scritchy scratchy! (and some other behaviors i would love to have explained :D)

my kitty is free of fleas, having had revolution treatment and a bath. lately i've noticed she's taken to scratching around her chin, though... like what she used to do when she DID have fleas. it's not time yet for her revolution re-application. i've combed and searched, and found no fleas. is she just itchy...?

also... i notice she makes weird sounds. the only time she truly meows is when we open the fridge door and she thinks it's feeding time, or we're holding a treat. she just really yowls when that happens. otherwise, she makes little snorting/throat/purr noises as she jumps around. might she have nasal problems, or is this normal?

and then sometimes when she's napping or just relaxing in my lap, she has mouth spasms. yes, mouth spasms. her lips will rapidly quiver for maybe 2 seconds and then stop.

and i've heard that you should never look directly into a cat's eyes. why is that? i totally forgot about that and was looking into her face this weekend... and watched her pupils dilate, and all of a sudden she half-leapt up and swiped a paw at my face. xP

i'm wondering if this is all normal.

Originally Posted by nakoruru

my kitty is free of fleas, having had revolution treatment and a bath. lately i've noticed she's taken to scratching around her chin, though... like what she used to do when she DID have fleas. it's not time yet for her revolution re-application. i've combed and searched, and found no fleas. is she just itchy...?

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Could be feline acne. I'd have a look and if so, take her to the vet sooner rather than later - that can get nasty if it gets infected.

also... i notice she makes weird sounds. the only time she truly meows is when we open the fridge door and she thinks it's feeding time, or we're holding a treat. she just really yowls when that happens. otherwise, she makes little snorting/throat/purr noises as she jumps around. might she have nasal problems, or is this normal?

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It's normal - cats developed their vocalisation skills to communicate with humans - amongst themselves they rely much more heavily on body language and scent. There are an estimated 30 or more different sounds that cats make in order to communicate with us. Here's a link if you want to know more

http://www.messybeast.com/cat_talk.htm

and then sometimes when she's napping or just relaxing in my lap, she has mouth spasms. yes, mouth spasms. her lips will rapidly quiver for maybe 2 seconds and then stop.

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She's probably dreaming...

and i've heard that you should never look directly into a cat's eyes. why is that? i totally forgot about that and was looking into her face this weekend... and watched her pupils dilate, and all of a sudden she half-leapt up and swiped a paw at my face. xP

i'm wondering if this is all normal.

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Yes, it's normal. Cats stare at each other when they are trying to be dominant, over territorial disputes, and generally when they are behaving in a threatening manner. To a cat, to stare at it directly in it's eyes is a bold threat. Your kitty thought you were threatening her so she attacked you - probably half out of play and half out of instinct. When cats are friendly with one another they will look at each other out of their peripheral vision, and slowly blink. This is an expression of peace and trust. When your kitty is looking at you through slitted eyes and is a bit blinky, she's saying she is comfortable and loves and trusts you - blink slowly back to her while looking slightly past her face - and see what she does!! `Blink-kissing' is a lovely way to communicate with your cat

If its feline acne it will appear as little black dots/scabby things under/on the skin under the chin. I have to disagree with going to the vet on this one. My cat had feline acne for 10 years. Cats either have it or they don't and they don't really understand what causes it, vets can't do anything about (I've asked 3 different vets on the issue). Though there are theories that it is related to plastic dishes and I almost agree so I would make sure the feeding dishes aren't plastic (if you do see acne). It is not the same in humans because it can last the whole life. In that whole time before Clover's acne cleared it never bothered him other than being a little itchy.

My kitten used to swat at me when I looked at her too. I think eventually they learn that humans are a little different when it comes to staring and don't do it anymore. With her it was always more of playing, I think I was challenging her to play.

Is your kitty scratching about her chin a lot, or just every now and then? Every cat I've ever had has scratched a bit, on the chin and behind the ears. We all just sometimes have itches that need scratching. Otherwise, I totally agree with everything that KitEKats said.

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

If its feline acne it will appear as little black dots/scabby things under/on the skin under the chin. I have to disagree with going to the vet on this one. My cat had feline acne for 10 years. Cats either have it or they don't and they don't really understand what causes it, vets can't do anything about (I've asked 3 different vets on the issue). Though there are theories that it is related to plastic dishes and I almost agree so I would make sure the feeding dishes aren't plastic (if you do see acne). It is not the same in humans because it can last the whole life. In that whole time before Clover's acne cleared it never bothered him other than being a little itchy.

My kitten used to swat at me when I looked at her too. I think eventually they learn that humans are a little different when it comes to staring and don't do it anymore. With her it was always more of playing, I think I was challenging her to play.

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I'm probably a little bit paranoid of feline acne because Princess had it and the vet decided she needed general anaesthetic and surgery to clean it up because it was infected (every other vet I've spoken to since then couldn't believe this!). Anyway, they put her under, she reacted to the anaesthetic, died and was `clinically' dead for FIVE MINUTES and when they managed to revive her, she was blind as a result for two weeks. It was one of the most traumatic things we've ever gone through with our kitty kats (not to mention how distraught Princess was) and all because of feline acne!! So yes, I think I tend to overreact a little on that issue...

Originally Posted by nakoruru

also... i notice she makes weird sounds. she makes little snorting/throat/purr noises as she jumps around.

