| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| blueroses |
Posted - Nov 29 2006 : 10:06:35 AM
 Hi All,
About a month ago, my 10 yr old cat, Hobbes, had a very swollen left side of his face. It was so bad I had to take him to the vet. I figured he had either gotten in a fight and had an infection, or his gums were going bad. It turned out he had a badly infected bite or scratch. After soaking 2x per day and meds 2x per day he was back to normal. $125.00.
This past Saturday I began to notice that the other side of his face was starting to swell. I kept applying hot packs but on Monday morning I called for another appointment. I picked him up last night ($165) and he has a drain in his face and the vet showed me where he had several scratches.
Now I'm starting to think that Junior, the kitty I found and adopted last October (2005) is doing this to him. He always jumps Hobbes and Hobbes tries to steer clear of him.
My problem is (well two problems - cuz I can't keep spending this kind of money) that I don't know what to do. I can't get rid of Junior. He's been a part of our home for over a year and he's basically a very good boy except for harrassing Hobbes. I'm trying to use behavior modification by using my water spray bottle on "stun" (any trekkies?) whenever he shows hostile behaviour. I work all day though.
Do any of you have any suggestions please? This may seem silly but I'm really upset about it. Thank you.
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| blueroses |
Posted - Dec 11 2006 : 1:12:51 PM
Laura,
Hobbes is feeling better. I do try to keep them separated when I'm not home and it seems to help. They both stay in during the day and night (especially now that it's cold) but go out to poop. I do have litter boxes too, just in case. Hobbes needs more loving than usual now and I try to accomodate him, but it's really hard to fold clothes, etc. with a ten pound cat wrapped around your neck! Junior all of a sudden is a lot more lovey dovey too. Cats are crazy, but I guess that's why we love them. Thanks to you and Jamie for your thoughts.
Debbie
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
| CountryGirl85 |
Posted - Dec 11 2006 : 12:16:07 PM
Hi Debbie! Believe me, I feel for you! My cats (well, they live at my parents' house where I moved from recently, but I still refer to them as my cats) are a wacky bunch! Unfortunately, nine cats together in one house don't always make friends with each other. I had something similar happen with Patches, the baby of the feline family. When we first brought her home, the other cats were fine with her. The problems didn't begin until after she was spayed. She stayed in my basement room after her surgery and after she recovered, Taylor turned Mr. Hyde and started attacking Patches. And this wasn't just play-fighting, this was all-out darting down the stairs attacking. She never did serious damage to Patches, but did leave her with scratches by her eyes and scared the poor thing half to death, literally scaring the poop out of her. Since getting rid of any of our babies was not an option, Patches stayed in the basement. We still have to be very careful because Taylor stalks the basement door and will sneak past you. The past few times she's gotten down there haven't been bad, but I doubt they'll ever get along well enough to be allowed in the same room together. I think that Taylor is extremely jealous of Patches being down there. Taylor used to sleep with me every night and one night to my utter shock, had a seizure. They didn't happen often, but when they did, it was always in my bed, so I took care of her. Maybe she felt like it was a safe place and when Patches moved down there, her safety was threatened. I wish I had better advice to give, but after all these years, it seems I still need some myself! Just keep them separated when you're not there and observe their behavior when you are. It's so hard to know exactly what to do with animals because they can't tell you in words what happened or what's wrong. I wish the best for you and your furry family and hope Hobbes is feeling better!
Love and hugs,
Laura
http://thecraftycatgirl.blogspot.com
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." Anne Frank |
| GRITSgal |
Posted - Dec 08 2006 : 05:37:00 AM
awww, your cat sounds old to me (10 yrs) maybe he can retire from farming to be house cat, you can keep him inside and he can go potty outside when he s ready. I did that w/ my cats. they go out to potty then right back in the house fast! ha ha
Vet bills are silly I agree, you can call all vets for estimate for their shots cost and etc. I did that when I first moved here. I found an affordable vet and bring all of my pets there. it saves money! |
| blueroses |
Posted - Dec 05 2006 : 11:03:41 AM
Thank you all for your suggestions. I am going to clip both their nails tonight. I did buy the Comfort Zone w/Felinet and it was pricey but I'm hoping it will calm Junior down. When we leave for work, I've been putting Hobbes a bedroom with water and litter. I don't think Junior means to hurt him. I saw these toenail covers for cats, but I'm pretty sure no cat of mine is gonna sit still and let me put toenail covers on!!!
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
| bramble |
Posted - Dec 03 2006 : 5:55:21 PM
I think you are right to keep them apart for the time being until you can really observe what is going on. My grandparents always had cats and when an orange striped tabby showed up at about 6 weeks old they just added him to the pack. As he matured something went wrong and he bit another very sweet cats tail completely off! Just bizarre!
