Ask a Question
READ THIS FIRST!
If your cat:
- Was attacked by another animal
- Was hit by a car
Or is displaying one or more of the following symptoms:
- Obvious injury and bleeding
- Limping
- Having trouble breathing
- Dragging hind quarters or “dead/paralyzed” tail
- Hasn’t eaten in 24 hours or more
- Lethargy (can’t wake him up or isn’t moving)
- Convulsions (seizures or fits)
- Fever (glassy-eyed, hot to the touch)
- Staggering and/or walking in circles
- Vomiting repeatedly or having severe diarrhea
- Trouble urinating (nothing coming out, running back and forth to the litterbox, crying when urinating, licking genitals furiously after attempts to urinate)
- In labor, but looks distressed or kittens aren’t coming out after an hour or so
Call your vet right now! If you can’t get to your regular vet, call the nearest emergency vet clinic. These are emergencies and your cat needs immediate medical attention.
Otherwise, if you have cat-related question you want to ask us? Please use the comment form below. We’ll answer questions in the order in which they’re received, with three main exceptions:
- If it’s a clearly urgent behavior issue (as in, you tell us it’s urgent or it’s obvious to us that your question needs to be answered before its natural turn in the queue), we’ll answer your question on a priority basis.
- If it’s clearly a medical emergency, we’ll write back to you as soon as we get your question and tell you to get your cat to a vet.
- If your question is about inappropriate urination or defecation, it will probably move down the list. We’ve answered more questions about this issue than anything else, and we encourage you to look at the Paws and Effect archives to see if you can find an answer there. You may also purchase the “Paws and Effect Guide to Solving Inappropriate Elimination Problems,” available through our Shop page.
229 Responses to “Ask a Question”
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August 29th, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
A few months ago my house was infested by fleas. I have not treated my cats for tapeworms yet, but they have been thoroughly checked out by the vet. I have a siamese mix named Bitty and a black and white named Daisy. They are 8 years old. This week I noticed a lot of grey hair on Bitty for the first time in his life. I don’t know if the flea thing is connected to his grey hair or not. The vet says not to worry about it unless his hair falls out or he stops eating. I’m very worried about him and would like to know if anyone else has experienced this.
Thanks, Beth
August 29th, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
I recently got a new male kitten, about two days ago. I already have an older female cat (I have had her for about three years or so and she is around that age). She was rescued from an abusive household, and just started coming around about a year ago. I am worried that because the new kitten is so affectionate it will effect my older cats behavior. What kind of reaction can I expect from my older cat as they get used to each other? Will she become more open as she observes his behavior, or will she be more apt to avoid the kitten and me?
Thanks!
September 11th, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
My eight year-old calico, Boo began licking all the fur off her thighs and belly about two months ago. There is no irritation on the skin. I also noticed about a month ago that Boo doesn’t enjoy going outside to play anymore. In fact, she seems afraid when I bring out the leash and collar. Is it possible that an outdoor animal is leaving its scent around and stressing out my kitty?
I’m worried because Boo has always enjoyed the outdoors (only on a leash and collar) and has never been the fearful type. What could cause these behaviors??
September 12th, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
My cat, Patches, incessantly licks my other cat, Boone. Boone lets Patches know that he does not want to be licked but Patches will not give up no matter what. Sometimes this will even lead to fights and Boone will bite Patches hard until he cries but then Patches will turn around and try to keep licking Booone as soon as he lets go. Patches also did this same thing with the cat we had before Boone. Why does he do this and how can I make him stop?
October 2nd, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
I have a stray cat that has been around my house for all summer and I have been feeding her. She is very independent and likes to come and go as she pleases and would never be interested at this time to become part of my family with a dog and cat already. I recently bought an igloo for the size of a medium dog and have put it where she likes to eat, but I don’t know how to get here to thing of it as a place to sleep instead of under my house where it is cold and damp or in a bush somewhere. Please advise how I can get her to sleep in the igloo and not put the food out of it if possible. I also have a door to put on it to keep the elements out and I don’t know how to approach that either. She scares so easily and is afraid of humans. She and I have developed a trust and she will let me pet her sometimes. Please someone help me if you can.
Thank you and any advise will be greatly appreciated.
October 7th, 2008 @ 2:44 am
My cat is 2 years old and we just recently adopted him from the pound. We’ve had him for about a month now and he is an indoor cat. His paws are slowly turning black and when I tried to look at them he would meow at me. He was at the vet about 2 weeks ago and they said he was fine. Is this normal?
October 15th, 2008 @ 11:48 pm
Hi, I spend the night at my boyfriend’s house every once and a while and we are starting to have major nightly problems with his two cats. If we leave the bedroom door open, the cats come in at night and constantly keep us awake by meowing, jumping on us, biting us, and chewing our hair! We tried closing the door so they can’t get in and that turned into a disaster as well. They sit outside the door and meow loudly as well as scratch the door and carpet and eventually throw themselves up against the door causing loud banging noises. We have tried ignoring, double sided tape on the floors and pet deterrant spray but they don’t work anymore. Both cats do not act like this when my boyfriend is sleeping alone. It’s only when I’m there. I believe my presence at night may be stressing them out, but I have no idea how to help the situation. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This issue is causing a great amount of stress between us resulting from a severe lack of sleep. Thanks Val
November 4th, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
I have never had an issue with my 7 year old cat. He vomits his food sometimes (maybe up to 5 times a month). I came home the other night and he normally greets me at the door. I called him and he didn’t come. I went to my room and he was laying in one spot and still wouldn’t come to me. His nose felt very dry, his fur oily, he felt warm. I had to pull him into my lap he seemed really weak. I took him the ER vet and they did a couple x-rays. They told me he has asthma after they ran some blood test and ruled out heartworms, they mentioned he was wheezing as well. They treated him aggressively with steriods and he seemed fine the next day when I picked him up. $1,000.00 later – but I am glad my cat is okay- but I guess I am concerned that he really doesn’t have asthma because I have never heard him cough or wheeze before. I have never seen him pant or breath hard with his mouth open. He is a bigger cat and I am afraid that giving him the pill will cause diabeties. I don’t have enough money to get the inhaler every month. I am not sure about Holistic approaches either??? Any thoughts or advice? Thanks!
November 5th, 2008 @ 7:27 pm
This is not a reply, but a question. After recently loseing our 15 year old male cat (due to old age)my husband discovered a stray kitten in a snow covered feild near our house. Knowing that the few neighbors in our area;do not have cats,we adopted this stray. When took the kitten for shots and to be checked out, we were told that the kitten was over 6 months old and was a female. (we were hopeing for a male)The kitten had become pregnant by the time the vet could spay her, she had one small fetus about the size of a rasin in her.
Anyways since then we discovered that she had sisters who have come to visit with their off-spring and what worries me is that they will either die or keep multiplying. We have cought a few of them and tried to take them to our local HS., but they have refused them due to the no kill thing that they have. I’m stuck with them because we don’t want to take away their food or the little bit of shelter that we have given them. I just don’t know what to do. A cat birth control that I can put in their food might help. Is there such a thing?
November 6th, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
PLEASE HELP!
My heart is breaking right now and I really really need advice – I simply don’t know where to turn or who to talk to.
Last month I started to notice a pretty little kitty hanging around in my back yard. I guess I made the big mistake of starting to feed her. The second time I saw her she came right up to me and sat in my lap purring. I have never seen such a friendly stray.
If it were up to me, I’d have taken her in right then, but my husband is absolutely adamant about it as he didn’t want the 2 cats that we do have. (Last year we did take in one from our backyard)
I wanted to take her to be neutered but we do not have a car and I was trying to sort the logistics of that when I realized it was too late: she is pregnant.
My husband went away last week, and I put her in my basement when it was pouring down, and now she thinks this is her home.
When he got back, he found out and went crazy.He threw out all the bedding I had set up for her and wrecked the little shelter outside. Unfortunately he can be very mean. He said he doesn’t want her around anymore
I contacted the no-kill shelter in our area, and they said they could take her if she is friendly (which she is) which is most likely what I shall have to do, but the thought of her being in a cage all day kills me.
I do not have children of my own, so my cats are my babies to me. I can’t imagine loving them more than I do. So to me this is like having a naked barefooted child crying outside my door.
Please help me decide what to do. Which is worse – taking her to a shelter or leaving her to satay outside in the cold to have her kittens. What should I do??? Like I said my husband can be cruel sometimes so there is no way I could ever get him to agree to taking her in (not even in the basement) I haven’t stopped crying for 2 days.
Edit: We have removed the name, e-mail address, and location of this writer because we’re concerned about the person’s safety. We also sent the writer a personal e-mail about this situation and plan to address this particular topic in more depth at a later date.
November 10th, 2008 @ 10:18 am
I have a 3 year old Flame Point Siamese Male cat which I adopted a year ago from the CAT NETWORK. He has always been and looked SUPER healthy, but as of 2 months ago, he was diagnosed with Bronchitis and was given a steroid shot to treat it. Also, after doing various tests & x-rays, he had liquid in his chest cavities which was slowly drained out and we had to treat 2 forms of bacteria that he had internally, as well….. after 2 1/2 of hospitalization, all tests given to him now check out GREAT and he no longer has liquid in his chest cavity. However, even after doing a SPINAL TAP, the vet is unable to figure out the CAUSE of the ATAXIA, wobbliness, inbalance, head shaking and falling while he walks…….. Is there anything you think may be wrong with him? His appetite is great and he’s slowly recovering, but the shaking and loss of strength while walking doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Help? : (
November 13th, 2008 @ 7:31 pm
I have 3 cats (1 male, 2 females) all from the same litter who turned 20 years old last August. All three of them are still in remarkably good health, ascend and descend stairs with agility and eat well and drink ample water. They’re gentle/loving cats, ever so independent but friendly. Initially, Bear (female) began yowling at the wall; now, Max (male) has picked up the habit and does it quite repeatedly. Ebony, the smallest of them all may occasionally put her 2 cents in but prefers to talk to a human. Any idea what this yowling is all about? Thanks!
November 18th, 2008 @ 6:48 am
My kitten is about 8 – 9 months old. He has not started to spray or try to “hump” or “mount” anything. Is this normal? Will he begin to spray eventually?
November 26th, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
i have a kitten is a girl and i have two kittens ,but the other one died and the girl doesnt do anything she sleeps she doesnt play or anything but the other kitten plays and enjoys the insides but [flor] is not doing anything plz tell me what to do
December 1st, 2008 @ 5:36 pm
Dear most esteemed and knowledgeable kitties:
Recently my family lost its oldest cat, Star, presumably to old age. (He just wandered away one day and hasn’t returned. I can only presume that Star decided that it was his time and decided to go somewhere private to move on.) Since then, my cat Lucia, who was very attached to Star, has transformed into a very lovey-dovey and cuddly cat, when she was very secretive and reserved before Star’s passing. So I guess what my question is whether or not cats will mourn other cats, and seek comfort from their humans.
Thank you!
December 2nd, 2008 @ 8:36 am
I breed pedigree cats and am about to have a girl a breeding girl neutered because she is in season alot, does it matter if she is just gone off, or just coming in season when i get her done, she’s just going off now but can some times come back in a few days latter.
December 4th, 2008 @ 4:46 pm
Dear most esteemed and knowledgeable kitties:
A few months ago my husband and I were adopted by two lovely 6 week old kittens who we call Arzela and Ascoli. They are siblings from a friend of a friend. Their mother is an indoor/outdoor cat and so they were already box trained and we’ve had almost no problem getting them to use their litter box. However we have noticed that they don’t cover their waste every time they use the bathroom. Sometimes I hear them scratching the walls of their box – a different sound from their scratching in the litter itself – and when I check later I find uncovered waste. Is there anything I can do to change this? Is it a kitten thing which they will grow out of? (I’ll admit, I’ve never had such young cats before.)
December 9th, 2008 @ 8:37 pm
I have two cats and i was just wondering, they fight everytime iam about to feed them. Its not bad or anything i was just wondering why they do it. they do it all the time before they eat its funny!!!
January 5th, 2009 @ 4:12 am
Please help oh wise cat lovers. My parents recently dropped my female cat off at my house to babysit for a few months. My mom specifically told me that she likes to have human tuna twice a day and that she has been very spoiled. I honestly think though, that she does not eat the dry food and only eats human tuna, because the dry food is barely being touched… Maybe she has a bite here and there but that is about it. I am afraid that she will get a vitamin E deficiency if she dosn’t already have one She is almost 11 years old. I was wondering if you could suggest some cat foods that she may enjoy. Or should I just go to the pet store and buy a large variety of different wet foods and see which ones she will eat?
January 30th, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
My male cat is a 1 year old, and has recently started having back-leg tremors. He is healthy and happy, and well cared for and loved. He is fed Solid Gold dry cat food and some canned food here and there.
the tremors don’t seem to hurt him, but they bother him, especially laying down.
A friend said it might be a potassium deficiency?
Can you please help?
February 4th, 2009 @ 10:11 pm
Help me please! I have a cat who is about 14 months old and she is acting very strange. She is constantly wanting to be let out, but when then appear at the window about 5 minutes later. When we let her back in she stalks around, has a bit to eat then starts crying and wants to go out again. She is also very distant and crouches when we try to pat her. She freaks out at certain noises. We are wondering what is wrong with her? About 2 months ago our beloved family cat of 14 years passed away and we are wonderinf if our youngest cat is mourning her? We really need some answers.
February 5th, 2009 @ 10:21 am
when a cat gets old and moves around less what foods will they need to eat to stay alive?
February 24th, 2009 @ 12:00 am
My 9-year-old male cat is peeing all over the place. Under the couch, on the couch, and on chairs, as well as on pillows he lays on and ones others use. He is also pooping under the couch. We have one female and one male cat, i clean their litter box every 3 days. Last February, I was cleaning the litter box and then my female started to get really territorial and then she started “bullying” my male cat and that is when he started the peeing under the couch. The male is the older of the two at 9, while the female is the younger at 5. He has been out from underneath the couch, where he hid for 8 months, for a couple of months now, but now he is peeing all over the place. When this first started happening, we took him to the vet and he gave him some antibotics and he stopped for a little while, but now he has started again. He is going pee in the litter box and then on the couch also. We have tried putting him in the litter box and making him stay there for 5 minues and that seemed to work but now it is not working. We have also put another litter box out for him. So there is one for her and one for him now. We have only had the second litter box for about a week. I was wondering if you had any ideas or suggestion for my husband and I. He is currently on antibotics now for about 3 days but he is still peeing on the couch. Thank you very much.
March 2nd, 2009 @ 6:36 am
I have relocated to a new home (quite some distance 250miles)and took my 2 cats with me. I have been here for 4mths now and my youngest cat who is 7 this year is refusing to eat. I have had him since he was a kitten. He has always been a very lovable cat and has always had lots of attention. He has been on dry food (Iams) for about 5 years (it was recommended by the vet) I have never had any problem with his eating before. A month ago we noticed how thin he was looking, and how light he was compared to my older cat. We had a trip to the vets and his teeth & mouth were checked and all fine. He’s had blood tests, which all showed him to be healthy. As a precaution he has had 3 lots of antibiotics in case there was an infection. He is also wormed up to date. I was advised by the vet to change to wet food, which I did and this caused an upset tummy which the vet said the change of food this could happen. Even on the wet food though, my cat only licked the jelly, ate no meat or very little. He is constantly hanging around in the kitchen after scraps and anything that I am cooking, and will lick off a plate or spoon left by the sink. In order to get his weight back up I was told to feed him rice, chicken, ham, fish, scrambled eggs, I have and he eats it and cleans the bowl… I cannot go on like this forever and need him to eat ‘cat food’ preferably dry food. I have tried softening the biscuits in boiling water and adding a small amount of chicken or ham but he will pick out the chicken. Could it be that my cat is simply distressed due to moving to a new area? He gets lots of attention and he is not left alone for long periods as I am home everyday. I am really desperate for advice, I feel I may have to rehome him if he doesn’t improve as it is stressing out my older cat. Thank you.
March 2nd, 2009 @ 7:04 pm
My eight month old cat, Harvey, just died last night. He was like my child and I can’t stop trying to figure out what happened. Two days ago, I was woken up by yowling and he was acting funny. He would yowl when I touched him on his chest area and he started limping later that night. I figured he had fallen off of something and hurt himself (he was an inside cat)…I decided I would take him to the vet if he didn’t recover. The very next day was Sunday and I went to check on him. During the night he had declined so much that he would no longer stand or even hold his head up. The vet was not open till Monday and all I could do was watch him go into gasping fits and then finally die in a matter of 12 hours. It was killing me the whole time that I could do nothing. I have no idea what happened and if it could have been my fault. He also had a large lump at his lower abdomen that felt hard and I wondered if it was his liver. He also emitted an awful smell an hour before he died. Please tell me what might have happened to my baby. I have three other cats and I worry it could have been contagious. Thank You,….Savna
March 15th, 2009 @ 4:49 pm
I have a 16 year old Male cat. He was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 2 years ago, put on meds and became very sick from the meds, began scratching his ears and face and lost hair on his face and ears. I told the Vet that I was taking him off the meds and didnt want to see him suffer. He was fine after that, except for the hyperthyroid. The past 3 months he meows at least 6 times as he’s at his wayter bowl, then he drinks. He is constantly hungry which I know goes with the thyroid problem. I feed him at least 6 small fancy feast cans a day, and he constantly drinks water and urinates. I cannot take the meowing every time he goes to his water bowl and exactly 6:50am daily he will start meowing non stop wanting to eat. I am going to have a nervous breakdown if I dont sleep. My sleep is interrupted nightly. Please help. Can I give him a sedative of some kind at night, because he becomes nocturnal and runs through the house meowing.
anything you suggest I would be so grateful for. Thank You Dee
March 17th, 2009 @ 8:36 am
My vet prescribed a liquid Omega 3 supplement for my cat’s dry skin. She won’t eat her canned food at all since I’ve been adding the supplement. She loved her canned food prior to this. The Omega 3 was expensive and I’m wasting canned food. Do you have any suggestions?
March 18th, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Hi, I have a seven months old male cat named Aggie. My boyfriend and I got him when he was just one month old. At first we used to sleep in our bedroom with the door closed, leaving him in the living room. Early in the morning he would start meowing for attention. Then we started to leave the door open, and the behaviour stopped. But in the last mont, even with the bedroom door open, he would get up at seven o’clock, go to the living room and just start meowing. He has food and water, and toys. But he just doesn’t stop. The most weird thing is that, by eight o’clock, he just shuts up. We really don’t understand what he wants and, most importantly, we don’t know how to make him stop. We rulled out water sprying him, because this hasn’t work with him since he was two monts old. Please helps us, we just want to sleep!
