Ok so I am new to this site and see all the different forums for each category. I've posted in the nutrition one about a specific issue and he's got quite the story and all his battles are likely contributing to his behavior so I'll describe everything to give a general idea of what he's gone/going through and what I may be able to do to help him and my family with his behavior.
So Gus is rescue with very rare conditions for a cat and we've come a very long way so far. He was found at our local landfill on November 15th and I took him in that night. He was severely emaciated and frozen solid as we were also in a deep freeze of -35+ at the time and had a very obvious respiratory infection and frostbite. He was just under 5lbs at his first vet visit the following Monday but they confirmed pneumonia that day and I started his antibiotics for that. He was too underweight to put him under to do more testing at the time but shortly after, he had full blood work done which definitely showed much infection. He had a severe tapeworm infestation so was dewormed a smaller dose and a 2nd small dose 2 weeks later. I have one more that was supposed to be done on Tuesday but he's had bouts of vomiting this week so I'm holding off until he goes a couple days without that.
Once he gained a few pounds, was at 9lbs by 3 weeks, so 1lb a week he was gaining, he went back for x-rays on his body and skull. The full body showed a very obvious condition called megaesophegus and they could not determine the cause based on that. He was also not showing any typical signs of the condition as he was not regurgitating food and had been gaining weight. He's vomited off an on, but it's generally liquid that has no evidence of food in it and also many hours after eating, even overnight before food the next morning and it's clearly the act of vomiting, the two are not the same. The vet suggested acid reflux as a possible cause, we're working on that.
The skull showed a blockage in his right nasal cavity so part of his high pitched breathing was due to that, there was no airflow in the nostril. The clinic didn't have a scope small enough to go in to see what it was so Gus was referred to the care centre in Calgary. I won't go into details about that part because it was just not an option price wise.
I did some calling around and our local 24hr pet hospital has recently brought in a CT scan machine which they said would give a much better picture of both the blockage and mega e so they could best determine what was blocking the nose and how extensive the mega e was, and if there was a root cause. They did every test possible there, for leukemia and other cancers and infections. He at this point is completely healthy, other than the nasal thing and mega e. The CT determined the blockage is not a mass, but something already in him called laryngeal paralysis of the larynx which doesn't open and close properly with breathing. This is something he can live a good life with as long as he remains a calm, indoor pet as he would be anyway.
They found no sign of a cause of the mega e so his is likely congenital and I'm doing my best to manage that with what and how he eats.
So moving on to the behavioral thing now that you have a general background of what he's been going through and what he could have possibly gone through prior. I believe he was an abused cat that was dumped just because of some signs and his reaction to certain things.
He's actually an incredibly cuddly and loving cat and is happy to see me when I get home. He was confined from the rest of the house and my other pets for so long but since he's been cleared of infections and has been treated for everything I've begin introductions. First with a baby gate so they could see each other but not touch. That I still do with my dog because Gus is very scared of him.
He roams the house at night with my female cat and those two get along great. He's done that a few times but has gone back to being confined now and then because of the vomiting. It's not just once, he usually does it 3-5 times a day.
Since I brought him home, his no touch zones have decreased but back feet and lower belly/lower back areas are touchy. His belly may be due to sensitivity and the acid reflux. If I'm petting him slowly and don't put pressure on his belly at all, he may allow it but sometimes out of the blue jumps and kicks with his back feet and hisses and growls a little bit.
I can easily pick him up when he's standing on all 4's, but if he's sitting and I reach for him, he lays down immediately but you'd think he might just want to be petted, nope. Regardless of when, he will never allow me to pick him up while he is laying down, either on his side, back or even on his stomach feet tucked under. If he is not on all 4's, picking up leads to hissing, clawing and growling every single time. He can be laying beside me on my bed, cuddling and purring away but if I try to lift him up and hold him, the same aggressive reaction. He will walk over to me and climb on my lap or chest to cuddle so it's not holding him that's the problem, it's just the picking up part. Now I believe he was abused so I am wondering if this is something related to that rather than just stomach sensitivity.
One night when he was wandering the house with my girl, he was walking into a room and she went to pick him up, he hissed and growled at her. She lives with me so she's not a stranger to him. He ran back to my room and it didn't matter what we did afterwards, left alone for a length of time etc, he hissed and wouldn't even be touched. Then he might randomly allow me to touch or pick him up if he stands again but for the most part the aggression lasts a while. He has not been aggressive at all towards my female cat. He's fine with strangers as well and anyone can hold him once I hand him to them, and he's quite timid and curled up so obviously unsure, but never aggressive towards them.
