Kit and Cat

(Binny) dumped this in
m on 18 Apr 2004:

- Rocco eats a minimal to moderate amount...but what is with the teeth
grinding while he chews food? The vet thought perhaps mal-occlusion.
Is this common? Will it self-correct or do we need to break the jaw
and rewire? (just kidding)

I keep reading people describe the sound of "grinding teeth" when
describing nausea, or any meriad of ailments and I can't "picture" it. I
wonder if you hear a snuffly nose?

- I have no record of a intranasal distemper, only FVRCP. Might he
already have FVR...and if so, the vaccine wouldn't help, would it? If
he does have a URI, and the secretions are clear, then that means
viral, right? Thus antibiotics would be prophylactic?


I'd be more concerned with the possiblity of a feline herpes virus in one
so young. Very common in kittens. Stress seems to bring it out. Make sure
Rocco keeps eating because if the nose is stuffy, and Rocco doesn't feel
well, eating is the first thing to go. L-lysine also helps the Feline
Herpes virus and you can get capsules in the grocery store, or health
food stores and sprinkle on canned kitten food. 250 MG 2x per day.
Reserve antibiotics for secondary infections which could easily occur
with herpes. Also taking him into a steam-filled bathroom a couple of
times per day if the breathing becomes labored is very helpful. By all
means run this by your vet. If Rocco does stop eating, heating up canned
kitten food in the microwave to make it stinkier can help, putting some
on a small spoon and holding under his nose so he licks it off, or let
him lick it off your finger.

--
Cheryl

(Binny) wrote in message ...
One year ago, my boyfriend and I adopted Gracie -- a quarter pound
reject from the humane society (we have a Cat Network agency in the
area that looks over the humane society rejects before they are
euthanized). She is now 11 pounds, pristine white, and has a lovely
personality that is 90% "Gracie the Hellion" and 10%
"Gracie-I'll-smother-you-with-my-love". Gracie is currently bunkered
down under the bed and refuses to come out - despite tantalizing
offers of milk and a dancing string.

I am moving out of town this summer and Gracie is staying with Dad.
Sadness. We thought it best to get Gracie a play-mate to keep her
company after I leave. Monday we adopted Rocco, a 7 week old kitten
found with his litter-mates inside an abandoned tire. Rocco has been
pretty sick this week. He is experiencing GI distress (with blood in
his stool), which the vet feels is just secondary to his body
expelling the parasites from the de-wormer. He also has a virus, and
has been sneezing over the past 3 days (clear discharge and not
worrisome).

I need advice on two subjects, any experience on either subjects would
be welcome.

1. Rocco has lost his affectionate personality and cries all the
time. When I picked him up at the humane society (6 days ago) he was
practically falling over himself in his attempts to rub against me.
On day #1 at home, he would sleep, purring, on my boyfriend's chest.
His relationship with Gracie has been strained (see below), but she
has never attacked him, and last night they were sleeping on the same
bed...albeit at a distance. He started his mournful meowing on Day
#2-3. He no longer seeks either of us out for affection, and in fact
prefers sleeping on the floor instead of with one of us. Do kittens
become less affectionate when they are sick? Is the Gracie-strain too
much? Will he regain his affectionate behavior? What can I do to
make him like us again?

2. Kit vs. Cat: This discussion group has been the only reassurance
for me over the past 6 days. Gracie hates Rocco. Day #1 she hissed
and growled. Day #2 we kept them strictly separated (I should have
read the web info before Day#1). Day #3 I built a screen to give them
each half of the house. Day#4 Gracie stopped hissing, and only
growled. Day #5, Gracie stopped growling (mostly) and they were able
to co-exist in the same room. Last night I became increasingly
bothered by Rocco's meowing and loss of affection. I thought that
maybe the strain of having Gracie in the room was too much, so I put
Gracie out of the bedroom for the night. In my defense, the kitten is
sick and she's a healthy well-adjusted cat (supposedly). Well, that
obviously did not sit well with Gracie, who won't have anything to do
with me this morning. She has NEVER behaved like this before...and I
can't figure out if she's angry at the shut-out or whether she might
also have caught the virus. Has anybody had an adult female,
introduced a male kitten, and not had it work out eventually?