March 29th, 2009 @ 11:34 am
I just adopted a 3 yr old black male cat about 60 days ago. He went through his normal adjustment period, and I even had to take him to the vet because of an upper respitory infection he most likely got from the shelter he was in. Well, last week when I got home from work I noticed he was limping pretty bad. I knew he must have jumped off of something because he does that alot, so I just left it go, knowing he will heal on his own. Last week he began walking somewhat better, but now sleeps roughly 20-22 hours a day versus 10-12 like after I first got him. His activity level if way down, not playing with any of his toys or on his jungle gym. Besides that, he acts normal. His appitite is up like it was. Could this be because he is 3 yrs old and is just calming down, or do you think he has slowed down because of the injury?
April 7th, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
I have a 6 year old female, Harley, whose newest favorite toy is the string from an old hooded sweatshirt. She carries it around, and gets great exercise climbing up and down the furniture (and walls) chasing it while my husband and I are pulling it. Recently, she has started to put the string in her water dish. The dish is clean, the string is clean, but Harley works SO hard at getting this string into the water dish, that in itself is quite comical to watch! Do you know of any reason she would do this? On other past occasions, she would put a different (thankfully, smaller) toy in her food dish, as well, but that’s not nearly as much of a mess as a 2-foot string soaked in water! My dear kitty friends, what is going through this thoughtful, playful, mind? Harley is strictly an indoor cat, with only brief (10 minute or less) trips on the deck in the warmer summer months, and is for the most part healthy, although slightly overweight.
April 11th, 2009 @ 8:31 am
I have a cat who just gave birth to 3 kittens. Not really mine, she showed up at my door, at first we thought it was a male, by the time we realized she was pregnant it was too late, so now we’re taking care of the kittens until we can move them to their new homes and get her fixed. My ‘official’ cat is a male who has been neutered.
The problem is as follows: the kittens are 4 days old, she gave birth next to the door to my room, obviously not a good place cos i keep coming in and out, we have touched the kittens a few times but haven’t moved them. Now 3 days later she’s moved them to a corner in the closet, the problem is, she’s now going all over the house meowing and she goes to the original spot, like she’s looking for them, while the kittens are in the closet. what’s going on? i’ve read about mothers killing or abandoning their kittens when they’re stressed or feeling like they can’t take care of them. i don’t really know what to do.
April 11th, 2009 @ 5:07 pm
Hi there, I have a 4 year old cat who eats pretty well (both dry and wet cat food with minimal ash), she is very active and weighs around 5/6lbs (she’s a runt). Usually, she isn’t a drinker but lately, she will finish off atleast half a cereal bowl full of water.
She doesn’t usually vomit, and she has only once needed veteranary attention for dehidration.
I was wondering why such a tiny cat would be drinking this much water out of the blue if they are otherwise normal. I’ve read that this could be a sign of issues with her kidneys or even kitty diabetes, but I was curious if it may not be that serious.
She does require her yearly shots in a bit, and I was wondering if that might be part of the problem too.
Thanks,
MLB & Moo
April 15th, 2009 @ 8:19 am
I’ve recently adopted cat who has been abused. I knew going into the situation that he might never be a friendly cat. However, three months into the arrangement, he’s started to blossom. Now he seeks me out for attention and has started to do something strange.
After I’ve given him sufficient pettings, he’ll bat at my hand. His body language doesn’t say stop. His ears are forward when he does this. My theory is that he’s trying to initiate play with me, in the way he’d initiate it with my cat.
I think he’s never been “taught” how to play games that involve human interaction. After the initial pet/bat incident, I bring out my thing-on-a-string and try to encourage him to play. His coordination is poor and he seems awkward batting at the toy. (I think he prefers paws and hands).
Is there a way to acclimate a cat to humans who has never really been exposed to human contact? How do I establish boundaries with him to let him know that batting at mommy is not okay, while obliterating a fake mouse is just fine?
April 15th, 2009 @ 9:49 pm
My cat is thirty-three years old and has stopped eating and drinking. He barely weighs three pounds and is just lying there. He just had two seizures in the last two hours, and I don’t think he is going to live through the night. Please give any suggestions that might my cat. Thank you.
April 16th, 2009 @ 12:16 am
5 y/o cat new to our home meows all night. We got him from a friend and his girlfriend and they also had 2 dogs but they all got along. We took him in to kill the mice. They neglected to mention the meowing but when I took him but fessed up after I mentioned it to them.
Yes He has food water clean litter etc
Should I squirt water in his face when he meows? Lock him in the bathroom at night. We both work during the day and cannot have this, we will have to give him back.
April 16th, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
my cat won’t or can’t eat…he is 12..until 2 days ago he was always hungry. We noticed a large cat around the house and also a strong smell of urine/spraying in the room where he sleeps – maybe the intruder. Now he is apprehensive about coming in and doesn’t eat anything even rejects a saucer of milk. He also gets aggressive when i try to feel his abdomen. I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow but would like your input all the same…many thanks in advance
April 16th, 2009 @ 10:15 pm
Hello and greetings to every one. I actualy have two inquieries to make. First of all I have just moved in with my fiaunsei(Please forgive my spelling) we eat have a cat of our own and I was wandering what I can do to help them get along and provent fights.
Second one of the two cats loves to lick plastic and I was hopeing for any sugestions that might help to break the habbit before someing bad comes of it.
April 18th, 2009 @ 9:41 am
Hello
My aged girl today has a limp tail. It doesn’t appear that she can hold it up. The base is raised but after about the first 1/2 inch, the rest of the tail hangs down. She’s indoors and not very active, mostly curled up on the couch these days due to her age – is this just another symptom of her aging? She doesn’t seem to be in pain, she is eating and eliminating normally.
I’m not sure exactly how old she is since I adopted her from the shelter – but I’ve had her for 14 years – so she’s at least 17 or so. She was not a kitten but mature when adopted.
Thank you
April 20th, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
A question on our 17 year old short hair tabby, his back legs are like an older german shepards when they get old he has lost loads of weight, vet told us that his kidneys are not fantastic, but had meds for this condition as well as his heart, part of his tounge hangs out all the time, just the tip, he drools a fair bit and salivates when eating or drinking, its as if he has no idea what he is doing at times and urinates in the room when he knows he can get oiut and we have left a litter box ready for him so incase he gets caught short, hes alway meowing for food, and we give it him, but he never outs the weight back on, the vets say other than this he is normal and ok, but we can feel his bones and ribs, anything we can do to help him we feel he may not have long and is happy and content otherwise, thanks
April 21st, 2009 @ 8:56 pm
We had the litter box located in the laundry room prior to purchasing the washer and dryer, and the cats didn’t have any problems with using it in that location. When the new washer and dryer arrived, the cats obviously didn’t like the sounds because they chose to “do their business” elsewhere in the house. So we have relocated the litter box to the office, which is less than ideal. Could we lock the cats in the laundry room through a few cycles of laundry to get them used to the noise? Or would that be detrimental or pointless?
April 25th, 2009 @ 10:45 am
I have 4 kittens that im fostering and this is my first time with small babys they are 5 weeks old and there was one that was very agressive meaning hissing and so on, and the other lil guy seemed to do it when it was seeing the one going off like that. now i have 3 that are all doing it and im tryin to get them to stop this so they can get adopted out.
I have there own room with a litter box on one side of the room and food on the other, they have toys bedding and things to climb on i also have 2 dogs and a cat of my own we let our little dog aroud the kittens when watching but they dont like the dog one the little runt of the litter is excepting all of us but the other ones are jhissing worse by the day im seeing, im in there every day off and on to give them some loving at least for couple hours a day so is there somthing im doing wrong? or something i am missing that i need to do? should i seperate the hissers? or seperate them all? what can i do?
please help thank you so much..
April 26th, 2009 @ 8:58 pm
Hi my cat is 13 years old and I found out today that she has a mouth oral tumor. I spent 1500 so far with emergecy and vets trying to find out what is wrong and finally noticed her mouth getting swollen. I love her so much but do not know if i can afford thousands for a mouth surgery. If its benign can she live with it or will ir grow?? She is bleeding inside the mouth also. Its killing me and I just dont know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks
April 28th, 2009 @ 1:50 pm
My cat is driving me, and my parents, INSANE! She’s a tiny cat that’s close to 2 years old, and she’s always been incredibly well behaved… until she had kittens. She has 2 baby kittens now, that are a little over 2 weeks old, and she won’t stop crying! Morning, noon, and night constantly meowing! She takes little breaks of course, but I can’t figure out what her problem is. I feed her, let her out, cuddle her, play with her, and the meowing continues! The only time the incessant meowing stops is when I poke my head in her box with the kittens (it’s laying sideways like a little cave) Even if I lay there and fall asleep for hours, as soon as I leave she starts crying at me again! I had another cat one time that did something similar, but she only did it at night. She didn’t really care though if I laid with her kittens, she just wanted me to be in eyesight at all times at night. She would follow me to the bathroom at night and fall asleep only when I was laying down and going to sleep. The only explanation I could possibly think of is that these cats somehow think I am one of their kittens or something. They couldn’t be that absurd to think that could they?! As much as I would love it, I can’t cuddle up with these kittens 24/7, how do I get her to stop?! PLEASE HELP!!!
April 28th, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
Oh I have a separate question as well if I’m allowed. The offending mother cryer cat’s brother is a sweet tomcat, who is obviously in desperate need of neutering because he keeps coming home battered. As soon as we have the funds to fix him, we’ll take him immediately, but in the meantime he’s almost scared to go outside. There’s a big black cat that lurks about and we’ve caught him bullying poor Max twice and shooed him off. Max is now missing a claw, it’s completely torn out, and he was limping for awhile
It’s healing now, so he doesn’t limp as much, but he cries a lot too. We think that the reason he’s crying though is that he doesn’t want to go outside unless a human accompanies him. So we’ll sit on the porch with him and he’ll be happy. My question’s are, should I do something about his foot or let it heal on it’s own, and is there a way I can get that stupid mean bully cat to stay out of our yard?
May 4th, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
We found a small cat out in the backyard ( or she found us) about 1 1/2 ago. Beautiful and somewhat loving. I figuresd she was abused , because of the way she reacted to the sound of plastic bags and handmovements. It took me a while to get her to trust me. At the time we found her , we also had a black baer on the prowl . He since has been caught and our cat is aloving familymember and is not going outside. She tryed it once and FREAKED out. So , now this “little”cat weighs about 12 pounds – no matter what we feed or do not feed. She allows me to touch her – at times . I respect that.However- when we touch her stomach – she does not like it. She trys to hit us – but imiditely puts her head towards our hand as to appologize…. Any idea what might be wrong with her stomach? She has been doing it since we have her and I am just wondering…….I wonder if she has gotten “fixed” right befor she found us ,and that might be why. She has not been in heat the whole year and a half since we have her. ….
May 11th, 2009 @ 7:04 am
my cat when she rolls over for me to pet her shots out bile from her anal. Very foul smelling, not sure why or what is going on.
May 14th, 2009 @ 1:44 pm
Hello
Im hoping someone can help me deal with this difficult time and figure out what went wrong. Last night I came home about 6:15 and feed my cat Cozmo (3yo). He ate it like normal and was lovable like normal and while me and my husband sat and watched t.v. so did he like normal. About 30 minutes later all of a sudden he bolted into my room and we could hear him whezzing. ( my 1st thought was a hairball) But by the time we got into my room he was on the floor completely limp and he had passed. It was a matter of 20 seconds and he was gone. I hope he felt no pain! Im having the hardest time dealing with his death. Its a little easier when there old and your a little more prepared but I would have been paying more attention to him If I knew this was going to happen! So of course now I feel guilty that I could have prevented this in some way! I would just like to know what happened to him. He was always healthy and had been to the vet for check ups. My friend who works for a vet said it could have been a feline heartattack. Im so sad and miss him terribly. Even Chloe are other cat is sad. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
May 16th, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
I haven’t see my 7yo female cat eat in 4 days!! I work 8hrs/day, so I suppose she may eat when i’m gone but i cant be sure (i have 2 other kitties too) She will go over to her food bowl (dry food) and sniff and walk away smacking her lips. I have tried giving her wet food but she wont even look at it. I just took her to the vet yesterday (she was due for annual senior bloodwork and she was also gagging and vomiting a little) they said If i never told them she was vomiting they would believe she was totally healthy by the looks of her. I dont get the labs back until monday. she is acting normal (sleeping alot-which is normal) and playing like usual. I guess my question is whould she be acting this normal if she hasent eaten in 4 days? I’m assuming lethargy would be a symptom by now??
May 17th, 2009 @ 12:36 am
I have a 2 yr old neutured male catm that was recently in a fight with another male cat. My cat was bitten pretty good ast the base of his tail, he is very tender there. We have been keeping him in and he is sleeping more thna usual, but has had some moments where he plays. I am giving him amoxicillin in case of infection. (he is current on all shots).However I did notice this evening that he isn’t moving his tail. He does clean himself like all cat do, but he is not wiggling or moving it back and forth and it is just hanging. Will it get better, once the tenderness goes away? Should I have this looked into more?
May 18th, 2009 @ 2:41 am
Please help my 2yr old male cat Pasha has started to meow just about every night , he has never been a stay at home cat always out during the day and would only come home at night and when he does he eats and then starts to meow loudly all night it can take at least a couple of hours before he settles down at first I thought it was because he wanted to go to the toilet so I would let hi m out but he would not come home until the morning , we have tried the water squirt and talking to him and giving him affection but then when we go to bed he starts all over the house. this has gone for a couple of months hes not a naughty cat but I just don’t know what to do
May 24th, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
Hi there,
What a great website! Ive had a look around this site but cant find the answer really to my question.
My kitten who is 12 weeks old is using her litter box good as gold for poop and pee. BUT she is also peeing on our bed and I have just found pee on her sheepskin. I have eliminated the bed problem for now, as I am keeping her out of our room. I really want to get onto this now while she is young to teach her to ALWAYS use the kitty litter. She has had a cold and has been on eye drops for that and it has now cleared up. Shes had her first vacination and is due for her second one next week.
I have tried giving her a kitten treat every time she uses the litter box (as she uses it really well), so I really dont understand why she is using it well – but just not all the time?
Help please!
Im cleaning her litter box regulary, it is near her food bowl though – but then would that be a problem since she is using it well?
Thank you SO much for your help – Im at my wits end!
May 25th, 2009 @ 11:22 pm
A cat came to my home and hollered for 3 days and would come up to me when i opened the door.
Couldn’t keep the cat outta my house.
Figured a girl in heat, later found out it was a boy.
I fed him and put him back outside, the next night i let him in- it was raining and he wanted to come in. bought litter box, he eats, goes litterbox, and sleeps constantly. He will get right up on your neck and curl up and go to sleep. At times when he’s in my arms he sighs, or makes a slight moan, his eyes get fixed and if he wasn’t breathing you would think he was dead or dying.
he jumps on furiture and lays down, watches t.v.goes to the door to be let out- meows to come in-
goes to trash and stands up if hungry-moved his litter box cause i wasn’t sure where to put it and he went to where it was and looked at me as if to ask wheres my box it was here last time?
no particular breed, i don’t know if someone let him out-
was wondering if you thought he might be sick or maybe he’s just that loving. never have had a cat like this, not this calm.
his fur is in pretty good shape, looks like he’s been in a small scuffle and is healing back paw missing a small patch of hair and under chin.
this cat litterally adopted me!!!!!!!!!!
please let me know what you think!n’ thanks
May 26th, 2009 @ 7:20 pm
I adopted two older cats in August 2008 – one 3 year old boy and one 4 year old girl. In December, I had to put my girl down due to extreme respiratory problems. Both of the cats got along well.
Recently, a coworkers family found a pregnant stray, that had her kittens just seven weeks ago, and she is searching for homes for the four of them (2 boys, 2 girls).
My 3 year old boy seems to get bored, and also seems to enjoy seeing other cats outside (no hissing, no growling, but will cry/whine when they leave his eyeshot) and play with others inside (I had another cat here for about a week. They were kept separate but there were no problems whatsoever). I have been toying with the idea of getting a kitten, but am still weighing my pros and cons.
What are implications for bringing a kitten home? I have integrated cats before, but I have my reservations about this since my cat is a little needy (what can I say? He has me wrapped around his paw). I live alone – he is a 15-lb long haired yellow tabby, and cost is not a problem. Is there anything I should take in to special consideration? My biggest worry is my cat not getting the attention he is used to!
Thank you for your time
May 28th, 2009 @ 3:38 am
I recently moved back in with my mother, and they own two cats. One male and one female, both are fixed and rather mild mannered. I am an art student, this is important to know only because my rare moments of sleep are being interrupted.
The culprit of my lack of sleep is a strange cat who sits outside my window or the front door and yowls. The low long kind of yowls that can be mistaken for people when they echo. This will continue from midnight well into 4 am.
If I had a cat in heat here I might not be surprised, but the fmeale is spayed! And they don’t even sleep inside. They sleep in our inner backyard. The outer part impassible to the cats because of our dog. My question, is why is this cat so intent on yowling all night at my window? It’s a fluffy gray creature, it runs away as soon as he knows he’s been spotted.
Is there a way I can get him to stop or move on? And why? Why does he/she deprive me of my rest?
May 29th, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
This is urgent..my 4 year old female cat threw up and then proceeded to have an excessive amount of saliva on the floor after I cleaned up the vomit. Her nose appears to be pulsating and she growls when you attempt to pick her up which is not her. She seems lethargic as well. I put her up in her room with the door closed and she isn’t meowing to get out which is really not her. She eats dry food, refuses to eat wet food. What is wrong with my angel?
June 2nd, 2009 @ 11:06 am
Dear Paws and effect team,
I just stumbled over your website.
I live in China and the vets are NOT trained with cats here, so I’ll try to ask you. Thext down below is also posted on an expat exchange forum for my city, maybe somebody knows something there.
Hi,
I have three cats at home, all female. One is in heat right now for the first time and (to all my apologies) since about 2 Months now. I went to three different vets and the answers I got to my/ her problem are outragous.
First, denyal: There is no problem with cats in heat. Somehow right, but… due to the constant ability of mating the uterus undergoes changes, that might (if not will) lead to cancer. 2 out of three doctors deny this fact.
Second, avoiding: If my cat has a problem I should simply return her and get a new one (Really. I got this answer at the Kunming Animal Hospital, KAH).
