Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:

Last Saturday, I brought my cat in to a groomer for a lion cut. She’s had this done before twice and was fine. They also gave her a flea bath (although I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have fleas — she’s an indoor cat and I give her Advantage Multi every 4-6 weeks). She was fine Saturday and Sunday. But yesterday she started behaving oddly: she’s acting very restless, vocalizing, running after my husband and me, not eating her food, and almost constantly flicking her tail. When she sits down, she lifts up her back and sometimes also flips back her back paws. This morning, she is sitting in her litter box. She was doing fine before her trip to the groomer. Could she have gotten a disease there?

~ Daniela

Siouxsie: Daniela, it’s hard to tell for sure, given the symptoms you’re describing. Also, we’re not veterinarians, so we always tell people that if you have any concerns about your cat’s health, you should contact your vet.

Thomas: That said, our first concern was that your cat might have received a flea treatment that was toxic to her. Some flea bath products are made with pyrethrins or pyrethroids, which can harm cats.

Dahlia: The symptoms of pyrethrin and pyrethroid toxicity include excessive salivation, ear flicking, loss of coordination, depression, lethargy, muscle tremors, fever, and even seizures.

Siouxsie: If your cat had been poisoned, these symptoms would have started to show up right away, and it would have been very obvious that she needed immediate veterinary treatment.

Thomas: But we can imagine that if you gave your cat the spot-on treatment shortly before she had a flea bath at the groomer, it’s possible that there might have been a reaction.

Dahlia: While it is possible that your cat might have caught some kind of illness while she was at the groomer, most groomers are very careful to make sure that they keep animals separated from one another in order to reduce the risk of disease transmission.

Siouxsie: From your letter, it seems that you’ve used this groomer before. If you’ve been comfortable with them and the way they’ve handled your cat thus far, it’s unlikely that they would do something that harmed her.

Thomas: Your cat may have encountered some kind of unusual stressor while she was at the groomer. This could cause some of the behavioral changes you mentioned.

Dahlia: One thing that also occurred to us is that the behavior you’re mentioning sounds a lot like that of a cat in heat.

Siouxsie: If your cat isn’t spayed, this may be the issue.

Thomas: You’ll need to set up an appointment with your vet to have her spayed if you don’t want to find yourself the surprised owner of a litter of kittens.

Dahlia: Even if she has been spayed and therefore can’t be in heat, we would strongly recommend that you contact your vet, describe your cat’s symptoms, and see what they think is going on.

Thomas says going to the vet is a hateful and exhausting thing, but he knows Mama would rather be safe than sorry.

Siouxsie: It can’t hurt to be sure, and the cost of a vet checkup is well worth the peace of mind you’ll get.

Thomas: We encourage all of you to contact your veterinarian if you have any concern that there’s something wrong with your cat.

Dahlia: In the event that your cat does have a serious problem, you’ll get a much faster response from your vet than you could ever hope to get from us — and your quick action may just save your cat’s life.

Siouxsie: This is particularly true if you’re concerned that your cat may have been poisoned.

Thomas: When it comes to poisoning, taking action as soon as you see the problem will save your cat’s life.

Dahlia: So, Daniela, we hope your cat is doing OK now. Please let us know how things turned out.

Dear 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 get them to a vet in time. When we get the cats to the vet, they just get put down. What is causing this? We can’t take the heartbreak anymore and my husband is saying no more animals after all have passed on.

~ Carina

Siouxsie: Well, Carina, if we had to hazard a guess based on your description, we’d say you may be dealing with bites from venomous critters. And here’s why.

Thomas: We’ve done a little bit of research and we’ve found that there are a number of venomous spiders in South Africa, not to mention scorpions, poisonous snakes and lizards, and other potentially toxic critters like bees and ants.

Dahlia: While most of these insects present minimal risks to healthy adult humans, a few of these can be a lot more toxic to the young and the elderly.

Siouxsie: Keep in mind that your cat weighs about as much as a newborn human infant, and that cats are much more sensitive to certain types of chemicals than humans or other creatures.

Thomas: There are two major types of poisons produced by venomous spiders: neurotoxic and cytotoxic.

