How often does your cat get sick?

[Imdanny]

I got my cat from the shelter and she was sick when I got her. She had a cold, and eye infection, and worms. I took her to the vet and got those cleared up immediately.

She was nine weeks when I got her.

I''ve had her for two years.

The other day she got sick. I see her everyday so I could tell. I don''t know what it was because she seemed better by the next day. One factor might have been that I changed the kind of litter she uses. She didn''t seem to like that at all.

How often does your cat get sick? What things has your cat been sick from? And when do you decide when you should go to the vet?

Thanks, all.

 

[y2kitty]

Cat age 3: Was sick with feline herpes virus and ear mites when we got her from the shelter. Took 3 months for her to stop having runny eyes, blowing green snot, etc. Has not been sick since.

Cat age 10: Feral cat lived in a dumpster till 6 months, adopted at a year. Never sick with anything. Only been to the vet once in 10 years, just get his shots done at Petsmart.

Cat age 20: Has problems. Got her from an auto garage (long story) and had worms. Over the years she''s had: allergy breakouts on her chin from plastic bowls, ear mites, kitty cold, an abscess that had to be surgically cleaned and stitched, and FIV. One time she limped for days and when we took her to the vet and had an xray done it turned out she was faking it (for extra food, she''d limp to her food bowl and look pathetic).

 

[Little Monster]

Cat #1: Age 6... Rescued him from the ASPCA when he was 6 months... had to leave him with the vet for almost 3 weeks so he could recover from a terrible case of penumonia. He was a stray loose in January in upstate NY... poor thing

Since then, he''s been healthy as a horse!

Cat #2: Age 5 1/2... Another rescue... had earmites & a upper respiratory thing going on when I met him... earmites were treated quickly... He''s always sneezed more than any other cat I know. Gets ''eye boogers'' more often too. Recently was diagnosed with Bartonella (bacterial infection that can cause Cat Scratch Fever)... which inadvertently can cause allergy-like symptoms that he''s got now. He''s currently on antibiotics for it, but it shouldn''t be too big a deal. Crappy part? The bacteria also causes serious teeth problems (how the vet realized she should test him). Hopefully the damage is done & won''t keep getting progressively worse

He''s got high blood calcium too (probably idiopathic, though the more research I do, the more I think it''s actually related to the Bartonella)...

so... 1 kitty only has gotten sick once in 6 years... the other... um.... many more health issues

hope your kitty gets better soon!!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 2/25/2010 10:49:39 PM
Author: y2kitty
One time she limped for days and when we took her to the vet and had an xray done it turned out she was faking it (for extra food, she''d limp to her food bowl and look pathetic).

LOL smart kitty!

My baby Cleo has been to the vet twice, once to get spayed, and once to get a bite wound from some unknown animal cleaned. But she''s never been sick, never even thrown up like most kitties do.

 

[purselover]

Both our cats throw up occasionally but they''ve never been sick with anything major. The last time one of my cats had a serious throwing up spell it was because she was eating flowers.

Hope your kitty feels better soon!

 

[lulu]

I did cat rescue for years. I would say that 95% of the cats I cared for had some sort of respiratory issues and recurring eye infections. . I think it''s because so many of these cats are the result of inbreeding on farms or in a feral pack. They just seem to have weak immune systems. I still put salve in Margaret''s eyes every night(if she lets me catch her.
And she''s 11. But she sure is worth the effort.

 

[Laila619]

First of all, thank you so much for adopting an animal from a shelter and saving her life!

My kitty is going to be 6 soon, and she is very healthy (knock on wood) but she has dental issues. I've already had to do one dental cleaning on her that required anesthesia at age 3. She will be due for another one soon I'm sure.

She'll also get a weepy, runny eye every once in a while (about 3x a year).

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Our cat has lymphoma. He takes prednesone. It casues his to vomit at times--every 2-3 days or so. The vet is very non-specific when I try to pin him down on how much time Oscar has left

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Two rescue kitties call me mom

Tela - 7 years old - rescued as a tiny kitten - hand reared. Had multiple skin issues as a baby due to massive flea infestation. Took months of hard work to clean up as she was too little for conventional flea prevention. Had cysts on her ovaries and uterus which resulted in emergency spay a few months ahead of regular spay schedule due to her being in pain. Had the cysts tested for cancer and results were negative. Goes to the vet yearly for exam and vaccinations. Has had one unscheduled visit due to fur loss on her ear - turns out she was stressed due to a new living arrangement. Occasionally overeats and vomits as a result. Very sensitive stomach but after so many years I know what foods she tollerates and what upset her delicate stomach. One memorable case of a stomach bug where I stayed up with her all night to keep her hydrated and clean her vomit. Always up to date on vaccinations.

Miyagi - 2 years old. Adopted via local rescue group at approximately 4 months of age. Has a heart condition that requires daily medication (2x a day) as well as 6 month wellness exams and yearly echocardiograms. So far he is responding well to treatment but he is not expected to live beyond 6 years. That is what the vets say but only Miyagi's heart can decide how long it will function for. I just try to give him the best life possible. Occasional runny eye (which I always keep a tube of ointment on hand for) and a slight predisposition to respiratory infections. Always up to date on vaccinations.

Any behavior that seems odd, conditons which appear to be painful, cuts or wounds which have the potential to become infected are the rules when it comes to deciding if the cat should go to the vet for an urgent visit in our house. Day to day I watch for signs of painful urination, frequent urination, frequent thirst, runny stool, appetite (either increased or lowered), energy level, clear eyes, clear ears, coughing, panting or other signs of distress.

 

[Maisie]

We have had Gracie for almost a year. She hasn''t been unwell apart from random vomiting. Not enough that I panic, I think she just over eats!

 

[poptart]

We rescued our cat three years ago and she had worms when we got her from the shelter. The vet gave her just a shot I think, and after that cleared up she has only been sick twice. She threw up once because she ate a flowering cactus, and threw up just yesterday with her first hair ball. Unless her eyes are cloudy/watery, breathing is raspy, gum color is off (anything other than a light pink), or diarrhea, I don''t worry.

 

[MissMina]

I rescued Heidi 12 years ago from the bird seed department of Home Depot.
She has never been sick.

 

[MissMina]

Heidi does vomit but I don''t count that as being sick.
She eats too much too fast.
Even after all these years she acts like she doesn''t
know where her next meal is coming from.

 

[HollyS]

My cat has a habit of scarfing her food down as if she were a big dog - - inhaling it like a dog would. We had to take her off all wet food, stick to a dry food with small pieces, and limit the number of cat snacks. She was taking one or two chomps and then swallowing, and eventually something would get caught, and it was a lovely upchuck fest. She''s able to resist the urge to purge with the smaller sized food, and we noticed that she is actually eating more now that we limited her variety.

Other than being the Queen of Hock, she has been well without incident for most of her 12 years.

 

[chiquitapet]

We`ve had both of our cats for 5 years. Lula is from a petshop and Nino is a rescue from RSPCA. Apart from Lula regurgitating her food every few weeks or so, neither of them has been sick so far. They`re indoor cats too (most of the time), so that is likely to have something to do with it.

 

[Clio]

Francesca is 14, and we got her from a breeder. She''s been sick/injured twice. Once was when she jumped down from an over-door transom and dislocated a toe, and once when she had a UTI.

We also had Gracie, a stray from our neighborhood we took in. We had her checked out by the vet when we brought her inside, but I think she must have had some underlying condition we didn''t find, because about a year after we got her, she suddenly collapsed and died one day. She was only about 18 months old.