Do I need to Worry...

My cat, Turtle, is dealing with a URI, which I've asked questions about in another thread. My concern now is she hasn't pooped in the litter box since sometime during the night Wednesday night. She hasn't been eating as much for about five days, and she's been changed to canned (both dry and canned are hairball control, so they have a fair amount of fiber in them). She had a subg IV yesterday, and is drinking the juice from water-packed tuna, along, now, with extra water I'm adding to the canned food (per Stephanie's suggestion---thank you). She's eating fairly well, now, only not the same volume. And she's wetting in the litter box several times a day. She's walking up and down the steps slowly, but that might not even be related (she's 9-1/2), but still jumps up on the bed. Sometimes she stands at the bottom of the stairs almost like she's trying to decide whether she wants to go up or not (it's about 7 steps). She always hangs out in my bedroom, where all her "thrones" are! (Window seat, comforter, etc.)

She has a habit of coming down to my desk a lot meowing for more food. She hasn't done that since she's been sick, until tonight, when she's done it three times. Don't know whether she's meowing for food, or for some other reason. Although this time I did feed her, and she ate a little then slowly went back upstairs. The time before, she didn't want food, rather attention, it seemed like.

My vet isn't opened on the weekend, so I can't call about this until Monday. She also stopped grooming herself. Haven't seen her do it at all since coming home from the vet yesterday. Don't know whether all that wet on her fur from some of the IV fluid leaking out made her not want to groom.

Should I be worried???

Pam

She's probably not grooming herself because she's not feeling well. When my cats start grooming themselves, that's how I know they're feeling better if they've been sick.

If she's not been eating much, she doesn't have anything to pass. She's urinating because she's gotten sub-qs and those make them GO!! With increased food intake she should start pooping. Also, if she's eating less at feedings, she might need to eat more often until she returns to her normal healthy self.

Do you have a vaporizer going where she spends most of her time? That will help, too.

Not a vaporizer, but I am keeping a humidifier going in "our" room! My vaporizer isn't working that well (can't get a lot of steam out of it). Do you think the steam from a vaporizer would be better than the cool mist for a humidifier? I'm thinking it probably would be, but I don't know.

Thanks!

Pam

I think it would be as the moist heat would help loosen the mucus. (That's why the steam in the bathroom is good for them.) Sometimes I put a couple of drops (no more than that) of eucalyptus oil in the water or that little inhalent thingy on the top.

My older cat, Callie (13 yo), got the sniffles over the Thanksgiving holidays while at my dad's house. I drug out the OLD vaporizer my parents used with us when we were kids. That thing cranked out the steam!! I put it on the dresser near the window where she spent most of her time and it worked like a charm.

I'll be out looking for a good steam vaporizer tomorrow! I added baking soda to the water in mine, which according to the directions should make it steam more. It did, but still not enough. You can barely see the steam coming out. You said you put it close to the window where she was. Does she ever try to get close to it? Of course, I'd stay in the room with her to make she doesn't get nosy and get steam on her. (She used to sniff at the cool mist from the humidifier when I would run it for my son in his much younger days!)

Well, Turtle must be reading my posts and wants to prove me wrong----as she just pooped in the box!! (Only parents of kids and/or pets get excited about this kind of thing!!! LOL)

Pam

Originally Posted by TurtlesMom

I'll be out looking for a good steam vaporizer tomorrow! I added baking soda to the water in mine, which according to the directions should make it steam more.

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It could be dirty (scale buildup) you could try running it for a couple hours with vinegar in it. The vingear helps break down the scale. I do this on mine a couple times a year. You should see all the scale that falls out

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

It could be dirty (scale buildup) you could try running it for a couple hours with vinegar in it. The vingear helps break down the scale. I do this on mine a couple times a year. You should see all the scale that falls out

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Snake Lady, do you just fill it all the way up with water and then add some vinegar? How much, or do you just pour some in?

Thanks!

Pam

I put about a cup or so of vinegar in mine, undiluted.

As for sniffing at the vaporizer, they don't. They're pretty smart and since the steam coming out is warm, they don't like it. Of course, right now, I have it on the dresser and they don't get up there while it's on.