The THOMAS and COOPER Show (and friends)

[snowleop]

Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

I think my Trixie is in love with Leo and Tiggy seems to have a fondness for Abby!

Hmmm... Leo looks a bit like Trixie's brother. Is that a Freudian complex of some sort?

As for Tiggy being fond of Abby, I fear he may have to stand in line behind a bunch of other boy kitties. She's already reached movie star status. Haven't you seen her close-ups?

 

[kittykook]

Thomas has been vomiting for 2 days now. I haven't taken him to the vet yet because I wasn't sure at first WHICH of my cats it was. But today, I finally saw Thomas vomiting and it's worrying me. The weird thing is that his appetite is great.....in fact.....I've been calling him Mr. Piggy for the last couple of days because he seems like he's starving all the time. But then a little while after he eats, he vomits up this massive amount of undigested food. At first.....I suspected it was one of my adult cats because of the size of the pile.....it looked way too big to have come from one of the kittens. But it's definitely from Thomas. No wonder he seems hungry all the time if he's not digesting his food!

Since all my litterboxes are in an outside closet with a kitty door leading to them.......I have no way of knowing if he is pooping or not....since there are 5 boxes and all the cats seem to share them. I currently have him quaranteened in the bedroom with me with a clean litterbox and his own bowls of food and water so that I can see if he is pooping or not. So far, he's been in here with me for about 3 hours, has already eaten some dinner....but has not used the litterbox yet. He went in it once....but didn't go. He also has not vomited yet and it's been about an hour and a half since he ate. He's just sleeping now....but otherwise seems perfectly fine.

There are two things I'm wondering about........

1) Do you think he's just eating too much and that's making him sick? I usually always leave out dry food.....different bowls for the adults and kittens.....but they all have access to the bowls. Then I feed the adults canned food in the mornings and the kittens get canned in the mornings and at night.

2) The other possibility that I'm worried about is that he's gotten a hold of something and swallowed it and it's now caused a blockage in his digestive tract so the food is not able to pass.

I guess if he doesn't have a bowel movement by tomorrow, I'm going to take him to the vet. Problem is......we're expecting a pretty bad winter storm here tonight and even though I'm supposed to be off work tomorrow.....I'll most likely get called in since I'm a nurse and any time there's snow and ice.....they always call in people who are off work because so many people can't make it in. Maybe I can get my daughter to take him if I have to work.

So do any of you have any ideas on what may be going on with Thomas?

 

[berylayn]

Robin,

I unfortunately can't offer any advice from experience, but a friend of mine had a cat who was vomiting quite frequently after eating as well. They narrowed the problem down to two possibilities: 1) eating too quickly 2) hairballs.

I think they determined it was the hairballs causing some sort of blockage and causing the kitty to vomit almost immediately after eating. I know they purchased some sort of hairball remedy and that seemd to help immensely (i can't remember the name though...)

I hope this offers some insight into Thomas' problem. Poor boy.

I hope he's feeling better soon! Keep us all posted.

 

[zanniesmom]

Does he seem dehydrated? Do you know how to do the pinch test? Is his abdomen tender to palpation? Are his gums pink? Does he have a fever? I am not able to accurately check my kitties temps because there is only one of me and I can't keep the thermometer in long enough to tell for sure, so I check an axillary temp, which gives me a rough idea. At least if it is over 102 axillary, then I know to be really worried. Anyway, those are the things I would check. And then you will at least know how much to worry.
Becky

 

[kittykook]

Originally Posted by berylayn

They narrowed the problem down to two possibilities: 1) eating too quickly 2) hairballs. I think they determined it was the hairballs causing some sort of blockage and causing the kitty to vomit almost immediately after eating. I know they purchased some sort of hairball remedy and that seemd to help immensely (i can't remember the name though...)

Thanks.....I thought about both of those possibilities myself and I hope that it's something that simple and that he hasn't swallowed something that he shouldn't have.

For the time being....he's enjoying all the one on one attention he's getting from me tonight. Although....Cooper is feeling a little left out.

But I really need to see if Thomas can poop or not and I'm afraid if I let Cooper in....I won't know for sure who uses the littlerbox.

