My username came second, the cat was named first.
So my little buddy has been sleeping more than usual and has been doing a kind of sneeze/cough. Mrs. Cheetah and I are both pretty sick, and are worried he caught it. So we ordered some cat medicine online and got it today. It’s in pill form, and we’re not sure how to give it to him.
Dreams of a Cheetah has been eating dry cat food that has a picture of himself on the bag. But reading about how most pet food provides the bare minimum of nutrition and causes a lot of kidney problems, we decided to give him something healthier to eat. I’ve noticed that some grocery stores now have a small fridge in the pet food section that contains refrigerated food. We got him some moist cat food, and he’s mostly just been nibbling at it.
Crushing up his cat pills and mixing them with his wet food means he won’t take all the meds, and we’re not sure what to do at this point. We want to be good humans and take care of him.
How old is he?
Our felines are part of the familly and get Full Medical care as such.
Don’t ask us, get him to a qualified veterinarian ASAP!
Yeah. Good luck to humans & critters.
But you both need professional help, not well-meaning internet strangers. And the crew here may be almost universally well-meaning but we’re also really stranger than most.
Good luck & let us know how it goes.
Yep. Changing the food rarely works for a sick animal. (short term)
Cats are not just sick, they are “very” sick when you notice it.
Cannot say it loud enough: Go to the Vet!!
I’m confused by this. Did a vet prescribe this medicine? If not, how did you decide what kind of medicine the cat needs?
Joining the chorus: take the cat to a vet! Now; or at latest first thing in the morning. Call the vet first.
If he’s eating something, and pissing and shitting normally, it can probably wait till morning. But no longer. And if he’s trying to piss or shit but not producing anything, it can’t wait at all.
And don’t give any cat random medication that you haven’t cleared with a vet. That can be dangerous.
He’s about 6 now. He was trying to get in one of our windows at 3AM, and we took him in. He was very tiny, I think maybe a month old when he adopted us.
markn_1 - Kind of panicked and ordered some cold meds for him, since all 3 of his humans have the same cold and he was making sneezing sounds.
Ok, we will call the vet tomorrow morning…
I had a vivid dream the Highway Patrol came up behind me and hit the lights. I was trying to
I woke up
Cats get respiratory viruses, but they don’t get human colds.
Don’t give him the medication (unless the vet tells you to, after examining him.) I’m glad you’ll be calling the vet.
Cats and humans do not catch the same colds.
VET. Soon
I agree with the others: it is time for the vet.
And should the vet prescribe them, there are ways to give a cat a pill.
But that’s for later. The important thing is to get the cat to the vet ASAP.
Ok, sorry for the delay. We had to leave a message with the local vet, and finally got a call back. We have an appointment Dec 30th and Dreams of a Cheetah will get checked out. I’d take him sooner if we could. He doesn’t seem super sick, he’s not sneezing constantly or having trouble moving around. A few times a day he sneezes 3-4 times. I’m just saying it doesn’t appear to be an immediate threatening condition, and if he does seem to get worse we will maybe look into taking him somewhere else sooner.
The healthier food is not from his being sick, it started about a month ago. My wife and her kids have always been cat humans (there are a lot of strays near us), and I’ve been friends with many kitties over the years. But this is the first cat that chose me to be his human. We had a cat who passed away a couple years ago because of kidney issues, and apparently it’s a common problem, so we want to feed him more nutritious food.
I had a surgery a few years ago that kept me in the hospital for almost 2 months. When I came home, I slept on the couch for about 2 weeks (I could barely stand up). Dreams of a Cheetah could tell when I was getting ready to go to sleep, and he would lie down on the arm of the couch next to my head. Then he would reach out and put his paw on top of my head. If he couldn’t reach it, he’d get up and scoot a little closer, then reach out again. I fell asleep with his gentle paw on my head every night.
He follows me back to bed most nights and curls up next to me. When he turns so that his underside is sticking out a little bit, I can rest my arm against his belly. This is the only time I am allowed to touch his underside. Sometimes he purrs me to sleep. I can’t hear it. but I can feel it. After a while (how long varies a lot), he will get up and go back to the living room, his human is now resting peacefully.
