Free Kitty

[ecf8503]

It is a funny visual, isn''t it?

However - PLEASE - if this ever happens to your cat, DO NOT PULL ON IT!!!!!!!!!

You just don''t know how long it may be, and sometimes if they eat a long piece of tinsel (or shoestring, or dental floss, etc) it can get tangled in their intestines. If you pull on it, you may turn that string into a "hacksaw", as it could literally slice a hole in the cat''s intestines, and THAT is BAD NEWS.

If you see this happen, call your vet immediately.

Thank you. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Christine (D.V.M.)

 

[Lorelei]

Excellent warning ecf. I had a Siamese who loved to eat wool, once I found him with a piece hanging out of his bum, called the vet in a panic and she told me to dose him with corn oil to help ease it through, luckily she was able to remove it.

 

[AndyRosse]

And that is why I refuse to put tinsel on my tree and always make sure that any dental floss is completely in the trash, not hanging out partially. Rascal used to love to grab a piece of tinsel from my mother''s tree and then ran under my bed. We had to remove all the tinsel from the tree, but my mother loved it so much that she ended up leaving the tinsel on the top half of the tree and none on the bottom

. It looked strange, but at least Rascal was safe

.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

We''ve always used ribbon or beaded garland (not tinsel) on our trees. Although our cats still like to play with them, it''s harder to eat and less likely to hurt them....

 

[Blue824]

Date: 12/6/2005 12:57:36 AM
Author: aphisiglovessae
My fiance said he had a cat when he was little that would eat the tinsel off the bottom branches of the tree and it would end up in his poop or just hanging out of his butt. I know it sounds gross, but picture it in your mind and I swear you will laugh. I laughed for a good 5 minutes when he told me.

Heheheeee I am picturing that, and it is pretty funny! Well, especially the hanging out of the butt part, what a festive little kitty....But I"m sure that can''t be safe!!!!

My cats are surprisingly ok around our Xmas stuff. Just to be safe, we don''t use tinsel (well I think that''s more of a no no since we don''t get live trees anymore, what a pain in the butt to take that off of a fake!) and we close the room off where the tree is when we''re not home so they can''t get in trouble by knocking it down, like so many cats do. I know people that actually have to anchor their tree to the walls because their cats have knocked it over way too often!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Just an update. Grayson is now 4 months and a whole 3.8 lbs (he is getting big). I took him this morning to get fixed and they found irregular heart beat on the EKG. So needless to say I am not having good kitty luck lately. The Dr. said sometimes they grow out of this. I am taking him back in 2 months to see. He is a very active and happy cat so I am praying it is nothing and his tests will be normal next time.

 

[Blue824]

Oh! I hope he is fine!! I know you''ll always have that in the back of your mind until you find out for sure though. Give us an update when you find out and until then, I hope Grayson stays healthy!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks Blue. I have a friend that used to work in a shelter and she said that it is not so uncommon for the young kittens to "grow" out of it. I know that Grayson IS a FIGHTER. He had such a rough start and with neglect, the fleas, then worms, he seems really strong. He is so playful. He doesn''t act stick or weak. He acts like a crazy manic. It has just been a rough couple months dealing with all of our cat issues so I thought I needed some PS love.

 

[AndyRosse]

Oh Tacori, I bet he will grow out of it. But I will keep you and him in my thoughts. Please let us know the results in two months.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thank you so much Rascal. He is using my laptop as a pillow as we speak. Too cute!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Tacori, I''m keeping my fingers crossed for you and for little Grayson!!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 1/5/2006 10:55:30 PM
Author: HOUMedGal
Tacori, I''m keeping my fingers crossed for you and for little Grayson!!!

Thank you HOUmedgal. He is such a part of our family now I just really hope he is as strong as I think he is. I think Madison is not doing as well as I thought. She has been hissing at him and going to the bathroom on our guest bed (it is what she does when she is mad like if she got shots at the vet ex...) But then the next minute she is licking his face and cuddling. She is such a sweet girl maybe once Grayson calms down and stops attacking her tail...

 

[ecf8503]

Hi Tacori - just wanted to pop in and let you know I''m keeping tabs on little Grayson!

My first thought when you posted this was - was it an EKG abnormality or an audible murmur when they listened to him? It is very common for kittens to have murmurs, and most of them do grow out it without issue. Irregular heartbeats are the same, but less common as true consistent abnormalities.

Actually, murmurs and beat irregularities are quite common - they can even be induceable; meaning since cats and especially kittens are so small, if you press the stethescope onto the chest wall too firmly (to get good contact), it is possible to cause a murmur or irregular beat. An irregular / inconsistent spacing of beats isn''t anything to worry about in cats most of the time as long as the beats themselves are normal. That''s where the EKG comes into play - that will help determine if all the electrical conductivity through the heart muscle is normal or not.

When did they assess this abnormality? Was he still awake or had they started the anesthetic induction? It''s good info to know, because there are some inhaled anesthetic gasses that can actually cause an irregular heartbeat (temporary, and not harmful - resolves after a true anesthetic plane of consciousness is reached).