Third, A solution: Mate the cat. But for me there are enough kittens here in China, they do not need more.
Fourth, an Apologie: My favoured vet told me that he knows waht to do, but his instruments are not good enough to monitor an anesthesia of my cat because she’s to young.
Really, I feel horrible right now. I love all of my animals and never tought that I actually do cruelty to them.
I asked the vets for hormones, but these are not available here in China because they aren’t licensed. I asked if they can spay my cat between the cycles, but no one want’s to. And, if I mate her I don’t know what to do with the kittens because I can’t let free onto the street.
So what’s left. I searched the internet for days. Came up with two solutions I really don’t like. One includes a Q-Tip and should not be further discussed here, the other one is giving your cat human birth control pill. But both solutions include a not too small risk for the cat.
That’s why, before I see myself taking any of these measures, I’d like to ask if anybody encountered the same problem with her or his cat.
Thank’s for your answers, I am open to any suggestions.
June 3rd, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
Hi! My completely indoor cat and I are moving to a house with a yard, which I’m sure he’ll get to partake of. My concern is the possibility of fleas and ticks. With all the recent bad press about flea and tick treatments, I wanted to know what you would recommend and what do you think of treating the yard as well and with what?
June 16th, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
My cat is almost 20 years old. He eats fine and purrs when you pet him. He is thin, but I think he is losing some muscle, he seems ok. today, however, he began chewing on his foot to the point of bleeding. He does not go outside and he usually stays in his bed or goes to his litter box or to eat. I am concerned, but not too worried. My son bandaged it until I can get home. Do you think it’s something else?
June 17th, 2009 @ 2:19 am
I need a cat gate to keep my cat out of the top floor of my new house. What are the best cat gates for staircases? Thanks!
June 17th, 2009 @ 5:58 pm
My sister has two kittens both about 14 weeks old and both have heart murmurs. One of the kittens kept disappearing under the TV so she pulled him out lifting him by the scruff of his neck as there wasn’t much room to grab him properly.
The third time however, she carried him out from behind the TV by the scruff of his neck and put him on the floor. He lay on the floor and didn’t move. His head was on the floor tilted to one side and he looked paralysed. When I went over and poked him, he didn’t move. I picked him up and put him on the sofa and he seemed to ‘come to’ and was his normal self, jumping all over the place as if nothing had happened. It was all rather shocking.
Was it a result of lifting him by the scruff of the neck? He is still very small so has hardly any weight and he didn’t moan or fight and seemed quite relaxed about it and submissive afterwards. Needless to say though, we didn’t do it again. He has also been sneezing a lot lately which my sister thinks is down to his jabs.
Any light you could shed on this would be great.
Thanks,
Sarah
June 18th, 2009 @ 11:24 pm
Ok my cat is an indoor/outdoor cat she is a small 7 month old calico who is spayed with all her shots.
I’m worried that she will run away or get killed by a bird or dog or something !
Can you reasure me that it won’t happen or please tell me ways to make sure it won’t thanks !
June 19th, 2009 @ 1:38 am
I have a (approximately) 3 year old cat whom I adopted about 2 years ago from a shelter. When I first got her she was very shy and it took about a day or so of me constantly being around for her to get used to me, and even longer for the rest of the family. She’s fine with the normal household people now, but I have a problem…
She’s been meowing an awful lot lately. Her litter box and water/food bowls are clean and full, so I’m thinking she just wants attention and wants to play. If this isn’t the case, I’d like to take her to the vet to be checked up on. She hasn’t been since I first got her two years ago, but like stated before, she’s terribly afraid/shy of new people and places. How would I go about taking her to a vet without causing her too much stress?
June 22nd, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
My 11 year old Orangey tabby cat used to be really fat with a healty appetite. About a month ago, after I treated a bunch of carpet stains, he vomited everything he ate – in the last three days, or so it seemed.
I think this was because of him injesting chemicals used on the carpet stains. Anyway, after that he will not eat anything I give him unless it is offered as a treat – given to him by hand. If I put it in a bowl he isn’t interested.
I took him to the vet and they ran some very expensive tests. His liver and kidneys are ok. His teeth are fine. He doesn’t have hyperthyroidism and his blood cell count is normal. The only problem they found was that he was dehydrated. The vet thought that he wasn’t eating becuase he was dehydrated and he wasn’t drinking because he wasn’t eating. A catch-22.
So they re-hydrated him intraveneously. The vet told me that he was eating fine after the re-hydration and I took him home. But after I got him home he is back to only eating food that is offered to him as treats. I put the same food in a bowl and he is not interested. I’ve tried the same food that the vet says he was eating, and an expensive all-liquid diet designed for older cats call “Cat Sure” and several different types of wet cat food. I also tried giving him human tuna and sardines. But all of this he will eat – only if they are offered to him as a treat.
I don’t see any point towards bringing him back to the vet. Any help would be appreciated. In about a month’s time he went from 18 pounds to 9 pounds!
June 23rd, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
This isn’t urgent, but I would still like to know.
My cat, Suntia, is fully grown and completely healthy. (socially and psychically) There is only one problem though, she tries to nurse off of you! When she was little we thought it was no big deal because my mom said another cat had a while ago that died did it too when she was a kitten, but she grew out of it. Suntia is nearly two years old and is still trying to suck on our arms and any other bit of bare skin. None of out other cats do this, and I do not know what to do! Is this strange for a cat and is there any way to stop it?
June 23rd, 2009 @ 6:25 pm
HELP! My cat wont stop licking his tummy, all the fur is gone in some spots and its leaving red sores where he keeps licking in the same spot and it will even bleed. What can i do to keep him from licking?
June 23rd, 2009 @ 7:19 pm
We just got a new cat around Christmas and he and our other cat fight (play-fight?) all the time! How can we tell if it’s just play fighting or if they have some sort of un-worked out agression? The new cat is a boy and our other cat is a girl. He’s nearly a year old (a ragdoll) and she’s about 7years old (rescued alley cat). They usually alternate who is the agressor, which makes me think that it’s play-fighting, but I’m just not sure. They are both fixed. Sometimes it can be cute, but other times it drives me bananas!! What’s going on in their fuzzy little heads!?
June 24th, 2009 @ 9:46 am
HELP! My friend is going to put her cat to sleep unless you can answer me, PLEASE! My friend’s cat has diabetes. He is on 8 units twice a day. they ran out of their vet’s prescribed cat food and bought some dry food at the local market. The next day he had a seizure. They gave him a spoonful of Karo syrup (which they said they were told to do in the past). This was on Sunday. Over the past 3 days he has continued to have seizures and they have stopped giving him insulin altogether. They won’t take him to the vet. They say that if he doesn’t get better they will have to just put him to sleep because they’ve seen this with him too many times before. Is there something that can be done from home because they’re not going to take him into the vet.
June 24th, 2009 @ 3:07 pm
I have a feral cat in my back yard,
About a month ago she started walking like
she had a stroke with her head to the side.
She seemed to be improving. Then,
This morning she has taken a much worse turn
and can hardly get up, pupils dialated.
When I tried to go get a trap try and help her,
she had clawed her way into a shed I don’t have
access to. A real heartbreaker because she has some wild kittens. What could have happened to her?
June 25th, 2009 @ 5:58 pm
My Cat has Hyperthyroidism and is on vidalta, however in the last 2 days she has developed a sort of cramp type symptom in her legs, especially her front left leg, where she falls over and it can take a few minutes for her to recover. She has also lost her appetite (she has eaten Iamms her whole life) over the last few days but her been going to the toilet regularaly.
She does not see to be in any pain or discomfort during these spasms and will purr when we comfort or pat her. Treacle is 18 and a house cat who is quiet healthy apart from the Hperthyriodism.
June 26th, 2009 @ 1:56 pm
My cat has a yellowish lump (no fluid) about half the size of a small pea by his eye, in the area of the tear duct on humans. I noticed it just last night and he doesn’t seem bothered by it. He does often lick his paw and wipe his face and head so perhaps he irritated this area or maybe has a clogged tear duct, I don’t know. Any suggestion what it could be or how long I should wait before taking him to a Vet provided it doesn’t get any larger of course. Thanks in advance for any advice you offer.
June 29th, 2009 @ 9:39 am
Our sweet 3-year old male cat refuses to go into his carrying case, even if we put treats in it. This happens whenever we take him someplace other than the veterinarian as well. Even if we try to place him in the case backside first (as we’ve seen some vet techs do successfully) he struggles mightily and throws himself against the door when it is closed and cries. We need to get him in the box a few times a year to board him and I wouldtake any suggestions at this point. Thanks you for any suggestions.
June 29th, 2009 @ 11:39 am
I have 2 cats, brothers who we have raised since infancy (we had to bottle feed their mom abandond them). One of the passed away rather suddenly. How can I comfort and care for the other so he doesn’t feel so alone? Is it recommended to get another cat?? The surviving brother has never shown intrest in any othr animals aside from his brother. . . I have been loving him when he comes around but don’t want to smother him with attention if he needs time to grieve.
June 29th, 2009 @ 7:41 pm
We got back from vacation Sunday and discovered that one of our cats was inadvertently locked in a closet for 4 days (the cleaning people came, the cat is very shy and hid in the closet, not her usual spot, and they must have closed the door).
Since this cat never comes out to see our cat sitter, she didn’t know she was locked in (the cat wouldn’t cry unless she knew we were in the house).
She is now eating and drinking normally it seems, and very happy to see us (and I’ve added “check closet” to the cat sitter’s list of things to do).
I’m concerned about possible kidney damage, etc., from her not drinking for 4 days… any thoughts?
Thanks.
June 30th, 2009 @ 5:42 pm
this is a really helpful site.Im ten years old and trying to figur out if my kitten is a boy or a girl
July 1st, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
I have an 8 month old kitten. She was always full of energy and would always wait for me at the door when i got home. The other day i came home and noticed her walking funny kind of like she was drunk! I didnt think anything of it till the next day. So i took her to the vet they did some blood work. her liver count is high i guess its supposed to be at a 100 hers is 125 her gobblins or whatever are high too. they gave me some medicine called claramox and now testing her for F.I.P which i hope she doesnt have. Shes eating not really drinking much doesnt have diarhea. She staggers around walks sideways and would fall to her side. Shes been really tired she usually doenst like to be held but the past couple days she hasnt left my arms. She will sit there and put her head down and kind of look at up at you with her eyes with out moving her head she kind of looks poessed. Please tell me it that this is a little virus that will clear up with the meds. I really dont want to put my 8 month old baby down I cant stop crying thinking it might be this F.I.P thing! please give me some good news!
July 6th, 2009 @ 12:25 am
I live in a large apartment building and have recently discovered that my house has bed bugs. How do I get rid of them with out exposing my kitties to harmful toxins? Are the usual chemicals to get rid of bed bugs safe to use if you have cats in the house?
Thanks and purrs to you all.
July 6th, 2009 @ 11:04 am
My companion cat (1 1/2 y.o. tux) paws at and moves his water dish (sometimes even overturning it). I clean it out, and he still does it. I’ve tried warmer water, cooler and even with a little ice. I’ve tried to nudge him when he does it. He only does this with the water dish.
Please help as this is very annoying to both of us when turns the dish over.
Thank you, I hope mama gives you a little cat mint or catnip tonight.
July 7th, 2009 @ 11:30 pm
First, hello from a fellow Mainer!
My question:
I recently lost my beloved 10-and-a-half year old bunny named Sunday. She was the light of my life and I can’t imagine getting another bunny for a long while. However, I also can’t imagine a life without at least one animal, so I am planning (after much research and soul searching) to get a cat.
Although I have been a proud parent to dogs, guinea pigs and bunnies in the past, I have never had a cat. What is the best way to introduce the cat to her (or his) new home? How can I make her (or him) feel most comfortable with both the new surroundings and me?
Although I have not gotten a cat yet, I do know that I want an adult and I will adopt from a local shelter/rescue group. The cat will be indoor-only and will be the only pet in the home. Also, I have no children, so no need to worry about introductions there!
I’m planning to get a cat next month while I’m on vacation so I can spend time around the house to help with the adjustment. But I have no idea *how* to help with that adjustment. Most everything I read talks about what to do when bringing a kitten home. What about the adopted adult?
July 9th, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
My cat died yesterday.
The night before, he was all up as usual and running around, being his loving self as usual.
When I woke up about 8 hours later he had been vomiting all over the apartment. And he couldnt stop. The vomits were all clear, seemed like alot of water and saliva. He was VERY tired, could barely walk and just wanted to be alone and “sleep”. I took him to the vet a bit later and they said his temp was so low and it was probably too late to make him better.
The vet also asked if he had been going to his litter box to pee and poo properly. I know there was lumps in the box so I know he been there, but not exactly if he peed or not. But during the last night he had been taking a poo on one of my rugs.
I think she said she couldnt feel one of his blatters (not sure if it was the urinal or what.. I was in a state of shock).
He was around 12 years old and had been well overweight for some years.
My question is: if he was so up and running and loving as he always was, the night before: is it possible he suddenly went bad like that? Could it have been something serious inside of him for a longer period that suddenly made him so bad that he passes away less than 10 hours after he was his usual self?
I am trying to understand how this happened. What the cause could have been. I guess I am hoping that by understanding this, I will be able to somehow move on easier. he was my BEST friend for MANY years.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
July 9th, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
My cat came home with the last 6 inches of his tail skinned. No hair is left at all. I have cleaned it with saline solution. What else can I do for him? Will he and his tail be ok? I am on a fixed income and really can’t afford a vet bill. Thank you so much for your help!
July 16th, 2009 @ 2:31 am
Hello.
I have a 1 year old red tabby spotted British Shorthair tomcat called Rubi. We took him as a house pet but since he’s pedigreed with father and grandfather being European Champions (the supreme title in Europe) we considered introducing him in competitions because he’s just perfect
So we didn’t neuter him because we wanted full development of bones and muscles. We live in a flat and he is an indoor cat living alone and he’s calm and doesn’t spray. We had no problems with him not being neutered and he has brothers from other generations not being neutered at 6 years old and they all are ok.
So we decided that he needs a partner to spend time with when we are not at home. So we bought from the same breeder another brother of him from this year generation. He is a 2 months old blue male kitten called Kimi and we brought him home. Unfortunatelly the first reaction of Rubi when we show him Kimi was to jump on him and bite him by the neck and try to mount him. We had to keep them separated, Kimi in one room with food, water and litter and Rubi in the rest of the house. The first 2-3 days Rubi was very scared and breathing fast and very aggresive with Kimi when we let them meet from time to time under close supervision. But things have improved in one week. Rubi became more indifferent to Kimi’s energy and he’s not chasing him everywhere as he used to do. He eats and drinks with Kimi playing around and even sleeps near Kimi. In fact as I write this words Rubi is licking Kimi’s ear as they sleep together. But he still attacks Kimi from time to time. Not as hard as in the begining, but he still tries to mount him. Usually he attacks him when Kimi is reaching one of Rubi’s preffered places, like the cat tree or when Kimi runs in Rubi’s mouth or when Kimi is sitting with the back.
My question is that this behaviour will end in a while. There is just one week since they are together and things are improving every day. We supervise them permanently and because Rubi is less aggressive we try to let them spend time together as much as we can but closely supervising them. Kimi has lot of energy and he is very daring and provokes Rubi at a cat fight all the time though he’s just a fraction of his size. He doesn’t care when he is bitten and the next thing he attacks Rubi again. I have to keep Rubi from attacking Kimi and Kimi from running in Rubi’s jaws all the time
) Kimi really loves Rubi: he pushes his head towards him and tries to reach him with his little paws when they are sleeping and I hope that soon Rubi we’ll start love him too.
If you have anny advice or sugesstion please tell me if that things will be ok.
Thank you very much.
Michael P.
July 16th, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
I need advice I have started feeding a stray cat and her 2 kittens that wandered into my yard. The cat has become somewhat friendly with me but the kittens are not at all friendly, I have been feeding them for 2 weeks. A couple of days ago I brought my dog out of the house for a walk and we encountered the mother cat. It attacked my Pit Bull dog! I mean ATTACKED! I was in shock! I have owned cats all my life and Ive never seen a cat do that. Now my dog is so scared it will not step foot outside of the house.
I don’t know what to do, I love animals and I want to help these homeless cats by feeding them but I also do not want my dog to be attacked again and possibly hurt by this cat and I don’t want her to not be able to go for a walk outside because I have to take her everyday, I don’t want her to be scared in her own home.. I just need some advice, do I just stop feeding the cats so they will go away? It breaks my heart to do so but I don’t know if I have any other choice.
July 16th, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
I Hope this is the right place to leave this.
HELP PLEASE!!!!!! (sorry it’s kind of long)
My story begins about three years ago. I bought a kitten as a companion for my recently adopted 2.5 year old neutered male cat Gosmot.
The kitten (Desert) cried constantly, which did not surprise me as when I got him he was only 7 weeks old. He had been removed from his mother at 6 weeks and had already been at two different pet shops by the time I bought him. He also had worms and was extreamly under weight when I brought him home.
He used to nap with me on saturday afternoons on the couch at that time he was having extreamly regular “vivid / active” dreams (he twitched and twittered constantly.
He was neutered at 5 months as he had started to spray (no smell just the action)and i did not want to wait for the smell before getting him fixed.
At six months I started to notice a marked jelousy in him towards Gosmot. They were both outdoor / indoor cats, and both neutered short hair males.
I waited to see if the jelousy subsided, it didn’t. So I thought that if I got another cat then it would help with the jelousy as while I was paying attention to one the other two would occupy them selves (HUGE MISTAKE).
So about 2 years ago when Desert was one and Gosmot was 3.5 I got Forest. For the first 6 months he came to work with me every day. Then when he started to stay home I noticed a massive amount of fighting when I was home. I progressed from playfighting to hissing spitting and hairflying.
About a year ago I joined CATSTER (an online community specifically for cat lovers and adoption) I found Desert a new home but they called me 2 days later to pick him up saying that he was crying too much. I beleive that as I think he has some siamese or oriental in him he talks a lot and when he is stressed he YOWLS. The Catster community gave tons of advise to help with the situation. So I added 2 litterboxes (I could not add three as my apartment is too small), made them indoor only cats (they were not happy about that), bathed them all on the same day with the same shampoo so that they would all smell the same. After each of thesethe situations improved for about a week or 2 then whent right back to fighting.