Yikes, I swore I would keep this short. I really would appreciate any
help you all could provide. I've always had cats in my life...but
never had problems like this.

Great Scott...! You treat cats as if they were simply the latest
fashion in the garment industry. These animals HAVE FEELINGS. You
CAN'T just uproot them.. mix and match them.. and expect them to
fulfill your narcissistic needs. Just because they can't verbalize
their feelings does not mean that they don't have any. You deserve
what you're getting. Unfortunately, your cats do not.



IBen G.

(Binny) wrote in message ...
One year ago, my boyfriend and I adopted Gracie -- a quarter pound
reject from the humane society (we have a Cat Network agency in the
area that looks over the humane society rejects before they are
euthanized). She is now 11 pounds, pristine white, and has a lovely
personality that is 90% "Gracie the Hellion" and 10%
"Gracie-I'll-smother-you-with-my-love". Gracie is currently bunkered
down under the bed and refuses to come out - despite tantalizing
offers of milk and a dancing string.

I am moving out of town this summer and Gracie is staying with Dad.
Sadness. We thought it best to get Gracie a play-mate to keep her
company after I leave. Monday we adopted Rocco, a 7 week old kitten
found with his litter-mates inside an abandoned tire. Rocco has been
pretty sick this week. He is experiencing GI distress (with blood in
his stool), which the vet feels is just secondary to his body
expelling the parasites from the de-wormer. He also has a virus, and
has been sneezing over the past 3 days (clear discharge and not
worrisome).

I need advice on two subjects, any experience on either subjects would
be welcome.

1. Rocco has lost his affectionate personality and cries all the
time. When I picked him up at the humane society (6 days ago) he was
practically falling over himself in his attempts to rub against me.
On day #1 at home, he would sleep, purring, on my boyfriend's chest.
His relationship with Gracie has been strained (see below), but she
has never attacked him, and last night they were sleeping on the same
bed...albeit at a distance. He started his mournful meowing on Day
#2-3. He no longer seeks either of us out for affection, and in fact
prefers sleeping on the floor instead of with one of us. Do kittens
become less affectionate when they are sick? Is the Gracie-strain too
much? Will he regain his affectionate behavior? What can I do to
make him like us again?

2. Kit vs. Cat: This discussion group has been the only reassurance
for me over the past 6 days. Gracie hates Rocco. Day #1 she hissed
and growled. Day #2 we kept them strictly separated (I should have
read the web info before Day#1). Day #3 I built a screen to give them
each half of the house. Day#4 Gracie stopped hissing, and only
growled. Day #5, Gracie stopped growling (mostly) and they were able
to co-exist in the same room. Last night I became increasingly
bothered by Rocco's meowing and loss of affection. I thought that
maybe the strain of having Gracie in the room was too much, so I put
Gracie out of the bedroom for the night. In my defense, the kitten is
sick and she's a healthy well-adjusted cat (supposedly). Well, that
obviously did not sit well with Gracie, who won't have anything to do
with me this morning. She has NEVER behaved like this before...and I
can't figure out if she's angry at the shut-out or whether she might
also have caught the virus. Has anybody had an adult female,
introduced a male kitten, and not had it work out eventually?

Yikes, I swore I would keep this short. I really would appreciate any
help you all could provide. I've always had cats in my life...but
never had problems like this.

Great Scott...! You treat cats as if they were simply the latest
fashion in the garment industry. These animals HAVE FEELINGS. You
CAN'T just uproot them.. mix and match them.. and expect them to
fulfill your narcissistic needs. Just because they can't verbalize
their feelings does not mean that they don't have any. You deserve
what you're getting. Unfortunately, your cats do not.



IBen G.

