A little worried

As I said Attitude has diarrhea, it seems it might have happened more than once, even though so far I have not seen any actual diarrhea in the box, but it's on her rear, since she has long hair back there. She isn't leaking and hasn't had any accidents outside the box.

When I put my son to bed I noticed Attitude was laying down to drink from the water fountain and she seemed to be drinking a lot. She has never ever ever laid down to drink.

I took her into the kitchen and gave her some chicken baby food, it didn't show that it contained onion or garlic. I get the small(2.5 oz) stage 2 Gerber 2nd foods. They are for babies just starting meat so all it had was chicken, water and cornstarch and I added a tiny bit of extra water. I wondered if she was getting dehydrated with the drinking so that's why I did it and I figured chicken would be the easiest on her stomach.

Her and Nuts(of course he can't be left out) ate all of it. She just used the litter box twice in less than 5 mins(right after finishing the baby food and I think she has gone both times, not sure if she's peeing or pooping(or done one of each) though. She did stay right next to the box after she went the first time so I think she knew she was going to have to go again. She just walked off after using it the second time.

She has been eating(her normal dry NB) and drinking just fine all day, gave her her dose of Bene-bac. I did accidentally miss her morning dose of Amoxicillian(I forgot) but gave her her evening dose.

Do I need to worry and make sure to get her into the vet tomorrow or can I wait until her follow up visit on Thurs, or should I just watch her and take her in if she seems to be getting worse. The swelling from the mastitis doesn't appear to be going away. Also, how does a spayed cat who has never had a litter get mastitis? She was spayed about 12-14 weeks ago while in heat and I'm sure Nuts nailed her at least once(don't know if that matters) before we noticed. I found out by finding him on top of her, they hadn't started anything yet that time but I got her in for her spay the next day. She has had 6 doses of antibiotic since Thurs night but I don't know if I should be seeing improvement by now and it might be going down and I just can't tell by touch(her long hair covers the area so I can't see it at all.) The vet said she might need a different antibiotic that's why he wanted her back in 7 days for a re-check.

I don't know if she has slept any more today than usual, but as I said she has been chowing down on her normal food all day(as usual, she's a pig ) and she seemed to want to bat around a toy mouse but she really didn't. She isn't acting sick or seem to be having any issues. Except for me noticing her drinking more than what I think is usual(the fountain is in the bedroom so I don't know how much she usually drinks) and laying down to drink(which she never ever does, I can see the fountain from the couch) which actually concerned me more than the drinking. She has been using the litter box fine as far as I know, the litter box had a little more stuff in it than usual and I noticed a litter box smell from the 2 in the kitchen, but with 2 cats who knows why there was a little more than usual. Like I said I have not noticed any actually diarrhea when cleaning the 3 boxes so all I can do is go off the fact that she has poop in her fur.

Do I need to get her in tomorrow or can I wait until Thurs? I just don't know if I should be worried or not.

Taryn

Hummm... Really not sure on this one... I would probably call the vet... But if she is eating fine, and not lethargic, I would expect her to be ok to wait, especially considering tomorrow will be her last dose of antibiotics - then Bene-bac will really kick in.
Now, if she stops eating, and becomes lethargic then a vet trip is in order for sure.
Keep a close eye on her... maybe the laying down to drink was a one time thing... if it happens again, and it is a signal of her being too tired - then call the vet.

She is on the antibiotics until at least Thurs.

My 7 year old son has food allergies so I'm very used to checking food ingredients to make sure he doesn't get anything he shouldn't have, so I do always check labels carefully.

She did go to the water bowl a couple times and once it was to move from the back of the fountain to the front, she did go to it a second time after the first time, so she did it 3 times in 2 sessions in the short time I was back there.

She did hop on the bed while I was back there so she still is able to do what she wants to. She hopped off when Bobby got on the bed since he kind of 'scares' her. She runs from me sometimes when I try to pet her so I think she is just a little way of a lot of fast motion and face it 7 year old boys are nothing but motion.

Like I said I wasn't really sure about the laying down to drink, I know Abby my Old English sheepdog(RB 2006 ) laid down to drink(especially as a puppy) before she got arthritis but she was also a large dog so I'm sure it was easier for her to reach the water bowl and drink while laying down. We used to laugh about it. Man I miss her.

I will call the vet in the morning just to make sure they don't think she might need to be seen. I need to ask them about giving me a dosage syringe, it's hard to measure it properly with the dropper the medicine came in, I don't know if I'm giving her too much or too little. So it could just be I'm accidentally giving her a little too much, not much but possibly a little more than she needs.