Finally I separated them for 3 months each to thier own room in the house and rotated them on a weekly basis. This worked untill about April when 2 things happened I had a cable guy come and install cable (Gosmot & Forest got out because the guy was not carfull even though I told him to be.) And a friend came to help me clean my windows. While my friend was there she yelled at Desert (the aggressive cat) squirted cleaning product right in his face & let them all outside. All this even though she new that I had been going through and extreamly hard time with them due to Deserts agression problem and that I had FINALLY gotten it under control, and I instructed her to NOT interact with the cats as I knew she was not particularly fond of cats.
The agression got really bad after this and it was 100% directed towards Forest the youngest cat. I tried separating them again and NOTHING. When I am home I let them roam as they wish. I have been attacked because I was petting Forest. It is really stressing me because the attacks on Forest are not provoked it’s not like they are sitting there staring at one another. Sometimes Forest could be in a room all by him self playing with a toy or something, Desert will walkin walk straight up to him and full on attack. Other times it is if Forest walks past Desert or is sitting with Gosmot or me whe will just walk up and attack him.
Desert is fine with Gosmot they even sleep together and groom each other.
Where as he is afraid of strangers, he LOVES my friends who are regular visitors and is the most affectionate cat I have ever had.
I have tried to find him a new home but nobody wants him due to his issues. And I can’t afford an animal behaviourist to come and asses him. There is nothing medicaly wrong with him or Forest, and Gosmot just Had a full blood work up done as we are not sure about his age but he is aproaching the 6/7 year old age.
I did speak with a behaviourist and she called him a “special edition”, I’ve discussed euthenasia with 2 different vets but they won’t do it because he is not a “Medically sick” cat.
This is my question I have done EVERYTHING I can think of and litterally spent thousands of dollars on medical tests and pet supplies to try to help him with his problem.
His symptoms are simple – He motivelessly attacks the youngest cat (he has drawn blood). You may count the fact that he can fall off the floor (I’ve had him tested – he’s just clusty they tell me), and he has developed a habit of pacing infront of the windows. I have three 6′ window in my apartment and he goes to one at a time and paces anywhere from 5 min to 1/2 hour.
I just need to know where to go or what to do to get him to stop his sever agression. Links on the web that offer concise and practical advise. I can’t afford more than I’ve already spent and I can’t afford the stress and toll it is taking on my health. I am in constant worry that one day Forest will end up dead at the hands of Desert.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! What can I do ????????
Thank you =)
Jazmin
July 21st, 2009 @ 6:44 pm
Since we have had our cat (about three years… he was about six months when we got him) we have never left him alone for much more than 24 hours, and that was only twice (and we had a neighbor feed him). Now we are looking at a vacation for six days. Will he be afraid we are not coming back?
July 24th, 2009 @ 11:57 am
I have an 8-year-old spayed female American short hair cat. She’s always been more on the vocal side but the past few months she’s gotten excessive. I know it’s not medically related because she’s been checked out by our vet who thought it was attention-seeking behavior and gave us two recommendations: ignoring it (which has not worked) or locking her in another room which just makes her scream louder until she calms herself down and then comes out. But the behavior seems to be only attached to me. she does not do this to my husband. Unless she is sitting on me or near me she is screaming or yelling. She exhibited this behavior a few years ago when her brother died suddenly. We did get her two more companions at our vet’s recommendation and she was fine for years but recently it’s flared up again with no new changes in the household. She is driving me absolutely crazy! Please help!
July 26th, 2009 @ 6:15 pm
Hi, I just got a new kitten. He is about 6 weeks old now and we have a major problem. My boyfriend and I just got a new house and the kitten “Tyson” uses the litter box MOST of the time but still poops on our bedroom floor. I’ve tried to say “No” and put him in the litter box and he will use it but he still goes back at least once or twice a day and does it again in the same spot. Today I tried moving our large wicker laundry hamper over the spot he was doing his business and sprayed scent remover hoping that would help him to stop but he went about a foot away from the laundry hamper and pooped again. I don’t know what to do this has been going on a week, but it’s growing a little old. Obviously he knows how to use the litter box but still wants to do this in our bedroom. I used to let him sleep with us at night but now I keep him in the laundry room at night with his bed, litter box and food hoping that may help him to only use the litter box and to prevent accidents during the night. If it doesn’t stop though I’m going to have to take him back to pound where we adopted him from, I don’t want to because he’s so sweet and affectionate, but I just can’t keep cleaning up his messes everyday … it’s ridiculous.
July 29th, 2009 @ 2:44 am
There is a stray cat that I have been taking care of. I put food in the garage for him because he likes to come hang out in there, but I have 3 dogs (a chihuaha, jack russel, and a pit bull) and one day they got ahold of him and on this day my sister was here with her bull dog. so all 4 dogs got a hold of him my 2 sisters broke it up and got the cat safe in my garage. right when I got home from work (within a half hour) I immidiatly went and got him and checked him put. he seemed fine at first but I kept finding scratches on his body and here was a sore 3/4 th e way up his tail and he had ripped off nails. after about 2 weeks I let him go back out into the garage because we had fixed it so he could get in and out of the garage saftely but just now I saw him and brought him in for a check up and the tip of his tail passed the sore is completely stiff and almost seems dried up. Is his tail dead? and having no money for a vet what can I do to fix the problem?
August 2nd, 2009 @ 11:53 pm
My cat CiiCii she sits her butt over the litter box really high and misses how do i fix that thanks !
August 4th, 2009 @ 3:55 pm
THIS IS URGENT!! PLEASE REPLY SOON!!!!!!!!
My Mom && I had just adopted a cat from PAWS. When we first started talking to the lady that fostered him, she warned us that he did have diarrhea && she was taking him to the vet and they checked him out but couldnt really find what was causing this except a something with a vail(sp). THey put him on some steriods n some other medicines, and he seemed to do a better n have a little bit of a stool.
So we went ahead && brought him home. The first day we had him, he ended up having diarrhea again but it was mainly cause of the big change,, and through the next couples weeks he did alot better…He had a stool, it was a little soft but not running. Well these past 5 days, he has started to do it again…but he will not use the litter box. The only time he uses it now is when he pees.
We have used bleach where he poops to keep him away from it, but he still keeps finding someplace else to poop.
Any ideas to make him use the litter box?? HELPPPP please
August 5th, 2009 @ 8:56 am
I have a 4 week old kitten that is a outside pet that it’s mother just brought it to my porch. I cleaned it off and clean around the eyes, however it dont seem to be able to open them, it act like it’s blind. I dont have money to take it to the vet, so how do i help the mother cat protect the kitten. I appreciate any thing you can tell me. Mary
August 8th, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
My very healthy 10 year old cat died very suddenly three weeks ago. He exhibited no symptoms of illness or injury prior to his death. I found him tucked in a corner lying on his side, very peaceful. We had blood in his mouth and had a bowel movement, those were the only indications anything had happened to him. I know I’ll probably never find out why he died, we were in so much shock and grief we buried him right away. I would appreciate any insight. thanks
August 18th, 2009 @ 9:18 pm
My cat, Beamer, was found in the engine (yes, it had been running and had travelled a few miles) of a BMW when he was only 6-8 weeks old. A co-worker pulled him out unharmed and he’s been my baby ever since. Beamer is extremely and consistently vocal, almost sounds like he’s dying, any time he has to travel in a vehicle. He also always urinates in his carrier everytime we go to the vet and the vet is only 2 miles away.
We’re moving to Houston from Phoenix in about a month and we will be driving our pets to our new home. I’ve had a horrific experience with boarding facilities when moving in the past and I will NEVER do that to my babies again. What can I do to soothe Beamer for the long journey? I really don’t like the idea of tranquilizers because they had some very negative effects on my childhood cat. Beamer is perfectly healthy, 4 yrs old and is rarely vocal outside of a vehicle. Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated. I love him dearly and don’t want to traumatize the poor guy.
August 18th, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
*****FOR CONNIE HAMMES*****
My childhood cat had the same problem. It started about a year before he got to the point where he couldn’t hold anything down, not even water. We had every test possible done to find the problem only to find nothing. He was about 15 at the time. He was very weak but managed to jump up in my bed one morning and looked me in the eye… It was as if he was telling me it was time to let him go. We took him to the vet to be put down and I held him as he went. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. Looking back it was worth it knowing that he was no longer in pain.
I had my cat from when I was 8 yrs old until I was 22. We were so close that he slept with me every night, all night, and followed me around the neighborhood. There’s no words that can be said to ease the pain of losing a loved one. I hope you find the strength to do what’s best for your kitty. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
August 24th, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
my cat is also irritated from her bottom area. she poops constantly but very little. she is also licking herself down there constantly.we took her to the vet and everything but we cant seem to know exactly the problem is. my mother asked the vet if what she needs is antibiotics and the vet said no. in the passed my mom has bought her a laxitone medice for hairball and the vet said to give that to her now. and since we’ve given her that, she has been doing pretty well but that well to say she’s 100% healthy.
August 25th, 2009 @ 11:30 am
Help! I have a male DSH who is almost 13 years old. I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old and we’re the best of friends. In the past he’s always had a little bit of a delicate stomach and a strange liking of “trashy” supermarket brand wet food and human grade tuna (both of which if given everyday give him diarrhea). His dry kibbles are Royal Canin, which he goes through various types and appetites for. He grew up with an older sister who passed away almost 3 years ago. Since her passing, Niles (my cat) often cried in the dark just before bedtime. 2 weeks ago I bring home a 9 week old male kitten (Oscar), after a couple of days of separation and short interactions they started to get along and play together. Niles stopped crying in the dark. However, he also stopped eating and passing stools during the 1st week of Oscar’s arrival. Last week all he would eat was tuna and Whiskers temptations. The resultant diarrhea was filled with blood and mucus. I took him straight to the vets where I found he’d lost 1kg in weight (dropping 1/6th of his body weight) between his last check-up in February and last week). He was given a range of tests and all his blood work came back normal and healthy. He doesn’t have hyperthyroidism, pancreatitis, renal failure, FIV, feline leukemia. His x-rays were negative and his stool sample results for bacterial infection is pending. I’ve tried several medi-cal tins and he will eat a little maybe every other day or so but not much. I’ve tried raw food and he won’t touch it, I’ve tried heating the food slightly and he still won’t eat it. The vet gave him an anti-emetic shot since he had brought up some bile a couple of days ago and I have a paste which is supposed to help him whilst his diarrhea is present. I should note that his stools no longer contain mucus or blood and are no longer watery (I would say soft and formless). He urinates daily (doesn’t seem to be more or less than usual) but I never see him drink water (which is fresh daily and carbon-filtered). He was dehydrated upon the first vet visit so he’s had SQ fluids 3 times (last Thurs, Sat, and yesterday). He’s still out in the open but gets annoyed with the kitten and is disinterested in playing with Oscar. Although they do sleep side by side (although not cuddling). He regularly comes to the kitchen for is food, seems genuine in his want to be fed, yet sniffs at his food and scratches to cover it. I don’t want to feed him tuna and treats although I know he will eat them as I also know this will exacerbate his diarrhea. He will eat Campbell’s condensed pea soup (he’s always liked it so as a last resort I gave him 2 teaspoons last night which he ate with ease).
Please help, he lost 100g between Thurs and Mon and I can’t help but feel that if he doesn’t start eating he’s going to have medical complications even though his panels are currently all clear.
PS Oscar had his check up when I brought him home and he was given a clean bill or health and his stool sample was negative.
August 25th, 2009 @ 11:34 am
PS I should point out that when Niles does eat he doesn’t vomit his food back up again. His coat is shiny and he still cleans himself fastidiously and purrs loudly when stroked.
August 25th, 2009 @ 3:50 pm
Max is a very calm, mellow cat. She is very affectionate and is not bothered by loud noises, sudden movements – you can drop a pan next to her and she’ll just look at you then go back to whatever she was doing. Not even going to the vet bothers her.
The past few days she has taken to hiding behind the table in our family room when we are about to leave for work. (Her bed is located in this room and it’s where we spend most of our time when home.) She just goes behind and sits or lays there. She is friendly if you go back there for her – she’ll let you pet her, act normally except that she is behind the table. The first time it happened, I was able to get her to come out with her favorite toy, but as soon as I stopped playing, she went back behind the table. She did this on Thursday and Friday, did not do it when we came and went over the weekend, did not do it Monday, but did it again this morning (Tuesday). She is fine when I get home from work.
She was a stray cat that found us almost one year ago and this is the first time she has exhibited this behavior. What could it be? What is the best way to handle this? Could this be a symptom of something wrong?
August 29th, 2009 @ 10:17 am
I have a 3 year old male cat. He has an overbite and eats a few pieces of food at a time then cries to go back out. Every time one of us walk in the door, he wants back in…will eat a couple of bites and cry to go back out. This goes on ALL day…literally 20 times a day…and it’s driving us crazy! He’s a small cat and VERY sweet. But he’s really pushing us to the edge of our tolerance. I literally cannot go on like this. Please help us and tell us what we can do to make him stop doing this! He’s been neutered. THANK YOU!
August 30th, 2009 @ 5:48 am
hiya! this seems pretty urgent to me!
i got a wee kitten about 4 months ago, hes around 6 and a half months old now, but i noticed yesterday his gums were bleeding right at the line of where his teeth come out, i wasnt sure what it was but thought hed bit a stick and it had just left a little cut, but now hes barely eating anything and its clear its painful for him when he does.he tries to wipe his mouth and meows in a strange way that sounds as if he is very sore. when i look at his gums(which he doesnt let me do for long) it seems like his bottom teeth are jutting into his top gum, as if maybe theyre chipped or somthing, its just very worrying because normally he is so greedy with food but now he wont eat anything.
i also took the time to blend his food up thinking he could just lick it, but he wont even touch that. my parents are away for a short break and obviosly i dont have the money to take him just to be checked up(since its out of hours) if its somthing silly that would waste the vets time. does it sound like he needs to go?
im not even really sure what his mouth should look like to know if somthing is wrong. but there is still bleeding and he has barely ate in two days.
please help, very very worried.
thank you for reading
August 31st, 2009 @ 12:48 am
Hi,
I have a cat about 2-3 years old. She’s an indoor-outdoor cat, and is generally a nice kitty. Last winter, we had fleas, and after a bit of work, we got rid of them. However, ever since then, she’s been very OCD about cleaning herself & biting herself. She hasn’t ruined her fur or damaged herself, but my roommate is really concerned.
Do you have any advice about how to help kitty not chew herself?
Thanks,
Paul
September 1st, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
Hi Cathy,
I had a kitty who had similar symptoms and she had gingivitis. Try chicken broth or beef broth baby food, easy for kitty to eat
September 5th, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
My five month old male, Oscar, frequently has swollen paw pads. They don’t seem to bother him much, just swell up to twice their normal size and he licks them a lot and it eventually goes away, but always comes back. This week one pad got a crust on it and he chewed it a little and it got infected. I took him to the vet, who wanted to do blood tests for leukemia that would cost $150 and he wanted the money right then, in addition to the $30 office visit and $15 for antibiotics. I didn’t have the money for the tests so I made another appt for two weeks from now. I came home and did some research and it looks like eosinophilic granuloma complex to me, which could be caused by an allergy. I can’t afford these blood tests! What can I do? The paw is clearing up with the antibiotics. If Oscar does have leukemia and requires ongoing care I will not be able to afford it but I love this cat and do not want to lose him. Anybody have a similar experience/advice?
September 6th, 2009 @ 1:07 am
Greetings from Layla, Hank, and Dean!
Hank and Dean are two young boys who were adopted this summer. Unfortunately, Hank had hookworm and spread it to Dean within the first day or two, and they’ve both undergone two rounds of treatment for it so far. Hank still has diarrhea, though, poor thing… but Layla is wondering whether the illness is more stress-related than worm-related at this point. You see, they all had to move (twice within the last month!), first from a pretty big house to a smaller temporary location, and then–finally–to a new studio apartment. It’s only about 288 square feet in total, and this is where they’ll have to stay for at least the next year.
The apartment has a large window with blinds, some fairly old carpeting covering the whole main area, a kitchenette and a small bathroom. It’s a single-story complex, so the front door opens right out into the world, which is bad news! Dean is naturally very adventurous and curious, and he’s already had a few daring escapes after only being here a week. The last one involved having to get him down from the roof at 1 am!
Anyway, the big problem they’re all having is twofold: sleep and scratching. During the day, everyone gets along really well. The boys are practically best friends, and love to snooze together, play together, and even eat together. At night, though, they cause a real ruckus! Layla has tried everything she can think of: playing with them before bed, feeding them, removing the food dish overnight… but nothing seems to help. They run around like crazy attacking everything in sight, including the blinds, Layla’s feet, the already-fraying carpet, and sometimes even her hair!
Hank especially likes to attack things that move under the blanket (like arms and feet) or make his way under the blinds to see what he can see. There’s no way to keep him out of the “bedroom” either, since it’s a studio apartment. Dean, on the other hand, will claw at the frayed edges of the carpet all night long (making Layla really worry about her security deposit) or run circles around the room, and on top of her, seeming only to rest when 5 or 6 am rolls around.
Layla went so far as to get sisal rugs and several toys (both catnip and non), as well as a nice comfy cat bed, and she already had a carpeted scratching post, an “S-Curve” piece of cat furniture, and some string toys before that. She rubbed catnip on the post and the mats, but Dean-the-scratch-master only wants to go for the carpet! Layla supposes it’s because the edges are already coming up, so the stringy bits are naturally inviting. That, and the fact that the door goes right to the outside world, so the carpet near the door is probably pretty enticing (this is where Dean scratches the most).
Meantime, Hank still has some tummy trouble, but again: could it just be stress?
What sort of suggestions might the kitties and people at Paws and Effect have for us? Anything would be appreciated!
September 6th, 2009 @ 6:48 pm
Hi there,
I have a 20 year old cat, Spooky, who last weekend (Aug. 29) stopped eating and became very lethargic, and his meows sounded so small and quiet, very different from his usual loud, obnoxious meow. He also seemed to be excessively thirsty and was vomitting up his water. I took him to the vet and they did blood tests and a urine test, gave him fluids and vitamins because he was dehydrated. He suffers from hyperthyroidism and is currently taking Tapazole to help regulate his thyroid. When the tests came back, they showed nothing other than his thyroid was somewhat high (66). The vet is hesitant to raise his dosage, but did give me some pills to increase his appetite and other pills to settle his stomach. I am also waiting for the results of a urine culture and sensitivity test. So, Spooky seemed to be getter better throughout the week, eating more and becoming more active. But then again this morning he didn’t get out of bed, didn’t eat his breakfast, and won’t eat anything. He’s drinking tons of water and has vomitted only water twice today. It’s the exact same symptoms as last weekend. He’s also been losing a lot of weight as well. He lost 3 pounds in the last 5 months and currently weighs 9.2lbs.
