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[Weltall Zero]

Slightly depressing side note: Does anyone know what this could be? (Slight graphic warning, nasty looking ulcer thing. Not a closeup though!)
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Indoor-only cat, and it does look like the sore has gotten bigger (though it doesn't seem to cause her pain or trouble eating). We're in touch with a vet but because neither of our cats like to be picked up AND she's quite old and skinny as it is (she's been skinny for a few years though, no idea why) we're worried about even transporting her, let alone any treatment they might want to give her for it.
We're trying to organise an in-home visit and they're also suggesting giving her something to calm her down so we can bring her in, but my wife (they're her cats initially) is paranoid any kind of medication could kill the poor girl :(
I'm not one to normally go for internet advice or whatever, but if there's a way we can treat the sore/her without causing her anxiety/stress, it would be the best option I think.

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Missed this post, sorry. Showed them to my SO and it could be a number of things, but it mostly looks like an open wound with perhaps a mild infection. You obviously need a vet to check on her, but in the meantime it probably won't hurt to rub some disinfectant on it with some gauze: you can use either Betadine dilluted 1:1 with water, or undiluted chlorhexidine. Some healing ointment would probably also help: we use Blastoestimulina in Spain but you should probably ask your vet for an equivalent that is also cat-safe.

From where it's located I'm assuming the answer is "no", but you might want to check if it's one of her lower teeth that's causing the wound in the upper lip (sometimes their teeth, particularly fangs, can cause sores like that in the opposite lip). I also sent the pics for her to forward to our vet, in case he has some more insight.

All in all the sore itself is probably nothing to worry about, but a vet should still see it to rule out that it's caused by fungi or some other underlying pathology.

Edit: Our vet messeged my SO with (translated) "eosinophilia: treat with cortisone and treat for fleas". Sorry for the sparseness, we can't ask for much more for free and at 23:30. :D

Edit 2: Our vet sent an even more cryptic message: "DAPP". My SO snapped at him to stop being the freaking Riddler and he elaborated "dermatitis alérgica a la picadura de pulga" (flea bite allergic dermatitis). Could a flea have bitten her? Our vet has a pretty amazing track record of being right...

 

[Shaneus]

Holy shit, all that info is incredible! Fleas are highly improbable, we have a greyhound who goes outside but he's never had them, and the two cats are indoor-only. I also doubt it's a tooth thing because it's very much in the corner of her mouth, and I haven't noticed any odd biting or whatever.

I did post about this a little while ago when it was smaller and weeping a little fluid, but it's definitely gotten more noticeable over the past few weeks.

I also emailed our local vet and got two excellent responses, one from whoever was answering the email there and another from the person we see especially for all our animals:
First response:

Poor Chloe! It is hard as they get older, and much more set in their ways! :)

Our difficulties with a house call of this nature, is that we cannot have everything we may possibly need, with us. Cats do not usually present with mouth ulcers as a primary issue. We tend to find (especially in older patients) that there is a bigger problem, that is underlying, that causes the mouth ulcers. These underlying problems can range from dental issues, through to kidney problems. Steroids are used in cats for mouth ulcers, however they come with side effects, and so are not safe in every situation.
As such, the vets may recommend further diagnostic work, eg. blood tests, to try and find out how we might be able help Chloe. Those blood tests need to be run at the clinic, and then potentially medications administered, so it ends up being a very too and fro situation. I can see from her history that she has had a few changes on her blood tests previously (last ones were run in July 2017), and that she also has a heart condition, so she has many things we need to consider!
At the same time, we do understand the stress of trying to bring a pet into the clinic, that doesn't want to come!

At this stage, we do not have a vet free to do a house call until Wednesday. We could try giving Chloe some powdered medication prior to travel, to ease her stress a little, if you are interested?
Alternatively, I could book a consult time here at the clinic tomorrow. You are welcome to try the medication beforehand in either situation.

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I didn't have a chance to reply to the above, and was sent another more specific one:

I just saw this email. I'll give you a call tomorrow if you haven't already organised to come in. Completely understand the difficulties of bring Chloe in! There is a quicker acting sedation we could use as opposed to last time if it got to that. Or as mentioned in reply email there is a powdered/capsule sedative that can help - very safe!

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This is all without seeing photos, so I'm pretty pleased with their response. My wife is VERY cautious that anything they use to sedate/relax her could well send her downhill given how thin she is, but hopefully she'll trust the vets that it will be okay. The only other worry is any anxiety caused when she returns from the vet, last time she went obviously she smelled different and our other cat was VERY wary and defensive, despite effectively dousing our house in Feliway.

So I'll speak to that vet today probably, but of course I appreciate your feedback and research too! Good to know it probably isn't anything serious, but the fact it's getting bigger means something needs to be done one way or another.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Holy shit, all that info is incredible! Fleas are highly improbable, we have a greyhound who goes outside but he's never had them, and the two cats are indoor-only. I also doubt it's a tooth thing because it's very much in the corner of her mouth, and I haven't noticed any odd biting or whatever.

I did post about this a little while ago when it was smaller and weeping a little fluid, but it's definitely gotten more noticeable over the past few weeks.

I also emailed our local vet and got two excellent responses, one from whoever was answering the email there and another from the person we see especially for all our animals:
First response:

I didn't have a chance to reply to the above, and was sent another more specific one:

This is all without seeing photos, so I'm pretty pleased with their response. My wife is VERY cautious that anything they use to sedate/relax her could well send her downhill given how thin she is, but hopefully she'll trust the vets that it will be okay. The only other worry is any anxiety caused when she returns from the vet, last time she went obviously she smelled different and our other cat was VERY wary and defensive, despite effectively dousing our house in Feliway.

