My old cat was a healthy cat all of his life and then when he was 16.5 years old he got in a cat fight and had a claw stuck in his side which got infected and ravaged him. He started with anemia and then IBD, renal failure, and pancriutus and lived until he was just about 20 years old. During the last year or so he was also getting really stiff from arthritis and I could see he was just wearing out but he still seemed happy for the most part. During that year I was thinking about what I would do when he passed on and because of him I decided I would either get a sick cat or an old cat.
Scratchy finally passed away so I started looking around the local shelters and found a cat that caught my eye. He is only 2.5 years old but has IBD and maybe pancriutus but I only got him a few days ago and haven't seen any of the vet documentation. He is a domestic short hair and looks a lot like Scratchy's sister who passed away 3 years and is black and is a fat cat. In the shelter his name was listed as Tiny but the first time I picked him up I knew his name was now Fatboy. Fatboy has a great personality and really likes people and being pet including his belly and seems really good natured. He is a little skittish still be is slowly calming down and getting used to things. I am pretty sure he lived in a small apartment before because he is fascinated and tripped out by stairs and the size of this place.
So far I have not seen any of the typical IBD issues but he has only been here for a few days. My first step is to get him used to the place and have my vet get all of his medical records and then bring him in for an exam and blood work. So far his stools have been good and the food he got from the shelter doesn't seem to interest him very much. I have been giving him Royal Canin stomach sensitive wet food to break him from the dry stuff. He only eats 1 and a half or so small cans of food which is not a lot for a 18 or so pound cat. I brought out some Fancy Feast to see if this would pick his appetite up but he didn't eat any more of this either. Today is day 3 in his new home and he is still nervous although he is very people orientated and spends a lot of time getting attention.
I am hoping what I learned from Scratchy can be applied to Fatboy and I will update this with any findings or changes to hopefully help others. First thing first, he needs to see a vet to see where things stand I am also getting him to be more active and playing with him to help him drop some weight. The not eating thing is a concern right now but he seems to be very happy and is not showing any signs of distress. He hadn't eaten much during the afternoon so I gave him a bunch of freeze dried treats and seemed to enjoy those and ate some food after that which was good sign.
Scratchy finally passed away so I started looking around the local shelters and found a cat that caught my eye. He is only 2.5 years old but has IBD and maybe pancriutus but I only got him a few days ago and haven't seen any of the vet documentation. He is a domestic short hair and looks a lot like Scratchy's sister who passed away 3 years and is black and is a fat cat. In the shelter his name was listed as Tiny but the first time I picked him up I knew his name was now Fatboy. Fatboy has a great personality and really likes people and being pet including his belly and seems really good natured. He is a little skittish still be is slowly calming down and getting used to things. I am pretty sure he lived in a small apartment before because he is fascinated and tripped out by stairs and the size of this place.
So far I have not seen any of the typical IBD issues but he has only been here for a few days. My first step is to get him used to the place and have my vet get all of his medical records and then bring him in for an exam and blood work. So far his stools have been good and the food he got from the shelter doesn't seem to interest him very much. I have been giving him Royal Canin stomach sensitive wet food to break him from the dry stuff. He only eats 1 and a half or so small cans of food which is not a lot for a 18 or so pound cat. I brought out some Fancy Feast to see if this would pick his appetite up but he didn't eat any more of this either. Today is day 3 in his new home and he is still nervous although he is very people orientated and spends a lot of time getting attention.
I am hoping what I learned from Scratchy can be applied to Fatboy and I will update this with any findings or changes to hopefully help others. First thing first, he needs to see a vet to see where things stand I am also getting him to be more active and playing with him to help him drop some weight. The not eating thing is a concern right now but he seems to be very happy and is not showing any signs of distress. He hadn't eaten much during the afternoon so I gave him a bunch of freeze dried treats and seemed to enjoy those and ate some food after that which was good sign.