| Author |
Message |
    
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4301
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 4:52 pm: | 
|
This has been an odd week in our house. Our parakeets dropped dead suddenly and the cat's been retching for a few days. Last night my youngest threw up and I wonder if it's connected to the cat throwing up or if the cat just has hairballs.
I've had kids for ten years but I've really only had a cat for a few months so I'm kind of clueless about them. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1570
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 4:59 pm: |
|
Sorry to hear about the dark cloud over your house this week!
How old is your cat? You mentioned that you've only had it for a few months, but not sure if you took in an older cat or not.
Is there something in your house that could be causing sickness starting with the smallest beings on up? Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? I am really not very knowledgeable about CO, so I don't mean to get you worried, but it's the first thing that came to mind when I read your post and just wanted to mention it. |
Pippi
Supporter
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 2120
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:00 pm: |
|
So sorry to hear about the parakeets!
I've only had cats for a year, so I can't help you out with that one.... |
Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 879
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:06 pm: |
|
My friend owns a parrot and she won't cook with non-stick pans b/c she says they give off some chemical that is deadly to birds. This is pure third hand speculation, and I have no basis for bringing this up except to offer that perhaps that is what happened to your bird. I'd check w/a pet store.
Re: the cat. They often retch while trying to throw up hairballs and you can get a special cat food that helps with the hairball thing. This is the time of year for lots of shedding and with the grooming they wind up swallowing a lot of hair. Seems likely.
The child (poor kid  )- as you know well, kids just get sick and I doubt it's related to the other two. Check it out w/your pediatrician, but I'd bet its a coincidence and not too much to worry about.
Good luck!!! |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4305
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:14 pm: |
|
The funny thing is the birds were in the basement. I got sick of seeds and feathers, and didn't want the cat to eat them so I banished their cage to a sunny window in the basement (where we venture occasionally). Several weeks ago we put our oil tanks in the basement, but we have a carbon monoxide detector and it hasn't gone off. Also, with such nice weather I've had windows open so I don't think that's it. (Funeral will be today in the backyard where their predeceased friend rests in peace.)
As far as the kid goes, she's fine, just a little weak, but it's just weird to hear so much retching in one day. |
phyllis
Citizen
Username: Phyllis
Post Number: 504
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:19 pm: |
|
We also have a new cat (4 months) and I was told by my vet (and then confirmed by reading I've done) that throwing up can be serious in cats. If you see hair in it, than you know it's a hairball thing. But if not, you should get them checked after several episodes since they might have a blockage.
Our cat threw up three times in a matter of a few hours and we ended up taking her to the emergency vet in West Caldwell. It was really expensive, and it turns out she probably just ate a bug or something else related to the warm weather. She's stil indoors, but we have a screened in porch filled with pollen and little bugs. I felt so stupid and like such a rookie while writing the check, but then my regular vet said he would have let one or two pass, but after three times throwing up would have recommended a closer look. My wallet was still alot lighter, but I felt a bit more justified. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1571
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:23 pm: |
|
How old is the cat VIG?
When one of my cats was a kitten, she had terrible digestive problems and would throw up and would have diarria (sp?).
I would think hairballs happen less frequently in kittens, but I don't know that for a fact, just my own experience. |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4308
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:27 pm: |
|
She's about 3 1/2, and definitely seems like she's shedding. I'll ask my ten year old who cleaned up the vomit for me! |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 7345
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:29 pm: |
|
It's hairball season, especially with how hot it's been. Brush your cat regularly and give her Petromalt. You can tell if she's puking up hairballs; they're formed in the shape of, well, hairy cat turds.
Birds are very social, ultra-sensitive and don't like being moved. It could be that they were depressed by their new, lonely home.
As for the kids, well. All I can say is that if she's been licking herself, try the Petromalt on her, too. |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4309
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:58 pm: |
|
Gtree, the birds have been in the basement for a long time. At least a year, maybe more.
The only suspicious thing was they died the day after the cleaning woman was down there cleaning, but I'm not saying anything more on that!
Though I wondered why there was an empty windex bottle nest to the cage.  |
MeAndTheBoys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3563
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 6:09 pm: |
|
FWIW, I've had cats all my life, and have worked for vets, and there are no illnesses that can pass between cats and pets. Ringworm, maybe if they bite? But viruses, no.