So I'll speak to that vet today probably, but of course I appreciate your feedback and research too! Good to know it probably isn't anything serious, but the fact it's getting bigger means something needs to be done one way or another.

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Yeah, nothing is going to substitute for a vet taking a look at it in person. Wednesday is tomorrow, so I'm assuming you're going for the house call at this point, right?

I can't really speak for sedatives because none of our cats have needed to take them to be taken to the vet (although some have obviously needed to be sedated for several things, most often tooth extractions; we didn't have any issues with those). If the vet can visit as soon as tomorrow (and you can afford to pay for it) that might be the best course of action.

 

[Shaneus]

Yeah, nothing is going to substitute for a vet taking a look at it in person. Wednesday is tomorrow, so I'm assuming you're going for the house call at this point, right?

I can't really speak for sedatives because none of our cats have needed to take them to be taken to the vet (although some have obviously needed to be sedated for several things, most often tooth extractions; we didn't have any issues with those). If the vet can visit as soon as tomorrow (and you can afford to pay for it) that might be the best course of action.

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I'll be speaking to the vet today (Wed over here :) ), the only reason Wed was suggested is because the online form asked me for a date/time. Will decide what to do (or try) after that convo sometime today.

 

[Spanglo]

Tatsu (tabby) & Temmie (black/white) lying in the sun today. (yes I know Temmie is more of a girls name, but my gf insisted on it)

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So cute, and great that you got 2. If they're anything like mine, they'll play, groom, and nap with each other forever.

 

[Airegin]

Found this old pic of my cat and wanted to share:

 

[GameShowPresident]

I was playing with my cat tonight and he started panting. I've never seen that in happen with a cat before?

 

[Shaneus]

I'll be speaking to the vet today (Wed over here :) ), the only reason Wed was suggested is because the online form asked me for a date/time. Will decide what to do (or try) after that convo sometime today.

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Update: Spoke to vet, who suggested giving Chloe a small amount of gabapentin in the morning at home to calm her down, enough so when the vet house calls a few hours later she can pick her up without getting clawed to death, and give her an antibiotics injection.

The vet figured at least antibiotics would help clear up the area of any infections and get a better idea of what the sore actually is. It has her puzzled, but seems to think it's a cyst of some kind (because of the weeping/fluid coming from it around the start of the year).

I thought this was the perfect idea, but my wife was brought to tears at this suggestion, thinking it could be too much for Chloe and actually kill her. So now that idea is put on hold while my wife talks to the vet directly about the whole thing.

Understand where my wife is coming from given she's owned our cats since they were kittens, but the sore is getting worse if we do nothing... and it seems she's against the vet doing basically anything anyway. Ugh.

Sorry for bringing this thread into a bit of a downer :/ Here, have a photo of Chloe being Chloe:

 

[Weltall Zero]

Update: Spoke to vet, who suggested giving Chloe a small amount of gabapentin in the morning at home to calm her down, enough so when the vet house calls a few hours later she can pick her up without getting clawed to death, and give her an antibiotics injection.

The vet figured at least antibiotics would help clear up the area of any infections and get a better idea of what the sore actually is. It has her puzzled, but seems to think it's a cyst of some kind (because of the weeping/fluid coming from it around the start of the year).

I thought this was the perfect idea, but my wife was brought to tears at this suggestion, thinking it could be too much for Chloe and actually kill her. So now that idea is put on hold while my wife talks to the vet directly about the whole thing.

Understand where my wife is coming from given she's owned our cats since they were kittens, but the sore is getting worse if we do nothing... and it seems she's against the vet doing basically anything anyway. Ugh.

Sorry for bringing this thread into a bit of a downer :/ Here, have a photo of Chloe being Chloe:

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Frankly, a vet needing to partially sedate a cat to administer an injection is a bit weird, especially with her owners available to hold her down for the couple of seconds it takes, or just make a purrito. Would your wife be OK with either of those?

You mentioned the sore oozing early in the year, how long has she had it? Perhaps I should have asked this first of all.

 

[Shaneus]

Frankly, a vet needing to partially sedate a cat to administer an injection is a bit weird, especially with her owners available to hold her down for the couple of seconds it takes, or just make a purrito. Would your wife be OK with either of those?

You mentioned the sore oozing early in the year, how long has she had it? Perhaps I should have asked this first of all.

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Neither of the cats like to be held or restrained or picked up or anything... that's just the way they are :/

The first photo I found of the sore was in Jan this year, and it was pretty small. The photos I last posted were a few weeks ago and I just managed to get a photo tonight too:

https://i.imgur.com/TF0BGxX.jpg

It's definitely gotten bigger, and once my wife noticed how big it was she kinda snapped out of it and agreed the vet should come over. Gave her a bit of a shock and to be honest, me too :( I doubt the antibiotics will fix it, but hopefully it'll help with the diagnosis.

Looking at that photo scares the hell out of me to be honest.

 

[Sonicbug]

Neither of the cats like to be held or restrained or picked up or anything... that's just the way they are :/

The first photo I found of the sore was in Jan this year, and it was pretty small. The photos I last posted were a few weeks ago and I just managed to get a photo tonight too:

https://i.imgur.com/TF0BGxX.jpg

It's definitely gotten bigger, and once my wife noticed how big it was she kinda snapped out of it and agreed the vet should come over. Gave her a bit of a shock and to be honest, me too :( I doubt the antibiotics will fix it, but hopefully it'll help with the diagnosis.

