Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: Two weeks ago I was playing with my cat, Blacky, when he scratched me badly and I slapped him on the head. He was OK afterwards — he didn’t run away or anything. I gave him food and played with him, and all seemed well. A week later, he [...]
View Article emergencies, injuries
You all know Dahlia, the sweet baby-girl of the Paws and Effect Gang. Well, a week and a half ago, she had a wheezing and coughing fit that I videoed and shared with my vet, Doctor Jim. After giving her an exam, he diagnosed the problem as asthma and gave her a steroid shot — [...]
View Article cancer, dahlia, emergencies, grief and lossDear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I live in the bush in South Africa and we take in a lot of abandoned cats. This year, I have had a few cats suddenly going lame in a paw overnight or even becoming totally paralyzed, then dying within 24 hours with renal failure-like symtoms if we dont [...]
View Article emergencies, poisoning, signs of illnessDear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My beloved 8-year-old cat, Spinx, had closed pyometra in April of of this year. We didn’t know that; we had taken her in for a lump we found near her nipple. The vet said the lump might be breast cancer, but the pyometra was more serious. He said do [...]
View Article cancer, emergencies, pyometra, spay/neuter, veterinarianDear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I recently had to evacuate my apartment temporarily, with my two cats, as a result of a fire in the building next door. It occurred to me later that even though I got the cats out OK and I have an idea of how you’re supposed to prepare for [...]
View Article disaster preparedness, emergencies, evacuation kit