Cat Moms-Volume II

[KaliLily]

I have a question for fellow cat moms -what is the longest you will leave your cat alone for?

The longest we've left our girls alone is 4 days/3 nights. We could probably go 1 day/night more but we'd have to get another litter box. Kali is very picky about litterbox cleanliness, so when we go away we have one box out for each day. For our 4 days trips that's 3 boxes downstairs and 1 box upstairs.

The first time we did this length of a trip, we had 3 boxes in our tiny den - BIG mistake! The room smelled SO BAD when we got home, it was no surprise Kali peed on a rug. The next time I left only 1 box in the den and put the other 2 diagonal from one another in the (larger) living room. We've done this twice and been incident free each time.

We have high capacity feeders and water fountains that last about 1 1/2 weeks without refill.

[imagirliegirl]

Max can sling litter approximately 8 feet from the box.

Now that's impressive! Way to go Max! :D

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[imagirliegirl]

I have a question for fellow cat moms -what is the longest you will leave your cat alone for?

I've left mine overnight with a ton of extra food and water plus extra potty boxes. If we're gone for any longer I have someone check on them every day if possible or at least every other day. I think they would be okay longer but I worry.

I'll be sure to pass on your compliments next time I head down to mom's. *sigh* I can't wait til they're back with me where they belong.

Aw you must miss them so much! :(

PS - What happened to your Myspace?

I hope Griffin gets a clean bill of health. Let us know!

I called the vet and he's out of town for a week! They told me it will be okay for me to wait until next Monday so I'm going to take him then. I'm just going to keep a close eye on him and if he seems distressed I'll take him sooner to their backup vet.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[eli1126]

I'm sure my cats have special talents since I always tell them they are going to Kitty Cat Harvard :p

I am a bad cat mommy! I stepped on Beau's tail today :( He was being all cute wrapping himself around my legs (while I was trying to the dishes of course) and I stepped back and he let out a yowl! I felt so bad, but he was okay because he got my undivided attention which was exactly what he was looking for!

[diam124]

Well we have a littermaid so the litter box thankfully isn't really an issue. I worry more that she might get into trouble (it happens!) or that she's lonely.

[KaliLily]

You're lucky your cat likes the Littermaid. Kali hated it and peed everywhere but in the box when we used ours. I'm giving it to my SIL for her new cat. He's not picky so this will be a good way for her to keep it clean while juggling her house, business and 2 kids.

[greenbunny]

I felt so bad, but he was okay because he got my undivided attention which was exactly what he was looking for!

I swear sometimes my two will slip a paw or tail under my foot just to get the guilted snuggles and petting. :p

[diam124]

Littermaid is far from perfect and it's not maintenance-free, but it definitely makes going away easier. Before we got it we would set up a disposable box next to her regular box when we went out of town. She preferred the sandy litter in the disposable box so she would ONLY use that one and not her regular box at all! At least I could just throw the whole thing away!

She's still having some stomach issues today so I'm taking her to the vet later. I drank some eggnog on Sunday and she might have licked some of it out of the empty glass - I wonder if that could cause loose stools.

[jnettie]

Our cats have never been alone more than overnight. But, we have built in kitty sitters, so it's not really an issue for us. (SIL lives downstairs and loves to take the oppertunity to hang out in our apartment when we are out of town.)

I would feel totally comfortable leaving them alone for 2 nights. Any more than that and the litter box would get too dirty and they'd start pooping on the floor.

[vwinkel]

My max is 4 nights alone. With lots of food and extra water bowls. They were just fine. I cleaned the litter before we left (we have 4 boxes and three cats) and thankfully there were not any accidents.

[eli1126]

We've left Beau and Belle alone for an overnight trip, but when we went away for a week last May we had someone take care of them. Of course the person didn't do the best job and we came home to a filthy litter box, poop all over the floor, and empty and dry cat bowls :mad: Needless to say, we will ask MIL to take care of cats the next time we go away! I would feel comfortable leaving them for 2-3 days with one of those food contraptions that only leaves a days worth of food in the dish and the Petsmart water fountain.

[diam124]

I had a nice surprise waiting for me when I picked my cat up to go to the vet - she had vomitted up the bra strap she ate! They still did x-rays to confirm nothing else was still in her and they gave her a steroid shot to stop the diarrhea. Hopefully she's fine now!

[lawyerlee]

We have been having major issues with Felix and the artificial tree. I have been trying hard to discipline him and get him to realize he isn't allowed to play with it, but when I was gone yesterday for my acupuncture appointment, he climbed it and knocked it over. DH was so mad because he'd done all the decorating himself and worked really hard on it.

I read that spraying citrus or citronella around the tree can help keep cats away, so we're going to try that. We also gave him a strand of beads we aren't using to play with, so I'm hoping he will be content with those. But I'm afraid the temptation of having a tree to climb inside the house will continue to be too much for him. ;) :)

[KaliLily]

How old is Felix? It was either Lily's first Christmas (2 mos. old) or her second (1 yr, 2 mos) she tried to climb the artificial tree as I was putting it together. But since then she leaves it alone, except to bat at any ornaments I foolishly put within her reach. :)

[imagirliegirl]

Griffin controls the presents this year. Hope you were good. Cause he totally knows.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/myheartbelongstodallas/47b6cc26b3127cce8fa5ef243ecc0000003.jpg

[tlew12778]

Casanova knocks down our tree multiple times every year. I haven't even put it up yet. We have guests coming for dinner on Sunday and I think the tree is going up Sunday morning. Last year wasn't as bad as the other years for some reason. Maybe he's gotten used to it? He's bent all the branches so that they all sort of point downwards now and he can no longer actually sit IN the tree, so maybe that's why.

Citronella is supposedly bad for cats. Some have an allergic reaction to it. I tried leaving orange peels but our cats don't give a damn. Some people use scat mats around the tree. They don't sell those here though. Some people tie the tree to the wall. There was a whole thread on this last year. Let me see if I can find it.

[eli1126]

Last year I had a few broken ornaments, but I don't think they actually tried to climb in the tree. I know they will be all over the tree when it goes up, but my plan is to only put the ornaments that aren't breakable on the tree. keeping fingers crossed.

imagirliegirl What a great picture!

[Tonysweetie]

imagirliegirl: Very cute!


Tree: Last year Max was ALL over our tree. It got knocked down just about everyday. We had a table top one though. This year we have a big 6 1/2 foot tree and neither of them have really touched it. The chew onthe bottom branches. I have the ornaments up high enough where they can't get to them though. Hopefully they'll keep staying out of it.


Question: Is there some kind of miracle that I can do to keep my two off my kicthen counters. Cleo is obsessed with getting on the counters and all the way on top of my cabinets :eek: She jumps from the floor to the counter, to the fridge, then up top. She has broken so many things up on top of my cabinets and it makes me nervous also. I've tried spraying her with a spray bottle, yelling at her, clapping at her, nothing seems ot keep her from getting on my counters. I even put up a block on top of the fridge so she couldn't jump from the counter to the fridge but somehow she manages b/c I find her up their all the time. Max just gets on the counters. I catch them on the counters at least 3 times a day if not more. Me and DH hate it b/c we feel it's sorta gross but I don't know how to keep them off.

[ejs]

Question: Is there some kind of miracle that I can do to keep my two off my kicthen counters. Cleo is obsessed with getting on the counters and all the way on top of my cabinets :eek: She jumps from the floor to the counter, to the fridge, then up top. She has broken so many things up on top of my cabinets and it makes me nervous also. I've tried spraying her with a spray bottle, yelling at her, clapping at her, nothing seems ot keep her from getting on my counters. I even put up a block on top of the fridge so she couldn't jump from the counter to the fridge but somehow she manages b/c I find her up their all the time. Max just gets on the counters. I catch them on the counters at least 3 times a day if not more. Me and DH hate it b/c we feel it's sorta gross but I don't know how to keep them off.

Two things I've heard of:
* Shaking a can of coins when they get on the counter.
* Putting double-sided tape on the counter so their paws touch the sticky stuff. They won't like that. I've also heard that cats don't like walking on foil.

[imagirliegirl]

Question: Is there some kind of miracle that I can do to keep my two off my kicthen counters.

Do you have a climbing post for them? Cats like to be up high, maybe that would satisfy them.

Otherwise I don't know. My cats never felt affected by any of the tactics I tried. Loud noises, water, tape...they didn't care. Griffin responds to the spray bottle like "omg RAIN!". I finally just gave up and let them sit up there. Now they rarely do it. Maybe it's lost it's appeal since I don't care now. :p

I know that cats on the counter grosses some people out (I clean mine a lot) but perhaps you could put a towel up there. Cats like to lay on things so maybe they'd be attracted to the towel and not put their furry butts all over the place?

I heard somewhere that if cats eat foil it can kill them. So I have never tried foil with mine since they enjoy eating everything so much.

I'm not very helpful. :) Good luck!

[greenbunny]

TS, buy some Sticky Paws tape and some cheap plastic place mats. Put the tape on the mats and cover the counters with them. The cats will get stuck and hate being plastered to the mats. But make sure to buy the tape designed for disciplining them--if you use any old office supply tape, it could tear their paw pads.

Also, are they seeming to fight when they jump on the counters? Hierarchy is partly determined by height in the cat world, so whoever claims the highest spot is "in charge". If you can get them to take that battle elsewhere, like if you buy window seats or a cat tree, it could help.


I just bought Christmas ornaments from this eBay seller for DH, you have to see these adorable things! She offers a lot of breeds and colors.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZchristysmagnets

[Tonysweetie]

Thanks ladies! I'll have to try the sticky stuff. Cleo is the one that does it the most. They do have things to climb on but they are more attracted to the counters than their climbing toys. :rolleyes:

[KaliLily]

I'm not sure if I should be concerned about this or not, and am hoping I can get some insight from other cat moms.

Kali
Over the last 2 weeks there's been 4 incidents of vomitting. At first I thought it was Kali since she's the big eater, but then I found some "fresh" vomit downstairs when Kali had been upstairs most of the afternoon. But tonight I actually saw Kali vomit. Neither cat has ever been a "puker." Should I be worried about 4 vomit episodes over 2 weeks? The first 2 times the vomit was food colored with bits of undisgested food. The last 2 times it was pretty much clear. She seems fine otherwise, good appetite, no change in energy and no apparent bowel issues.