Looking at that photo scares the hell out of me to be honest.

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Tell your wife that the cat is only suffering needlessly and that the problem isn't going to magically go away. The vet should be able to draw blood and run tests without sedation. All else fails, don't tell your wife, bring the cat in without her knowledge.

 

[Sheepinator]

Tell your wife that the cat is only suffering needlessly and that the problem isn't going to magically go away. The vet should be able to draw blood and run tests without sedation. All else fails, don't tell your wife, bring the cat in without her knowledge.

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Exactly. At this point, gotta take care of the cat.

 

[Dr. Lucien Sanchez]

I was playing with my cat tonight and he started panting. I've never seen that in happen with a cat before?

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Pretty common, from what I've seen. One of my cats often pants after playing (he kind of goes hard when he's playing, to be fair).

 

[GameShowPresident]

Pretty common, from what I've seen. One of my cats often pants after playing (he kind of goes hard when he's playing, to be fair).

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Yeah he was jumping a couple feet in the air so I don't blame him for getting tired. I would hope he would know when to quit.

 

[Weltall Zero]

I was playing with my cat tonight and he started panting. I've never seen that in happen with a cat before?

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Sorry, missed this. If your cat only panted once after a lot of exercise, especially if it's hot, it's more or less normal. It's when they start panting often and for no discernible reason that one should worry about cardiorespiratory insufficiency.

Neither of the cats like to be held or restrained or picked up or anything... that's just the way they are :/

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While that's unfortunate, no cat likes being restrained, either. One of our cats absolutely hates being picked up, and yet she's the one that we have to medicate regularly (including injections) due to calicivirus. If you and your wife each holds two legs, or you manage to wrap her in a blanket with her head out (google purrito, this is a pretty neat and useful trick) the vet should be able to examine her and inject her without issue.

Looking at that photo scares the hell out of me to be honest.

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Don't worry, I'm sure once it's properly treated it will heal fine.

All else fails, don't tell your wife, bring the cat in without her knowledge.

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I hate to say this to a fellow cat lover but please don't do this. There's pretty much nothing in life that's worth breaching trust with your spouse.

 

[HyperFerret]

One of my cats has a fascination with plastic. He can be distracted by toys and treats, but he eventually seeks out more plastic bags and such to chew after a while. I've been extra careful to avoid keeping plastic within his reach because I don't want him to swallow any but I have yet to find out how to break him out of this particular quirk.

He also has a habit of jumping on counters so we started putting small towels on the edge of counters so every time he jumps up he slips and falls back down. I dunno if this is a good technique or not because I worry about him getting hurt bit nothing else seems to work. After a fall he'll pout on the floor and it takes him a few days to work up the courage again.

Meanwhile the other cat is just a couch potato and only activates around food heh. She is much easier to handle ^_^

 

[Shaneus]

Vet's coming to our house tomorrow. Not sure what I'm more nervous of... trying to pick up the cat without scaring her, or the bill for the house visit :/


PS. Anyone have any suggestions for a cat that has a cough? I'm going to ask the vet tomorrow, but our other kitty has this odd (to me) cough, almost like she's about to throw up but doesn't. Has my wife extra worried now, I'm just hoping it's something that'll pass. Might be worth noting it's super fucking cold here now and we have the heater on almost constantly, so it might be an air pressure/moisture thing?

 

[Weltall Zero]

One of my cats has a fascination with plastic. He can be distracted by toys and treats, but he eventually seeks out more plastic bags and such to chew after a while. I've been extra careful to avoid keeping plastic within his reach because I don't want him to swallow any but I have yet to find out how to break him out of this particular quirk.

He also has a habit of jumping on counters so we started putting small towels on the edge of counters so every time he jumps up he slips and falls back down. I dunno if this is a good technique or not because I worry about him getting hurt bit nothing else seems to work. After a fall he'll pout on the floor and it takes him a few days to work up the courage again.

Meanwhile the other cat is just a couch potato and only activates around food heh. She is much easier to handle ^_^

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Try getting your cat a selection of toys. Sometimes cats are very picky about them, but typically they'll find one or two that become their favorite and they won't play with anything else.

As an alternative to putting towels on edges of counters (which indeed could lead to accidents, depenting on how often he does it), cats hate sticky surfaces, so you might want to try putting some double-sided tape on them. I know it's not exactly confortable for people using the counters either, but hopefully it'll break his habit and you won't need to leave it on anymore.

Vet's coming to our house tomorrow. Not sure what I'm more nervous of... trying to pick up the cat without scaring her, or the bill for the house visit :/

PS. Anyone have any suggestions for a cat that has a cough? I'm going to ask the vet tomorrow, but our other kitty has this odd (to me) cough, almost like she's about to throw up but doesn't. Has my wife extra worried now, I'm just hoping it's something that'll pass. Might be worth noting it's super fucking cold here now and we have the heater on almost constantly, so it might be an air pressure/moisture thing?

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I was going to ask if you had air conditioning on (wrongly assuming northern hemisphere, heh), as cats are often sensitive to dry air and it does seem to be the primary cause of coughs. Try getting an air humidifier and have it running whenever you have heating on, it'll also be good for you as a bonus.

 

[Shaneus]

I was going to ask if you had air conditioning on (wrongly assuming northern hemisphere, heh), as cats are often sensitive to dry air and it does seem to be the primary cause of coughs. Try getting an air humidifier and have it running whenever you have heating on, it'll also be good for you as a bonus.

