Lip licking cat

I took asti to the vet & it turns out he has a mild ear infection. He also has 2 of his canine teeth missing. She gave me drops for his ears. She said we didn't need to worry about his teeth for now & the reason he's itchy & uncomfortable is due to the infection.

Personally i would be worried about missing teeth, especially in an older cat. Missing teeth can indicate dental issues that need to be addressed, such as resorptive lesions and gingitivtis. Many "regular" vets don't know to how do a basic check of a pet's teeth. You should seek out a veterinary dentist.

LTS3 said:

Personally i would be worried about missing teeth, especially in an older cat. Missing teeth can indicate dental issues that need to be addressed, such as resorptive lesions and gingitivtis. Many "regular" vets don't know to how do a basic check of a pet's teeth. You should seek out a veterinary dentist.

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Okay. I think she just meant we need to treat the ear infection first & then deal with the teeth after it has cleared up. I'm going to have his teeth cleaned anyways after we fix everything else

Hey everyone. Asti has kept his ears flattened & keeps violently shaking his head since the vet swabbed his ears & put the drops in around 1 p.m. today. Is this normal? How can I help my little buddy? He seems so annoyed. I know it must be painful

Are there followup meds to be given?  Unfortunately, just as with two-footed folks, the meds take a little time to really work.  Make sure he is getting any follow-up medication exactly as prescribed, and just...comfort him as best you can till they kick in!  It is so hard when you can't even explain that it will be better in a little while!

MerlotandAsti said:

Hey everyone. Asti has kept his ears flattened & keeps violently shaking his head since the vet swabbed his ears & put the drops in around 1 p.m. today. Is this normal? How can I help my little buddy? He seems so annoyed. I know it must be painful

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I get ear infections somewhat more than an adult should, I've had both middle ear and outer ear infections.  Putting anything in the ear hurts, like the cleaning.  The drops - could be somewhat painful on infected skin, could just be annoying as all get-out, like when you get water trapped in your ear canal after swimming.

Yea I figured it might be normal, but I just wanted to ask to be sure. His ears aren't red or anything so he's probably just annoyed. Hopefully this will pass quickly & he'll feel better again.

Keep us posted.  We're now invested in your little one.

Mamanyt1953 said:

Keep us posted.  We're now invested in your little one.

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Last night, he was doing really well. His ears didn't seem to bother him too much & he slept fairly well compared to how he has been. This morning he only peed a small spot which makes me a little worried. I don't want him to be blocked by one of his bladder stones. After he peed, he gagged/vomited but nothing came out. His ears are doing better today though. I'm worried about this gagging that he's doing. He never vomits anything up. Could he have a hairball that is making him nauseous?? At the moment, he's sleeping peacefully on my lap.

Just a random question: have you ever seen the quick of a cat's nail turn a brighter pink? I noticed it a while back, along with his other symptoms. It isn't like an unhealthy color. It's just brighter/darker than before.

He well could be dealing with a hairball.  I keep Hekitty on an indoor formula that helps with that, as well as is weight control.  Is he eating normally?  Drinking?  Has he pee'd since the small spot this morning?  If not, watch carefully, and if he doesn't pee normally by first thing in the morning, take him in, even without an appointment if necessary.  Cat's bladders are notoriously delicate.  

As for the vein in the nail, I've never run across it myself.  I found this  http://www.tuftscatnip.com/issues/23_5/feature/Claw-Disorders-in-Cats-22-1.html  which actually doesn't mention the vein turning pinker but is a good article, and says that when the cat limps, it's time to go to the vet.  Also, Tufts is one of the best vet schools in the country, and the site has a LOT of good information for any cat owner.  Thought you would want to have it to bookmark!

I just read over the article. Thank you very much for the information. He bites his nails & licks his paws a lot. I have the vet check his paws about a month ago when all of this started, & she didn't see any sores or redness. I've read that paws can get really itchy when a cat has allergies. I wonder if nails can get irritated by them as well?

As far as the urination, he hasn't gone since this morning. But he hasn't been straining either. He peed a normal amount late last night. He hasn't drank much today but he is on a canned food only diet so he gets water from that. He mostly sleeps during the day so he hasn't been up to eat a lot. But he has eaten some food today. If I notice any bad changes or anything strange, I'll definitely take him in.

On a good note, he has been sleeping much better since the treatment for his ear infection. He doesn't move around or twitch a lot anymore while he's sleeping or relaxed.

I'm going to bring it up to his vet again when I have him rechecked, but I hear that ear infections can be caused by allergies. All of his problems seem to point to that. I hope that that is all that is wrong with him & that we can resolve it.

A whole host of cat ills are caused by allergies.  I hope that, whatever the issue might be, it can be so easily resolved!  And the itchy paws make good sense.  When I forget (not very often at all, you can be sure) to take my allergy meds, my palms and the soles of my feet are the FIRST THINGS to give me fits!