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Yes, my Riley kitten does that too - I describe them as squirrely noises. Riley does it when he is in a playful mood and racing around, or when he jumps from high up.
Also, Riley used to be much more vocal when he was younger, but as he gets older he has stopped meowing as much. He meows when he is hungry, though.

Originally Posted by nakoruru

and i've heard that you should never look directly into a cat's eyes. why is that? i totally forgot about that and was looking into her face this weekend... and watched her pupils dilate, and all of a sudden she half-leapt up and swiped a paw at my face. xP

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That is funny! I never knew that, but I looked into Kitty's eyes once, and she jumped and pawed my face. So now I know why!

Also, nakoruru, your kitten is adorable! She reminds me of my Kitty.

Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

I'm probably a little bit paranoid of feline acne because Princess had it and the vet decided she needed general anaesthetic and surgery to clean it up because it was infected (every other vet I've spoken to since then couldn't believe this!). Anyway, they put her under, she reacted to the anaesthetic, died and was `clinically' dead for FIVE MINUTES and when they managed to revive her, she was blind as a result for two weeks. It was one of the most traumatic things we've ever gone through with our kitty kats (not to mention how distraught Princess was) and all because of feline acne!! So yes, I think I tend to overreact a little on that issue...

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OMG what an ordeal!! That is so awful... My boy in 10 years never had the acne become infected. Its really quite normal for many cats... I do think it might be a slight reaction to plastic bowls but by the time I went to test that with my boy his acne was starting to clear up. Imagine if human acne lasted until we were 40! Ugh...

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

OMG what an ordeal!! That is so awful... My boy in 10 years never had the acne become infected. Its really quite normal for many cats... I do think it might be a slight reaction to plastic bowls but by the time I went to test that with my boy his acne was starting to clear up. Imagine if human acne lasted until we were 40! Ugh...

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You should've seen Princess's chin - it was all ulcerated and covered with pus, and very painful for her. But even still, the vets I have asked since said they would have just put her on antibiotics and a topical wash for the infection - no way they would have put an 11-year-old cat under general anaesthetic for acne!

KitEKats4Eva, your dog Ruby looks just like my Maggie! Is your dog a Nova Scotia Duck Retriever, too? Ruby looks adorable! I wish you could see Maggie, they look like sisters!

Originally Posted by Galt

KitEKats4Eva, your dog Ruby looks just like my Maggie! Is your dog a Nova Scotia Duck Retriever, too? Ruby looks adorable! I wish you could see Maggie, they look like sisters!

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No, she's a Labradoodle - but lots of people say she looks like an Irish Wolfhound (especially now that she's older) and I've had one other Duck Retreiver query too! She is adorable - there's a dog thread in Fur Pictures Only and I've got a couple of pics of Ruby and Chester in there - you should post a pic of Maggie!

She is a Labradoodle? I don't believe it! Heh heh. She is Maggie's twin! I must see the pictues of her - where is the Fur Pictures Only Thread?

Here's the link...

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68596

Thanks for the link, KitEKats4Eva!
Okay, now that I saw more pics of Ruby, I must say they look quite different, yet similar! The one in your avatar looks just like Maggie, though!
Ruby looks so adorable! I love the picture of her; is it true that Labradoodles shed very little? I read that somewhere, but I'm not sure if that's true.
I still need to get a picture of Maggie up, but she looks something like the dog on the right in this photo: http://www.puppydogweb.com/gallery/n...ova_barnes.jpg
Your dog and mine look pretty different, but they have distinct similarities; Maggie resembles Ruby more than the one in the link; Maggie has a rounder snout, like Ruby's, and her fur is a bit lighter red. My sister said that maybe Maggie has some Labrador in her, after seeing Ruby and the similarities; we are not entirely sure what Maggie is because we got her from the pound.
Thanks for the taking the trouble to show me the pics; ever since I saw your sig, I have been wondering whether Ruby was a Novia Scotia Retriever!

Feline acne CAN be treated, and easily -- I wish I could remember the name of the ointment our vet gave us for Dylan when he had it. We applied it for a couple of weeks AND switched to stainless steel bowls for his food and water, and we've had no further problems with it in over three years.

If your vet isn't aware of something that works, PM me and I'll see if I can find out from our vet what he used.

Garfield had some spots on his chin which cleared up by switching to a ceramic water bowl. The dog still has a plastic bowl, and Gar drinks out of that, too. But I run it through the dishwasher often.

Garfield had actual little bumps on his chin. If kitty just scratches her chin, but there are no bumps, I don't think it is acne.

Wow I had never heard there was a treatment. I am curious what it is for future reference. The first vet I ever saw had no idea what it was (12 years ago), a few years later another vet told me it was feline acne but said there was nothing to do about it and it didn't bother him. About 7 years later I moved and he had a new vet and they said the same thing to me then. He now has a new vet but I didn't bother to ask since I always got the same response. I was always told it would go away as he aged or migth have it for his whole life. They were right that is started going away a couple years ago. None of my current kitties have this problem but I know its very common among cats.

and i've heard that you should never look directly into a cat's eyes. why is that? i totally forgot about that and was looking into her face this weekend... and watched her pupils dilate, and all of a sudden she half-leapt up and swiped a paw at my face. xP

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You know, i have a super cuddly cat and my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]e and I always stare into his eyes. Mostly like nose to nose stuff. He doesn't mind one bit. I wonder if it's because he recognizes us as the dominant creatures in the household.

PS: He also doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He has never growled hissed or anything.