Cheryl-

No, it's definitely a grinding of the teeth. It only occurs on the
downward motion of the chewing, and its worse when he chews on the
right side. I orginally thought it was his teeth hitting the hard
food (in the same bowl as the soft food), but I separated the two
foods and it occurs with both.

Thanks for advice on the L-lysine and steam baths. He continues to
eat and the sneezing has dissipated.

Cheryl-

No, it's definitely a grinding of the teeth. It only occurs on the
downward motion of the chewing, and its worse when he chews on the
right side. I orginally thought it was his teeth hitting the hard
food (in the same bowl as the soft food), but I separated the two
foods and it occurs with both.

Thanks for advice on the L-lysine and steam baths. He continues to
eat and the sneezing has dissipated.

Thanks Connie,
I thought Rocco would be more clingy too...like Gracie was. And I
should clarify, Rocco does like being in the same room...he's just
more comfortable sitting at the end of the bed or on the floor. It is
so pathetic seeing him lying on the floor. When I perform
concentrated petting, I can usually get him to purr...but after a
couple of minutes he wants down.

Funny that you mention the walk. It is definitelly not stable and he
has knock-knees when he stands. Two separate vets have checked him
over and one specifically checked out his legs. Do you think being
sick has just caused him to have temporarily weak legs?
He tested negative for both FELV and FIV. We're holding off on
antibiotics just because we have nothing to chase right now and the
vet was afraid of doing more harm than good. The only history at
animal control was that he was found with litter mates in an abandoned
tire.

I'll try the food idea. I keep rubbing my face against his...but he
doesn't like it. This has all been very hard on my animal-lover ego.

Thanks Connie,
I thought Rocco would be more clingy too...like Gracie was. And I
should clarify, Rocco does like being in the same room...he's just
more comfortable sitting at the end of the bed or on the floor. It is
so pathetic seeing him lying on the floor. When I perform
concentrated petting, I can usually get him to purr...but after a
couple of minutes he wants down.

Funny that you mention the walk. It is definitelly not stable and he
has knock-knees when he stands. Two separate vets have checked him
over and one specifically checked out his legs. Do you think being
sick has just caused him to have temporarily weak legs?
He tested negative for both FELV and FIV. We're holding off on
antibiotics just because we have nothing to chase right now and the
vet was afraid of doing more harm than good. The only history at
animal control was that he was found with litter mates in an abandoned
tire.

I'll try the food idea. I keep rubbing my face against his...but he
doesn't like it. This has all been very hard on my animal-lover ego.

"Binny" wrote in message
om...
Thanks Connie,
I thought Rocco would be more clingy too...like Gracie was. And I
should clarify, Rocco does like being in the same room...he's just
more comfortable sitting at the end of the bed or on the floor. It is
so pathetic seeing him lying on the floor. When I perform
concentrated petting, I can usually get him to purr...but after a
couple of minutes he wants down.

Funny that you mention the walk. It is definitelly not stable and he
has knock-knees when he stands. Two separate vets have checked him
over and one specifically checked out his legs. Do you think being
sick has just caused him to have temporarily weak legs?

Possibly. He's VERY young.

"Binny" wrote in message
om...
Thanks Connie,
I thought Rocco would be more clingy too...like Gracie was. And I
should clarify, Rocco does like being in the same room...he's just
more comfortable sitting at the end of the bed or on the floor. It is
so pathetic seeing him lying on the floor. When I perform
concentrated petting, I can usually get him to purr...but after a
couple of minutes he wants down.

Funny that you mention the walk. It is definitelly not stable and he
has knock-knees when he stands. Two separate vets have checked him
over and one specifically checked out his legs. Do you think being
sick has just caused him to have temporarily weak legs?

Possibly. He's VERY young.

Dear Mr. IBen G.

I have no narcissistic needs. I obtained a kitten for Gracie so that
she would have a play-mate, and hopefully lead a longer, healthier
life. I tried to give a little sick kitten a better life in the
process, and perhaps that was not done in Gracie's best interest.
Hind-sight is 20/20.