Kitty question...

Hey everyone...my male kitty Harley (roughly 8 or 9yo, neutered) has recently had an abrupt change in his voice. This all started a week ago, while out in our backyard with my hubby he encountered another neighborhood cat that must have been sitting in one of our shrubs. According to my hubby, our cat let out "the most blood-curdling screech" that he has ever heard as a result of this encounter. My kitty has met this other cat before, but he obviously does not like it (we think it's a male). The next day following this incident, my Harley could no longer "meow" like he used to. Let me add that he is normally a VERY vocal kitty...he "talks" a lot! So to have him go from a clear-sounding "meow, meow, meow"...to a very hoarse, raspy-sounding "errrgh" is sort of heartbreaking. I miss his constant meows...it is what defined him. We brought him to the vet that we had been taking him to, and they really sort of dismissed it. The doctor did a quick exam (felt him all over, checked his heartbeat, temp, ears, etc) and asked US what we wanted to do! I was kind of taken aback by that. She recommended starting him on a low dose of prednisolone oral suspension for several days to see if that would improve things. I wasn't really on board with that idea, but honestly, we didn't know what else to do at that point...so reluctantly we agreed to it. We managed to give him 3 doses, before he made it so difficult to administer...that we just gave up. He seemed to improve for a few days, but this morning he was clearly not himself again (very quiet, moping around, not his normal "active" self). We have an appointment with a different vet (2nd opinion) tomorrow morning at 9am. I'm a little worried that it might be something more serious. Has anyone else encountered a larengytis-type of issue with their cat?

Linda

My cat, Boden, used to "meow" and as he got older he started to say a very raspy "myAT". He kind of sounded like a duck-dog. It didn't seem to bother him, and it certainly didn't stop him from talking to us. He didn't have any lethargic issues, though.

That doesn't really help, sorry.

I hope your kitty is okay.

Cats can get sore throats. Perhaps your cat strained his vocal chords when he screeched at the other cat. Is he eating and drinking normally? Running a temp? You might see if there is a pain reliever that can be administered or a shot of short acting cortisone. Otherwise, hopefully it will heal in due time.

At the first vet visit last Thursday, the doctor said he was running a slightly higher temp, but attributed that to the stressful car ride (he doesn't travel well). I did not see him eat this morning, but DH said that he did eat/drink a bit this evening. Yeah, I'm truly hoping that there is some other option of administering any meds that he may need, because he is rather defiant in allowing us to give him anything. FWIW...DH thinks that it is strained vocal chords, too...and that it is just tender and sore which is keeping him from "talking" much. I hope that is all it is.

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Originally Posted by lor

My cat, Boden, used to "meow" and as he got older he started to say a very raspy "myAT". He kind of sounded like a duck-dog. It didn't seem to bother him, and it certainly didn't stop him from talking to us. He didn't have any lethargic issues, though.

That doesn't really help, sorry.

I hope your kitty is okay.

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This is exactly how my cat sounds! I've described it as a cross between a quack and a bark. Sometimes he just squeaks. He, too, is a talkative cat. He was already about 10 when I got him, and I don't know what he sounded like when he was younger, so I wonder if chatty cats ended up a little hoarse after a while?

I'm not any help, either, but I just wanted to share :)

I have no specific treatment advice, but our Thor BEGS for prednisone...because we mix it with a packet of FortiFlora and a tiny bit of water. He licks the bowl clean. That might be one way to sneak it into him.

Cats voices do seem to change with age, but I'd be concerned by the abrupt change and change in temperament, too. Hope it ends up not being anything major.

So we had our appointment with a different vet this morning, and I liked her SO much better than the previous place we were taking him. Right off the bat, I noticed how calm he was in the waiting area and in the exam room. Then I realized, that there were NO other animals in the facility at the time that we were there...which made for a very peaceful, stress-free environment for our guy. They do this deliberatly. They only schedule 1 patient at a time, so that the doctor can give her full attention and focus on that one patient...and it also ensures a stress-free atmosphere for animals that might be skittish or anxious around other animals. I absolutely LOVE this concept!

Anyways...the doc did a very thorough exam on Harley. No temperature, heart and lungs sounded excellent, overall he is in very good health. Based on the information we gave her, she firmly believes that these sudden and odd behavior changes in him are a result of seasonal allergies. My Harley is an orange short-haired tabby, and the vet told us the orange tabbies do tend to suffer from allergies (more so than other varieties of tabbies) once they hit midlife. So she gave him an injection of prednisolone and also gave us doxycycline (25mg) chewable treats. We have noticed that just today, he has started sneezing a lot and now has watery eyes. So it does sound like this is allergy-related, just as the doctor thought...we just don't know what he is allergic to yet. DH just tried to give him the doxycycline treat with his dry food, and the little bugger spit it out...LOL! We cannot get anything past him...he is one smart kitty.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

You could grind the treat into a powder, and mix it into some wet catfood, peanut butter, or anything else that he likes.

