Cats Health 

Soft stools?
Vomiting
Not eating
Drinking a lot
Scratching

Always bear in mind that, like a big cat, your little kitten will keep any ailment well hidden, until it gets just too serious.

So do not hesitate to consult at the slightest change in behaviour or habits.

Soft stools?

 

• Stop its usual balanced diet. Leave only tap-water or rice water, even if it does not usually drink.
• Above all, absolutely no milk! (And, in point of fact, has it perhaps drunk some?)
• When you do let it have a bit of tinned pâté, do not serve it straight from the fridge - warm it up in the micro-wave oven or in a saucepan, or leave it to reach room temperature.

Vomiting

 

• Grass which it has just eaten? Perfectly normal.
• A bit of bile at day-break? - No problem.
• The meal it has just taken? - It may eat it up again straight away. Utterly disgusting, but that´s how it is!
• Prostrate, lifeless and with diarrhoea? Take an appointment with the Vet as soon as possible.

Not eating

 

• Remove the biscuits, or throw out the tinned food you gave it.
• If it goes on playing, it should build up an appetite in a few hours ...
• Had it had some new, more tasty food and is embarking on a trial of strength to get you to give it some more?
• If the anorexia lasts longer than 24 hours, consult your Vet.

Drinking a lot

Of course it always has fresh water available in a spotlessly clean bowl (not a plastic one, because of the smell!). It drinks very little: its ancestors used to live in the desert.

Remember: "When a cat takes to drink, there´s something wrong." Your Vet will be able to discover the reason - perhaps a perfectly straightforward one, or sometimes more complicated and serious - and advise you as to diet and possible treatment.

Scratching

Has it been treated properly against parasites? A flea or two, which you may not be able to see, could be the reason.

There are many others. Each has its own treatment.

Jean-Claude Proy
Veterinary Surgeon