Conference misery::feline_v1

    I have this happen sometimes.  I don't know that there is any type
    of 24 hour bug, if there is, I have never heard of it.  Sometimes,
    hairballs can cause a cat to have diarrhea and vomiting.  They can
    also lose their appetites if their stomachs are full of hair.
    
    I would watch her for other symptoms, or for worsening syptoms.
    If you have some hairball remedy handy, why not give her some just
    in case.
    
    Jo

    Hm.. Sounds like home to me.  'noise' - ok, who did it?  Why?
    Where did you do it?  Are you ok?  Watch cat for a 'while' hope
    they don't do it again.  Worry. Wait. Wonder.  CLEAN UP A LOT.
    
    Yup, it sounds like home
    
    E.T.+ ?? 

    It almost sounds like an allergic reaction to something or possibly a
    mild case of poisoning.  I always think the worst- don't I?  It could
    also be a hairball situation.  Do your cats go outside?  Whatever it
    was, be glad that it passed!
    
    Sonia

    I hate to say it, but it sounds like poisoning to me.  Unfortunately,
    when an animal is poisoned, by the time you realize it, it can get
    pretty serious.
    
    One big question, does your kitty go outside??  Do they go in the
    basement where they could get into something?  How about the garage?
    
    Good Luck, hope nothing serious is wrong.
    
    Anna_who_doesn't_mean_to_scare_you.
    
    

    Well, guess whatever it was, it's over.  By last night Missy
    was eating (I bought her a treat of Friskees Fresh Catch and she
    even pushed Brittany away to get at her dish) and chasing the
    other two around.  And, she hasn't gotten sick again.
    
    This morning she was completely back to normal, too.
    
    All's well that ends well!
    
    Barbara
    
    PS  None of the kitties go out, we don't have a garage and what
        few possibly poisonous thing we have are either on high 
        shelves in closets, under the kitchen sink or on 8 feet
        high shelves in the basement.  And, none of our plants are
        the kind that are poisonous to cats.

I was waiting for any other answers to this one....my Nicholas gets this
approx. once a year - always in the winter/very early spring time-frame.
It only seems to last a day, but he gets diarrhea really bad (and all over
the house - this last time, I stayed home and spot cleaned the carpet all
day - much better than coming home and finding your whole evening planned).
I was concerned at first, but knowing mine are indoor-only and we don't
have mice or other things that require poison to control at the time
of year, I have settled on a minor case of food poisoning as the probable
cause.  My current attempt at a "fix" is:

Absolutely NO access to any "people" munchies for any cat - what happens
to one, happens to all (family rule).  Watch EXTRA carefully around
milk products - they are known to cause cats problems.  Stop feeding
Sheba brand cat food - the container lid is soft and far too easily 
breached, intentionally or unintentionally - this can lead to spoiled
food or even botulism.  I have started pulling Nick off Sheba and
onto WHISKAS brand which is sold in a solid tin, much harder to 
puncture.  I also leave his food in front of him only as long as he
is eating - when he moves away, the food is stored in the fridge 
immediately, or THROWN AWAY IF MORE THAN 3 DAYS OLD - the recommended
time for holding canned chicken or tuna for humans.

I have come to the conclusion that the Sheba cat food (which only Nicholas
gets - a little in the morning and a little in the evening) HAD to be the
source of the problem because no other cat was affected.  I have my
suspicions that the cat food was tainted in some way --- but I may have
been keeping it too long, being less aware of spoilage in the cold
weather.  

    I find that when I feed a "rich" food like Sheba or Iams, three of my
    cats (the twins, naturally and Nikolas), either get diarrhea or end up
    vomiting.

    Deb

    P.S. Now that I've put this in writing, it just dawned on me that
    it is my thee solid black cats with this problem. I would expect it
    with the twins since they are part Siamese (and have such delicate
    stomachs), but if Niky is any breed, he'd be a Maine Coon (judging from
    his build, intelligence, personality and coat). I remember reading
    in a recent cat magazine there they said something about "Siamese, and
    all solid black cats for that matter...".  Can all solid black cats
    trace their lineage to the Siamese?

    I don't think that all solid black cats trace their lineage to siamese.
    
