Kitten in China. Difficulties finding good food

melvaughn said:

Great! I have QQ but rarely use it. Do you have wechat? You could add me there.

Yes, I'm not impressed with the Vets in Anhui at all. Bored looking guys that look 25 that don't seem to care about animals
at all. But I've talked to some really good vets in Shanghai so I have hope!I I teach at USTC and there are only  a few pet stores in the area but mostly dog food. There are also stray cats everywhere (all over the campus) and I've heard some stories of cats/dogs being skinned and boiled in this province. I just hope I can take my kitten to Shanghai with me. I will try to drive there or rent a moving van
instead of the plane since some cats have died at the Vet I'm going to after the Rabies shot. And I can't take the kitten on the train/bus.

The Wellness food I order is 235RMB but most other brands I see are up to 500/600 for a case of 24 which is very high
I love Nanjing and Shanghai so I'm looking forward to moving out of Hefei next year! 

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you have answered my question. .Please try to take her anyhow and anyway without the rabies injection

Stewball said:

name="melvaughn" url="/t/289288/kitten-in-china-difficulties-finding-good-food/30#post_3678869"]Hi, I've been using Taobao to order the "Wellness" cat food..lol....although these imported foods are quiet expensive. 

That's good you feed your cat raw meat. I've had soooo many locals here look
horrified that I spend money to buy cat food from a can....I've been told "that it's unnecessary and I should just feed the cat rice. There are people here who actually raise their kittens on a daily diet of rice every day! 

I live in Hefei, Anhui province, about 3 hours from Shanghai on the train. Also close to Nanjing.

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If you can take her to shanghai by train would she still need the rabies injection. I understand it's 3 hours compared to 1 hour but is it feasible?[/quote]
No animal is allowed on the train or bus here. Flying would be my only option (and then of course I would need the rabies shot) with this vet. But I'm going to look into getting a moving van and taking the cat (along with all my things) in the van. Or unless I can find someone that can drive me to Shangahi. I'm really trying to hold off on the Rabies shot and spaying until I move though.

melvaughn said:

No animal is allowed on the train or bus here. Flying would be my only option
(and then of course I would need the rabies shot) with this vet. But I'm going to look into getting a moving van and taking the cat (along with all my things) in the van. Or unless I can find someone that can drive me to Shangahi. I'm really trying to hold off on the Rabies shot and spaying until I move though.

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if you can do that then hold off on the rabies injection

I'm also curious what will happen if I don't spay her until she's older. When she's going through heat, will she try to escape? She's a little over four months now and she already sometimes loiters around the front door, looking like she wants to take off so I'm a bit worried she will somehow get out. And she has no ID tags.

melvaughn said:

 
I'm also curious what will happen if I don't spay her until she's older. When she's going through heat, will she try to escape? She's a little over four months now and she already sometimes loiters around the front door, looking like she wants to take off so I'm a bit worried she will somehow get out. And she has no ID tags.

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If she does go in to heat you will need to be constantly vigilant to make sure she can't get out.  Cats will try almost anything to get out at these times and there are all too many threads in Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care describing how they have managed to escape and what the results have been.   It is worth remembering too that not all females show when they are in heat.  Some call enlessly and drag themself about making it very clear they are distressed and unhappy while with others it can be completely unnoticeable.  I had 2 litter sisters who were polar oposites with this prior to their being spayed.

Oh wow..that's terrible! I think it wouldn't be too difficult to escape from my apartment (without going into details) the apartment is not designed that 'securely'!

hmm, well I know they spay/neuter dogs all the time at the Vet here so I suppose spaying a cat would be similar. I also come in and out of my apartment a lot and if she were to slip past me out the front door there are large holes in the stairwell with a fifty foot drop.....(and there are hundreds of stray cats all around my apartment) It wouldn't be good!