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We have central heating/cooling via an inverter, which I think means they both remove moisture from the air. We've also bought cat grass for them to chew on in case she was having problems with coughing something up.

Fake edit: I don't think heating the air removes humidity at all, I think that's exclusive to the cooling mode.

 

[Weltall Zero]

We have central heating/cooling via an inverter, which I think means they both remove moisture from the air. We've also bought cat grass for them to chew on in case she was having problems with coughing something up.

Fake edit: I don't think heating the air removes humidity at all, I think that's exclusive to the cooling mode.

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I think any kind of heating inherently makes air somewhat more dry, but I could be wrong. We have electric heating and it always feels drier when it's on.
Fake edit: apparently, this is indeed a thing, and the reason is that warm air from the house absorbs moisture and then seeps outside, while cold dry air from outside seeps into the house:

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-an-electric-heater-dry-out-the-air-in-the-room

While researching this, I also read that humidifiers can help a lot with heating bills for this reason, since, temperature being equal, the more humid the air, the warmer it feels. So that would be a third reason to use an humidifier in your case. :)

 

[Kapryov]

The cat thread!

After multiple vet visits, we finally bought into an expensive allergy test to figure out wtf was going on.
Turns out my little guy is allergic to chicken, turkey, and rice (as well as many other things). So basically all the stuff that's in standard cat food. FML.

Here's a pic of the little demon that continues to drain all my money:

 

[Weltall Zero]

The cat thread!

After multiple vet visits, we finally bought into an expensive allergy test to figure out wtf was going on.
Turns out my little guy is allergic to chicken, turkey, and rice (as well as many other things). So basically all the stuff that's in standard cat food. FML.

Here's a pic of the little demon that continues to drain all my money:

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Chicken is a super common allergy among cats, so much so that we never buy food with chicken anymore. Cereals are pretty much the same. Turkey is either less common, or simply less cat food is made with it so it comes up more rarely. In any case, you don't need to spend a lot to get good cat food free of chicken and cereals. Let me consult with my SO tomorrow when she's awake and see if there's any quality brand we know that's also available internationally.

 

[Shaneus]

Chicken is a super common allergy among cats, so much so that we never buy food with chicken anymore. Cereals are pretty much the same. Turkey is either less common, or simply less cat food is made with it so it comes up more rarely. In any case, you don't need to spend a lot to get good cat food free of chicken and cereals. Let me consult with my SO tomorrow when she's awake and see if there's any quality brand we know that's also available internationally.

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Could an allergy to chicken be developed? I can't remember if our food has chicken in it, but I wonder if that has anything to do with her sore.

 

[Kapryov]

Chicken is a super common allergy among cats, so much so that we never buy food with chicken anymore. Cereals are pretty much the same. Turkey is either less common, or simply less cat food is made with it so it comes up more rarely. In any case, you don't need to spend a lot to get good cat food free of chicken and cereals. Let me consult with my SO tomorrow when she's awake and see if there's any quality brand we know that's also available internationally.

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That's really helpful, thanks!
We live nearby a pet goods place, and almost everything they have includes unspecified poultry and/or rice somewhere high up in the ingredient list, no matter what the flavour or food is. It feels bad that we've been feeding him this stuff for so long without realising :(
The vet is supposed to send us some suggestions herself, but I've been waiting on her email for a couple of days now. He's been living on fish meals (which he loves) and kangaroo jerky cat treats (which is his new love).

 

[Weltall Zero]

Could an allergy to chicken be developed? I can't remember if our food has chicken in it, but I wonder if that has anything to do with her sore.

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Allergies can develop in cats same as in humans, but food allergies don't normally cause sores like that, that I know of; they mostly cause gastrointestinal issues like vomiting, diarrhea, etc. I guess it goes without saying but keep us updated once the vet visits. :)

That's really helpful, thanks!
We live nearby a pet goods place, and almost everything they have includes unspecified poultry and/or rice somewhere high up in the ingredient list, no matter what the flavour or food is. It feels bad that we've been feeding him this stuff for so long without realising :(
The vet is supposed to send us some suggestions herself, but I've been waiting on her email for a couple of days now. He's been living on fish meals (which he loves) and kangaroo jerky cat treats (which is his new love).

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Here in Spain there's a couple of online stores that stock high-quality food, we order in bulk from them; it ends up being cheaper and healthier than any food we can shop for locally. There's bound to be something similar in (checks profile) Australia. :)

In general you want to avoid plant subproducts, and meat from common livestock animals, especially chicken. Fish is good, as is more "exotic" meat like ox (kangaroo would definitely fit the bill, even if I feel kind of bad for them... :P).

 

[Kapryov]

(kangaroo would definitely fit the bill, even if I feel kind of bad for them... :P).

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Yeeeah me too :/ it was a desperate attempt to find something he could eat. Turns out he loves it so much he was trying to open the bag the second my back was turned. I had to put it high up in a cupboard, one of the ones he hasn't figured out how to open (yet).

