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1 week ago I went to pick up my new Kitten. Male, neutered. He is now a 13 week old pure bred ragdoll. I got him from a ragdoll breeder. They had him to the vet a few days before pickup with a clean bill of health and second distemper shot, along with all documentation of prior visits and past test results. He sneezed a few times during the pick up process and they told us this was normal during his new transition. He is still sneezing regularly each day with no change now 1 week later. No coughing. He also has some very bad smelling gas daily but not constant or consistently. I feel that his breath is a tad stinky too but my nose is very sensitive to smells and odors so it may just be my sniffer. I kept him on the same food diet as the breeder with no changes. His bathroom habits are normal, tootsie rolls, no diahrea or vomiting. He eats normal. Plays hard like a kitten. Sleeps at intervals between eating and play but changes positions alot during sleep sessions. He is snuggly, purrs happily but during his full on purring seems to snort or stall his motor slightly. No discharge of nose, ears, mouth or eyes other than a spray from a sneeze occasionally and dark brown eye crusties that have been present occasionally since adoption. He seems very happy and not lethargic. No coughing. He has a vet appointment in 2 weeks the soonest they can get him in and they didn’t seem extremely concerned with the symptoms to arrange a sooner date. This is a single pet home. I may just be overly paranoid but any bit of information is always appreciated to a new cat mom.
We adopted a rescue cat named Fluffy about 6 months ago. We slowly got her used to our house and about a month ago we let her expand a bit onto the main level of the house (where the other cats are) they all met previously but they’ve only been out and about all together for about a month.
1 of the 3 original cats (Ben) is having territorial issues with Fluffy. He is obsessive over her. He follows her, stares at her, chases her, corners her, and just doesn’t seem to want to stop. She minds her own business but he always finds her.
We’ve gotten extra litter boxes, extra perches, separate feeding areas, feliway diffusers, everything we can think of. But Ben won’t let up.
What can we do?
Hi there!! I’m wondering if he might just need more time? Perhaps supervised visits and then keep those two separated when you cannot supervise? Then try again to go unsupervised and figure out what works. It sounds like you’ve really done your homework and prepared for multiple cats with the perches and extra litter boxes, etc. I’m hoping they get used to each other. I know sometimes things never get “lovey-dovey” but they can learn to coexist and tolerate one another…
Hello,
I agree about needing more time. And I also think that things like feliway catnip, toys and even time out areas where your new cat can retreat to might help. Also talk to your vet about anxiety medications to help bridge the gap. I use a lot of gabapentin and fluoxetine. It really can help while they are getting used to each other.
What can I do for my cat’s teeth? My cat has yellowed teeth and bad breath. His gumline is also red around some teeth. He’s eating and acting normally, but I’m very concerned about his teeth. It’s difficult to get a veterinary appointment where I live due to the pandemic so I’m only able to take him to the vet a month from now. Until I can take him to the vet, what can I do for a month to help his teeth?
I’m glad you have an appointment scheduled. It does sound like he needs to be seen by a vet and have his teeth looked at and cleaned. Perhaps your vet can push up your appointment?
Wait for your vet. Keep calling and ask them to keep you in mind if they have a cancellation
I have two cats – Vinny born 2/2020 and adopted 4/2020. In 3/2021, we adopted our second cat, Duke, who was born 9/2020
Vinny has been very healthy until recently. Not long after adopting Duke, Vinny lost his voice, started coughing, deep breathing – we took him to the vet and they treated him for a URI.
He’s been off the antibiotics for about a week and his voice started becoming hoarse on 4/8, which slight coughing starting 4/9.
Duke has apparently always had a thing with sneezing. Usually 1-2 times daily, very random times. The foster care chalked it up to stress. His FELV came back negative when they tested him.
Both cats are set up with vet appointments – Vinny as a sick visit and Duke to get a general check up (new vet for us due to a recent move) and to address the sneezing concern. Both cats are completely up to date on all vaccinations and both neutered. 100% indoor cats.
I’m considering asking the vet to test them both for Feline Herpes Virus and do a retest for FELV.
Anything else that it could be?
Hello,
There are literally dozens if not more possible causes. I think it would be neat to contact your vet for help. It might be time to repeat diagnostics or add blood work or imaging. In some cases it is even appropriate to talk about obtaining samples for pathology or culture. It might also help to find a feline specialist. Good luck.
