VERY off topic- I apologize if it is too much so...

[daveleau]

...because I really need help. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

I got a cat recently that is really cool (can't have a dog because of our hours and where we live). She was a stray that was very well taken care of...until her owner went to jail for a month with her locked inside his house all alone for a month http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif.

She is getting fat b/c we feed her too much. Yet she is always whining for food/milk, which we rarely give her the latter. When we do feed her at night or during mid-day b/c of her incesant whining, she pukes. So what can I do to appeas her? She is spayed, so I know she's not in heat. And her owner 4-way declawed her (I know...) so she can't spend much time outside because of our friendly raccons in our backyard (Anyone remember my raccoon story? http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif)

Any help would be appreciated. I don't know whoelse to ask (guess I COULD call a vet... http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif) since most of my friends hate cats.

Oh well.

Dave

[ram]

Dave:
My cats the same way,ya just gotta say NO http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
Mabey try a new cat food with some vitamins in it?

[Paul V]

She vomit with both food and milk, or only if she gets milk (with or without food)?

Most animals actually are lactose intolerant, I dunno if cats are or not. In fact the norm for mammals is to stop producing lactase (enzyme to digest lactose) after infancy, because normally mammals won't get milk after then anyway.

Even some nationalities of humans are normally lactose intolerant after a certain age, it's a european mutation that allows us to digest lactose throughout our whole life.

I'd try to feed her no milk for a while and see what happens. If she still vomits, make sure you're not overfeeding her. If she keeps vomiting TAKE HER TO A VET as it's probably a sign of something worse, she could have serious problems with her digestive system after being starving for a long time.

In fact a vet is a good bet no matter what. I'd imagine she'll likely need a very special diet for some time, her digestive system has been through a lot.

[Target]

Dave, I'm no cat expert, and you really should take the little guy to a vet...but I have had two friends with cats that had similar problems.

The one friend simply had to give her cat some medicine to get rid of fur balls. It was this like paste stuff that came in a tube like toothpaste. Evidently the furball was too large for the cat to either throw up or for its stomach to disovle on its own, hence the need for medicine.

The other friend unfortuantely lost her cat due to some sort of feline cancer.

So, I guess until you take her to a vet, you're not gonna know for sure, but we'll hope for the best.

[deep_sky]

I agree with Paul V. I love cats and have owned them for a long time, although i do not have mine with me because of the stupid landlords.
Milk is bad for cats. They cannot tolerate it, the same as dogs, and it makes them sick.
I mean more than vomiting, as in seriously ill. So no milk no matter what the cat does. My cat at home pukes all the time, but she is not starving and her coat is fine. She is not losing weight either. But then my cat eats a lot of things she shouldnt. But anyhow, i would definately take her to a vet as soon as you can and get her on a good diet.

[daveleau]

Well, I just got here about a month ago and the person (neighbor of the other guy in jail
) gave her to me after taking her t get her shots and get a checkup.

She gets sick if we give her both milk and food together but is fine with just a small amt of milk. I think it is just gluteony (sp?). She is fat so I don;t think it is worms. There are three of us here on very different schedules so she is often overfed. I think the vitamin thing is good. I give her Cat Chow for UTI right now. And these chicken snacky things which she loves.
Dave


***edit***
I will talk to the vet about this and definately get her off the milk. I will give her treats instead of milk or more food I guess.

[This message has been edited by daveleau (edited 02-22-2000).]

[OuTpaTienT]

Dave, milk is not really good for cats so don't give too much. Same goes for "human" food (like tuna is a no-no).

Depending on how long she's been alone, and how hungary she was and for how long, will change her eating habits. For example, if she didn't get food on a regular basis and she wasn't assured that there be more food in the future, then naturally she's gonna scarf all she can, up to the point of puking.

You should feed her a bowlful once or twice a day (depending on the size of the bowl I guess). The key is, make it a very timely routine. Soon she'll realize she doesn't need to pig-out until she pukes. She'll began to realize that the food comes at a specific time everyday just for her.

As far as dealing with her whining the rest of the time, try keeping her occupied. Many cats (especially smarter ones &/or ones kept inside) get bored, as anyone would. Try various cat toys as well simple household things like rubberbands and the pull-off rings on a gallon of milk.

(BTW, milk is not a terrible treat for her, just keep it to 1 or 2 times a week...and NO tuna.)