 

[Shaneus]

Don't stress, kangaroos are plentiful here! Sadly, so are feral cats that attack our native wildlife, but that's another subject :(

Needless to say, keep your kitties indoors, folks! An indoor kitty is a happy (and safe) kitty <3

 

[Vincent Alexander]

My fiance and I have been fostering kittens for about 2-3 years now. Most of the time the kittens we get our (mostly) healthy, but sometimes they are dropped off where she works near death and we take them in. We recently had a kitten come home that I named Aladdin, or just Al for short. He was bone thin, weighing in at half a pound. Both eyes were closed with goop. He looked to be maybe 6-7 weeks old. When you touched him, you could feel every bone. I babied him for 2 weeks. He was eating, and we were keeping his eyes cleaned with eye drops. He got to a point where his left eye was always open, and his right eye was mostly open, but after a long night's sleep it would have a thin dried layer on it that kept it closed. And nothing made me happier than to finally, finally hear him purr like a tiny little engine when I put him on my stomach and pet him. I knew that is when we were getting somewhere. And his appetite was growing and growing. So it broke my heart that this last Friday I went out of town, and Saturday I received a morning call from my fiance that he passed away overnight. I knew with as much as we foster that this would have to happen eventually---this was first time we lost one in our care--- but I can't stop thinking about if we could've done something else. Something better for him that would've kept him going. Did we mess up somewhere. Miss a sign. He was improving so much compared to where he was when we got him, so for him to suddenly pass hit me like a hammer. When I got home, I had to hold it together while I cleaned up our foster room and wiped it all down, then packed up his little stuffed whale he slept with. My fiance brought him to the local vet clinic she used to work for so he could be cremated. Before giving him over, she made little molds of his tiny feet for us to keep. Just....losing him sucks. It will always suck, but he was too young. Sorry...just had to post when I saw this thread pop up. Thought it was a sign to get this off my chest.

I'll post a happy picture of our previous foster Otto wrestling my guitar strap since it makes me feel a little better.

Spoiler

 

[Ogodei]

One of my cats has a fascination with plastic. He can be distracted by toys and treats, but he eventually seeks out more plastic bags and such to chew after a while. I've been extra careful to avoid keeping plastic within his reach because I don't want him to swallow any but I have yet to find out how to break him out of this particular quirk.

He also has a habit of jumping on counters so we started putting small towels on the edge of counters so every time he jumps up he slips and falls back down. I dunno if this is a good technique or not because I worry about him getting hurt bit nothing else seems to work. After a fall he'll pout on the floor and it takes him a few days to work up the courage again.

Meanwhile the other cat is just a couch potato and only activates around food heh. She is much easier to handle ^_^

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My family's old cat used to chew plastic all the time. We had it pegged as a cry for attention because he knew we'd yell at him for chewing on things like that. He especially liked sturdy plastic bags, like the kind the shoe store will give you for your purchase.

 

[Reinhard]

My cat might be having food allergy issues too, I haven't figured out why she was vomiting liquid and had very loose stools. She grazes off the floor constantly so it could be something she ate or swallowed a foreign object... But her blood work was normal and no obstruction was seen with xrays.

I previously tried other cat wet food based on other meats like turkey, fish, rabbit, venison. She either ignored the food entirely or still got sick - I really think she has a general fish allergy she developed over time (mackerel always disagreed with her and then she kept getting sick off tuna which she had been eating for like 3 months without issue.)

I really don't know what to try next, she eats 1 can wet food and rest is dry, both chicken and there is some beef in the wet. I also add a probiotic to the wet. She always seems to ignore any new food I try or barely nibbles at it with a single bite and often gets sick if she tries more. I recently got a prescription wet food from Hills that has special probiotics/biome stuff for sensitive stomachs but I think it made her worse. She's slowly recovering, not throwing up and is almost eating normally, but her activity level isn't back to normal yet and might not get there if it is a food allergy until I find the right food...

 

[Sheepinator]

Kapryov Beautiful cat! Shame he's having such eating issues. How about cans of tuna? They're cheap and tasty for both human and cat.

Vincent Alexander Sorry about your loss. You're doing great things though, keep it up. And you damn well made a huge difference in its life from where it was before the shelter got it.

 

[Kapryov]

Beautiful cat! Shame he's having such eating issues. How about cans of tuna? They're cheap and tasty for both human and cat.

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Thanks!
Tuna is actually his favourite meal of all. The vet recommended we remove it from his diet entirely while we were allergy testing, as they believed fish to be the more common allergy with cats. It was tough going for him to adjust, but after all that he's thrilled to have tuna again :)

 

[MrT]

One of my cats has a fascination with plastic. He can be distracted by toys and treats, but he eventually seeks out more plastic bags and such to chew after a while. I've been extra careful to avoid keeping plastic within his reach because I don't want him to swallow any but I have yet to find out how to break him out of this particular quirk.

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Can't help with stopping him doing it, but just wanted to say one of our cats has an obsession with plastic bags too, but in his case it's specifically the handles on the "bag for life" style bags. His eyes light up every time we bring shopping home and he jumps up on the table to await us putting them down so he can start biting the handles. He doesn't actually eat any plastic, just loves biting holes in it. All our bags for life now have a ton of puncture marks on the handles now lol. He's a bit of a weirdo :P

 

[Weltall Zero]

Yeeeah me too :/ it was a desperate attempt to find something he could eat. Turns out he loves it so much he was trying to open the bag the second my back was turned. I had to put it high up in a cupboard, one of the ones he hasn't figured out how to open (yet).

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To be fair, one of our cats loves lamb, which should make me feel worse. :D

Don't stress, kangaroos are plentiful here! Sadly, so are feral cats that attack our native wildlife, but that's another subject :(

Needless to say, keep your kitties indoors, folks! An indoor kitty is a happy (and safe) kitty <3

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Yeah, feral cats introduced to ecosystems where they're foreign are a problem in lots of places. We use to go to the Canary islands in the summer, and there's local lizard populations that are nearly driven to extinction by cats.

