For Cat Lovers Only XVIV - Post Pics, Ask Questions, Comments, Etc.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Callie and Fergus agree that life is lovely when relaxing.

CallieFergus012015_zpsrej8tjoy.jpg



Bronwyn and Finnula the first day we brought them into the house, almost three years ago.

BronwynFinnula032112_zpsj9olq76d.jpg

Aw!!!! :love:
 
taking Wesley in tomorrow to the vet for an unexpected visit. I've noticed the last week that he's had some really yucky litter box situations and he's been drinking a ton. Nothing about his food has changed lately but I do think it's the crap Science Diet that he eats. Last summer my vet suggested he go on the diabetic low carb SD because he gained 2 pounds in a year. The first few weeks of being on it I noticed he was constipated a lot but that went away and was followed by what I'm guessing is the cat version of diarrhea. That lasted a few days and he's been fine since. But I still hate this food, always have, and don't know how to get him off of it. I'm not sure why I'm bringing him in because I don't think they're going to do anything for him other than suggest some other form of Science Diet. I've asked the past few years if there's a different brand my vet can suggest, but given that her whole lobby is covered in SD ads, she won't budge from it. I go there out of convenience as it's the closest place to my house so he has less time that he needs to be in the car. But I'm not going back there again if I leave tomorrow with a huge bill and nothing but a Science Diet prescription. It's $55 just to see the vet and they want a stool sample, which is another $40. :happy:

Anyways….I'm so sad my boy has a tummy ache and I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing by taking him to the vet tomorrow. :sad: He's totally fine otherwise. He's still a tasmanian devil so I don't think there's anything serious going on other than he eats really horrible food thanks to his dr.
 
taking Wesley in tomorrow to the vet for an unexpected visit. I've noticed the last week that he's had some really yucky litter box situations and he's been drinking a ton. Nothing about his food has changed lately but I do think it's the crap Science Diet that he eats. Last summer my vet suggested he go on the diabetic low carb SD because he gained 2 pounds in a year. The first few weeks of being on it I noticed he was constipated a lot but that went away and was followed by what I'm guessing is the cat version of diarrhea. That lasted a few days and he's been fine since. But I still hate this food, always have, and don't know how to get him off of it. I'm not sure why I'm bringing him in because I don't think they're going to do anything for him other than suggest some other form of Science Diet. I've asked the past few years if there's a different brand my vet can suggest, but given that her whole lobby is covered in SD ads, she won't budge from it. I go there out of convenience as it's the closest place to my house so he has less time that he needs to be in the car. But I'm not going back there again if I leave tomorrow with a huge bill and nothing but a Science Diet prescription. It's $55 just to see the vet and they want a stool sample, which is another $40. :happy:

Anyways….I'm so sad my boy has a tummy ache and I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing by taking him to the vet tomorrow. :sad: He's totally fine otherwise. He's still a tasmanian devil so I don't think there's anything serious going on other than he eats really horrible food thanks to his dr.

:hug: If he is having digestive issues with weight loss, please pursue it until you have an answer, even if it means taking him to a different vet. Trust me on this.

One thing I can recommend is trying him on a hypoallergenic, grain-free, low ingredient diet. I'm not sure if the brands there are the same as in Canada, but Natural Balance makes one, and there are other brands you can try, as well. Go to a pet store and strike up a conversation with employees...some of them are extremely informed about conditions and the appropriate diet. After talking to them for a few minutes, you should be able to tell whether they know their stuff. But I would definitely say that the opinion of a different vet would help, if only to put your mind at ease.
 
The good news about our visit today is it's with a different dr. Still same office but at least someone else. I really do like the dr we have always seen but in terms of guiding me to the right food she hasn't done her job. He's had 2 more incidents this morning. I'm only giving him small amounts of dry at a time. The good news is he's really hungry and scarfing down whatever is in his bowl and then screaming for more. I don't want to give him too much until we see the dr in an hour. It's so cold out. :sad: I feel awful for taking him out in this weather.

update….

well upon cleaning his box out (cleaned it yesterday too) this morning I realized his 2nd time in the box this morning was just to go potty. He woke me up early this morning so I was there for the first one :barf: but the second time I was sleeping again and just heard him cleaning up in the box. He's a very vocal guy, likes me to know when he's gone no matter what, so I woke up to him talking in the bathroom and covering up his business. But thankfully he just had to pee. He just watched me empty his box (we're bringing the contents to the vet) and didn't go in there to check out what I did so hopefully he won't have to go again until we get home. He hasn't eaten wet food in almost 24 hours now so I'm really hoping that it's out of his system and this stops….and then I'm proven correct that it's this crappy wet food. Once I drop him off at home I'm going to run up to petsmart to return the rest of the cans he has and see if I can find someone to talk to about food.
 
