Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
I’m taking care of a Siamese who’s over 10, an indoor/outdoor cat. I did a cbc & chem bloodwork. His BUN is only slightly elevated. His issue is throwing up daily, weight loss, & diarrhea. His vomit is undigested food & liquid. He eats very little wet food & his owner just feeds all of them the worst dry food. I give him sq fluids as needed & started cerenia. Yet this is not treating the underlying cause. Does anyone have any advice on this? I have vet bills for my cows & my cats. Yet i still want to help all the animals I can. I obviously have very little money to help though. Thanks
My two cats got into a tussle, and one of them has a scratch right down the center of his nose. He doesn’t seem to be bothered, but I don’t want it to get infected. What should I do?
Hello,
In almost all cases I assume that a fight causes an infection. Please watch the area very closely. Any sign of swelling, pain or purulent discharge (like puss) are all signs of infection. If you see any of these, or inappetence or changes in s attitude or Behavior please call your vet. Hope this helps. Be well and stay safe.
Our 9 y.o. English Bulldog, Max, is experiencing a very itchy face only on the right side. He will scratch daily and it sometimes becomes raw. We have moved to Colorado, but have not established a veterinarian here yet. With COVID-19, I do not want to take him out to the vet unless it is the only way to treat this. Is there something I can get online? I have seen great reviews for Coat Defense which, according to reviews, is used successfully for itchy skin on horses, dogs, and cats. Do you have any experience with that product or is there something else that could address both the itchiness and the root of the problem that you might suggest?
Hello!
So. Here is the problem. Your pups itch is probably too severe and deep to allow an otc to work well. Also and this is a big one, it is on the face. So you have to be crazy careful about what you use.
I actually have used this product and it works well. But it cannot be near the eyes or mouth.
The source is the genetics. Aka the plague of being a bulldog. The answer lies at the vets office. Start there. His history and breed make it important to go earlier than waiting for it to become a deep and difficult infection to treat and resolve.
Be safe! Hugs to you all!
Krista
Thank you so much Krista! We miss you!
For 20 something years, my male & female (a year older) older cats who were neutered & spayed for about 17 years. My female cat has now started to do number 2 on the floor over in the corner floor areas around the litter box. I don’t get it? Why now after All these years? How can I stop this? If I get another litter box, he will have to use it as well. And I can’t keep them in a room apart (that would be cruel) – they’ve had the run of the house for 26 years. I’d appreciate the help. Oh! The only real thing that has changed has been that our dog died (we took him outside to potty ). I’m wondering what’s going on & how to stop this? Thank you.
When my pet’s behavior suddenly changes to some this big completely out of the norm, I try to find what has changed either in the environment (like the dog passing away- so sorry about ????that) or I try to find out what has changed with them. The latter takes an appointment to the vet. I would make an appointment and let your vet know everything that is going on and let the run some tests to make sure kitty is ok. Best of luck.
Hello,
I have found that in a huge number of cases there is some difficulty getting into the box and posturing to defecate due to painful old cat joints. So maybe try a very low sided box (or even a cookie sheet) to see if this helps. Also the box should be kept very clean and new litter places in it every week. In some cases I also offer a different kind of litter. Maybe even play sand (plain play box sand, or pitting soil) to see if this helps them Reacclimate to the box. Also make sure your vet checks for things like anal sac issues (had one last week in a cat) and urinary issues. I hope this helps. Please let us know what happens.
4 days ago my cat began acting really lethargic. She has been sleeping all day and won’t move. I offered her canned food on day 2 and she scarfed it down as well and drank water. Over the last 48 house she has declined severely. She is eey weak and has lost and extreme amount if weight despite my efforts. I have been syringe feeding her, stimulating her, administered Pedialyte as well as tried to maintain her hydration. I began subcutaneous fluids yesterday and she is still of a deep decline. I’m afraid I will lose her. She was fine the day before this started. None of my other cats are sick not have any symptoms at alll. She is 6 months old. Her name is Honey.
We brought a re-homed cat home to our house one week ago. She is 4 years old, spayed, up to date on shots and healthy. She came from a multi-cat and dog house to our single-dog house. Her previous owner says she had no problem standing up for herself against other cats and the dog (reports the other cats are much more willing to come out of hiding since she has been removed). We have noticed that she is shy and skittish, but eating and drinking. She spends most of her day hiding under a bed.
Unfortunately she refuses to use her litter box (so far preferring kids closets and under desks). We’ve taken a step back and confined her to a single room. She has a clean litter box. Food, toys and bed are at the opposite side of the room. We’ve also confined the dog to a separate part of the house
None of this is ideal. We have few doors, so keeping them apart also keeps the humans apart. I can put food or litter in another part of the house, but the cat is more likely to encounter the dog if I do that.