Lily
Lately I've noticed Lily gets coughing fits, like she has a hairball, after using the litter box. We switched the brand of litter we use in early September, but the post-litter box cough has only been going on for about a month. We are currently using Ever Clean Unscented Low Track clumping litter. Lily is a digger, but this litter doesn't seem any dustier than our previous brand of litter; in fact it seems less dusty. Should I worry? Should I try a different Ever Clean formula? I really like the Ever Clean litter.

TIA!

[eli1126]

Kim

If Kali's appetitie is still good and her demeanor is normal, I probably wouldn't worry too much about it. Beau had a few instances of vommiting around Thanksgiving, but everything else was fine and he hasn't gotten sick since. I think it could have been a hairball and once it was out, he was fine.

I don't have any advice for Lily :( Can cats be allergic to litter?

[imagirliegirl]

We went to the vet today!

Griffin is in great shape. He behaved very well for the vet. It was no surprise since he's so laid back. I guess the pee incident was either a true accident or Princess did it and got away very quickly.

Princess has some sort of cat herpes infection. He thinks she might have always had it but it's dormant since she's current on her vaccinations and that is included. I have a round of meds for her. He says the infection appears very mild so he's hoping on round will do the trick. My poor kitty. :(

She hates the vet so much. She growled a bunch today. She even tried to bite him which she's never done. I know he enjoys seeing her so much. Ha. It's part of the reason I drive so far to see him. He knows how she acts and does a great job checking her out while dodging her attacks. He's very sweet to her even though she's such a mean girl. He also doesn't get offended by all of the mean things she says to him. :p

[jajacobsen]

Tea Lee, our Siamese accidentally got shut in a guest bedroom last night. Just overnight. She destroyed the carpet at the door, scrabbling to get out. Not that she used that loud voice of hers at all to let us knwo she was in there. No, shredding the carpet to the pad was much more effective (not).

DH found here this morning. We were in and out of that room last night working on Christmas lights in teh windows. I think she got locked in at about 8.30 last night.

Which I feel terrible about, but why oh why did she have to shred carpet? I'm really just venting here not looking for advice. Tea Lee has a very strong personality and is resistant to all sorts of behaviour modification. However, usually, she is a very good cat.

She is nt de-clawed. We put sof paws caps on her nails to reduce the amount of acratching she does. She must have pulled them off or they came off as she was scrabbling and then she was able to do real damage.

Anyway, the damage is done. At least the carpet was old and we are talking about replacing it next year.''

Just a vent....

[greenbunny]

Bella had a rough night. She threw up on the bed around 3:30, which was, of course, a thrill. Then DH couldn't get her to eat breakfast, so I suggested fasting her since the vet suggested that when Summer barfed for three days. Then when I came downstairs after DH was gone, I found Bella with her mouth and chest ruff covered in wet litter. I was freaking out, thinking she'd tried to eat something in her litter box, and felt so guilty for starving her. It turned out she'd just thrown up again, in the litter box.

That sucks about your carpet, Ja. Siamese do have that attitude, though! They are so feisty.

As far as Kali's vomiting, if it keeps up, I'd fast her for a couple of days. The coughing is odd. We've always used Ever Clean and had no problems. Maybe another formula? We use the unscented.

[jajacobsen]

Yeah. Tea Lee is such a little cat abut she makes up for it in personality! She is the boss of the animals in the house. Seriously, the two weimaraners (88 and 75 lbs) give her WIDE berth. They are scared of her.

I really feel bad about her being shut in the room last night, but honestly, it was probably only from 8.30pm to 5.30 this morning. Her normal naps are quite often longer than that!

I don't have any advice as to coughing/vomiting. We used to have that problem but it was radically reduced when I switche dours to Purina One for Sensitive Systems. I'm not suggesting this as a cure-all for the problems listed here; it just fortunately worked for us. That is except when Tea Lee gets jealous of the dogs and gorges on tehir food. Then we have vomiting. But fortunately, that is rare.

[Tonysweetie]

jajacobsen: My female kitty does that but not when locked in a room just does it because. She only does it in our bedroom though. We had to put stuff in each corner of the room so she can't rip any more carpet up (we are renting and don't want to pay to replace it).


Greenbunny: Sorry about the vomiting issue today. I know that is not so fun to wake up too. I hope she feels better!

[KaliLily]

I called the vet this morning about Kali. They said the food change would cause diarrhea, not vomitting. It's possible she has a virus, so I'm bringing her in this afternoon.

As for Lily, she hasn't had the "litter box cough" for several days now. I really think it's the dust she kicks up. That cat loves to dig in her litter box. She even goes in after Kali to bury her "stuff." Kali never buries her deposits.

[greenbunny]

She even goes in after Kali to bury her "stuff." Kali never buries her deposits.

:eek: Can she teach my girls to do that? Summer uses her box, jumps out, turns around, and paws furiously at the plastic rim of the box. The moron doesn't get that her feet actually have to be down in the litter to accomplish the covering.

[KaliLily]

:eek: Can she teach my girls to do that? Summer uses her box, jumps out, turns around, and paws furiously at the plastic rim of the box. The moron doesn't get that her feet actually have to be down in the litter to accomplish the covering.

LMAO! Thanks, I needed a good laugh today.

Lily doesn't tend to like other cats, so I'm not sure how good of a teacher she'd be. :) Sometimes I wonder if Kali doesn't dig because she knows the dust will aggravate her allergies.

[ignutzz]

This is a crosspost from LJ:

Here's Izzy:
http://static.flickr.com/132/319540377_6b55b3ecaf.jpg

Izzy is approximately 6-weeks old and she only weighs 1.6 lbs. Izzy's mama brought her to us on Wed. night. Mama and her friend (an adult from her previous year's litter) accosted DH on the front porch and when he paid attention to her she ran back and got the baby. We managed to get Mama and baby into the house but then Mama freaked out, crying back and forth with her friend outside. We made the heartbreaking decision to let Mama go back outside so that she and her friend could remain together (and therefore survive) and we kept the baby inside. I know it sounds really bad, and we HATED having to make that decision, but the only way we could see for all three of them to make it was to have Mama and her older dependent remain together. If we owned our house, we would have made an entirely different decision and we're still hoping to find a way to help Mama and her buddy.

We brought her to the Vet on Sat. where she got a an all clear on her leukemia and HIV tests. The bald patch on her right front elbow turned out to be a scar from having BROKEN HER LEG!!! How a 6-wk old managed to break and heal a leg, I have no idea.

http://static.flickr.com/131/319539973_5799ba103a.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/132/319539223_a8a8b994ef.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/139/319542199_3e4ba40333.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/142/319541435_014d5a0d36.jpg

With allowances for the obvious differences, having this little furball is much like having a new baby in the house. She is with us, or we are in her room with her, at all times. We're watching all of her food intake and noting all of her litterbox "output." When she's not sleeping on me, we've set up a little "playpen" on the couch and we're playing with string. I had DH spell me Sun. night so I could finally take a shower. I woke up bright and early Sun. (and Sat.) because she was crying (CIO is a no-no in this house! HA!). As soon as I went into get her, she calmed down and we headed off to nap on the couch. But first I wrapped her in her blanket and put her in the bathroom sink just so I could take a minute to use the bathroom. ;) I also got her to purr for the very first time Sunday morning and I was so excited I took her in to wake up DH so he could hear it too.

Her personality has changed completely in the past few days. She now responds happily to being petted instead of running at the first sign of a hand. She uses DH and I as her personal jungle gym instead of running to hide under the sideboard as soon as she realizes we're still in the room. Her favorite place to sleep, besides on the heating pad, is on my chest, cuddled up into my neck with the fuzzy blanket over her.

While we're both enthralled with this new little creature, it's tempered with thoughts of Gordy and hope for her Mama's well-being. I know that we did the right thing in taking her in, and I'm reassured that this is not a betrayal of Gordy since she was delivered to us, rather than us deliberately seeking out a new kitty. I NEVER intended to adopt a new cat after Gordy's passing, it just felt so wrong, but here we are. I'm hoping that with all of the affection she's receiving so young that she'll end up a being a cuddler like her oldest brother.

[Sazoo]

:eek: Can she teach my girls to do that? Summer uses her box, jumps out, turns around, and paws furiously at the plastic rim of the box. The moron doesn't get that her feet actually have to be down in the litter to accomplish the covering.OMG, my cat, Ginger, does the same thing! :rolleyes: She is such a digger. We always joke that she's trying to "dig her way to China". :p

[Sazoo]

Aww, ignutzz, Izzy is sooo adorable! :D I love the 2nd picture you posted, where she's laying on her back...plus the last one, where she's snoozing on your shoulder. So cute - makes me want another kitten! I think it's great that you're taking her into your home, and I understand it must have been really hard to let her momma go back to live outside with her buddy.

[imagirliegirl]

Cute baby! I'm glad she found a nice Mommy and Daddy! She looks like a very lucky girl. :)

I LOVE your last photo where she is napping on your shoulder! She looks like she's in heaven.

I know that we did the right thing in taking her in, and I'm reassured that this is not a betrayal of Gordy since she was delivered to us, rather than us deliberately seeking out a new kitty.

Maybe Gordy delivered her to you. You never know. ;)

[greenbunny]

Izzy is just so precious, I can barely stand it. It sounds like several unlikelies converged for you--I would not doubt that Gordy had a paw in leading her to you.

[Tonysweetie]

What a cutie pie!!!! awwwh! I'm going GaGa over her! How cute!

[KaliLily]

I'm such a wreck. I had to leave Kali at the vet's overnight - possibly for 2 nights. I've never left her overnight before, and she's very afraid of being left behind (we were her 3rd home in the 1st year of her life). Turns out her intestines are clogged with hair and fecal matter and they have to push fluids and give her enimas. I feel like such a rotten mom leaving her there. She looked so scared when they took her in the back and I left. I'm so worried about her and miss her so much. I don't know how I'll get through the night. :(

[ignutzz]

Sazoo Thanks! Mama was pretty traumatized as well which made it that much harder. Both seem to have made the adjustment now though.

imagirliegirl Thanks! My shoulder/chest is her favorite spot to nap. When I got home last night she practically climbed me to be held up there. We do think Gordy had something to do with this and she has some personality quirks that are very much him.

greenbunny Thanks! Yes, that's exactly what happened. I think you're right about Gordy too. :) Friday (1 yr. anni.) was incredibly difficult and thoughts like that one eased the ache a bit.

Tonysweetie Thanks!

I'm counting down the minutes 'til we head home tonight. I've taken the rest of the week off to spend at home with her. We have to keep her pretty cooped up for the next several weeks and she just cries pitifully when I leave in the morning. I've got unused vac. time available so I figured what better way to use it up.

