Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
I live in a studio apartment with two female cats (ages 1.5 & 5) and when I’m not in the apartment, they get along fine. During the day if I’m home, they only compete when they are hungry. But all of a sudden between 12am and 1am if I’m home, they start to chase each other to the point of some scary yowels. I can only assume it’s jealousy-triggered. My question is, how do I mitigate the fighting if i can only separate them between a cold bathroom and the huge main room (that has me in it)? Would separating them like that only make things worse? Any herbal remedies to calm newly competitive kitties?
I found a spot under my male cats left neck area while petting him. He does not seem to be bothered by it but I do see him licking that area. Is this a hot spot? If so, is this something that can be treated over the counter or does this warrant a trip to the vet? I bring him to Jarretsville Vet with Dr. Graf (love you guys!) but if it’s not necessary to bring him on a car ride I would avoid it. Just looking for advice. Thank you so much!
Hello,
I don’t usually see hotspots in cats. And there is a significant amount of hair loss so I am a little worried. I can talk to de graf tomorrow and we can come up with a plan that works for you.
Please call the clinic in the morning to remind me.
Thank you for using pawbly and I will talk to you tomorrow.
Krista
Thank you so much. I’ll call first thing tomorrow. Lexie
We have 3 female cats. Our 2 cats, Margo and Edith, are now 3 years old and grew up together. Gwen is the 3rd, a kitten we rescued a few months ago. Gwen is not yet spayed but she is peeing on things throughout the house and causing Margo to mark her territory. I am here to get help with our situation and resolve the peeing and behavioral issues.
We found out the Gwen has elevated liver enzymes so she is being treated for that. Margo is on prescribed calming treats to help. Both older cats chase Gwen with intent as if they are annoyed or angry with her.
We have multiple litter boxes and plenty of places for them to avoid each other if they please.
Gwen is giving us a lot of trouble with peeing on clothes and random objects in the house and it is getting progressively worse…she is not yet spayed but we are at a loss as opposed to what to do or what is going on.
Can anyone provide some answers and suggestions as to why this is happening?
Thank you in advance!
Hello,
Anytime I get a case like this I recommend a urinalysis be done. It is imperative to rule out a urinary issue. I also do a full blood work too. After that I talk about Feliway trying lots of treats and catnip and trying to understand what she is trying to tell you. They do everything for a reason so I don’t just medicate and turn a blind eye. I do talk about anti anxiety medications and there are lots of options s for this but it doesn’t change the fact that the case should be investigated thoroughly. This is a huge topic and in the texts book it can take up a hundred pages. There is not a one size fits all remedy.
Thank you for responding. We have tried Feliway wall plug ins and she gets a lot of attention but that doesn’t help. She’s had blood work done which revealed elevated liver enzymes but she it’s taking medication for that.
Is her not being spayed yet a possible reason?
My cat (4 yr old domestic) has recently been snubbing his dry food (Hill’s Urinary Health). He’ll eat a little, but will mostly ignore it and beg for wet food for most of the day. (They both get wet for dinner.) This has been going on for about 2-3 weeks. I worried his mouth or teeth were hurting him, but he doesn’t seem to have issues eating wet food. Both of my cats seem hungrier than usual – is that just because it’s gotten colder? Or because I’m now home all the time? How do I know if he is just being fussy or if there is a larger health issue?
Hi there-
The only way to really find out if there is an underlying issue is most likely a trip to the vet. You know your pet…. keep track of bathroom habits, eating habits (as you’re already taking notice of) and whether they seem more lethargic than usual or any other changes to share with your vet. Hopefully your cat is just being picky????
My cat has gone missing for the past 4 days.. We checked everywhere.. We asked the neighbours about her but only some saw her which was 4 days ago.. She is 1 year old. She also has 3 kittens each 1 month old.. It is normal for cats to run away like this? Are there any chances of her coming back? Could you help me? What are the possibilities of this?
Good morning. I’m sorry about your cat. There could be many reasons for her to be missing…. unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure. Hopefully she shows up????
She could have run off. She could have gotten injured and can’t return. Please, keep her kittens indoors at all times and spay/neuter them when they’re old enough. IF she returns, please spay her and keep her inside.
Dr.Magnifico:
I hope this message finds you and your family well.