Thoughts?
Hello,
In general I take the ridiculously slow and gradual approach to new cats joining the family. I do the following. I place a big cage with a little box in it and place that in a room by itself. The new cat is kept there with a big blanket covering as much of the big cage as needed until everything is calm and happy. This means the new cat is coming to you and purring. Using the litter box and eating normally. It can take weeks. We let them get used to their own new place before expecting them to adapt to ours. After they are doing well we open rhe big cache and let them acclimate to their own room. Now they can sniff the other animals under the door until that is also calm and peaceful. No hissing at others under the door. If that goes well so short small supervised visits with others housemates. If any thing doesn’t go well go back to bases. Ideally the cage and box stay accessible until the new cat is using the community boxes. If all else fails go back to small and safe. Cats need time and patience and they don’t always adapt well. Also super important to talk to your vet and rule out any issues. Think about different litter and litter boxes. Let you cat decide which they like. Hope that this helps.
I rescued a kitten several weeks ago. He was said to be a female and to be 4 /5 weeks old. Took him to vet next day and she turned out to be a boy around 3 weeks old. Was very sick and had fleas really bad. He is healthy now but very aggressive. I have an 8 year old cat who has never been with any other cats. The kitten attacks him to the point he cries and I can’t get him to stop attacking my adult cat. Please help
Good morning- keeping the kitten confined may help. I am confused as to how a kitten so small can have the ability to be attacking a full grown cat though. As far as introducing them, I would keep visits monitored , and go slowly.
We are already past the introduction and at first they were fine and all was well. The healthier the kitten gets the more aggressive he gets. My adult cat will not return the aggression. I honestly don’t understand it either
Hello!
Here’s what has worked for me in the past. We set very strict schedules and regiments to help define acceptable behavior and safe times and zones. I think that the other very Important item to talk about is cats don’t think like us. They usually like and need the opposite of what we think they want. So. For cases like this we define individual and community zones. All cats get their own space where no one can bother or harass them. If needed cages are used. At the clinic with all of the cats coming and going we cage them at night and it reinforces a safe me only zone. It also reduces intercat aggression. Things like toys, Feliway and games help. Cats with too much energy are given toys to keep busy and burn off excess steam. Things like hunting for food (my way of scattering dry kibble instead of getting it given to you without working for it. I also use catnip, catnip toys, laser pointers and neutering ASAP. In some cases we have used harness training to let cats go outside on chaperoned walks.
It’s important to say that you cannot reprimand a cat. They are not trainable like dogs. Reprimand will only cause fear and heighten aggression. If all else fails sometimes finding a kitten to play with your kitten helps. They can correct each other and exhaust each other. I hope this helps.
Thank you for the advice. They did well last night and Koba, my adult cat actually layed with me for an hour like he did before Stinky Pete, the kitten came. The vet said he can’t be neutered until May so that will have to wait. I say a lot that I will send Stinky Pete packing but I honestly would never do that. He is with us til I pass and at that point one of my kids will take them then.
Hi there, I’ve been feeding some stray cats near my work place and recently I noticed one of the male cats has crusty lesions on several places of its body like on the nose, the cheeks, the balls. I googled some pics online and his condition seems to match feline herpes virus. I tried to trap him for a vet visit but he just won’t let me. I asked some vets in my area but they insist on me to bring in the cat. So I think that option is pretty much impossible. Is there any kind of human antibiotics or supplements I can give to the cat? Something I can sneak inside his food? Thank you!
Hello,
Have you reached out to any of the local rescues around you? There are really few medications that cats can get and fewer that are for humans. So it isn’t really safe to do that. Also I would think this cat will need more care like rabies vaccine? Spay/neuter. Etc. Also some dermatology conditions can be treated with a topical or injectable option which is far better and safer for these cats. Please call and ask for help. In our area there are multiple cat rescues who will help with trapping and caring for ferals. I hope there is someone near you.
Hello,
Thank you for helping. I honestly feel like the best course of action right now is to get a diagnosis. Even a presumptive one. For this I think you should do the following. Find a cat vet or a very reputable vet that you trust for an exam. And then I would talk about checking the thyroid a fecal and probably also a urinalysis. For most of the cases lien this I just feel that I need a full set of basic diagnostics before I can begin to offer treatment plans. Otherwise I am eating precious time guessing and very likely guessing wrong. Things like intestinal parasites and hyperthyroid disease can be affordably treated. But cannot, and definitely should not be treated without confirmation. After that I talk about xrays and an ultrasound. I’m sorry. I can’t tell you what to do without knowing what it might be. And that list is very long. Start with the basics. An exam and a fecal. Talk about thyroid and go from there. Good luck. Let us know. Thank you for helping.