that likes a lot of direct human contact and affection, he tolerates being held and cuddled but he'll escape the instant you give him an opening. He never tries to sit on my lap or cuddle next to me if I'm in bed reading a book or something, but he does sleep by my knees when I'm asleep at night. He purrs up a storm if I pet him while he's eating treats, however.

Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

Huntersoninski posted:

It sounds like he might have a bladder problem. I tend to worry a lot more than the average bear, but if I was in you I'd be on the way to the vet ASAP.

Peeing on soft things us a sign that urination is painful, and so is the crying. This can be a deadly issue: I wouldn't delay. Better to rule it out quickly.

Yeah, I know I'm a little late on this, but yeah, my cat is prone to bladder stones, not fun to have surgically removed. At this point I know when she starts peeing on soft things to clean the litter box first, and if it keeps happening it's time to go to the vet for some antibiotics, again.

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now

MeatwadIsGod posted:

I skimmed the OP and didn't see anything specific to this, but are there any good resources about converting an outdoor cat to an indoor one? I've been looking after a male cat for about 18 months now. He's about 2 years old, neutered, microchipped, etc., but he's been outdoor his whole life with the exception of when I bring him inside to play or nap. I'd say he spends 2-3 hours per week indoors on average.

When I brought Ozma in I just made sure she had ready access to the windows, plenty of toys, and lots of stuff to cratch/climb on. Make the time to play with the cat every day and make sure it has something to focus on/play with.

It'll be a rough adjustment for a month or so, but nowadays Oz won't even try to leave the apartment. It also helps we moved into a bigger, brighter place with more windows after we got her.

not joseph stalin
Dec 30, 2008
So I'm moving with two cats. Its an 11 hour car trip, and I'm gonna make it in one (sucky) day. My vet has recommended benadryl for them. For one, that's probably fine - she doesn't love the car, but she could handle it. However, my other cat has full blown kitty panic attacks every time he's in the car. Pupils dilated, open mouth panting, drooling, heart pounding. I'm concerned that benadryl wouldn't be enough for him. In humans, we would use a benzodiazepine. Anyone have a similar situation? What did you do for it?

And any other general advice for travelling with the cats would be appreciated!

not joseph stalin fucked around with this message at 19:01 on May 20, 2014

PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord
One of my three cats (Piper) has developed a skin condition and I'm not quite sure what it might be. My best initial guess was some sort of fungal infection. She developed black-colored "scabs" around her chin which matted some fur and occasionally flaked off. I took her in to the vet and the vet suggested it might be flea allergies, gave her some antibiotics, and applied flea repellent. After a while the scabbing faded. Unfortunately it has now returned around her eyes.

The issue is that to the best of my knowledge we do not have fleas in the house--all three of my cats are indoor cats and none (including the one with the scabbing) ever excessively itches or makes any indication of discomfort. The vet was unable to find any fleas on her when she was in for the first instance. We recently had all of our carpet replaced (just to replace the 16-year old material--not due to any infestation) and I regularly clean/vacuum the home. I have never once spotted a flea, droppings, or any indication of any other insect. Additionally, none of this scabbing initially appears as the tell-tale red dots of flea bites.

Neither of the other cats have shown any signs of this and if its an infection or parasite of some kind a decent amount of googling has yet to return a good match. Her eyes show no signs of infection and doesn't seem too bothered by the crusted scabs on her face, but I'm definitely concerned for her and want to get this fixed up.

Here are a few pictures (linked instead of img'd for mild :barf:):
http://oi62.tinypic.com/2ccxx1v.jpg
http://oi60.tinypic.com/x1x47c.jpg

If anyone has any experience with a condition like this I'd really appreciate the input. We love our vet and they're the best rated in the area but aside from a guess they had no immediate idea what this might have been.

HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

PierreTheMime posted:

One of my three cats (Piper) has developed a skin condition and I'm not quite sure what it might be. My best initial guess was some sort of fungal infection. She developed black-colored "scabs" around her chin which matted some fur and occasionally flaked off. I took her in to the vet and the vet suggested it might be flea allergies, gave her some antibiotics, and applied flea repellent. After a while the scabbing faded. Unfortunately it has now returned around her eyes.

Fungal infection is possible, but so are allergies (like to something in the food or environment), localized immune reaction (sometimes a virus can do weird poo poo like this), or skin parasites.

It may be that the chin and eyelid problems are unrelated, or are just a manifestation of a problem in a new area as opposed to spread from the initial site.

Unfortunately, figuring out which of these things it is requires things like skin cytology and scraping samples, and eventually taking a biopsy or chunk of the skin for send out to the lab.

not joseph stalin posted:

So I'm moving with two cats. Its an 11 hour car trip, and I'm gonna make it in one (sucky) day. My vet has recommended benadryl for them. For one, that's probably fine - she doesn't love the car, but she could handle it. However, my other cat has full blown kitty panic attacks every time he's in the car. Pupils dilated, open mouth panting, drooling, heart pounding. I'm concerned that benadryl wouldn't be enough for him. In humans, we would use a benzodiazepine. I'm concerned that, over eleven hours of hyperventilating, he could go into respiratory failure. Anyone have a similar situation? What did you do for it?

And any other general advice for travelling with the cats would be appreciated!

Let your vet know your concern with your nervous cat and ask for stronger sedatives/anti-anxiety meds to help on the trip.

PierreTheMime
Dec 9, 2004

Hero of hormagaunts everywhere!
Buglord

HelloSailorSign posted:

Fungal infection is possible, but so are allergies (like to something in the food or environment), localized immune reaction (sometimes a virus can do weird poo poo like this), or skin parasites.

It may be that the chin and eyelid problems are unrelated, or are just a manifestation of a problem in a new area as opposed to spread from the initial site.

Unfortunately, figuring out which of these things it is requires things like skin cytology and scraping samples, and eventually taking a biopsy or chunk of the skin for send out to the lab.

Thanks for the quick response. I figured it was likely nothing simple that I'd overlooked but I figured I'd check here first. I'll get her over to get checked out as soon as possible.

EXTREME INSERTION
Jun 4, 2011

by LadyAmbien
My cat is going in for dental surgery tomorrow. He is having a tooth removed. No food or water after midnight. His surgery is at 2pm but I drop him off at 6am tomorrow. I'm trying to make sure there are no cups with water in them around, stray treats or kibbles, dripping faucets, etc...if he has a sip of water is he going to die tomorrow afternoon? There's a good amount of time between his drop off and his surgery

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Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now
When I got put under for surgery, it was explained to me thus: people aren't supposed to eat or drink before surgery because sometimes being put under can cause nausea and that's really bad news if your stomach isn't empty on account of the air tubes and stuff in your throat.

I imagine it's the same for cats but will be happy to accept correction. If he has a sip of water it may not make a difference at all, but being a worry-wart I'd probably shut him in the bedroom with nothing but a litterbox and wait it out.

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