Cat's Abdomen Is Getting Bloated?

[jen]

Ok, you have to get him in. This is escalating. Better safe than sorry. Cats do EVERYTHING possible to hide when something is wrong, the fact that you are seeing these things happen is worrisome. Please get him in and keep us posted.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

I will keep trying to convince my parents. I will ask them to send an email to the vet and ask them to do a fecal examination.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

My dad thinks there's nothing wrong and he is just fat, and my mom thinks it's not urgent. What should I do? I found 2 highly rated vets near my house and they won't even look at them.

 

[jen]

How old are you? Do you have the means to take the cat in yourself? Will they at least take a fecal sample in to be tested?

 

[MojoTuxedo]

I'm not old enough to drive yet so I can't take the cat myself. They won't go to the vet. They said they will observe for a few days. My mom wants more information about what's wrong if he's bloated.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

I think I can convince them to take him sometimes next week (hopefully Monday or Tuesday.)

 

[jen]

Ah that's too bad. But it isn't your fault. I am glad you understand when pets need a vet. The bloating could be so many reasons. That is why I first suggested dropping off a fecal to rule out parasites at minimum. Keep a close eye on him. If he stops eating and/or becomes lethargic then this can quickly turn into an emergency situation.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

My mom thinks he has water retention or something. Or we fed him too much so his digestion is bad but I think 2 cans a day is fine right? The bloating is squishy. He does still run around and always begs me for food. Are cat's ears supposed to be warm or cold? His are warm most of the time but at the adoption place the cats' ears are all cold-ish (maybe because the building is 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit)

 

[jen]

A 6 month old kitten should have food available whenever he wants to eat. I like to do 2 canned meals and dry left out all day. When they get closer to a year old is when you want to cut back on that dry and focus on the canned meals so he doesn't become overweight and eats mostly canned which is healthier for him in the long run.

I can't say on the ears, they aren't supposed to be one way or another. If the room is chilly they will be cooler than on a hot sunny day.

I mean, this could literally be nothing but eating too fast, or it could be gas or fluid build up from a variety of very serious reasons involving major organ function. So it is ALWAYS good to get them checked when anything seems off, and hopefully your parents realize this before anything gets worse.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

So we should give him as much dry food as he wants? He doesn’t really like dry food because we tried giving him some and he wouldn’t eat it unless we mixed it with wet food. I mix a little dry food with the wet food when I feed him and I give him some treats occasionally. He does eat pretty fast. At the adoption place they said Mojo had nothing wrong in his medical history and all his vaccines were up to date a month ago.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

How much is he supposed to poop at one time?

 

[jen]

Often at adoption places, they just do a basic exam and take temperature and determine a young healthy looking kitten is fine. They don't typically do bloodwork or xrays unless older or a medical concern is more obvious. So he may have seemed fine then, as he probably seems fine now, but you are visually seeing something so concerning and know something is not right.

Anyway, the point is a kitten should eat as much as he wants to. It is usually easier to just have dry kitten chow available for in between the canned meals. The more he eats the more he will poop, as long as it is formed he should be ok.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

The poop is formed. It looks a little lighter colored than usual though. Ok I will get another bowl and put some dry food in it. At the adoption place I got my kitten they had some young cats (I think 6mo-2 years) with feline leukemia and FIV that they didn't euthanize (no kill shelter). I don't know how those are tested but I guess they probably did more than temperature and basic exams to see if they have those.

 

[jen]

That is good they don't euthanize FIV and FeLV cats, I hate when people do just because of a positive test result. I am a sucker for FIV cats

They did likely test for FIV/FeLV too I did forget about that, they usually do that for all cats period. That doesn't tell much else though. You could always look back at his paperwork and see what exactly they did.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

I didn't know they do that for all cats. I don't know where my parents put his paperwork. I got my mom on board, and she is trying to convince my dad but he still thinks nothing's wrong.

 

[jen]

It would be quite a liability if they adopted out a cat with an autoimmune disorder that has no cure. It all depends on the area/country you are from but that is pretty standard practice.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

I am in the US. I forgot it has no cure. My parents are from a place that doesn't really take care of animals well so I'm glad at least my mom agreed to take the cat to the vet.

 

[MojoTuxedo]

My dad won't budge

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

MojoTuxedo , when you wrote earlier that the cat wasn't playing as much as usual, does he seem really "low", quiet and lethargic?

Also, if you gently press on either or both sides of his tummy, and on the underside (on his actual tummy), does he seem to react in a painful way to any of your gentle presses?

 

[MojoTuxedo]

He doesn't really seem lethargic, just lazy. He'll still move but he wants us to carry him. He doesn't react in a painful way when I press his tummy a little.