So, I was wondering if you have any ideas about what it could be or what could be happening to my poor kitty?
September 7th, 2009 @ 8:24 pm
Hello, I have several concerns about my 15 week old kitten. We got him when he was about seven weeks, and have spayed him, and he’s had all shots and care. He has several behavior issues we have tried to solve by looking up solutions, but don’t seem to work. He cries a lot! he cries walking around, as if he wonders where we have gone, if we want alone time he cries at our door, and every morning at sunrise he cries at our bedroom door. We try our hardest never to reward this behavior. We ignore him and after about forty-five minutes the crying at the doors stops and he moves on. Then he will come back and begin again only a few minutes later. We have never rewarded this behavior, yet he continues it all morning, and all day! He also bites. Usually our ankles, and our arms. He’ll just suddenly attack. I have tried playing with him tirelessly, with fishing toys, laser lights, etc. yet he insists on attack. He follows me everywhere (which I don’t terribly mind) but he’ll start to attack my ankles (and it hurts!) I have even tried punishing the behavior with a water gun, and rewarding him with treats when he is nice, but still he bites. Finally, he gets on our coffee table and our counters, especially when we eat. We have tried teaching him “down” and “stay” with treat rewards, and punishing with squirts from the water gun when he is on the table/counter, but he still continues. We do the squirting every time too! Not just every once in a while. We even give holler as we squirt, and yelp when he bites. And when he cries we remain completely silent. I simply don’t understand what we’ve done to encourage the behavior, and what more we can do to end it. Thank you so much for your help!
September 8th, 2009 @ 5:27 am
I woke up this morning and my cat was moaning and not moving. Now he is not moving at all, he stays in the position that I put him in. He is still breathing. He is an inside cat. What could be wrong? I can’t get ahold of a vet until 8am.
Note: We advised this reader to contact the vet ASAP, since this is an emergency.
September 8th, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
Help! This is urgent! A few weeks ago I rescued a brand-new kitten from under my porch. She seems to be doing well and has been seen by a vet. The vet told me her tail was crushed. I noticed that she started to chew on it so, I wrapped it up. Just now, it came off! There is a little blood. I wrapped it up again. What is going on?
September 9th, 2009 @ 6:19 am
Update on Hank and Dean: please help…
These three have been getting along so well, but things have gotten a bit worse since their last post. The last couple of nights, the two boys have taken to running “marathons” through the studio, which is somewhat understandable seeing as they’re young and in a confined space. However, now, they’ve discovered how to open the mini-fridge (it’s a half-size unit which fits snugly under the counter, making any manipulation or attempts to “lock it shut” very difficult), and have also developed an interest in the trash! The fridge is a HUGE problem, since Layla is on a limited budget and can’t afford to replace a lot of food that gets spoiled due to exposure or being played with. The trash can be adjusted for, whether that means getting a sturdier can or just emptying it every night before bed.
What can be done? This has gotten out of control, and Layla feels so terrible for having to have them in such a small space…
September 9th, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
Urgent.
We have 2 tomcats we have taken in within the last 3 weeks. The first was neutered and vaccinated last week and we are getting him used to our dogs.
We took the second in this afternoon to get vaccinated and neutered. The initial blood test shows him to be FIV+.
We have a dog door and tomcat 1 goes in and out as he pleases. Since we have not integrated tomcat 2 until tomorrow afternoon we are unsure how to handle the FIV diagnosis.
We have only seen the 2 of them tussle a bit on the front porch so questions are:
1. Will they have a “biting” fight we have to worry about the FIV- getting infected?
2 With a dog door how do we keep FIV+ from getting out and making him an indoor cat?
3. FIV+ is a sweet guy and hate to give him up and I can’t face putting him in a shelter. How would I even find a home for him?
THanks for any information and advice!
September 13th, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
My boyfriend and I found a kitten under our friends car battery, and I love cats so we keep her and named her Renesmee or Nessie for short. It took her about three days to come around and let us pet her. We have had her for about 3 months and we love her to death, but when we come home from work or wake up in the morning she will not let us do anything before we pet her. After about 3 minute of loving on her we go and get changed or get ready for work and she is at our feet or on the counter demanding attention. I like to read book on my down time but she will get in my face and meow and if I don’t pet her she will bite my hands and if a put her in the floor she will bite my feet. I love Nessie to death, she just drives me crazy! Do you think i should get her a friend or just suck it up and give her two hours of attention? please tell me what to do.
September 19th, 2009 @ 11:19 am
I have 2 cats. One fat and one skinny. They were at the vet less than 1 year ago and he said both were healthy. The skinny one is literlly skin & bones. He begs for food (usually people food) but eats only as much as he wants and then walks away. I know he’s old (about 15) but I feel like he will starve to death with no fat on his body. He’s not finicky. And I am doubtful it is a dental problem because he doesn’t appear to have difficulty chewing. Recently he has been losing fur near his tail. I’m not sure if that is related or not. Is this just old age?
September 24th, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
I have 2 male cats about 5 months old that are foaming at the mouth, crying out in pain and licking/biting their back area above the tail like crazy. I don’t believe they got into anyhting . They’re outside only. I’m afriad they can pass on whatever they have to over 10 other outside cats. What can I do? The cats were playing in a cow pasture but there weren’t any cows and not much grass.
September 25th, 2009 @ 3:49 am
Help, my cats have started fighting.
I have a 6year old cat tortie/tabby(Stella) and a 4year old black cat(Ebony), both female. They have been together since the 4year old was a kitten. They are both indoor cats and Stella is usually the dominent one and will occasionally chase or pouce on Ebony, sometimes Ebony will pouce on Stella, neither usually amount to much. However they have recently started fighting quite aggressively. The fighting is very loud and aggressive and actually quite scary. This first happened 2 years ago in what we thought was a 1 off incident. Ebony knocked over a vase which resulted in them both getting a fright and running away. It then appeared as though Stella associated getting the fright with Ebony running after her as she ran away from the vase, thinking she was attacking her, Stella started freaking out making a really loud shrieking noise and spraying urine as she ran away, this seemed to encourage Ebony to chase her even more. We kept them apart for a few days and slowly reintroduced them to each other until it seemed everything was fine. It has been for the last couple of years but it has now happened quite a few times over the last couple of months for no obvious reason. Each time Stella freaks out and Ebony seems to get more encouraged to chase her the more worked up she gets. Help, I really dont want to have to part with either of them.
September 25th, 2009 @ 11:41 am
I need urgent help. My cats keep trying to kill each other. This has been going on for some time. My vet said that it was because they are both males. We took the one who seems to start the fights to get fixed. He is still fighting and it seems worse. They fight so bad and I can’t get them to stop. When I try to break them up it gets 10 times worse. I am thinking I will have to get rid of my cat and I doin’t want to. I have had him since birth and love him so much. What do I do? I can’t deal with it anymore.
October 5th, 2009 @ 1:24 pm
(Emergency – no where else to turn!) My 3 year old Maine Coon mix has been urinating where ever she wants for the past year and a half. She has been to two different vets – both of which ran multiple tests on her and say nothing is wrong. Her urinating includes but is not limited to clothing, furniture, & floor (carpet and hard surfaces). I clean the litter pan 3xs daily. I thought I had the problem fixed by limiting her area at night by locking her and her buddy in a roomy bedroom with their litter pan, food, and water. This worked for about 3 months before she started going where ever she wanted again. I am beyond distressed about what to do with her. She’s also been tried on kitty prozac to no avail. It is not fair to give her away and the only thing the vets can recommend is putting her down. I cannot continue having my things destroyed by her – please help me!!
October 7th, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
I am very concerned about my 10 year old cat Sasha. Recently, Sasha started pooping in my kitchen. Before yesterday she has always been great at going to the bathroom in her litter box. She has also been cuddly and always wanting attention, but these last few days she has been hiding and sleeping in places she does not normally go to rest. I have a feeling she may be sick on near death. We take great care of Sasha and spoil her with love tlc as much as we can. Now, Sasha spends all her time in the closets, under beds and will only come out when no one is around. Sasha also has started meowing in a high pitch. I cannot tell if this is a way of Sasha telling me that she needs medical attention or just wants to be left alone. I am not sure if I should take her to the vet to have them tell me she is fine. Please, can someone help me with this? Thanks
October 10th, 2009 @ 9:19 am
I desperately need some advice.
In our home, we have a golden retriever, two pomeranians and two cats, who, for the last year, have all got along quite well. They would all play together, sleep together and often times, drink out of the same water bowl at the same time.
When I came home from work this past Wednesday, one of my cats (who is strictly indoor) was missing. When I asked my husband and children about it, they didn’t even realize that she was gone (both cats look almost identical). We believe that in the early morning hustle and bustle of getting the kids dressed and out the door for school, the front door was left open long enough for the cat to slip out unnoticed.
For two days, my cat was gone. We searched all over the neighborhood and had just about given up hope of seeing her again. On Friday night, just 2 days later, we were eating dinner and I heard a meow at the front door. Lo and behold, my cat had returned home. I went outside and brought her in. Delighted that my animal family was again intact.
Now here is where the problem begins. As soon as my remaining cat laid eyes on the cat that had been gone, she suddenly turned into Satan. She started hissing at and attacking my full grown golden retreiver who was minding her own business and bothering no one. It was a terrible sight. I had 4 young kids in my house at the time who became very frightened. The dog was afraid and just tried to get away but the cat was relentless in her attack. I have owned her for a year and never saw such signs of aggression. We had to toss a laundry basket on top of the cat to get her to stop however, she continued to hiss and howl at the dog. We ultimately ended up putting her in a dog kennel for the night, hoping that the situation would blow over my morning.
When I woke up this morning (Saturday), my cats were in their usual sleeping place right outside my bedroom door. Sleeping next to each other comfortably. When I left my bedroom and went downstairs, they both followed me as usual. As soon as we arrived in the kitchen, my once formerly friendly and happy cat turned into Satan again. This time, the recipient of her aggression was the cat that had been gone. As I type this, the aggresive cat is still hissing and howling at the cat who had returned home. She is following her all over the house and appears to be trying to “pick a fight.” She is also beginning to hiss and act agressively toward my husband. Something she has never done before.
Just for the record, both cats are one-year old spayed females who are from the same litter. They both are strictly indoor cas. They have spent their entire lives together and have always gotten along perfectly.
This morning, I wrapped the aggressive cat in a blanket and had my husband trim her nails. Hopefully in an attempt to limit the amount of damage she can do to her sibling.
If anyone can shed some light on why my cat is suddenly acting so agressively or can give me some suggestions for restoring the peace in my house, I would be so grateful. Thank you.
October 11th, 2009 @ 7:08 am
MY CAT IS 16-18 YEARS OLD. SHE SUDDENLY STARTED DRINKING LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER. NOW SHE IS GOING TO THE BATHROOM IRREGULARLY. I AM CHANGING THE LITTER BOX 3-4 TIMES A WEEK. DOES SHE HAVE A BLADDER INFECTION? CAN I GET ANTIBIOTICS AT THE PET SHOP. HOW SERIOUS IS THIS PROBLEM?
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:39 am
My cat is 16 and she has been throwing up a lot for the past 5 days. She will throw up her dry food and I gave her a spoonful of canned food and she will throw it up as well after a long period of time. She seems happy. She wags her tail. Any way she is old and may be on her way out. Do you reccommend anything that I can give her? She does not appear dehydrated either. Thanks.
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
All of my 3 female cats are having a war. Two of them dont like the third one tell me is there something going on or is it just nature?
October 13th, 2009 @ 1:13 pm
I have a 6 month kitten that always used the litter box until last night and she will poop in the kitchen floor but not pee. There is a lil bit of bright red blood in her poop. I’m worried she might have a tear in her anus.
October 13th, 2009 @ 11:29 pm
AM I WORRYING FOR NO REASON?
My cat got home from the vet today. He is an outdoor cat about 9 and is fixed. We could not find him for and few days and figured something was wrong. When we found him we brought him into the house and he was leaking blood.
So we called and got him in right away, Sunday. He had a cathater put in and they drained his bladder. Put him on antibiotics and kept him one more day in the hospital.
When I picked him up I said he seemed “out of it’ and his eyes looked shocked and recessed.
The girl at the desk said it was because he had not slept while he was there.
He seems to be in pain and is not himself at all. I don’t know if this is the effect of the anethesia from Sunday or what. His eyes are dilated and weird and he has no appetite.
I called the vet emergency service for a call back tonight and they said it could be the Baytril antibiotic he is on.
Anyway, I expected him to come home feeling and looking better after the relief but he isn’t better. He hardly seems aware of his surroundings. He leaks pee and then moves to another area until a puddle forms mostly soaking into his side and tail and then gets up a move a little out of it. I can’t tell how much he is peeing but it seems like he doesn’t know he is doing it. Is this normal?
I am going to take him back to the vet in the morning if his eyes still look weird. He is very wobbly when he walks also.
Too me it seems like he is drugged.
He is drinking water but not eating.
October 16th, 2009 @ 12:07 am
2 years ago we took in 2 cats that was abanded my the deceased owners daughter.We are not sure how long she had had them.We think the one had been hit.Don’t really know much about their background,except they appearently didn’t like their names.The male cat was never really affectionate and wouldn’t sit with you.Now all of a sudden he is climbing on my lap and snuggling.Why would he start that?
October 16th, 2009 @ 10:36 pm
My kitten is almost a year old. She gave birth
to 5 kittens 7 weeks ago.
She has had diarrhoea for the past 2 days, really fierce. She had it off and on for a couple of weeks but not like this. She been off for a week and we cannot reach the vet.
What should we do? Thanks.
October 17th, 2009 @ 10:12 pm
i had a kitty she would have been 11 in april of 2010 she died today 10-17-2009 but for th past few days she had been acting really weird she stoped eating then stoped drinking we tried to feed her but she spit it out she then stoped walking my sister picked her up but when she did my cats limbs jus jumped like if she was being shocked and her skin was kinda yellow and she had a bump on her hip i want to know what was wrong with her please help me my oldest cat who is 16 has out lived her im so confused please email me punkeybutt@gmail.com
October 18th, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
hy my cat hunk as seems to br in alot of pain when ever and area with his strange black dandruff seems to be cuming from he will bite somtimes but for the most he will just lick himself until the area is no longer being touched please i need help im worried about him is it serious keep in ming his is an older ( about 10 years) large tabby
October 19th, 2009 @ 8:03 am
I have just rescued a 4 year old cat (approx) from a rescue centre and he is grinding his teeth a lot of the time. It just seems to be the one side – a sort of gnashing, grinding sound. The lady had the vet check his teeth and gums before we got him and said everything was ok. Could this be a nervous thing due to settling in. There is another cat in the house, but apart from that he seems to be really happy and relaxed about the whole new home event !!
Thanks in advance
October 20th, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
i just got a kitten a week ago and today it just fell on the floor and started meowing.after that it lost its stool and lost all motor skills. it cant stand up, walk, move its head , nothing. its almost like she had a seizure.she has been nonresponsive for a few hours now. please help me.i need to know what is wrong and i cant get it to the vet right now.
October 21st, 2009 @ 12:43 pm
My dear Charlotte Carolina left us suddenly last night. I am beside myself. We rescued her as a tiny outdoor kitten at only 3 weeks and nursed her into a great cat.
2 night ago, we noticed her breathing was a bit fast. We checked her over looking for any signs of pain and got no reactions to our search. She was eating and drinking fine but was maybe a little less voal. We decided to see how she was the next day.
Last night after work, she was still breathing heavily and we called the emergency vet. They advised to bring her in and they immediately took her from us and did X-rays and put her on oxygen.
The X-rays revealed an enlarged heart, fluid in the lungs, fluid around the lungs. The vet said she was having some sort of congestive heart failure. They said that they would keep on oxygen and administer drugs to draw out the fluids over night and we could take her to a specialist in the morning to determine the cause.
They called 4 hours later and said that she had passed. We never got to say good bye. We never got to tell her how much we loved her. We would have let her die at home with her blankie and with us had we known.
They don’t know why this happened or what caused this.
How can my cat, who appears so normal, no weight loss, no weight gain, no change in habits or appetite get so sick so fast?
Could I have done anything to prevent this? How could I not have known that my cat only had 4 hours to live when I dropped her off? She appeared fine other than the breathing.
Did he extra stress of the vet trip speed things up?
I’m crushed and lost without my little girl. She was only 8 years old.
October 21st, 2009 @ 7:01 pm
My 5 month old kitten was attacked by a big dog. It happened yesterday afternoon but its still alive today. But Sofie my kitten is breathing and is alive but doesnt move its like its in a coma, its just a little farm kitten but i love it, its my favorite kitty what should i do? Before its to late.
October 21st, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
I just adopted my cat six months ago–she is 2 years old and she is hungry ALL THE TIME! When I took her to the vet a couple weeks ago she weighed 10 lbs and they wanted to have her under. They gave me prescription food with more fiber, but there has been no difference. I try to keep it down to 1/2 cup a day, but she wakes me up in the middle of the night to feed her! What should I do?
October 22nd, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
I have a question. Why does my adorable adopted male grey & white cat ( who has an extra “nail” on his left front paw) always run out the door as soon as it opens? He is very vocale at night (he has his “neuter appt” this Sat.). He doesn’t stay out long. He finds his way home. After he is “fixed will that calm him down and keep him inside?
October 27th, 2009 @ 7:55 am
Recently, my 2 year old cat can’t keep his balance. He falls to the side and stumbles to get back up. I don’t think it’s a muscular or skeletal problem such as a torn muscle or the like, because he tilts his head and his entire body moves around, almost like he has Parkinson’s Disease. My family really can’t afford veterinary service so any advice would be greatly appreciated
October 28th, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
Our cat was an outside cat for 10 years. We adopted him a year ago and he has adapted to total house living very well. He is 11 or 12 years old (no older).
He has free run of the house and likes to explore. He started sleeping on our bed and did so for a month or so and then he refused to sleep where he had. He seems terrified of the bedroom and fights to get out if we just carry him through the bedroom door.
He bites my wrist gently but never draws blood.
Some say this is a warning, others that it is a love nip.
We are frustrated with his change of attitude and his apparent disinterest and lethergy. When we took him from outside he had scabs, fleas, was drinking from a mud puddle on a stormy night. We have grown to love “Scruffy” and worry.
