Fur coat changes

My 1 year old boy has been showing a few suspicious signs that have me a bit baffled. 

1st, his fur has been spiky in appearance instead of all one smoothed coat. It also appears a little oily. He doesn't have any problems cleaning himself though, and his brother helps him with that as well

2nd, there could be some behavioral changes as well. He can be a very timid, sensitive cat. But he seems to be spending a bit more time than usual in his cube bed. I first attributed it to my putting the tablecloth back on the table it is under, which I had to previously remove cause he hid under it too much. But now I dunno... His foster brother also just got adopted a week ago, so perhaps he is missing him and that is what is causing him to hide? I more inclined to lean towards physical issues first and foremost though, than attributing it to emotional problems.

Any health conditions that could attribute to his fur coat changes? Things like thyroid issues and diabetes seem much too unlikely due to his age.

Maybe he's not grooming as much as you think?  It would be unusual for a healthy young kitten (at 1 yr of age) not to be an impeccable groomer.  The hiding may or may not be a sign of depression from missing his brother, but if he's hiding more often, then yes, it could be a health issue.

Play it safe, make a vet appointment and get him seen promptly. 

The description of the coat is classic lack of grooming, he could very well be depressed. He is already timid and now is buddy is gone and only other more dominate cats remain in the house. Make sure to put food and water under the table with him. I would also monitor his litterbox. If he is not eating he will stop pooping. Also try to spend more time with him. take him to a room and close the door and see if he perks up when the other cats are locked out. Be prepared to spend a couple of hours in there with him, so bring something to do. If he starts acting better then you have your answer.

So yeah, his fur is still doing the separated, spikey thing. The oilyness I am going to attribute to my loving on him and getting oils from my face on his fur. Cause his fur looks normal matte otherwise. But this antisocial behavior would seem more appropriate if say, he was 15 years old and his brother died... Not for a kitten we had for 2 weeks, and the first few days he spent rueing his existence. He has been gone now for two weeks and is still acting like this.
He is still eating, though not as much. He seems really put off by wet food right now as well.
The possible causes in my mind right now are:
1] New dry food we tried him on about a week before kitten left. Contained rabbit, so thinking an allergy? Stopped that food and put him back on his old food.
2] Worms. He got into foster kittens food a few times and he could have had worms. Though his resident brother got into it as well and did not come down problems.
3] Small blockage? A ball he took a liking to (one we have had laying about forever and a day) had 3 ribbons coming out the side of it. Found them gnawed down to nubs and no ribbons laying about... My guess is he ingested them. Would have been about 2" or so, each. He is still eating, drinking and pottying, so not sure how they could be blocking things. I have not seen them when I cleaned the litter box, but I did dump all the litter out into the garbage to clean the box recently, so it could have possibly be in there.

Either way, ya, I think I am going to schedule with the vet.

Most likely a good idea to see the vet. The ribbon could be a problem as it might be stuck in the stomach. You might consider a hair ball treatment. You can buy many at the local pet store but I like Vaseline. Most cats will like a dab off your finger and if not you can rub a dab on the front of their foreleg, just above the foot. They will clean it off and get it into them that way.

Are there any other cats in the house that are picking on him?

Hmmm, if the ribbon is stuck in his stomach, I would prefer it to stay there rather than risk it entering the intestines and causing a real, full on blockage. I would imagine they could go in with a scope and remove the ribbon through the esophogaus if that was the case.

Can you really use vaseline to help with furballs?

His brother can sometimes be pushy in his play initiation, but that is nothing new, and he is really good at dealing with that. He had it times 10 when the kitten was here and he handled that with flying colors. I couldn't believe how well he put up with the kitten! If he didn't want to play, he just ignored him. If he got tackled while walking to get something done, he just kept walking. (My other cat on the other hand, got pissy and growly with him. His patience was zero lol.)

Jahzara said:

Hmmm, if the ribbon is stuck in his stomach, I would prefer it to stay there rather than risk it entering the intestines and causing a real, full on blockage. I would imagine they could go in with a scope and remove the ribbon through the esophogaus if that was the case.
Can you really use vaseline to help with furballs?

His brother can sometimes be pushy in his play initiation, but that is nothing new, and he is really good at dealing with that. He had it times 10 when the kitten was here and he handled that with flying colors. I couldn't believe how well he put up with the kitten! If he didn't want to play, he just ignored him. If he got tackled while walking to get something done, he just kept walking. (My other cat on the other hand, got pissy and growly with him. His patience was zero lol.)

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It sounds like he needs to go to the vet for a check up.

Got an appointment for today. Wish me luck! Live in Oregon + snow + no traction tires + chains I don't know how to put on = iffy situation. >>

Non scented or flavored Vaseline or pure petroleum jelly works great and is inexpensive as well. If you read the ingredients on the preparations they sell at a pet store, most of them contain petroleum jelly which is what Vaseline is. However they generally add sugar and flavor. Most cats love the flavor or texture and will lick it from your finger. When I see a cat start vomiting out of the blue and it contains syrup and some recognizable food I usually give Vaseline for 3 days in a row and then every other day until I get a hair ball. My Maine coon in the avatar above hates to be brushed, so every 6 weeks one will come up the size of a sausage. The preparations in the store are more like cream and I do not think they work as well. The heavy Vaseline works into the hair ball making it both slick and heavy: allowing it to be passed easier.

Young Again said:

Vaseline works great and is inexpensive as well. If you read the ingredients on the preparations they sell at a pet store, most of them contain petroleum jelly which is what Vaseline is. However they generally add sugar and flavor. Most cats love the flavor or texture and will lick it from your finger. When I see a cat start vomiting out of the blue and it contains syrup and some recognizable food I usually give Vaseline for 3 days in a row and then every other day until I get a hair ball. My Maine coon in the avatar above hates to be brushed, so every 6 weeks one will come up the size of a sausage. The preparations in the store are more like cream and I do not think they work as well. The heavy Vaseline works into the hair ball making it both slick and heavy: allowing it to be passed easier.

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I would consult a vet before doing any of the above.

talkingpeanut said:

I would consult a vet before doing any of the above.

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I asked many a vet at the vet conference I attended last year and they approved. I should mention that it must be unscented or non flavored.  In everything sold by the pet stores they mix mineral oil with petroleum jelly and that makes it easier to mix in the flavoring, but I feel it makes it less effective. I find it take twice as much to get the job done.

But consulting your vet any time you make a change never hurts since they know your kitty.

I successfully got to the vet! Yay! lol

He thinks he has a virus, most likely from the foster kitten. He has antibiotics on standby in case he shows signs of a secondary bacterial infection, as well as an order for blood work in 5 days if he doesn't improve. He did think it could be missing the kitten, but did say that the fur gives some some of the first indicators of illness; if they are sick, the coat looks frumpy and wrong. 

Asked about the ribbons being stuck. He said if it was stuck in the stomach, he would be vomiting to get it up; his abdomen felt fine. Asked about the vaseline, and he confirmed that it is safe to give and that most furbal gels contain that. I will be giving him some tomorrow.

Requested an appetite stimulant to support him while he fights this bug. The pill did it's job; he was very eager for his dinner this evening! But if it is depression, I am hoping that his ordeal at the vet (and then being carted around to a couple other places afterward) will be enough to reset him and make him a happy boy again. 

Thanks for everyone's wonderful advice!