Some people are telling me that 'maybe she won't experience the typical reactions and to not worry about it but I assume all cats will show symptoms.

melvaughn said:

Oh wow..that's terrible! I think it wouldn't be too difficult to escape from my

apartment (without going into details) the apartment is not designed that 'securely'!

hmm, well I know they spay/neuter dogs all the time at the Vet here so I suppose spaying a cat would be similar. I also come in and out of my apartment a lot and if she were to slip past me out the front door there are large holes in the stairwell with a fifty foot drop.....(and there are hundreds of stray cats all around my apartment) It wouldn't be good!

Some people are telling me that 'maybe she won't experience the typical reactions and to not worry about it but I assume all cats will show symptoms.

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i thought you were worried about this vet carrying out this operation.

Well it's the lesser of two evils. I'm worried (but it may also be unnecessarily paranoia) And things would be equally bad if she escaped and got pregnant. I think I'd be more worried about the Rabies shot. I know dogs are spayed frequently so I figure they'd do an okay job. And it's quite expensive to have the procedure done here so it's not like it's a cheap or free job. Not sure if I should wait it out and see what symptoms she has but I do know it would be very easy for her to escape if she were in heat (and there are stray cats everywhere) so spaying is important.

You're not paranoid at all. It's a great worry. Heaven forbid they botch it or heaven forbid she gets pregnant. You're the one that's there so it's your decision not ours. We just put our twopence worth in and you make the decisions. Maybe the operation is the way to go and you're worrying about nothing. It's the damned rabies injection that's main problem. Thank goodness I don't have to give it to mine.
it's a shame you can't put her in one of those big cages when you're not there.
Keep us posted.

Maybe this is a silly question and I'm imagining things but I noticed my kittens eyes are changing colors. They use to be a yellowish/green color and in the past few days, I noticed they are becoming more and more brown! Like a darkish brown. Is this normal? I thought 'brown' is not a color most cats have? And she still seems to be a bit 'scrawny' in the body as if she's just not gaining much weight!

dangotkmn said:

 
I am from China, and I have to admit Chinese does not care cats as much as dogs. And believe me, NEVER buy any pets from local pet stores again! They are very few registered cat breeders in China, and most of the pet store owners know nothing of cat breeds. They basically just put a male cat and a female cat into the same cage, and waited for the female cat got pregnant. The kittens are usually sickish and have unknown health issues. If you buy their cat, the unprincipled sellers would "make" more kittens in this way. The only way to stop them is stop buying their cats! If you want to get another cat, you can probably find registered cat breeders on CFA's website. Or you can just adopt one, since you can find a lot of homeless cats on the street. Anyway,my suggestion for your food concern is: NEVER FEED WHISKAS. You can buy some chicken breasts and boil them for your cat. Lots of cat owners I know feed their cats like this. You may also find some agent sellers of US cat food brands in China. I can't remember the exact brands, but I think it includes brand like EVO. Take great care of your cat! Hoping you have great time in China, too! China may not have proper cat food but there are lots of delicious food for people lol.

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Hi I just noticed this now. Thanks for the tips! ya, I bought her from a 'so called' breeder out on the street at a pet market. They mostly had plants, fish and birds and some of the kittens did not look healthy...eye infections, etc. I bought one of the kittens that looked healthy, but of course you never know...I wouldn't trust the breeder where I bought her at all and obviously I couldn't communicate with her either.

I order "Wellness" on Taoboa". She's been eating Wellness for two months now but it's getting too expensive lately so I'm sticking with Mio9 for now. It's tuna based but I think I could do a lot worse for cat food and she seems to like it more than Wellness....she never ate the Whiska pouches (wasn't a big fan of that) I even tried to give her fancy feast. Found it at only one store but she didn't eat that either and it looked gross with a gelatin-like texture!

