Russian Blue Kitten Help Please

diego

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Ok I purchased my very first Russian blue kitten (purebred of course) ever, I have always wanted one since I was a kid. But I think he isn't well.
Now a few symptoms which make me think he is sick, (I'm going to take him to the vet to be on the safe side, just want some opinions due to, I will be facing a language barrier)
First off his eyes are always weeping a greenish substance which dries up but makes him look nasty, I think its conjunctivitis but not sure as I dont think that normally dries up.
Second, he sneezes alot, which some cats do but he sneezes out chunks of green snot. I have been around many cats and never ever seen that before.
Third, He does seem to have good co-ordination, when he's running around he will run directly into objects, turn around and run right back into the same thing, something else I've never seen. Cats usually learn after the first time or there is a longer period of time go by before they do it again.
And finally he has a hell of a purr, I mean he could wake the dead, but today it seemed unusual. The way I can best describe it is, you know when your cat meows at the same time as purring? well its like that but he has his mouth closed so its a meow purr through the nose but its consistant, like all the time.

Main reason for my concern is that he is petstore bought, which I'm sure you all know about petstores.


Anyway if this is something I should be concerned about please let me know.

P.s excellent appetite, drinks loads of water and the most energetic kitten in the world, never gets tired of running round even to the point where hes puffing nd panting, he will still just keep purring and running around. I actually have to resrain him a little til he gets his breath back, coz im worried he might burn out. Can only hold him for about 2mins before he struggles free and runs round again. He does sleep of course but thats only when he's not running. Oh, he's said to be 5mths (though I think younger) and not neutered coz vets here wont do that til they are 7mths old.
 

abymummy

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It's good that you're taking him to the vet. And I am sorry that you are experiencing this.

On your first paragraph I would have said send him back to the breeder or at least, does your contract state that the cat must be vetted within 72 hours of collection. Then I read that he's from the petshop.
You should check for vaccinations, deworming etc. In other words, a general healthcheck.

The best thing for you to do now is send him to the vet asap. I could go on and on about petshop cats but I wont...

Good luck and I hope he feels better soon!


PS. Welcome to TCS!
 

laureen227

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good you're taking him to the vet - sounds suspiciously like an upper respiratory infection of some sort to me.
Welcome to TCS!
 

goldenkitty45

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Getting "pedigree/purebred" kittens from pet shops come with lots of problems. They are taken from mom/siblings far too soon, not socialized properly and not medically healthy. RB's are SHY cats to start with and need a lot of good proper socialization - so I'm not surprised at the kitten's reactions.

And yes, its good you are taking him to the vets - he probably has upper respirtory and other things. I hope he pulls thru for you.

Next time you want a purebred kitten, please do more research and buy your kitten from a reputable breeder who guarentees health, gives proper shots, has healthy kittens (physically and mentally) and stands behind their contracts - oh and neuters before you get them.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

They are taken from mom/siblings far too soon, not socialized properly and not medically healthy. RB's are SHY cats to start with and need a lot of good proper socialization - so I'm not surprised at the kitten's reactions.
I just had to pipe in here - we have a "local" pet store where one of the people working there told my daughter and I that Siamese cats are different and can be taken from their mothers at 6 weeks of age. My daughter had to drag me from the store because I was livid.

I sure hope your little one gets the treatment required and grows into a beautiful and loving cat.
 

StefanZ

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I agree with the others.

As he is running much he isnt probably severely sick. But his infection = the "cold" could perhaps explain both him bumping into things - and almost surely his excessive purring.

Young cats usually do run a lot. Russian blue does! Both ours did when young. One of them still do although a 4 year.
The older of them almost never did bumped into anything - even in his most madly races! The younger did bumped sometimes into things. And things fell down when he climbed among the shelves.
So it is perhaps somewhat individual.

As petstore-cat he probably couldnt run as much as he wanted. So he is perhaps trying to get his running time back!?



