Kitty question...

[zoom-zoom]

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.

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.

[smilingcat]

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.

[katluvr]

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!

[nscrbug]

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

[Melalvai]

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

[Koronin]

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.

[zoom-zoom]

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

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.