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No, I'm convinced they are psychic.
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Bald Spot?
- Thread starter Margret
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- #22
To the best of my knowledge, this cat has been to a vet once! He's neutered, and it must have been done when he was very young, because he's never developed the habit of spraying to mark territory. After that, at some point he got lost and became a stray until my late friend Rich took him in, fed him, and provided him with a litter box. Food was whatever was on sale at The Dollar Store. That was maybe 9 years ago, we think, and there's no evidence that Rich ever took him to the vet. After Rich's heart attack last autumn other members of my computer club had to buy one of those piece-of-junk cardboard cat carriers to get him to my house, with one person holding the carrier closed against violent assaults from the inside and the other member driving. No vet records were found in Rich's house, and if he ever had taken him to the vet he would have had to buy a carrier. Also, Rich went everywhere by bicycle, bus, or local light rail. (He died on his annual bike ride into the mountains to enjoy the autumn color.) So how was he going to get his cat to the vet?
As far as Bright Eyes is concerned, I'm part of the evil cabal who kidnapped him and stole him away while he was faithfully waiting for Rich to come home. But at least I feed him and scratch the good spots. He views any sign that he may be stuffed in a box/cage and put in a car as highly dangerous, and I can hardly blame him, but I don't think he knows it's about a vet visit.
Margret
As far as Bright Eyes is concerned, I'm part of the evil cabal who kidnapped him and stole him away while he was faithfully waiting for Rich to come home. But at least I feed him and scratch the good spots. He views any sign that he may be stuffed in a box/cage and put in a car as highly dangerous, and I can hardly blame him, but I don't think he knows it's about a vet visit.
Margret
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- #23
Well, I managed to get him locked in the bathroom (
), with his supper, a bowl of kibble, a bowl of water, a litter box, a scratching post with fresh catnip, a catnip mousie, and the carrier (with a fresh spritz of Feliway) for morning. I'm leaving the light on so I'll have a better chance in the morning. Needless to say, Bright Eyes is not happy, but he's still a cat - he'll go to sleep eventually. In fact, he's stopped attacking the door and crying; he may be asleep already.
The bald spot is now powder blue - that can't be good.
Margret
), with his supper, a bowl of kibble, a bowl of water, a litter box, a scratching post with fresh catnip, a catnip mousie, and the carrier (with a fresh spritz of Feliway) for morning. I'm leaving the light on so I'll have a better chance in the morning. Needless to say, Bright Eyes is not happy, but he's still a cat - he'll go to sleep eventually. In fact, he's stopped attacking the door and crying; he may be asleep already.The bald spot is now powder blue - that can't be good.
Margret
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Congrats on the capture and best of luck at the vet. We will be keeping our fingers crossed that your appointment with Bright Eyes goes well.Well, I managed to get him locked in the bathroom (
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- #25
I managed to get a very unhappy kitty into the carrier this morning, without wounds 
, and he had his first vet visit in, um, almost forever.
The blue shade seems to have been an artifact of the lighting in our house, which is a great relief.
The vet says it's a skin infection and wanted to give him a shot of a long-acting (2 weeks) antibiotic. I said, "As long as it isn't Convenia." And she said that it is Convenia. I explained my reason for objecting to Convenia (see Convenia Injection: Caution), she disagreed but acceded to my wishes; he is now on oral antibiotics, 2 pills per day. Fortunately, he thinks Pill Pockets are pretty good treats - the first pill went down just fine and he looked around for more treats. (Whew!) He also got a rabies shot, and I had him checked for a microchip (we don't know enough about his back story, but he could well have been a much-loved kitten who got lost, and it's only right to check). He was not chipped, which means I don't have to tell my husband "I'm sorry, but your beloved cat belongs to someone else."
She also said that he needs some fairly major dental work, which will wait until our regular vet can see him.
Margret
, and he had his first vet visit in, um, almost forever.The blue shade seems to have been an artifact of the lighting in our house, which is a great relief.
The vet says it's a skin infection and wanted to give him a shot of a long-acting (2 weeks) antibiotic. I said, "As long as it isn't Convenia." And she said that it is Convenia. I explained my reason for objecting to Convenia (see Convenia Injection: Caution), she disagreed but acceded to my wishes; he is now on oral antibiotics, 2 pills per day. Fortunately, he thinks Pill Pockets are pretty good treats - the first pill went down just fine and he looked around for more treats. (Whew!) He also got a rabies shot, and I had him checked for a microchip (we don't know enough about his back story, but he could well have been a much-loved kitten who got lost, and it's only right to check). He was not chipped, which means I don't have to tell my husband "I'm sorry, but your beloved cat belongs to someone else."
She also said that he needs some fairly major dental work, which will wait until our regular vet can see him.
Margret
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All in all it sounds like an overall successful vet visit and that everything is treatable which is great. 
I hope Bright Eyes continues to favor his pill pockets too.
I hope Bright Eyes continues to favor his pill pockets too.
Thank goodness for pill pockets, and for cats who love them!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #28
Ain't that the truth?! Jasmine just sniffs at them and then says "No thanks," but I'm actually able to force a pill down her throat. There's no way I could do that with Bright Eyes.