He developed 2 absesses just after we took him in and we had to have emergency surgery to save his life. He still has a lot of scabs.
Any suggestions and thank you and all feline lovers.
Donald and Nancy Moyer,
Tacoma, Washington.
November 1st, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
how do i make my cat drink from a drinking tube(like the ones they use for hamsters , but bigger)-i bought it because my cat likes to drink from the tap,but he wouldnt use it
November 2nd, 2009 @ 1:17 pm
My cat is about a year and a half old. I’m very concerned about diabetes – it seems extremely prevalent, if not inevitable these days in older cats, and it doesn’t just strike the obese. I don’t remember dogs and cats getting it often when I was younger.
It has to be the ingredients in cat and dog food. Any thoughts on the best type of food to get for my cat and how to avoid diabetes?
November 5th, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
My 1.5 yearold cat hannah is getting a ton of grey hair and she has two white whiskers. is there possibly something wrong with her? she’s prematurely greying and I’m very concerned.
November 5th, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
our family, just moved to a new house about 2 to 3 weeks ago. before we moved, our cat was fine and not making “messes” anywhere. once we moved, the cat wasnt pooping on our beds and was behaving good. Now for about a week or two, the cat has been pooping in our beds everyday. we have been worrying, and very frustrated. we are to the point to deciding if we should go get rid of it, give itto a nice home. but we really dont want to get rid of it, its a part of our family!! does anyone have any idea what the reson could be for our cat pooping in our beds. also, what can we do for the cat? please help.
November 10th, 2009 @ 3:02 pm
In the past few months my husband and I have been visited at our back door by a lovely, friendly white cat. My cat (an 8 year old, indoor only, spayed female that was already declawed when we rescued her 3 years ago) gets quite upset when she sees this white cat appear at our door, but the white cat is very friendly towards us and he seems to just want some food. He also loves when we pet him and if we’re in our backyard, he’ll follow us around and even sit by our feet. The problem is that he does not have a collar so I don’t know if he has a home or not and I’m getting quite worried about his health and safety, especially with the winter months approaching. We’ve knocked on a few doors to try and find out if the cat lives nearby but we’ve not had any luck so far. As I mentioned, my cat was declawed by her previous owners so I cannot take in another cat with claws when my cat has none. I’ve thought about bringing him to a no-kill shelter, but I’m still not 100% certain that he is homeless. He’s such a sweet cat and I’m very worried about him staying alive out in the cold. Do you have any suggestions on what we can do to help?
November 11th, 2009 @ 4:24 pm
I need your help. I have 4 cats 3 of them like to go outside. They are fine but I have a problem. 2 of my neighbors hates cats and if I let them outside they will capture them or shoot them. How do I put collars and leashes on them so I can walk them outside?
November 11th, 2009 @ 4:59 pm
My nuetured male cat has started to spray. He was fixed when he was kitten. What reasons could cause this to happen. We are and always have been a multi cat family …nothing has changed in the household. Please help!
November 16th, 2009 @ 8:52 pm
I have 4 cats. Twin girls were ours originally from their birth (X and Z). They are 10 years old and spayed. I then adopted a 3-yo male (B). He is neutered. He and one of my girls (X) never really developed a “bond”, but they pretty much leave each other alone. They have the occasional hissing/swatting spats, but never anything serious. Finally (after a sad story), we adopted a kitten. She’s about 8 months old and not spayed yet; we’re saving to have it done. None of the other cats really bother her. They don’t love her, but she’s like the PIA younger sibling, always wanting to play. They basically just ignore her…lol.
Suddenly today, the male (B) and one of my twins (X) went after each other, and I mean BAD. He’s about twice the size of her, but she drew blood (his ear). It was very scary. We couldn’t get them to stop. Not sure what her problem is. She seems very tense and cranky lately.
Could the addition of the new baby girl be stressing her out? Could the fact that the baby is not yet spayed be causing some strange reactions in the other cats? Or, is maybe cat X just not feeling well and playing the bully?
Thanks.
November 17th, 2009 @ 4:54 am
I have two kittens around 7-8 months of age (I don’t know their exact D.O.B. as they were strays). From looking at diagrams, one is normal weight, and the other is getting a little bit pudgy. I currently feed them each one 5.5 oz of canned food a day, split between a morning and night feeding.
My issue is they are constantly looking for food! They will go in the sink to lick dishes, try to steal food off my plate, get into bread if it is on the counter, eat things off the stove, etc. They are also TERRIBLE about the trash, as they always want in it and will knock it over to scavenge the food inside. Basically, if they find food, they’ll eat it. Is this normal for a cat around “people food”?
At meal times they are eating normally (well at a normal pace), though they often get very excited at feeding time, jumping around, meowing, even swiping at my hand when I reach down to get the bowl to fill it. They eat all their food and will still scavenge. They were dewormed at the shelter, so I don’t believe they have worms (plus they are at normal weight).
Are my boys hungry or are they bored and going after treats? They don’t always finish off the food they scavenge when they can, but I’m basically worried about whether or not they are being fed enough during the day, or if they are just trying to eat because they are bored or going after enticing people food. I introduced a bit of dry food on occasion a month ago, but stopped after I noticed the one getting overweight (the normal weight one wouldn’t finish the dry food, but the pudgy one would finish his portion and his brother’s). Do they maybe need a little more food and the overweight cat has very poor impulse control and is more likely to overeat? (he’s the one more likely to go for the trash). Do I just need to train them better and be careful about dishes and the trash?
November 17th, 2009 @ 6:43 am
I have new kitten 18 weeks old.
Since I have brought it home, it do not touched any food or water. I tried to offer various kind of food, but still nothing.
It is hidden under the sofa, coming out through the night. This is happening for third day now.
Thanks for your help.
November 17th, 2009 @ 1:18 pm
my cat that i have had for 6 yrs suddenly died saturday evening. my husband was cooking chicken and he said “jack” was meowing as if he were hungry so he gave him a piece of ckn he said he ate it. he sad he look up at him and meowed again he said he gave him another piece of ckn. then he said he heard a thump looked down and he was having what seemed to be a seisure he called for me i came in and tried to save him mind u he wasint just my cat he was my son! this is very hard for me. he died with in 3 min after falling over. had not been sick at all. i thought maybe he was chocking so i ran myfinger down his throat and his wind pipe was not blocked he did not choke. so my question is what in this world could have happened? thank u
November 18th, 2009 @ 1:38 am
my cat was recently catheterized for crystallization in the urinary tract, and ever since he’s been home i’ve noticed that he lays sprawled on his back with his legs spread rather than on his side or stomach. could this be a sign of pain or discomfort of some kind?
November 18th, 2009 @ 9:28 am
My cat has not been eating less than usual lately. This happens on and off, but I’m about to cat the vet to see if he should come in for an appointment. One thing I’ve noticed is that he is licking the soil in one of my potted plants. Is he trying to get minerals? Are there chemicals in there I should be worried about? He doesn’t do it often but I’ve seen him do it a couple of times and can’t find anything on-line about what it might mean or how dangerous it is.
November 20th, 2009 @ 11:13 pm
HELP… URGENT…
My 11 year old cat has injured his tail. He was his normal loving self all day. I put him in my bedroom before dusk (he likes to bring critters in). Now he seems to be in pain. He loves to be brushed so I thought I would see how he reacted to that. When I touched his tail he cried and and got up. When he got up he was dragging his rear end. Now he is not moving… like he is afraid to.
Of course it is “after hours” and I really can’t afford to take him to the emergency animal clinic. Will he be ok until the morning?
Can I do anything for him right now? Please help. He is the love of my life.
November 21st, 2009 @ 5:38 pm
My cat, who is about 4 years of age, started about 2 weeks or more ago, losing lots of weight, his breath started smelling horrible (like he just ate poop) and his fur turned greasy and smelly. When he sleeps with me at night on my pillow I’ll wake up to my hair smelling like his and being just as grease filled. He hesitates when he tries to eat, and when he tries it seems to be hard for him chew, so he just doesn’t. I’ve gave him wet food and he seems to be able to eat it, but I can’t have him live on it for budget reasons.
Before he got like this he would eat regular cat food and throw it up soon after, it being not digested in the least bit, still full pieces.
His gums are all normal colored, if that helps at all. I poked around in his mouth and nothing seems to agitate him, which to me ruled out a sore or bad tooth in the mouth. Should I take him to the vet or does someone know what it could be and what I could do to help?
November 21st, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
Hi, I’m not sure the exact details but my friend’s cat injured his tail. Two separate injuries, the first we think was a car running over the tail which cause it to be limp for a few days. Just as his tail started to move some more he came back with a bite on it. I was told that the bite was not deep but did rip the fur off part of the tail where the bite was. Now it’s about two weeks after that and the first 3 inches or so looks great and is moving the way it should but after that the tail seems dead. The area where the bite was is bald. After that area the tail is very stiff and the cat can not feel that area. The cat seems to be doing great and not in any pain but I think this is something that should be checked out by a vet. The problem is money. So I’m looking to get some advice on what this might be and potential cost that could be involved so I can convince them to take the cat in. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
November 22nd, 2009 @ 1:46 am
Well, if you are looking for your own vacation home, there’s a really nice place in Rehoboth Beach. I stayed there one summer and it’s just perfect. It’s a very roomy three bedroom home with a deck and all the trimmings.
It’s close to route 1 and right down the street from the outlet stores, where you could do all your tax free shopping. But, it’s far enough away where you don’t have to deal with resort traffic. And there’s plenty of parking to invite your friends from the city for a weekend down at the shore.
Rehoboth Beach is only two miles away, so you could work on your tan every morning. There’s an amusement park and arcades right on the boardwalk to keep the kids occupied so you can have some time to yourself.
The city is clean and crime-free, with lots of great restaurants go have lunch and dinner. All the kids attractions close down after ten o’clock, but the bars stay open until one in the morning. There is nothing quite like going out with all your friends, and finishing your night sitting on the sand and staring out into the ocean.
Best part about this place is that it has a mother in law suite with a separate entrance. The suite has its own kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. So you could pay your mortgage by renting it out, while still having a place to call your own.
I really wish I could buy this place myself. The owners are retiring and want to travel. And you won’t find anyone else willing to part with a place like this at that price. But I got laid off recently, which put an end to my plans of acquiring this place.
So, take a look: http://www.homeinrehoboth.net They have lots of photos there.
November 23rd, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
My roommates cat moved in last week after living with her ex since they broke up last year since her temporary living situation didn’t work for cats. I have never had a cat am allergic to most of them and just don’t know what to do around them or with them. The thing is, I want to like him for her sake, and for his but I don’t. I find him really annoying and unnerving. When I’m home alone with him follows me around and jumps on the couch next to me and I just don’t want him around. And I don’t know how to make him leave me alone. I know this sounds really mean to people who like cats and I really wish I liked him but I just don’t. I feel weird with him wanting to be around me all the time and I don’t like it – and also because I’m allergic to most cats I don’t want his fur all over my clothes etc. What should I do?
November 23rd, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
My 13 year old cat will now only eat soft food. She also is drooling a lot and has stopped cleaning herself. What might the issue be?
November 27th, 2009 @ 5:28 am
I’ve had my three-year old cat (Snoball) ever since he was born. About a year ago, my step-father’s five-year old cat (Tippy) moved into the house. Then my family moved. Ever since said move, the two have been fighting each other on a daily basis. Most of it is Snoball jumping on Tippy. He had never stopped acting like a kitten because he was around his mother almost all of his life. This behavior causes Tippy to hiss and growl at him whenever he is nearby. Today, Snoball exhibited this same behavior toward me while I was playing with him, causing me a bleeding nose and ear. He had also been skiddish all day. I know that I need to get his claws trimmed, and that this is probably just him being playful, but I was wondering what I can do to stop or suppress this issue, and if there could be any reason behind his behavior.(His brother actually did the same things, and it turned out to be distemper. So I’m very concerned.) Hes normally the most docile kitty you will ever see; so I’m obviously worried. A little help?
November 27th, 2009 @ 9:14 am
its been 4 days now and my 27 years cat refuses to eat any food soft or dry and she hasnt went number2 for a few days also the only thing she did yesterday was peed and hasnt done anything of that either since yesterday all she does is sleep i need to know what can i do its really hurting me to see her like this.i cant afford to take her to the vet right now,i hate to see her suffer over the weekend please can u help me with some kind of answers.thank you,
November 28th, 2009 @ 9:12 am
It seems to happen during the changing of the seasons, especially Fall and Spring. My cat gets little scabs that itch. He scratches so much that he makes the scabs bleed. Can it be flea bites? It is very consistent and happens only during the changing of the seasons. Is there something I can put on him to help???
December 1st, 2009 @ 8:53 pm
Dear kitties, I need your advice. My Sophie, 6yr old Tabby lost her best friend Leon in June. She has not been the same since. I have tried Rescue remedy which seemd to help, but perhaps, mistakenly, we got her a new companion, Kasper, a couple of months ago. She does not really care for him and occasionally she attacks him when his back is turned. She will be nice at times but she has withdrawn, and she even bit me last night, she has never but me before. She seemed like she was mad at me. I give her all my attention, but it seems that I can’t make it better. I am very sad. What can I do to make it better? I miss my kitty.
December 1st, 2009 @ 10:47 pm
I have 2 16 week old kittens. They are sister kittens my brothers adopted from the shelter for me after my father died. They are the perfect companions. I am very concerned about the smaller of the sisters. Her name is Spot. I came home last night and Spot and her sister Stash were running around like little maniacs as usual. I went to bed. When I woke up this morning Spot was missing a little fur near her ear. I am not sure if she ran into something or got overly rambunctious with her sister witch happens a lot. She wasn’t/isn’t bleeding, playing normally, eating, drinking and sleeping. Should I be worried? Should I take her to the vet?
December 3rd, 2009 @ 3:38 am
I just took my 16 month old cat for her yearly booster and rabies shot. She isn’t eating or drinking and just laying around. Is this normal after her shots?
December 3rd, 2009 @ 1:02 pm
I have recently adopted a kitten,he is about 12 weeks old and has bad ring worm all over his head and almost bald. I did get him to the vet and he’s on meds for it, But last night i noticed he has little tiny bumps(almost like little skin tabs) on almost all of his paw pads on his front feet.They are a little bit darker than the skinwhat isthis and should i bring him to the vet again?
December 7th, 2009 @ 10:08 pm
Hello,
I really need help! my cat had abscess at the bottom of her tail and one at the top. I took her to the vet a week ago and she was given a shot topical and oral antibiotics. I have taken very good care of the abscesses cleaning them twice daily but it seems they have gotten out of control. It seriously looks like her tail is going to fall off and there is a huge chunk of pink flesh showing i am not exaggerating. I took her back and the vet said to wait and take her back thursday to see what tissue would survive. Should i get a second opinion? she is eating and drinking normally does not show signs of discomfort and is urinating and deficating normally Thanks for any advice you can offer me.
December 8th, 2009 @ 12:35 pm
Hi kitties!
I adopted my three year old cat Pepper last February from the SPCA. Pepper’s former owner had him declawed and now I’ve noticed that he’s got a couple of deformed claws regrowing on each of his front paws. There’s not any redness or swelling that I can see, but he really doesn’t like me messing with his paws. I know this can happen after declawing, but what I’m not sure about is what can be done for him now. He doesn’t appear to be in any pain and he’s acting completely normal–playing, eating, drinking and getting into mischief. And despite his lack of front claws, he still loves to claw things.
Is this something I can just let him live with or will this eventually cause him any pain and discomfort in the future? Please help. I’m an experienced cat owner, but as I’ve never had a cat declawed (and nor do I intend to) I’m at a loss as to what to do. Pepper is the sweetest most loving cat, and I just want him to have a happy wonderful life, and the best care it’s possible for me to give him.
Thank you for your help,
Barbi
December 8th, 2009 @ 7:36 pm
Hi there, I am becoming quite worried about my kitty’s Colitis condition. We have done two rounds of antibiotics, have changed his diet three times, and have verified that there are no parasites. His stools have firmed up, but there is still blood present. The only cause left is stress, right?
We moved into a new place in July, and I feel he has not bonded with the apartment. He goes in and out as he pleases, but when I am home, he clings to me. He is the most needy and vocal he has ever been, and he just doesn’t seem entirely comfortable in the space unless I’m with him. My roommate believes he needs more of a routine, since I have 2+ jobs and have an inconsistent schedule (although he sleeps with me every night). I believe maybe he needs a friend to play with and keep him company, although that is not quite possible at this time. I have never dealt with him not being able to adjust, and I don’t know what to do! Please help if you can! Thank you!
December 9th, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
I am really desperate for some help. I have a rather large cat, half Maincoon, half tabby. He weighs about 18 lbs, and is a little hard to manage at times when he’s in my arms. When Rumples wants to be loved, he will get in my arms, put his paws around my neck, and put his head under my chin. The big oaf could lay there for hours if I let him. However, he gets heavy fast!! I try to put him down, and if I’m not fast enough, he will bite my face. He seriously gets mad when he’s not ready to be put down. His pupils get large and black, you can tell he’s really mad. Lately it seems he wants to be held all the time. Almost constantly. He has bitten me twice in the past week, and I need help fixing the problem. I can’t allow him to continue doing this, and I am at my wits end.
Thank you
December 11th, 2009 @ 11:57 am
I took my 9 year old cat, Blaine to the vet to check some bumps on his chin. I came out crying because the vet. said she had a hard time hearing his heartbeat with the stethoscope. Possibly fluid around his heart or lungs. What could this mean? I dont have tons of money and they want to do chest xrays and check his blood pressure. He seems to have some vision problems but is otherwise asymptomatic. Please advise. Thank you!!
December 11th, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
Hello,
I have a 8 year old male cat that is not eating much. He had two teeth removed 2 weeks ago and the vet says he is fully recovered and does not have anything wrong with him. I had been force feeding him until the other day. He bit me pretty bad when I was just carrying him around. So now no more force feeding. I have been trying tons of different foods including baby food, Hills a/d, even tuna.
So far he just nibbles on some dry royal canine but only if I add catnip to it. I am in contact with the vet now for a possible Rx for appetite stimulant. Is there any advice for me. I am wondering what the best way would be for me to give him the medication and if there is any other trick I could use. I have been warming food, I have been using urbal strees relief remedies. I have tried everything there is.
December 11th, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
Hi there!
I’m writing on behalf of Ad Council because I thought you all would really like to know about their PSA campaign called “Shelter Pet Adoption”. They have posted the videos and information on a new site called MyAdCouncil, where you can share the PSA with others, put it on your Facebook/ Twitter/ Catster accounts, and even IM/ chat with other cats (or people if you wish). The more people we can share it with, the more people know about this issue.
