Conference misery::feline_v1

    I would take her back to the vet - QUICKLY!
    
    
    
    Lisa plus P&P
    
    

    Our cat, Autumn, became very bloated just recently, it turned out to
    be a bladder infection.  Just a possibility.  You should get back to
    the vet as soon as you can.  Good luck.
    

    May also be a bad case of worms.  I agree with the others....To the
    Vet, to the vet, to the vet vet vet...
    
    cin
    

    Is it bright red blood or dark red blood?  If's it bright red, and
    she still has the "trots" I would say she has a bad case of worms.
    One round of medication doesn't always do it for everybody.  Belle
    had to be wormed twice - they were very stubborn worms!  If it's
    dark red blood, it may be internal bleeding.  In either event,
    the advice of the previous notes is quite valid - off to the vet
    again!
    
    Mary-Michael

I've added the keyword BLOATING to this note.  I think "illness" is
way too generic to be useful, but I'm willing to listen to counter-
arguments (but please take them to the KEYWORD note so we keep this
note on the topic).

Pam

    Another possibility could be fluid in her abdominal cavity.  That
    is not good.  I agree, to the vet, to the vet, to the vet, vet,
    vet.
    
    Jo

    Thanks for the replies - I'm taking her to the Vet this weekend (but a
    different one this time as we're back home now) and I'll see what he
    says.
    
    I was wondering if it might be to do with Sophie's milk-drinking (see
    note 2999.11 - the symptoms described here seem to fit).
    
    Both Henrietta and Sophie love their milk.  I've even tried only giving
    them water as I have also heard that it's not good for them to have
    milk - but they didn't drink for the whole time until I gave them
    milk again.
    
    Ruthie

    My two don't drink water much if at all. I never give them milk in case it
    upsets their stomachs. They get enough moisture from their food - I 
    NEVER give them dry food. My vet says it is bad for neutered toms.
    
    Lisa plus Percy and Pookie.
    
    

    The milk might have been the cause of the diarrhea.  But, I don't
    think giving them milk would cause the bloated stomach that you
    describe.  
    
    Jo

    I agree with Jo, but the milk could give them a good case of gas.  
    
    ALWAYS leave water available for the cats....even though they may
    appear not to drink it, you may be surprised.  Also, separating the
    water and food dishes seems to be helpful.  My cats do not want their
    water in the same place as the food.
    
    cin
    

    I agree with Cin. My Mocha never drank water from the water dish
    (another give it to me fresh out of the faucet or not at all one)
    but moved the water dish, and it WORKED !!!!!! Mocha will still
    jump up on the counter top in the bathroom for a drink but I
    actually do see him drink from the water dish.
    
    Don't give up just keep moving that water dish around.
    
    Barbara 
    
    

I also think a visit to the vet is indicated...and a thorough workup if
the problem is not readily diagnosed.  Any of the possible diseases
listed here can lead to organ/system failure if not treated ASAP.

Re:  feeding milk.  They may like it, but it really is bad and can be
a gradually worsening reaction, much like a food allergy in humans,
in which no or little adverse response is seen for a long time and then
suddenly the animal is REALLY sick.  If a cat is thirsty and fresh
water is available (not near feeding place - seems to be instinctive
behavior according to my vet) the cat will drink water.  Milk is not
a good substitute for water anyway as it is a "food" and is processed
as a food in the system - takes longer to get to the kidneys and
perform the "flushing" effect needed for optimum health.

Good luck with your little one.

    
    	I am glad you are making a trip to the vet. You may
    	want to query him about the milk drinking. I give it
    	once in a while to Catnippy just as a little treat
    	(canned evap milk) but that's a special treat. Once
    	in a great while, a teaspoon of ice cream (hot summer day).
    	Generally, she gets Pro Plan to feed on during the
    	day or IAMS during the day and then a little bit of
    	canned food at night. Good luck at the vet!
    
    					kim and the nipper

    I'm glad you're going to a different vet.  When I first adopted Sweetie,
    I took him to the all hours emergency clinic because he had diarrhea
    and that's what the vet there treated him for.  The next morning he was
    crying in pain and I whisked him off to the regular vet, who diagnosed
    a severe blockage (which the previous night's treatment had made worse).
    In Sweetie's case it was due to being hit by a car
    (probably) and having his pelvis heal compressed because he got no
    medical treatment.  He could have died if the idiot first vet had
    continued to "care" for him.  (A blockage can cause something called
    mega-colon).  Please let us know how Sophie does;  our thoughts are
    with you both.
    
                                                 

    Thanks so much for all your suggestions and support.  Here's what has
    happened:
    
    I took Sophie to the Vet first thing on Saturday (our own vet this
    time).  I was very concerned because the drops of blood were becoming
    more and more common, although she still did not have any diarrhea.
    
    The vet quizzed me on what I was feeding her, and as soon as I said
    "Milk", I tell you he practically lept at my throat!!  He explained it
    thus:
    
    Cows milk is not at all a natural food for cats.  They do not get anything
    like it in the wild and their system's generally are not equipped to
    deal with it.  What Sophie was going through was a reaction against the
    milk, she was very gassy and was having tremendous problems digesting
    it.
    
    But - I said - when I don't give them milk they don't drink the water. 
    The vet said that cats are not very thirsty animals on the whole and
    they do not need to drink that much.  The reason they drink lots of
    milk is simply because they like it - they don't need that amount of
    liquid, and as one noter has already pointed out, their bodies don't
    treat it as a drink - they treat it as food.
    