Him being not neutered yet isnt harmful in any way as he is a indoor cat.
Do neuter him when he is 7-10 month, it is OK, or even later if he dont have difficulties with his maleness.
Ours hadnt any troubles at that age. The troubles beginning first when fully adult, ie 18 month (both were keeped intact to be Sires).
Although he will meow more.
 

goldenkitty45

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Sad when the vets refuse to do early neuter/spay. By 7-10 months old many young males have either sired kittens or started spraying around the house.

Please find a vet that is willing to do earlier neutering - like 5-6 months old (better if earlier) but that would be much better to do it then waiting till 7-10 months old!
 

epona

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I am sorry to hear that you are having woes with your new little 'un. Please do take him to the vet. Unfortunately pet shops are breeding grounds for disease as they have kittens coming in from many different sources and those kittens won't have had the best start in life as no reputable and knowledgeable breeder would ever let their kittens go to such an environment. It does sound as if he has a respiratory infection, so a vet visit is necessary.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I just had to pipe in here - we have a "local" pet store where one of the people working there told my daughter and I that Siamese cats are different and can be taken from their mothers at 6 weeks of age. My daughter had to drag me from the store because I was livid.
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry about that. My Oriental came from a good breeder at an appropriate age (over 3 months old) and he is really quite clingy - obviously that is something that I was prepared for having done my research beforehand and I love that about him, but I can't imagine what a Siamese or Oriental who had been taken from their mum at 6 weeks would be like, I would have thought because they form strong bonds of affection they would probably cope less well with being separated early than some other breeds.
 

noludoru

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Diego, welcome to TCS!



You should DEFINITELY be worried about your kitten's symptoms. I agree with Goldenkitty and Laureen.. it sounds upper-respiratory to me. But your vet will be the one to give him a thorough examination and diagnosis.

Your #1 thing to do is get him to the vet.

Your #2 thing to do is get him neutered. If you don't do that ASAP, you will probably have spraying problems.

I understand you're probably in love with him, but it might be a good idea to return him to the pet store.
Monetarily supporting them is one of the worst things you can do (it supports them), and if you can get your money back then you can get a healthy, happy, well-bred, well-socialized kitten and a breeder who will always be there for you to help you learn more about RBs and deal with any problems that may come up.

I hope everything works out with him.
 

emmylou

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Sneezing and green mucus from the eyes and/or nose -- definitely sounds like a respiratory infection. The vet may give you antibiotics to give him, and/or a topical antibiotic for the eyes.
 
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diego

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Wow, thank you all for your fast responses.

I know buying pets from a petshop is wrong on soooo many levels, I will try keep my reason short as possible but I imagine it to take a few paragraphs. The petstor literally had stck piles of cats and dogs house in inappropriate sized cages and mixed up, so cats beside and above dogs and the other way round, must have had like 60+ in 3 piles stacked 3 high and about 8 per row if you can make sense of that. Anyway I saw Diego and touched him a little through his cage he was friendly. While my wife and I were there 1 petshop guy asked if we wanted to hold the kitten he had in his arm, I said I'd rather hold the RB. It was love at first hold
, he started purring instantly and snuggled right into me. We didnt buy him at first but waited til we had discussed it properly 1st. I feel like it was more of a rescue than just buying a pet. He already had the eye problem at the petshop but the guy put it down to all the dust in the shop, I made him give me a discount.


To Abymummy, Diego has been vaccinated but we aren't sure if he was wormed.

To GoldenKitty45, this wee boy is far from shy, he always come to me for attention. I waited 24hrs for him to settle before introducing him to Neko (supervised) and he just loves playing with Neko, although to start with Neko was hissing and growling but after some time they are happy together. I do believe he may have been taken from his mother at a very young age coz yesterday he was licking my arm and using his paws like they do when milking.