KaliLily I HATE leaving our guys at the vet but I know that they're in good hands there and it's worth it to have them healthy again. Also, we go visit every night while their away and it makes all of us feel better. Is that something you would be able to do? I hope Kali gets better very quickly!

[greenbunny]

Sending healthy happy vibes to Kali. She knows her mommy will be back for her, she's just going to milk it for sympathy. ;)

[KaliLily]

Thanks, gals. I had a rough, emotional morning, which I'm sure exacerbated everything with Kali. I just had a good sob and that seems to have calmed me down. And I have Lily here to comfort me - she just better behave when Kali gets home!

I forgot to add a question to my last post. When I bring Kali home I'm supposed to give her boiled chicken until her system settles down. I've never boiled chicken before. Any tips?

I just left Kali a little before 4, so I won't try to visit her tonight. If I have to leave her there tomorrow night I'm going to ask to visit her tomorrow afternoon.

[Tonysweetie]

KaliLily: (((Hugs))) I hope she gets better soon. Good for you for taking her in! Hang in there.

[KaliLily]

KaliLily: (((Hugs))) I hope she gets better soon. Good for you for taking her in! Hang in there.

Thanks. :) I am very grateful to whatever "force" urged me to take her in today. The obstruction in her intestines looked just awful in the x-rays, and tonight when I went upstairs to change my clothes I found Kali had vomitted at least 3 times in the bed between noon and 2:30 this afternoon! I started feeling at peace with leaving her at the vet's office when I found that.

Ironically, I just washed all of the bedding yesterday. I don't mind rewashing it all tonight, though. My thoughts are on Kali and how awful she must have felt, not on some soiled bedding.

[greenbunny]

I'm doing all the blankets too, from Bella's episode this morning. I know what you mean--all I'm worried about is that she wouldn't eat today.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[eli1126]

KaliLily Yikes! I feel bad for saying it was probably nothing! It's a good thing your maternal insticts kicked in. Sending healing vibes Kali's way.

ignutzz What a beautiful kitty! And Lucky to have such great parents too!

I bought the Tidy Cat litter the other day because I forgot they had changed their litter (it's little multi colored balls now) and that I didn't like the change :( I find it doesn't so much for odor and it's more noticable all over the house which means I *have* to vacuum....not that I don't vacuum, but I could just get done doing it and 20 minutes later it's all over the floor again.

[diam124]

Oh my goodness KaliLily - I'm so sorry you had to leave her there. As for boiling chicken, you probably only need 1 chicken breast. Put it in a saute pan or a pan that has a lid. Fill it with enough water to cover the chicken and bring the water to a light boil. Once it's boiling, turn the temp. to low and cover it. It usually takes about 10 minutes to cook through. Then I let it cool down (rinse with cold water) and I shred it into small pieces.


We returned from vacation to a very happy cat. Her diarrhea resolved itself while we were gone and she actually gained some weight from all the food she ate!

[jajacobsen]

Kali-Well, I have twice had to feed my weimaraners boiled chicken (and they can eat like 30 lbs of it in a week) so I believe I am now an expert.

Is it boiled chicken and rice or just boiled chicken? If not rice, igore the rice aspects of the following.

I use chicken leg quarters as they are inexpensive and easy to debone. I do not use whole chickens as they are hard to debone.

Fill a large pot with chicken and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 mins to 1 hour. The chicken will be well cooked and falling off the bone.

Remove chicken from the pot of water. I used a large slotted spoon as the chicken was falling apart. Let the chicken cool for 10-20 min and debone. The meat should just fall off. Chop to desired size.

If you need to cook rice just use the chicken broth and add white or brown rice, bring to a boil, and reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 mins. Then add the cooked chicken peices back into the pot and stir to distribute through the rice.

For dogs, the antidote is usually "chicken and rice" but maybe for cats it is just chicken.

[KaliLily]

Thanks for the cooking tips, diam124 and jajacobsen. I found a good deal on some fresh boneless chicken tenders at the grocery store today, so I picked up a large package. I was going to use the frozen boneless chicken breasts DH and I eat, but I noticed they have a ton of sodium. In my research on cat constipation last night I found that salt causes dehydration in cats, which can cause constipation. :eek:

The vet said something about feeding rice to her, but I'm not sure if he meant the baby food or boiled with the chicken. In addition to boiled chicken, he said to get some baby food like lamb & rice. I found lamb & lamb broth and chicken & rice at the store today, so I bought that. I'm boiling the chicken tenders now, so I better go check on them.

Kali comes home at 4:30 tonight!! I probably have to bring her back Friday for another overnight, though, since she's still pretty clogged up. They said it would be good for her to come home for a few days and be in comfortable surroundings. I'm so happy to get my girl back!

ETA: eli1126 - Don't feel bad, I didn't think it was anything serious until last weekend. Heck, I didn't even know which cat was sick until Saturday!

[Tonysweetie]

Nothing like waking up to cat pee in the morning! ewww! Max sometime over the night peed all over the laundry room. It's nothing new with him really. I'm so sick of it. I don't know how to control it. I don't know why he does it either. It's really gross though that is for sure! He does this I'd say at least 3 times a week if not more. It always has to be on something too. This time it was on top of a dryer sheet that must've fell out of my laundry pile. Last week it was on top of his litter box. Werid? End of my small vent...


KaliLily: I'm glad your kitty gets to come home tonight but sorry she has to go back on Friday! I hope she feels better soon!!!

[ejs]

Nothing like waking up to cat pee in the morning! ewww! Max sometime over the night peed all over the laundry room. It's nothing new with him really. I'm so sick of it. I don't know how to control it. I don't know why he does it either. It's really gross though that is for sure! He does this I'd say at least 3 times a week if not more. It always has to be on something too. This time it was on top of a dryer sheet that must've fell out of my laundry pile. Last week it was on top of his litter box. Werid? End of my small vent...
I must have missed it, but when was Max's last vet visit?

[Tonysweetie]

I must have missed it, but when was Max's last vet visit?

Not to long ago. He's been doing this for almost 6 months now. I was told it's "Behavioral" I think he's just super picky about his litterbox. I mean EXTREMELY picky. My DH does the box right now and he isn't as good at it as I was. Like as soon as DH does the box he pees outside of before the next morning. For example earlier this week DH had done the box and when I got up the next morning I found pee outside my bedroom door. Nice!

[ruledbymercury]

Tonysweetie - Do you or your DH "show" the newly-cleaned box to your kitty as soon as it's all cleaned up? I found that helped when our 2 year old male kitty Logan was having issues. DH would clean everything up, wash his hands, and then go find Logan and bring him to the litter box. Our box is hooded with a swinging door, so DH would actually open the little door and poke Logan's head inside so that he could see for himself that everything was all fresh and clean.

I know it's a minor tip and it might not help at all, but it did seem to help us. Even though we haven't had issues since we moved into our new place, DH continues to keep this habit...just in case. :P

[imagirliegirl]

Not to long ago. He's been doing this for almost 6 months now. I was told it's "Behavioral"

Did the vet suggest any kind of medication to help modify his behavior?

[Tonysweetie]

ruledbymercury: I'll have to try that, thanks!


imagirliegirl: No, just told us basicly all the things I've read here, praise him when he does use the litter box etc.

[Asha]

this may sounds stupid and not helpful, but maybe it is that max minds who cleans it rather than how it is done. i know you can't really clean the litterbox bc you are preggo, but perhaps you can stand by your dh when he cleans the litter box so max gets the impression you are helping to clean it. i know it is probably a stupid suggestion, but at this point you may be willing to try anything.

[Tonysweetie]

Asha: I have actually thought about that in the past. I know I should try it but lately I can't even go in the room the litterbox is in b/c the smell of it overwhelms me and makes me gag. I know that sounds so dumb but it's true. Something that didn't happen until I found out I was pregnant. Even if the box is totally clean I can still smell the litter smell and it makes me want to vomit. The thought of it does enough for me, lol. I'll have to try it and just keep my nose plugged, LOL!

[Asha]

tonysweetie - i do wear a mask when i clean the litter, and it seems to help the smell a bit.

[greenbunny]

TS, a mask like Asha said, dabbed with a bit of perfume or air freshener, might help.

Is Max normally cuddly with DH? Maybe doesn't like your DH's soap/cologne/shampoo or something. If DH is doing a decent job cleaning the box, it might be that he's leaving scent behind from his toiletries or clothes that Max doesn't like.

[imagirliegirl]

imagirliegirl: No, just told us basicly all the things I've read here, praise him when he does use the litter box etc.

Hm...I'm not a huge pusher of medicating animals but if it's a huge problem maybe you should try it. My cats' vet suggested giving Princess meds for a few months. He said that hopefully it would stop the peeing and when she came off the meds she would have new memories of being a good kitty. I found different options that worked but she peed in corners. Sounds like yours does it all over. Might be worth a shot?

Have you tried a Littermaid? That helped me a lot.

Speaking of Littermaid - does yours ever get stuck? Princess thinks it is really fun to pile the litter all on one side so it's too much litter for the rake to push through. I can't leave it plugged in when I'm not here because it won't cycle. It's so annoying.

[diam124]

Our littermaid does get stuck every once in a while. Our cat likes to pee in the back corner right on the rake, so sometimes the litter gets stuck back there or the rake will literally be surrounded by a clump of used litter. About every other day I reach in (we have the kitty cabana on top of it) and while lifting up the rake I scrape out the used litter from that corner. It seems to help a lot. However, in the past week or so it's gotten stuck a few times because our cat is drinking more (and therefore peeing more) due to a steroid shot she got. She creates massive clumps because of it.

I would love to come up with a solution to get her to stop peeing on the rake. Haven't thought of one yet.

[Tonysweetie]

Greenbunny: Yes, Max is VERY cuddly with DH. Way more than me. Infact he won't cuddle with me ever. He used to before I found out I was pregnant.


imagirliegirl: Yea, I'm not a big fan either. It's my last resort at this point but mainly b/c of the cost. Yes Max pees all over the house. He used to keep it in the laundry room but not anymore. I've noticed he does it when he's been acting up as well. Like if all day I've been on his case b/c of whatever he was doing he goes and pees somewhere almost like he's upset with me or something. I dunno but it sure is gross and I'm so tired of it. A couple weeks ago I was babysitting a friends son and the baby was sleeping in me and DH bed and Max jumped up there and peed on my pillow. I really think it has to do with him either being picky or he is afraid of a "change." I'm so afraid to set up the crib for fear he'll pee in that too.

