Your daily cat and kitten news

[Mogden]

I train my lot from a young age to have a Pavlovian style response to bags of treats and my special cat squeak so I can call them in. Squeak doesn't always work but almost 100% success rate with treats And Sachin still always belts into the kitchen when I open a ring pull can even though he's not eaten wet food properly for years.

Oh the point of this was to say mostly I can get my lot in from the garden with a treat packet shuffle or they know to talk back to me when I squeak which has helped me find the kids several times before now.

 

[High Voltage]

Bobby-boo - has spent most of this afternoon CLAMPED to my left leg - that's absolutely nothing to do with the chicken that's poaching in the kitchen - Oh! no sir, nothing to do with that

He's been diagnosed with pancreatitis. He's been "fixed" recently (see previously in this thread) - so now he's on a renal'ish diet but he's also got to have some kidney meds as well and that means having something that can be mix with meds so biscuits are out for that - we've tried a few "wet" renal foods but they're a bit rich for him so we're trying chicken broth (hence the poached chicken) - finally I get to eat cat food - looks pretty good from where I'm sitting at the moment

So, just as a slight derail - how badly do YOU "treat" your cat

Things that I can immediately chuck in for offerings are:-

Fresh mince (Waitrose, naturally)
The above mentioned chicken (Waitrose, again)
Steak - this was for Jess and she was special
Fresh fish - local fish monger - cooked to order (Rusty) didn't eat it
The above 3 "might" have had "left over" lobster <blush>
Frozen prawns
Salmon
Lump fish caviar

ALL of the above, I hasten to add (apart from the lobster) have been purpose bought for the cats mentioned above - they have all lived to well in excess of 15+ years and have had minimal vet intervention throughout their lives - so spoilt and pampered they have have been but they've done very well on us

 

[Vintage Paw]

Thanks for the well-wishes earlier in the thread

He was sick this morning. This all started with him going off his food (which he does now and again) but being sick every other day to boot. I didn't want to chance anything so after 3 sicks off to the vet he went. I'm not certain the teeth would be causing the vomiting, but all his blood results were perfectly good - the thyroid medication is working, his kidney levels were fine, he's moving towards the cusp of anaemia but she didn't reckon it was anything to worry about right now. So we were stumped as to what was causing it. I said his teeth were a state, and she agreed (Ted, my usual vet, who is on holiday atm, has been trying to get his hands on them for a while now but we both agreed we didn't want to rock the boat since it took so long to get him stable after he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism), but she treated him in the meantime for gastritis to see if that helped (how are you meant to get a cat to take peppermint flavoured antacids? It's really not very easy and frankly I think it's been causing him more stress these past few days than anything else). He wasn't sick at all from that first visit - Tuesday - until today, when he did a lovely vom under the bed while I was having a lie in. And he had a poorly poo. I don't know if it's teeth, something else, or that I had been feeding him stinky hi-life tuna since that's all I've been able to get down him since this flare-up.

Anyway, he went back to the vet yesterday because he still wasn't interested in food and I wanted her to take another look at his teeth since I was certain it had something to do with that. And she had a better look and yeah, one of them was loose, all red and angry in the gum, the others are so badly caked with tartar. But that loose one just looked so painful. She said he must be feeling a lot of discomfort. So, he's finally booked in for a full dental on Monday. I expect several teeth will be removed, the remaining ones cleaned up if they can be. He'll only be able to eat chicken for a while after, she said stringy food is best because hard will hurt his gums and mushy will stick in the cavities, so I cooked him some up today so it's not a shock to the system when that's all he can have for a week after, and he seems pretty pleased with himself. He's drinking an awful lot of water, and wanting to eat a lot (even if he gives up after a mouthful or two), he's anxious, more so since yesterday's vet visit. It's almost a bit like the symptoms of when his thyroid was just diagnosed, but his bloods were all perfectly good, so idk, maybe it's a combination of tooth pain, anxiety, bad teeth making him feel sick, etc. He's definitely suffering from stress, poor fucker.

So yeah, I'm terrified about losing him during the surgery, but it would be cruelty to expect him to carry on like this, he's suffering.

