Hi. I have an urgent question. My cat has been diagnosed with gingivitis and needs tooth removal. His mouth hurts so badly that he can’t eat hard cat food, just soft. Anyway, I’d like to treat his sore in his mouth. Can I put peroxide on it to help kill off the bacteria?
Thanks so much!

~Ariane

Siouxsie: In its advanced stages, gingivitis is indeed a very painful condition. And although peroxide used to be the wound cleaner of choice, it has recently become much less favored because it damages healthy flesh as well as lifting bacteria out through its bubbling action. Medical professionals also discourage putting peroxide directly on mucous membranes such as the tissue inside the mouth. (more…)

My cat died in labor. what could have caused this? She was about 1 year old and was ready to give birth. She was already bleeding and we put her in a nice little bed. She was an outside cat, though, and as soon as we left her alone she jumped over the fence. She was gone for two days and we figured she had her kitties and she was just taking care of them. But when we went to look for her, we found her dead. We aren’t sure what killed her, whether it was the fence jumping or the birth pains. We are very sad over all of this. Do you have an idea of what might have happened?

~Liz

Siouxsie: Unfortunately, Liz, there are a few things that can go wrong when a cat has kittens, and it looks like one or more of these happened to your kitty. We are quite sure, however, that your cat’s death had nothing to do with jumping the fence.

Thomas: In general, labor and delivery problems are quite rare in cats. But occasionally they do happen. (more…)

I have a cat that is 15 years old. I had her spayed 12 years ago. Right now, she has been in heat constantly for the past 2 months. She also has been urinating all over the house, mostly on my husband’s things. She has also been drinking a lot of water and is constantly hungry. She has never urinated on my husband’s things before. Any suggestions?

~Laurie

Siouxsie: We’re pretty sure that the behavior you’re witnessing is not your cat in heat. (more…)

I’vve got an old cat who just sleeps all the time. Recently it started peeing and pooping everywhere on the first floor. It’s never done this before; it always used the litterbox on the second floor. What, if anything, can be done about this?

~Cote

Siouxsie: Well, Cote, this is your lucky day: this is a pretty easy problem to solve. (more…)

We’d like some feedback from you, our readers, on what we can do to help those of you who are dealing with a cat friend’s death or facing that issue in the future due to a terminal illness or simply from old age.

What would you like to see in a venue such as this and how would you like us to execute it?

Would you like to have a forum in which you can post publicly about your situation and ask for support?

How about a LiveJournal community or other blog area where you can post about stuff like this?

Would you like a separate blog where we can discuss issues specific to pet loss and illness?

Is there some way we haven’t thought of that we can support you?

Are there readers out there who would be willing to contribute articles or posts, or serve as moderators?

We know there are a number of sites out there dealing with pet loss, but perhaps you, our readers, would prefer something more specifically geared to cat issues. We’re not professional counselors, of course, but we are laykitties and a layperson who know personally about the pain of losing a cat companion. We’d welcome assistance from veterinarians, counselors or other professionals who would like to contribute to such a forum. We can’t pay you, of course; we don’t even pay ourselves. But if this is something you’d like to help with on a volunteer basis, we’d be delighted.

Thank you. We’re looking forward to hearing from you with your ideas.

Because the US economy is in such a shambles (regardless of what the politicians and talking heads tell us) and prices for even the most basic human needs have gotten so high, animal shelters all over the country are suffering terribly from a lack of donations. Not only that, but their populations are increasing steadily as people either give up or abandon their pets because they can no longer afford them. Animals they have at their shelters are not getting adopted for the same reasons, so no-kill shelters are literally overflowing with cats and kittens.

So, to all of our readers who have money to spare–and we know there are at least a few of you out there–PLEASE give as generously as you can to your local animal rescue or to organizations like the FVEAP. They need it now more than ever!

For those of you who can’t afford to donate, please do what you can to signal-boost our signal boost. The more we spread the word, the more likely it is that these animals can get the help they need.

Thank you so much.

This is very urgent, I found a kitten about 5-6 weeks old. She apparently was dumped and has not eaten in quite some time. We have taken her in along with our 5 other cats (who are not happy with us). We do not have the money to take her to the vet. She is eating and drinking, but her stools are loose and she is weak. What can we do to help in her recovery? We have named her Phoebe. She is adorable and loving. And we cannot understand how someone could do that to one of God’s animals. But we are here to be adopted by her. We would appreciate any advice possible. Thank you and God Bless you and the cats on this site.

~Terri (more…)

My two 8-month-old brother cats, are usually very loving and clean each other. Recently I noticed one of them won’t stop crying at night on our bed; then I caught the other one grabbing his neck with his teeth and apparently trying to mount his brother! The little brother had tears and was crying! I pulled his brother off him, but then he kept this up all night. I’m scared! Can my cat actually hurt and try to mate with his brother? I never thought this possible. Please help!

~Sade

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:

I have two cats, both male and altered. They are approximately 4 and 5 years old. I got both of the cats at the same time. The normally docile cat is mounting the other male cat. The other cat’s rectum looks red and inflamed. Is it actually possible penetration occurred? Is a vet visit necessary?

~Jenny

Thomas: I’ll start this one out. As the resident expert on male cat behavior, I’m exceptionally qualified to answer these types of questions. When male cats mount one another, it’s in an effort to establish dominance. Animal behaviorists refer to this as sexual aggression. (more…)

I have three cats, two sisters that just turned 7, and another female that turned 4 in Februrary. All three are part Siamese, although a few generations back — the sisters are Tuxedos and the other is solid black.

My question is this: I’ve recently put the older girls on a 7+ diet and have been continuing to feed the 4-year-old the previous food, but they tend to graze out of each other’s bowls to the point that I might as well feed them all the same food. It’s also expensive to keep buying two different kinds of food, when they all wind up eating all of it. Is it okay for the 4-year-old to eat the “middle aged” food? She seems to enjoy it and so far has no problems from eating it, but I don’t want her to wind up losing nutrition or getting unbalanced. She’s very active, she’s slender, very talkative and spry. The older girls lean towards “plump,” have their playful-crack moments but for the most part have always been sedentary and somewhat bitchy.

~Lani

Siouxsie: It just so happens that Mama asked our vet this very question a few years ago. (more…)

I have a 14-year-old male cat. He’s in great shape, still eating and active, but his teeth are bad. He’s definitely got gingivitis: reddening around the gum line around his teeth. His back teeth are gross, they don’t even look like teeth anymore. I’m hoping he’ll lose those teeth at the top on both sides. I know they’re bothering him and I can’t afford to take him to the vet. The vet quoted me $1,000 to get his teeth fixed. I want to keep my little buddy comfortable. Is there a holistic antibiotic or something else I can do for him?

~Sam

Siouxsie: Periodontal (gum) disease is one of the most common problems seen by veterinarians. It occurs in two forms: gingivitis, a reversible inflammation of the gums; and periodontitis, an inflammation of the deeper structures supporting the teeth. (more…)