Cat Chat 2

[Sixx O'Clock]

so uh...
a while ago my nine-year-old cat hurt his paw or something and started limping. my dad was determined to believe it would just heal itself when the vet said she saw nothing wrong but they could take an x-ray, which would be a hundred and eighty dollars.
of course, it faded quite a lot. he'll walk now, and he'll run and jump, but he still limps
also he broke his bottom left tooth (which sticks out) somehow and for a few weeks he just stopped sleeping in my room as if he was afraid to stay in there while I wasn't awake or with him. it's weird because nothing happened in there, though. he just started sleeping in my dad's room, where he spent the first year or two of his life.

now for the important part.
he's had problems with overgrooming in the past. now, I should probably mention that he's terrified of even a tissue coming out of a tissue box. it's quite sad, really. he doesn't like strangers and he gets super stressed really easily. however, nothing recently has changed whatsoever. my life and my dad's have stayed the same for the past year or two. so unless it's something outside, nothing has changed whatsoever- which he almost never does go outside even though he has the option to, and when he does, he only goes out onto the porch for some sun. so he's stressed and scared easily, which I know can cause cats to overgroom.

and now to the problem.
he's overgrooming again. in the past, it's been completely different unrelated things. allergies, fleas, skin conditions... It's never been stress, so I'm fairly sure this isn't the problem, but ever since he got hurt and stopped sleeping in my room (he went back to sleeping in my room about a week ago, might I mention) the chewing, scratching, and licking got worse. he doesn't have fleas; none of our cats do at the moment. yet even as I'm typing this, he's been grooming himself excessively, violently chewing at himself, and scratching spots that have become scabbed up with dried blood because he's scratched and bitten so much. He's getting a bunch of bald spots because of it, too. it worries me because the vets haven't seen anything wrong and I'm wondering if it's just a behavioural thing?
or is there something we're all missing? cats are confusing so... I don't know.
I can't seem to get him to stop.
thoughts?

You could try and get in contact with a cat behaviorist. They're usually pretty good at figuring out why a cat acts the way it does. To me, it sounds like it might be a neurological issue that should really be addressed by a vet. Even if they don't see anything wrong at face value, that doesn't mean that something isn't going on below the surface. I would say start with a blood test, see if anything comes up with that.

[Lunarsnow]

and now to the problem.
he's overgrooming again. in the past, it's been completely different unrelated things. allergies, fleas, skin conditions... It's never been stress, so I'm fairly sure this isn't the problem, but ever since he got hurt and stopped sleeping in my room (he went back to sleeping in my room about a week ago, might I mention) the chewing, scratching, and licking got worse. he doesn't have fleas; none of our cats do at the moment. yet even as I'm typing this, he's been grooming himself excessively, violently chewing at himself, and scratching spots that have become scabbed up with dried blood because he's scratched and bitten so much. He's getting a bunch of bald spots because of it, too. it worries me because the vets haven't seen anything wrong and I'm wondering if it's just a behavioural thing?
or is there something we're all missing? cats are confusing so... I don't know.
I can't seem to get him to stop.
thoughts?

You could try and get in contact with a cat behaviorist. They're usually pretty good at figuring out why a cat acts the way it does. To me, it sounds like it might be a neurological issue that should really be addressed by a vet. Even if they don't see anything wrong at face value, that doesn't mean that something isn't going on below the surface. I would say start with a blood test, see if anything comes up with that.

Yeah you won't really know what's up until you get medical tests done or get into contact with people who can help. For the time being you might want an e-collar (Elizabethan collar AKA "cone of shame" not a shock collar) for him so he stops chewing and obsessively grooming. Won't stop his feet from scratching his body but it could help lessen his wounds some and let some spots heal up. If you haven't already, mention the past allergies to the vet to check if his allergies have come back or he's developed a new one.

It does sound like it could be stress though since you've said he's a generally frightened cat. Even if he doesn't go outside much, he could still be stressed by something out there. Even seeing strange cats outside through the front window stresses my indoor cat out! Perhaps try a pheromone plug-in (like Feliway) to see if it soothes him any. Some people get great results with those kind of things! Still get a blood test in though if you do try the pheromone angle in case it's a medical issue because it could work on the symptoms but mask the illness/internal stuff.

