Cat Sick

cabbage

Hi

We have 2 male cats. Mike is 10 felix type cat with longish fur, he's a bit of an old man now and spends a lot of time asleep or dozing.

Cosmo is 4 and a bit of a live wire, he's a rescue and has a short coat. Both have been trying to catch butterflies and insects and Cosmo has caught the odd bird and mouse.

We feed them Felix as good as it looks with a goKat biscuits mixed in. We used to feed them a foil packet between them twice a day but have decided to up it to a packet each twice a day as we felt a packet a day was a bit on the mean side. Mike is a little overweight and Cosmo is normal weight.

This morning and increasingly over the last couple of months both cats have been sick. Without being too gross there's usually a little puddle and a cigar shaped blob. There were two lots today that happened sometime between last night and when I got up this morning.

Both cats are well and not showing any signs of illness. Both eat well but not excessively ie they are not prowling the house trying to pinch food.

Mike sometimes has fur balls.

Its hard to determine with two cats which one is being sick but today I know one of the little messages was from Cosmo as its from one of his hiding places. Sometimes we hear Mike being sick or coughing up a fur ball.

I've been putting this down to them eating insects etc in the garden as it doesn't happen in the winter except for the fur balls for Mike.

Cosmo is allergic to milk or milky products but before we knew this he was sick alot but it was (sorry if you're eating!) more liquid with very few lumps.

Am I right to dismiss this as extra insects etc. Do you think a worm tablet might help or is it over feeding. It might be the latter as the food is not always digested.

Should we swap to different food?

Any help or advice would be appreciated. BTW both are regularly vaccinated and well looked after.

Many thanks

antw23uk

From what you describe it sounds like a furball! Which is confusing as you obviously know what they look like from the other cat :question:

Personally I hate commercial cat food of any type and feed my cats the correct diet of RAW/ BARF which means hairballs are a thing of the past.

Would be interesting to see a pic of your felix lookalike .. I bet he looks like my cat Ollie

Our cats are fed 100g of food a day in general, this is divided into morning and evening and we buy it 'premade' from Natural Instincts ... actually works out cheaper feeding RAW than it does that commercial rubbish anyway
The only exception to this is if they are having a chicken wing or half a chicken carcass in the garden and then its much more than 100g but we dont worry about it when they are in optimum health anyway

I say furball! Not insects.

antw23uk

Oh and to add that no cat should have any form of diary. Its not good for them at all.

cabbage

antw23uk wrote: »

Oh and to add that no cat should have any form of diary. Its not good for them at all.

found that out the hard way! but some posters are using Yoghurt to crush tablets in!

I can't believe that Cosmo would generate enough fur for a fur ball as his is like a crew cut. Mike on the other hand I would say yes, definitely fur balls.

I think I will need to examine the sick a little more closely - any volunteers?

Thanks for your replies so far. Would be interested to hear from other owners who have the same problem this time of year?

Smithy7876

Were they being sick before you upped their food allowance? Its probably just down to food they are not used too. Personally mine have a packet each in the morning and share one in the evening with biscuits which is enough.

Fur balls are entirelly natural and ALL cats have them regardless of diet. Usually, being really clean animals, it is hidden away out of their usual terriory so the fact one or both of them has been noticably sick means something has changed.

I would reduce there food back down (Especially as they are both good weights already) and see if that changes things back

cabbage

Hi

thanks Smithy, looking back we had the odd sickie but since the food has gone up its more. I will try that and see what happens. They are both due worming so I will get that done too.

Are you saying that furballs are not harmful then?

Battleaxe44

I have three cats and this is typical furball upchuck.

you can get dry cat food that helps with this problem. you pay a bit more than what your present dry food costs, but well worth helping get rid of the fur. I keep my cats combed, especially my long haired fellow

Smithy7876

cabbage wrote: »

Hi

thanks Smithy, looking back we had the odd sickie but since the food has gone up its more. I will try that and see what happens. They are both due worming so I will get that done too.

Are you saying that furballs are not harmful then?

Furballs are not harmful in normal circumstances. All felines have them. They lick the fur and swallow it so it has to go somewhere.

As I said reset the environmental factors. If it is still occuring then there maybe something further too look into but I assume they are both their normal selves and showing no other signs of having a different illness?

cabbage

Smithy7876 wrote: »

Furballs are not harmful in normal circumstances. All felines have them. They lick the fur and swallow it so it has to go somewhere.

As I said reset the environmental factors. If it is still occuring then there maybe something further too look into but I assume they are both their normal selves and showing no other signs of having a different illness?

They are both well and enjoying the sunny weather. Thanks for the reply.

his_missus

You can also get treats which are supposed to relieve fur build up, seent hem in the pet shop but can't think what they're called. Sorry, that's not a lot of help really.

You can also get a paste in a tube which prevents furballs. My vet recommended it when one of my cats kept being sick. She said he was throwing up food because he was trying to cough up the furball.

Have a look at your local pet shop and see if they have anything that might alleviate/prevent furballs.

cabbage

HI

thanks for your post. I've seen some cat treats that prevent fur balls in B&M/Home Bargains. The paste is called something like Kavalax. You can get it in my local chemists. I'm not sure even if I put it on their legs that they would eat it. Last time I looked it was around £14 - £20 so if someone can tell me it works then I might try some.

We've wormed them both with a spot on wormer (easier than tablets) and cut back to one packet each at breakfast and half a packet at tea time and today (so far) no sick to clean up.

If they start being sick again I will get either the Kavalax or the treats that are anti fur ball.

Many thanks for your post