 

[kateang]

oh dear! Meow meow used to have that problem too.. doc said she was eating too quickly and now i just give her little bit at a time so she could take her time to eat... I hope it's nothing serious with Thomas...

 

[kittykook]

Originally Posted by zanniesmom

Does he seem dehydrated? Do you know how to do the pinch test? Is his abdomen tender to palpation? Are his gums pink? Does he have a fever? I am not able to accurately check my kitties temps because there is only one of me and I can't keep the thermometer in long enough to tell for sure, so I check an axillary temp, which gives me a rough idea. At least if it is over 102 axillary, then I know to be really worried. Anyway, those are the things I would check. And then you will at least know how much to worry.
Becky

I have checked his abdomen and it's soft and nontender, great bowel sounds....I couldn't feel any lumps. I just checked a temp and he's 100.1 axillary.....he's not dehydrated....he's drinking plenty of water. He did go into his litterbox for a few mintues and I went and checked it again....nothing. I just looked in his mouth and noticed something strange. (maybe it's normal.....I don't know) Ok....you know how cats have the two long fangs in the upper part of their mouth? Well Thomas has TWO sets on each side.......like the adult fangs grew in right in front of the baby fangs.

Well nevermind on that....Copper's are the same way.

That's weird....I never noticed that before. And their baby fangs aren't even loose yet.

He just went and scratched in the litterbox again and still no results....no pee or poop yet. I'm always such a nervous mom!

 

[kittykook]

Originally Posted by kateang

oh dear! Meow meow used to have that problem too.. doc said she was eating too quickly and now i just give her little bit at a time so she could take her time to eat... I hope it's nothing serious with Thomas...

I'm thinking that may be the case with Thomas also. Whenever I feed them....it's like he gets so frantic....wants to be first....wants to have it all....and he does eat really fast....like he's afraid that the other cats will eat it before he can get some. But what's strange is that I feed him and Cooper separate from the adult cats. I lock them in the spare bathroom until they're done so that the adult cats won't eat their food. And Thomas is the one gaining weight the fastest. He was behind Cooper...now he's almost a pound heavier!

 

[kittykook]

Originally Posted by allissa

I don't think you would always feel if there is an obstractions. That's why vets do X-rays. But then if it's a string it won't show on the X-rays either. But if it's an obstraction, he will not get better, he will get worse, so I hope it's not.

That's true....but I wanted to see if I could feel anything "obvious" that may be in there. Sometimes, if it's constipation....you can actually feel hard lumps which are the stools.

I doubt it's worms....they've all been treated just a couple of months ago.

Also.....he has not vomited at all since he's been in here with me....which makes me wonder if he's sneaking in there and eating all the adult cats food AFTER he eats his own food and then he gets sick.

Maybe he's bulimic! Since I have him locked up with me.....he can't binge!

 

[zanniesmom]

If he is just eating too fast you can spread out his dry food on a cookie sheet so he can only eat one piece at a time and spread the canned out too, so he can't gulp. He may also slow down if he eats in private, so he doesn't have to eat faster than Cooper.
If he is about six months old, the double fangs are perfectly normal. The adult teeth came in before the baby teeth were ready to let loose. If they still have double fangs in a couple of weeks, have the vet check, they may need to be pulled. If they are more than 7 months old, the baby teeth should be pulled now. But usually they just fall out.
It sounds like he is doing fine, but if he keeps vomiting then you should at least call the vet if spreading out his food and feeding him alone don't help. Becky

 

[katie=^..^=]

Originally Posted by SnowLeop

YES!!! I agree 100%! You have the best photos and the best captions! I LOVE this thread!

Yes, I add to that, maybe you can self-published and sell it on TCS!

These are great cat photos, and make a great narrative, too.