It sounds like everything is ok, but I can''t make any diagnosis myself having not seen / heard him or seen his EKG. Just for reference, EKG usage in routine practice is not that common - if your place is using it, that is wonderful! I''d just follow their advice so far, and have it rechecked in a bit. 99.5% of the time it''s nothing to worry about!

Christine (D.V.M.)

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks again Christine for your great advice! I know this will help Tacori immensely!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 1/6/2006 8:46:43 AM
Author: ecf8503
Hi Tacori - just wanted to pop in and let you know I''m keeping tabs on little Grayson!


My first thought when you posted this was - was it an EKG abnormality or an audible murmur when they listened to him? It is very common for kittens to have murmurs, and most of them do grow out it without issue. Irregular heartbeats are the same, but less common as true consistent abnormalities.


Actually, murmurs and beat irregularities are quite common - they can even be induceable; meaning since cats and especially kittens are so small, if you press the stethescope onto the chest wall too firmly (to get good contact), it is possible to cause a murmur or irregular beat. An irregular / inconsistent spacing of beats isn''t anything to worry about in cats most of the time as long as the beats themselves are normal. That''s where the EKG comes into play - that will help determine if all the electrical conductivity through the heart muscle is normal or not.


When did they assess this abnormality? Was he still awake or had they started the anesthetic induction? It''s good info to know, because there are some inhaled anesthetic gasses that can actually cause an irregular heartbeat (temporary, and not harmful - resolves after a true anesthetic plane of consciousness is reached).


It sounds like everything is ok, but I can''t make any diagnosis myself having not seen / heard him or seen his EKG. Just for reference, EKG usage in routine practice is not that common - if your place is using it, that is wonderful! I''d just follow their advice so far, and have it rechecked in a bit. 99.5% of the time it''s nothing to worry about!


Christine (D.V.M.)

Thanks Christine. I am glad you saw this because I was going to PM you for advice. The vet said she did not hear a murmur (nor did her assistent). This was all done when he was awake as a pre-screening before the anesthetic. They also did blood work which came back fine. She said it was an irregular heartbeat so they wanted to wait before they did any surgery. She said that we could bring him back for an EKG in a month (for $37) but she would feel more comfortable if we waited the two months. That will bring him to 6 months and after that they can determine if he grew out of it or would need medication to regulate his heart. I am not going to worry YET. I did not know EKG was uncommon. She said a cardiologist read the results which surprised me. I guess it is good to know they are so careful. It just has been a rough couple months for our babies

I tease FI we are helping send the vet''s kids to college. At least Madison seems to have made a full recovery. No vomiting since she was so sick. So that is very good. Thanks again. I will keep you all updated.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Tacori, sorry to hear about Grayson, but at the same time, it sounds like it''s not all that uncommon and he''s doing well in spite of the murmur...I''m keeping my fingers crossed!

On a good note, it sounds like Grayson is fitting right in with your family and has settled in...congrats on being such a great cat-mommy!!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks Lorelei. Christine always gives great advice!

Date: 1/6/2006 6:33:49 PM
Author: AChiOAlumna
Tacori, sorry to hear about Grayson, but at the same time, it sounds like it''s not all that uncommon and he''s doing well in spite of the murmur...I''m keeping my fingers crossed!


On a good note, it sounds like Grayson is fitting right in with your family and has settled in...congrats on being such a great cat-mommy!!!

Thanks AchiOAlumna. That means a lot. I try to be the best kitty mommy to my two cats that I can. I am trying to have positive thinking. Grayson doesn''t ACT sick so I hope it was just one of those things he will out grow (and soon so we can get him fixed before he starts to spray

)

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Look how much he has grown!

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 1/9/2006 2:49:22 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Look how much he has grown!

Wow!!! He is getting sooooo big!

 

[Lorelei]

Goodness, he looks GREAT and he has grown so much, bless him - a very handsome Kittyman!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Ohhh, Tacori, he''s soo big!! And so handsome!!! He''s OBVIOUSLY well-loved and well-taken-care-of!!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

He''s such a cutie!!! Look how big he''s gotten!! I love that face!!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

hehe thank you! I''ll pass on the compliments to him. He is so spoiled. We always tell both our cats that they could be models. We are so pathetic!

 

[SoonIHope]

WOW, he is huge and SO CUTE!!!!!!!!! I really think he is almost exactly the same age as Albi, their faces look almost identical except for the coloring!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 1/10/2006 1:21:00 PM
Author: albicocca
WOW, he is huge and SO CUTE!!!!!!!!! I really think he is almost exactly the same age as Albi, their faces look almost identical except for the coloring!!

I think you are right. He is 4 months. He is still 1/2 the size of our older cat. It is so cute to watch them interact. How is little Albi doing?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Just thought I would update this thread because you all were SO supportive and thoughtful. Grayson''s heart condition seemed to be normal so he is fine and healthy which is a huge relief. He is growing up so fast!

 

[movie zombie]

he''s beautiful! and resembles my spikey boy cat!

movie zombie

 

[FireGoddess]

I just want to head bonk him!! Fuzzy kitty.

 

[Mara]

ooh he''s so cute, i''m not really a cat person but they are cute!

 

[Miranda]

OMG!!! What a precious face he has!!! I want to squeeze him!!! He improved my foul mood tonight! I think I''ll peek at the No Dogs Allowed thread. I just love cats.