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- Feb 15, 2010
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I'm currently babysitting a few cats whose owner is temporarily homeless. They are staying with me while it's hot. One of them, Ooguly, does not seem to be well. They've been here for a week now and she's been spending most of her time laying in the same spot while the other cats come up to greet me when I come into the room and seek out contact. At first I thought that she may just not handle heat well. Although we have AC the room these cats are in does get hotter than the rest of the house and despite having a fan in there too it's 80 degrees when it's hot outside. Ooguly did in fact seem a bit more spunky when we had a couple of cool days last week but she's still not as active as I would like her to be. The cats, all five of them, have been living with their owner in the back of his pick-up truck for a few months and he says that Ooguly has spent most of that time inside a carrier so apparently she's been on the mellow side for a while.
There are a couple of other things that concern me as well. One thing is Ooguly's coat. On her lower stomach her fur is very thin and short, almost to where she appears bald in that area. It's somewhat similar to what a nursing cat will look like but not exactly. Her fur on her back half is very short and a bit coarse. It looks okay but it doesn't feel like it should and according to her owner she used to have a thicker, softer fur. Her stomach is also a bit distended, in my opinion, but it could be normal.
She is eating and drinking well and her stool looks normal.
Ooguly did go to the vet last Wednesday for an exam and the vet thought she looked fine. She did not think her stomach was abnormally distended. She believes that Ooguly's lethargy is due to stress and/or depression due to her circumstances and thought that the thin fur on her stomach is caused by stress related licking. However, I've never seen her licking her stomach and neither have her owner so I'm not so sure that's the cause. The vet did comment on her brittle fur but didn't expand on it (Ooguly's owner took her to the vet so I'm just going by what he told me).
At first I thought that the vet is probably right - Ooguly's symptoms are caused by stress. But the more I see of her the more I start thinking that there is something else wrong with her. The fact that the vet didn't find anything during the exam doesn't really mean anything. What do you guys think? Could brittle fur and thinning fur be caused by stress? Or does someone know what could cause the kinds of symptoms Ooguly has - the brittle, thinning fur, mild lethargy, and a possibly distended stomach? Ooguly is a 6-year old spayed female.
We are planning on getting some blood work done on her within a few weeks as soon as her owner has the money.
Any input would be appreciated.
There are a couple of other things that concern me as well. One thing is Ooguly's coat. On her lower stomach her fur is very thin and short, almost to where she appears bald in that area. It's somewhat similar to what a nursing cat will look like but not exactly. Her fur on her back half is very short and a bit coarse. It looks okay but it doesn't feel like it should and according to her owner she used to have a thicker, softer fur. Her stomach is also a bit distended, in my opinion, but it could be normal.
She is eating and drinking well and her stool looks normal.
Ooguly did go to the vet last Wednesday for an exam and the vet thought she looked fine. She did not think her stomach was abnormally distended. She believes that Ooguly's lethargy is due to stress and/or depression due to her circumstances and thought that the thin fur on her stomach is caused by stress related licking. However, I've never seen her licking her stomach and neither have her owner so I'm not so sure that's the cause. The vet did comment on her brittle fur but didn't expand on it (Ooguly's owner took her to the vet so I'm just going by what he told me).
At first I thought that the vet is probably right - Ooguly's symptoms are caused by stress. But the more I see of her the more I start thinking that there is something else wrong with her. The fact that the vet didn't find anything during the exam doesn't really mean anything. What do you guys think? Could brittle fur and thinning fur be caused by stress? Or does someone know what could cause the kinds of symptoms Ooguly has - the brittle, thinning fur, mild lethargy, and a possibly distended stomach? Ooguly is a 6-year old spayed female.
We are planning on getting some blood work done on her within a few weeks as soon as her owner has the money.
Any input would be appreciated.