    Jo

	Interesting question, that.  In "The Ultimate Cat Book," it states
	that a sealpoint Siamese is genetically a solid black cat, but that
	the color is restricted to the points.  Since the seal is the 
	'original' Siamese, there *may* be something in that.

    Since I've always had a "thing" for solid black cats, I find this real
    interesting and would really like to know more. (It's also been my
    personal observation that the black cats seemed cleverer than others,
    and cleverness is a Siamese trait). Anyhow, do we have any Siamese
    breeders out there that can shed some light on this?

    Deb

    This isn't scientific fact or anything, but having been around lots
    of seal point Birmans, and several solid black cats, I have noticed
    that seal and black are not the same color. 
    
    Jo

    Just a minor nit.  The seal point cat that you know is not the original
    siamese cat.  The original siamese cat is a Korat.  If you went to siam
    and asked for a siamese cat, you would get a Korat.  In fact, that's
    how they got to America in the first place.
    
    As for Black cats and Siamese cats being clever, I'll have to agree. 
    My two Korats are the cleverest cats that I have ever seen.  And
    Tabitha, my solid black cat isn't far behind them.  But some of the
    siamese that I have seen in the shows haven't been the smartest things
    in the world.
    
    Holly
    

    A neighbor part siamese cat is pitch black.
    I recall being told by someone that part siamese were often completely
    black.  

    Since the siamese gene is recessive, a part siamese can be just
    about any color or pattern that is dominant.  So, that would mean
    that black is certainly one of the color choices.  
    
    Jo

    
    at the risk of really heading down a rat-hole, i have a question:
    
    my stanley has been referred to as a lynx-point, which i have been told
    is part tabby and part siamese.  i always thought tabby was dominant
    and siamese recessive.
    
    so why does this baby look more siamese than tabby???
    
    diane (s & s)
    

    For him to be a lynx point, both parents had to be carrying the
    recessive gene for the pointed pattern.  
    
    The reason that he is lynx is that tabby is a dominant over solid
    color.  The way that this dominance is displayed is through the
    points being tabby rather than solid.
    
    Just breeding a tabby to a siamese will not result in siamese cats
    with tabby points, there is more to it than that.  Its starts getting
    really confusing when we start discussing individual cats and their
    traits.  
                                                                       
    Stanley's parents could have been almost anything, but as long as
    they were carrying the right genes, he would turn out to be a lynx
    point.
                                         
    Being tabby pointed is a dominant feature.  So, if stanley was bred
    to a regular pointed cat, unless he was carrying a recessive gene
    for regular pointed, I think that his kittens would all be lynx
    points.  Hey, this gets confusing even to me! :^)
    
    I do know that the tabby points are dominant though, cause that
    is the argument used by the group working with the lynx and tortie
    point Birmans.  Those breeders who do not wish to work with those
    experimental colors and patterns don't have to worry about one popping
    up in a litter unless they have introduced that color or pattern
    themselves.  It can't be carried recessively, and then pop up to
    suprise you later.  What you see is what you get.
    
    Jo

    
    so it seems like stan the man is a cat of interesting origins......
    hmmmmm...  i still don't believe he was just wandering the complex like
    all the other poor strays.  someone musta moved out and dumped him. 
    *such* a love he is.  i mean, if even stella (the jealous h*llcat) can
    tolerate him--that is, she who hisses at any cat who even sets paw on
    *her* territory (the whole yard outside that she can see)...
    
    as for what kittens would be produced in a mating with another pointed
    cat, we can only but guess.  his "papa days" are long past him.  i
    would swear, though, that he still has "it", since "it" was once seen
    whilst he was grooming himself.   hoo noz???
    
    diane, sweet stanley and just-call-me-the-h*llcat stella
    

    He would still have "it", it's the "them" that should be missing!
    :^)                           
    
    I bet he is a lovely cat, lynx points are very unique looking. 
    Maybe someday Birmans will be recognized in lynx points.
    
    Jo
    
    

>>    I bet he is a lovely cat, lynx points are very unique looking. 
 
Well, Hannah (the flame lynx-point american shorthair extraordinaire
I live with) certainly thinks so...8^}

>>    Maybe someday Birmans will be recognized in lynx points.
    
Jo, when I see one of those, I'll be a goner for sure....by the way,
my roomy is totally in love with your Birmans....