My fiance and I have been fostering kittens for about 2-3 years now. Most of the time the kittens we get our (mostly) healthy, but sometimes they are dropped off where she works near death and we take them in. We recently had a kitten come home that I named Aladdin, or just Al for short. He was bone thin, weighing in at half a pound. Both eyes were closed with goop. He looked to be maybe 6-7 weeks old. When you touched him, you could feel every bone. I babied him for 2 weeks. He was eating, and we were keeping his eyes cleaned with eye drops. He got to a point where his left eye was always open, and his right eye was mostly open, but after a long night's sleep it would have a thin dried layer on it that kept it closed. And nothing made me happier than to finally, finally hear him purr like a tiny little engine when I put him on my stomach and pet him. I knew that is when we were getting somewhere. And his appetite was growing and growing. So it broke my heart that this last Friday I went out of town, and Saturday I received a morning call from my fiance that he passed away overnight. I knew with as much as we foster that this would have to happen eventually---this was first time we lost one in our care--- but I can't stop thinking about if we could've done something else. Something better for him that would've kept him going. Did we mess up somewhere. Miss a sign. He was improving so much compared to where he was when we got him, so for him to suddenly pass hit me like a hammer. When I got home, I had to hold it together while I cleaned up our foster room and wiped it all down, then packed up his little stuffed whale he slept with. My fiance brought him to the local vet clinic she used to work for so he could be cremated. Before giving him over, she made little molds of his tiny feet for us to keep. Just....losing him sucks. It will always suck, but he was too young. Sorry...just had to post when I saw this thread pop up. Thought it was a sign to get this off my chest.

I'll post a happy picture of our previous foster Otto wrestling my guitar strap since it makes me feel a little better.

Spoiler

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I'm very sorry to hear that. We lost a fostered kitty (about a month ago, I think). I don't remember if I posted about it in the thread, but the whole thing was so tragic; his mom had been hit by a car, and eventually had to be put down too (the decision fell on my SO, to boot). We cried our eyes out and spent several weeks wondering if we did something wrong, even if rationally we know we've done everything we could.

My cat might be having food allergy issues too, I haven't figured out why she was vomiting liquid and had very loose stools. She grazes off the floor constantly so it could be something she ate or swallowed a foreign object... But her blood work was normal and no obstruction was seen with xrays.

I previously tried other cat wet food based on other meats like turkey, fish, rabbit, venison. She either ignored the food entirely or still got sick - I really think she has a general fish allergy she developed over time (mackerel always disagreed with her and then she kept getting sick off tuna which she had been eating for like 3 months without issue.)

I really don't know what to try next, she eats 1 can wet food and rest is dry, both chicken and there is some beef in the wet. I also add a probiotic to the wet. She always seems to ignore any new food I try or barely nibbles at it with a single bite and often gets sick if she tries more. I recently got a prescription wet food from Hills that has special probiotics/biome stuff for sensitive stomachs but I think it made her worse. She's slowly recovering, not throwing up and is almost eating normally, but her activity level isn't back to normal yet and might not get there if it is a food allergy until I find the right food...

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Try ox and lamb if you haven't, I think these two are pretty safe and cats seem to like them. I'll also ask my SO about it. Still, this seems like something your vet should take another look into. Consider consulting with another vet if your current one doesn't seem to be getting closer to solving the problem.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Kapryov , I checked with my SO. Applaws is a very good brand and it's sold in Australia:

https://www.applaws.com.au/where-to-buy/

Check and compare for prices in the places linked there. E.g. here:

https://search.mypetwarehouse.com.au/search?w=applaws cat

In general you need to careful read the ingredients to make sure there's no other kind of meat thrown in; a lot of food advertising as "tuna" throws in chicken as well.

@Reinhard , I checked with my SO and in addition to exotic meat, she suggested trying actual raw meat, introduced slowly (it takes a while for the cat to get used to it), and always pre-frozen and thawed to kill any parasites. A cat she knows couldn't eat any pre-processed cat food either, but their owners now buy liver and other offal from meat shops, freeze and thaw it, and the cat is much healthier now.

 

[Deleted member 1478]

Other than one cat growling at the other from time to time my two cats seem to be settling in well. We did end up buying the Feliway stuff but haven't noticed any real difference so far.

 

[Reinhard]

To be fair, one of our cats loves lamb, which should make me feel worse. :D


Try ox and lamb if you haven't, I think these two are pretty safe and cats seem to like them. I'll also ask my SO about it. Still, this seems like something your vet should take another look into. Consider consulting with another vet if your current one doesn't seem to be getting closer to solving the problem.

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Thanks for the suggestions, I'm having a very hard time finding something that isn't a pate, she absolutely hates pate. Ideally, I need shredded with some gravy lamb (or ox) and food that lacks any fish and chicken. Just to see if it is a chicken allergy and I think she already has a fish allergy. Seems like most of the foods are pate or if they are shredded / stew then they also have tuna or chicken in them, sigh. I was mostly looking at Chewy, there might be brands exclusive to specialty pet stores I haven't seen yet?

 

[Weltall Zero]

there might be brands exclusive to specialty pet stores I haven't seen yet?

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That's very likely; I don't think I've ever seen many of the brands we buy at supermarkets and such, or even in many brick-and-mortar pet shops. You might want to look if that Applaws page has an equivalent for your country to see where you can buy; if they stock Applaws, they'll probably have other quality brands.