Here's a pet web site that has a ask the vet section. The only time I asked a question there, it was answered within 2 days. Plus they have a live "ask the vet" session every Monday night. Check it out.

http://www.petservice.com/

-----------------------------
Oh yeah, almost forgot, be sure to post pictures of her when you can. What's her name?

Here's my best friend, Simon: http://members.home.net/dcowger/Simon/Simon1.html


[This message has been edited by OuTpaTienT (edited 02-22-2000).]

[Ed_S]

Dave, we've had cats for years, (as a matter of fact there's a mean-tempered, rotten, 16-year old beast sitting on my desk right now http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif) Anyway, they seem to always want food available & act hungry if it's not. Mostly they just snack at it, eating a few bites at a time, but we have one that just gets fatter & eats like a dog. You know, wolfs down whatever she gets & wants more.
You just have to stop over-feeding & ignore the whining. Put out the same amount every day & she'll learn.

A check-up at the vet would really be a good idea after a month locked up, though.

Ed

[narayan]

OuTpaTienT is 100% correct on the feeding habits. It takes sometines a week or so but not too long to get the cat on a regular schedule. Let the cat beg, but DO NOT GIVE IN OR YOU WILL BE ITS SLAVE FOREVER!


OuTpaTienT, Simon looks just like my cat, Amadeus, (except Amadeus' fur is longer) I'll post a picture soon.

[This message has been edited by narayan (edited 02-22-2000).]

[Ed_S]

OuTpaTienT - Got to STRONGLY disagree regarding rubberbands!!
We had a cat eat something like that. Clogged him up badly. We had the choice of a VERY EXPENSIVE "no guarantee" operation or euthanasia. Forced to choose the latter.

Toys, yes. Small or edible, NO!!!

Ed

[narayan]

Wadded up balls of paper are a favorite. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[OuTpaTienT]

Ed_s, I stand corrected. And thanks for the warning, just one of those things I never thought of, I guess. Thanks.

[R[][]FER]

Dave...
Quite possibly, the cat never had regular meal times and really didn't know when the next meal would come along.
And therefore it now doesn't want to take a chance of repeating the procedure.
If possible, try to put it in a small room with the door closed around a set meal time, with the bowl full (more than it can eat). Close all drapes so there are no distractions etc. After it has had it's fill, close the door and when it whines, put it back in with the bowl full again.
As long as it knows it can have all it wants, it should calm down.
I really think it is very nervous and wonders where and when the next meal will come along.
I hope this is all it is, as it happened with a stray we had.
Good luck.

[Vincent22]

I would definately look for a problem other than emotional to begin with. Furballs can be cured with a product called Femalt, most cats love it. The next logical thing to look for would be a parasite. Put your mind at ease and get the kitty to a vet. If the vet says it's an eating disorder fo to one that doesn't watch Oprah. Not all parasitic infestations result in wieght loss in their host.

Best wishes

sincerely

Vincent

[U-96]

Well this has worked for my family's 5 cats so far -

8am 1/2 tin cat food, bowl of dry biscuits
4pm 1/2 tin cat food, bowl of dry biscuits

to get your cat into a regime, remove the wet food after an hour. It will learn that it must eat at this time or forego for 8 hours!
The biscuits are good for their teeth
Leaving the biscuits down is fine, cats like to snack too... http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
Also make sure there is always fresh water! Change it at least twice daily.

Milk is exceptionally bad for cats. It can cause diarrhea and stomach inflamation, especially in some oriental (Siamese etc) breeds.

A good "recovery" diet is boiled minced chicken or white (non-oily) fish. Believe me, your cat will love this stuff.

A trip to your vet will be worthwhile too, they should be able give you some good diet advice and diagnose disease. It may just be something simple, like furballs or worms, which are both easily and cheaply treated.

U-96

PS Cats do tend to puke more than more other creatures I know (they seem to do it deliberately, and prefer carpet to tiles!), but it shouldn't be more than once or twice a month... you could try leaving a handful of lawn grass for it (wash off pesticides, fertilzer etc) Cats are known to chew grass in order to stimulate their vomit reflex (maybe it WANTS to get something out - fur, string and rubber bands are popular), and perhaps to resolve dietary deficiency.

[alpha]

If you ever have kittens, when they're small, through them against a curtain and they stick on like a sticky ball!!