Well I thought asti was doing very well today, but I came home from work to vomit all over my bed. It was only food though. I hope it doesn't mean anything bad. He has urinated & defecated today & no straining. Can food allergied make a cat vomit? It's very rare for him to throw up. He did it when he was impacted with feces. Do I need to take him in Monday because of this one episode, or do you think it's okay to just keep an eye on him for now??

MerlotandAsti said:

Well I thought asti was doing very well today, but I came home from work to vomit all over my bed. It was only food though. I hope it doesn't mean anything bad. He has urinated & defecated today & no straining. Can food allergied make a cat vomit? It's very rare for him to throw up. He did it when he was impacted with feces. Do I need to take him in Monday because of this one episode, or do you think it's okay to just keep an eye on him for now??

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Maybe? Maybe his body is rejecting it? Or he could have eaten so much too fast and it came back up. Definitely keep an eye on him. I'm glad he had bowel movements. Keep us updated on Sunday.

Cats puke.  It's what they do.  As long as it's not happening often, it's not a biggie.

He could have an allergy.  He could have eaten too fast.  He could just have an upset tummy and needs some grass.

He's actually started having 2 BMs a day & they aren't too hard or soft so the constipation isn't really an issue anymore.

I worry about everything he does. To be honest, I'm sure his vet knows that I'm overly sensitive about him & notice every little thing that changes even if it isn't a big deal. I've been overly paranoid about my little guy lately because his brother died in December. He was my first cat & he died so quickly. I noticed that something seemed different about him but there were no actual symptoms so I thought it was all in my head.. but he started having breathing problems. Then in a few days we found that he had heart disease. He was so sad & miserable. Not even 2 days of finding out, he had a seizure & I had to put him to sleep because I was told even with treatment, he probably wouldn't make it through the night. It broke my heart completely. I honestly just want to know what's wrong with my buddy Asti so I can help him & make him feel better. He's a really good cat & means so much to me. I don't want him to be in any pain. I'm really trying my best.

I am SO sorry that you lost Asti's brother!  What a heartbreak for you!  No wonder you are on edge about every little thing.  But you're here now, and you have a support group who understands, and who will make NO negative judgement about a million questions.  We're just glad that you care so very much.

The throwing up is not an issue if  it is only a one or two time thing.  As @arouetta  says, they do that.  So long as he is eating, drinking and playing normally, his litter habits are regular for him,    and he isn't throwing up every time he eats, you are probably fine.  But to answer the direct question, yes, food allergies can cause vomiting.  If it continues, regardless of the possible cause, a vet visit is in order.  Otherwise, just a cat thing.

Mamanyt1953 said:

I am SO sorry that you lost Asti's brother!  What a heartbreak for you!  No wonder you are on edge about every little thing.  But you're here now, and you have a support group who understands, and who will make NO negative judgement about a million questions.  We're just glad that you care so very much.

The throwing up is not an issue if  it is only a one or two time thing.  As @arouetta
 says, they do that.  So long as he is eating, drinking and playing normally, his litter habits are regular for him,   and he isn't throwing up every time he eats, you are probably fine.  But to answer the direct question, yes, food allergies can cause vomiting.  If it continues, regardless of the possible cause, a vet visit is in order.  Otherwise, just a cat thing.

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Everyone on TCS are so helpful & wonderful. I'm truly grateful that I found this site. Today Asti is eating as much as he usually does with no vomiting or gagging so far. To be honest, he really doesn't play much anymore. He really isn't interested in anything. The vet told me it could be because of the stones bothering him & that many cats change, for the better, once they have their stones removed. He goes back to the vet on the 20th to check to see of the stones are gone, but I have a feeling that they aren't & he'll have to have surgery. They reassured me that they do the surgery all the time & it's unusual for them to have complications. On another note, I've noticed lately that he hasn't been licking his lips as much as he has been, other than after he eats. & he sleeps really well. He does meow at me A LOT now. I don't know what to do for him when he does that other than to just be with him & pet him. Sometimes his breathing speeds up. I had his vet check for breathing issues during one of the times that he was breathing more quickly than usual & she said that it wasn't bad & his heart & lungs sound good. Sometimes I think it might speed up because of pain. It usually goes back down as he sleeps.

Overall he's done well today. He's sleeping on me again right now. He's been eating, drinking a bit, & has urinated so far today.

I have never dealt with a cat with bladder stones, so really stupid question.  Why do they do surgery instead using ultrasound to break them up like they do with humans?

arouetta said:

I have never dealt with a cat with bladder stones, so really stupid question.  Why do they do surgery instead using ultrasound to break them up like they do with humans?

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I know that there is a procedure where they use shock waves to break them up but the cost is high. My vet never even brought up that procedure. She just mentioned surgery if the diet didn't break the stones down. He actually has quite a bit of them so I'm not sure how well the other procedure would go or the amount of time it would take to carefully destroy them all without too much damage to his bladder.