 

[Kapryov]

So, my vet spoke to me yesterday. My cat has become a legend at the clinic, they all know him by name now, as not only is he allergic to chicken, turkey and rice, he also tested positive to:

- cat grass
- olives
- barley
- tomato
- potato
- flax seed
- mosquitoes
- eggs!

...and many other various things he'll probably never be in contact with, considering he's an indoor kitty.
They gave me a free sample of some duck+kangaroo dry food though, he loves it.

@Kapryov , I checked with my SO. Applaws is a very good brand and it's sold in Australia:

https://www.applaws.com.au/where-to-buy/

Check and compare for prices in the places linked there. E.g. here:

https://search.mypetwarehouse.com.au/search?w=applaws cat

In general you need to careful read the ingredients to make sure there's no other kind of meat thrown in; a lot of food advertising as "tuna" throws in chicken as well.

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Thank you very much :)
Funny story: turns out Applaws makes the tuna he's currently eating. Unfortunately a lot of their other products use rice, but I'll go through their website and see what options I have available. Thank your SO for me too :)

 

[Sheepinator]

So, my vet spoke to me yesterday. My cat has become a legend at the clinic, they all know him by name now, as not only is he allergic to chicken, turkey and rice, he also tested positive to:

- cat grass
- olives
- barley
- tomato
- potato
- flax seed
- mosquitoes
- eggs!

...and many other various things he'll probably never be in contact with, considering he's an indoor kitty.
They gave me a free sample of some duck+kangaroo dry food though, he loves it.

Thank you very much :)
Funny story: turns out Applaws makes the tuna he's currently eating. Unfortunately a lot of their other products use rice, but I'll go through their website and see what options I have available. Thank your SO for me too :)

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Don't feel guilty about kangaroos...

 

[Shaneus]

So, vet visit:
I gave Chloe some gabapentin a few hours beforehand, which thankfully made her easier to handle. Vet is pretty sure it's something benign as it's not causing her any issues and just looks like it's full of fluid/gunk (and isn't affecting her behavior or eating habits). We would consider getting it removed but she listened to her heart and said she has a 4/6 murmur, which is a level where she'd be hesitant to put Chloe under for surgery. But her weight and demeanor is fine so we might leave it be (as gross as it looks).

Unfortunately over the last week or so though Spooky has developed this cough/hiccup thing and I played a video for the vet, but she couldn't really determine anything. And there was no way she could listen to Spooks' breathing because she was scared and well under our spare bed by that stage :(

 

[HyperFerret]

My sweet babies enjoying a nap

They really do love the couch when they have a perfectly nice cat tower lol

 

[Weltall Zero]

So, my vet spoke to me yesterday. My cat has become a legend at the clinic, they all know him by name now, as not only is he allergic to chicken, turkey and rice, he also tested positive to:

- cat grass
- olives
- barley
- tomato
- potato
- flax seed
- mosquitoes
- eggs!

...and many other various things he'll probably never be in contact with, considering he's an indoor kitty.
They gave me a free sample of some duck+kangaroo dry food though, he loves it.

Thank you very much :)
Funny story: turns out Applaws makes the tuna he's currently eating. Unfortunately a lot of their other products use rice, but I'll go through their website and see what options I have available. Thank your SO for me too :)

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Holy shit, that's got to be some kind of record. :D At least you now know exactly what you're dealing with!

I'll ask my SO if she knows of brands that make rice-free food. I think Applaws themselves have some, but I'm not sure.

So, vet visit:
I gave Chloe some gabapentin a few hours beforehand, which thankfully made her easier to handle. Vet is pretty sure it's something benign as it's not causing her any issues and just looks like it's full of fluid/gunk (and isn't affecting her behavior or eating habits). We would consider getting it removed but she listened to her heart and said she has a 4/6 murmur, which is a level where she'd be hesitant to put Chloe under for surgery. But her weight and demeanor is fine so we might leave it be (as gross as it looks).

Unfortunately over the last week or so though Spooky has developed this cough/hiccup thing and I played a video for the vet, but she couldn't really determine anything. And there was no way she could listen to Spooks' breathing because she was scared and well under our spare bed by that stage :(

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I see. Did she give you any treatment for Chloe (antibiotics, etc.)?

My sweet babies enjoying a nap

They really do love the couch when they have a perfectly nice cat tower lol

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They tend to love couches because they smell like us. Slightly gross as we might consider it. :D

 

[maximumzero]

So I was randomly browsing PetFinder the other night and came across this majestic creature:

Showed him to the wife, who had a good laugh, and then we both decided we needed to go visit him. We visited him last Thursday and he's an absolute sweetheart. Didn't flinch from an outstretched hand like other cats we had visited in the past and let us both pick him up without issue, and he started purring immediately, so he's definitely coming home with us.

We've been straigthening up the apartment since then, moving around some furniture so we can give him a dedicated kitty area near a window and have been gradually picking up supplies for him. We initially had plans to pick him up on Wednesday, July 3rd so we could have the full 4-day weekend with him to adjust, but there's an adoption event this weekend and I was concerned he would be scooped up before that, so I e-mailed the shelter and asked if they could put a "hold" on him so we can pick him up either before closing on Friday or early Saturday.

I asked the shelter what dry food they're feeding him so I can pick up a small package of it and I'll probably gradually move him over to wet food since that seems to be more beneficial. Any suggestions on wet food that won't break the bank but also isn't chinese newspapers and apple cores?