I actually have a concern not about one of my pets but one of my daughter’s cat. Frisky (my grandboy cat of 12 years).
2 weeks ago my daughter noticed he had an odor of urine. She had tried a new litter and thought it was due to the muddy consistency. She bathed him with no luck and decided to take him to a vet in her area. Frisky is a very cool easy going gentle cat . Unfortunately, when he went to the vet, my daughter said he turned into the cat from hell. They were unable to treat him but managed to give him his rabies. He was prescribed 100mg gabapentin to be taken that night and then one more an hour before his visit the next day. She described him as acting stoned starting with the first capsule. He was fine at the vets office but sadly has been diagnosed with kidney disease. The following 3 levels are off the chart: IDEXX SDMA 63, CREATININE 8.6, BUN 165. The following levels are slightly elevated: Phosphorus 9.9, Anion Gap 27, Total Protein 9.4, MCH 17.6, Monocytes .646.
Frisky was put on a special renal diet with phosphorus powder added (to bind the phosphorus). He is supposed to go back to the vets on Monday to have his kidneys flushed in hopes of flushing toxins I guess.
My concern is that he has trouble processing the gabapentin due to his kidneys.
You know how much I value your opinion and I truly love Frisky. If one of my cats presented all these issues, would you recommend the same treatment? I am also extremely concerned considering what I have read about the toxicity of gabapentin with kidney disease. I am very surprised by his behavior at the vets but obviously he needs something in order to calm him down. Would you recommend an alternative to gabapentin? I believe they gave her a liquid for Monday’s visit opposed to the pill that was used for the previous visit. Have you seen the use of special food and the flushing of kidneys to help improve some of these numbers and allow him some time with a good quality of life? I hope I have provided as much information that you may need.
As always, I appreciate your insight very much.
Thank you
Sandy Brown
Hello!
I’m sorry to hear about your daughters cat. As crazy as it sounds I have numerous patients like this. Ie perfectly wonderful at home and complete terrors at the clinic. My own cat is one of them.
I can’t prescribe anything to a cat I haven’t seen. Nor can anyone else. But I do think it’s important this cat be followed up on and if that means gabapentin is used then so be it.
You can and should ask about at home Sq fluids or even maybe an in clinic iv fluids hospital stay. It’s important to distinguish acute kidney failure from chronic and one of the ways to do this is with an inpatient stay to diurese the kidneys.
As always, I appreciate your input. Frisky is one of two cats that I rescued many years ago that my daughter gave a home. I feel a special bond to them because of that in addition to just loving all animals.
Thanks again and hope you have a nice day.
Sandy
Found a very young kitten on the highway, can’t afford vet, need help in Early Branch, SC.
Hello, all. I’m posting this for someone on our FB page who has had difficulty signing up here. I’m going to copy and paste what he shared with me.
“I’m trying to save a kitten. My wife found her on the highway. She is very young maybe a month. I do not know anything about cats or kittens. Her nose is plugged eyelids are swollen her breathing is not good she is weezing. I got as many if the flees off of her as I could. I am on fixed income so going to the only vet in my area is out of the question. Can you help me please?
Shes awake this morning still cant get her to take any water or food. Its rough because I’m allergic to cats but doing what I can. I would literally have to take out a personal loan to have her treated by the Vet here as he is the only Vet in our area i can access he sets his prices at astronomical figures. I’m just trying to keep her alive.”
I suggested kitten milk for food in addition to needing to be stimulated to evacuate bowels and bladder. He said she did evacuate during a flea bath. He has kitten milk, she’s just not interested in it. I mentioned running a hot bath and sitting in the bathroom with her to steam her lungs and sinuses.
“I cleaned up her face with warm wash cloth first night I brought her home. I bathed her yesterday but was unable to get all the flees off. I will try the steam to see of it helps thank you for the advice. I tried to sign up for the page suggested but was unable to.”
Since I posted this, he’s placed her close to a humidifier and put a heating pad under her pile of blankets in her box.
What am I missing? I have even less experience than our poster, here.
An update: he’s calling two local rescues for help. I’m leaving this up, however, so folks can share input should someone come for the same situation.
Any ideas on how to fix behavioral cat peeing outside the box? My cats about 6 or so and she randomly pees on things that are in the floor. Rugs, blankets, baskets etc.