 

[High Voltage]

Monkey's been having problems eating recently, so a couple of vet visits determine it's his teeth. They'll have to come out. They're in terrible shape, and quite clearly causing discomfort. He's booked in for Monday. I'm nervous, he's 14 and has hyperthyroidism - both of which increase the dangers with anaesthesia a little - but it has to happen, and hopefully it'll make life more comfortable for him. He's a sorry sight at the moment, he's obviously quite sad

Right, no messing about, 14 is a good knock for a cat - except - nowadays it isn't really that old

Jess - pts - cancer a LOT older than 14 (more like 17 of 18) had ALL of her teeth taken out when she was:-

1. OLD than your monkey
2. ILL with "issues"
3. I can't wait for the thread where you've given him a BATH - in water - with Shampoo

Rusty - pts - cancer - a LOT older than yours - see above - ditto the teeth thing - NOT the shampoo thing - she REALLY would have killed us

Bobbie-boo - bouncing off 20 - blah blah blah - you've got a kitten at 14 - vet's are wonderful these days

(fingers crossed for monkey)

 

[Geri]

Fingers crossed for you, Vintage Paw.

I picked up my new cat Sophie today. She has spent the entire afternoon hiding in the cupboard in the bedroom. There was a bit of hissing and growling at Jimmy, and he hid under the bed for a while, but since then they have both been asleep in the same room.

I will be much happier once she has eaten and used the litter tray though.

 

[High Voltage]

Have you had monkey checked for pancreatitis - often gets missed in cats - some of the symptoms sound like what Bobs had / got - can easily get missed in diagnosis - worth asking the question

 

[Mogden]

Paws crossed for Monkey Vintage Paw

 

[Vintage Paw]

Right, no messing about, 14 is a good knock for a cat - except - nowadays it isn't really that old

Jess - pts - cancer a LOT older than 14 (more like 17 of 18) had ALL of her teeth taken out when she was:-

1. OLD than your monkey
2. ILL with "issues"
3. I can't wait for the thread where you've given him a BATH - in water - with Shampoo

Rusty - pts - cancer - a LOT older than yours - see above - ditto the teeth thing - NOT the shampoo thing - she REALLY would have killed us

Bobbie-boo - bouncing off 20 - blah blah blah - you've got a kitten at 14 - vet's are wonderful these days

(fingers crossed for monkey)

Thank you so much for this, High Voltage, really. 14 feels like nothing at all, he's still a wee slip of a lad as far as I'm concerned.

He seems a bit happier this afternoon. I cooked up some chicken to get him used to it before it's all he can have and he seems quite happy with it. He sleeps in his cat carrier when he's stressed (which is bizarre as all fuck since he's terrified of it when he knows a trip to the vet is imminent - as soon as I let him out of it when I get home he comes out and goes back in to hide ) and he's been in there most of the day, but comes out to nibble at his food, have a drink of water, then goes back in again. Now and again he comes to sit on my knee at purr at me like a tractor. Managed to get at least half of his zantac (antacid) into him this evening - he really isn't the kind of cat who tolerates syringing things in the mouth - particularly when they taste of peppermint (peppermint, who made that executive decision? )

Have you had monkey checked for pancreatitis - often gets missed in cats - some of the symptoms sound like what Bobs had / got - can easily get missed in diagnosis - worth asking the question

He's had full blood tests over and over the past 2 years, and most recently was last Tuesday. When he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism there were even ultrasounds and xrays because no one could work out why he was still throwing up several times a day despite his T4 levels coming under control. A while on steroids did the trick - it seems like the throwing up due to the thyroid damaged his insides, and it was a vicious circle that never got the chance to heal, the inflammation caused more vomiting, and so it went on. The steroids reduced that inflammation and the vomiting got under control really well, and eventually I was able to wean him off them over a couple of months or so. He's rarely sick now, maybe once every 3 months. This has come right at the time that his teeth have played up, and the blood tests didn't show anything out of the ordinary. His temp was normal, not too low or too high, and he seems to have no abdominal pain at all. It's certainly possible there's something lurking that none of these things have shown up, when I take him back for his check up after the surgery later in the week I'll have a chat with the vet about it, see what they think.

There are so many damn things cats can get, and they all seem to have the same symptoms - lethargy, vomiting, going off food, being hungry all the time, drinking lots, dehydration, yowling, anxiety, hiding, the list goes on. One thing I spotted when having a read earlier was that sniffing food, maybe having a lick, and then wandering off is a classic sign of stomach acid problems. Well he does that quite often, quite regularly since this latest episode. Of course there are a million things that can cause increased stomach acid... At the same time, it's also something that can be attributable to teeth problems...