[jnettie]

I hate to be the cat mom that posts a question about "should I call the vet" when I really should, but I'm really not sure if I should or not.

So, Jade is a nut, and she did something a few weeks back that caused her to limp, temporarily. I picked her up, checked her paw for splinters, sqeezed gently to see if that caused her pain, but nothing. The best I can think is it's kind of like a twisted ankle. If she were human, I'd give her an Advil and some ice and tell her to sit still. But she's a cat. Honestly, it didn't even seem to stop her. I decided to watch her, then call the vet in the morning. But by the morning, she was fine.

This has now been happening every few days or so. She'll do something nutty, then limp about for a few minutes - the cat has figured out how to run on three legs! - but then be fine. I rub her leg and check her paw, but it doesn't seem to hurt her when I touch her.

I keep thinking that I should call the vet and take her in, but what can they do? Nothing's broken, I'm fairly certain. The only thing that worries me is that it might be making her leg weak, and she'll eventually hurt herself really badly. Ugh.

What do you ladies think? I think I'll make her an appointment for Monday anyhow. What's been your experience with cats and limps?

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[diam124]

Hmmm...if it were me I would give it a few more days before going to the vet. If it doesn't seem to be causing her pain when you touch it I would think it will go away. Also, when our cat really hurts herself she tends to lick the paw/leg almost incessantly.

[KaliLily]

I'm happy to report that Kali is doing better and she didn't have to stay overnight at the vet's Friday as we initially expected. I'll give a recap/update on her ordeal later. (I'm still pretty beat from it all, but finally starting to relax.)

Right now I'm looking for feedback on food. Once Kali is back on a regular cat food diet, we have to start giving her some canned food every day. That got me researching foods and wondering what other cat moms feed their furbabies. So...

What brand food do you feed your cats and why?

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[imagirliegirl]

What brand food do you feed your cats and why?

I always fed Princess Nutro Natural. But I began to notice that it was making her fat. I switched to the NN weight management but didn't see much improvement. When I got Griffin I switched to Pro Plan on a recommendation but started noticing Princess was getting hairballs which she never once had on the Nutro. So...now we are back on Nutro but they are eating the Max Cat Lite. Seems to be okay. I think Griffin's poopies smell a little better too. Which is nice because he SMELLS. Silly boy.

I hate to be the cat mom that posts a question about "should I call the vet" when I really should, but I'm really not sure if I should or not.

If it were one of my cats I probably would. But I'm way paranoid and would just have to hear from my vet that they were alright. So I'm probably not the best giver of advice. :rolleyes:

[tlew12778]

Vet - I would call. They might want to do x-rays just to see. We are very good friends with our vet (he was a groomsman in our wedding type friend) and he is always regaling us with stories of his patients and their owners. A lot of things go unnoticed or ignored by owners (splinter fractures, tumors :eek: , hernias, etc) bc sometimes it doesn't seem like a big deal, until it becomes too late to fix. So I would call.

Food - We rotate bc our cats get tired of their food after a while. They won't eat human food at all so they don't get much variety (since they also do not like wet). Mainly we stick with Royal Canin Fit 32 and Obesity formula. Sometimes we switch out to Pro Plan Indoor and/or Purina Veterinary Diet O/M (obesity management). I also force Romeo to eat the wet version of RC Obesity sometimes but he just like to lick off all the sauce and leaves the meat :rolleyes:.

[diam124]

We feed our cat Science Diet Indoor Cat formula (dry). It seems to be fine for her.

[eli1126]

imagirliegirl Does the Max Cat Lite come in different flavors? We feed Beau and Belle the Nutro (Green Bag) Ocean Fish flavor and Beau could clear the house with his BM's! We have the Litter Maid Box and DH or I will go in and make the sweeper turn on before it self sweeps because it smells so bad :o

[imagirliegirl]

imagirliegirl Does the Max Cat Lite come in different flavors? We feed Beau and Belle the Nutro (Green Bag) Ocean Fish flavor and Beau could clear the house with his BM's! We have the Litter Maid Box and DH or I will go in and make the sweeper turn on before it self sweeps because it smells so bad :o

Hm...maybe that's why Griffin smelled so bad before, I think they ate a fishy kind.

The Max Cat Lite is a chicken and rice flavor. It's the only flavor I saw.

[Tonysweetie]

My two have been on Purina One Indoor Formula for the longest time. Then I noticed Cleo was gaining a lot of weight so switched to something else but it didn't help. I'm back to Purina and I give them a can of Friskies wet food on ocassion. Maybe once a week.

[jnettie]

I have a similar experience but with our aging Golden/Chow. It's like sometimes he forgets he's old and he'll get all rambunctious and play with Maggie, running around like a wild man.
Then he spends the next 3 or 4 days limping and looking all pitiful. It's just an aging thing with him-how old is Jade?
She's only 3, so it's not age. She is kind of fat, though.

Hmmm...if it were me I would give it a few more days before going to the vet. If it doesn't seem to be causing her pain when you touch it I would think it will go away. Also, when our cat really hurts herself she tends to lick the paw/leg almost incessantly.
No extra licking at all. It doesn't seem to even phase her. She's not grumpy or anything like that. And it's not constant. It only hurts her if she jumps off something high, and even then not every time.

Vet - I would call. They might want to do x-rays just to see. We are very good friends with our vet (he was a groomsman in our wedding type friend) and he is always regaling us with stories of his patients and their owners. A lot of things go unnoticed or ignored by owners (splinter fractures, tumors :eek: , hernias, etc) bc sometimes it doesn't seem like a big deal, until it becomes too late to fix. So I would call.
Hm, that's my only worry...if there is a tiny fracture or if one develops, or if she gets tendonitis or something chronic like that. Plus, we're going away for a while, and I'd feel better if I knew she were fine.

What brand food do you feed your cats and why?
They both get Natural Balance Venison and Pea formula because Sissy has a food allergy. Natural Balance makes wet and dry, and they both seem to real love this food! I think because it has more meat than the other brands. They go crazy for the wet stuff. It's kind of expensive, though. $15 for a 5lb bag in New Jersey.

[TriSigmaNC]

We feed both of ours Science Diet Sensitive Stomach formula (the older girl has a sensitive tummy). They love it and only get a wet food snack about once a month.

[TracieB]

Question for all of you... and I hope you don't think I'm a bad cat mom for asking this.

Hubby and I are going to Hong Kong over Christmas. We leave on Friday night and return eaaarly on Tuesday morning (6 a.m.). That's three full days and four nights. Right now, we are planning on leaving Nikko here by himself with plenty of food and water. We are going to leave a key with one of my husband's coworkers and ask if he can check on Nikko on Saturday or Sunday just to make sure everything's okay. Do you think this is okay? I remember when I was a kid, we woud leave our cat alone over the weekend to go to my brother's soccer tournaments and there was never any problem. What do you think??

[TriSigmaNC]

T I think this is ok....but maybe get one of those automatic feeder things? My kitties are so high maintenance we can't do that :( But I bet Nikko would be ok.

[Asha]

how does nikko react when you leave her for a day or two? as kids, we used to leave our cats, but i don't know how comfortable i would feel leaving bili. she is young, though, and needs a lot of attention.

one time when i was a kid we went on vacation. we had indoor/outdoor cats, and we left our cats outdoors while on vacation. well, our one cat pollyanna accidentally got left indoors. she was inside for four days without food. we figure she must have gotten water from the toilet bowl. amazingly, we did not find any urine or poo left behind. i guess she was so dehyrdated and hungry she didn't need to go. poor thing. she survived the horrible ordeal.

[greenbunny]

What brand food do you feed your cats and why?

Disclaimer: I'm a total food snob about what I feed the girls. I would not touch "vet prescription" food after what I've discovered during my research, and I'll only feed (unofficial designation) human-grade.

Summer eats Innova Evo, which is a grain-free kibble for her allergy. Bella eats a combination of Evo and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul.

However, I am still not happy with their food. Bella still has an overly sensitive stomach, and both of them have a lot of tartar. Even though I decided against it in the past, I'm rethinking putting them on a whole prey model raw diet. It isn't easy--I've been researching this over a year now and I'm still not ready.

[diam124]

We just went through leaving our cat for vacation. We were gone for 5 nights and my ILs where there for night #3. So, the longest she was left alone was about 60 hours on either end of their visit. Our cat is very needy and very clingy and gets very sad when she's alone, so we were really worried. She also tries to get out of the house when someone comes in, so we didn't feel comfortable giving a key to a neighbor. (although in hindsight we probably should have since we almost missed the flight home - only 1 flight per day).

Anyway, she did just fine. Her litter box was a mess because the littermaid jammed, but she didn't have any accidents.

The biggest issue was food. She usually eats about 1/3 a bowl of food per day. We left out 3 full bowls of food and ILs also left out 3 bowls. The food was basically gone (except for crumbs) when we got home. We were shocked at how much she ate! I never thought she would eat ALL the food!

I think your cat will be fine. If it wasn't for the food I think ours would have been perfectly fine for another night. I would just leave a lot more food & water than you normally would. If your neighbor is just checking in once, I would have them do it on Sunday.

Also, I took off from work the day after we got back (we got back really late - around 12:30am) so that I would be able to spend plenty of time with her. She definitely had some lingering separation anxiety and wouldn't let me out of her sight the first day or so.

[KaliLily]

Disclaimer: I'm a total food snob about what I feed the girls.

I think I'm becoming a food snob, too. I've been doing some research as a result of what we've been through with Kali and learning cats shouldn't be on an all dry diet. While the Iams they are eating is good, it does still contain some by-products. Granted, not as much as cheaper foods, but it's still there. I'm thinking of trying Natural Balance for their canned food, once Kali can eat regular cat food again. It doesn't contain any by-products and the Indoor formula seems to have a good amount of fiber for controlling hairballs. Hairballs seem to be what got us into this mess. :(

Kali does seems to be getting better. She's eating more, I was able to get her to play a little last night and she's perkier more each day. However, she's still vomiting at night. The last 2 nights to be exact. I think it's the lactulose (stool softener) upsetting her empty stomach. We give her a dose twice a day. She's fine in the morning, but an hour or more after taking it at night she's vomited. She usually eats "dinner" around 5 or 6, but she gets her night dose of lactulose at 9 or 10pm. I called the vet's office this morning, and they said to give her half a dose, wait and see how she does, then give her the second half. I'm also going to try feeding her at night before her medicine. If this doesn't work I have to bring her in tomorrow. :(

This is just so frustrating. It's like we take a step forward, and three back. I still wonder if there is a virus in addition to the constipation. It doesn't help that the vet doesn't explain things well and tends to give you worst case scenarios when there is no reason to believe she won't make a full recovery. Don't get me wrong, he seems very competent and he's very good with Kali, he just lacks human social skills. I have to listen really closely and grab the snipets that I can understand, then ask a bunch of clarifying questions.

