Catiquette

[Withnail]

As regular readers may be aware, i have recently (and reluctantly) become the Manager PA of a cat-beast.

It has become apparent, over the years, that there are many other forumites who are in the same bind - so it occurred to me that this might be a fruitful avenue to pursue questions of a 'cat-beast assistant' nature. I have resorted to opening a dedicated thread for this purpose and here it is...

So...

The cat-beast with which i am affiliated has spent the last *thinks* 3-4 days with dodgy guts - looseness of stools and evident - miaowing of a most unusual, indeed disturbing, pitch - discomfort.

He seems to have interludes of normalcy within the overall picture of iffy-gut-ness, so my question is - at what point is this a 'take the fecker to the vets' type scenario, as opposed to a 'ah he'll be fine just let him get over it' kind of thing?

Advice would be most appreciated...

 

[littleme]

Ooeerr probably take him to the vets...

Is he meowing all the time or just when he's errr using the litter tray?
Is he an indoor cat...could he of eaten something outside/inside that's upset his tummy?
Have you changed his food since you acquired him?
Has he been wormed lately?
Lots of things can effect their tummys...

If the meowing sounds like he's in pain then I would defiantly take him to the vets

 

[Withnail]

Just when he's about to 'go'.
Indoors at the moment, though the stupid animal will eat things off the floor.
No.
Yes - about two weeks ago.

The meowing sounded like it was because of pain but he hasn't been doing it so much of late. His last stool was back to normal but as i said the runs have been off and on for the last day or two.

 

[littleme]

We have two cats, they are very stupid and will eat just about anything including anything they can retrieve out of the bin.
Maybe he's just found something that hasn't agreed with him, I'm no cat expert but I would say to watch him closely, make sure he's eating & drinking properly & if he's in pain for more than a couple of days then take him to the vet...


....ahh & don't give him cows milk, it gives them the runs!

 

[Vault_girl]

I would concur with the vets trip advice. Esp if he is making a fuss when about to go (although he may sound in pain it may be more of a "I'm feeling rather uncomfortable and I'm a bit scared I'm about to make a mess" noise rather than pain - but then he may well be in pain - it can be hard to tell!) making a fuss is a good indication of something being wrong - a lot of the time they will try to hide any issues because it's a sign of weakness. One of my cat-beasts once seemed a bit off for a few days - all he wanted to do was sleep quietly in the spare room unlike his normal off adventuring/hanging out with his PA self. At first I thought he was just in a grump but when it continued, I took him to the vets to discover he was a very poorly beasty with a very high temp. So the fact that your beast seems to be airing his discomfort I'd say time to get a vet to take a look!

also - word of warning which I was unaware of until one of my other beasts was ill - they have "glands" around the bum area which can fill with... goop (is the least disgusting thing I can think of) and if they do it can cause them to have issues "go-ing". My beasty ended up pooping blood! but was all sorted by the vets pretty quickly and easily... you don't really want to know how!

Hope he is on the mend soon!

 

[Withnail]

*cat-beast update*

Well today he has been fine - firm stool, meowing only when wanting fodder (+ the odd smoove), tear arsing around like a lunatic, that sort of thing.

Thanx for the replies, good people of the forum, much appreciated.

 

[Jonah]

I will just say that whatever goes into the cat via its mouth will eventually come out the other end. So it you put rubbish food in it's bowl, you are going to get a horrible mess out .

'Wet' cat food is essentially full of water and so buy a decent quality dried food, leave plenty of water down for him to drink and he should be fine.

 

[littleme]

*cat-beast update*

Well today he has been fine - firm stool, meowing only when wanting fodder (+ the odd smoove), tear arsing around like a lunatic, that sort of thing.

Thanx for the replies, good people of the forum, much appreciated.

Ahh glad he's better

 

[staffordjas]

Good to hear he is better

 

[Withnail]

Hello again.

So yesterday the beast was made fit for a life in the great outdoors ( chip in, knackers out) and the time arrives to give the chap the right to roam.

How does one approach this milestone? Do you just kick him out and hope he comes back? Is there any way you can maximise the chances of the return of the cat beast? Am i worrying unnecessarily? What do you do if the fecker disappears?

All of those sort of things...

 

[United57]

Hello again.

So yesterday the beast was made fit for a life in the great outdoors ( chip in, knackers out) and the time arrives to give the chap the right to roam.

How does one approach this milestone? Do you just kick him out and hope he comes back? Is there any way you can maximise the chances of the return of the cat beast? Am i worrying unnecessarily? What do you do if the fecker disappears?

All of those sort of things...

Gradually go out with him at first. Few minutes then extend it. Generally they don't roam too far initially.

One of mine disappeared for 5 days once came back looked like he had been in Magaluf for a week.

He then went on walk abouts. He was found at the hospital we live off Newport Road? He either got the bus or climbed in a car. We have a number of people who work at the hospital who live nearby!

 

[Withnail]

I had a thought earlier to wait until he was proper hungry, let him out for a bit, then make food-like rattly noises to entice him back in.

Then i thought *what if he then finds some sort of alternative food source* and thinks *i'm not going back there, the barstards don't feed me*, sort of thing.

Gradually go out with him at first. Few minutes then extend it. Generally they don't roam too far initially.

Will try, thanks - when you say 'generally' one can only assume that this is not a definite given - what do you do if they do roam too far initially?

 

[United57]

I caught one of mine running across the lawn with a slice of toast in his mouth. It was still warm and the butter was melting. Cats will find other sources of food. Will probably use your neighbours garden as a toilet

 

[John Marwood]

Buy a cat lead and take it for a walk pointing out hazards and pelican crossings.

Also, you can fit a head cam on it to see if it has been cheating on you

 

[littleme]

I caught one of mine running across the lawn with a slice of toast in his mouth. It was still warm and the butter was melting.

One of mine also brings home toast.....I found 6 slices one morning, he also brings back sausages (raw & still in the bag) & cheeseburgers (from the catboot sale) & bags of chips!

The old wives tale is to put peanut butter on their paws before you let them out the first time....but the letting him out before you feed him sounds a good idea....

 

[Gadget]

Alternatively have a house cat. Neither of my two moggy's go out. No fear of them terrorizing either the local wildlife or residents, no irate neighbours with poop in their garden or fear of loss of said moggy. Also there are some evil cat hating bastards about.
Plenty of environment enrichment inside and a slight dietary adjustment and your new puss would be quite happy.

 

[henryscat]

Alternatively have a house cat. Neither of my two moggy's go out. No fear of them terrorizing either the local wildlife or residents, no irate neighbours with poop in their garden or fear of loss of said moggy. Also there are some evil cat hating bastards about.
Plenty of environment enrichment inside and a slight dietary adjustment and your new puss would be quite happy.

Agree... It is a difficult one to weigh up but in urban areas especially there are far too many hazards and in my view indoors is the better option (or build a run/ cat proof the garden)

 

[littleme]

Also it can be a good idea to keep them in over Halloween & Bonfire night....

 

[United57]

House cats. Its a prison sentence. Let them out its what they do.

 

[Withnail]

... in my view indoors is the better option...

Are you, of all people, seriously suggesting i should imprison the beast!

I am shocked, horrified and a little bit hungry. Anyway it's too late now...