Outdoor cat poisoning - report back

"Alison" wrote

cats, and holding ferals after neutering. I also manage feral
colonies..

How do you stop bringing all the cats home?

He's got to have an awful lot of just plain strength
to deal with what he sees on a regular basis. I could never
do it.

I always respected your
medical knowledge , if I needed to know anything I would ask you. I'm
going to put these points together and post around my cat forums to
give people an idea what to look out for.

This is a really great idea.

"Diane L. Schirf" wrote in message
ink.net...


Well, this is a good point. One Saturday, Hodge began the day his
normal, irascible self. By 5:00 p.m., I noticed he'd been napping for
what was an unusually long period for his 24- to 30-month-old self. Then
when I touched him, he didn't snap at me. He didn't snap at me no matter
what I did. (Like pet his lower back.) He seemed hot to the touch, too.
So my date happened to arrive at 5:30 p.m., and we took him to the
emergency hospital. He had a fever, undetermined infection; they gave
him antibiotics, kept him on ice, etc., and the fever broke at 2:00 a.m.

Diane,

While trying to keep this civil and polite, I'd just like to make a point
here. I/O cats don't spend all their lives outdoors (unless the owners are
negligent, and that's an entirely different topic). Indeed, they spend most
of their lives indoors with their owners, just like yours! The owners are
just as likely to spot behavioural changes are you are.

My cats follow me about inside just as yours do. They demand to cuddle on my
lap in front of the TV just like yours do and help me with the cooking, just
in case, just like yours do. One of them insists on sitting in the bath,
tasting any water left over from my shower and watching me put my makeup on
every morning. They're there, outside my bedroom door, every morning,
waiting for me to go to the loo so they can then rush downstairs and sit in
front of their food bowls to tell me they're empty. They spend a maximum of
3-4 hours a day outside. So behavioural changes *are* noticeable. Indeed,
whenever I've had a problem with my cats, it's been because I've noticed
their behavioural problems.

With one exception. With the IBD, I spotted it because Cassius staring
vomiting and had diarrhoea *inside*. Owners who keep their cats in at night
will also have litter boxes available. Now, while it's true that my two
prefer to go outside, if there's anything that's causing that to change, I
will notice.

"Ashley" wrote in message
...

"Diane L. Schirf" wrote in message
ink.net...


Well, this is a good point. One Saturday, Hodge began the day his
normal, irascible self. By 5:00 p.m., I noticed he'd been napping for
what was an unusually long period for his 24- to 30-month-old self. Then
when I touched him, he didn't snap at me. He didn't snap at me no matter
what I did. (Like pet his lower back.) He seemed hot to the touch, too.
So my date happened to arrive at 5:30 p.m., and we took him to the
emergency hospital. He had a fever, undetermined infection; they gave
him antibiotics, kept him on ice, etc., and the fever broke at 2:00 a.m.

Diane,

While trying to keep this civil and polite, I'd just like to make a point
here. I/O cats don't spend all their lives outdoors (unless the owners are
negligent, and that's an entirely different topic). Indeed, they spend
most
of their lives indoors with their owners, just like yours! The owners are
just as likely to spot behavioural changes are you are.

This is a gross generalisation, and as such, patently untrue.
Please. Even YOU can do better than this.

On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 12:05:29 GMT, "Phil P."
wrote:


...and that's very important. In addition to not noticing a urinary tract
obstruction, a chronically constipated cat can develop megacolon - which
often requires surgery to remove a large section of the colon.


How long is typically too long?

When I got Jay Jay, he had trouble adjusting to the food and had very
bad diarrhea. The vet gave me meds, and it stopped that night. But
then he didn't poop for 3 days. I knew he was eating less since I also
had him a special diet. And I was checking the 3 litter boxes several
times a day, not that it was that hard to notice - Jay Jay doesn't
cover, and his is larger than the others (stinkier too).


If a cat has the slight loose poos and poos outside the owner
wouldn't see it . If it has diarrhea it won't be able to help but go
inside on the carpet ot where ever.

Not necessarily if the cat is accustomed and prefers to eliminate outdoors.
Cats have the ability to voluntarily inhibit elimination until the time and
place of their choosing.


It depends on how bad it is and if there is any warning. Sometimes, it
can be that bad, but most times, there is enough warning to get to the
box.

Jay Jay had diarrhea for 4 days. He hit the box several times a day.
He only went outside the box once, and that was not an aim or timing
issue. He was upstairs and still afraid of dogs at the time. There was
no kitty litter upstairs, and I was at work. After that incident, I
put a kitty litter upstairs for him. No more problems. He had
extremely liquidy diarrhea, but he never failed to get it in a box.