I just want her to stop vomiting. And it would be nice to not feel like I'm "keeping vigil" over the litter boxes to see if she's pooping. With 2 cats sometimes it's hard to keep up and catch them "in the act."

[diam124]

I'm sorry your cat is still having digestive issues. It really can be frustrating to not know what's going on. I've said many times that I wish our cat could talk to us :)

This is by no means a scientific or expert opinion, but for our cat it seems to take a while for her to recover from health disturbances. Even though I can tell she is feeling fine because of her behavior, it sometimes takes a few days for her body to catch up. She has eye herpes and hasn't had an outbreak in almost a year. When we came back from vacation her eyes were bothering her and now it seems to finally be clearing up. I'm not saying you shouldn't make sure something else is going on with her, but that sometimes I've noticed that I need to be more patient and let our cat's symptoms resolve slowly.

[Asha]

what are your cat's meowing habits?

bili does a very sweet quiet meow, and she has a playful, chirpy meow. she does not use a loud meow at all. the only time i have heard her meow loudly is when i first rescued her and she was freaked out. a few times she has been inadvertently trapped in closets or rooms for a couple of hours, and she doesn't even meow loudly then. i am not really worried about it bc its nice not to have to be disturbed by a yowling cat, but i wonder if its just that's she's still young.

[Tonysweetie]

Max is a big time meower. He meows 70 percent of the day. It's loud too. Cleo on the other hand has something wrong w/her voice box so all we ever get out of her is a silent meow or a tiny little squeak. It's so cute though!


Last night Max pooped all over the laundry room then scattered it around the room. A few minutes later I found him up on my kitchen counters (which is something he rarely ever does) and got cat poop on the counters. :rolleyes: I'm at my wits end with this cat and I can't even look at him hardly w/o getting upset so he's off hiding and I hope he stays wherever he's hidden for a while. End of another Max vent....

[diam124]

Our cat's meows have changed since she was a kitten. She is very talkative and they used to just be tiny little squeaks. They're louder now and deeper. The only time she really meows loudly are when we're in the car going to the vet or she really wants to get outside. Yesterday she was obsessed with going outside and she sat at the door meowing very loudly. She also has whiny meows when she's not getting enough attention or when she's playing with DH and a little meow/grunt to say hello. She does "bark" or "chirp" at me sometimes when I play with her. For some reason she only does it to me and not DH. Before she was spayed she went into heat and I thought she'd really be yowling, but thankfully she didn't.

[imagirliegirl]

Up until about a year old Princess rarely meowed. Now she rarely shuts up. We have "conversations" all the time. It's pretty funny.

Griffin only meows at the blinds when he wants them open. I've heard him meow for "no reason" maybe twice.

I thought I would show off how smart he is! He knows what an ottoman is for. See?

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/myheartbelongstodallas/47b6cc39b3127cce800c454c69ea0000001.jpg

Whenever he lays in the chair he always has his paws on the ottoman. :cool:

[eli1126]

Tonysweetie I can't imagine what you're going through with Max (keeping my fingers crossed that my cats don't ever start this behavior), but seeing as it's been going on for some time now and getting worse, is there any way you could take Max to the vet again to discuss other options? Perhaps medication? I am just thinking that when you got him, for the first 6 months he seemed to have little or no behavioral issues and it seems from your posts that he is really stressed or upset about something and it's been going on continuously at least since you got your BFP? If your vet doesn't give you some solid ways to reduce or deter this behavior, I would go somewhere else because you are certainly not going to want to deal with an infant and Max pooping/peeing all over :eek: I would take as much action as you can now before the baby comes so hopefully Max's behavior won't be an issue by March. I don't mean this to come across as harsh in any way, I have a friend who is dealing with this and she is at her wits end (like it sounds you are :) ) and she just left our vet because she felt they didn't take it seriously except to make her feel like she was not doing something for her cat. When I read your last post, I thought of my friend and what she is trying to do to alleviate the problem. So I thought I'd pass it along. Good Luck!

[eli1126]

"I thought I would show off how smart he is! He knows what an ottoman is for. See?" Posted by imagirliegirl


The other day I left a book out and it looked like Beau was reading :D So of course, we just sent out the application for Kitty Cat Harvard :p

[tlew12778]

I tried the raw diet. Romeo would ONLY eat it out of my hand... so obviously we didn't get very far with that.

Oh and if you do try it, I don't recommend mixing the meat with anything. I tried mixing it with oats or something (read it on some website) and he wouldn't even smell it.

[greenbunny]

Bella is tiny (barely seven pounds with 3+ inches of fur) and she has a loud low moaning meow, like a Siamese but not as shrill. Summer is a fatty (9-11 pounds on a small frame, she tends to yo-yo) but she has a tiny little squeak. She rarely meows, only chitters.

TS, I really think Max is POed about your pregnancy. Based on everything you said (like him ignoring you) I bet that's what it is. If you do decide to talk to the vet, I'd try to point out the possibility to give him a place to start.

[Asha]

girliegirl - that is such a cute picture!

greenbunny - its funny that your smaller kitty has the bigger voice.

tonysweetie - have you tried confinining max to only one or two rooms? you mentioned several places in the house he has pee'ed and poo'ed. bili is technically only allowed in a few rooms. you must be at your wit's end by now. i hope you figure this out soon.

[KaliLily]

I'm sorry your cat is still having digestive issues. It really can be frustrating to not know what's going on. I've said many times that I wish our cat could talk to us :)

This is by no means a scientific or expert opinion, but for our cat it seems to take a while for her to recover from health disturbances. Even though I can tell she is feeling fine because of her behavior, it sometimes takes a few days for her body to catch up.

I hope that's it. I was really hopeful we'd have a vomit-free day today, but I just found vomit on my bathroom floor. We're estimating it happened between 7:30 and 8:30pm. So much for my lactulose/empty stomach theory. Now I have to call the vet's again tomorrow and see if they want me to bring her in.

Up until now she was doing much better today. She had a good appetite, was perkier/more playful and spent more time downstairs with us. Kali didn't go upstairs and sleep under the bed until around 3pm. And I even caught her pooping mid-day. (Who knew you could get so excited about that.)

Maybe you're right that it's just taking her system a while to recover from all it's been through. I really hope that's all it is.

Thanks.

[greenbunny]

KaliLily, with Summer's stomach issues we found it helpful to keep a diary. Record when you feed and how much (measure it out in dry ounces or cups) and the time you hear or notice vomit. It helps the vet looks for patterns.

[Tonysweetie]

eli1126: Thanks for the advice. I have considered taking him back to the vet and today was my breaking point. I just hope he can figure something out as I'm up to my ears. Good luck to your friend as well I know how she feels!

Greenbunny: I think your 100 percent right. I have felt that was the reason for weeks now but I just don't know what to do about it. My fear is it will continue after the baby comes.

Asha: We tried that. He FREAKS if we shut doors on him. I've tried keeping him our laundry room with his litterbox/food/water and he flipped out. He slammed his poor self in the door, scratched it up and cried all day. I finally let him out. We live in a small 2 bedroom apartment so there really isn't any places to keep him other than the laundry room/bathroom and I feel bad making him stay in there. I think he wants out b/c he knows Cleo is having freedom of the house.


Thankyou ladies for listening to my vents and whines lately. I'm trying so hard to deal with this and not lose it. I spend a lot of time complaining, crying, and yelling at Max. I know he doesn't understand and that is what makes me feel so bad. I know he is upset with me but I just don't know what else to do to make his life any easier. I've tried loving on him more, playing with him more, making sure his box is clean to his standards, moving his food and water to spot where we are so he feels like he's "in" with us. I've given him treats, tried reversing his behavior and I just don't know. Not only does he hate me he's getting where he hates Cleo too. Well he's been on her case ever since she came home with us but now he literally attacks her and bites her. I feel so bad for her. I just don't know what else to do besides take him to the vet and medicate him which has been my last resort. I'm just tired of constantly being stressed out. I try to leave the house and go shopping or whatever but while I'm out I worry what he's doing while I'm gone. I'm tired of waking up to cat poop and pee in my floor. He does it at least 3 or 4 times a week now. He used to only do it maybe once every couple weeks but lately it's getting worse. I just don't get it me and him used to such buddies. We used to cuddle all the time and he was such a prince until about 6 months ago. :(

[KaliLily]

KaliLily, with Summer's stomach issues we found it helpful to keep a diary. Record when you feed and how much (measure it out in dry ounces or cups) and the time you hear or notice vomit. It helps the vet looks for patterns.

I actually started doing that today. For the last 2 days I have estimations on amounts and frequency of food and what time she vomited. I called the vet's tonight and left a message about the problem. I knew no one would be there, but I just had to "get it out," ya know?

Tonysweetie: So sorry for what you are going through. Wish I had some advice for you, but even after 6 yrs I'm a novice cat mom. You have my empathy, though.

[greenbunny]

TS, the books I've read suggest to have the baby's room set up plenty of time before the baby comes, so pets don't make a connection of a bazillion changes to the baby. Get the furniture as soon as you can, and bring it in a piece or two at a time over many weeks. Start washing your clothes in baby detergent so he gets used to the smell. Encourage supervised time in the baby's room so it isn't off-limits and therefore fascinating.

Just don't let him in the crib, that's a hazard because young babies can't turn over and if Max tries to snuggle him, he could block the baby's air flow (that's where the "stealing breath" old wive's tale comes from). Teach him right away that the crib is off-limits with a whistle, spray bottle, shaker can, etc.

[Kate&Joey]

Cat#1's meow is insanely loud. Like he's howling at us. He prefers to do his meowing between 5:00 and 6:00 AM...he's an early riser. :rolleyes: He is also a big talker and runs around the house meowing the whole time: "meeeee...ooo....wwwwww....wwwww....wwwww." He likes to drink water from the faucet so he lets you know if he's thirsty: "meeoow...meeoow...meeoow!" He also sits in the window all day and *talks* to the squirrels/neighborhood cats/dogs/etc. Quite the communicative little guy!

