Cat question

[ForeverAutumn]

I've learned that many of you have cats. As a new cat owner I have a question...

Our cat has been shedding like madness this past week, which I know is normal for this time of year. Last night he coughed up a furball. Which I also know is normal. He ate a little breakfast this morning and immediately threw it up. Then he threw up twice more after that. Are these aftershocks of vomit normal?

[markw]

God made cats cute as a survival thing. If they weren't so dang cute, we'd kill 'em. As you're probably discovering aout now, the cat does what it wants, when it wants, and where it wants.

I've had cats going back to 1971 and some just wolf down their food and redeposit it elsewhere shortly afterwards. You learn to hate that "hack hack hack" sound and just hope it's not on the carpet, but it usually is...

My current cat does this and it drives me ca-ra-zee, but there's not a heckuva lot you can do about it.

...just check your slippers in the morning before you slip into them,

[GMichael]

Hahahahaha... There are meds you can give kitty that help with the fur balls.

[Auricauricle]

Keep your cat groomed, FA. This is now shedding season, and taking a good brush and working at her from stem to stern regularly is good for your cat's coat and skin. Our cat Butterbean likes it very much and when she comes in evenings, after a hard day of laying about and trolling the local parking lot in search of critters, she jumps up on the sofa for her nightly grooming. As well, offer your cat petroleum jelly. As horrendous and bizarre as it sounds, PJ is quite edible and will actually help ease the passage of hair through without clogging her throat, etc. Just put a li'l dollop on one her paws and let her lick it off as she grooms. I wan't stop the hacking altogether, but it will help....

[ForeverAutumn]

Thanks for all the advice. As you predicted Mark, our carpet is his favourite spot to leave his barfy deposits. And if we try to put a piece of newspaper under him as he's throwing up, he'll just walk away and leave a trail on the carpet while we chase him down with the newspaper...so we gave up on that and we just leave him be. New floors later this month will mean less carpet in the house and easier cleanups.

He always gets groomed daily. For the last week, I've been grooming him about four times a day. I'm taking out enough fur to build a fully grown squirrel every day. He's a big cat so there's a lot of him to brush!

About a week and half ago I started giving him a hairball treatment. It's basically fish flavoured petroleum jelly and he LOVES it. I gave it to him for four days straight and now he gets it every other day. It's his favourite treat (who knew?!). Should I be giving it to him daily? Can a cat have too much of this stuff?

We had a cat when I was growing up. She had long hair and coughed up massive hairballs on a regular basis, but she never vomited food. The food thing is new to me. I didn't know if I should be concerned about the throwing up that isn't hair, but it sounds like this is pretty normal and we may just have to face the fact that we have adopted a barfy cat.

[markw]

My other cat that binged and barfed outgrew it after a few years. This one's going on four and so far doesn't show any signs of stopping. And yes, they do run away when you try to put paper under them. I think that's written somewhere in their contract.

FWIW, hairballs and barfing are two distinctly different and unrelated behaviours.

[Rich-n-Texas]

God made cats cute as a survival thing. If they weren't so dang cute, we'd kill 'em. As you're probably discovering aout now, the cat does what it wants, when it wants, and where it wants.

I've had cats going back to 1971 and some just wolf down their food and redeposit it elsewhere shortly afterwards. You learn to hate that "hack hack hack" sound and just hope it's not on the carpet, but it usually is...

My current cat does this and it drives me ca-ra-zee, but there's not a heckuva lot you can do about it.

...just check your slippers in the morning before you slip into them,

AMEN BROTHER!

Multiply that by 2!

[Auricauricle]

We have given "Bean" PJ about 3-4 scoops per week. No probs. Regular, generic stuff from the local apothecary might be less expensive....More mony for CDs, etc...

[3-LockBox]

meow


We have a kittykat, Max, and he does neat little things like leave dead animals, or at least the parts he doesn't like (usually the head and either liver or stomach, I can't tell which) on our doorstep. He also does the binge and purge thing which he leaves on our porch. He sheds like mad but he has so far spared us any hacking. Every cat I've ever had sheds like mad in the spring.

[Auricauricle]

Well, 3-Lock...how does it feel playing God-for-the-Day?

[3-LockBox]

uuuhhhh......what?

[Auricauricle]

Oh, come on, 3-L! Don't be modest! You know he's paying tribute to the litter-box god!

[Rich-n-Texas]

uuuhhhh......what?

He's a psych_nurse... on a different plane... know what I mean?

[3-LockBox]

oh...

[Auricauricle]

Yeah, tell everybody!

[GMichael]

And I thought that I was the strange one arround here.

[Auricauricle]

Just an old Fokker!