This is just so stressful, she ended up with something she shouldn't have and shouldn't of ever had since she has never had kittens, never been pregnant and never nursed anything and she's spayed.

Leave it up to me to get the 'sickest' cat in the litter(Nuts, Runt, Half-tail and Goldie Jr are all from the same litter and except for an occasional cold that goes away on it's own and never requires even seeing a vet they have never been sick. It's all been minor stuff like never ending eye infections(which have thankfully gone away or at least I think they have), 2 corneal ulcers, she had a tiny little ulcer on her tongue at her first vet appointment,which could have been due to the leukemia or she got something in her mouth she shouldn't have and got it from that, face it 8 week old kittens aren't always wise about what ends up in their mouths and whether or not it should have been in their mouths in the first place. Like I said it's all been minor so I shouldn't complain, I knew she had leukemia after her first vet visit and after reading up on it I kind of knew what I was getting into. I know it could be worse and there are a lot of people whose cats have bigger and a lot worse issues. Like I said it's just frustrating.

Taryn

Sorry you are having such a stressful time with Attitude. Calling the vet is the best idea, since s/he has already seen her and can judge better whether it can wait or not.

As for the mastitis, I know a 13 year old little girl who had mastitis just a few weeks ago. She's obviously never been pregnant, hasn't even started her period yet. The doctor explained that it's caused by bacteria getting inside the area.

In B's case she likely had a scratch or something on her chest, (she's not really developed at all yet) then sat in the hot tub with her friends for a long time, and bacteria got in through the scratch.

Attitude may have gotten a scratch from a wayward claw which could start the infection.

I called the vet and they'll be calling me back later. The receptionist said they might just change her antibiotic but they have to talk to the vet first, obviously.

I have to go out later today so I will be getting a dosage syringe for the antibiotic since as I said the dropper is almost impossible to get a good measure out of so I don't know if she's sometimes not getting enough or getting too much.

She's still her normal crazy self so she doesn't seem to be suffering any. She also doesn't seem to mind the amoxicillin but she's been on it at least twice for varying amounts of time I think she's used to it.

I will update when the vet gets back to me.

Taryn

Yeah those droppers are useless.

The vet gave me forti-flora.

How do I do this with 2 cats? they eat out of both bowls equally so I won't know if she's eating it or if Nuts is. I mean do I put it in both bowls or just put it in one and hope that Attitude is the one who gets most or all of it.

Hopefully this helps. Giving my cat a bath and picking poop out of her fur while washing her is not my idea of fun. Not to mention a bath soaks both of us since we all know how much cats love baths.

I hope that after this everyone stays healthy for quite a while. I hope the next time I have to take them to the vet(after Attitude's follow up Thurs) is just for their rabies shots. That would be nice. I've seen enough of the vet.

Taryn

The forti flora won't hurt Nuts, so I would just put it in both dishes.

How's she doing?

I know how you feel about being a frequent visitor at the vet. I've had spells like that too. For a while I was there once or twice a week with Ootay (rb 5/09) and then seemed like the other three all had problems at that time too. Funny how it goes like that.

Also, Fortiflora is SO tasty, you can mix it with a little bit of water in a saucer and offer it to her - she will lick the sauce clean... (no food, just the fortiflora and the water)... This way you can make sure you are giving averything to her...

She is her normal self, her and Nuts chased each other up the hall earlier, I'm assuming they are both asleep on the bed. Actually went to look and Nuts was on the bed and Attitude was under the bed. It isn't that uncommon for her to be under the bed. She came out when I laid down and, after picking a small ball of poop out of her back end fur(it was solid, so must of just got stuck there due to fur length) started petting and loving on her. Nuts decided to come bite her and she whacked him in the head with a paw with her claws extended, guess she sick of getting bit(he has always been this way even as a little kitten he would bite his siblings too hard and make them cry.)

Attitude went and sniffed her food and didn't seem into it but Nuts is over chowing down. Attitude might just not be hungry yet(they don't always eat when they go over and sniff their food, it's like they just want to make sure it is still there and is still the same stuff), they tend to eat more at night than during the day. I just caught Nuts going for the second bowl with the forti flora(he was going to eat BOTH doses) so I took it away and took it to Attitude in the bedroom and she ate where I had put the forti flora so I know she got most if not all of it.