Hi, I adopted a Snowshoe/Siamese cat from a shelter about 6 weeks ago. They estimate he is about 3 years old but his history is unknown. He had an upper respiratory infection when I adopted him and was on antibiotics. He was very sneezy but that cleared up with the antibiotics the shelter gave me. I then took him to the vet for a wellness check the day after I adopted him and they found a yeast infection in one of his ears. We treated that and it’s been fine. He was also given Bravecto Plus topical just in case and is an indoor only cat.
About a week later he developed a skin issue, he’s been itching and ripping hair out in massive clumps and had some scabs. He was given two steroid injections over the course of a month. Also an antibiotic injection. I also changed his diet to rule out food allergen but after more than a week of diarrhea from the Hills z/d diet we switched to a sensitive skin Blue Buffalo instead which he is tolerating much better.
The skin issue has been getting better so I’m not concerned about that but just want to preface his history with me. Now onto the current issue. I noticed he snores and has trouble breathing when he is sleeping. I chalked this up to the URI but it has not gone away with the URI. His whole body basically flexes as he inhales. It’s only while he is asleep but does not matter what position he lies in. After spending over $1,000 and going to two different vet offices in the last 6 weeks, I would like to reach out to see if anyone has answers about this. We got back from the vet today with his second steroid injection and the itching has reduced significantly after this one (last one didn’t do much) and we are sending in blood work. The vet suggested next we do a full body x-ray which I’m not opposed to but I’m a graduate student and I’ve already spent over $1,000 on him and I have only had him for 6 weeks! I am going to get the x-rays for peace of mind but tonight I was checking his nose while he slept and found this. I’m assuming it’s a polyp? But I’m not a vet and won’t pretend to be one. If it is a polyp, where can I get this taken care of for a reasonable price? I really don’t want to dip into my emergency fund but I’ve already spent so much on him for vet bills, let alone changing food, litter, etc. To rule out allergens. I’ll include a picture of what I presume to be a polyp.
I appreciate anyone willing to help! I live in the New Orleans area so if you have recommendations for clinics, that would be great too! I am also willing to travel a longer distance for less pricey care. He does well in the car.
He is the one thing that’s really keeping me going right now so I really want to help him.
Hello,
It is impossible to diagnose via a photo. I think the best thing to do is have your vet look at your cat. I also think that it might be helpful to ask about cerenia nose drops just in case it is inflammation. I know there is a dr Mike down in NOLA that has been very affordable and helpful to people with financial constraints. See if anyone local knows about him. Let me know. Good luck
Thank you for your response! His blood work came back today and the vet said it is perfect so that was good news. He is getting full body x-rays done tomorrow. It’s another $285 but I am hoping we get some answers about his snoring and breathing. She is going to thoroughly check his nose and what not while he is sedated. He is a squirmy boy! I will definitely be looking into Dr. Mike. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.
Hi, I got the results from his vet today. She said that his nose looks like just inflamed tissue. She said his lungs were a little foggy on the x-ray but she thinks antibiotics (equivalent of human z-pak) and a diuretic will clear it up so we are doing that. His heart was slightly enlarged but he doesn’t have a detectable murmur. She is sending for a DNT test since they still had his blood for $62 to see if he may have heart disease. His left kidney was very enlarged and his right was atrophied. She said this could be cancer. His blood work and his urine both showed no issues with kidney function so she said this could just be large to compensate for the atrophied one. She said that we could do an ultrasound and biopsy but it will be very expensive and an echocardiogram if the DNT comes back indicating something is off. I am so upset. Should I be really worried about his kidney if it’s functioning fine? Thank you for your time.
Hi, I have a 6 year old 17 lb Ragdoll cat that has a problem with his anal glands. Yes, he can stand to lose a little weight. I adopted him when he was 5 years old, and he’s over 6 now. When I first got him, his anal gland ruptured within a couple months. The previous owner admitted he had that happen a few months earlier. I’ve had cats since I was a year old, and I’ve never had a cat with this problem. I don’t trust the vet where I’ve been going to be looking for what’s going on or to help me resolve his issues. Do you know of any good vets in the Los Angeles area (particularly the west side near Santa Monica)? A veterinarian who cares more about the cats than making money? I’m fearful that there is more to this issue or how to treat it rather than just expressing his glands every couple of months.
Good morning☺️ I have never had a cat with this issue, but we did have a dog who had a ruptured anal sack about 4 years ago. I remember that he was on a couple of different courses of heavy antibiotics after his initial treatment for the rupture to prevent infection and prevent it from happening again. I’m wondering if perhaps your cat might have a similar issue where the initial infection was not cleared up completely which lead to the rupture? Also- if you are on Facebook perhaps you can research and get references for a vet you are more comfortable with. I apologize, I am on the east coast and am unfamiliar with your area. Another option would be to contact your local shelter or humane society for recommendations. Best of luck!!????