--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 08:38:55 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:

Diane,

While trying to keep this civil and polite, I'd just like to make a point
here. I/O cats don't spend all their lives outdoors (unless the owners are
negligent, and that's an entirely different topic). Indeed, they spend most
of their lives indoors with their owners, just like yours!

I would have to disagree here. As you and others have stated, a good
owner of an I/O cat only lets them outside while the owner is home.
You already miss the time you are at work and asleep. If the cat is
outside during part of the remaining time, then you have even less
time with your cats than somebody who keeps them inside.



--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 17:53:18 +0100, "Alison"
wrote:


If a cat prefers to poo outdoors then in normal health circumstances
or a bit loose , it can/will hold on if it wants but I'm still a bit
doubtful that if a cat had the runs bad it can hold it over night.

Overnight? I thought all the outdoor people said they have kitty
litters in the house !?! Why would the cat have to wait overnight?


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

"Meghan Noecker" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 08:38:55 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:

Diane,

While trying to keep this civil and polite, I'd just like to make a point
here. I/O cats don't spend all their lives outdoors (unless the owners are
negligent, and that's an entirely different topic). Indeed, they spend
most
of their lives indoors with their owners, just like yours!

I would have to disagree here. As you and others have stated, a good
owner of an I/O cat only lets them outside while the owner is home.

I don't want to get in arguments here. But I'll just point out the obvious:
if you work during the day and let them out only when you're home, and
follow the recommendations not to let them out at night, then they are
indoor cats. Definitions of "good" are subjective. As this group has shown!

You already miss the time you are at work and asleep. If the cat is
outside during part of the remaining time, then you have even less
time with your cats than somebody who keeps them inside.

On the whole, when I'm inside, my cats (or at least one of them) are there
with me. When I'm outside, at least one of them is there with me, too.

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 16:07:16 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:


I don't want to get in arguments here. But I'll just point out the obvious:
if you work during the day and let them out only when you're home, and
follow the recommendations not to let them out at night, then they are
indoor cats.

That doesn't make sense. If they go outside, then they are
indoor/outdoor cats.

Just because they are outside less than 8 hours a day does not make
them indoor only cats.


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

"Meghan Noecker" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 16:07:16 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:


I don't want to get in arguments here. But I'll just point out the
obvious:
if you work during the day and let them out only when you're home, and
follow the recommendations not to let them out at night, then they are
indoor cats.

That doesn't make sense. If they go outside, then they are
indoor/outdoor cats.

Just because they are outside less than 8 hours a day does not make
them indoor only cats.

If it's dark when you leave and dark when you get home ...

This happens in many places in winter.

And who said anything about 8 hours? As I've posted here before, my cats
would spend a max of 4 hours a day outside, probably a lot less. Most of the
day they spend curled up asleep on a couch or a bed. But they come and go -
it's not as if they go out and 3 or 4 hours later come back.

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 20:34:42 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:


"Meghan Noecker" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 16:07:16 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:


I don't want to get in arguments here. But I'll just point out the
obvious:
if you work during the day and let them out only when you're home, and
follow the recommendations not to let them out at night, then they are
indoor cats.

That doesn't make sense. If they go outside, then they are
indoor/outdoor cats.

Just because they are outside less than 8 hours a day does not make
them indoor only cats.

If it's dark when you leave and dark when you get home ...


You didn't say the cats weren't going outside. And the conditions you
mention are not year round, nor do most people work every day of the
week.

This happens in many places in winter.

And in many places, it doesn't. You set up very specific conditions. A
lot of people get off work before sundown, even in the winter. Many
people work evenings and are thus home during the morning and early
afternoon. Mosty people have at least one day off each week.


And who said anything about 8 hours?

If people work 8 hours and sleep 8 hours, then the remaining time is 8
hours or less. I was not suggesting that the cat was out for 8 hours,
only that there were still 8 hours available in the day for the cat to
go out and still meet the conditions of the owner home and awake.

From the way yo described it (without the suggestion that it is dark
while you are home, and thus the cat never went out), a cat would
still be classified as indoor, even if they went outside.

And frankly, if the cat is going outside, I would call it an
indoor/outdoor cat (unless it is on a leash or kept in fenced &
covered enclosure). To say that an indoor/outdoor is indoor only
because it isn't out much is not true.


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com