Come on, science... why haven't you developed a way for us to be able to ASK our pets what's wrong yet?

 

[Manter]

Managed to get at least half of his zantac (antacid) into him this evening - he really isn't the kind of cat who tolerates syringing things in the mouth - particularly when they taste of peppermint (peppermint, who made that executive decision? )

most animal drugs are modified (i.e. repackaged) versions of human drugs. The reasons are too complicated to go into, but it'll be peppermint because that is what is easiest for humans to take.

fingers crossed for him

 

[TikkiB]

quickly flying by to say fingers crossed for monkey VP

 

[Vintage Paw]

most animal drugs are modified (i.e. repackaged) versions of human drugs. The reasons are too complicated to go into, but it'll be peppermint because that is what is easiest for humans to take.

fingers crossed for him

I figured as much, otherwise that's the oddest decision in history. Someone said their cat steals mints from them if they leave them around, but they still can't get the damned peppermint (god, I just had to correct that from pepperming... heh) antacid into her Apparently there is/was a beef version, but it's not widely available. They also do tablets. I'm hoping there was a good reason liquid was the one the vet prescribed... because I have a foolproof method for tablets

And thank you, everyone

 

[Manter]

He has been going between the two of us for the last couple of hours, making sure we know he loves us*

*is in charge

 

[Manter]

and an extra one just because he's gorgeous.... And a bit of a princess

 

[Ms T]

Hendrix caught a mouse last night and brought it upstairs to show us. Of course he let it go and it managed to hide somewhere.

Plus am slightly concerned because I think it was in the house to start with judging by the way the cats were behaving earlier. I don't actually put it past them to have brought it in in the first place, got bored and released it. They are rubbish hunters.

 

[Geri]

Well, the cat introductions are not getting very far, as Sophie will not leave the bedroom, and Jimmy won't go in it.

She's very sweet and affectionate. She had an accident with a car and fractured her pelvis, and her owners couldn't afford to pay for the treatment, which is why she ended up at the rescue. She had her femoral head removed and 5 weeks of cage rest, but she is fully recovered now (although she does tend to put her leg out in a funny way).



That's the best picture I've been able to get so far!

 

[Mogden]

Well, the cat introductions are not getting very far, as Sophie will not leave the bedroom, and Jimmy won't go in it.

She's very sweet and affectionate. She had an accident with a car and fractured her pelvis, and her owners couldn't afford to pay for the treatment, which is why she ended up at the rescue. She had her femoral head removed and 5 weeks of cage rest, but she is fully recovered now (although she does tend to put her leg out in a funny way).

View attachment 61366

That's the best picture I've been able to get so far!

Oh she's gorgeous!

 

[purenarcotic]

Oh she's lovely.

 

[tufty79]

Aw! Happy new home, sophie!

 

[fishfinger]

Very pretty kitty. I hope she settles in soon

 

[CRI]

Welcome Sophie (and Jimmy will surely come round eventually, and vice versa!)

Great news about Worf - wow. Something similar happened to a friend's cat about 6 or 7 years ago, only it was more like 6 months. She doesn't venture far from the back garden now though.

Hope Monkey's op goes well. I think teeth problems can make cats feel just generally really crap. Toothache in humans is just so shit as well.

Still an uneasy peace between Breeze and Charles de Papillon. I don't know that they'll ever be cuddle buddies, but at least I sort of thing I can trust them to be together alone without the fear one will kill the other (Charlie would come off far, far worse.)

Invisible Lollypop.

 

[Shirl]

I haven't posted about these two in a while. Next door's cats sat on our terrace waiting for breakfast this morning. Their owner now blatantly goes off and leaves them shut outside Thursday to Monday. Even when she's at home on the other days they are mostly shut out.
They both come into our place and we feed them twice everyday but I don't want them living with us as we are planning to move and really, I don't want 3 cats. Our cat Vincent now tolerates Marmite but doesn't really like Brett coming indoors.
We have made a cat nest under our outside steps and they sleep there. The bloody neighbour hasn't even commented. I know I should say something but I can't seem to bring myself to.

 

[Vintage Paw]

Sophie's beautiful, Geri. I'm sure she'll settle in in no time, and maybe even start ruling the roost

Thanks again all for the well wishes.