Our three year old spayed kitty Serafina (longhair buff and white tabby, 11.5lbs, utd on all shots) expelled her first hairball a couple days ago, and it was huge. Then she hacked up a couple smaller ones. The problem is she’s still throwing up. It’s only once or twice a day, never much in it, usually mucus or foam, sometimes a little digested food. Other than that her behavior is normal, her appetite was normal but has waned a bit, her drinking seems normal, but because we have multiple cats I don’t know if her bathroom habits have changed. There’s nothing alarming in the litter box though.
I’ve already sent an email to All Paws (it’s the only one we can afford with all the animals we care for) to make an appointment for her, but they’re not open on weekends and the auto-reply email said they have to go through a lot of emails on mondays so it may take up to 48 hours to even respond to my appointment request. I was sure to include all the details of her ailment in my email to them.
My question to you is this: In your professional opinion, is it okay to wait for their response, or should I seek an immediate appointment elsewhere? If so, I’d prefer it to be with your office. Other than the throwing up, she seems okay. She’s a low energy cat to begin with, so if she was lethargic it’d be hard to tell, but she seems normal to me. What should I look out for?
I’m just worried, I tend to panic over the smallest things. Thank you for reading all this.
Hi there-
First stop worrying ???? Easier said than done. It sounds like you’re on top of it and monitoring her behavior. I would continue that and if you see something alarming then reassess… or take to emergency. If she is eating and drinking best you can tell and acting normal, then I would think it is safe to wait to hear about an appointment if necessary. I would just keep a close eye, and again if things worsen then contact emergency. Hope things improve????????
Hello,
I don’t think this is an emergency. There are lots of things I often recommend in cases like this. One make sure your pet is able to groom appropriately. If they have an excessive amount of hair consider a shave down to help make it more manageable. Two brush often to remove the dead and shedding hair. Three add a hair ball formula like cat lax. Three switch to small watered down canned food meals. Make sure fleas, parasites and allergies are not adding to the feeling like she needs to be over grooming. I see cats who over groom (we call it barbering) and this can cause hairballs. Itchy cats groom. Also make sure she has toys and lots of mental stimulation as some cats groom due to boredom or stress/anxiety. There is also a hairball formula food that I think helps.
We just began an adoption trial with an adorable 4 month old kitten named Georgia. She’s very playful and happy but we instantly realized a few things seemed off with her health.
She’s got a watery eye, sneezes occasionally, scratches a lot, shakes her head occasionally, has a lot of gas, has diarrhea on and off, and is dealing with some mild bowel incontinence. But, most concerningly, seems to be dealing with a recurring anal or rectal prolapse.
We’ve taken her to two vets where she’s been given full examinations and deemed healthy. She has had two fecal tests, which return good results – no parasites are seen. She has prescription eye drops, a prescription antibiotic, prescription canned food, and a probiotic that we’ve just started. But no one seems to be as concerned about this rectal issue as we are.
Throughout the day, we notice a tiny bit of pink tissue poking out of her rectum. It’s very small and comes and goes. She also passes gas when this happens. And sometimes poop leaks out. She licks her butt a lot too.
Sometimes a cylindrical round bit of red tissue protrudes much further and what looks like a piece of poop can be seen poking out too. This tends to happen most often when she wakes up from a nap. It seems that her muscles relax and her bowel starts to come out. It will be out for seconds to a few minutes after she gets up and is moving around and then it pushes itself back in. It’s very disturbing to see!
We already have one special needs cat and, while we absolutely love this kitten and want to keep her, I’m afraid that this is going to be a recurring issue that will become very stressful. The vets we’ve seen are trying to treat the underlying cause, which they assume is diarrhea. But I’ve read that some parasites don’t show up on fecal exams or under microscopes – is this true? I’ve also read that stitches and surgery can help if this doesn’t improve on its own but that, with some cats, this is just a recurring problem throughout their lives.
Help! 🙂
Hello,
I think that almost everything you are worried about it fairly normal for a newly adopted kitten. I always tell clients that we put these guys through a tremendously stressful time when we move them away from their family and into a new home. It’s a huge advisement and with that the immune system gets totally stressed out. Upper respiratory infections are a very common sequela. Also most kittens come with parasites. I send out at least three fecals before I deem them to be parasite free. Also stay on a good kitten food. Between the change in homes, families and diets I see loads of issues like this and they almost all resolve completely within a few weeks. All I really care about for the first few weeks is if they are happy, eating and playful and gaining weight. Stay in touch with your vet and I swear love cures almost all of these new kittens. Best of luck.