I'm fairly certain what your seeing now is hairballs. I agree that a little brushing can go a long way. If you get the Petromalt, smear a little bit on kitty's "cheeks" so she has to lick it off. Don't put it on the paw. I did that once, and kitty shook the paw, and Petromalt ended up all over the walls and kitchen cabinets.
As I've said, I've had cats all my life, and have never had an experience where vomiting (especially in the warmer months) is NOT a hairball. My kitty now is a Persian. Be glad yours doesn't have long hair--and lot's of it! |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1572
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 6:16 pm: |
|
VIG - is this the same cleaning woman who broke your mirror, or am I mixing up my MOL posters? |
Calliope
Citizen
Username: Calliope
Post Number: 129
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 7:15 pm: |
|
VIG,
I agree with all the "cat people" hairballs---as Greenetree so accurately put it-- have a distinctive appearance, they are about the size and shape of cocktail franks(sorry for the graphic imagery). Sometimes, before producing a "bezoar" (clinical name for a hairball)the cat may retch, gag, or cough, possibly producing clear ,sticky liquid. Cat vomit---looks like, well what you would imagine it to look like. If a cat throws up once or twice, it is probably not serious, it could be from eating houseplants (I assume she is not eating grass)And a word about houseplants or cut flowers, cats love to chomp on them and some common plants (like lillies at this time of year particularly)are poisonous to cats. If she bit a leaf or blossom,and it turned her stomach, you might see undigested peces of plant material.
If she should throw up and it is accompanied by diarrhea, GET HER TO A VET!
Cats vomit easily---sometimes right after they eat,if they gobble down their food too fast,usually it is nothing.
I want to recommend a book that I think all new cat owners should have in the house. It is out of print, but you can still get it online at B&N. It is: The Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook by Delbert G. Calson, DVM and James M. Griffin, M.D.
(boy! way too much information---- I gotta get a life!)
Calli |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4310
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 8:18 pm: |
|
LilB, yup, still same cleaning person.
Calli, I assume it was furball related but not sure. My daughter said she didn't see fur in the puke, though she didn't examine carefully! I don't think it was from leaves, the cat stays indoors and I have a few houseplants that are out of her reach. It is possible she ate something from the floor, or climbed on the table and drank from a glass of soymilk, but kind of unlikely. We'll monitor her over the next few days. |
Calliope
Citizen
Username: Calliope
Post Number: 130
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 9:18 pm: |
|
Vig,
>Whew< you've had some week. RIP for the parakeetsHope the kids are feeling better, and that the cat was just...well, being a cat. If you keep an eye on her I'm sure she'll be fine. A word of caution to a new cat guardian---don't ever think ANYTHING is out of her reach!
Here's to your health!
Calli
|
Eats Shoots & Leaves
Citizen
Username: Mfpark
Post Number: 3277
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 11:08 pm: |
|
An open window near birds can sometimes cause them to die from a cold draft. Happened to one or two of our parakeets once upon a time. It is amazing how little body heat they generate on their own. |
las
Citizen
Username: Las
Post Number: 1640
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 11:20 am: |
|
the cat stays indoors and I have a few houseplants that are out of her reach
Thanks, VIG - I needed a good laugh today. 
My Ernie-cat made a few wheezes the other day, which is an annual signal to brush all cats daily. Except, of course, wheezing Ernie, who refuses to be brushed and furballed on a rug this morning. Did you learn that yet, VIG? Cats ALWAYS puke ON rugs.
Hang in there.... |
catmanjac
Citizen
Username: Catmanjac
Post Number: 144
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 1:56 pm: |
|
When you have cats, puke is part of life (especially when one has eight). A cat most often barfs hairballs, which as others have said, can be dealt with by better grooming, food formulated to relieve/prevent hairballs, and hairball relief meds. Other benign causes include eating a bug or other harmless tidbit, eating too much too quickly, a sudden change in diet, and stress. If the cat barfs too much or on a regular basis, a veterinary exam is indicated to find the cause.
A Windex bottle near the bird cage!?! Chemicals we often think of as harmless are not, and to little creatures like birds, can be lethal. Many airborne substances in the cellar, including fumes from fuel oil and household cleaners are dangerous if not effectively exhausted out quickly.
Though most illnesses/diseases are not transmitted from one species to another, there are exceptions, and pets do pick up some viruses and infections from humans. Your child's brief illness was probably unrelated, though.
|
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4317
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 10:21 pm: |
|
I was joking about the Windex near the bird cage! |
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page