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We have a 3 legged, vegetarian cat at home and he has a few problems that I am hoping someone here can provide some insight to.
The first, and most worrying problem, is that he suffers from a weepy eye. The fluid produced is reddish, leading us to believe it is blood. The vet was uncertain what it was and gave us a cream to apply to the eye, which hasn't helped.
The second problem is that he has very recurved claws. He certainly spends enough time sharpening his claws, but they hook on everything. He cannot even jump off a couch or bed without the claws hooking on something.
The third problem is his bad breath - the vet said he had a slight plaque build up on his teeth, and a minor gum infection, but provided nothing to treat it.
Any ideas and/or suggestions?
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Shame, poor kitty sounds like it's having a hard time.
We had a cat who's claws hooked on everything too - turned out he could not retract them completely.
WRT his eye and breath, you should take him back to the vet and tell him to catch a wakeup quickly. He should have been given antibiotics!
Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
--Mahatma Gandhi
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Thanks Pam. I have suspicions that his no meat diet is a big contributing factor to his health problems. For whatever reason, he does not like meat, fish or poultry - he doesn't seem to recognise these things for what they are (food).
He eats a dry mix, and even there he is fussy, we alternate between two brands and three flavours to try and give him as balanced a diet as possible.
We have to get him back to the vet again soon. Not having a car makes even this more of a mission than it should be. Animal friendly taxis are hard to come by...
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What biscuits do you give him? Our cat is a hunter, so he gets plenty of mice, birds. Plus we give him the odd bit of chicken or fish. At the risk of doing some free advertising, we use Hill's Science Plan, which is not too cheap (about £12 a bag - lasta about a month) but is excellent is helping with eating disorders, etc.
I do think you are right about his not eating meat being a problem with his health. Let me know what the vet says next time you take him in. Good luck
Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
--Mahatma Gandhi
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Hi Pam,
We use a local version of the Science Diet available through our local petstore - no 33 for Sensitive stomachs. Also, we use Go Cat - any mix with a supposedly high proportion of veggies in it. Anything too meaty or fishy he rejects so it is usually rabbit or duck with veggies (all looks and smells the same to me).
Beyond the weepy eye he is a very contented cat. There is no sign of discomfort - he eats, sleeps, grooms and plays as if nothing was wrong.
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Well, he sounds healthy enough! Just remember - he's your pet, and if you feel something is not right, then you are probably right.
Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
--Mahatma Gandhi
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Quote:Originally posted by Bushbaby
Thanks Pam. I have suspicions that his no meat diet is a big contributing factor to his health problems. For whatever reason, he does not like meat, fish or poultry - he doesn't seem to recognise these things for what they are (food).
He eats a dry mix, and even there he is fussy, we alternate between two brands and three flavours to try and give him as balanced a diet as possible.
We have to get him back to the vet again soon. Not having a car makes even this more of a mission than it should be. Animal friendly taxis are hard to come by...
Ok heres my pennies worth ..... sounds like he needs to have an anesthetic at the vet to have his teeth cleaned and any rotten ones pulled out (they can be very painful if left and form absesses just like we can get with bad teeth) ... cleaning and removing bad teeth should help his breath a lot).
He may well have had cat flu at some stage of his life which will result in permanently runny eyes.
If he eats a dry cat feed ... that will be fully balanced for him and he is probably better off being encouraged to stick to that as the dry feed will help to keep his teeth in better shape. Vegatables will not be a balanced diet for a cat if there is not meat included. So if he likes the dry stuff .... just give him that with plenty of fresh water.
And to help him regain his health ... give him one big cuddle in the morning and one at night .... and any extra cuddles when you have time
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Quote:Originally posted by sunny
Ok heres my pennies worth ..... sounds like he needs to have an anesthetic at the vet to have his teeth cleaned and any rotten ones pulled out (they can be very painful if left and form absesses just like we can get with bad teeth) ... cleaning and removing bad teeth should help his breath a lot).
He may well have had cat flu at some stage of his life which will result in permanently runny eyes.
If he eats a dry cat feed ... that will be fully balanced for him and he is probably better off being encouraged to stick to that as the dry feed will help to keep his teeth in better shape. Vegatables will not be a balanced diet for a cat if there is not meat included. So if he likes the dry stuff .... just give him that with plenty of fresh water.
And to help him regain his health ... give him one big cuddle in the morning and one at night .... and any extra cuddles when you have time
Here's the big joke - my sister can cuddle him and he is all sweetness and light. Let me touch him, and my arms and hands are torn to shreds in seconds. I have never done anything to him - I feed him, clean up after him, make sure he has warm places near various radiators to sleep, as well as leaving EVERY door in the house open a crack for him (kitty law - if a door is closed, they want to be on the other side of it). Yet he seems to hate me. Whenever I touch him, the ears go flat, the eyes go nasty, and the claws and teeth come out. He latches on so hard that you can lift your arm and he won't fall off!
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Quote:Originally posted by Bushbaby
Here's the big joke - my sister can cuddle him and he is all sweetness and light. Let me touch him, and my arms and hands are torn to shreds in seconds. I have never done anything to him - I feed him, clean up after him, make sure he has warm places near various radiators to sleep, as well as leaving EVERY door in the house open a crack for him (kitty law - if a door is closed, they want to be on the other side of it). Yet he seems to hate me. Whenever I touch him, the ears go flat, the eyes go nasty, and the claws and teeth come out. He latches on so hard that you can lift your arm and he won't fall off!
Oh shame BB ... how strange .... he may just be nervous of men or has had a bad experience with a man .... Though I had a Persian male cat that was quite a nervous cat and he was not so comfortable with men as he was with women .... plus he had never had a bad experience with men .... just a nervous cat and sensed something different in women verses men .... also the bigger the boots on a man ... the more terrified he was LOL.
