Topic: Paddington

[Poppy Mole]

I have recently noticed a strange habit that Paddington (one of my cats) has, he has started to lick anything concrete ie. the paving slabs when he goes out & also a door stop which I keep by the front door, does anyone have any ideas on this please? Could it be a form of stress resulting from the Dyson episode (see other thread) or something he thinks he needs in his (unchanged) diet? Jemima the other one doesn't do this at all.

[Hector]

Funnily enough I read a post on a cat forum about this. Apparently can be a number of causes but they all recommend blood test as can be anaemia/other stuff. Not trying to cause worry.

[Poppy Mole]

They are both due for their annual jabs soon, so will ask the vet when I go, thanks.

[Hector]

:) One of mine just likes "tasting" things. So sure it will be fine. Husbands big toe gets "tasted" frequently :)

[Poppy Mole]

Have just been reading pssibly the same article as you did & am now worried that Dyson was a carrier & infected Paddington when they were fighting - he has some nasty scratches on his nose. Will get him to the vet first thing Monday morning.

[Poppy Mole]

Took Paddington to the vet this morning, she doesn't think it is anaemia but will run blood tests anyway. His fat tummy is fluid & most likely related to his heart so he has been kept in today for x-rays & scans

[Squash64]

Fingers crossed everything is okay.

[Poppy Mole]

Not good news I'm afraid, his heart is greatly enlarged & thickened making it hard to pump the blood through it, & there is quite a bit of fluid sloshing around in his chest which could get into his lungs. However he is now on 2 diruretic tablets a day to try & help that side of things & also another pill to help his heart. He could last days or years.
I am so not looking forward to giving him 3 pills a day, think I had better stock up on plasters!

[betula]

My Collie keeps eating soil,should get it checked out ???

[Squash64]

Poor thing but at least you know what the problem is now.

How are you going to give him the tablets?  I don't know much about cats but my dogs will take tablets if I hide them in soft cheese like Philadelphia, or in bits of chicken.  I have a feeling that it isn't so easy with cats.

[Obelixx]

One of my cats had to have medication every day for a year to heal a skin condition.  Being a clever cat he knew it was in his food and wasn't having a pill shoved down his throat so I ended up crushing his pills, pouring them into a syringe, adding a bit of water and then, after wrapping him in a towel and having him safely held by OH or daughter, I squirted it down his throat.

Worked a treat and no scratches.  Just make sure you crush the pills really fine on a piece of card that you can then fold to pour it into the syringe.

Good luck.

[katynewbie]

I hope Paddington is getting lots of TLC, when I had to give Bud a tablet I found that crushing it and hiding it in a spoonful of philly cheese worked, maybe you could try?

This amused me when I first found it,
http://www.nanceestar.com/CatPill.html

Health and Safety Notice...it's a joke..

[Poppy Mole]

I have managed to get todays quota in to him with no bother - hidden in a bite sized piece of pate before his breakfast & tea, I just hope it carries on being this easy as he runs the risk of a heart attack if I have to stress him out to get the pills in to him.
He is getting lots of TLC from me but unfortunately last night Jemima, my other cat, decided that he was a stranger as he didn't smell right & did lots of hissing at him, but it looks as though she is happier with him today.

[katynewbie]

I am glad you managed to get the tablets down, other cats can be difficult when one of their 'family' cats is ill, I had that problem when one of our three was poorly, they do get over it and sometimes it's just cos they have the smell of the vet on them!

[Poppy Mole]

Check up at the vets this morning, his heart rate is down to 200 from 250, but needs to be lower about 180. However she was very happy with the progress so far as he is a lot brighter in himself & quite chilled out about being there.
The only downside was the bill & another appointment for next Monday.
Does anyone know if this would have been covered by pet insurance? I have never bothered with it, preferring to put the money away myself to pay vets fees.