Dahlia: Neurotoxic poisons cause damage to the nervous system and brain. They can produce symptoms like paralysis, drooling, seizures, and staggering gait.

Siouxsie: Cytotoxic poisons damage the cells of the body, causing swelling of the bitten area, necrotic sores, systemic infection, and sometimes in severe cases of poisoning, organ failure (such as acute renal failure).

Thomas: Various species of venomous snakes also produce neurotoxic and cytotoxic poisons, as well as a type of poison that produces massive internal bleeding.

Dahlia: The only way you’ll ever really know what’s been killing your cats is to have a necropsy done. This could reveal what type of venom was at work — or if there is some other cause for your cats’ deaths such as bacterial infections.

Siouxsie: So what can you do to prevent further heartbreak? Since you can’t keep poisonous critters away from your land, the next best thing to do is keep your cats indoors — or at the very least, in outdoor enclosures in an area where you can control their potential exposure to venomous visitors.

Thomas: If your cats are indoor-only kitties and they’re having these symptoms, you might want to consult with a pest control expert to see if poisonous insects are finding a way to get into your home and what you can do about it.

Dahlia: We’d also recommend that you talk with your vet and ask him or her what they think happened to your cats. Also, ask about poisonous creatures in your area and see if your vet has a list of symptoms of bites. Maybe if you see the symptoms early enough, you’ll be able to get a cat to the vet in time to save its life.

Siouxsie: Also ask your vet about first aid. If they have information about what you should do if you suspect your cat has been bitten, you’ll be able to take action — and again, maybe slow the progress of the poison enough that a trip to the vet will have a better outcome than euthanasia.

Thomas: We don’t think this means you should never have cats again. But we do think it would be wise to make sure your cats stay indoors only and be vigilant for potentially venomous creatures in your home.

Dahlia: Wherever in the world you live, you’re quite likely to have poisonous snakes, insects, spiders, or reptiles and amphibians in your area. We recommend that all of our readers know what venomous critters live in their area, what the symptoms of poisoning look like in a cat, and what they should do for first aid.

Siouxsie: So, Carina, we hope this helps a little bit. And we’re very sorry about your cats, too.

Thomas: It’s never easy to lose a beloved animal companion, especially when you don’t really know what happened.

Dahlia: You, your husband, and your other kitties are in our thoughts and purrs.

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:

About two weeks ago, my cat, who is about 4 years of age, started 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?

~Ashley

Siouxsie: Let’s start by looking at the possible causes of these symptoms. First of all, major weight loss occurs when a cat doesn’t eat, either because he’s suffering from pain, because he doesn’t feel well, or because he’s depressed.

Thomas: A cat’s fur gets greasy when he stops grooming. Cats usually stop grooming when they don’t feel well.

Dahlia: You say your cat is having difficulty chewing his food, so he swallows the kibbles whole and then regurgitates them.

Siouxsie: All of these symptoms definitely seem to point to something wrong in your cat’s mouth.

Thomas: Dental problems are not the only cause of pain in a cat’s mouth and bad breath. If your cat has a foreign body such as a bone, hair, grass awn, or plant material stuck in his mouth, these can cause irritation and infection, which can lead to bad breath and reluctance to eat.

Dahlia: If your cat has an abscessed tooth, resorptive lesion (a “cat cavity,” which usually occurs at or near the gum line) or gum disease, that can make eating difficult and can cause bad breath.

Siouxsie: If your cat has an ulcer or tumor in his mouth, perhaps under his tongue or back by his throat, this too can cause bad breath and discomfort.

Thomas: Lung diseases can also be a culprit in bad breath situations, but because your cat’s bad breath is accompanied by other signs of oral discomfort, we think lung disease is less likely to be causing your cat’s problem.

Dahlia: Kidney failure can also cause bad breath, but usually when the kidneys fail, the breath smells like acetone (nail polish remover) rather than feces. Also, kidney failure is pretty uncommon in younger cats; it’s usually a disease that happens in cats that are more than 10 years old.

Siouxsie: The short answer to your question, Ashley, is that it’s very unlikely there’s anything you can do at home to fix your cat’s problem.

Thomas: But since your cat clearly is sick, and will only get sicker if he refuses to eat, he does need to see a vet pretty soon.