:hug: If he is having digestive issues with weight loss, please pursue it until you have an answer, even if it means taking him to a different vet. Trust me on this.

One thing I can recommend is trying him on a hypoallergenic, grain-free, low ingredient diet. I'm not sure if the brands there are the same as in Canada, but Natural Balance makes one, and there are other brands you can try, as well. Go to a pet store and strike up a conversation with employees...some of them are extremely informed about conditions and the appropriate diet. After talking to them for a few minutes, you should be able to tell whether they know their stuff. But I would definitely say that the opinion of a different vet would help, if only to put your mind at ease.

He weighed 13 pounds last summer. I have been on a health kick for the past few months and have been losing weight myself so I decided to buy a scale in Dec. After about a week of obsessing each day about the numbers I decided it was better if I only weighed myself at the gym so I returned it. However, I was able to weigh Wesley while we had the scale and he still weighed 13 pounds. I weighed him alone on the scale and also held him and weighed us and it was always 13. So he's not even losing weight on this crap food and he refuses to eat it some days so it's just been a waste. I would have brought him to the vet a few months ago but it's just so damn cold where I live that I can't bring myself to take him out unless it's spring/summertime. But now we're going out today.

Thanks for the info about talking to someone at the pet store. I never thought to ask anyone there for help about food.
 
Meds and a bland diet for 5 days. It's a pill which he did not love so I crushed it in tuna juice and then got it down him with the syringe they gave me. He's always such a good boy at the vet but he did not like this man at all. I thought he was nice but Wesley was very scared of him. He loves the lady dr we always see and rubs his face all over her so I guess this means we need to just see women doctors. He had an accident I'm the carrier in the blanket in the car. The vet tech was overly excited to see a fresh sample :crack: The vet reassured me that since Wesley was able to recognize on his own that he needed more water that is a good thing and also that he's very interested in food. I have to give him boiled chicken or canned tuna with rice. Ok to give him small amounts of his dry but to keep him off of any wet for now. Of course since this office is bound to science diet shit food he also refuses to recommend anything different.
 
I'm so upset right now…he's just miserable. His box is downstairs but he likes to hang out on our main level where the fireplace is. He always goes back and forth between the fireplace and then under a cabinet that's on the side of the room. I think he goes under the cabinet to cool off. But he's just not feeling well. He's making little noises while he's trying to sleep and is very chatty while he's up. Then he runs to his box downstairs and goes. So far it's been 5 times today, plus the 2 I saw yesterday and then whatever else overnight that I don't know about. I'm super worried but he has one round of the meds in him. My sweet boy has never been sick like this :sad: He's drinking tons so at least he's getting liquid in him.
 
he's much better, for now. My last post was the last time he's been in his box today so that's very good news. He slept very soundly for a few hours straight without moving from his blanket. Once he got up he played like usual and then ran around like a crazy man. It was good to see him running around. Then he ate about a tablespoon of plain tuna. He has zero interest in the tuna and rice even though I mixed it with tuna juice or the boiled chicken. But he's very interested in food as he's currently by the door of the room where his food is kept and he's meowing like crazy to get my attention. But I really want him to eat this other stuff instead of the dry Blue Buffalo. The vet said it was ok to give him a tiny bit of that to calm him down if he's really screaming for it but I'd rather not.

After reading some reviews on science diet food, I'm totally convinced his issues are from this food. I'm livid that his doctors seem to deny it could be remotely possible and to continue on with this food. After Wesley is back to eating and going to the bathroom as normal I will never deal with this vet again. So damn mad that they are more concerned about their commission they get from selling SD than the well being of the animals they are treating.
 
Those are some great pictures of cats and their human siblings growing up together.

ARW, I hope Wesley is doing better.

he was….and now he's not and I'm incredibly worried. His vet was closed today so I called their emergency service and spoke to them. Without seeing him obviously they couldn't get him on meds. But, it's the same issue he had last weekend. The person on the phone said as long as he's active and drinking plenty of water to not bring him in and to wait to talk to his vet tomorrow. He kept me up all night last night and of course it would be the one rare Sunday that I had to work.

