Are WE making our cats sick?

[gaelicsheep]

Hi. In the past two or three years both our cats have been sick frequently. By frequently I mean each could be sick a couple of times a day, or more. Sometimes throwing up food, sometimes clear liquid - occasionally with a furball but mostly not.

We took them to the vet a couple of years ago who pronounced their teeth were at fault and charged us a small fortune for extractions. She recommended a dry food diet.

Well the dry food doesn't work as they won't eat it. We're avoiding food in jelly, at the vet's recommendation, so tend to stick with gravy and more recently supermeat as they really like it.

Anyhow, to get to the point, we were recently away for nearly a week and a friend came in and fed the cats. And they were not sick once, either of them, all week. This makes me wonder if it's stress, and if it IS stress, is it our household that's causing it? They are both house cats.

Thoughts? TIA

bump

That is really strange. But the obvious thing was, while you were away they had peace and quiet, were not disturbed by people constantly picking them up and fondling them, no frequent visitors and so on. Are they quite shy and quiet usually?

Compare to what your home is normally like, is there for example lots of noise and bustle, people coming and going, music/TV/video games/shouting, getting mithered by DC and their friends, nowhere to escape to when it gets too much? They are house cats you say and so don't go outside to escape as cats will if there is something they want to get away from. Perhaps try to replicate the conditions when the home was quiet while you were away and see what happens.

The other thing to look at is anything you give them to eat other than the cat food, a lot of cats can't digest foods that aren't intended for them, i.e. 'human' foods which might cause sickness.

One of them is shy and quiet, yes. The other is aloof rather than shy I'd say. But really they are not hassled by lots of attention these days - quite the opposite in fact, I'm afraid to say. But of course there are two young children here. One cat willingly comes down in the daytime and pretty much asks for any hassle she gets. The other keeps herself to herself and is usually to be found in her bed on the landing - where the children don't really tend to go.

But I agree, I think trying to replicate conditions would be helpful if difficult! I guess they used to have a lot of hidey holes which have now been sealed up - under the stairs and on top of the ceiling (!) for example. The shyer cat definitely likes her peace and quiet and only ventures downstairs in the evening when the kids are in bed. She had a pretty traumatic kittenhood I think and has never been quite right - sooo nervous.

In a way I'm pleased that there was no sick while we were away, as it does suggest there is nothing physically wrong. But of course the thought that WE are stressing them out is not a good one.

Thanks btw

Could you create some new hideyholes? Especially for the shyest one, they like protection from above, mine likes to lie under the washing on the clothes airer! Perhaps a little tent of draped fabric over her bed would help, or a cardboard box on its' side in a corner. In my experience cats don't choose to hide in proper cat beds.

I wonder whether the more outgoing one is the more dominant. Occasionally there can be problems with gobbling down food too quickly (so that the other one doesn't get it all) and this results in regurgitation. Have the two cats ever got on together or fought, or do they try to stay out of each other's way? You may have to feed each in a different area.
But I think the most important is creating new hiding places.

Yes I think you're right. I think our worry is creating more places for sick to get hidden too - Catch 22 I guess! The cats have always got on - we got them together from a rescue centre as they had willingly paired up although they aren't related. I think the little one (the more confident of the two) has a tendency to bolt her food and that's the cause of her throwing up - ironically the shy one seems dominant over food. Yes I think we need a rethink of the arrangements. Thanks for your advice. :-)

I'm no vet but first thought is cut down how much food you give them bit increase frequency of food. Small but often if they are gorging too quickly.
If You use boxes for hidey holes then easy to dispose of if they do vomit there.

Good point about the boxes. I'm not sure we COULD cut down their food much more. They get a quarter of a can at a time each twice a day, plus biscuits at bedtime. Much of the time it goes uneaten, they're so fussy. I worry we're not feeding them enough actually. I guess we could try splitting the food over three meals.

I can't link as I'm on phone. Try fabcat website, they will answer any email regarding cat behaviour. Site was recommended by my vet. Hope it helps. Sure your not making cats sick.

Thanks for the pointer. I'll take a look.

If you find you have to give more frequent, but smaller meals you could try a feeder with a timer, which could be useful if you are out all day or away, and for your cat sitter to use. It might also be worth browsing the pet section on Amazon, they have a wide variety of feeding bowls some of which may help restrict the amount pets ingest per mouthful. Another thing is some cats don't like stainless steel bowls because they don't like to see their reflection in them, so that could be a consideration when choosing, and also keep their drinking water separate, cats don't naturally drink where they eat.

Cat politics are quite difficult to manage and some things can be quite subtle and go unnoticed by us. If there is a dominant cat, the other will usually defer to them but do resort to sneaky tactics, e.g. scoffing the food when the coast is clear! Otherwise the dominant would eat first and the most food. This happens even when cats get along with each other. I still think feeding them in different areas might reduce this need to eat as fast as possible.

Our cat is frequently sick (have had numerous trips to vet including inconclusive x-ray). I too wondered if it was stress as her vomiting has been worse when we've had builders etc in. Since changing from jelly to gravy food she's been much better. I also think she goes scavenging round other people's bins which makes her sick. Vet said dry food causes blockages, and he said that eating plants can build up and cause vomiting too.

Do you use air freshener, chemicals on work surfaces, stuff on the carpet etc. My cat gets sick if i do these things. The worktop is now cleaned with washing up liquid and well rinsed and i use candles to fragrance and he hasnt been sick in ages