Age of a kitten

[DinaJean]

Newt, you may know this one.

Thomas the tomcat (aren't we original in naming him??) showed up at our doorstep beginning of April. Between now and then he has been to the vet with a gunshot wound and to get neutered. The vet THINKS he is around 5 or 6 months. But I wonder if he is a little younger? or is his behavior normal for that age. His behavior....he drools ALOT! Anytime I sit down on the porch, he climbs on my lap, kneads my belly, and curls up in a tight fetal position and makes happy noises, not just purring, but other noises I cant explain. Does this sound typical of a six month old kitten?? And he eats like a pig!!! He was tested for everything at the vet and he is perfectly healthy. I am used to a 12-year old cat who doesn eat nearly that much.*

And come winter, I dont really want to leave Thomas out at night, but even if I feed him and he has food left after he eats, he still goes down the hall and eats Patches food!!!! We live in a small trailer and cannot really close any doors because I dont want to lock anyone in a tiny room overnight...so any suggestions on keeping him out of her food would be great. Sometimes she sits in the hallway and wont let him past, but sometimes she is in the window and just sort of watches him with an appalled look on her face and does nothing!!

Thanks for any input .....Dina :)

[Newt]

I love your cat's name!* We have a toad outside our front door we named Tommy.* He's Tommy the toad!* Creative, eh?

Now back to Tommy's drooling and kneeding your tummy, including the sounds like suckling, purring, etc.* Sorry to say that is actually all normal behavior for some cats, and they even do it as adults.* :P* (I've always wanted to use that face.)* If a cat suddently starts drooling, and it's just the drooling, then I would suspect something else like a dental problem of some sort. Look for gum infection or broken or diseased tooth or teeth, something lodged in their throat or even poisoning. * You can do a google for 'cat drooling' for other possibilities.

As to the eating, it could be a growth spurt that is making him suddenly more hungry, some type of dominance issue between the cats or possible medical condition.* My female has a hyperactive thyroid that makes her want to eat all the time.* She eats and eats and barely holds her weight.* Lack of weight gain usually accompanies this condition.* We keep testing her blood to make sure she's getting the correct dosage of meds and the tests come back that she's ok.* Of course other possibilities of increased appetite could be some other disease.*

In Tommy's case, you say he will leave his food and go for Patches' food.* I'm sure that is a dominance thing.* Do watch that she is still healthy.* They can pick up on issues before we do, and if he spots a weakness he will take advantage of it.* I would close the door to the room where she eats while she is eating.* When she's finished I would remove the bowl and not let him have access to it.* With her getting older she may not need as much food as she used to.

If he is drinking more and losing weight along with eating more I would suspect diabetes or some other disorder of the liver, kidneys or adrenal glands.* If all blood tests are normal and you notice there is still a problem, go with your gut feeling.* Maybe look at the blood work and see where in the range of normal each value falls.* The problem might just be beginning and the high or low end of normal could mean something to look for.* If necessary, get a copy of the blood tests and start looking up normal ranges for each test on the computer.* I can help with this if you like.

I have a dalmation that was drinking excessive amounts of water and I immediately thought of diabetes.* Test after test showed that wasn't it.* It took some detective work on the part of my vet, but we discovered he has a rare condition of a cyst on his parathyroid gland.* The parathyroid is about the size of a lima bean!* Unfortunately he can't have the surgery to remove it because of heart failure.

You might want to hold on to this site for reference on problem behaviors in cats.
http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/behavior.shtml

If you still have questions, don't hesitate to ask.* I'm sooo glad you care so deeply about your pets!* :D*

Newt

[DinaJean]

Thomas the baby has not been feeling well for the last day and 1/2.* He has been sneezing and coughing. It is not a hairball cough, I know that sound well from all the rude awakenings in the middle of the night from my 12 year old "baby" Patches!!!* The cough sounds, gosh, how do I explain? I can only think he swalloed a bee, as they seem to hover when I feed him...the little creeps love wet catfood!!! He has been hanging around a bit more, but I also think, it has been 1 month since he got neutered and the vet said it would take that long for the testesteron (brain fart, how do you spell that???) to leave his system. So I dont think the lethargic thing is part of his not feeling well. He is still eating like a pig and purring. Always has had a runny nose, so that is no different. Does anyone have any clues as to what may be up?* Does he need a trip to the vet?* Here is a pix of him a few months ago, a love!!!!

[Newt]

Coughing and sneezing is never a good thing in cats and dogs.* It could be an upper respiratory infection and some antibiotics could clear it up.* With cats, if left untreated for too long, it can be difficult to clear up - been there, paid the vet bills for that!* Besides, you have another cat and you sure don't want a senior to catch anything.* If he does stop eating ,that is a really bad sign and needs to go to the vet immediately.

He's gorgeous too!* I'd say take him to the vet today.* Please let me know what you find out.