 

[kittykook]

Originally Posted by zanniesmom

If he is just eating too fast you can spread out his dry food on a cookie sheet so he can only eat one piece at a time and spread the canned out too, so he can't gulp. He may also slow down if he eats in private, so he doesn't have to eat faster than Cooper.
If he is about six months old, the double fangs are perfectly normal. The adult teeth came in before the baby teeth were ready to let loose. If they still have double fangs in a couple of weeks, have the vet check, they may need to be pulled. If they are more than 7 months old, the baby teeth should be pulled now. But usually they just fall out.
It sounds like he is doing fine, but if he keeps vomiting then you should at least call the vet if spreading out his food and feeding him alone don't help. Becky

Thanks Becky! I never knew about the double fangs.....and yes they are getting close to 6 months old. I'll try feeding Thomas separate and see if that helps him to calm down a little when he eats. Maybe he's competing with his brother even if Cooper isn't competing with him. Cooper eats like a normal cat.....very dainty....and just kinda nibbles througout the day. Thomas gorges himself like it's his last meal!

 

[zanniesmom]

My Buddy is a reformed feral. He thinks every meal is his last and just inhales it. And if the other kitties get too close he growls. They just look at him like, " what is his problem, if we finish this we will get more." He has to eat separately. And then the baby, Elfie, is too little to eat up on the dishwasher with the others, so I have three feeding stations. At my house, at feeding time, I hear it from three different directions. Becky

 

[kittykook]

Originally Posted by zanniesmom

My Buddy is a reformed feral. He thinks every meal is his last and just inhales it. And if the other kitties get too close he growls. They just look at him like, " what is his problem, if we finish this we will get more." He has to eat separately. And then the baby, Elfie, is too little to eat up on the dishwasher with the others, so I have three feeding stations. At my house, at feeding time, I hear it from three different directions. Becky

That's funny because Thomas has begun growling at the others when there's food around too! And he's far from feral. He was born here in my bedroom....has always been around me and the other cats.....this is a new development for him.

I wonder.......is this the age that they start having the raging hormones? He and Cooper are due to be fixed soon. In fact...I was planning to do it last week but then cancelled and told my vet that I needed my money for Christmas and that we'd do it after the first of the year. I wonder if he's becoming "territorial" now that he's a "teen" kitty.

 

[zanniesmom]

I bet that is it. Buddy was "fully equipped" when I got him, as well as being feral. So probably things will improve after snipping. His habits won't be well entrenched. But I wouldn't delay too long. Maybe you can get Thomas done first, then Cooper. Becky

 

[prissykitty]

What gorgeous little babies! And momma is very pretty too : )

 

[snowleop]

Originally Posted by PrissyKitty

What gorgeous little babies! And momma is very pretty too : )

 

[laureen227]

is Thomas still vomiting? Mouse has been vomiting for about 5 days, & they're finally doing surgery to remove a suspected bowel obstruction! she stopped drinking about 3 days ago, but stopped eating & pooping before that. i hope this is NOT what's wrong w/Thomas, because it took forever (read: multiple blood tests, xrays & ultrasound & they're still not certain that's the problem! $$$) for them to diagnose it in Mouse!

 

[kittykook]

Well he stayed in my bedroom with me last night and he didn't vomit at all overnight. He also pooped this morning in the litterbox......so I was happy about that.

I'm thinking it's maybe because he's just eating too fast or too much because he thinks that he has to eat ALL the food so the other cats can't get it. I also think that he is eating all his canned food in the mornings and then ALSO eating the entire bowls of dry food that are left out for the kitties to nibble on throughout the day. That's just too much food for one little tummy to handle!

It was an experience having him sleep with me all night though. I usually close my bedroom door and won't let the kitties get in because they keep me up all night. So last night, Thomas thought it was a real treat to get to sleep with me! He did great at first, but then woke up about 2:00am wanting some attention. He was standing on my chest kneading my neck and purring SO loud. Then he kept putting his paws on my face......but he continued kneading....so it hurt! So I covered my face up with the covers so he would leave me alone. But NOOOOOOO.....he knew I was under the covers and burrowed under there until he got to my face again and kept giving me kisses and purring.

He absolutely would NOT leave me alone. So I've been up since about 3:30am and I am work now and have to work a 12 hour shift.

 

[kittylover4ever]

Oh Robin, that sounds like what I go through every night. As much of a pain as they can be, I can't sleep without them now.......