Too much info sometimes not a good thing.

There was a time that there were a number of medical shows on TV. I'm talking about the days of Dr. Kildare, etc. Many of those shows were referred to as "disease of the week" shows, because part of the drama was figuring out what some odd, esoteric disease was. And I had a boss at one time that was a true hypochondriac (and knew it), but every week he was convinced he had some new disease.

Remember, we hear here about the oddities, the unusual stuff, more than anything else. Most kittens grow up and live to a ripe old age with nothing more than the occasional little problem, much as the average human does. In fact, if you keep the cat inside so it doesn't contact most of the nasties outdoors, it may never be more than a little weepy-eyed or something.

That may be more of a personal issue you have rather than an overall issue that others may have. We, here at TCS, will repeatedly recommend going to a vet if you feel your cat is truly sick and since each of us know our cats and their normal behaviour, it should be easy to see if our kitty is behaving differently than normal.

This is an information site and many veteran posters have mega experience and knowledge but none of us are vets nor do we pretend to be.

Your caution could well be true of any site that offers up lay information.

I agree with all of the above. This is why it is important you know what is "normal" for your cat. So that way YOU KNOW when the cat needs to be seen by a veterinarian.

Overall I definitely agree with Cyndersmom. You also know I think you are a great person Yosemite. But this is just a forum and the people on it (including me) need to remember that "fact".

I agree with you if the animal is truly sick. But I think a lot of members seem to think a cat needs to be taken to a veterinarian way more often then is actually necessary, in my humble opinion. Since a cat may do something/anything "abnormal" and that does not mean the cat is sick. Cats do things for reasons we all will never know.

That is so well said. I wish everyone would take that statement to heart. So that way each person would know when the animal really needs to be seen by a veterinarian or animal behaviorist.

No, but some of the members in my humble opinion, seem to feel they know more then the average veterinarian. I personally do not like that attitude.

Now having said that I respect many of these members. I can say Sharky, Otto and LDG (this is just how the names came to my mind, not an order) I truly believe helped me save Loki's life. Since they told me about the "wonder substance" L-Lysine.


In closing I really hope you are not upset or offended by this post Yosmite. As I think you are a GREAT person. .

No offense taken at all. I do believe that some of our resident members have more information on nutrition than some vets do for sure.

I couldn't agree more. My vet never recommended a good brand of food to me. Just said wet food was best. It was here that I learned about the healthy, grain free brands.

Sorry, but your post got me chuckling, because... you definitely don't need TCS and knowledge of potential ailments to freak out about every little thing! For Gary and I, just being new to cats was enough. The local vet has an answering service after hours, and they page the vet, who then calls you at home. Any weird cough, sound, behavior, WHATEVER, and we were on the phone. We met him more after hours at the vet for our "emergencies" than we had official vet appointments! Of course, none were actual emergencies. He got a lot of bottles of wine in appreciation from us.

By the time we had any emergencies or real illnesses, we knew our kitties well enough to know.

awwww cyndersmom! i'm w/ you. i tend to be overwhelmed in every day life anyways, lol. it's an anxiety thing.

I so agree with this. My original vet said to only feed them Cat Chow only, that it was the healthiest.

I just have to say, I have learned so much from TCS about taking care of my babies from so many people on here.

No one should ever take something they read on a forum as the answer, it's always important to do your own research and of course to KNOW your kitties, but this forum is loaded with so much useful information to get you started in the right direction.

I have seen many times where a vet was stumped over the condition of a cat and just from people giving their experiences, a solution was found.

There have also been people who came on to ask for advice for a situation that they were not aware was an emergency situation until the members told them and they fortunately got the medical care for their cat.

I am a hypochondriac and I used to do this on websites about human diseases. I know what you mean, but it is not "normal" to freak out over every little thing.

I will say that it was here that I heard about the disease where the cat gets bloated looking and dies pretty fast. I can't remember the name of it now because it kind of did freak me out! But I have let it go with knowing what to look for as symptoms go and trying not to worry.

I agree with those people who have said its an anxiety thing.

Ive learned a ton on here about taking care of my cats but Ive also learned that despite what anyone says that you know your cats and you know in your gut when something is wrong.

I agree and disagree. I agree that all the information and opinions being thrown around, you can easily get concerned over nothing. Like others have said, you should know what's "normal" for your own cat. One cat may be more talkative than the others, some use the litter box more, some tend to drink more. Others suffer from allergies or have a unique walk. If you know something to be normal for your cat then you shouldn't get worked up about it.
I remember in high school, in biology, we watched a video about parasites. Great video to watch during the period that is shared with lunch. Not. There were so many parasites that had all these different signs to look for. One was a parasite that swam around in the clear flim that covers your eyeball. The girl in the video saw moving squiggly lines and black floaters and became partially blind because of these worms. Guess what? 90% of adults have squiggly lines and black floaters. That doesn't mean we all have tiny worms swimming around in our eye goo. Animal Planet has a show that's on now that is pretty much the same. I think its called "monsters inside us" or something like that. Watch it and see how many signs of parasites you have but know is not caused by parasites. You'd be surprised.
Anyways, point is, you need to know what is normal and then if your cat stops acting normal then take it to see the vet.

yeah kind of like if you have human kids lol

OK...ummm...some personal info about me: parasites are one of my WORST fears. EVER. i can handle parasites in an animal (such as tapeworms)...don't get me wrong they gross me out but i don't freak out over it. but have someone start talking about having worms...or if i see it on tv (such as the show you mentioned) OMG. OMG. OMG.

my husband and i were watching one of our fav sci fi shows (stargate) and there were these parasite things that invade the human body and lay their eggs and they take over the whole body and when the eggs hatch they come out of every oriface...i CRIED watching that episode. LMAO!

LOL yeah, I think the day in high school when we had to watch that video was probably one of the worst biology days ever! Guess what we had for that day. Spaghetti. Best thing to take a break to eat during a show about parasites? Noodles that looks like a type of parasite. Everyone was itching and scratching by the end of glass. it was gross

It's easy to overthink things and fear the worst. Not just reading about cat ailments, but try looking up stuffy nose on WebMD, or even just google it. You'll find things that make you think you should go to the ER! But really you might just have a cold and you'll get better in a few days without seeing a doctor or taking meds. Or if you have a sore arm, it might be a pulled muscle from playing darts for the first time in months, but if you google it, you might think it's a tumor, or a heart problem, or maybe they should just cut it off!

So I think I know what you're saying by taking info on here with a grain of salt. I read and sometimes respond, and I ask stuff too. But, as was said before, I know my cats, and you know your cats, what's normal for them and what's not. Sure, I worry about them all the time, but most times something slightly out of the ordinary is just that, and things get back to normal on their own. Just this past week Genever was scratching her ear, shaking her head. A lot. And then a few days after she started, I looked at her ear, and it was crusty and oozing. So I figured, OK, this could be bad, she never scratches to the point of a bald spot and breaking the skin, so I took her in and came home with antibiotics for an infection. Other times, though, she'll sneeze for a day or 2, and if she stops and isn't snotty, then I figure OK it's allergies or fuzz got in her nose, she's fine. If she would sneeze a lot more though or have a runny nose, then I'd know this isn't normal, and call the vet. You might see Genever sneeze and think she's sick, but I'd know if it's regular sneezing or something more to get checked out.

My two cents.. . One thing you have to realize here on TCS, especially the Health and Behavior Forums is that most of the people coming to us for help have problems (some serious) with their cats. That is only a very, very, very small percentage of all the cats in the World . What I am saying, is that you have to remember that "most" cats seemingly live long and healthful lives. People come to this site looking for advice/suggestions/support for their cats who ARE having issues. Most people wouldn't be searching for a "cat site" otherwise. I also look at it as a way to educate myself more in the health of cats.... Some very interesting topics and subjects to learn from and then IF your cat does become ill with something, you might already have the knowledge as to how to best treat the ailment or deal with that particular behavior because of what your are reading/learning on TCS

I think I know what you mean. It's like that on the baby chat board I go on for my DD. Mostly with the pregnancy stuff because you do hear all the unusual stuff there. I try not to read everything. Just like most pregnancies are just fine without info overload; so are most kitties. I think if somethng is really wrong; you'll notice it because you know your baby. Furry or otherwise.

i think i just barfed a little...