Charlie (monkey's real name, monkey's his nickname) ate quite a bit over the weekend, but he had poorly poos, and over night last night was sick 2 or 3 times. I took him in this morning and spoke to the vet, who was reticent to do the dental if he'd been sick. But since we have no idea what's really causing it, he thought the best thing to do was to put him on fluids, sedate him, give him an xray to check for anything suspicious in his tummy and intestines to rule that out (since his blood work is all very good), and if it was then to go ahead while he was asleep and do the dental. So that's what they did.

I left the vets in a state. Got home, went straight to bed and spent the next 3 hours crying and napping (and having a god awful dream about someone in surgery who kind of woke up while chopped in half and his two separate halves were screaming for them to stop... god, I don't want that dream again -- fuck you, brain). The vet called just after midday, Charlie was still in surgery but everything was going really well, there was nothing at all on the xray, he'd taken all his molars out, he said in addition to the awful tartar buildup and loose teeth, he had something-word-i-can't-remember lesions as well, and he said Charlie will have been in a lot of pain because of them. He said currently he has his 4 fangs and his mini cute incisors at the front left, but looking at his top 2 fangs they are starting to show signs of those lesions, so while he was still under did I agree to having them out too. Of course I said yes, take whatever you need! He said he's going to have an uncomfortable couple of weeks ahead of him, but fingers crossed for the future. Since he's been ill and they are always wary of cats who've been vomiting and having anaesthetics, I asked whether it would be best if he stay in with them overnight so they can monitor him. He agreed. It means moving him by pet ambulance to their other surgery (which is a gazillion miles away from me) because theirs isn't staffed overnight, but he said it's probably a good idea because they can keep him on fluids and give him more pain medication and just generally keep an eye on him and make sure there are no adverse effects to the anaesthesia. They'll give me a ring once he's settled in there later this afternoon.

So I guess, all being well I'll be able to go and pick him up sometime tomorrow once they bring him back to my local surgery again.

I asked him if those lesions can cause vomiting, and he said not directly, but it's possible the pain made him nauseous and so indirectly it could have an effect. Otherwise, they're totally stumped about what might be causing the vomiting. Once he's on the mend with his teeth though, we can finally rule that out as a(n indirect) cause. Maybe it'll clear up, it was after all a recent thing and wasn't even an everyday thing.

I have a million notes of things to ask them when they call later, and things to ask when I go and pick him up too.

The poor baby was so scared this morning

 

[Vintage Paw]

Shirl Marmite and Brett. Those seem almost polar opposite names to call 2 cats

 

[CRI]

Sophie's beautiful, Geri. I'm sure she'll settle in in no time, and maybe even start ruling the roost

Thanks again all for the well wishes.

Charlie (monkey's real name, monkey's his nickname) ate quite a bit over the weekend, but he had poorly poos, and over night last night was sick 2 or 3 times. I took him in this morning and spoke to the vet, who was reticent to do the dental if he'd been sick. But since we have no idea what's really causing it, he thought the best thing to do was to put him on fluids, sedate him, give him an xray to check for anything suspicious in his tummy and intestines to rule that out (since his blood work is all very good), and if it was then to go ahead while he was asleep and do the dental. So that's what they did.

I left the vets in a state. Got home, went straight to bed and spent the next 3 hours crying and napping (and having a god awful dream about someone in surgery who kind of woke up while chopped in half and his two separate halves were screaming for them to stop... god, I don't want that dream again -- fuck you, brain). The vet called just after midday, Charlie was still in surgery but everything was going really well, there was nothing at all on the xray, he'd taken all his molars out, he said in addition to the awful tartar buildup and loose teeth, he had something-word-i-can't-remember lesions as well, and he said Charlie will have been in a lot of pain because of them. He said currently he has his 4 fangs and his mini cute incisors at the front left, but looking at his top 2 fangs they are starting to show signs of those lesions, so while he was still under did I agree to having them out too. Of course I said yes, take whatever you need! He said he's going to have an uncomfortable couple of weeks ahead of him, but fingers crossed for the future. Since he's been ill and they are always wary of cats who've been vomiting and having anaesthetics, I asked whether it would be best if he stay in with them overnight so they can monitor him. He agreed. It means moving him by pet ambulance to their other surgery (which is a gazillion miles away from me) because theirs isn't staffed overnight, but he said it's probably a good idea because they can keep him on fluids and give him more pain medication and just generally keep an eye on him and make sure there are no adverse effects to the anaesthesia. They'll give me a ring once he's settled in there later this afternoon.

