All the strays I feed are related (brothers and sisters), but one of the males has started acting differently within the past 7 months, and i'm worried.
List of issues.
problem 1. The male is 2 years old, and used to have a vigorous appetite, he would eat anything, and quickly, just like the rest of the cats. Now I have noticed his appetite has diminished quite a bit. I can hardly get him to eat canned food anymore, and he used to love eating canned food, I havent changed brands either. He eats dry kibble, but only eats for about 3 minutes, and then stops. The problem with this is he usually comes to eat once a day, so he doesnt eat much at all. Sometimes he will go a day without even coming by! Nobody else on the block feeds cats, if they did then I could understand why he wont eat as much.
Even during the harsh winter when they need to gain extra weight, his appetite never increased, he's not starving but he isnt as fat as his brother who is the same age as him.
When I come outside with the bag of cat food, all the cats run over to me meowing and following me to be fed, but he just sits in the yard showing no interest in eating, as a stray he should be trying to eat everything he can get hold of, if it wasnt for me I think he would starve to death. At feeding time he is the LAST to come over and eat, he waits for the others to finish eating. If they take too long he will leave without eating at all, that worries me.
His brothers and sisters will down 2 cans of cat food each if I let them, and finish it off in about 5 minutes, if they all have that big of an appetite and he wont even eat the one can of canned food, something must be wrong.
problem 2. The cat always seems tired. When he's in the yard and not eating, he will just sit on the ground and close his eyes trying to sleep, it can be raining and he'll just sit there and do nothing, he wont try to hide or get out of the rain. Arent they supposed to be cautious and alert?
He wont play anymore, and he used to be very active at a year old. All his siblings play and run around chasing the birds.(including his brother the same age as him) But now this guy walks slowly as if he is elderly, and i've never seen him hop a fence once, it's like he has arthritis or something. All his siblings hop fences,play, and run around the yard playing, but not him. (he's only 2 years old he should be full of energy!)
He really enjoys being brushed and petted, he will close his eyes and try to sleep, when I stop he will meow for more.
problem 3. When I brush him alot of fur comes off of him, and he has white dandruff all over, it's almost like he doesnt groom himself well. I have seen live fleas on him too.
problem 4. Sometimes, he will sit down, put his head to the ground, and start to make this coughing action, it sounds like a squeaky toy almost. The episode will last for about a minute, no hairballs come up, and he doesnt vomit, it's like a dry cough. That worries me, could it be bronchitis or asthma?
He has never seen a vet before and hopefully will be neutered soon, but I cant afford to get him checked out and examined, so thats why I have so many questions about his behavior.
List of issues.
problem 1. The male is 2 years old, and used to have a vigorous appetite, he would eat anything, and quickly, just like the rest of the cats. Now I have noticed his appetite has diminished quite a bit. I can hardly get him to eat canned food anymore, and he used to love eating canned food, I havent changed brands either. He eats dry kibble, but only eats for about 3 minutes, and then stops. The problem with this is he usually comes to eat once a day, so he doesnt eat much at all. Sometimes he will go a day without even coming by! Nobody else on the block feeds cats, if they did then I could understand why he wont eat as much.
Even during the harsh winter when they need to gain extra weight, his appetite never increased, he's not starving but he isnt as fat as his brother who is the same age as him.
When I come outside with the bag of cat food, all the cats run over to me meowing and following me to be fed, but he just sits in the yard showing no interest in eating, as a stray he should be trying to eat everything he can get hold of, if it wasnt for me I think he would starve to death. At feeding time he is the LAST to come over and eat, he waits for the others to finish eating. If they take too long he will leave without eating at all, that worries me.
His brothers and sisters will down 2 cans of cat food each if I let them, and finish it off in about 5 minutes, if they all have that big of an appetite and he wont even eat the one can of canned food, something must be wrong.
problem 2. The cat always seems tired. When he's in the yard and not eating, he will just sit on the ground and close his eyes trying to sleep, it can be raining and he'll just sit there and do nothing, he wont try to hide or get out of the rain. Arent they supposed to be cautious and alert?
He wont play anymore, and he used to be very active at a year old. All his siblings play and run around chasing the birds.(including his brother the same age as him) But now this guy walks slowly as if he is elderly, and i've never seen him hop a fence once, it's like he has arthritis or something. All his siblings hop fences,play, and run around the yard playing, but not him. (he's only 2 years old he should be full of energy!)
He really enjoys being brushed and petted, he will close his eyes and try to sleep, when I stop he will meow for more.
problem 3. When I brush him alot of fur comes off of him, and he has white dandruff all over, it's almost like he doesnt groom himself well. I have seen live fleas on him too.
problem 4. Sometimes, he will sit down, put his head to the ground, and start to make this coughing action, it sounds like a squeaky toy almost. The episode will last for about a minute, no hairballs come up, and he doesnt vomit, it's like a dry cough. That worries me, could it be bronchitis or asthma?
He has never seen a vet before and hopefully will be neutered soon, but I cant afford to get him checked out and examined, so thats why I have so many questions about his behavior.
