OT: Cat not feeling well

iF SHE'S COUGHING AND CHOKING BUT NOT BEING SICK, SHE PROBABLY HAS FUR BALLS. tRY GIVING HER AN OVER THE COUNTER TREATMENT: WE USE kATELAX, BUT i DON'T KNOW WHAT BRANDS YOU HAVE AVAILABLE. (Damn! Sorry about that! I'm also too lazy to retype it!) Katelax is like Bovril flavoured Vaseline. Greases the hairballs and helps them through!

How many snipped threads or other loose threads are about? If there is a possibility that she could have ingested some thread it is possible that the thread has become entangled with part of her digestive system and will neither go through nor up and out, and has the possibility also of cutting part of it or cutting off circulation to part, and the death of the cat can result. This is similar the very real fear with tinsel.

I err on the side of paranoia. I'd take her in.

You may want to try the hairball stuff, but if it doesn't improve in another 24h or if she does start gettiing listless at all, take her in.

-georg (caveats about not being a vet or a professional here)

Possible problems - fur balls, a small bone or a scratch from one in the throat, even alergies.

If the cat is not eating OR DRINKING (drinking probably being the more important) don't wait too long before seeing a vet. Cats can dehydrate fast when ill!

Oh Maria, that's a toughie. You could google cat not eating and get tons of answers but IMHO, having been a vet's office manager for several years, you probably need to take her someplace. Finding another family doctor is not easy. I'm tryin' to think who you could call....I don't know if local humane societies recommend vets (probably not)--your best bet would be what you're thinking, to ask friends who have pets. I suppose another route would be to take her to an emergency vet clinic, if you're in a town that has one, much like some people just go to the "doc in a box" clinics instead of to a family doctor. That way maybe you could get the immediate problem solved. Maybe. Maybe not if it doesn't constitute an emergency. You're not near a university with a vet school, are you?

Thanks for all the advise. We got some hairball remedy but we also got a vet appointment for this afternoon. I am feeling just as sick as the cat now. Please send some good vibes our way, I am very scared, the last time I took a cat to the vet (to have his teeth cleaned) I did not bring him back.

Hugs,

Maria

Good luck! I am hoping it's something harmless and she'll be fine.

-georg

I wouldn't wait for the furball to make its appearance. Cats system are pretty delicate and if she is not eating or drinking, she could get into trouble fast. Maybe a neighbor can recommend a vet and you can take her in.

I hope she feels better soon, Linda in Tx

My first thing is houseplants??

I also want to warn all of us quilters...."thread" . I had my frirst cat years ago get into my sewing box and eat thread. She did the same...couldn't eat...throw up...the thread had wrapped around her intestines. This was found out from an exploratory operation. I am so CAREFUL with my cats now. Some cats will want to go after yarn or thread...some won't....don't leave any room to take chances. My Sandy lived to 16 years old but I saved her life by taking her to the vet. I thought it was a hairball at first. Hugs, Pami

Just an aside, FYI - for those like me who tend to be short on funds for hefty vet bills......

We've used all that fancy (and expensive) hairball remedy stuff, and it worked...

but we've also used the old fashioned method of just smearing a dab of butter on Tinkerbell's nose, watching her enjoy licking it off - and then cleaning up afterwards when the grease in the butter has loosened the hairball and she hacks it up!

Works like a charm for us and is much less expensive!

Hugs, Tina

YOu can get a tube of the stuff at Walmart for almost nothing (under $3). It goes through the other end and into the litter box so you don't have to deal with a hairball. If you give it to them regular you it seems to really help. Butter would be handy though since we use so little it usually goes bad before we use a package up.

How did I end up at the only vet in the area that does acupuncture? When the vet said Georgia might need that I knew we were gonna be eating beans for a good while. Thankfully she didn't need it.

So nice to see you here T> Just an aside, FYI - for those like me who tend to be short on funds

Oil works too. A tin of sardines in oil for dinner from time to time is all that's needed. My cats don't eat the sardines, they just drink the oil!

Boof eats mostly IAMS dry food, and won't touch fish at all. But he will drink oil drained off sardines!!? Go figure!

We have sardine races in my house! But I get the sardines in Water and not oil. Hrm. I'll have to try the oil. Tom doesn't like the hairball treatment.

How to have a sardine race- equal portions on enough plates so that every cat gets their own (so that's 3 plates, because Pepe tends to projectile the sardines so he doesn't get any). Sassy and Spider and Tom run as soon as they smell what's in the tin. Plates hit the floor at the same time. Usually Sassy or Spider will give up early- and usually that's Sassy fat cat. Then Spider and Tom race to clean their plate to take over the abandoned plate. Game is over when Dog finally muscles up the nerve to shove the cats out of the way and polish them off (or they move off on their own).

-georg

Cats can go downhill very quickly. I know it isn't always easy, but it's safer to take a cat in to see a vet before a major problem. Better to be overly cautious than grieving.

I am wondering if your cat maybe swallowed some string? That would need a vet's attention. Michele

I had the cat for as long as I have been quilting and she never ate thread. She likes to lick plastic but does not eat it either and she loves tearing up batting, I checked, noting missing from the last piece she got into. She is feeling much better now and the vet bill was not all that bad. I was wondering if her not feeling well could also have been caused by her getting spooked during a really bad thunderstorm. We got plenty of hairball remedy now, she is eating again and has not thrown up for a while. I still keep watching her and worrying that it could be something worse after all, but that's just me.

Hugs,

Maria