Like I said I just want a break from the vet. He also keeps saying FIV instead of leukemia. My cat does not have FIV, but he quickly says leukemia and looks at me questioningly and I verify Attitude has leukemia. He has done that the last 2 times I have seen him(he grabbed the fortiflora for me when I came in.) I think they might see more FIV than FeLV cats, the other vet Dr. Jessen told me he couldn't remember the last time they had a kitten with leukemia. Either that or he just knows Attitude is immuno compromised and keeps saying FIV instead of leukemia. Oh well, at least he knows Attitude is immuno compromised without needing her chart(and he recognized me when I walked in, and knew exactly what I was there for, I almost didn't recognize him, but he had a winter coat on and no white dr's coat like I normally see him) so I shouldn't complain.

Taryn

Amoxicillin frequently causes diarrhea... unfortunately... it has it's pros and cons.

A cat can get mastitis from going through unsuccessful heat cycles, not just pregnancy/nursing.

She got spayed during her first heat cycle(at 5 months old, thought I had until she was 6 months) the second I noticed it. Not hard to notice when you have an intact male in the house. They got her in the next day and she was spayed. So she has been in heat once and it wasn't any where near a full heat cycle. Like I said when I noticed(wasn't hard when I saw Nuts on top of Attitude) she was in heat the vet got her in the next day.

Taryn

Just a tip for giving your cat the forti flora; If possible I put it in a little bit of canned food, some really tasty stuff, and feed the cat that needs it in the bathroom with the door closed. That way I know if she eats it all or not.
If the cat won't eat it in the canned food I mix it with a few milliliter of Nutrical that a draw up in an oral syringe and squirt it in the cat's mouth a little at a time. The Nutrical is thick and a bit sticky so it's harder for the cat to spit it out. If you have a hard time drawing the Nutrical up in the syringe you can put a few drops of water in it.
Actually, I've found that it works really well to mix crushed pills with Nutrical too and squirting it into the mouth with a syringe. I've found it to be one of the easiest ways to get pills in a cat.

FYI, in case you need Forti flora again in the future you can buy it OTC from www.revivalanimal.com for a lot less than your vet would charge you for it. Forti flora works great when a cat or dog has a bit of stomach upset or are on medications that can bother the stomach.

Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom

Just a tip for giving your cat the forti flora; If possible I put it in a little bit of canned food, some really tasty stuff, and feed the cat that needs it in the bathroom with the door closed. That way I know if she eats it all or not.
If the cat won't eat it in the canned food I mix it with a few milliliter of Nutrical that a draw up in an oral syringe and squirt it in the cat's mouth a little at a time. The Nutrical is thick and a bit sticky so it's harder for the cat to spit it out. If you have a hard time drawing the Nutrical up in the syringe you can put a few drops of water in it.
Actually, I've found that it works really well to mix crushed pills with Nutrical too and squirting it into the mouth with a syringe. I've found it to be one of the easiest ways to get pills in a cat.

FYI, in case you need Forti flora again in the future you can buy it OTC from www.revivalanimal.com for a lot less than your vet would charge you for it. Forti flora works great when a cat or dog has a bit of stomach upset or are on medications that can bother the stomach.

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Just a note.... It is even cheaper at Amazon... $19 and free shipping
The only problem I had with Fortiflora was that it was too tasty - my cat actually held my hostage to it! No kidding - she would wait for me to sprinkle it before eating it! Little brat!
I am gladly back to bene-bac and no longer hostage!

I have never ever had a problem with her spitting out medications, she just takes them. Keep in mind she was 8 weeks old when she first took Amoxicillin and that was for 14 days, and she has been on it at least 2 times prior to this including the first time at 8 weeks and she never had diarrhea before, I think I might have been giving her too much trying to use the dosage dropper. I know have to dosage syringe so I now know I am giving her the exact right amount each time.

She is also weird about me knowing how much canned food she can or will eat in one sitting so giving to her in canned food could backfire on me if she doesn't eat it all, not to mention Nuts would drive me insane also wanting canned food.

I'll put it in her dry food again tomorrow I'll start trying to give it to her in a tiny amount of wet food if I have to. I'm trying to scale back her diet to just what I normally feed her to see if that also decreases her diarrhea, in case using the canned food got her tummy upset on top of the Amoxicillin but if it means she gets it and it doesn't seem to work putting it in her dry food I'll go get more canned food.

I also add it when the cats aren't looking so they have no clue I'm adding anything to their food.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

I also add it when the cats aren't looking so they have no clue I'm adding anything to their food.

Taryn

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Believe me, they are guided much more by smells then you hand gestures... That doesn't mean much to them...