I don't know how to even figure out why he is this way as I don't know where/what he came from but it's obviously not good, and I want to do whatever I can to help and try to correct this behavior that may have abuse as the root cause, but there could be other reasons behind it.
Any suggestions?
So Gus is rescue with very rare conditions for a cat and we've come a very long way so far. He was found at our local landfill on November 15th and I took him in that night. He was severely emaciated and frozen solid as we were also in a deep freeze of -35+ at the time and had a very obvious respiratory infection and frostbite. He was just under 5lbs at his first vet visit the following Monday but they confirmed pneumonia that day and I started his antibiotics for that. He was too underweight to put him under to do more testing at the time but shortly after, he had full blood work done which definitely showed much infection. He had a severe tapeworm infestation so was dewormed a smaller dose and a 2nd small dose 2 weeks later. I have one more that was supposed to be done on Tuesday but he's had bouts of vomiting this week so I'm holding off until he goes a couple days without that.
Once he gained a few pounds, was at 9lbs by 3 weeks, so 1lb a week he was gaining, he went back for x-rays on his body and skull. The full body showed a very obvious condition called megaesophegus and they could not determine the cause based on that. He was also not showing any typical signs of the condition as he was not regurgitating food and had been gaining weight. He's vomited off an on, but it's generally liquid that has no evidence of food in it and also many hours after eating, even overnight before food the next morning and it's clearly the act of vomiting, the two are not the same. The vet suggested acid reflux as a possible cause, we're working on that.
The skull showed a blockage in his right nasal cavity so part of his high pitched breathing was due to that, there was no airflow in the nostril. The clinic didn't have a scope small enough to go in to see what it was so Gus was referred to the care centre in Calgary. I won't go into details about that part because it was just not an option price wise.
I did some calling around and our local 24hr pet hospital has recently brought in a CT scan machine which they said would give a much better picture of both the blockage and mega e so they could best determine what was blocking the nose and how extensive the mega e was, and if there was a root cause. They did every test possible there, for leukemia and other cancers and infections. He at this point is completely healthy, other than the nasal thing and mega e. The CT determined the blockage is not a mass, but something already in him called laryngeal paralysis of the larynx which doesn't open and close properly with breathing. This is something he can live a good life with as long as he remains a calm, indoor pet as he would be anyway.
They found no sign of a cause of the mega e so his is likely congenital and I'm doing my best to manage that with what and how he eats.
So moving on to the behavioral thing now that you have a general background of what he's been going through and what he could have possibly gone through prior. I believe he was an abused cat that was dumped just because of some signs and his reaction to certain things.
He's actually an incredibly cuddly and loving cat and is happy to see me when I get home. He was confined from the rest of the house and my other pets for so long but since he's been cleared of infections and has been treated for everything I've begin introductions. First with a baby gate so they could see each other but not touch. That I still do with my dog because Gus is very scared of him.
He roams the house at night with my female cat and those two get along great. He's done that a few times but has gone back to being confined now and then because of the vomiting. It's not just once, he usually does it 3-5 times a day.
Since I brought him home, his no touch zones have decreased but back feet and lower belly/lower back areas are touchy. His belly may be due to sensitivity and the acid reflux. If I'm petting him slowly and don't put pressure on his belly at all, he may allow it but sometimes out of the blue jumps and kicks with his back feet and hisses and growls a little bit.
I can easily pick him up when he's standing on all 4's, but if he's sitting and I reach for him, he lays down immediately but you'd think he might just want to be petted, nope. Regardless of when, he will never allow me to pick him up while he is laying down, either on his side, back or even on his stomach feet tucked under. If he is not on all 4's, picking up leads to hissing, clawing and growling every single time. He can be laying beside me on my bed, cuddling and purring away but if I try to lift him up and hold him, the same aggressive reaction. He will walk over to me and climb on my lap or chest to cuddle so it's not holding him that's the problem, it's just the picking up part. Now I believe he was abused so I am wondering if this is something related to that rather than just stomach sensitivity.
One night when he was wandering the house with my girl, he was walking into a room and she went to pick him up, he hissed and growled at her. She lives with me so she's not a stranger to him. He ran back to my room and it didn't matter what we did afterwards, left alone for a length of time etc, he hissed and wouldn't even be touched. Then he might randomly allow me to touch or pick him up if he stands again but for the most part the aggression lasts a while. He has not been aggressive at all towards my female cat. He's fine with strangers as well and anyone can hold him once I hand him to them, and he's quite timid and curled up so obviously unsure, but never aggressive towards them.
I don't know how to even figure out why he is this way as I don't know where/what he came from but it's obviously not good, and I want to do whatever I can to help and try to correct this behavior that may have abuse as the root cause, but there could be other reasons behind it.
Any suggestions?