Dahlia: Even though you didn’t notice anything wrong with your cat’s teeth or gums, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong with his mouth.

Siouxsie: It’s quite possible that even if your cat does have a resorptive lesion or abscessed tooth, your finger pressure might not hurt but trying to chew food will.

Thomas: Your vet will do an oral exam on your cat to see if he or she can find any foreign objects, infections, or tumors in his mouth. The vet may also do X-rays of your cat’s teeth and jaws and probe his teeth and gums to detect possible disease.

Dahlia: Once your vet has figured out what’s wrong and your cat gets the treatment he needs, he should be back to his old self pretty quickly. You should call your vet pretty soon if you haven’t already, because as we said, failure to eat can make your cat very, very sick.

Siouxsie: You’ll probably have to keep feeding your cat canned food until whatever is causing his problems is treated, because it’s crucial that he gets adequate nutrition.

Thomas: Good luck, Ashley. Please let us know how things turn out.

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:

This seems pretty urgent to me! I got a wee kitten about 4 months ago. He’s about 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 thought perhaps he’d bitten a stick and it had just left a little cut, but now he’s barely eating anything and it’s clear it’s 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 in his mouth (which he doesn’t let me do for long) it seems like his bottom teeth are jutting into his top gum, as if maybe they’re chipped or something. It’s very worrying because normally he is so greedy with food, but now he won’t eat anything.

I also took the time to blend his food up thinking he could just lick it, but he won’t even touch that. My parents are away for a short break and obviously I don’t have the money to take him just to be checked up (since its out of hours) if it’s something silly that would waste the vet’s time. Does it sound like he needs to go? I’m not even really sure what his mouth should look like to know if something is wrong–but there is still bleeding and he has barely eaten in two days.

Please help, I’m very very worried.

~Cathy

Siouxsie: Cats do go through a normal teething process between four and six months of age. Their baby teeth fall out and their adult teeth start coming in. Teething can cause pain and discomfort, which can lead to not eating. But this sounds like it’s more serious than ordinary teething issues.

Thomas: If a cat’s baby tooth doesn’t come out when an adult tooth comes out, this can cause problems like broken teeth and pain, which may keep a cat from eating.

Dahlia: Teething kittens do tend to chew anything they can get their mouths on in order to relieve the discomfort caused by erupting teeth. If your kitten chewed a twig or a piece of wood, he may have a splinter in his gum or somewhere else in his mouth or throat. This foreign body may be causing an infection that’s making him even more uncomfortable.

Siouxsie: If there’s any chance your kitten may have had an accident, he may have injured his mouth in the process. Cats can break their jaws if they get hit by a car or if they fall a long distance and hit their chin on the ground as a result.

Thomas: Pawing at the mouth and not being able to eat are clear symptoms that something is wrong and that your cat needs veterinary attention right away.

Dahlia: A kitten that young can’t afford not to eat. Kittens need all the nutrition they can get in order to keep growing and stay healthy.

Siouxsie: Trust me, you’re not going to waste the vet’s time by taking your kitten in for a checkup.

Thomas: It must be pretty frightening that this is happening while your parents are away. If you have a way of contacting them, please call them and let them know your cat is sick and he needs to go to the vet. If you can get him there, that’s good, but they may need to provide credit card information so that they can pay for his treatment.

Dahlia: If you have another relative that lives nearby and who can help you out, that’s another option.

Siouxsie: Call your vet clinic today and tell them what’s going on. They’ll ask you about his symptoms and how long he’s been having those symptoms. They’ll probably tell you to bring him in right away.

Thomas: The chances are good that although this is serious, it’s a problem that will be easily fixed. If he’s got a splinter or other foreign body in his mouth, they’ll remove it (they’ll probably have to sedate him to do that) and give you antibiotics to help get rid of any infection that’s present.

Dahlia: Likewise, if it’s a teething problem, they’ll be able to fix that, probably with pretty much the same treatment.

Siouxsie: If your kitty has hurt or broken his jaw, it may take him a bit longer to heal, but he will be OK in the long run.

Thomas: Kittens are very resilient, and they can heal from almost anything as long as they get proper treatment.

Dahlia: Good luck, Cathy. Please let us know how things turn out.