Fortiflora is not really a medication and they will not spit it out... It is a probiotic just like Bene-Bac, just another strand of bacteria... And it is so tasty, they WILL eat it. IMO I would not worry about that... The problem with putting in the dry food, though, is that it will fall to the bottom of the bowl...
I would try to mix it with a bit of water in a little saucer and give it to her (just the fortiflora and water - 1 or 2 TSP) If she is anything like my cats, she will lick that saucer clean...
As far as adding to the wet food, sprinkle on the top of it, instead of mixing it in - this way she will lick it off first... This way you will make sure she has the full dose no matter how much food she gets.
I am telling you, this is some tasty stuff... You will see what I am talking about tomorrow...
Good luck!
But regardless, remember - this is a probiotic... just like Bene-bac... A different strand, an excellent one, but a probiotic.

Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom

Just a tip for giving your cat the forti flora; If possible I put it in a little bit of canned food, some really tasty stuff, and feed the cat that needs it in the bathroom with the door closed. That way I know if she eats it all or not.
If the cat won't eat it in the canned food I mix it with a few milliliter of Nutrical that a draw up in an oral syringe and squirt it in the cat's mouth a little at a time. The Nutrical is thick and a bit sticky so it's harder for the cat to spit it out. If you have a hard time drawing the Nutrical up in the syringe you can put a few drops of water in it.
Actually, I've found that it works really well to mix crushed pills with Nutrical too and squirting it into the mouth with a syringe. I've found it to be one of the easiest ways to get pills in a cat.

FYI, in case you need Forti flora again in the future you can buy it OTC from www.revivalanimal.com for a lot less than your vet would charge you for it. Forti flora works great when a cat or dog has a bit of stomach upset or are on medications that can bother the stomach.

Click to expand...

This can be a good idea, but never use nutrical unless it has been approved by the vet treating the cat. It is high in vitamin A and should not be given to cats with certain problems, kidney disease for one.

I put it in some turkey baby food in the bathroom, easier than using canned food, and gentle on her tummy, will do it with canned tomorrow since that was my last jar of baby food, I only bought 2 of the small jars or I might just get more baby food, they aren't eating a lot of it(maybe a TBSP each) so it has no effect on their cat food intake, plus they don't get baby food so it's not likely they will refuse to eat without it if it's something they really never get) Of course Attitude screamed the second I took her into the bathroom. The last time I took her in there was yesterday and she got a bath. Of course Nuts was right at the bathroom door wanting his and ran in the second I opened the door. I finally had to grab him by the shoulder to carry him out(no I didn't carry him the entire way by his shoulder, I grabbed him and more or less kind of gently tossed him out(my hands were full.) I was going for his scruff and missed. I put about a tablespoon for Attitude and put the rest in a bowl for Nuts(there wasn't much left, it was a 2.5 oz jar.)

I just sprinkled it on before giving her the food and walked in the bathroom after giving Nuts the rest(he was trying to climb under the bathroom door to get to Attitude's food) and Attitude refused to eat the food where the stuff was sprinkled on so I had to mix it in but once I did she gobbled down the rest of it(after I had her lick some off my finger and let her lick the spoon(even after mixing it she was acting like "I ain't eating that you put something on it") so she just didn't want to eat anything that had the powder on top of it.

It does seem to be working since her fur is still clean and the house doesn't reek of litter box. Also, the dosage syringe is so much easier for the antibiotic, I actually know if I'm giving her the right amount.

Once I'm out of the fortiflora I'll use bene-bac if I need to but I have a 30 packet supply so I don't think I'll be running out. Since the bene-bac was doing nothing I figured she needed something a little stronger to at least kick start her body to quit it with the diarrhea. Anyone who has a long haired cat knows what fun it is to clean their rear end when they have diarrhea.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

Once I'm out of the fortiflora I'll use bene-bac if I need to but I have a 30 packet supply so I don't think I'll be running out. Since the bene-bac was doing nothing I figured she needed something a little stronger to at least kick start her body to quit it with the diarrhea. Anyone who has a long haired cat knows what fun it is to clean their rear end when they have diarrhea.

Taryn

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Bene-bac or Fortiflora... you will only really see the results when you stop the antibiotics. Bene-bac was doing "nothing" because the Amoxicilin was killing it. (Probiotics are bacteria).
If you stopped the antibiotics today, you will really start seeing results. Benebac is really good too... The difference is Fortiflora has one strand, Benebac has many different strands (in addition to what Fortiflora has).
IMO both of them are excellent probiotics. This was my first time with Fortiflora, I think there are pros and cons. The BIG pro for me was it made Hope eat... The big Con for me is it made her addicted, and also the ingredients...
Anyways, regardless of which one you use, either will help your kitty rebuild her intestinal flora, and she should get better...