Here’s the link:
http://my.adcouncil.org/theshelterpetproject/
Happy tails!
December 11th, 2009 @ 7:53 pm
Hello…..I am considering adopting a cat from a local rescue org. This cat was a stray they took in and she had a pretty bad flea infestation. Rescue org says she is flea free now and is being housed at the local pet food store. I went to hold her and noticed she didn’t smell so great! I was wondering if this is a symptom of the flea problem? Does the medication given to rid pets of fleas smell bad? If not, is she just a poor groomer because she is caged in the store or would there be a bigger problem at hand? I have two other cats and they smell amazingly yummy
I dont want a stinky cat!
December 11th, 2009 @ 9:02 pm
My cat is about 5 or 6 years old. Just recently she has stopped eating dry cat food. I mean she REFUSES to eat it. So we bought wet food in the can, she ate that a couple days and then REFUSED to eat it too. She will only eat meat. As in the meat my family and I eat. Real meat. However just recently she started throwing it up!! What is wrong with her? She is ridiculously skinny–as in anorexic skinny and refuses to eat anything other than meat (and she sometimes doesn’t eat that). She still is cuddly but I don’t hear her purr as much but other than not eating her behavior hasn’t changed a whole lot. The vet recommended getting “medicated” wet cat food. But what if she doesn’t eat that? The only other stressor in her life is another cat, he’s a boy but he’s neutered but she’s never liked him at all. But we’ve had him for 3 years, it’s seems unusual that she would just now start showing trama to that.
Please let me know ASAP!
Sara
December 15th, 2009 @ 11:22 pm
Hello,
I have two female cats (I was unaware it’s better to mix sexes; I hadn’t yet found this site). Recently I had the oldest one spayed. She was gone all day long. When I brought her home, all of a sudden my two cats were fiercely aggressive to each other (they got along fine before, although the youngest is obviously the alpha.) What happened?
December 16th, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
Catzilla is 9 years old, and was adopted by my family when he was a 10 week old feral rescue at the local animal shelter. He was cute and lively then, and is now large and lively. He’s cute too, but doesn’t know his own strength.
Growing up, he really hated my teenage boys, although they were always nice to him. When the oldest one went to college, he started picking on the youngest one. He’d steal toys and hide them, and openly challenge him, hissing, scratching. My boys were always nice to him, but my youngest teen started carrying a water pistol in self defense, it got so bad.
So now they both are grown and out of the house, and when they come to visit, they can be doing absolutely nothing, ignoring him, and he will come charging at them, jump on the furniture, and hiss, spit, and growl. They look at him and shout “WHAT?” and he backs off and acts embarrassed and disgusted. He appears to like only me, although he will flirt with women friends. He is very mean to men, to the point of attacking my visiting friend’s adult son in his sleep, although he had never met the guy.
So this big, clawed, 17 lb dominant neutered male cat has one annoying habit with me – instead of following me, he walks in front of me. And stops. And if I try to walk past him, or hurry him along, he becomes annoyed. If I cut to the right quickly to avoid him, he runs and leaps so that he is right in front of me and stops. Now that I live alone, I am afraid that I’ll trip over him and that I could really get hurt, or he could.
He does not go out except for a limited time in our back yard, and I make it a point to play with him since he needs exercise. How can I tell him to get out of the way and not trip me up?
December 16th, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
Spot is about 4, and I got her as a skinny, runty stray kitten that showed up at the local post office. Due to the fact that she was clearly malnourished at the time, I fed her whenever she wanted to eat. Now, she is still a little small, but I have kept feeding her ‘when ever’, because she is normally a very active cat. However, our winters are pretty rough, and she doesn’t stay outside for very long. She doesn’t get a ton of exercise, and as a result, she turns into a fat pig during the cold months. Is there anything I could try in terms of regulating her diet without having to deal with the incessant whining if her food bowl is empty? I know this is a long shot, and the behavior is a result of my own mis-management of her diet, but I was hoping someone might have some advice for me?
December 17th, 2009 @ 12:51 pm
Hi there,
Happy Holidays! I wanted to reach out to you with regard to a program I’m working to develop with one of my clients because I think you are exactly what we need!
I’m working with BISSELL Homecare to develop a “Pack of Pet Lovers” online community, establishing a set of resources and pet-related anecdotes and content to support Americans in becoming happier, more successful pet parents and to encourage the adoption of shelter animals. BISSELL employees truly are a pack of pet lovers themselves and their passion for pets extends far beyond the products they sell. As such, we’d love your help in extending this love of animals, especially cats, into homes and pet shelters across America!
As a cat advocate and lover, we are interested in showcasing your blog within the “Pack of Pet Lovers” community. Should you join us, we would like to incorporate the opening lines of Paws and Effect posts into a feed of pet-related content, driving traffic to your site by giving readers the option to click through to read more. Once they click, your site will open in another window so that you can secure this additional traffic.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on partnering with BISSELL in the development of this community.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Stacy
December 17th, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
My cat, Bart, is about 3 and a half years old. For some reason, today he has been acting weird… He is afraid of a certain spot on my bed, he keeps swiping at invisible things on the ground, he flinches every time I touch him, and he’s extremely cautious about everything. Is he hallucinating? Or is this normal?
December 18th, 2009 @ 11:11 am
I have an 11-year-old Siamese cat that has developed feline resorptive lesions of her teeth. It looks as if the gum has grown over her teeth, but vet says tooth is actually being absorbed is very painful. The vet says she will need to have at least 2 teeth pulled. Is there anything I can give her to prevent this from happening to more teeth?
December 25th, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
I have a deaf cat who hasn’t been right since his brother went to the Bridge. He use to be very well behaved but for the last month he has been very obstinate…he seems to do things intentionally, like getting on the counter and pawing things off, he picks fights with the other cats and has just turned in to an uncontrolable mad cat. I’ve taken him to the vet but she said there’s nothing medically wrong with him. He doesn’t respond to the spray bottle anymore, it’s like he’s laughing at me for trying. Tho I’ve worked with MANY cats over the years he is my first deaf one. Since he was a kitten i’ve never had problems with him til recently. The thing that has me really worried is his sudden aggression towards the other kitties, as he is much bigger than most of them and i’m afraid he’s really going to hurt one of them. He’s not playing, he’s being down right mean. Any advise on how to deal with my hard-headed deaf boy would be very appreciated.
Michelle
December 26th, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
Our cat’s tail gets big and thick from timer to time (not the fur, but the tail itself). It especially gets large at the base. Has anyone ever encountered this? Is this normal?
December 27th, 2009 @ 2:17 am
My Cat was hit by a car a week ago and a half ago. We took her to the vet and she stayed three days with him. My cat does not have the use of her back legs but the Vet said she is not paralized. She can move them but not enough to make any differences. Barely anything at all. He said bed rest for a month but we cant keep her in the house because she keeps pooing and peeing on herself. She seems fine except her back end isn’t working. The wife ask me tonight if we should put her down. I dont want to if she will stop the peeing and pooing. I could make something with wheels so she could get around better but I dont want her having to lay in her own poo. Thats so sad to us. The question is will she regain use of her bodily fuctions or should i put her down. I am already out 250 dollars without having that to spend but I want whats best for her. I dont have anymore money to take her back to the vet so I dont know what to do.
December 27th, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
My cats are destroying my sofa. If I cover it they claw right through. Using kitty strips doesn’t work because the entire couch is at risk. Is there a fabric they won’t claw or something else I can do? Spraying them with water would be a losing battle. Thanks
December 29th, 2009 @ 12:33 pm
i would like to ask a question about our kitten Belle. When Belle was six weeks old, something terrible happened to her and me, i was feeding mum and the 7 kittens and even though always so careful, i took a small step backwards onto Belle. She was badly hurt, unconcious and with blood coming out her mouth and nose, so we rushed her to the emergency clinic and they xrayed and treated her and we got to bring her home and keep a close eye on her, keeping her seperated for a few days. then she came down with a URI. After recovering from that, she finally had her six week shots, advantage and deworming. The result of all this is a 12 week old kitten who weighs just 2 pounds, has tremors and possible partial seizures, is not as advanced physically in terms of coordination as she should be and is quite cranky. All the other kittens have found homes, but Belle is staying with us. Will she get better as she gets older? will she stay tiny? did i somehow damage her pituitary? What is causing the tremors…the brain damage? a toxic reaction to her shots or the deflea meds? She is the prettiest, sweetest wee thing…could all of this get worse as she matures? Apart from the guilt…i worry all the time about her quality of life.
December 29th, 2009 @ 12:37 pm
this is for roni…have you tried supplying them with alternatives for scratching? scratching posts of carpet…scratch pads of cardboard…a nice piece of wood with bark attached….these are all things my cats like better than the furniture…especially when rubbed with catnip.
December 29th, 2009 @ 3:12 pm
to name removed in november…i do hope you got the kitty to a shelter…much better than cold and having babies outdoors…and i do hope you are doing okay too…with both situations….all the best to you…
December 30th, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
My male cat that is about 2 months older than my younger one, i have had thm both since about june, and today the older male started mounting the other ever time they see eachother the other male looks scared and moews in a crying manner and the older one bites his back of his neck hard… someone please help
January 2nd, 2010 @ 9:40 pm
My cat is 4-5 years old and has lost all her teeth, I don’t know why, should I have her put down or what? and is what she has contagious to my other cats? PLEASE HELP FAST
January 3rd, 2010 @ 12:13 am
why is my cat eating foam toys????? please help
January 3rd, 2010 @ 8:29 pm
3 days ago one of my cats had to be put down i also have her brother he seems to be i mourning but he does eat very well but seems to be really sad and meows alot at times i guess when he starts to remember her i have been hugging him a lot and showing him a lot of attention but feel will he pull out of it? because he has not lost his appetiate
January 3rd, 2010 @ 11:20 pm
I have three cats, a 13 year old, a 6 year old, and a 4 month old kitten. The two older cats have been together for 6 months, and though they don’t get along, they’re usually fine as long as they both stick to their own territory. I live in a 4 bedroom apartment, and each of the older cats has staked a claim on a different room. The kitchen and the litterbox area appear to be neutral territory, or at least they did until recently.
I left town for 9 days over the holidays, leaving several extra litter boxes, and lots and lots of food and water out. My neighbor promised to look in on my cats to make sure that they were ok.
When I returned my oldest cat Sammy didn’t come to greet me with the others. I found him in his cat bed, skinny and lethargic. His coat was dull and full of static, and he let me pet him and pick him up. He’s usually feisty and independent and will not tolerate either of these activities. I immediately offered all three cats canned food, a great treat for them, but Sammy would not touch his.
I observed him all that day, and saw him use the litterbox, but as he did so, Ivan, my 6 year old, got up in his face. Ivan is passive aggressive, and will occasionally stalk Sammy, but I’ve never see him do this by the litterboxes before. I removed Ivan and resumed watching Sammy, who went back to his bed. Later that day Sammy went to the water bowls, and Ivan followed him, again getting too close. I locked Ivan in the bathroom, and Sammy drank and then returned to his bed.
I think that while I was gone Ivan became more aggressive and blocked Sammy from using the litterboxes and getting to the food and water. The food and water is only in one place, ditto with the litterboxes. It’s never been a problem before, but obviously now it *is* one. Sammy is probably dehydrated. However, even now that Ivan is out of the picture (he’s been locked in the bathroom for two days), Sammy still won’t eat. I thought that if he was just dehydrated and starving that he’d eat as soon as the aggressor cat was out of the picture, but he’s just as lethargic as he was when I came home. He’s an old cat, and I’m wondering if he simply can’t recover from the stress of the situation. I have a vet appointment on Wednesday, but I’m not sure if I should keep that, or take him to an emergency clinic, or just let nature take its course and let him die.
That’s my first question. My second one has to do with how to deal with the aggressor cat if Sammy survives. I can’t keep Ivan locked in the bathroom forever, and neither of these cats could be easily rehomed. I can put food and water bowls and litter boxes in each room, but if Sammy stays in this lethargic, lingering stage, then he won’t be able to resist Ivan’s aggression at all. Something triggered Ivan to become more aggressive, and I’d like to know if it’s possible to return him to his previous less-aggressive state.
A little more information if you need it: both cats are fixed and up to date on their shots. The kitten was introduced a few months ago, and was blood-tested before I brought her home. She doesn’t have territory, and doesn’t seem to factor in on the relationship between the other two cats. Ivan was a feral. A year and a half ago he was trapped and fixed. The woman who trapped him spent a year getting him socialized before I adopted him. The adult cats were switched from pro-plan hairball control to Nutro senior about a week before I left. They didn’t appear to be having problems with it. The kitten has a slight respiratory problem. She had it before I left and she still has it. I don’t think that she’s passed it on to the other cats: she sneezes and they don’t.
I’d be grateful for any advice that you could offer.
January 4th, 2010 @ 6:29 pm
I’m hoping this is the area to ask a question…could you please help me with a behavior problem? My 4 year old Tonkinese (breed of Siamese and burmese) recently moved into a new apartment beginning of December and loves it. He’s neutured, weighs 11lb and needs to lose about 2 lbs so I’ve been rationing his food and trying to play with him more. He’s a very lovable and friendly cat and loves attention and sitting on your lap or shoulder and purring. He talks here and there when he wants you to pick him up or play with him.
We came back from holiday vacation and allowed him to explore the apartment’s hallway. Thought this would be good exercise. We’ve been going out for 10 minutes each day and he trots or sprints through the hallways. However, when we get back into the apartment, his behavior has changed dramatically. He no longer purrs and does not want to be around his. He only wants to sit by the door and meow constantly so we will let him out.
The meowing is excessive. I ignore him and when it gets really bad, I lock him in the bedroom or bathroom.
What can i do to fix this? I’m afraid we’re going to get fined for noise pollution and I’m going crazy. Crazy because he wont stop and crazy because this isn’t my cat!
Thanks,
Erin
January 7th, 2010 @ 12:51 pm
my 15 yr old cat’s claws are turning black, is this significant?
January 9th, 2010 @ 9:58 pm
My ~9 year old female cat recently has lost a lot of weight. She is currently between 6-7 pounds and eats regularly. Recent tests show that she does not have worms or any parasites. She sometimes has diarrhea and vomit. My vet did a blood panel, urinalysis and x-ray. The tests show that she has a low white blood cell count, normal thyroid levels, no bladder/urinary infections (although 1 kidney value was slightly elevated), and no obstructions. We did not test for leukemia/FIV because she is a 100% indoor cat and has never been in contact with another cat (and she tested negative 3 years ago). My cat has a slightly enlarged heart with a mid-grade heart murmur (an already known condition) with no fluids leaking on the x-ray. My vet didn’t think the heart was a huge concern at the moment, but was very concerned with the weight loss/low white blood cell count. We have changed her food to a dry/wet low residue diet for well over a month now. Her last weigh in at the vet shows that she is still loosing weight (although her vomiting has decreased immensely). Do you have any advice on what I could do to help my cat gain her weight back? Or any insight as to why she would have a low white blood cell count and be loosing weight? Thank you for any help!
January 11th, 2010 @ 3:18 pm
I have a Bengal, about 4 years old. Not sure of age, but her children were born April 28th, 2007, and we’re sure she wasn’t more than 10 months old at the time. I took her in to keep her from being taken to the pound. I have 3 sisal scratching posts, a flat board wrapped in sisal, 2 cat trees, and just got the new emery scratcher. She has shredded all the sisal,( 3 to 6 inch pieces all over the place), shredded the cat trees and has still ruined all my naugahyde chairs. Declawing is not an option. I wouldn’t want the ends of my fingers and toes removed. Any suggestions? I had her up for adoption, but 3 people said they’d have her declawed, and I said they couldn’t have her then.
January 14th, 2010 @ 4:30 pm
I enjoy your catster tips very much. I have a 6 yr old female abyssinian, she is spayed and lives indoors with two male cats. We moved from Kansas to Az in 2006. About three months later she began to groom herself excessively, especially on the tummy to where all the fur is gone except for peach fuzz. I feel it is from stress as we moved several times the first three months we were in az. Is it ok to give her a very small amount of zoloft? the tablet I have is 25 mg but do have a pill splitter for a smaller dose. We now have a 10 mo old Holland Shepherd which is adding to the stress. He does not hurt her but she is aggressive to him. Any help you can provide would be appreciated. She also overeats and not having much luck in getting her slimmer.
Thank You
January 14th, 2010 @ 9:37 pm
my cat has lost all his teeth he had them removed over a week ago he has been in the hospital twice to rehydrate my cat is very stubborn its breaking my heart he wont eat how long can he go without food and how long will it take for him to get used to eating with no teeth i am trying everything all his favourite food etc i am at my wits end i love him so much and want him to live can anyone advise me what i can feed him please thank you so much
January 15th, 2010 @ 4:59 pm
I need help ! I can not find any one to answer how old my cat is. I adopted her on May 10 2003 and she was 9 or 10 weeks old. How old is she now ? Reply at christiger360@yahoo.com
January 15th, 2010 @ 7:38 pm
my cat Simba is 13. She always been health,know
she started to throw up. He’s doctor just retired.So I hope you can help me. What could couse him to throw up after he eat/at night?
What can I give him to help him. Thank you
January 16th, 2010 @ 11:35 am
I have two cats who like to roughouse. The black one, Felix, chases after the orange one, Jack, like a madman, catches him, bites his neck and fur and pulls it out. We catch him with mouthfuls of Jack’s hair. I asked a coworker what it all meant and she told me that Felix is displaying his domination–proving he’s the Alpha cat. This wouldn’t bother me except that Jack makes the worst noises I’ve ever heard. Sometimes it starts out like he’s just yowling and playing along, The sound is worrisome, but not awful. After a while the tone changes and the sound becomes unbearable, like he truly is in pain. What’s going on? Should I separate them?
January 17th, 2010 @ 7:10 am
i was bite by my cat in june but i took the anti-rabies vacine in december is it ok? please help me. what is the side effect of anti-rabies?