Cat#2 is quiet. Her meows are so tiny and timid. She prefers to hiss at the dogs if she's mad, but when they don't back down, she meows at them. Very dainty and lady-like, though. :)

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[ruledbymercury]

Logan, my 20-lb 2.5 year old male russian blue mix, is the noisy one in the family. He has a wussy meow for such a huge cat, but he uses it quite often. One of his favorite activities is standing at the foot of any wall, looking straight up, and meowing at the ceiling. He also meows in the hallway if we aren't sitting on the couch in the living room, making ourselves readily available to him for his snuggling needs. He is quite demanding.

His "sister", April, a 9-lb 2 year tabby mix, is mostly silent. Whenever she does decide to make any noise, it's the tiniest little "meep!" and we drop EVERYTHING to figure out what she wants. Because if she goes through the effort to meep at us, we know she means business!

[KaliLily]

We're going back to the vet tomorrow, rather than wait until Thursday. Kali vomited twice last night and then again this morning 30 minutes after taking the Lactulose. After this morning's incident the vet's office said it was OK to stop the medicine, so we did. I hoped that would stop the vomiting, but it happened again 1-2 hours ago. :( Kali's energy level is decreasing again, too. Yesterday had been such a good day for her, until she threw up. It's only been downhill from there. Each time this happens, I feel a little more defeated. I'm getting so scared for her. My heart is breaking. I just want her better. I'd give anything for her to get better.

[Tonysweetie]

We're going back to the vet tomorrow, rather than wait until Thursday. Kali vomited twice last night and then again this morning 30 minutes after taking the Lactulose. After this morning's incident the vet's office said it was OK to stop the medicine, so we did. I hoped that would stop the vomiting, but it happened again 1-2 hours ago. :( Kali's energy level is decreasing again, too. Yesterday had been such a good day for her, until she threw up. It's only been downhill from there. Each time this happens, I feel a little more defeated. I'm getting so scared for her. My heart is breaking. I just want her better. I'd give anything for her to get better.

awwwh (((hugs))) I really hope they can figure out what is going on and she gets better. I'll keep her in my prayers tonight.

[KaliLily]

awwwh (((hugs))) I really hope they can figure out what is going on and she gets better. I'll keep her in my prayers tonight.

Thank you.

[diam124]

I'm sorry Kali isn't doing better - I know I'd be scared too. I hope you get some answers today.

[KaliLily]

We took Kali into the vet this morning (DH took the morning off and came with me - he's a good Papa :) ), along with her Food/Medicine/BMs/Vomit chart covering the last 2 days and a list of questions I had. We saw the same vet, but I'm now much more comfortable with him. We had a really good talk and he answered all of our questions clearly.

I had to leave Kali there for bloodwork, x-rays and sub-Q fluids, but can pick her up sometime after 3pm. He examined her while we were there and said there was nothing noticably wrong, such as abdominal pain, and her temperature has gone down (from 103 to 102.4; 101/102 is normal for cats). He did say she's entering middle-age and this is the time when things like hypothyroidism and diabetes show up, so they are a possibility.

DH asked the vet how serious he thinks it is at this point, explaining that my mind goes to the worst possible outcome. Though he can't make promises, he doesn't see anything to indicate she's critical.

Depending on what they find in the x-rays and bloodwork, Kali may need an ultrasound to get a good look at her kidneys, liver, etc.

I'm feeling better about Kali's condition since leaving the vet's this morning. I am trying to focus on being hopeful that it isn't anything serious and that the problem is treatable. It also helps that I'm getting a break from nurse-duty. The last several days I'd jump at the slightest noise and go running to make sure she was OK. She's at the best place she can be right now, so I am trying to relax.

Thanks for your support, ladies. It's been very appreciated.

Here's a picture of Kali on her new window perch on Monday - her good day. :)

https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photos/photo17/2b/8e/6e35a121097e.jpg?_rh=4ua7ienlse22yur4pzv4c80z4

The perch was supposed to be a Christmas present, but we gave it to her (& Lily) early hoping it would give Kali some comfort. Kali loves the perch, Lily loves the box it came in. :D

[greenbunny]

Kali loves the perch, Lily loves the box it came in. :D

My two would be the same way! :D

Sending healthy thoughts to your little girl.

[ruledbymercury]

Sending good thoughts that Kali feels better soon! We went through some issues with my April this past summer, which ended in hip surgery in September. She probably still needs surgery on her other hip eventually. So I know how difficult it is. It's so hard when you can't communicate to them to let them know that you're doing everything you can to make them feel better!

[eli1126]

KaliLily Hope you get answers soon!!

Yesterday, Beau or Belle knocked a shatter proof ornament off the tree and it didn't break or shatter.....I was skeptical :o However, I did use a hook to put it in the tree (why I don't know, I'm using fishing line next year) and I can't find the hook :eek: Both cats seem fine, appetite and energy level are normal, but if they swallowed something yesterday would I be seeing something? A difference in behavior? Appetite? DH told me if they got it down, they probably just batted it around, but I was thinking I'd rather be safe than sorry. TIA!

[KaliLily]

I just got home from picking up Kali. Much to my surprise, they had the results of her bloodwork. Much to my relief, her bloodwork was all normal. Everything was at least in the middle of the normal range - nothing was in the gray area!

Her liver and kidney levels were all beautifully normal (ie., no toxins from the constipation), her TSH (thyroid) and Glucose levels were all comfortably normal (ie., no thyroid disorder or diabetes), her white cell count was normal (no infection), and her x-rays were clear (no obstructions or constipation).

Kali still needs to go back tomorrow morning for an ultrasound just to be safe. However, at this point everything points to either a mild virus (not severe enough for antibiotics) or simply her system was disrupted from the constipation and it's taking time for it to recover.

I have to continue her 24 hour fast until 8:30, and then she can only have 1-2 bits of chicken every hour until midnight. (Her system needs to be clear for the ultrasound.) Today they gave her something to help settle her stomach, so hopefully she'll keep down the little bit of food she'll get tonight.

One interesting thing that has come out of this is that the x-rays today showed that her left hind leg is not properly aligned in the pelvic socket. Basically, this means as she ages she runs a greater risk of dislocation. To help manage this, once she's recovered I'm to give her glucosamine supplements.

I'm feeling cautiously relieved. There's a little bit of apprehension over the ultrasound, but since her bloodwork came back so good I'm hopeful this will too. And I'm happy to report that we finally saw her drink some water!!! We haven't seen her drink in a week. I'm amazed she was thirsty though after the sub-Q fluids she got today.

Thanks again for all of your support. I'll let you know how her ultrasound goes. (They're going to shave my girl's belly! :eek: )

[diam124]

eli - do your cats usually eat random things around the house? I ask this because our cat will try to eat pretty much anything left around the house (strings, parts of her toys, pretty much anything left on the floor). So, if it were me I'd be fairly certain that she ate the hook. But if your cats don't eat random crap then it seems like an odd thing for one to eat. It seems like it could cause a lot of damage though, KWIM? I might consider getting them x-rayed just in case.

KaliLily - what a big relief to at least get those results back!

[Tonysweetie]

Eli: They could've eaten it. Max will eat anything on the floor like diam124 said. Just keep an eye on them. I'm sure they'll be fine.


KaliLily: Fantastic!

[greenbunny]

Yay KaliLily!

BTW, have you heard any updates on the shelter? How are the injured animals doing?

[KaliLily]

Eli - If you can't find the hook, you might want to take them in for an x-ray. It should cost around $50 per slide (That's about what Kali's cost, she's had 5 in the last week :eek: ). A few years ago Lily knocked over an oil candle and I was afraid she may have licked some of the oil that spilled onto the carpet. I took her in to be safe.

Any chance the ornament was knocked off the hook and the hook is still in the tree?

[eli1126]

Thanks Ladies!

diam124: I never thought about it before, but no, they usually don't just eat anything.....unless it's human food that drops on the floor :p Then its fair game to them! They bat random things around, but usually don't put it in their mouths.

Tonysweetie I actually thought of you as I was looking through their litter receptacle and I truly emphasize with your situation :(

KaliLily I am hoping the hook is still on the tree.

If I can't find the hook by this afternoon, I'm calling the Vet. I would rather be safe than sorry.

[Tonysweetie]

[QUOTE=eli1126;1114530]
Tonysweetie I actually thought of you as I was looking through their litter receptacle and I truly emphasize with your situation :(

./QUOTE]

Thanks, crossing fingers no accidents in 3 days! :D

[eli1126]

TS: Whoo-Hoo! Keeping Fingers Crossed!

I found the Hook!!!

[diam124]

Oh good, I'm glad you found it!

[Asha]

eli - that's great! i am sure you are feeling very relieved.

[KaliLily]

I found the Hook!!!

Eli: YAY!!!! :D

I'm happy to report that Kali's ultrasound was clear - all organs look normal! :D She's home now and on a very strict recovery diet. (There's no way I'm going to move too fast and go through all that again!) She'll go back in a couple of weeks to check her progress and run the bloodwork again to make sure all levels remain normal.

I'm very relieved and very tired. Hoping for an uneventful night!

Greenbunny: I haven't heard anything on the Shelter, but I don't get Seattle news that often. I'll check their website soon and let you know if they have any updates posted.

[eli1126]

Hooray for good news KaliLily

I have a picture that you ladies will get a kick out of! It's an action shot of Beau jumping out of the tree while Belle stands by cheering him on :eek: I will try to get it posted at some point!!

Hope Santa brings all your furbabies special treats!! He dropped by our house early with a few things for Beau and Belle :D

[PookiePrincess]

I have a picture that you ladies will get a kick out of! It's an action shot of Beau jumping out of the tree while Belle stands by cheering him on :eek: I will try to get it posted at some point!!

OMG! Can't wait to see this pic!

[eli1126]

Christmas Pictures of Beau and Belle and Tree:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/84/335187469_cde3cd2961.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/335187462_5cf218ebf4.jpg?v=0

Beau jumping out of the tree, it's fuzzy, I am still trying to figure out my camera :)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/335187466_aaa3c57640.jpg?v=0

[jnettie]

lol! So cute!

Dad gave me some old pictures at Christmas, and I have one of my previous cat, Lil, sitting on the rafters in our old house. I'm going to scan it so I can post it.

And I want to say that Jade is sitting on my lap, napping, and SNORING! :p

[PookiePrincess]

OMG! Those pictures are too funny!

I also wanted to come in and post that I've spent hours this morning laughing at my cat while she's attacked a twist tie. It's been loose around here for a couple of weeks and she's been playing with it all morning. She's almost 10, so I rarely see her get frisky anymore. Everytime I'd get the camera though, she'd stop.