[Charlie04SiR]

heheh you guys are hilarious I have a kity cat too. His name is Tony the Tiger and his momma was a Blue seal point Siamese. He is such a sweetie and is 11 years old this year. He does the eat/barf thing too. I'm not sure what to think of it. He also does shed quite alot, not just in the spring but ALL the time. I heard that heavy sheding is common among older cats. A vetrinarian once told me too that cats lack the receptors that send the signals to their brain giving them the sense of an upset stomach or when they are ill. So in other words when they are ill or have an upset stomach, they can't feel it. I don't know if thats true or not. anyways we all love our adorable little kittys, right?

[ForeverAutumn]

Nice to have another cat lover around here!

I just thought that I'd provide a little update on my kitty's barfing escapades. I've been giving him the hairball remedy every other day. And I've also been feeding him cat toothpaste. The toothpaste was recommended by the vet because he has some dental issues and gingivitis. He won't let me brush his teeth (Hubby thinks its hilarious that I even tried!) but the vet said that even just letting him lick it off my finger or the toothbrush will help with the bacteria in his mouth. It's seafood flavoured and he LOVES it!!!

He hasn't thrown up since I started this thread a couple of weeks ago. This is the longest stretch that he's ever gone without vomiting. So either the hairball stuff is doing it's job or the bacteria fighting stuff in the toothpaste is also helping with the bacteria in his body.

In addition to not vomiting, he has more energy and is much more active. So something was going on with him that the hairball stuff and/or the toothpaste is helping.

I know that he'll be barfing on the carpet again eventually, but I'm happy with less frequency. Those of you with barfy cats may want to try the hairball or toothpaste remedy. Its seems to be making a big difference for our cat. So far so good.

[Groundbeef]

You might want to also cut back your cat's intake of Bourbon. That tends to upset their stomachs as well.

[GMichael]

Nice to have another cat lover around here!

I just thought that I'd provide a little update on my kitty's barfing escapades. I've been giving him the hairball remedy every other day. And I've also been feeding him cat toothpaste. The toothpaste was recommended by the vet because he has some dental issues and gingivitis. He won't let me brush his teeth (Hubby thinks its hilarious that I even tried!) but the vet said that even just letting him lick it off my finger or the toothbrush will help with the bacteria in his mouth. It's seafood flavoured and he LOVES it!!!

He hasn't thrown up since I started this thread a couple of weeks ago. This is the longest stretch that he's ever gone without vomiting. So either the hairball stuff is doing it's job or the bacteria fighting stuff in the toothpaste is also helping with the bacteria in his body.

In addition to not vomiting, he has more energy and is much more active. So something was going on with him that the hairball stuff and/or the toothpaste is helping.

I know that he'll be barfing on the carpet again eventually, but I'm happy with less frequency. Those of you with barfy cats may want to try the hairball or toothpaste remedy. Its seems to be making a big difference for our cat. So far so good.

You tried to brush your cats teeth? I'm with hubby on this one. Buwahahahahahahahahaha.....
Fish flavored toothpaste?! That's just wrong.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Actually, I bought a toothbrushing kit for my two some time ago but I can't get my cats to sit still long enough, let alone get them to open their mouth.

I'm going to talk to my vet about the toothpaste supplement and see what he says. I wonder if there's a chicken flavored...

[ForeverAutumn]

Actually, I bought a toothbrushing kit for my two some time ago but I can't get my cats to sit still long enough, let alone get them to open their mouth.

I'm going to talk to my vet about the toothpaste supplement and see what he says. I wonder if there's a chicken flavored...

Yes, there is chicken flavour. The vet gave me a sample but Brandy didn't like it and would run from me whenever I went near him with it. I bought the seafood to try it and he loves it! The problem that I have with brushing is that he's so busy trying to lick the toothbrush to get to the toothpaste that I can't get his tongue out of the way to get to the teeth.

To the skeptics, I realize that it seems silly to brush a cat's teeth, but its a lot cheaper than having to have vet clean them when his gums get infected.

[GMichael]

Yes, there is chicken flavour. The vet gave me a sample but Brandy didn't like it and would run from me whenever I went near him with it. I bought the seafood to try it and he loves it! The problem that I have with brushing is that he's so busy trying to lick the toothbrush to get to the toothpaste that I can't get his tongue out of the way to get to the teeth.

To the skeptics, I realize that it seems silly to brush a cat's teeth, but its a lot cheaper than having to have vet clean them when his gums get infected.

Skeptics? I know that I haven't been around much lately, but .....

[Rich-n-Texas]

Skeptics? I know that I haven't been around much lately, but .....

I know you haven't been around much lately. Why is that? Kex wasn't around much for a month either. Why is that. Sir T isn't around AT ALL anymore. Why is that?

I was flattered that people missed me, but why wasn't that same attention given to the above? This place has been so frickin' dead lately it's annoying.

Back to the matter at hand...

To the skeptics, I realize that it seems silly to brush a cat's teeth, but its a lot cheaper than having to have vet clean them when his gums get infected.

Amen sister! When the vet brushes my cats teeth, it means putting them under, which opens up a world of hurt on my wallet!