- Joined
- Oct 2, 2022
- Messages
- 12
- Purraise
- 17
Hello all,
New here and a new cat owner as well. I tried to search the forums for a possible answer but sadly, no luck. So I am hoping some of you could possibly help. First a little bit of history.
Last October 2021, a stray/feral cat decided to make my front porch its home. So I started to feed it every day and did some flyers in the neighborhood trying to find its owner. Months went by and no response. Winter and Spring came by and still no response. So in April of 2022, I went to get him neutered and tested. I was told he was FIV+ and that I could no longer let him outside for fear of him getting the other cats in the neighborhood contaminated. He either needed to be put down or I needed to keep him in the house. So I decided to adopt him. Mind you, I have 2 senior dogs. We gave him his own room.
A month after adopting him, we built him a window catio so that he could still enjoy the sunshine, birds, wind, etc. Needless to say, he loved being outdoors. He was in his catio almost all the time. Until 4 days ago! That's when his behavior and problem started. I noticed he started to wiggle his head often and scratch his ear. I thought perhaps it was an ear mite even though I give him revolution for cats which is supposed to kill ear mites. This affected him so much that he didn't want to go outside to his catio at all. Yesterday, he didn't want to eat, he wouldn't use his litter box, he didn't even eat his treats, and he wouldn't even join in on playtime, which he also used to love. This morning he just sat on his perch and didn't even look at me when I entered the room. He only responded a little bit when I whirled his easer toy but it was a slight movement, nothing like how he used to be. I started to clean his ears, wiping them with an ear cleaner but he just keeps running away.
Vets here in my little town are few and far between. Getting an appointment for him like pulling teeth and is booked months ahead of time. I will try to see a vet on an emergency basis but I just wanted to know what else I could do to get him to go enjoy his catio again. Even if the vet can effectively get the ear mite issue taken care of, will he go back into his catio? I tried luring him in there with treats but even that didn't work. He is listless not like how he was before he got this issue. Sometimes though, his ear is up, so I can't be sure if it is an ear mite or just a dirty ear. But his new behavior is making me worry so much that I can not sleep.
Any help or advice is very much appreciated.
New here and a new cat owner as well. I tried to search the forums for a possible answer but sadly, no luck. So I am hoping some of you could possibly help. First a little bit of history.
Last October 2021, a stray/feral cat decided to make my front porch its home. So I started to feed it every day and did some flyers in the neighborhood trying to find its owner. Months went by and no response. Winter and Spring came by and still no response. So in April of 2022, I went to get him neutered and tested. I was told he was FIV+ and that I could no longer let him outside for fear of him getting the other cats in the neighborhood contaminated. He either needed to be put down or I needed to keep him in the house. So I decided to adopt him. Mind you, I have 2 senior dogs. We gave him his own room.
A month after adopting him, we built him a window catio so that he could still enjoy the sunshine, birds, wind, etc. Needless to say, he loved being outdoors. He was in his catio almost all the time. Until 4 days ago! That's when his behavior and problem started. I noticed he started to wiggle his head often and scratch his ear. I thought perhaps it was an ear mite even though I give him revolution for cats which is supposed to kill ear mites. This affected him so much that he didn't want to go outside to his catio at all. Yesterday, he didn't want to eat, he wouldn't use his litter box, he didn't even eat his treats, and he wouldn't even join in on playtime, which he also used to love. This morning he just sat on his perch and didn't even look at me when I entered the room. He only responded a little bit when I whirled his easer toy but it was a slight movement, nothing like how he used to be. I started to clean his ears, wiping them with an ear cleaner but he just keeps running away.
Vets here in my little town are few and far between. Getting an appointment for him like pulling teeth and is booked months ahead of time. I will try to see a vet on an emergency basis but I just wanted to know what else I could do to get him to go enjoy his catio again. Even if the vet can effectively get the ear mite issue taken care of, will he go back into his catio? I tried luring him in there with treats but even that didn't work. He is listless not like how he was before he got this issue. Sometimes though, his ear is up, so I can't be sure if it is an ear mite or just a dirty ear. But his new behavior is making me worry so much that I can not sleep.
Any help or advice is very much appreciated.