Make sure she doesn’t have a UTI, make sure she has a space safe from your dog. Make sure she has at least two litterboxes, one on each floor of the house. Use cat attract litter. And make sure those boxes are spotless.
Often, inappropriate urination is due to a UTI and can continue afterward as they associate pain with the litterbox. If the above tricks do nothing to curb this, and you’re 100% certain she’s clear of a UTI, you may want to consider changing the box type as well as litter type. Dr. M has mentioned in the past that plain old dirt (like from the garden – pesticide and fertilizer free, of course) can attract cats.
Thank you for the tips. Ive not heard of cat attract litter. Ill look into that. I dont see any signs if a uti, and she’s been doing it once every few months or so since I got her a few years ago. Just one pee outside the box then nothing else. I should rule out uti though I know. I’ll work on that next. Still dealing with my dogs issues from being spayed. Plain dirt is also interesting. Ive never heard that before. Such good ideas. Thanks.
I hope these help. 🙂 Sometimes it really can be behavioral, but it’s best to rule everything out first. You can also try Feliway – that helped my old lady cat when we got our current dog. It’s not cheap but it really can help.
Hello. My 16 year old female burmese “crashed” Feb 29, and March 2nd was diagnosed with Feline Lower Urinary Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease.
Her Kidney values are now stable and her only elevated numbers are Creatanine at 2.6 and Bun at 46
but her bladder keeps flaring up
When diagnosed she was shooting projectile urine. Her bladder wall was thickened. Covenia did nothing but Amoxycillin resolved the infection.
2 months later she had a couple of accidents and it appeared that she had another infection. Once again Amoxycillin worked! She had a culture done and it showed no bacteria..
She has been taking supplements Kidney Gold, and Moxxor Fish Oil since April, and started CBD oil around June
Late July I started her on D-Mannose and COrn Silk Extract as suggested in the FLUTD facebook group
last month she started peeing blood clots, Vet instructed me to give her Sub Q 100ml to flush her and start amoxycilin immediately.. 7 day course and she was fine, but 2 days after the course finished was a repeat episode.
This time the vet suggested a higher dose at 1ml morning and night for 10 days.. Well it seemed to work amazing but last night was exactly FIVE DAYS after stopping the amoxycillin and she had another episode
We are doing a third round of antibiotics, this time amoxy mixed with something stronger..
He asked me to stop the corn silk and D-Mannose completely since they were the newest added to the regeme and he is wondering if they could have changed her bladder PH for the negative.
How can I minimize the recurrence?
Oh I have read all about stress being the cause and my new born baby was 4 months old at the end of Feb when Tashee had her first crash.
My vet and I talked about future possibilites in regard to Amitriptaline, Gaberpenton, Adequan injections
Cat’s diet = she refuses any wet food besides kitten fancy feast.. she will not eat anything else and will starve herself.
She is offered 2 fancy feast cans per day
she does steal dry kibble so my vet told me to get the Royal Canin Kidney kibble so that when she eats kibble its good for her
Sub q is 150ml twice a week as to minimize the pressure or force on urethra.
Cat is 100% indoors, burmese female steralized
Hello,
Wowza. That’s quite a story. I think I would recommend the following options to discuss.
1. Seek a feline exclusive practitioner. If available they are really helpful for the tough cases.
2. Consider an ultrasound.
3. Add cosequin daily
4. Consider an iv fluid hospitalization to really flush out the bladder
5. Xray of the body. May or may not need to do if doing ultrasound
6. Add a fountain, feliway and lots of litter options. Even a very low litter box like a baking sheet.
7. Environmental enrichment. Toys. Catnip. Window seat with bird feeder view. Etc.
Let me know what happens.
Hi there- there may be an underlying issue that is unknown or unrealized to you that is causing this change in behavior. So that might be worth investigating. As far as keeping them separated in your studio- have you tried to make places where they can “escape” to? For instance, we used to have a cat that was very sociable, but when she needed her alone time she would go up on the window sill of our basement window (high up) where no one else could bother her. When the cat we currently have needs a break from the dogs, she goes on the shelf in our closet where she can be alone. Maybe a cat tree or a high shelf might be helpful? ????????