[Steve R Jones]

Your cats is probaly still stressed out. You might try dry food and always like some out. "Most" cats, unlike dogs, will only eat when they're hungry.

My cat does the same thing if I spend the night somewhere else and come home to find her food bowl empty. I'll feed her and then she'll puke to pay me back for two timing her.

[Nathan G]

Pardon me ummm... You aren't preping that cat for use in that perpetual motion thing R U ?? http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif ya know, the spinny cat device,the one with buttered toast. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/003993.html
Sorry, i tried to stop myself from posting this! Back to step 1 of 12....

[Banti]

Totally agree about the schedule Outpatient. My cat at home is used to getting feed at 6:00am, the time my mom got up when I lived at home. Now she tries to sleep in but the cat wakes her up at exactly 6 each morning for food.... I suppose it is kindof funny.


Banti

[psyklone]

one thing i noticed is that you mentioned that "She is fat so I don;t think it is worms.", actually a lot of times animals that do have worms appear fat or bloated. if that's the case then that very well may explain why she's eating so much. i had a cat once that had that exact problem and she also would throw up after eating, and boy would she eat. she would eat literally everything that i would feed her and then she's throw it all up. a normal cat you could feed in the morning with a full bowl of food and it will just come and eat as it wants during the day. not this one, she'd sit and eat the whole thing. but anyway, you may want to have a vet check the cat out for worms because that could be part of the problem. i hope all goes well!

[pickel]

Dave: I guess my two get all the wrong treatment. We feed them at night but keep dry food available all the time. But they spend alot of their time outside ruuning around.
After supper they most time than none get a bowl of evaporated milk and seem to fit and healthy.Gotta watch out for the hairballs and give them the once amonth wormer to keep them cleanned out.We take a can of wet catfood and a handful of dry food , mix um together and split them up. The boy brings in the squirrels and the girl brings in the micez
and they're both so proud! But they can't bring them in the house!!!Couldn't imagine life without my two brats!!


the pickel

[deep_sky]

narayan has got the right ideas about paper..my cat goes nuts whenever she hears the sound of paper being crumpled up.

no rubber bands or milk jug ties though, my cat eats them and then pukes them up in places i have a hard time getting at...so i either toss those or hide them away...just in general do not give a cat toys that they can swallow..like you would for a baby.

[Susan]

Watch out for the rolled up balls of tin foil, too. My sisters cat absolutely loved them and it wasn't until after years of playing with them safely that the cat swallowed one and had to have surgery to remove it.

Having worms can cause bloating of the stomach and a ravenous appetite. You can also notice if an animal has worms that their fur does not have a healthy sheen to it.

I stopped giving my cat the canned food because he drove me crazy asking for more. He drives me crazy anyway. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

I just leave a constant supply of Meow Mix Dry out for him with lot's of water. Milk can create upset and loose bowels.

Pickel, I have a doggie door which the cat uses and he likes to bring little rodent presents into the house for me. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif Why do they all have to be alive??

[Brangwen]

Daveleau:

I have raised dogs and cats for a long time. I've several "older" cats on my mantel! Anyway, my present mouser (Eugene) makes it a regular habit of tossing his cookies not long after eating, then begging for more. Try smaller servings, and perhaps a different brand of food. Of course, lay off the cat's beer (milk) and appreciate the extra exercise when cleaning up after your feline.

Brangwen

Ps: Keep your cat away from WinModems!

[daveleau]

Just an update-
Thanks for the advice everyone. I put her on a steady diet and feed her at regular times with me feeding her 90% of the time. Seems to have worked. She hasn't gotten sick since the first day I started this. She is now more like a cat and doesn't eat everything in front of her. She was more like a dog before and wolfed everything down. I guess it was the irregular schedule that was making her do that.
Thanks!
Dave

[mattheadfat]

you know you could just throw your cat in the river or something, that'll solve all your problems, especially love life problems, just through your cat and/or hamster into the river, preferable with some sort of explosive or fire cracker with a short fuse tied around it’s neck

[Paul V]

I really hope that's a joke??

To daveleau, I'm glad to hear she's doing better!

[Thor]

mattheadfat, you are sick. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Thor

[medo]

Hello,

Susan, domestic cats usually do not know how to kill so they brings it to you like a bribe for head of the tribe. (I read somewhere that some cats will bring you a kill when they think you are good enough to start learning how to hunt or they want to show you how good they are).

Medo

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif