One happy cat, one unhappy cat

Hi all,

I am writing looking for some advice.  My husband and I adopted two male four month old cats from the same litter at the end of March.  At that time Bacon was very shy and Cheddar was the much more assertive male.  The shelter told us they were a bonded pair and this made sense as they play and sleep together often.  When we brought them into the home things changed.  Bacon became the alpha and Cheddar has gotten shyer and shyer.  My husband and I are fine letting cats be cats, as long as they are safe, healthy, and seem to be happy.  For the past three months Cheddar hides during the day, and Bacon can't get enough of our affection and attention.  He is very laid back and does this on our terms.  Cheddar wakes at night and plays with Bacon, and then hides again in the morning.  He eats when we put wet food out and we assume he eats dry food at night as they are both nearing the 9-10 pound range now.  But we have noticed that one of the cats had been having loose stool.  Then last week I noticed some bright red blood around Cheddar's butt while he was running with Bacon around midnight.  Then this morning we had to catch him and clean some loose stool from his back legs.

We called the shelter and they have recommended trying to resocialize him by putting him in a cage.  The good side of the cage is that I have a seperate box in there for him, and a seperate diet of the potato-turkey sensitive stomach cat food.  At the very least we will be able to collect a stool sample and know it is his.  The bad side of the cage is that Cheddar doesn't appreciate it.  He tried to fight his way out for a bit, then he cried for a bit, and now he is cowering in there, and hisses when I approach.  This isn't abnormal, as he always used to hiss at us from his hiding spots when we would get too close. 

We would never think of taking Cheddar back to the shelter because he seems to make Bacon so happy.  But we are worried that the stress of living with us is making his digestion go off key.  We are going to keep him in the cage for a couple of days and control his diet and see what he is eating and how he is pooping, and then we will take him to the vet if things don't improve.  The vet trip will be very stressful for him, I can only imagine.  We try to play with him and feed him meat baby food for treats, but does anyone have any ideas on how to get this cat to calm down and see us as loving caretakers?

Also, I am the worst mom ever at doing things that may be good for him if he does not like them.  it is killing me to see him upset in the cage.  do you think this is in his best interest?  I just keep telling myself that he may be upset, but at least we can snag a stool sample...

Thanks for the advice, in advance.

From what you describe, I think there's a medical reason going on with Cheddar that may be partially responsible for him hiding, so I would encourage a vet visit sooner rather than later. Cats do hide instinctively when they don't feel well. While stress can definitely be a factor, I find it difficult to believe stress alone is responsible for digestive upset to the point of bleeding. I would also look at diet.

Hello, sorry your little one is having problems.

Have they been vet checked by any other vet, other then the shelter vet? This would be my first step. Do you have a room, even a bathroom, you can use to confine him in rather then using a cage? I'm not fond of caging, and he's probably so confused about being in there. If all you need is a stool sample that is definitely his, I'd just put him in a bathroom with his food, water, and box until he goes and then let him loose, and get him vet checked.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks for the advice.  I got cheddar purring in the cage!  when i sit in front of the cage he doesn't try to get out, so i think i'll leave him for overnight.  I had to feed him turkey baby food to get him happy, and unfortunately it has cornstarch in it.    if he had not calmed down and chilled i wouldn't keep him in the cage, but he freaks out in rooms with closed doors, so at least this way he can see out and interact with us/bacon.  and get treats.

I think this may all be diet related because i noticed bleeding butt one time before (we notice because we have white bed linens) and that was when i had given him new treats.  he has had the baby food before so hopefully that doesn't interfere with the clean diet.  i also weighed his food in the cage so i can know how much he is actually eating.

i will hopefully be able to take him to a vet on thursday morning.  going to try to find one tomorrow after work.  thanks for the advice and i'll keep updating.
 

For great info written by a vet on feline nutrition, I would recommend http://www.catinfo.org/.