Cat Health Questions

"Every major behavioral change in a cat should be a concern."

We've had many cat health questions over the last few years, not just with the 4 cats we have now, but also because we had 2 feral cats hanging around before that.

Since we found our 4 kittens abandoned when they were just about 1 week old (the mother split for some reason) we were bugging our vet quite a bit, because we were not sure if we would be able to get them through. But we were lucky and our vet encouraged us quite a bit. It helps to be armed with as much information as you can get. Here some of the cat health questions we had:

Cat Health Question 1: Gauravani had a goopy discharge in her eyes, when she was just about 1 month old. She also seemed extremely tired and listless and wasn't eating. What could it be?

Answer: Any behavioral change in a cat that is extreme should be presented to the vet. Discharge in the eyes is most often a sign of an infection in the body. Upper respiratory infections can be deadly for kittens and the cause of death would likely be severe dehydration.

Cat Health Question 2: When Sati had an infection we had to give her antibiotics twice a day for 7 days. Since our cats are outdoor cats, how do we make sure that she will be around twice a day, since she may not be hungry?

Answer: The most obvious answer is to lock the cat in the house for the week. Due to severe cat allergies, bringing Sati in the house was not an option for us. So, we had to find another solution. If you are not sure if the cat will show up, put her in a large cage or enclosure of some sort for 7 days. In that way you can give her the medicine on time. They are usually not as active during a time of illness or infection anyway so the confinement should not be a big problem.

Cat Health Question 3: Two of our cats were sucking on the other two cats genitals on a regular basis when they were young. They were doing this as a means of compensation because they were not able to suckle once their mother abandoned them. Is it a health concern and what can we do?

Answer: Kittens suckle not only for nourishment but for comfort as well. With no mother to lie down with them, they miss not having something to suckle on. They compensate by sucking on the other kitten's genitals and sometimes other areas of the body. It can be a health concern if they suck on the boy's genitals, as this can lead to severe irritations and damage. Just try to separate them gently when you see it happening, but don't hit them or be harsh about it. It isn't a sexual thing for them - they just need comfort. Eventually, they outgrow the need in most of cases. (Although, I did meet an adult cat once that would suck on your arm if you'd let him. It was kind of cute and kind of sad all at the same time).

For more information on Cat Health Questions see the respective health conditions