As for the whole room thing, if he seemed afraid of your room he could have possibly seen something out the window that spooked him at night or when you weren't there so he started avoiding your room. Or he fell off a shelf or something in your room that hurt his paw and/or tooth and associated your room with pain.

[mew,]

@lunarsnow @queenie!

thanks for the suggestions! I'll try some of those things and see what happens.

as for things out the window, that would make a lot of sense. there are a lot of stray cats and dogs out there. as well as the domestic animals, there are also deer, raccoons, skunks, and large birds, so it wouldn't be surprising if something out there did spook him.

but yeah I'll be sure to mention the blood tests to my dad and such before we take him to the vet next.

[darkbay]

Hi! What is the highest quality kitten food?

[~ moth ~]

so i have two cats. a three year old male and an eleven month old female. both are fixed. lately we've been letting percy ,, the male ,, outside into the backyard since it's been nice out. he has all of his shots so don't worry bout that. but since we've been letting him out he's been getting agressive. he hisses and growls at everyone who comes near him ,, he won't attack though. percy will attack tiny ,, the female kitten. not injuring her but chasing her off or swatting a paw in her direction. he's super territoral of the back door. he likes to just sit there and whine to be let out. he'll get up on his back paws and try to reach the door handle or he'll just scratch at the door. and if someone does open the door he'll try to slip past their legs to get out ,, and for a big cat he can be pretty sneaky. then when outside he's a happy boy ,, all purring and rubbing against us. then once inside again he's a total jerk and attacks tiny. it doesn't help that my parents just give into his incessant whining and let him out. or if he does accidentally get out they just let him stay out. he's only agressive during the day as well. at night he becomes a sweetheart once more. but him hissing and growling and the territoralness is just getting old. does anyone have any tips on how to lower his aggression levels?

[✧Mahou Shoujo✧]

Is there like, a cat dentist? I have a cat who has had a little bump on the roof of her mouth since she was a couple months old (when I got her) and all her sisters have it too, hers is just bigger. Its to the point where one of her bottom teeth have been pushed completely in front of the other, and I'm afraid it will cause her pain in the future or completely fall out (its not a baby tooth). Vet doesn't seem to see anything wrong? So is there somebody specializing in cat teeth who can tell me what to do? Should the tooth be removed?

[blazesong]

Is there like, a cat dentist? I have a cat who has had a little bump on the roof of her mouth since she was a couple months old (when I got her) and all her sisters have it too, hers is just bigger. Its to the point where one of her bottom teeth have been pushed completely in front of the other, and I'm afraid it will cause her pain in the future or completely fall out (its not a baby tooth). Vet doesn't seem to see anything wrong? So is there somebody specializing in cat teeth who can tell me what to do? Should the tooth be removed?

vets are trained to do dental work and CS members are not allowed to give medical advice.

[✧Mahou Shoujo✧]

vets are trained to do dental work and CS members are not allowed to give medical advice.

Aa I'm sorry if it sounded like I was, I was meaning more so has anybody ever been in a similar scenario. When I said "So is there somebody specializing in cat teeth who can tell me what to do? Should the tooth be removed?" I guess better wording would have been 'or if the tooth would have to be removed'. Idk she seemed a bit clueless about it when I pointed it out so I was just wondering if something like that did exist in this world. Thank you for the info though!

[Thalassic]

vets are trained to do dental work and CS members are not allowed to give medical advice.

Aa I'm sorry if it sounded like I was, I was meaning more so has anybody ever been in a similar scenario. When I said "So is there somebody specializing in cat teeth who can tell me what to do? Should the tooth be removed?" I guess better wording would have been 'or if the tooth would have to be removed'. Idk she seemed a bit clueless about it when I pointed it out so I was just wondering if something like that did exist in this world. Thank you for the info though!

You could try getting a second opinion from another vet, but if your vet isn't concerned about it, I'd say its probably nothing to worry about.

[Paranoia]

[quote="darkbay"]Hi! What is the highest quality kitten food?[/quote]

I'm unsure if you live in the u.s. as brands vary from country to country but some good brands on the states are wellness, blue buffalo, nutro, merrick, natural balance, and a few others. If you can find it in a grocery store it likely isn't high quality, although if you have to get it from a grocery store Purina one or beyond is probably one of the best brands you can find in stores. I'd stay away from friskies, fancy feast, meow mix, and others like it.
And I highly recommend chewy.com for cheaper deals and a large selection to look from!