New Cat Owner - Probably just a Kitten Hypochondriac

Okay. Hi! I just adopted an adorable little kitten last month. I took her to the vet about 2 weeks ago, just for a post-adoption check-up/round of shots and everything was perfectly normal. However, lately I'm noticing a few little things that are making me question if I should take her back in or if I'm just being a paranoid mom.

First, every few days or so, I've noticed a TINY hard little piece of poop sticking out of her butt. She's short-hair, so it's not a "dingleberry", it's literally still IN her butt. Meanwhile, she still poops normally (or at least I think it's normal? Pretty hard, long brown poops. Not like SUPER hard though...) Sorry, TMI with all of this. Anyway, I've often ended up pulling the little piece of poop out of her butt, which takes a little bit of effort. It doesn't seem to make her too uncomfortable, she doesn't enjoy it and squirms a bit but doesn't seem to be in pain and can sit right back down on her bottom after so I don't think/*hope* I'm not hurting her. Any idea what could be the cause?

Second, it's been three times over the past month or so, where she'll have a minor coughing fit. It's happened in bed every time. She'll get low down, and make hacking sounds for a few minutes. I usually just pick her up and put her down in the bathroom (in case she vomits) and pet her and she'll stop pretty soon after the change of locations. It's not often enough that it's made me worried, until I googled a bit. Thoughts on this one?

And lastly, the past few days I've noticed her shaking her head more frequently than before. I looked in her ears and see a little bit of a waxy buildup but no coffee grind like spots or a real excess amount of wax. Thoughts here as well?

Other than these things, she's a perfectly happy little kitten. Super rambunctious and playful, loves to cuddle, drinks A LOT of water & eats her food regularly (dry food only for now, she will NOT eat wet but I'm not giving up on that yet).

Alright, I feel like I sound like Mommy Dearest, this is just my first pet that's fully my responsibility and she's already like my baby. I'm sure I'm being crazy overprotective, but just wanted to get a few thoughts/opinions from some seasoned cat ladies/men.

Thanks so much!

- S

 Anyway, I've often ended up pulling the little piece of poop out of her butt, which takes a little bit of effort

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Don't worry about being over protective, I think we all are.

Be careful, it is not a good idea to pull things out of cat bottoms. It can cause other problems eg damage to the intestines. This issue could be a health issue or diet related.

The hacking up could be fur balls, try brushing her a little bit more.

I always ring my vet when I am unsure if she needs to go in. If the kitten needs its next round of shot soon, ring and ask do they think the issues can wait or should you bring her in now. If your vet won't give advice over the phone, ring around other vets in your area and ask.

Personally i would take my cat the to vet, it is nice being told my little fur monster is healthy.

Head shaking is ear mites. Easy one..Qtip like we do with our ears. Daily. As for the poopy? Id take her back to the vet and ask him to explain that and the coughing. I would worry. Your vet needs to take another look at her. Don't be afraid to ask pointed questions and demand detailed answers.

Even without seeing anything in her ears you still think it's ear mites? Everything I've been reading has said with ear mites you see ground coffee like spots and she doesn't seem to have any of those.

Just called her vet and left a (way too) detailed message, they're closed until Tuesday. Do you think it's okay to wait until then since she seems fine other than these small things? Or should I take her to a different vet?

Thanks!

She can probably wait until Tuesday, it doesn't sound like there's anything really wrong, but I would want to ask the vet about those things. 

Okay, awesome. Thanks everyone for your help! Simba says thank you too!

Oh!  She's precious . 

I agree that I would not pull the poopy out of her, just in case it's attached to a string or something it shouldn't be.  It's awkward, but that's the way of it.  What food are you feeding her.  Maybe a simple switch to a different food will help with that problem.  Something to discuss with the Vet, for certain.  Too bad she won't eat wet food, but at least she drinks lots.  I was thinking maybe you could give her a little canned pumpkin to see if that would help her expel those "leftovers", but doubt if she would eat it plain. 

The shaking of the head doesn't necessarily mean ear mites, but if you are seeing a little wax in there, it could mean her food isn't completely agreeing with her and is causing that build up.  It's amazing just what food will do to cats.  Can cause excessive itching, waxy build-up, extreme digestive issues, etc. 

The coughing is the most worrisome to me.  That could be a sign of a hairball, or asthma, or even a heart issue.  Or could be allergies.  Or could just be something caught in her throat because kittens will be kittens and sniff and eat pretty much anything they find One of my cats coughs every time he drinks water.  I mentioned it to the Vet, panicking, but she checked him up one side and down the other and assured me it was fine.  (Luckily he eats wet food, and I add plenty of water to it, so he doesn't need to drink additional water, because he is now 6 and still hasn't figure out how to drink without coughing) 

BTW, I , too, think waiting until Tuesday to see your Vet  to discuss these things should be ok.They don't seem too major at her age.

Oh, she's a looker!!  What a cutie!  I'm partial to those tabbies....