To everybody else, He has been checked by the vet now. He is starting to get the flu but its only as far as his throat, hasn't got to his lungs yet. He has been given an injection to help and he will be on 10 days of antibiotics and needs to be kept quarantined during that time. Hopefully it hasnt spread to Neko. That vet also refuses to neuter Diego, says his bits are too small so have to wait til he's 8mths. Thats a load of crap IMO coz Neko was neutred at 4mths but of course that was in NZ and we couldn't wait til he was a bit older because he had to be neutered before he got to Japan. I am to understand once a cat starts spraying theres no stopping it. I know one lady years ago was told by her vet to put her cat down after it started spraying so she did. But I wont do that, if no vet will neuter him sooner, I will breed him. Forgot to mention, yesterday I was admiring his flawless colouring and decided for some reason to look inside his ears, yuck nasty looking. The vet when examining him, didnt even look in the ears so, I said "dude look in his ears, I am certain thats not normal" he did and he said thats very bad, Diego may have had mites at one stage (not sure coz I didnt understand that word, so he showed me a picture. I think its a mite) but they are not there anymore but I believe the fecal matter was what was in his ears. Now they are sparkly clean.

Breeders are not common over here so, finding Diego a female will be hard.

I think thats everything. Sorry to go on so long. Thanks again for all your help
 
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diego

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Forgot to say, Diego's banging into things might be from stress according to the vet, but he doesnt seem at all stressed. Even when the vet probed him with the thermometer Diego was a little uncomfortable as you would be, but kept purring same with when the vet was cleaning his ears and gave him the injection. In fact the vet when checking the respiratory system, was trying to get Diego to stop purring coz he couldn't hear the breathing properly.

Now does that sound like a stressed cat to you? He didnt try and runaway or anything like some cats will do, he just sat there and took it. Maybe coz I was with him keeping him calm.
 

bonnie1965

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It could be but cats purr even under great stress. Not sure why, but they do. I am so glad Diego found you
Perhaps you and your wife could start an education movement there on earlier neutering/spaying
 

fosterkitty

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you have no idea what Diego's parentage is, where he came from, if he will have any hereditary problems, etc. Breeding him would be a highly irresponsible thing in my opinion. Please just wait until your vet will neuter him and have him neutered. You all will be much happier.
 
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diego

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Originally Posted by fosterkitty

you have no idea what Diego's parentage is, where he came from, if he will have any hereditary problems, etc. Breeding him would be a highly irresponsible thing in my opinion. Please just wait until your vet will neuter him and have him neutered. You all will be much happier.
We are supposed to be getting all his paper work in the next day or two, that says he's pure bred etc. Wouldnt his parentage be detailed in that?

To Bonnie1965, Unfortunately its the vets choice because they say its far too difficult to neuter them when their bits are too small. What can ya do eh?
 

bonnie1965

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Originally Posted by DIEGO

To Bonnie1965, Unfortunately its the vets choice because they say its far too difficult to neuter them when their bits are too small. What can ya do eh?
I understand
Each country seems to be different in what they consider proper. You wouldn't want the vet to do it if they didn't think they could do it well.
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by DIEGO

We are supposed to be getting all his paper work in the next day or two, that says he's pure bred etc. Wouldnt his parentage be detailed in that?
Back yard breeders often falsify the pedigree papers.
 

goldenkitty45

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Unless the cat is shown and is of TOP quality for the breed - he/she should be neutered/spayed. There is no real way of finding out if the papers are legit or not.

PLEASE have him neutered. Breeding males will spray and have to be confined in a cage. Your male will be happier as a neuter and so will you


And the only reason you should be breeding is to improve the breed - NOT because you have a purebred cat. Not every purebred cat has the quality to be a breeding cat.
 
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diego

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Unless the cat is shown and is of TOP quality for the breed - he/she should be neutered/spayed. There is no real way of finding out if the papers are legit or not.

PLEASE have him neutered. Breeding males will spray and have to be confined in a cage. Your male will be happier as a neuter and so will you


And the only reason you should be breeding is to improve the breed - NOT because you have a purebred cat. Not every purebred cat has the quality to be a breeding cat.
My breeding statement was purely if Diego starts spraying before he is neutered IE 8 months old. In my experience they start spraying just after 6 months, after they start spraying and you get them fixed it doesn't stop.

When you say shown, do you mean in a cat show? for its breed, wether the papers are legit or not is there a way of finding out if the cat is top quality? or am I just repeating the same question? or does the fact he's from a petshop make him just a regular moggy even if he is meant to be or is a pure breed?

Thanks for your help
 
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