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Original poster

Unwell Siamese - any help appreciated

205 replies

RustyPaperclip · 06/05/2016 20:05

I have an 8 yr old Siamese, no previous health problems apart from getting in the odd scrap. On Monday night we noticed he had a very slight wheezy cough and we put it down to a possible hairball (although he has never had a problem before).

DH got home from work yesterday and found him laying on the back of the sofa, with very quick but deep breathing. He didn't want any food, and didn't want to move. He was trying to sleep but clearly was unable to settle. Before bed I wrapped him up in a blanket and put him on my pillow (we totally spoil love our cats as you can probably tell). In the morning he seemed perfectly well, he was running up and do the hallway screaming for his breakfast. Dh went to work after me and said he was still coughing badly and quite often but otherwise seemed fine.

I have got home tonight and he now seems worse than last night. I placed my ear on his chest and it sounds like he is hyperventilating. He has also started dribbling from his mouth. We can't think of any changes in the house which could have cause this reaction, and anything that could harm him is locked away. We did wonder if he has been spooked by something as he is a rather sensitive would, but this does seem an extreme reaction and doesn't explain his wheezy cough. Also, he is kept in during the day as we don't have a cat flap, so he couldn't have got hold of/eaten anything whilst we were working.

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prettybird · 07/05/2016 18:21

That would figure - if they're hotter in the summer and cooler in the winter. I'll need to see if I can observe that.

Although the way the cats are sun seeking missiles, they'll find the heat all year round!

Here's a picture I took a couple of weeks ago: spot the cat enjoying the sun Wink

And one I took of Cosmocat insisting on coming for a walk with us when it snowed a couple of months ago - complaining all the way! Grin We ended up having to stop in at a friend who had just moved in down the street - totally confused him, as the house is exactly the same configuration as ours.

Unwell Siamese - any help appreciated
Unwell Siamese - any help appreciated
Threetoedsloth · 07/05/2016 18:23

My mother was staying with us at the time and we were concealing our weirdness from her........................she might have thought we had jointly lost her marbles. She would probably have been not far off the mark. Neighbours weren't a problem, as we lived in the middle of nowhere. We now live in the middle of a different nowhere, which scores phenomenally high on the cat safety factor (one of
the criteria we use when choosing our homes) This is going to be where we live until the end of our days.
I'm going to try to post a photo of the boy we've just lost. Bear with me. I'll be right back.
Your beautiful boy is so much like my Siamese girl. Light of my life she was- a lilac point ex breeding queen who was going to be put to sleep because she wasn't fit to breed from any more (that still makes me bristle some twenty eight years later)When everyone talks of bonded Siamese I know exactly what they mean- she was mine and I was hers and her loss wrecked me- but as Maya Angelou says- we rise- because we have to.

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 19:01

I feel like a bit of a fraud Siamese owner as I have never hear of the phrase 'bonded Siamese'. However I love it and it sums up our relationship with our boy. I'm going to look for a photo of our little girl as everyone who meets her falls in love with her. She sometimes bites but is pretty much toothless so can't do any harm! I wonder what she is thinking right now

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Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 19:02

Prettybird if I didn't know better I would have put bets on the cat in the snow being our boy

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Threetoedsloth · 07/05/2016 19:04

Ooops I wasn't planning on losing my mother's marbles for her- I meant OUR marbles. Might that have been a Freudian slip? No success on photos I'm afraid- the unilateral loading of Windows 10 on my laptop (such cheek) means they've been hidden somewhere and I can't find them. Maybe another day.

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 19:08

Here is a photo of our little girl although I don't think it does her justice. She has such unusual colouring that we joke that she was either black or white and fell in a paint pot

Unwell Siamese - any help appreciated
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Threetoedsloth · 07/05/2016 19:13

Oh my word, she's soooo pretty. She has such a lovely expression on her face.

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 19:15

She may have only about 1 tooth and two fake hips but she is very pretty!

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Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 19:17

For some reason she has always reminded me of the female cat from Pepe Le Pew, I think it is her eyes

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cozietoesie · 07/05/2016 19:51

I should say, here, that Seniorboy, a chocolate point, has the darkish mask and tail, paws etc but is otherwise remarkably pale. Even the times he's been shaved for procedures, he's had no temporary darker growth.

What it is to live on an electric blanket, eh? Grin

KindDogsTail · 07/05/2016 20:58

RustyPaperclip Sat 07-May-16 15:57:57
That is a lovely photograph. His paw looks as though it's kneading. What relaxation - there is nothing else in the world quite like it.
The tail sticking out of the crack and the walk in the snow are wonderful too. I am smiling. What attitude!

Without a doubt he came back on purpose Rusty,

ThreetoesSloth That is one of the most romantic meetings I have ever heard of. How lovely and how happy.

You and your husband must have been so upset by the loss of your panther.
Pretty it must have been heartbreaking that your cat died while you were away.
We had a goldfish in a feezer for many years, but never a cat!

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 21:46

A goldfish in the freezer for years? Shock can you elaborate? Unfortunately my parents lost many of their fish recently to a pesky heron

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cozietoesie · 07/05/2016 21:50

You're braver than I am. I avoided that question. Grin

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 22:20

How do you avoid a teaser like that? There must be a great story behind itSmile

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KindDogsTail · 07/05/2016 22:32

Well the fish had been a family pet too. He had died after a long life. He needed to be buried properly but it was a winter night. I put him in the freezer to wait to do it later. Then did not get round to it because a lot else was going on, then forgot him. He did get a proper burial in the end though.

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 22:44

My dad had a favourite fish, he was convinced that said fish recognised the name he was given. He was massive and a bit of a legend in our family until the heron found him

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Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 22:46

I should probably clarify that the fish was massive, not my dear dad. He is a rather little man Smile

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KindDogsTail · 07/05/2016 22:50

The fish your father had outside sounds lovely. It may really have recognised him calling his name in a way. They definitely know when you come, and they look at you and swish their tail around in excitement waiting to be fed. Once you see that you can't ever just walk by.

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 07/05/2016 22:59

Thank you, that makes sense. He bloody loved that fish Smile

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cozietoesie · 08/05/2016 09:05

How are you and DH this morning?

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 08/05/2016 09:21

He is asleep. I got up and fed our little girl. I think she is starting to realise that he isn't coming back. She rarely miaows but she is walking around the flat miaowing.

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cozietoesie · 08/05/2016 09:29

Yes. She'll have an adjustment to make.

KindDogsTail · 08/05/2016 09:32

Poor puss. She'll need extra hugs.

I hope you and your husband have a peaceful day. So much sympathy to you both Rusty.

Original poster
RustyPaperclip · 08/05/2016 09:38

I've asked my parents to pop in and check on her while we are at work next week.

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cozietoesie · 08/05/2016 09:42

It depends on the cat, really. Seniorboy was never so happy as when The Lodger moved to pastures new.

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