Thanks! I hope you’re right. I was feeling the same way until this prolapse thing started. That has overwhelmed me as it seems to be getting worse, not better. And the vet visits and prescription foods are already getting expensive! Just afraid there won’t be a quick fix and we’ll be dealing with two very expensive special needs cats soon.
Hello! I will try to keep this as short as possible but is hard because so much has happened.
I have 3 cats. My male cat is the one I am worried about the most right now. About a month ago all 3 got URIs and went to the vet. They were treated with antibiotics however they weren’t helping much so I had to bring them back a few times! Due to financial issues I ended up bringing them to our local shelter/humane society where they have a free clinic right now due to Covid. Biggest mistake EVER! They were so mean to my cat and overly rough with him completely stressing him out. I wasn’t allowed to go in the room with him however was able to watch some of what was going on through a window. This stressed my cat out so much that a week later he got a urinary blockage (2 weeks ago now)… I have never had issues prior with the other vet. He is 8 yr old. Anyways the vet cathed him and sent him home since it was the weekend and they are closed… where he ended up going to the ER the next day because he was crying all night…. They took the cath out… gave him pain meds and fluids… and kept him for 5 hours… He came home that night and has been on pain meds as needed and prazosin 2x a day. He is also on Hills C/D wet (with minimal dry of the c/d) He has been seen 2x since at the vet and Monday they did a urine sample/culture…. They said he has white blood cells so was put on antibiotics…but once the culture came back it showed everything to be normal…so was taken off of them…. Prior to all of this he was free fed however I have been switching all my cats to meal times 2-3 times a day… and will continue with that because of weight issues . He has been peeing, however, sometimes when I am peeing he will come pee in his litter box at the same time… He shakes his back end and puts it up in the air kind of and the pee shoots or sprays out …. this isn’t every time he pees but it has happened 3 times that I have seen. His pee clumps aren’t as big as they were prior to all this and now vary in size… sometimes a golf ball size give or take a little bit bigger/or smaller. I also will see his back end/tail twitching randomly in the day. The vet said this happening more than likely was due to stress. I have been making sure to keep the stress level low at home, use feliway (idk if it helps) and new toys/cat nip.
My questions are…
1. When switching to a wet food diet…. Will cats pee more than usual? They were on a 90% dry diet before. Sometimes I add a little water to it as I don’t see him drink a lot.
2. He only has a few days left of the prazosin… Should he been weened or go off cold turkey?
3. Is the shaking and spraying like pee normal? He does so in the litter box however because of his angle sometimes it gets on the wall.
I am new to this… and have talked to/seen several vets however they all say different things so I am confused… I just want to know if this is normal….. I think he is probably irritated from being cathed and such… due to licking his private sometimes and whining (both aren’t as bad as they were before however still happen)
Thank You for taking the time to read this.
Hello,
I’m sorry all of this has happened. I will try to answer your questions BUT you really need to stick with a vet you trust and be prepared for this to take a while to resolve. In some cats it is a lifelong issue.
I prefer wet to dry as it is a much higher water content and usually much less fattening. I even recommend adding water.
I also advise clients to try to give Sq fluids at home.
Prazosin is a question for your vet. Some stay on this medication long term as it seems to be very beneficial.
I am not sure what the shaking is. Maybe try to get it on video and discuss with your vet. Maybe pain?
You should also ask about anything you can try for stress? Like Feliway? Catnip? Toys? Confinement at night? An anti anxiety medication? This is a discussion for your vet. What really matters is that you have someone advocating for you and your cat and you do everything you can to avoid another blockage and learn how to manage this long term.
Best of luck.
If possible can you share your vet experience (with the costs included) in our storyline section. It might help others.
Can you answer a question for me? My Persian had surgery at 2yrs old due to calcium oxilate stones and now at 7yrs old he’s having trouble peeing. He’s been on RX food since his 1st surgery and drinks a ton of water. Is it possible he can have stones again when he’s on UR veterinary food from day 1?
Hello. Yes it is possible. Please cal your vet ASAP and have your cat seen
Hello,
It is not uncommon for the stress of going to a new home and the changes in a kittens lifestyle once there to cause an upper respiratory infection. It is best to see a vet ASAP. Call your vet. Express your concerns and if they can’t get you in within a day or two call other vets. We are all busy right now but waiting until an infection becomes a life threatening illness is unethical. We always fit people in even though we are very busy. If all else fails go to the ER. Better safe than sorry.