I think this round of tummy issues is because I switched his food on him cold turkey. The vet agreed with me last week that because he had 5 days of just tuna and chicken that he might not have any issues. And he really didn't. Between Weds and Fri everything was moving around fine. Then on Friday night I decided to try a different form of Blue Buffalo (Freedom vs the Wilderness he was one the previous few days). I don't know how cats stomachs work but I only gave him less than half of a 3 oz can on Friday night and he's had diarrhea every few hours since yesterday afternoon. Of course it hit him after the vet had closed. I've been feeding him tuna and rice again, which he's not happy about. In order for me to sleep tonight, and against my better judgement, I just gave him a bunch of his dry food because he was laying by the door where I keep his food just meowing like crazy. But now I don't know if this is from the 1/2 of the can of food from Friday or if there's something else going on all together.

This is not an issue I ever thought I'd have to deal with and it's really stressing me out. The emergency place today told me there wasn't anything I could buy that would help calm his stomach until tomorrow. She reassured me she wasn't just saying that so I rush him in for a visit there but told me that as awful as this is for him he'll be ok until tomorrow as long as he's not lethargic or as long as there's no blood. So….I'll leave work early tomorrow and hopefully they will be able to give me the meds without making me bring him in.
 
I hope you are all on the FB page 'Catspotting'. My whole FB, all day every day, is people posting pictures of cats they see out and about. It just took me half an hour round trip to go to the shops (normally 10 minutes) because I spotted two cats and had to play with them.
 
I hope Oreo & Boomer live that long. They are 7 years old this month. Any day now in fact ( i wish i knew the date so i could get them some catnip )( :| )


Mrs G. Are your cats strictly indoor cats? if so, their life spans will be a bit longer for obvious reasons.

Keto lived to be about 16. He was an outdoor cat for the first 6 years of his life. To the point where he would be roaming outside all night long and sometimes would come home in the morning a bit bloody after getting into fights with other cats or dogs.

The last 10 years or so he was mainly an indoor cat with daily supervised trips to the backyard only. But the damage from his earlier lifestyle was already done I suppose.
 
ARW, how's Wesley doing? the person you spoke with had a good point. As long as he's not lethargic and no blood in any bodily fluids, then he is fine to wait a day or so until his Vet comes back. If he's drinking water and peeing then that's a good sign, even when he's not eating food
 
ARW, how's Wesley doing? the person you spoke with had a good point. As long as he's not lethargic and no blood in any bodily fluids, then he is fine to wait a day or so until his Vet comes back. If he's drinking water and peeing then that's a good sign, even when he's not eating food

He's doing better, thanks for asking. He finished with his yucky bathroom trips on Sunday night so I felt a lot more relaxed about leaving him to go to work on Monday. He had a really good night sleep on Sunday night for the first time all weekend. I'm currently feeding him his usual dry plus a little extra throughout the day, 1/4 of new wet but not the stuff that gave him a tummy ache, and then mixing in some tuna and rice to help fill in. He didn't go at all yesterday and in fact, just recently used his box for the first time since Sunday. It wasn't totally normal but more normal than not.

I'm going to keep him on this diet for a few days and then start adding in more wet, if things stay good, and eventually get him off the tuna and rice. His little tummy was totally fine on this new food last week until I switched on Friday to a different version of Blue. So I'm hoping this Wilderness stuff works for him without issues. I'll just have to watch him this week and if anything happens again I'll call the vet. It was so stressful having him sick like that and couldn't take him in because it was Sunday. They're open til 8 pm during the week so I'm way more at ease right now and can be there in 10 minutes if I need to get him on meds again.
 
:angry: I spoke too soon….he just had a yucky trip to his box. It wasn't much but I'm worried there will be more tonight. I don't know if I should call the vet or not. I have no idea if this is now due to his new food.

I don't know what brought on the original bout of diarrhea 10 days ago but I really don't think it's from the dry food he's always eaten. I think it was from his old wet stuff.

Is this a common thing when food is switched? He barely had any yesterday, just 1/4 of a large can and then same amount today. Can that little amount cause him to have issues like this?

I have no idea what to do and I just don't feel comfortable with the vet he goes to. It's been made clear they only care about Science Diet. :sigh: I'm off on Friday. I really don't want to take him out of the house again while it's so cold out but if we have to go to the new clinic I want to try then that's what we'll do. If he continues to have discomfort tonight then I'll call his current vet to see if he needs to be on meds.
 