    He told me *never* to give either of the cats milk, and he gave me some
    tablets.  He said he would be very surprised if that didn't clear the
    problem within 2 weeks.
    
    Well Sophies had the pills for 2 days now and has had no milk.  There's
    no blood anymore and the swelling has gone down *slightly*.  I'll let
    you know if these good signs continue. 
    
    I am glad it isn't a difficult problem to cure, but think that the
    first vet should have asked me if I was giving milk, since this seems
    to be a common problem.
    
    Once again thanks for all the help which has turned out to be quite
    accurate.
    
    Ruthie, Sophie and Henrietta

    Good news! Glad to hear that she's on the mend! Keep us posted.
    
    
    Lisa plus P&P
    
    

    
    
    Nippa was abandoned by her momma and the lady who took her in raised
    her on tuna and milk....talk about gas problems! ;^)
    
    Anyway, after experimenting with the water dish thing, I discovered
    that she likes to drink from either a china saucer or a 'full to the
    brim' glass of bowl.  I don't think she likes to have her wiskers
    (I'm guessing) touch the edges of the dish.  She also seems to like 
    very fresh water and very clean dishes.  
    
    I have also found that by filling the bowl to the brim, I can see how 
    much water she does drink during the course of the day.  She usually
    drinks the same amount - so I can notice right away if she has
    a problem (ie. drinking too much or not enough).
    
     

	When I first got my cats, I used to feed them milk because they
    wouldn't drink the water.  Someone suggested that I move the water
    dish and I did, but that didn't help much, so I moved it again.
    That was the ticket, but my only problem is that they like to play
    like a raccoon.  Dixie will wash her paw out in the water dish,
    then "cup" it and drink from it.  The last couple of days that I've
    feed the little monsters, I noticed a hugh water area around the
    dish and I thought that they had knocked over the dish.  Wrong!!!
    I never have seen them spill the water by their dish, however, I
    watched her ritual at the kitchen sink before (again last night)
    and now I understand why the floor is all wet.
    
    	When I brought my monsters to the vet, I asked about why they
    didn't drink a lot of water and the vet asked if I fed canned food
    and I said yes.  She said that canned food has a lot of liquids
    in it already, so they didn't need a lot of water.  I feed them
    dry stuff at night and that is when I notice more of the water being
    drunk then being spilled.
    
    	Like other noters have said, keep moving the dish around and
    eventually you will find that magic spot.

    I too have water drinkers with odd habits.   I bought a few of those
    plastic placemats and set them under the dish.  Now they can play
    to their hearts delight and I don't have to walk in water.  I 
    also found that the flatter the bowl the better they like the water.
    I reuse the microwave diner divided dish containers. Their whiskers
    don't touch then.
    
    Pam ( and nano and Jerry)
    

    Sophie's *still* bloated and it's difficult to tell if she's going
    down, but at least there's no more blood and the stuff in the litter
    tray looks OK.  She's still got loads of pills to get through, so I
    guess it's still early days.
    
    I've had some interesting results with the water bowl.  I've changed it
    to a much wider, flatter bowl and also changed the position as
    suggested.  Yesterday for the first time ever I saw Sophie prod the
    water with her paw a few times, as though she was being introduced to
    it for the first time.  She then started licking the water off her paw
    and drank a little bit.  Henrietta's still definately a "Tap-cat" (or
    Faucet-cat to any Americans out there) and prefers to drink it running
    from the tap.
    
    So there's definately something in wide, flat bowls in different
    positions.  Aren't cats fascinating animals!
    
    Ruthie, Henri and Sophie
                                      

    I'm not sure where you moved the water bowl to, but if you keep it
    a good distance from their food (wet or dry) they may be more 
    interested in drinking.  I tried this recently and it really
    did work - not sure why - it's in a note somewhere about cats
    not liking their water near their food.
    
    E.

    I guess for every rule there are exceptions.  Mao gets 1 tablespoon
    of cream in the morning - its part of the coffee ritual - and it
    doesn't effect her adversely at all.  I also very occasionally give
    the same small amount to Dundee, Jesse, Bumpy and Flame.  It doesn't
    seem to bother them either.
    
    I also keep one of the three waterdishes next to the food dishes and
    have seen several of the cats drink from it.  Also, the water dish
    is with the food dishes in the Gang of Purr's room and they drink
    lots.  For those fussier felines, there is a bowl upstairs in the 
    hall.
      Nancy DC
    

    I agree Nancy, cause some of mine didn't mind having it close to
    their dry food.  wierd.  But, when I moved the one by the food
    away, 'more' cats used it.  Who knows what's in their little
    heads...  
    
    E.????

I think it goes like this:

cat(s) get bored and start working to make us crazy...."I KNOW!  I'll
refuse to drink water UNTIL she/he/they MOVE the dish to this spot...but
I won't tell her/him/them where the spot is!"...sigh.  My vet was the
one that told me it was instinctive behavior not to drink water too near
the "den" which is where the cats eat (when you catch your own, there are
lots of nasty leftovers to pollute the water source)- to domestic cats this
seems to translate into don't drink water near the food dish - of course, 
some cats didn't read that page of the BEING A PERFECT CAT BOOK (written 
in catish and NOT comprehensible to us humans)...8^}

    Yup, I think you put that theory in before and it seemed to
    make sense to me.  I tried it and had very interesting results!
    They really seemed to like having it not as near their food.
    Waddayagonnado with the little devils!
    
    E.                                  

    I think it MUST be in that contract they have right after the part
    about only throwing up furballs on furniture, rugs and good clothes.
      N