[imagirliegirl]

I think I'm being stalked.

Everytime I go into the restroom Griffin comes in. I swear he recognizes the sound of that door opening regardless of where he is in the house. It doesn't matter what he is doing he will stop, come in and park himself next to me. Even when I shower! He just sits on the ledge of the tub. Middle of the night? No problem! He will jump out of the warm comfy bed and follow me.

He's weird.

[Asha]

imagirliegirl - bili does the same thing. i usually close the door bc i like some peace, but she furiously tries to get the door open while i'm in there.

eli - such cute pix of beau and belle.

[eli1126]

I think Beau has ringworm :eek: Which means Belle probably does too! I called the Vet and I am waiting for them to call me back. They have emergency hours right now and ringworm isn't a life threatening emergency (to them :p ) so I have to wait until they are doing appointment hours. I noticed the other day he had a circular patch on his back leg and it's right where it would sit on the floor so I didn't think anything of it. Well today I noticed it again (when he followed me into the bathroom) and I got down and took a look and it's a perfect circle with no hair. DH thought they had gotten the vaccine for ringworm that Fort Dodge makes, but I looked through their records and I didn't see it listed. My big concern is that everything I've read states you should vacuum daily and throw the bag away to get rid of the ringworm spores, but I have a bagless vacuum :confused: I also heard it's a PITA to get rid of ringworm in cats :( And on top of that, I feel like a bad cat mom because I have no idea how long Beau has had this! They aren't around any other cats as they are strictly indoor so I have no idea where they could have gotten it.

[imagirliegirl]

imagirliegirl - bili does the same thing. i usually close the door bc i like some peace, but she furiously tries to get the door open while i'm in there.



Ah yes...I've tried closing the door. I've found it's more peaceful to just let him in. Otherwise I get the meowing, banging and paws under the door.

What is it about the potty that fascinates them so? :rolleyes:

[diam124]

eli - I would think that it's really unusual for an indoor cat to get ringworm if they haven't been exposed to other cats. When we first got our cat we were convinced she had ringworm too (she lost fur all over her belly) and I completely panicked because the info on the internet is kind of scary. Turns out she didn't have it although she goes through phases where the fur on her belly is thinner. Can you completely remove the part of your vacuum that needs to be emptied? I think bleach would kill ringworm, so maybe you can wash it out with that. A friend's dog had ringworm and then she subsequently got it, but it was really no big deal.

What is is with cats and bathrooms? Ours is totally obsessed with our bathroom. If you go in there and shut the door she cries and cries and tries to open the door. In the morning she sits and screams at the bathroom door (partly my fault because I started to let her drink water out of the faucet in the morning). It's literally the highlight of her day.

[maxandmolly]

Molly has a big hairy COW if I don't let her in the bathroom when I'm in there. As she and Max are currently bunking at grandma and granpa's house, this has led to some interesting phone conversations. See, mom & s-dad's cats just sorta sit around and sleep. So the first time Molly followed s-dad into the bathroom by shoving the door open with her head and staring at him quite intently while he, er, took care of his business, it utterly unsettled him.

[imagirliegirl]

How about the vaccuum? How does your cat feel about that? Princess runs at the sight of it but Griffin loves the thing. He actually comes in the room when I turn it on and he gets really close to it. Sometimes I have to push him away because he'd let me vaccuum over him if I let him.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[diam124]

Our cat is pretty fearless (she did not even flinch when our smoke alarm went off this weekend) so she's more curious about the vacuum cleaner than anything. She follows me around when I vacuum. She does get a little freaked out if it gets too close to her though.

[Asha]

bili keeps a safe distance from the vacuum, but likes to watch from a distance. the funniest thing is bili LOVES to watch me clean is her litterbox. she gets so happy and excited when it is litterbox cleaning time.

i am sad bc bili is looking more like a cat than a kitten. here is an updated pic of her.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/126/344099491_101744879f.jpg?v=0

[Kate&Joey]

Hi ladies,

I asked this in the "Hairball" thread, but didn't get any replies. Does anyone use a hairball prevention type catfood? Does it work? Cat#2 is long-haired and spits up a hairball about every other day. Since she spends most of her time on our bed, I really don't enjoy washing the sheets contantly. :rolleyes: I know we should brush her, but she's new to us and kind of prickly...doesn't really like to be touched all that much yet. However, she has no problem sleeping on DH's head! :)

Thanks!

[imagirliegirl]

We feed them Nutro products and never have hairballs.

For a small time we had switched to ProPlan and they had hairballs for the first time ever so we switched back.

[diam124]

Wow Asha Bili is getting big! She looks great though and so content. It's amazing what a little TLC will do!

[vwinkel]

Holy cow asha Billi did grow up fast!

greenbunny - How did your kitties like the sharper image toy?

katie&joeyI used to give them that Science Diet hairball food, but my cats rarely have hairballs. I have a tube of Petromalt from PetCo that I give them a bit of on occasion just in case.

[Asha]

katie&joey - unfortunately, i dont' know much about the hairball issue.

yup, i am thinking bili might have been older than we guessed when i found her, but she looked so young bc she was starving. i think she is going to be a big cat bc i have a feeling her father is one of the neighborhood strays. he is a HUGE cat.

question - is it normal for cats to always walk around with their tails up? bili always has her tail up. i don't remember any of my cats walking with their tail this way all of the time. i kinda wish she wouldn't do it bc she is a shorter haired cat, and you can see everything. oh well! is there a way to train them to put their tails down?

[diam124]

Re: Tails - ours is a short-haired black cat and she also walks around with her tail up almost all the time. Sorry if this is TMI, but her butt is pretty gross (not always totally spotless) and it is very obvious. I always say to DH that I wish I could put black mascara or paint on it to make it less obvious (kidding).

[Sazoo]

question - is it normal for cats to always walk around with their tails up? bili always has her tail up. i don't remember any of my cats walking with their tail this way all of the time. i kinda wish she wouldn't do it bc she is a shorter haired cat, and you can see everything. oh well! is there a way to train them to put their tails down?I think this is completely normal. In fact, I think a cat walking around with his/her tail DOWN all of the time would be weird/bad - like maybe a sign of a problem. One of my cats lowers her tail when she's scared, for example. If she hears a loud noise or something that frightens her, she tucks her tail in & runs away to hide somewhere safe. Or when she's just been in a fight with our other cat, she walks away with her tail down. Sometimes we tease her & say "Tail up for happiness!" when we see her doing that. :p

[eli1126]

Beau always walks with his tail up. And sometimes his behind isn't the prettiest or nicest smelling either :p Belle's tail is usually down, but she is always friendly and ready to get the attention she feels she's entitled to and deserves :rolleyes:

[Sazoo]

I just found this info on cat's tails link to article (http://www.catsinternational.org/articles/senses_and_features/tail_ear_eye_signals.html) (bold added by me):

Your Cat's Tail, Ear, and Eye Signals
Tails
When the tail is erect for its full length, it is used as a greeting to another cat or to a friendly human and is an invitation for contact rubbing. This can also be a request for food. The tail flicks of a seated cat often indicates irritation. Tail wagging can range from small irritated flicks which may express indecision--wavering between two possible courses of action--or in its most pronounced form, it can be the prelude to a fight between two male cats and undoubtedly accompanied by growling. A tail that is held down with an elevated rump belongs to an aggressive cat that is standing sideways near another cat. A fluffed-up, arched tail is seen when a cat stands with its back arched (the "Halloween cat") and it is torn between being aggressive or defensive. A fluffed tail that is positioned straight out or down, is seen when the decision moves toward aggression. (All of these tail positions can be observed when two kittens engage in play fighting.) The tail that is wrapped against the cat's body may mean that the cat is contented or for a nervous cat, it is a defensive posture.


And here is a good one from the Petsmart website:

A Cat's Tail Will Tell You Something (http://www.petsmart.com/global/articles/article_detail.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673 267431&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696503949&N=228)

A couple of 'tail down' ones from the Petsmart article:
5. Tail lowered fully and possibly tucked between hind legs: Signal of defeat to totally submissive cat showing its lowly social status.

6. Tail lowered and fluffed out: Cat is indicating active fear.

[KaliLily]

kate&joey - I switched my cats to a hairball control formula food a few months ago. They didn't have hairball problems, but it was the only way to get an Indoor formula food. I checked with the vet about it, and he thought it'd be fine - and a good idea for my chubbier kitty.

However, it is my belief that the intestinal problems my Kali has been having over the last month were brought about by the chemical(s) in the hairball control food. I've talked to a lot of cat owners who said that hairball formulas eventually caused vomiting in their cats.

We've taken Kali off that food, though Lily is still on it since she hasn't had any adverse reactions. We'll put Lily back on her old, non-hairball control food once the hairball formula stuff is gone - I bought a 20 lb bag just before Kali got sick.

I would recommend the Petromalt or something similar to it over the hairball control food. A friend of ours uses something by Hartz for her cats' hairballs and says it works really well.

[Peppy]

Kate&joey, my cat used to try to couch up hairballs all of the time (she never actually produced one, though). I then switched her from Science Diet to a diet of high quality food--Wellness dry food and Innova wet food--and she hasn't hacked once since. I know that hairballs occur because they are grooming themselves, but sometimes I wonder if the quality of the food doesn't exacerbate the situation. I have no idea what you are feeding your cats, so I don't know if a change of food will help at all, but it did for me.

[Kate&Joey]

Very interesting...thanks for the replies!

I guess I should have mentioned what she is eating...sorry! Right now it is a mix of Science Diet Indoor Cat formula (that is what we give Cat#1) and Iams Something. Cat#2's previous owner used Iams and it was given to us when we adopted her.

Now that I think about it, she didn't have near the amount of hairballs when we were giving her wet food. I gave her wet food every couple of days because I wanted to fatten her up. Hmmm...

What is Petromalt? We are novice cat owners. :) Cat#1 is the first cat either DH or I have ever had and we've only had him for a couple of years (and he's never had any hairball issues).

I should probably switch to better quality food like Wellness/Innova. As if we don't spend enough on these animals already. ;)

[vwinkel]

Petromalt (http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=5551&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=petromalt&sku=17159&familyID=2700&) is sold at pet stores and is a hairball remedy. It is suppose to disolve the cat fur so that it can pass through their digestive track. Basically, it's this brown gook that you squeeze about an inch out of the tube and feed to your kitties. If you are lucky, they lick it off of your finger. In my household, I have to wipe it on their paws (cats have a sense to clean themselves and lick it off). Although, they do shake their paws violently before trying to lick it. Often times I'm cleaning it off of the wall and carpet too.

