Help… does anyone elses child love to take medicine. Mine begs me for it. Yesterday I caught her in the kitchen with a couple rolaids in her hand and I ran to snatch them and she threw them in her mouth and chewed them up. Its so not like her, she used to give any meds right back to me. Dont get me wrong… they are all put away. She got a stool and now they are even higher! HELP.

He’s eight months old. He was diagnosed about six weeks ago. He’s a hand fed, and I’ve had him since he was pulled from the engine block of an abandoned vehicle when he was just days old. He was always a little "odd" and chronically ill. Thought never crossed my mind to have him tested for FIV. He had shots, and there was always a reasonable explanation for his illnesses…Coccidia almost killed him first, then a UTI. Whatever he got, it was ten times worse than normal. Eight weeks ago it seems that his system started attacking the plaque at him gum line. His mouth was nothing but one massive ulcer. I just didn’t know and it kills me to think his mouth was like that and I, of all people, missed it at first. I can’t believe I was so STUPID. When his vet pried his mouth open and I saw in there I cried for days. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to watch, putting him on gerber baby food, and bargaining with him to PLEASE eat for Mommy. Through the grace of God and proper meds he recovered, but during the interum, he was tested for FIV and put on Clindamycin. A depo shot to combat inflammation then turned him into the nightmare cat from hell for two weeks. No more steroids. EVER.
He’s done fine. He did one round (14 days) of Clindamycin (April 17th-May 3rd), so for three weeks he’s been fine with no meds. Yesterday his stools started lossening up, he started hacking again, he wants to be babied as if he feels bad, he threw up and today he took to sleeping in the corner of the kitchen…just like before. I had already purchased an additional bottle of Clindamycin for him because his vet told me this would happen, this is the life he’s destined to have, and now that it’s happening again….I just don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. I love this cat with my whole heart. I would do anything, give anything, to make it go away, but this time I can’t. Do you think I’m being selfish to keep him here, knowing that from time to time he IS going to get sick, and that he’ll be forced to suffer until he’s put back on meds? I don’t want to cause him a moments pain but apparently what I’ve done thus far hasn’t prevented him from getting sick again. This poor cat has been on Clindamycin so many times now that the poor lil guy actually licked the meds out of the dropper when I started him on it earlier tonight. Damn near broke my heart. He used to run. It’s almost as if he knows that’s "the good stuff."
I have no prior experience with FIV positive cats. Do any of you? What would you do if this was YOUR baby boy? Do you think I’m being selfish keeping him here? Anyone out there have an FIV positive who’s managed to live a relatively normal life? I want to keep him here if it’s what’s best for HIM…not because I’m going to suffer if he’s gone. I’m having difficulty separating the two, know what I mean?
Hey Red? It’s funny you say that. Carmel was tested "in house" but my own vet actually sent me somewhere local to have "specialized" retesting done.
He did have shots, beginning at 6 weeks of age. Now that you mention it, his "issues" did start immediately and you’re right, my other bottle baby has cost me a MINT in vet bills as well. Hmmm. I’m not going to gt my hopes up but we’re being retested Wednesday.
Hey catkey….we tried Clavamox a LONG time ago for upper respiratory. It wasn’t pretty. He’s allergic to it, figure that one out. He does well on Baytril or Clindamycin though so we have both. We have Lysine, he gets one level teaspoon a day. I give him vitamins faithfully. Food is a nightmare with Carmel. I give him "steamed" everything. He won’t eat it raw and since I started feeing him steamed, he won’t touch dry cat food at all. He does eat canned cat food though, usually a tin a day.
The steroid shot WAS a bad idea, I was totally against it, and it turned him into a vicious monster for two weeks and he tried to kill me. He took to hurling himself off of furniture and bookcases at me. I was bloody often times and he gave me four stitches.
Greens..hmmmm…gotta get us some of those today. You guys keep coming with the ideas. If it sounds good we’re trying it…whatever it takes!!!
grrrr…I’m not taking notes anymore. Looks like you guys are all just going with us to the vet Wednesday!!!
Dances, you remember back a few weeks? I had Carmel tested because you convinced me to, so YOU are largely responsible for the degree of care he’s getting now. Thank You. But you know I am going to do my best to keep from taking those teeth out, right? Anemia we haven’t had the first problem with, thank God. Carmel was always little and scrawny, but since we got his mouth straightened out he got BIG and he is nice, and round, PINK and hydrated, everywhere he should be. Nothing about him "looks" sick at all. Eight months, THIRTEEN POUNDS…solid muscle. Eats fine, drinks fine…pee pee looks okay and his stools have looked really good til yesterday. He’s even started "talking" and purring recently, whereas before, he never did those things.
Sounds like this might get expensive, huh? Oh well, I’ll sell my car before I let him go if there’s something I can do..BESIDES pull those teeth. I think I am going to have to give up my vet for this one. I’ve learned more from you guys.

I have a male kitten, 5 months old, NEUTERED (2 months ago), INDOORS ONLY, and we have one other kitten (7 month old female, spayed at the same time).

I don’t know what to do about this little guy. His name is Harley. I love him to death. But I don’t know what to do about him. We got him from our vet at about 8 weeks old. She said her husband (a contractor) found him and his sister at a building site when they were about 2-3 days old. She nursed them back to health and her pet cat, who’d just had kittens, nursed Harley and his sister until 6 weeks old. She said he was up to date on all vaccines and dewormed.

He’s always been a very aggressive little booger. We thought when we got him neutered, he’d calm down…. so very wrong we were. He’s like the energizer bunny from hell, and MEAN. He’ll be all nice and purring one second and then randomly start attacking you the next. He’s just about done teething. One of his top pointy teeth has already grown in, but the babytooth hasn’t fallen out yet. He has plenty of soft toys to chew on and I put ice cubes in his water so soothe his gums.

Basically, around Aug 8th (friday), he started to calm down. We were excited! lol Then the next day, he started acting really sleepy and stand-offish. Then Sunday, Aug 10th, I woke up and there was a puddle of what appeared to be pee on the kitchen floor. It was weird b/c he’s never once had an accident outside of his box. While I was cleaning it up, I noticed that it was all slimy and smelled rancid. We took him to the vet. They said he had either giardia or coxidia (sp?), so they treated him for both. We gave him all of his meds until they were gone and kept him quarantined for a week from our other cat. He was 100% better a week later. His stools have been normal looking ever since. About 3 days ago, we noticed he has the runs again. Not nearly as bad as before (and all in his box this time). But I don’t know why he’s sick again. Could it be from teething? We switched him from Purina to Iams about the same time as he started getting sick again. I thought it was from changing foods, but our other kitten is fine. I know he tries to eat our people food sometimes (and usually succeeds). He could very well have gotten into something I left on the counter.

He’s playing like normal and eating and drinking just fine. He still goes poo and pee, but it’s more mushy than normal. Should I wait a few more days to see if it will pass, or pay another arm and leg to have the vet see him again (over 0 to fix him up when he had the parasite).
Maybe I should add….. he murdered a stink bug the day before he got sick. He pounced it till it was immobile and then ate it haha. Could that have anything to do with it?

He’s a tabby/bengal mix, more tabby though.
I give my cats dry Iams food and I get them a can of wet food once a week when I go to the grocery store. He’s not on the one that the vet recommended. I give my KITTENS KITTEN food that has the nutrients they need to grow strong. They are strong. They gobble their food right up.
Toast– oh my gosh…. he plays in the bathtub right after I get done showering…. Could that really make him sick?! =(