Margret
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- #29
Final update:
Bright Eyes missed one of his pills, when he suddenly decided that he didn't like pill pockets any longer (he'd had some nausea a few hours before, and I think he associated it with the pill pocket that I'm certain had nothing to do with it). The vet's office called the next morning to check up on him and when I told them what had happened they suggested hiding it in food. That obviously means paté style, which Jasmine won't eat so we didn't have any in the house, but I went to Safeway and stocked up on it, and, sure enough, it worked - Bright Eyes practically inhaled the pills. It's also become obvious that he needs more to eat than Jasmine, so they're now on separate foods - Jasmine gets the Luvsome food that she likes and Bright Eyes gets paté style foods, from larger cans so he's getting more.
Bright Eyes finished his course of antibiotics some time ago, and the bald spot has fresh fur covering it, so I think it's safe to say that he's cured. Does anyone know what kind of probiotics are good for cats? He could probably use some about now because of the antibiotics.
Margret
Bright Eyes missed one of his pills, when he suddenly decided that he didn't like pill pockets any longer (he'd had some nausea a few hours before, and I think he associated it with the pill pocket that I'm certain had nothing to do with it). The vet's office called the next morning to check up on him and when I told them what had happened they suggested hiding it in food. That obviously means paté style, which Jasmine won't eat so we didn't have any in the house, but I went to Safeway and stocked up on it, and, sure enough, it worked - Bright Eyes practically inhaled the pills. It's also become obvious that he needs more to eat than Jasmine, so they're now on separate foods - Jasmine gets the Luvsome food that she likes and Bright Eyes gets paté style foods, from larger cans so he's getting more.
Bright Eyes finished his course of antibiotics some time ago, and the bald spot has fresh fur covering it, so I think it's safe to say that he's cured. Does anyone know what kind of probiotics are good for cats? He could probably use some about now because of the antibiotics.
Margret
Some people will suggest fortiflora although others don't think it is a viable probiotic.
A lot of Vet recommend FortiFlora and I think it's okay. (Currently two of mine are on this but I am doing more research) I also think there are perhaps better ones out there.
Glad to hear that Brighteyes is mended!
daftcat75
What's the name of Krista's dirt ;-) that she takes aka probiotic? I can't for the life of me remember.
Glad to hear that Brighteyes is mended!
daftcat75
What's the name of Krista's dirt ;-) that she takes aka probiotic? I can't for the life of me remember.
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I normally would have suggested Pet Flora by Vitality Science, and it is a good probiotic...if he’ll take it. Sometimes Krista doesn’t mind and sometimes she does.
Instead, I’m going to recommend sacchromyces boulardii. It’s a yeast probiotic so it survives antibiotics and it can crowd out bad bacteria strains. You don’t have to worry about overgrowth of the yeast strain because it gets cleared out in 24-36 hours. So it has to be given twice a day. Fortunately some cats including my weirdo loves the stuff. It got her past a clostridium infection this summer when flagyl couldn’t get the job done.
Instead, I’m going to recommend sacchromyces boulardii. It’s a yeast probiotic so it survives antibiotics and it can crowd out bad bacteria strains. You don’t have to worry about overgrowth of the yeast strain because it gets cleared out in 24-36 hours. So it has to be given twice a day. Fortunately some cats including my weirdo loves the stuff. It got her past a clostridium infection this summer when flagyl couldn’t get the job done.
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- #33
Thanks for all the recommendations, everyone.
daftcat75
, do you have any suggestions about where I should get the sacchromyces boulardii? Is it normally carried in pet stores, or will I have to order it online?
Margret
daftcat75
, do you have any suggestions about where I should get the sacchromyces boulardii? Is it normally carried in pet stores, or will I have to order it online?Margret
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This is the brand that is recommended. Something about the MOS makes the s boulardii work better and this is the only brand that contains MOS without the lactose other brands contain too. You can get this online or at a (human) vitamin shop.Thanks for all the recommendations, everyone.
Margret
Jarrow Formulas, Saccharomyces Boulardii + MOS, 5 Billion, 180 Veggie Caps
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #35
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #36
Found it at Vitamin Cottage, after some brief confusion about this being "nutritional" yeast (it was actually in the probiotics section - 
) and Bright Eyes seems to ignore the fact that something new is mixed into his food. 
Here's hoping that his obliviousness will continue.
Margret
) and Bright Eyes seems to ignore the fact that something new is mixed into his food. Here's hoping that his obliviousness will continue.Margret
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- #37
This morning Bright Eyes threw up his entire breakfast; I think the S boulardii isn't agreeing with him. I found this page: My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?, which is about the proper use of S boulardii to treat diarrhea; I'm going to withdraw it from his diet for a day and then re-introduce it more slowly, possibly with some slippery elm powder to sooth his stomach.Margret
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How much did you start him with? I think I started Krista with a quarter capsule once a day. And got her up to a quarter capsule several times a day until I was giving her half a capsule twice a day. This probably took a week or two to build up to as I was watching her poops to see how or whether to proceed.
Margret
Oh, Bright Eyes, hang in there!!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #40
I was giving him half a capsule twice a day.
Margret
Margret
