Pot belly?

pigeoned

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Braxton got neutered two weeks ago, and all went well. He had an undescended testicle, so they had to cut him open like it was a spay.

I'm not sure if it was there before and hidden by his fur (which got shaved off when he got neutered), but he has this pot belly. My mom tries to tell me it's because he's fat (but she lives 50 miles away, so she doesn't get to see him), but it doesn't feel like fat. It's not hard, but it's not squishy.

I'm absolutely terrified that it's worms (I'm completely terrified of worms), so I've been checking his poo, but I haven't see any signs in there. Aside from his pot belly (also, his poo seems to smell way worse than before), and two hairballs last week, he seems perfectly healthy.

I feed him 1/3 of a 5.5 oz can of Nutro Maxcat wet food, and he always has Nutro Natural Choice indoor kitten availible (he eats about 1/3 of a bowl every day).

Is this something that should warrant a visit to the vet? I don't know how much it is, but I hear check-ups are around $100, and I don't want to really pay for that right now (college student with no job yet...) just for them to say he's fine.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...1021072032.jpg
His pot belly and scar.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...1014071424.jpg



Also,
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=128542
My mom was convinced that having brown crud in the ears was fine. Alas, a trip to the vet (to be neutered, so it was free... even though they didn't neuter him at the time) confirmed that it was mites. I guess I shouldn't take her vetrinary advice too seriously.
 

apples

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Has he been wormed?
Did he have the pot belly when he came home from the vet? It could just be swelling from the operation, I'm sure the vet would have said something if he noticed anything out of the ordinary.
 
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pigeoned

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Originally Posted by Apples

Has he been wormed?
Did he have the pot belly when he came home from the vet? It could just be swelling from the operation, I'm sure the vet would have said something if he noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Yes, I gave him worming stuff when I first got him in May.

Thanks for the advice
 

goldenkitty45

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How old is the kitten/cat? And was he ever checked for worms? Usually they do it with routine vaccinations. But I would find it hard to believe a vet didn't check everything out before neutering.

How much does he weigh and what did the vet say?
 
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pigeoned

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He's 7 months old. A week ago he was hanging out with my mom's kitten (who had been catching mice recently) and a dog, so I'm worried that it might be from them.


Also, is "animal grass" okay for him? I got some at the grocery store today, and he seems to love it.
 

gingersmom

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Originally Posted by Pigeoned

Also, is "animal grass" okay for him? I got some at the grocery store today, and he seems to love it.
Oh, gosh, YES - it is good for him as long as he doesn't vomit it up on a regular basis. My cats would kill me if I didn't keep a good supply of kitty grass on hand!
 

my cat mellow

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Check for fleas, quite often if the cat has fleas they will have worms, they kind of go hand in hand.

does his belly feel hard or does it hang kind of floppy?

Mellow has a big extended belly his is all floppy and its just the way he is built he has always had it
 

jenkitty

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Originally Posted by GingersMom

Oh, gosh, YES - it is good for him as long as he doesn't vomit it up on a regular basis. My cats would kill me if I didn't keep a good supply of kitty grass on hand!
what if they do vomit it up? Shadow dashes outside just for the grass and she throws it up every time.
 

gingersmom

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Originally Posted by jenkitty

what if they do vomit it up? Shadow dashes outside just for the grass and she throws it up every time.
Outside grass has sharp edges and can cut a kitty's insides. If a cat has a hairball stuck, they will eat grass until the puke it up.

Some cats can't tolerate any grass - it irritates them and they throw it up.

My cats all take regular little nibbles, and the only times they've eaten too much was when I started giving it to them. Now they only vomit it up with a hairball.

Cats need greens - it's a bit like kitty veggies.
 
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pigeoned

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I'm glad about the grass... he's been sitting next to it all day. I think he's in love with it


I felt his belly again, and it does seem a little bit hard. He was also trying to bite me, so my poking might have hurt him - but we shouldn't go on that, as he's a biter.
 

sham

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You might need to consult a vet again. It could be fat, swelling which could indicate infection especially with the more complicated neuter, or worms. No 1 dewormer kills all types of worms so treating once doesn't gurantee you get rid of an infestation.

Really there's no reason to freak out over worms anyway. Every animal has them and that includes humans. Every human has a few parasites and you can live with a few tapeworms your whole life and never notice it. You and your animals can't really be 100% free of internal parasites unless you use a daily dewormer which puts a lot of chemicals into the body and risks doing more damage than the parasites. In fact it's even been debated that a very low level of certain parasites is helpful. They are everywhere that any type of animal or human waste may have touched and that includes nearly all the great outdoors and any untreated food or water sources. It's only a problem when you practice poor hygiene because most parasites don't fulfill their lifecycle inside the body. They release either eggs or larvae out of the body that have to be reingested to survive. So long as you aren't ingesting new parasites you don't gain more and so long as you properly wash and cook food and keep yourself and your living area at least moderately clean you won't ingest very many. Some are also transferred by fleas, mosquitos, and other critters so if you have a high concentration of any of those your risk of getting enough parasites to cause symptoms, an infestation, is higher.
 

fuzzles

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When my cat was spayed she developed a bump on her tummy. The vet said it was an allergic reaction to the stitches and after they removed them within a few days it went away.
 
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