I've also used Laxatone (http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=6404&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=laxatone&sku=16730&familyID=6321&).

[KaliLily]

Now that I think about it, she didn't have near the amount of hairballs when we were giving her wet food.

Our vet recommended giving Kali at least 1/2 can of wet food a day to prevent constipation. You should have seen her first x-ray when the constipation was diagnosed. The tangled mess of hair in her intestines was shocking to me.

Of course, all Kali can have right now is prescription canned food. Her digestive system isn't quite ready for kibble.

[imagirliegirl]

Griffin's tail is always directly up when he's walking around. It's fun because it's so long I can reach it without bending over. Sometimes I walk around with his tail like a leash and we walk around together. :)

Princess usually has her tail straight out behind her. Sometimes it's up but I don't notice it as much because it's not nearly as long.

[Peppy]

I should probably switch to better quality food like Wellness/Innova. As if we don't spend enough on these animals already. ;)

Kate&Joey: you would actually be surprised by the cost of the higher-quality foods as compared to Science Diet. When I switched my cat from Science Diet to Innova and Wellness I found that the price of the foods was not very different at all. I was just looking at petfooddirect.com and a bag of Innova is basically the same price per pound as Science Diet at Petsmart. Also, if you are really wedded to Science Diet, they do offer a Hairball control formula.

I would definitely encourage you to feed wet food as well as the dry. Wet food has a lot of benefits--one of the most important is that it provides extra moisture for your cats. Most cats are dehydrated and don't get enough moisture through their drinking bowls, so the extra moisture can be a big deal.

[Kate&Joey]

Peppy: Good to know! I guess I was thinking that the *extra* expense involves making extra trips to find the better quality foods. We already have to go to Petsmart/Petco regularly for the dogs, cat litter, etc.

I will continue to give the wet food. Luckily both cats actually drink a lot of water. Cat#1 prefers it from a dripping faucet or the dogs' water bowl (it's somehow better than his own water bowl?). :rolleyes: Cat #2 drinks almost a full bowl daily. Good girl! :)

vwinkel: I will definitely pick up some Petromalt. Hopefully Cat#2 will like it!

KaliLily: Thanks for posting. I hope Kali is feeling better. Poor thing. :(

[Peppy]

Wow, a full bowl?! I'm impressed! Mine goes through maybe a quarter bowl a day--on a thirsty day!

By the way, vwinkel, your idea about putting the Petromalt (or any liquidy substance like that) on her paws was pure genius. It never occurred to me, but now that you say it, it makes total sense!

[greenbunny]

Hairballs can also be lessened by brushing, if your cat will tolerate it. A slicker brush will do fine for a shorthair, but if you have a longhair, you'll need a greyhound comb or an undercoat rake.

Summer walks around with her tail up and just the tip turned down. It's gray with a white tip, so it looks like she's waving surrender.

As far as the tail up/unpleasant view issue, we keep the girls trimmed short back there (not an issue if you have shorthairs) and we keep baby wipes on hand.

[imagirliegirl]

Summer walks around with her tail up and just the tip turned down. It's gray with a white tip, so it looks like she's waving surrender.


I'm sure she would be very upset if she knew you were telling people that. :D

[KaliLily]

KaliLily: Thanks for posting. I hope Kali is feeling better. Poor thing. :(

Thanks, she is feeling much better. In fact, Kali seems to have more energy now than she did before she got sick. Of course, that could be due in part to the steroid pills she's been on. :)

I got home a little while ago from Kali's latest check-up, and the vet is very pleased with her progress. She's on 1 Tbsp of her special "intestinal diet" canned food every three hours (except at night) for a total of 6 Tbsp a day, and she hasn't vomited since 3pm-ish last Saturday. That's six whole days! WOO HOO! :D

Kali's finished the antibiotic, but has to remain on the steroids for at least the next month. We are able to cut them down to 1 pill a day for the next 6 days, then on the 8th day we start with 1 pill every other day.

We have to wait to reintroduce kibble until we see how she handles the steroid reduction. If all goes well, I can start to give her a couple pieces of prescription "intestinal diet" kibble with each feeding in a week or 2. Then after a couple months, we should be able to transition her to an allergy formula commercial kibble. We plan to try Natural Balance's Venison and Green Pea.

I'm so looking forward to getting Kali back on kibble. These every 3 hour feedings six times a day are exhausting. I have to stay up until midnight-ish for the last feeding, and get up no later than 8:30am the next morning to give Kali a dose of Pepcid AC. Thirty minutes after that the feedings begin.

Although I'm terribly tired most days and am now coming down with a cold, I'm so incredibly happy she is finally getting better! And I'm pretty proud of myself for getting her through this.

A few positive things came out of this ordeal. Kali has lost 2 lbs (down to 13.3 as of today), and she has a newfound confidence and security. Kali finally knows we'll always bring her back home and Lily's hissing/growling doesn't scare her so much anymore.

[ignutzz]

KaliLily Wow, you have been through a lot with your little girl. It's great to hear that she's steadily improving. I'm wondering if a timed feeding tray might help you out with Kali's schedule?

http://www.petsmart.com/media/ps/images/products/detail/standard/SpringCatalog05/55196_413c3.jpg (http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444178 0020&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025542&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1168035253529&itemNo=2&In=Cat&N=2025542&Ne=2)
(click the image to go straight to the product)

DH brought this home for Izzy because we feel she's too young to go all day without a meal and it's been great for giving her small meals in 2-4 hour increments. I don't know if you have to give Kali the pepcid with every feeding, in which case this tray probably wouldn't help much, but I thought I'd suggest it anyway.

[KaliLily]

KaliLily Wow, you have been through a lot with your little girl. It's great to hear that she's steadily improving. I'm wondering if a timed feeding tray might help you out with Kali's schedule?

Only if it were refrigerated. :) Kali's on canned food only right now, so leaving food out isn't an option until we get her back on kibble. The vet said while canned food can be left out for a bit, we don't want to risk bacteria growing in it and Kali eating that.

ETA: I realized after my last post that it must look like I'm complaining about getting "only" 8 hours of sleep a night. It's actually more like 5-6. For most of the week, I was giving Kali her last feeding at 1:30 or 2 am, and then getting up by 8:30/9 to start the new day. We started the week feeding her every hour, and increased the interval by 1/2 hour once a day. You'd think I'd get more sleep now that her last feeding is between 11:30 and midnight, but I have trouble falling asleep now.:rolleyes:

[KaliLily]

ignutzz - I just checked out the product specifications for that feeder you posted and it is refrigerated! I never imagined they'd make an automatic feeder with ice packs! It's a little too pricey to justify right now, but if I have to start working before we have Kali back on kibble I'll definitely try this. THANKS!!!

All that would be left is figuring out how to keep Lily out of it. :rolleyes:

[ignutzz]

KaliLily I know! I had no idea it was that pricey when DH came home with it. I did look on amazon to see if anyone had it cheaper but didn't find anything. :( I have to say though, it's been completely worth the money. Izzy is HUGE now. :p

[KaliLily]

Does anyone know if a cat's diet effects the smell of its urine? And if so, can the urine smell be nearly eradicated?

I ask this because I came into my den this morning and found what I thought was urine just outside the litter box. However, when I sniffed the towel I wiped it up with there was practically no smell, and certainly not the "acidic" smell that cat urine usually has. After I cleaned it up, I found another puddle over by my desk chair. It too had practically no smell.

I'm trying to figure out if what I found was vomit or urine. Oddly, I'm hoping it's urine. If it's vomit, then Kali only made it 3 days since her last "episode," down from 1 week between episodes.

We reduced her steroid pills from 10 mg to 5mg Friday evening, after she'd been vomit free for 6 days. Then in the wee hours of Sunday morning she vomited. She's still on 5mg and may have vomited again this morning. We're supposed to drop down to 5mg every other day starting tomorrow. I'm anxious, frustrated and exhausted. :(

ETA: During the Friday appointment, Kali's vet vet ok'd giving allergy meds to her again since she her eye was watering a lot and she was sneezing very frequently. I figured if she didn't have a reaction right after taking it then all was ok. Now I'm beginning to wonder about that assumption. I just looked it the possible side effects and they include vomiting. We started the meds on Saturday morning. I wonder if they caused the (apparent) vomiting this morning. I think I'll stop the allergy meds for a while and see what happens. I know I've been fine on medication for several days, but then have adverse reactions.

One more thing. I looked up the steroid she's taking on 1800PetMeds. One of its possible side effects is vomiting, too! Oh happy, happy joy joy.:rolleyes:

[vwinkel]

By the way, vwinkel, your idea about putting the Petromalt (or any liquidy substance like that) on her paws was pure genius. It never occurred to me, but now that you say it, it makes total sense!
I can't take credit for that! My vet advised me to do that. :)

[greenbunny]

Diet definitely affects the smell of both liquid and solid waste, but I can't tell you specifically "this food does this". Maybe a professional would know?

I do know that before we diagnosed Summer with her grain allergy, walking past her litterbox could knock you out. I clean the boxes two or three times a day, and it was still unbearable. Now that she's on grain-free food, things are much better--though still not as good as with Bella, who has no food sensitivities.

I would assume just based on common knowledge that very strong/dark urine means the cat should be drinking more. But if what you found is abnormally light and odor-free, I'd also wonder if it was bile/stomach fluids.

[KaliLily]

I would assume just based on common knowledge that very strong/dark urine means the cat should be drinking more. But if what you found is abnormally light and odor-free, I'd also wonder if it was bile/stomach fluids.

Thanks, Greenbunny. I'm leaning toward stomach fluids, though it looked so much like urine. There were no particles of her food in it like what I found on Sunday morning and it wasn't as bright yellow as when she was vomiting bile. However, I'm finding it hard to believe she pee'd in 2 different places in my den in one morning.

We know she has a sensitive stomach. When she was on 10 mg of steroids, we had to give her one pill with food then wait an hour and give her the second pill with food to help her keep them down. Otherwise, they came right back up w/in 20-30 minutes. Maybe being on both the steroids and allergy medicine is too much for her system to handle right now. And if the steroids are still causing stomach upset, maybe as we continue to decrease the dose/frequency she'll improve.

Oh, and I smelled one of the urine clumps while cleaning the litter boxes this morning. Gross, I know, but it helped. While not as strong as usual, there was still an odor. (Seriously, ladies, I'm starting to understand the whole checking babies' poop thing mothers do. Maybe I have it in me to be a mother after all.)