So I guess, all being well I'll be able to go and pick him up sometime tomorrow once they bring him back to my local surgery again.

I asked him if those lesions can cause vomiting, and he said not directly, but it's possible the pain made him nauseous and so indirectly it could have an effect. Otherwise, they're totally stumped about what might be causing the vomiting. Once he's on the mend with his teeth though, we can finally rule that out as a(n indirect) cause. Maybe it'll clear up, it was after all a recent thing and wasn't even an everyday thing.

I have a million notes of things to ask them when they call later, and things to ask when I go and pick him up too.

The poor baby was so scared this morning

Glad the teeth surgery is over and all went well with that. At least that's a hurdle over and probably the best thing having all the teeth done in one go, and having him stay under observation over night.

I think some animals can vomit from stress - and pain can cause a hella stress / distress. It's a positive that they haven't found any other obvious causes for it, so once he's on the mend, perhaps you'll see a difference (and if not, at least you know more what it's not, to narrow down what it is.)

Hope you were able to rest a bit. Nightmare sounded ghastly!

 

[StoneRoad]

I figured as much, otherwise that's the oddest decision in history. Someone said their cat steals mints from them if they leave them around, but they still can't get the damned peppermint (god, I just had to correct that from pepperming... heh) antacid into her Apparently there is/was a beef version, but it's not widely available. They also do tablets. I'm hoping there was a good reason liquid was the one the vet prescribed... because I have a foolproof method for tablets

And thank you, everyone

Hope you had a decent rest, that nightmare was defo not nice.

I've probably mentioned this before, but I had to give Hilli the equivalent of Kaoline suspension by mouth (syringed), initially three times a day, foe several weeks. There is a decent method ! She fought me at first, but despite not being a cat-mensa candidate, she tolerated it when she realised that it had begun to work .........

 

[Geri]

Managed to get a better picture of Sophie.

 

[Vintage Paw]

Thanks folks

I called the other surgery, he made it there in the ambulance safely, and is hooked up to his drip, sat in his cage feeling sorry for himself, all quiet, but stable. They're going to try him on a bit of food later. I have to call in the morning to check everything is okay and when I can pick him up tomorrow.

I have a massive list of things to ask when I get there

I'm just so glad he made it through the surgery. Even though there are plenty of things that can still go wrong, like a belated reaction to the anaesthetic, or an infection, or whatever, the surgery was the most dangerous part so I can at least eat my tea tonight without needing to rush to the loo every 5 minutes because of the anxiety (as was the case yesterday ).

I'm terrible at coping in these situations.

I know I don't post very often on this thread, but I'm so very grateful it exists and everyone is here when people need them.

 

[tufty79]

Really glad to hear everything has gone OK with the surgery.

 

[Mogden]

Thanks folks

I called the other surgery, he made it there in the ambulance safely, and is hooked up to his drip, sat in his cage feeling sorry for himself, all quiet, but stable. They're going to try him on a bit of food later. I have to call in the morning to check everything is okay and when I can pick him up tomorrow.

I have a massive list of things to ask when I get there

I'm just so glad he made it through the surgery. Even though there are plenty of things that can still go wrong, like a belated reaction to the anaesthetic, or an infection, or whatever, the surgery was the most dangerous part so I can at least eat my tea tonight without needing to rush to the loo every 5 minutes because of the anxiety (as was the case yesterday ).

I'm terrible at coping in these situations.

I know I don't post very often on this thread, but I'm so very grateful it exists and everyone is here when people need them.

Glad things are better. I would have thought some sort of abscess would cause vomming cos his body would be infected but I ain't a vet just a bloody big cat lover.

 

[Vintage Paw]

Glad things are better. I would have thought some sort of abscess would cause vomming cos his body would be infected but I ain't a vet just a bloody big cat lover.

His temp was fine, the vet didn't mention finding any abscesses in there, and he'd been on an anti-biotic since Friday, but it's entirely possible something didn't show up on the radar.

Well, we wait and see how he does now. I expect he'll be out of sorts for a while, so it might be a week or two before we can make any real assessment about whether it's fixed some of the poor bugger's woes.