January 19th, 2010 @ 5:31 pm
I came home and found my cat had past away and he was just 3 and 1/2 years of age…. he showed no signs of anything being wrong… he played, ate,drank , followed me around had no issue with going to the bathroom … I miss him so much…I found him with foam coming from his noise and mouth… he never went out side …so it hurts even more when I had no signs given so that I could have done something…. I know its could be so many things I’m just hurt and confussed..any ideal
January 20th, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
hi, i have a four year old cat named ginger, she has had tiny black dots, like dirt on her fur for years now, she also has greasy fur. i’ve looked over her and couldnt find any parisites, ive de-wormed her, bathed her and tried PULLING the dirt on her fur off. (her fur is coming off easily too, shes shedding like crazy)i’m lost, the vet gave me some sort of “special” shampoo, and i did what he said, BUT IT DID NOT WORK. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 20th, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
I’ve had an 11 year old Tabby for the last year & recently she’s started yowling just before she drinks from the water bowl, which is up on a cabinet. It seems strange, but I’d like to know if it may require medical attention?
January 21st, 2010 @ 8:22 pm
My 9 year old male (neutered) cat has a male cat friend who lives across the hall and they visit each other and play regularly. This has been going on for years. The owners of that cat recently rescued an elderly female cat who mainly sits around in a chair all day. My cat has become obsessed with her. He howls to get over to her apartment. While there, he ignores his old friend and gazes at the female for hours. He is not aggressive. He occasionally tries to sniff her, she hisses and he walks away. What is going through his mind, I wonder?
January 23rd, 2010 @ 3:09 pm
I have a 1 year old red tabby DLH male. He seems to be having a small tremor in his front legs/paws occasionally. It looks like he is “shaking” his paw. It only lasts a few seconds and isn’t changing in terms of frequency or intensity. He did have a lot of problems with diarrhea until his vet prescribed gastro-enteric food and he is very very vocal, sometimes sounds like crying/whining.
Should I be concerned?
January 26th, 2010 @ 8:27 am
Hi,
I have two male cats that grew up together since they were tiny. They are both neutered but one (Loki) seems to be more stressed out than the other. We brought Loki to the vet because he was standing in the litter box while peeing and pees against a wall (almost everyday). They did find very small crystals in his urinary tract but she thought the behavior was stress related. So we tried the Feliway and “Good Cat” herbal stress reducer. It seemed to work at the beginning but now its back to his same routine. He pees in one location every day and defecates in the litter box. They both have their own litter box. We tried different boxes with different litter (wheat, reg cat litter, pellets,etc) and he seemed to use the regular cat litter. We moved the boxes back to the regular spot they go to and now he’s back to his peeing on the floor thing. Is this stress related? And if so what can we do to have Loki pee in his litter box? This is very frustrating and I don’t want to give him up. Please help! Thanks Geoff
January 26th, 2010 @ 3:01 pm
Why does my cat lick me, she licks me on the nose.chin or hands?
January 26th, 2010 @ 9:29 pm
My two kitties had to be hospitalized and needed IVs. The doctors shaved their forearms down to the skin in order to accomplish that. It has been about six months since that episode and one of them recovered completely–his arm is just as hairy as it once was. The other, however, has been overgrooming his forearm and the fur has never grown back. In fact, he has begun licking more than just the affected area: he now has licked the fur off his entire forearm, not just the spot where it was shaved. If it’s not a rash, what else could it be?
January 27th, 2010 @ 3:08 am
I have a 7 month old siamese kitten, and have had him since he was two months old. He has the best personality, he loves all people, puts up with anything, and is one of the most sociable friendly creatures I have ever met.
I am currently in college, and leave for a few hours each day to go to class. (Much less time than the average workday.) Ever since getting back from my parents’ house after Christmas, which is also his best cat friend Max’s house, he meows deafeningly loudly every time I leave the house. It’s gotten to the point that my roommate and I will alternate eating meals in the house as opposed to the dining hall so that Hamlet will not get upset.
How do I go about my daily life without horribly stressing my kitten?
January 27th, 2010 @ 9:59 pm
I have a 2 year old neutered cat we think is a Bengal.Tonight he was lying on his back so i went to pet him cause he loves his stomach rubbed,and i noticed he had an erection.Now it was wet all around it and it was kind of pulsating randomly and he was meowing quite a bit more than normal.He seems to be walking a little funny and making frequent stops to lay down and lick his stomach by his hind legs, but when we through him his toys he runs and plays like nothing is wrong.
Then i saw him scratching at our closet mirror in the hallway like he does if a door is closed but he has NEVER done this there.
This is all VERY strange behavior for him and any help would be appreciated
thank you
January 29th, 2010 @ 1:26 am
i have a one year old male cat. he has been limping around now for the last 2 days. i finally got a hold of him to look and see why. i noticed his back right paw is swollen and a sore on the top of his paw. when i touched it tonight it busted. there was alot of pus and blood that came out of it. i am not sure what happened to his paw. i have tried cleaning it with peroxide to help it. i did notice that since it busted it seemed to relieved some pressure. is there anything i can do to help the swelling and infection? i can not afford to take him to the vet. as of now i am unemployed and a full time student. thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully being able to help me out.
January 29th, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
My cat boo has always been very sensitive on the lower part of his back but in the last 6 months he will bite you if you pet him on his back at all. He has been to the vet and has a clean bill of health. He is 9 1/2. He recently has bitten me and friend just when petting him but him keeps coming up for more affection. He has always given little love nibbles but these are now bites. Any advice.
January 31st, 2010 @ 12:17 am
first off, i loved your response to the question about what it menas if a cat blinks slowly. mine does it all the time, so its nice to know that he is telling me he loves me.
my question is: what is my cat doing or telling me when: he lays on my chest/stomach and reaches his arm out to touch my face. its almost as if he starts petting my face like i would pet his head. is he imitating the way i show him love or is it something else? i like it but dont understand it. he just started doing it in the last year or so and i have had him for almost 10 years. thanks for your help.
January 31st, 2010 @ 10:47 pm
This is for Mike. It sounds like your male cat might have a a urinary blockage, it happens quite often on male cats. it can become an emergency, if they can’t pee, take him to a vet and have him checked.
January 31st, 2010 @ 11:33 pm
Hello, I have a 13 year old cat, and he means the world to me, so Im not sure if I am just being a paranoid mother, or if this is concerning. For the last 24 hours, my cat Dexter has been acting a little strange. He is hiding under the bed sometimes, which he has never done before, or hiding behind furnature. He is also not following me like usual, or crawling on my lap always, like he usually does. He will eat and is still interested in food, but is sleeping more than is normal for him. His gum color looks good, and he does not have a fever. His belly is not sore, but something just seems off about him. There was vomit in my house while I was out, but I have another cat who vomits often due to hairballs, so I do not know if it was Dexter who vomitted. Should I continue to be very worried, and maybe take him to the vet tomorrow??
February 2nd, 2010 @ 11:31 am
Hi!
About a month and a half ago, we got a new kitten (in addition to the two cats we already have). From the beginning, she was very vocal, meowing when you would even look at her, but after some time around our cats (after she got used to them), she quieted down. Now, a lot of the times when we have our bedroom door closed and someone’s in there (especially if we are sleeping), she begins meowing excessively. I understand that she most likely wants attention, but we try to limit how frequently she can come into the bedroom after she started peeing on our bed. So I guess I have two issues here: why would she pee on our bed and how to prevent it and how to get her to stop meowing (we tried ignoring her so that maybe the lack of “reward” would reduce her meowing behavior, but that did not seem to help)?
February 4th, 2010 @ 9:16 pm
I have a cat and she has grown very attached to me. She is very sweet and loves to play with my other two dogs- she has NEVER once acted aggressively towards my dogs. I really wanted to get another cat, so I adopted one from a shelter in DeKalb (the kitten I adopted was still a very young baby and as sweet and playful as can be). At home, I was holding the new kitten when my dad brought my cat into the room, introducing them for the first time. My cat was so appalled that I was holding this other cat. She hissed at me and the other dogs for the remainder of the evening (and she has never done that before) she also hid under the bed and refused to go anywhere near the new kitten. In the end, we had to bring back the new kitten (and because she was so sweet, three days later she was adopted : ))
As crazy as this sounds, I still want to adopt another cat. This cat that I am looking at adopting is actually one of my cat’s littermates. I am wondering, if I adopt this new cat will my cat react in the same way, or because they are “related” will she react differently. Are there any steps I can take so that the cats will get along, specifically my cat? How should I approach the first time that they meet?
February 8th, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
My cat is 18 yrs old. She recently had been found out that had kidney disease. She was in the hopsital for 3 days a month ago. I gave her the antibioic and supplement were all finished. Now she eat quite good. Any one can suggest me what kind of better food I can feed her. I made her some homemade beef broth and blended cooked chick liver, added on the percription cat wet food. She loves them.
February 9th, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
I live in an apartment and I have been feeding two cats that have adopted me. One is about five year old and she is declawed and spayed the other one is about 3 months old but is not spayed and is in heat. How can I prevent her from getting pregnant until I am able to get her spayed?
They both are out door cats, and the male cats are hanging around our apartment way too much. PLEASE HELP?
Thank-you
Rhonda
February 11th, 2010 @ 11:17 pm
My cat goes to the bathroom in the litter box, but he never quite gets it all out. He always, unfailingly, has poop stuck to his butt. And not just after he goes; it’s there 24-hours a day, seven days a week. He sits on our furniture, on our pillows, on us and all over the house with this poop stuck to his butt–I have tried pulling it off with some toilet paper but he won’t let me. What is the problem? Why can’t he get it all out and what can we do about it? Thanks.
February 22nd, 2010 @ 7:41 am
I have adopted my late moms oldest cat. She is about 15 years old. She does fine during the day and my two minpin dogs don’t seem to bother her. But, at night, she meows almost continuously. I have tried everything my mom used to do for her. Leave a radio on, the tv on, a small heater on…but nothing is working. I know she is used to being with other cats (my mom had
but this one was usually kept seperate from most of them. She was my mom’s favorite. Any ideas as to what I could do to help her adjust? Thanks.
February 24th, 2010 @ 3:07 pm
My cat is in renal failure and I’m struggling with what is the right time to put him down. I don’t want him to suffer and unfortunately the “extended” treatment options at this point are not financially viable. I feel horrible about this but this is where I am at.
I’ve had him since he was 6 weeks old and he’s 18-19 now. I don’t necessarily want to wait until “the end” stages where he is suffering.
Is it morally wrong for me to consider euthanasia now? I’ve been blessed with having an “extra” year with him (he was diagnosed a year ago).
I know this is ultimately my decision but I just don’t know what to do. He was a 12 pound cat his entire life, weighed 9 pounds at the time he was diagnosed and now pretty much down to skin/bones and lethargic.
Edit: We sent this reader a personal response.
February 28th, 2010 @ 2:47 pm
I have two indoor cats who love the treat of being allowed outdoors. They even tolerate going for walks on a leash.
My new house has six-foot walls in the back yard, and I thought I could let them out and be confident they wouldn’t escape. Wrong. They can scale the wall. I don’t know how they do it. They can only jump four or five feet, but they’re able to grab on and Spider-Man their way to the top.
I want them to be able to enjoy the back yard, but I can’t allow them to jump the fence and get into trouble.
I don’t want to build a higher fence, I don’t want to install a “cat run,” and I don’t want a wire-and-collar shock thing.
My plan is to install L-brackets near the top of the fence and run twine or wire between the brackets to keep them from jumping.
I’ve thought of the possibility they’d jump and get caught in the twine, but that just doesn’t seem likely.
I’m thinking just the sight of this obstacle will keep them from jumping.
Any advice before I start drilling holes in my block walls?
February 28th, 2010 @ 11:52 pm
Hello,
My cat Gabbie who is now 10 years old and I have had her for nearly 2 years now keeps on scratching her eyes and biting one of her front paws. To the point her paw is pink and losing some fur. She also breathes abnormally and has a redding gunk in the corners of her eyes. The vet. gave me some thick clear cream to put into them one time but it never really helped and I don’t want to keep putting this cream into her eyes when this may not be the problem. Please let me know what is wrong with my cat. She seems very irritated by her skin. Allergies?
March 2nd, 2010 @ 12:23 am
I have two cats. One boy, about 8 years old, and a girl about 5 or 6. They have been living in the same house for 5 years and have gotten along fine. Now, the past 6 months, they cannot even be in the same room with each other without hissing and growling it. It is quite irritating. The boy sleeps in my room and the girl sleeps in mom’s room. They can’t even be in the living room together. What does this happen?
March 2nd, 2010 @ 1:34 am
Hello,
I recently noticed that I have a few cat friends in my backyeard, and it was just this little girl cat. She looked awfully skinny so I fed her a little, and put my indoor cat’s bed outside, and she’s been living there since. Today, I came home and she was there like normal, but her back right leg was up, and just hanging as if it was broken. I can not see a animal like this, I need to do something for the poor thing. Me and my mother are going to the vet tomorrow, and she is willing to pay for a check up and xrays, but I know that surgery is needed. What can I do to help this poor kitty?
March 5th, 2010 @ 3:38 pm
I have 2 cats that are brother and sister. They have both been fixed. Not even a year old yet. In the last 3-4 days she has been hissing and growlng at him, and on 2 occasionals has swatted at him. She coudl be laying on the back of our couch and he would come just at the bottom of the couch and she would start growling. She gives him this look that could kill. She hasn’t reacted to my kids in any bad way, in fact she purrs when they pet her, and will then turn and growl at him. Any help with this confusing action would be greatly appreciated!!!
March 7th, 2010 @ 10:50 pm
Hello,
I moved in with my boyfriend in October and I brought my male short haired cat with me and he is dominant but cooperative. My Boyfriend has two long haired male cats. One which is slightly handicapped as his brain functions in weird ways. He digs while he eats spreading food across the floor regularly. Collects objects and makes piles with them. He often freezes when he gets nervous or is told to do something like come inside. He also doesn’t clean himself and often has pooh stuck to his hair and smears it across the floor. The other cat is territorial and competitive for the attention of my boyfriend. He also steals food when left unattended and spreads it across the floor (even if he doesn’t want to eat it). He breaks into the linen closet/dresser drawers (no matter what I do) and sleeps in clean sheets, towels, undies etc. (which makes it hard to keep anything clean and free of huge clumps of cat hair) So as you can see I have been struggling to keep the peace in my new apartment. I recently discovered that I am pregnant and we are very excited about the baby. I am starting to weigh my options of having pets because of the difficulties I’ve faced in caring for them and realizing I will not have time to wash the pooh off the floor, clean a ton of litter, chase cat out of baby’s things and constantly sweep up cat food. Today I discovered a new trait that my boyfriend’s competitive cat is displaying. My cat sometimes smells funny because he needs his glads expressed and I have found that bathing him or washing his rear makes a huge difference. So I was cleaning my cat without difficulty and my boyfriend’s cat saw what I was doing and lunged at me leaving a huge 3 inch gash in my wrist which came very close to puncturing the big vein in my wrist. I’ve been scratched by cats before but this was much different and was dangerous to the point where I had to bandage myself to stop the bleeding. I am worried that these cats need to go before the baby comes and it seems unfair. I feel bad because I grew up in a home with tons of animals and have never encountered aggressive or destructive behavior like this in an animal. I have tried to connect with my boyfriends cats and form positive relationships with them to help them overcome their issues but it seems they originally came from a place that has caused them trauma.
Please email me if you have advice.
March 8th, 2010 @ 12:43 pm
hi,
My 10-year old cat Ginger has a very sweet personality, and simply adores people, but recently she had started to attack our other cat, Jasmine, as often as she can.
Ginger seems to be obsessed with attacking Jasmine, and won’t let up until Jasmine either escapes or we stop them.
Jasmine is very shy, and now she spends all her time hiding from Ginger.
When Jasmine sees Ginger, she growls out of fear, and that seams to make Ginger even more violent.
Ginger has also started sleeping with her nose pushed into my hair as far as possible, and when I push her away she bites my hand.
This is really becoming a problem around our house,
please help!
March 10th, 2010 @ 3:08 pm
I have a 11 month old Seal Point Siamese. He is/was a feral kitten his mother had hime and his 3 siblings on our patio last April. We have had him fixed and his shots a month ago since he has stayed around and we have fed him and allowed him indoors. This morning he could barely stand up after I got home from work I noticed he was no better. He has difficulty walking but does not favor any one of his legs they all seem weak. He will eat if you put the food directly in front of him bue will not walk to it. He lays only on his side and will only sit up for a few seconds before doing so. He does not seem to be running a fever and he does not meow or act like he is in pain. His breathing is not labored. I did have him laying in my lap for a little while trying to check to see if there was sometihng in his paws he did not try to move. Only the tip of his tail wags when he normally would wag the entire tail. We do not think that he was poisened because he has been inside for the past 5 days. His sister that we still have also has been in and out and she seems just fine. We do not have a vet for them since we did not plan to keep them we had them fixed and shots through a neuter program in our county. I have been unemployed so I do not have a lot of funds but I do not want him to suffer or for my girls to see him suffering do you have any suggestions about what could be wrong? Before I try to raise the funds to take him to the vet. Thank you.
March 11th, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
Hi kitties! I would like a little kitty perspective on a situation. My sweet pudders, Sasha, is 15 and a very loving kitty. She recently moved with me to NYC when I got married and now lives part time in an apartment in Manhattan (high floor, so no trees, squirrels or birdies to look at outside). I have to work in Miami two weeks a month and in NYC two weeks a month. When I am in NYC I work from home so she gets to see me and play with me whenever she wants. When I am in Miami my husband plays with her when he can and gives her lots of petting and love (he adores her), but he often has to work very long days (6am-10pm) and travels a few days a week, so she is alone a lot for two weeks a month. We take her to our house in the country (2 acres of land filled with birdies and moths and chipmunks to chase and a big house to run around in) every 2-3 weeks for a couple of days, and she gets to go to Miami with me every 6 mos or so and gets to play in her house and yard there. But I really worry about the time she is alone in the aprtment in NYC – I am afraid she is bored and will get depressed being alone so much. Can you kitties recommend something my husband and I can do to make her time alone a little more interesting for her? She’s a little too mature for another kitty to join our family (that would make her very unhappy). She has lots of toys but prefers to play with us rather than by herself with them. We even laughed about buying her a bird in a cage to pretend stalk but thought that would be way too cruel to the bird. She has recently been diagnosed with renal insufficiency so we want to keep her as active as possible. Any advice you kitties can offer on how we can keep her entertained and engaged while she is alone would be wonderful and greatly appreciated!
March 11th, 2010 @ 11:07 pm
My 5 yr old neutered male, Bofus is very sociable and loves to visit neighbors. One in particular is very angry with my cat because he crawls up the screens to try to get inside her house. I have paid to repair the screens but what can I do to keep him from destroying more screens! Keeping him as “inside only” is impossable because I have multiple dogs & cats and kids that go in & out. What product do you suggest to deter his mischief?