Kitty help! :(

[vindicatedxjin]

This past weekend my cousin gave me her kitty. He's 4 years old, fixed, and declawed. He's been doing perfectly fine for the past few days. But today he's been acting really strange, and seems to have a hard time using the litter box. So he just sits in it, as if he's trying to go. Then when he comes out of the litter box he sits in weird positions and has his tail sticking out. Is he constipated? and if so what the heck do I do...Vet?

[Saya]

Vet would be the best option, obviously, but in the meantime, are you feeding him the same food he ate with his old family, or are you buying another brand? A change in diet can certainly cause this.

[vindicatedxjin]

Nope he's eating the same food, Purina One smart blend. He's been propping his leg up on things, I'm pretty for sure he's constipated. I read on a website that you can give cats laxatives though, but I don't know if that's a good route to take. He's not letting me touch him, or be near him.. D:

[Saya]

Awww, he's probably trying! His routine is really upset, it could easily just be stress. You can call a vet and ask for their opinion, just to be safe, they'd probably recommend laxatives but they can also recommend a certain kind. Or make an appointment for next week and see if it doesn't improve before then.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

Vet sounds like a good idea. Hopefully it's stress or something else he'll get over.
Good health to the kitty!

[ape descendant]

Do get him vet attention, but also make sure he is drinking water, make sure it is clean and free of hair. My kitty is rather persnikety about her water, I must change it out whenever she asks.. or else she won't drink.. and not drinking water can help to constipate kitties.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by ape descendant

Do get him vet attention, but also make sure he is drinking water, make sure it is clean and free of hair. My kitty is rather persnikety about her water, I must change it out whenever she asks.. or else she won't drink.. and not drinking water can help to constipate kitties.

Mercedes demands either cold water fresh from the Brita or she drinks straight from the tap in the bathroom, which drips.

[Fruitbat]

You can buy special cat laxatives from the vet. Sounds stressed. Let the tap run for awhile before you fill the cat bowl to make sure you get fresh water (not the stagnant stuff from the pipes).

[carakitty]

How's the kitty?
*good thoughts*

[vindicatedxjin]

He's doing much better, I changed his diet to a natural brand (blue buffalo) and he's totally happy now. His whole facade changed completely overnight.

[carakitty]

I hope you are doing that food change gradually. Kitties are prone to upset tummies.
We like Blue Buffalo over here too, good choice! =)

[vindicatedxjin]

Yep I mix it...

[Bete Noire]

Originally Posted by carakitty

I hope you are doing that food change gradually. Kitties are prone to upset tummies.
We like Blue Buffalo over here too, good choice! =)

To be honest kitties in this case may benefit from the shock to the system, it'd help to clear it out, and save a fucktonne of money at the vets.

Keep an eye on him, and if he gets constipated again, then wet food is better than dry food, and Royal Canin digestive comfort is about as good as you can get really. Don't get sucked into buying a vetinary-only food, they're usually stupidly expensive, needlessly complicated and identical in all but name to products you can buy from shops.

(This is the first time in 4 years that working at a specialist pet shop has been even slightly useful...)

[ape descendant]

Originally Posted by Saya

Mercedes demands either cold water fresh from the Brita or she drinks straight from the tap in the bathroom, which drips.

Lucifeira keeps it pretty simple, all she asks is that her water-bowl be free of hair and floaties.... which I can understand completely.

She is also quite polite and soft spoken. She'll actually come and get me if her box is full before I get to cleaning it, she comes to my feet and looks up and says, "meh", then walks over to her box, sits by it and says, "meh" again. That's the same process she uses for her food and her water if I've been lagging behind a little.

[Apathy's_Child]

What Bete said about the wet food.

Also, I hate people who declaw their cats.

[Sinjob]

Even though those fuckers are pretty VICIOUS with claws, yanking 'em out is a step too far. I wouldn't want somebody pulling my fingernails off, personally.

[ape descendant]

Well, they don't yank them out, they remove part of the knuckle.

[Saya]

Yeah, the cats I had as a kid were declawed (I was too young to understand and protest), and when I grew up I felt so bad for them. It really should be outlawed, if you get a cat you should understand the fact that they claw shit. If you don't like that, DONT GET A CAT.

[vindicatedxjin]

Yah I would never have a cat declawed. My cousin got him that way from a pound when he was a baby kitten in Colorado. I think it's torture for them

[carakitty]

I am mostly against declawing as well. There are certain cases where I believe the cat could benefit medically. But VERY rare cases. We adopted Aurora from the shelter, already front declawed. In her case I think it may have been medically warranted. Her claws grow strange, I see a couple that grow in a complete circle. She is also polydactyl so I can see how this could be a problem. Her back claws are in tact and seem to be totally normal, from as best I can tell. So I don't know, it's speculation for her case. The previous guardians of her may have done it for their convenience or maybe not.

The gradual food change really is important. If a cat associates tummy upset with food change and stops eating they can go anorexic and get Fatty Liver Disease quicker than we expect. Not to mention the risks of dehydration from excessive diarrhea. Cats are naturally inclined to dehydration to begin with, especially the average housecat being fed dry only food and a drinking from a stagnant bowl of water. In the wild, cats rely on their fresh prey for the moisture. They don't naturally feel inclined to drink so much as other species. So in that regard, I support canned food of good quality as well.

Sounds like you're doing a great job in the role of kitty-mama Jin =) Pretty please post pics of puss?

[vindicatedxjin]

Mr. Kitty Cho

[ape descendant]

Awe, he looks like such a sweet heart!!