I'm doing my best to not go crazy with cat trees and whatnot, especially since we'll likely be moving into a house by the end of the year, and I figure there's no point in dropping big bucks on anything huge when we're in a smaller space right now. I was gonna pick him up a cat fountain, but I think we'll just stick with a standard water dish for now and upgrade him in the future.

 

[Weltall Zero]

.

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I asked my SO and she also recommended this:

http://www.meat.love/en/

Not sure if it's available where you live, though. Also, she said there's plenty of Applaws food that is rice-free, so you might want to check individual products. Check particularly ones that say "cereal-free", since rice is technically one.

Finally, there's a food that all cats seem to love like it's a drug (so much so that you have to ration it like wet food), Purizon, but it's sold exclusively in ZooPlus, which I believe only has a presence in Europe.

So I was randomly browsing PetFinder the other night and came across this majestic creature:

Showed him to the wife, who had a good laugh, and then we both decided we needed to go visit him. We visited him last Thursday and he's an absolute sweetheart. Didn't flinch from an outstretched hand like other cats we had visited in the past and let us both pick him up without issue, and he started purring immediately, so he's definitely coming home with us.

We've been straigthening up the apartment since then, moving around some furniture so we can give him a dedicated kitty area near a window and have been gradually picking up supplies for him. We initially had plans to pick him up on Wednesday, July 3rd so we could have the full 4-day weekend with him to adjust, but there's an adoption event this weekend and I was concerned he would be scooped up before that, so I e-mailed the shelter and asked if they could put a "hold" on him so we can pick him up either before closing on Friday or early Saturday.

I asked the shelter what dry food they're feeding him so I can pick up a small package of it and I'll probably gradually move him over to wet food since that seems to be more beneficial. Any suggestions on wet food that won't break the bank but also isn't chinese newspapers and apple cores?

I'm doing my best to not go crazy with cat trees and whatnot, especially since we'll likely be moving into a house by the end of the year, and I figure there's no point in dropping big bucks on anything huge when we're in a smaller space right now. I was gonna pick him up a cat fountain, but I think we'll just stick with a standard water dish for now and upgrade him in the future.

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It's recommended to give cats a mix of dry food and wet food, as each serves a different purpose:
- Dry food strengthens and cleans their teeth (serves a similar purpose as animal bones in nature).
- Wet food provides a source of water and fat (serves a similar same purpose as blood in nature).
You typically want to leave them free access to dry food, then give them wet food once a day or every two days. Also, as mentioned in the OP, it's very important to separate food and water.

As for the cat tree, that's up to you. You can get good quality, very tall, 2m ones for around 60€ on eBay. Just avoid ones shipping from China as these tend to be low quality.

 

[maximumzero]

I've always been under the impression that leaving out food all day could leave to poor eating habits and was going to feed him twice a day like you generally do with dogs.

I was thinking maybe doing half a can in the morning with some dry food and other half of the can in the evening with some dry food, but you're saying maybe the best thing would be dry in the morning and then just top it with a can of wet food in the evening instead?

 

[Weltall Zero]

I've always been under the impression that leaving out food all day could leave to poor eating habits and was going to feed him twice a day like you generally do with dogs.

I was thinking maybe doing half a can in the morning with some dry food and other half of the can in the evening with some dry food, but you're saying maybe the best thing would be dry in the morning and then just top it with a can of wet food in the evening instead?

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Cats are not dogs. They need the food out all the time because they naturally eat very little but very often (typically five or more times a day). You cannot feed a cat twice a day; that'll generate a lot of anxiety and they'll gorge (and probably puke) when given access to food. You'd be also hampering their metabolism which can lead to kidney problems.

Even cats that are on a diet should be fed at least four-five times a day, and normally a better solution is to leave food where they have to work to get it (on top of places, inside dispenser toys, etc.).

 

[Sheepinator]

I've always been under the impression that leaving out food all day could leave to poor eating habits and was going to feed him twice a day like you generally do with dogs.

I was thinking maybe doing half a can in the morning with some dry food and other half of the can in the evening with some dry food, but you're saying maybe the best thing would be dry in the morning and then just top it with a can of wet food in the evening instead?

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That's more or less what we do. There's a permanent source of dry food available. In fact if the bottom of the bowl can be seen, one of ours exhibits her impatience, and often picking it up to shake it to cover the empty spot is sufficient. It's never been an issue to always have food. However, if you only have one cat then I could see the risk for boredom leading to a cycle of lethargy and over-eating and then weight gain. As for water, ours are fine with bowls, however the brother of one of them is my friends cat, and that one will only drink from running water, either fountain or tap.

 

[Kapryov]

Chiming in to say we portion out food 4 times a day for my kitty (it was originally 3 times but oh well).
We can't leave dry food out for him though, he will continuously eat and make himself sick.

I also recommend something like this for dry food if your cat eats fast:

My little guy loves this thing and will often just sit in front of it and stare me down until I put something in it.
Good for kitty brains too.

I asked my SO and she also recommended this:
meat.love - Home Not sure if it's available where you live, though. Also, she said there's plenty of Applaws food that is rice-free, so you might want to check individual products. Check particularly ones that say "cereal-free", since rice is technically one.

Finally, there's a food that all cats seem to love like it's a drug (so much so that you have to ration it like wet food), Purizon, but it's sold exclusively in ZooPlus, which I believe only has a presence in Europe.

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Thanks so much, you guys are a great help!

 

[ParanormalFupa]

Yep I got that same food tray it's awesome for leaving some dry food out during the day between wet food servings (quarter of a can once in the morning and once at night).