It seems he’s very important.
I hope you have a good outcome.
Good luck
Apparently the vet doesn’t think it’s immediately urgent either; which is good news.
Maybe he doesn’t like the new food? you might try a different brand; or returning to what he used to eat, and then mixing the new in a little at a time. I’d discuss the food with the vet too, when you get there. In the meantime, make sure he is eating something, and also drinking. Pinch up, gently, the skin between his shoulder blades, then let go. The skin should go right down again; if it stays up or only goes down slowly, he’s dehydrated, and you need to get water into him. If he is dehydrated, try chicken or fish broth (nothing with onions) and if he won’t drink enough of it try plain water and a clean eydropper, repeatedly.
Thanks for updating us and please do it again when there’s news!
You two seem to have a very special relationship. I hope that the vet visit on the 30th returns good news, but if things look like they are worsening, look for the 24-hour emergency vet in your area. My Frisco had a heart attack at 3 am, and you can bet that we lost a lot of time looking up where the local all-night vet clinic was. Look it up now, so you don’t waste time, should Dreams worsen.
Your story reminds me very much of my Hope. An all-black DSH, Hope would always join me when I went to bed. She would curl up beside me, right up near my head, and if I reached out, she would be there, and touching her would make her purr. She purred me to sleep many times. She wouldn’t tolerate hugs and squeezes, but she was happy to be there with me. She became known as my “Hope Bear,” as she was just like a teddy bear. Sadly, Hope is gone now, but your description of Dreams made me think of her. Thank you for some very happy memories of my Hope.
I’ve been fortunate to share my life with about 20 cats over the years, and sadly cat kidneys seem to fit the definition of “planned obsolescence” since about 1/2 of them eventually succumbed to kidney failure.
The important thing seems to be controlling the phosphate in their diet. This website is an excellent resource: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - How to Use the Cat Food Data Tables
My poor old girl was fading fast, the vet diagnosed chronic kidney failure & prescribed the k/d diet, which she wouldn’t eat at all. I tried in succession a number of the low-phosphate non-prescription diets until I found food she would eat (it turned out to be the lower P options from Hill’s). The change in her quality of life was remarkable – she had more energy & even started playing with her cat toys again. Her kidneys finally did give out at about 15 y.o., but she got about an additional year of mostly good health.
The downside is that the food is REALLY expensive, but I was lucky to be able to afford it for her.
Six, however, would be way too young for that. (Though a good diet throughout life is important; for that and other reasons.)
True, but as you say, a low P diet will be easier on the kidneys for a cat of any age.
Is your Cheetah an indoor-only cat? As the weather gets colder, we humans heat our houses in a variety of ways, and also seal them up tighter to avoid drafts. Maybe your sweetheart is reacting to the dry air or other air-quality issues – cats can be sensitive to things humans don’t even notice!
I hope the little guy gets better soon!
Dreams of a Cheetah has been checked out and he is in very good health. He was very scared in his pet carrier and cried very loudly the whole way there. He hardly ever meows and it’s always very low, so that was a bit startling. Once we got to the vets, they took us into a small exam room and let him walk around a bit. He was very brave and let the 2 people there look him over very gently.
Now I kind of feel like I worried too much. But I’d rather have him checked out and have it be nothing than not get him checked and have problems. He is still up to date on his shots, and the vet approved of the new, healthier food we’re giving him. She also said that some cats eat wet and dry food, some cats prefer one or the other. We do need to cut back on his treats though. He likes to drink from the bathroom sink, which the vet said is ok. On the way home he cried again while in the cage but is happy to be home. He was born outside, but we took him in approximately a month later. He is going on 6 years old now and hasn’t been outside since he slipped out the door during a sofa move (but came back after 20-30 mins).
bobsmom101 Thank you! We’ll look it over, and anything we can do to help him will be done.
That’s the right idea.
Thanks for updating us, and glad he’s OK.