Newt

[DinaJean]

Hi Newt. I took Thomas to the vet. No fever. He does however have a upper respitory infection. The doc said it may be bacterial or viral, he was not sure. He gave me Clavamix that should last about a week, and take it from there. He was tested for leukemia prior and came up negative, they never did give him a vaccination though. The vet said after he is not feeling so bad, he would like to vaccinate him especially since he is an outdoor kitty.

Thomas is such a good cat, it was so hard for the vet to get a good listen to his lungs because he would not stop purring!!!

I will let you know next week when the Clavamix runs out and give you an update on how he is feeling.* Will watch him closely, as always anyway.

Will watch Patches, too, I sure hope she doesnt get sick. I did notice yesterday that one of her eyes was teary, hopefully I am not overanalyzing. Dang animals, I cant even imagine if I ever had kids!
Here is a pix of Patches. She is my love - she was Moms cat, Mom passed away last year, and I was unable to make it there in time. Patches has always liked me, kind of ornary to other people on occasion. She would not come out for anyone when Mom went into the hospital on Friday. Sunday morning when I walked into Moms apartment after she passed away, Patches came running right up to me. Talk about a tearjerker moment! But right then and there I made a promise to Mom and to Patches that I would take her and take care of her. Look at me, babbling again!

[DinaJean]

Oh yeah, when I took Thomas home, and gave him his meds, I noticed on his mouth two sores almost like the beginning of a coldsore looking thing. NOW I am really nervous. The vet did not see this, nor did I earlier. Gosh, I hope he doent have anything bad. Am I freaking out needlessly?

[Newt]

Thank you so much for getting back to me.* You brought tears to my eyes with your story of how Patches came to live with you.* I'm so very sorry for your loss.* I have a dog from an aunt of my husband that passed away.* She had been ill for a couple of years and a neice moved in to care for the aunt.* She put the dog out in the yard and neglected her health. No one in the family wanted the poor dog. When I took her she was near death.* She had an untreated thyroid condition that caused her to become so morbidly obese that she could barely walk and much of her fur had fallen out.* What was left was like wire.* She also had untreated diabetes that caused her to go blind.* My vet calls her the miracle dog.* She's lost 35 pounds and looks great now.* Here she is with my other 3 rescues.* She's the white husky.

As to the sores in Thomas's mouth, I would suggest you call the vet in the morning and let him/her know about them.* They may not be anything to be concerned about, but it should be noted in the records.* I'd say to check them daily as you give him the Clavamox to see if they get smaller or larger.* Isn't that stuff expensive?* It does work well though.* Also keep a close watch on Patches eyes.*

If you have any problems getting him to take the meds don't hesitate to write. I always get it in liquid form as my cats don't like pills.* I find that holding them by the scruff of the neck and inserting the oral syringe into the side of the mouth towards the back of the throat helps.* I've put a bit on my finger to taste it, and it's yukky.* I try and do this while they are eating a yummy canned food while there is still some left in the bowl.* That way the food will help get rid of the bad taste in their mouth.

Don't fret, you are doing great!* I'm going to send you a pm with my phone number in case you feel you need to talk with someone.* I really dont' mind helping with the animals.

Hugs,
Newt

[DinaJean]

The Clavamox is liquid, and how you explained to give it to him is exactly what I do. Before I feed him the yummy wet food, I hold him by the scruff of the neck and squirt the syringe in the corner of his mouth. So far he hasnt spit any back.* The bottle was only 16.00. The office visit 30.* The vet we have been taking him to is not open on weekends, they refer their clients to an emergency hospital in the area, so I will definitely call them on Monday and have them note the sores.

Thanks for the PM, its nice to know I can cry on someones shoulder if I need to. You are too sweet.

The husky loks very happy in that picture, as do all the others!*

[DinaJean]

While we are posting pictures, I wanted to post a picture of "Kukla". I named him that because it is a Russian word for "Doll" and he WAS a doll. I only had the honor of his presence for 6 months before he got sick and went to Kitty Heaven. He had leukemia. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and he was laying on my chest and just rubbing my face with his paw....Awwwww, so sweet. And he was so funny with the litter box, he always spent a good five minutes scraping his feet and shaking his feet before he got out....he was so clean!!!

Here is a picture of him... I miss him. He gave me so much joy in such a short time, I will always remember him and have a special place in my heart. Isn't he beautiful?

[Newt]

Wow, what a beautiful kitty!!* I had a cat like him that was so affectionate and acted more like a dog then a cat.* Her name was Squeeky and she would answer you with her squeek when you called her by name.* She'd come running and jump up in your lap if you tapped your leg.* She would watch the birds and squirrels at the feeder and never bother one of them.* I was fortunate to have her for 18 years before cancer called her to kitty heaven too.* Maybe she and Kukla are together now.

How is Thomas doing today?* I hope Patches eyes are ok.

Newt