My cat is bleeding from her paw. What’s going on and what should I do?

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: Please help! My sister’s cat is bleeding suddenly from her paw. I woke up this morning, and there was blood all over my floor. The cat, Whiskers, was sitting next to the mess, licking her left paw excessively. I looked more closely at her paw and there was blood dripping down the side of it. It just wouldn’t stop bleeding. She is a small, mostly outdoor, tuxedo DSH. She had 2 litters of kittens early this year. I am terribly worried about her. Any ideas? ~Daniel Siouxsie: The first thing you should do when a cat is injured is call your vet. Describe what’s happening–in this case, you’d say…

What can we do about our cat’s chronic bowel problem?

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: We’re having a pretty urgent problem with our Barnie. He is a two-year-old male cat, neutered, and rescued here in Spain. He apparently has a smooth muscle colon problem which is causing him serious pain. He has been x-rayed twice, which showed pockets of gas; this was treated by vet for two weeks initially with an enema and then Flatoril and Purina paste. We have been giving him bran with food. He does his business, which is medium firm, but almost immediately seems to have worse bouts of pain. I take him on little walks when he does a few cat things like scratching his paws and sniffing around…

My cat’s got “runways” in his fur. What can I do about this?

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I have two cats, Sergei and Buddy, both male, both fixed. Sergei is around seven years old, Buddy is probably around two or three. A little history: I’ve had Sergei since he was around 9 months old. He was rescued from a cat hoarder’s home, lived in a shelter for several months, and then came home with me. He’s pretty much perfect – tolerant, a little grouchy, and very snuggly. He’s used to being around other animals; in fact, my former roommate’s male cat was his best friend, and he even got on fairly well with my dog. About a year after my dog died, I realized that Sergei…

I hate having my claws trimmed, but I hate getting stuck in things. Help!

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My name is Ford. I’m a 3-year-old cat, and my daddy rescued me from a parking lot when I was just little. I didn’t need to be bottle fed, but that’s all they’ve been able to tell me. I don’t remember much about that time. My problem is that I hate to have my claws trimmed! I hate it! My adopted sister Dinah gets her claws trimmed and she doesn’t mind so much. She tells me she doesn’t like it, but she usually just sits quiet for mommy when she does it. But not me! I yank and squirm and growl and sometimes even bite to get away when…