For the poop stuck in her, I'd look at her diet.  If you're not already feeding her a good canned kitten food, I'd add that to her diet at least twice a day.  You could also add in a bit of plain canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just plain pureed canned pumpkin) as well as a bit of water to make her food thick like oatmeal.  She may not be getting enough water in her diet which would cause the dry, hard stool especially if she's on an all-dry diet currently. 

The head shaking and coughing could actually be related to allergies.  I'm not sure where you live, but here in Texas Ragweed season is upon us and two of my four kitties are having allergy issues.  Cleaning our her ears is always a good thing, but get her back to the vet to have those ears checked out to be sure it's not ear mites or an ear infection.

I would find another vet ASAP. If I could get A to a vet for a check up I would. She needs one. The roving ones refuse to call me back. Ground coffee? Not necessarily because I had no clue what ear mites were but she definitely had them. No ground coffee stuff just head shaking. The stuff you buy at the store works but she needed 3 doses. Now I use a q tip on her ears every day. While using the earmite stuff you need to use a q tip on her ears to clean them out. You can see brown in the q tip. That...is ear mites. Barely visible but much like a splinter. Annoying. A has vaginitis and what I've seen on the internet doesn't show what she's got nor tell how to cure it. The vet would know so...that's another example, like the ear mites thing and coffee grounds? That isn't always what it is. Yes certainly, find another vet. The one you have doesn't seem to be serving you both well anyway.

Ah okay, so I took her into a different vet because her ears got worse over the weekend and it turns out she has a pretty bad ear infection, poor baby. The vet didn't see anything in the X-ray that could be causing the coughing, so she sent me home with some "amoxicillan for cats" she called it, just in case it's a respiratory infection. She asked me to video tape her coughing the next time it happens and send it to her, since she thinks my kitten's too young for asthma. But she was very concerned about the coughing, which worries me. Apparently the poop's just Simba not knowing how to clean herself fully yet haha

I feel bad for her, she was NOT happy at the vet or with the ear drops/antibiotics. I'm just glad I posted this here and you all advised me/I went with my gut to bring her in. Thanks everyone for their suggestions/help!

saidthecat said:

 
Ah okay, so I took her into a different vet because her ears got worse over the weekend and it turns out she has a pretty bad ear infection, poor baby. The vet didn't see anything in the X-ray that could be causing the coughing, so she sent me home with some "amoxicillan for cats" she called it, just in case it's a respiratory infection. She asked me to video tape her coughing the next time it happens and send it to her, since she thinks my kitten's too young for asthma. But she was very concerned about the coughing, which worries me. Apparently the poop's just Simba not knowing how to clean herself fully yet haha

I feel bad for her, she was NOT happy at the vet or with the ear drops/antibiotics. I'm just glad I posted this here and you all advised me/I went with my gut to bring her in. Thanks everyone for their suggestions/help!

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I'm glad Simba's ear infection's getting taken care of!

As for the coughing, one of our cats did that, too, in the first month after we adopted them: Ireland coughed as if she had a hairball but it was obvious nothing was ever going to come out. It looked a lot like the video on Fritz the Brave's site. I happened to have some very dustless kitty litter around (Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief) so switched the cats' litter... and the coughing stopped completely, in January 2014. (The vet was amazed!) We'd been using Fresh Step, which is super-dusty and perfumed so I suspect Ireland was having a reaction to that. All of which is to say that if you're using a very dusty and perfumey litter, you might want to try something else!

Have fun with Simba!

I forgot about ear infection. Thought she was too young for that. Apparently not. This new vet wants you to what??? And how will you show her this video? As for chest infection? Annabel had one last year and like magic a course of children's allergy med (not recommended w/out a vet but I had no choice) did the trick. They usually say the cat will heal herself from a cold in a few weeks but this was a chest infection. Your kitten needs medicine for hers too. Some meds for humans can be used for cats. Your new vet seems good, sounds like a woman, but??? How are you supposed to show her the video?

I would videotape the coughing episodes, they may seem like hairballs, but could be something else. Whatever it may be, the earlier diagnosed the better. Simba has a loving caring owner, and I'm glad you posted your concerns. That's what we're here for I know from experience that coughing can be asthma, but the symptoms are like hairballs. My Grovie passed away 16 days ago from an asthma attack. I had no idea anything was wrong. I'm sure Simba is totally fine, but just keep an eye on her coughing. She's such a beauty!

Yeah, she gave us medicine for the possible respiratory infection and I would just record the video on my phone & e-mail or text her Going back in next week for a check-up too!

I'm so sorry for your loss! Definitely keeping a SUPER watchful eye on Simba but due to her age and from what the vet heard through the stethoscope/X-ray she really doesn't think it's asthma. Crossing my fingers she's right!

Thank you, I just had to speak up from my own experience. Sounds like Simba will be just fine!

Well...I guess Simba can pose for the....um...phone? Lol but not really. Technology can be a life saver. Phone? I wish any of the roving vets would call me back so A could get vet care. I'm glad it's not asthma. That would be a cruel twist of fate. Cool name, what type of cat do you have?