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Unfortunately, the ONLY food he will eat is his dry cat food...weird, I know. He won't eat people food, or wet cat food. My DH cut the doxy treat into smaller pieces and mixed it into his bowl with his normal dry food. He eats one piece at a time, and when he got a piece of that doxy treat into his mouth, he immediately detected that it tasted different and spit it right out. He actually spit it OUTSIDE of his bowl, so that he would know not to eat it again. He's a clever one.

I had a cat who wouldn't eat wet food or people food. She would however, eat baby food. Maybe worth a try?
I just went through 6 weeks of pure hell giving pills to my new (old) dog, who is limited in the foods she's allowed, and seemed to have caught on to every trick within a day or so. Pure hell, I tell you! :)
Good luck!

We have 1 cat with allergies (although her's are mostly in the form of bumps around her head and throat area). She usually doesn't need anything and when it start bothering her, she gets a non water bath thing that works well for her. Of course you must have two people to do it. If we have to give her a pill it is also a 2 person job. One person picks her up and hands her to the other person holding a towel and wraps cat in said towel. Then 1st person gets pill in hand, opens cat's mouth, puts pill in mouth, holds mouth closed and rubs (very lightly) cat's neck to make her swallow. This is litterally the ONLY way to get this cat to take a pill. Nothing else works at all. Oh and she is a tortishell. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

Based on the information we gave her, she firmly believes that these sudden and odd behavior changes in him are a result of seasonal allergies. My Harley is an orange short-haired tabby, and the vet told us the orange tabbies do tend to suffer from allergies (more so than other varieties of tabbies) once they hit midlife. So she gave him an injection of prednisolone and also gave us doxycycline (25mg) chewable treats. We have noticed that just today, he has started sneezing a lot and now has watery eyes. So it does sound like this is allergy-related, just as the doctor thought...we just don't know what he is allergic to yet. DH just tried to give him the doxycycline treat with his dry food, and the little bugger spit it out...LOL! We cannot get anything past him...he is one smart kitty.

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Awww...our orange and white shorthair tabby is always miserable in Spring, too (he is ~15 and has been like this for probably 5ish years). He scratches around his face and ends up with sores around his already irritated eyes. Pretty much when pollen is kicking my butt it's also kicking his. Next year maybe we'll ask his vet about it and see if we can head things off when they start up in April.

Ask the vet for a 1ml or 5ml syringe without the needle.

Fill it with about 1ml (1cc) of water. Pop the pill in kitty's mouth, shut his mouth so he can't spit it out, stick the tip of the syringe between his lips and gently squeeze water into his mouth. His reaction is to drink the water and he will swallow the pill along with it.

Works every time. And of all the years and all the cats I have, none have choked on the water.

This may be late info but as an owner of MANY cats and dealing with meds on many here is my advice.
First no liquids--never works with a cat (IMO), be sure they give you a pill.
Options to try:
#1: Pill pockets, you can get them at any pet store. Sometimes a cat will eat them.Give them one without a pill first. IF that dosen't work"
#2: Learn to pill a cat. You might not be their friend but get them in a good position so you can pry their mouth open, get the pill as far back as possible, hold mouth shut, pet and stoke them until they swallow. Be sure they swallow. Try blowing in their face.
#3: If that is impossible you can by a pill popper. At local pet shops. Put pill in, insert it back in cats mouth (do the side, that why they can't use tongue to spit out) and "pop" it in.
It is trial and error with "pilling a cat", but once you have the talent (and I must admit I do) you can pill any cat!

The problem with pilling our cat, is that he simply will not open his mouth...no matter how much we try and pry it open. It actually feels like we are hurting him, when we try and pry his mouth open. But anyways...he is feeling much better now...so that is the good news. The bad news is...he tested positive for FIV. :( He had to have had this passed on through his mother, because he has never been in a brawl with another cat, never been bitten by another cat. We have no idea how he could have contracted this, other than through his own mother. He was tested (negative) before we brought him home from the shelter, but our vet thinks that the virus may have been in the "incubation period" when he was tested, which would account for the negative result at the time. Since there is no treatment for FIV, which compromises the immune system...we will just have to monitor him and keep him as healthy as possible. Our vet doesn't see any reason why he won't live a relatively normal life, if we can ward off infections early and promptly. Any others out there with FIV-positive kitties? Would love to hear your experiences.

Linda

Linda

You've probably tried this already but I didn't see it suggested yet...we had amazing success coating the pill with butter.

The stray who adopted us and now lives with my parents is FIV positive. We have no idea how old he is, but we've had him (either us or my parents) for around 4-5 years and he was several years old when he showed up at our door. We couldn't keep him with us when we moved due to our 3 cats truly hating him. As in if he moved they were ready to attack. My mom's cat (who is negative) gets along with him great. We haven't had to do anything special with him. He's fairly submissive so that helps in him living with a cat that is negative. My mom has another cat who is negative and they get along wonderfully.

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

You've probably tried this already but I didn't see it suggested yet...we had amazing success coating the pill with butter.

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That, or Pill Pockets always worked with our cats.

FIV...oh, I am sorry. But I have known some pretty geriatric cats with FIV. I think if they are kept indoors that they can fare pretty well, actually.