She loves Mio9. On the can it says: Sea Catch Tuna, No Hormones added, No salt added, No Wheat Glueten, grain-free, No artifical flavor or preservatives. First five ingredients: "Tuna, Water for sufficient processing, Chicken, sunflower oil, Potato Starch"

It actually looks really good and even has small shrimp in it and a lot of water content. But a bit worried about giving her tuna every day. But it's the best I can do for now. She also really likes Royal Canin Kitten (Hard kibble)

Locals really look at me strange for having a cat in my apartment! They think cats are dirty and should be kept outside. I'm a bit worried as I have to leave China for two months in the summer since my Visa expires. (Although I will be returning to work in Shanghai in Sept).  Will be teaching at "NYU Shanghai" Do you know the University? Anyway, I'm trying to find someone that can take her for two months while I'm away but I'm having a difficult time so far....I also realize I'll have to risk spaying her if I want anyone to take her for two months ( which is around the time she'd be in full heat).

Update: I think I finally found a decent Vet (third one I've been to now)...the guy was older, looked more professional, wasn't sleeping at his desk. The place was clean! And he seemed to like animals. He gave me three tubes of Revolution for CATS! So it does exist here! Since she still is a bit on the thin side.

So I feel better about spaying her..going to spay at his office in April/May. He recommended it's better to wait until she's 6 or 7 months and a big bigger. I guess that really depends though. I can even pay additional to leave her overnight if I want her watched. So I think the spaying will go okay now. They were fully booked in February for 'spaying' so I figure that's a good sign! And I will hold off on any Rabies shot until later.

Good. I'm glad you found a vet you're comfortable with. It makes all the difference.

I think she may be going through heat already! The last few days she's been meowing excessively, and almost all night long as well. She's never done this before. She's also rolling around on the floor constantly and three times now I've seen her in a strange squatting/crawling position with her butt slightly raised in the air...she was squatting on her back legs. I thought there was something wrong with her legs which is why I took her to the new vet. He said her legs were fine and I should wait to spay her until the 6th or 7th month because she's a bit thin and it could be risky. I never realized at the time she could be going through heat.

I personally think she's at an okay age/weight. She's also only 4 1/2 months..will be 5 months in March but Isn't it too early to be going through heat? But she's definitely been acting very strange lately! More affectionate than usual, constant meowing, butt in the air! I didn't think it would come this soon!

I'm a bit worried she will escape. My apartment would not be difficult to get out of...

I tried scratching her lower back and sure enough she lifted her butt in the air (with tail to the side) so I think it's safe to say she's in heat. She's does look a bit on the thin side but she was 3 pounds last month. I'm assuming she's now four pounds at least.

She's tiny? and she certainly sounds as if she's on heat poor baby.
Speak to the vet again and tell him.
Some women mature early you know. ;-)

ya, she is quite small.  The vet thought she looked thin. But I'd say she's at least 4 pound but more lean body shape.

It's the holidays here right now so I can't spay her for the next three weeks. Right now she meows constantly. Unsure if it's heat or she's just being vocal in general.

So I had someone call the Vet on my behalf and the Vet said that she is too small to be able to handle the surgery and it would be dangerous...despite the fact that she's now going into heat. He said I need to wait until she's 7 or 8 months old in April, or May! She will actually still only be 6 months in April (and could still look small by then)...so I guess I need to put up with her going into heat for the next two months!

And there are all kinds of little crevices she could escape from in my apartment and windows that aren't secured! ..etc And then she'd fall 6 stories to her death!  And people come in and out of my apartment a lot meaning she could easily run past! This is kind of ridiculous. Is it really that dangerous to spay at 4 or 5 months? She will be 5 months in March. I was hoping to hold out for three weeks but now April/May seems crazy! She does look a bit thin but I noticed all the cats in China are fat! Or very plump because they are fed table scraps mostly. Whereas my cat has been eating Wellness the past two months..(but in general she has a small appetite)

This is what she currently looks like from the side while standing...Her body shape is 'lean' but is this really too thin to be spayed?

I feel the vets here are quite old school with thinking 'later is better"...but the vet really made out that it would be dangerous and she'd need to be significantly 'heavier'. I feel it's more risky waiting until she possibly gets pregnant.  Maybe the method they use to spay here is different and would then be riskier...

It might be that the vets there aren't experienced with pediatric spaying and neutering. I think the main concern is anesthesia. Six months is the norm in Germany, too, for that reason, unless you have a vet right out of vet school.