Better to know who you are dealing with if possible by watching them together when you can. Good luck, not an easy problem for sure!
with a happy heart |
| asnedecor |
Posted - Dec 03 2006 : 3:40:18 PM
Debbie -
You might want to clip junior's claws. We have siblings - male and female - that fight all the time. Though they don't use their claws much, at times they get a bit over zealous. We have to clip their claws to keep them from getting ingrown toe nails (they are six toe kitties), when they use the clipped claws to play they can't scratch as hard. It might help.
Anne in Portland
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - Dec 01 2006 : 07:00:55 AM
I know, right? He's my "special" child...Professor Pumpkin--a large orange tabby, who is a little slow mentally. Anyhoo, he fell off the refrigerator (warm up there to sleep) and landed wrong on the hard floor and broke his toe. Apparently, their toes are multi jointed, so in order to set it, he had a whole leg cast on his left leg for 3 solid months. They put a purple cast on, just like kids.. We all "signed" it (the dogs and other cats). We have hardwood floors and he sounded like a peg-legged pirate walking around at night. After a while, he got smart and started using it as a weapon, when Jack Sprat would start a fight, he would just WONK him with his cast--one blow did it, and Jack would leave him alone :)
But, yes, $600 for a purple cast.
Just think of all of the roads there are...all of the things I haven't seen....yet. |
| blueroses |
Posted - Nov 30 2006 : 4:41:50 PM
Jonni,
$600 for a broken cat toe??? Wow. I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time, but.....
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
| blueroses |
Posted - Nov 30 2006 : 4:40:32 PM
Jonni,
I'll check out the Feliway. We have Petco, not Petsmart, but if they don't have it, I'll buy it online. Both cats are neutered but I think you're right about Junior being very dominant. He really is a sweetie most of the time. Lies on his back and lets us pet his tummy. Tolerates the dog.
Kathy,
It's good to "hear" your voice. How are you? I will take your advice about the vet. We have a couple of different ones in the practice, but I'm gonna bring cookies for the holidays and work them.
Erin,
You're right - it may not be Junior - but after the dog gets his shots next week, I'll make an appt for bloodwork for Junior.
Thank you all so much. I felt terrible for two days now. Hobbes is in the bedroom with food, water and litter while we are at work for the past few days. I know I worry so much about them, but I love all my furry family members. Thanks!!!
Debbie
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
| Bluewrenn |
Posted - Nov 29 2006 : 9:28:55 PM
It's possible that its not your cat after all. We had a stray male hanging around for a bit when we first moved here and every time he attacked one of our kitties, they got an absess. I got pretty good at cleaning and caring for these... We thought at first it was one of our own cats but once he disappeared, so did the infections. In our case, I think the male had septic blood or something nasty. I don't know what ever happened to him, but we made sure our 8 cats had their shots and that everyone of the kitties was spayed/neutered.
I guess my point is, if this continues, take Junior in for a blood test to make sure he isn't carrying something nasty. And chase away any strays that might be fighting with your guys.
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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| EnchantedWoodsGirl |
Posted - Nov 29 2006 : 3:50:43 PM
Vet care is so expensive - I know, I have so many animals. If they are unneutered cats, definately get them neutered, it will cut down on territorial behavior.
Get to be friends with your vet - if you notice something that appears to be an abscess, call the vet and get some Amoxi drops or Clavamox drops and try to nip it in the bud before it becomes an all out infection.
The drain deal is fun huh? I had a cat come home from the hospital look directly at me and pull the drain out - needed it reinserted, more $$ - compresses help - I have seen feral cats heal on their own. Can you believe I actually had a cat with an ear hematoma? It looked dreadful but cleared up on its own, he now has a cauliflower ear.
Good luck with your kitties!
Kathy of the Enchanted Wood
http://enchantedwoodmusings.blogspot.com/
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| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - Nov 29 2006 : 11:48:41 AM
Hey there, Blueroses. I have two adult male toms, and though they have never had the best relationship, they don't hurt each other, though they do fight (usually with ears pinned back, eyes closed, and go at it with paws flying), but with eyes closed they don't even get close to batting one another!!
I commend you for your commitment to Junior--we don't take pets on to get rid of them when they become inconvenient, or have issues.
What I'm thinking is that Junior is obviously a very dominant male, and may need some pheromone sprays or even a boundary spray. Don't know if you have Petsmarts near you, but they have this great product called Feliway, and while it's pricey, it calms down cats, and makes them less likely to act on their nature, which can be anything from reactionary biting to marking/spraying furniture. I think you can order it online, too. Indoor boundary sprays, too.
You could separate them during the day for a while--I know it's not nice, but if you can put one in a bedroom or laundry room with food, toys and litter, then you can better observe the behavior when you're home.
My cats are silly expensive, too. One fell out of a tree last year and broke his toe $600.00; Jack, my bobtail, got bit leaving a fight with another cat, right in the butt and $450 and a shaved rear end later, he's better. They don't go outside anymore. Our other female is allergic to the world and is on million dollar cat food.
I hope that this has been somewhat helpful...I would really look into the feliway and separation for a bit.
J
Just think of all of the roads there are...all of the things I haven't seen....yet. |
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