Mrs G. Are your cats strictly indoor cats? if so, their life spans will be a bit longer for obvious reasons.

Keto lived to be about 16. He was an outdoor cat for the first 6 years of his life. To the point where he would be roaming outside all night long and sometimes would come home in the morning a bit bloody after getting into fights with other cats or dogs.

The last 10 years or so he was mainly an indoor cat with daily supervised trips to the backyard only. But the damage from his earlier lifestyle was already done I suppose.

Yes they are strictly indoor cats. When they were younger i let them out a bit but quickly ceased that activity as i realized how much stuff they were getting into and how dangerous the outsider world was for them.

I think that brief experience when they were still kittens has stayed with them all of these years. Boomer still gets crazy if he sees another cat outside in his yard, even if he hasn't been outside in his yard for several years!
 
:angry: I spoke too soon….he just had a yucky trip to his box. It wasn't much but I'm worried there will be more tonight. I don't know if I should call the vet or not. I have no idea if this is now due to his new food.

I don't know what brought on the original bout of diarrhea 10 days ago but I really don't think it's from the dry food he's always eaten. I think it was from his old wet stuff.

Is this a common thing when food is switched? He barely had any yesterday, just 1/4 of a large can and then same amount today. Can that little amount cause him to have issues like this?

I have no idea what to do and I just don't feel comfortable with the vet he goes to. It's been made clear they only care about Science Diet. :sigh: I'm off on Friday. I really don't want to take him out of the house again while it's so cold out but if we have to go to the new clinic I want to try then that's what we'll do. If he continues to have discomfort tonight then I'll call his current vet to see if he needs to be on meds.


If you feel like his current vet is just pushing products then do take him to another doctor. get a second opinion. If you go to a new doctor, tell them up front exactly why you are thinking of switching doctors so they know to not do the same thing to you.

If you have friends or family who have pets, ask them about their vets. Sometimes a recommendation from somebody you trust goes a long way for your own peace of mind.

Have they done an x-ray on him yet? maybe just to check if there is something going on inside that might just be more than food related.

If you don't want to waste time with the whole switching doctor's thing, look up Veterinary Hospitals or Clinics near you and call them up to see if they will see him. These places are staffed just like hospitals for humans and have specialists for different ailments that animals can get. Of course these clinics are not cheap but they do provide specialized care.
 
I made an appointment on Friday to take him to a cat only clinic. The head vet has over 20 years of just treating cats. It's $75 just to get in the door, so $20 more than the old place. But it will give me peace of mind to have him seen by someone else. I'm going to take him even if he has no more issues. I need guidance from a professional on how to help my sweet boy so if I have to spend $75 then it's worth it to me to make sure he's ok and we are on the right track. I explained to the receptionist the science diet issue at the old vet and she said they will work with me on other options. So I feel better that we're going but stressed for Wesley because it's still 2 days away. I hope his little tummy can handle waiting. He's so active and playful unlike last week when this originally started so I really think this time he's just getting used to the new food.
 
Wesley seems to be better today. Still nothing normal in the box but it's only been 1 or 2 times today. He's definitely hungry today because he's been hanging around by his bowl and by the door where I keep his food. I'm giving him so much more dry than he normally gets but it's not enough food for him. I'm way too nervous to give him more than a little of the wet food so I'm still mixing in tuna and rice.
 
:reject: I think I'm going to cancel Wesley's appointment tomorrow. I thought for sure I'd take him no matter what just for a second opinion but now I think I just need to calm down about this whole situation. He seems to be much better. His box ok yesterday and then totally normal today. I think his issues last weekend was completely my fault by giving him a different type of Blue with more fruits and veggies in it. I'm going to continue to monitor his box and if it changes back to anything yucky then we'll go in next week. He is due for shots next month so I'd rather hold off unless anything changes. I did call the old vet to have his medical records faxed over to the new place and they deactivated his account. So he's all set up for the new place but hopefully next month when he needs a check up.

:crack: This has been such a stressful two weeks! I'm just glad my sweet little Wesley is doing better.
 
We went :reject: He's back on meds for a week then on a probiotic for a week and a completely new diet plan. I'm so happy I took him. I loved it there and I loved the dr we saw. She felt his belly and said he was very gassy and had "angry intestines" so another round of drugs is needed.
 
Back
Top Bottom