I have had cats since I was three years old. Over time I seem to have turned into the cat lady that people turn to when they have questions. Surprisingly, the same questions seem to recur.
— fever coats. Grey rescue kittens often turn into black cats. This happens when the mum is ill or stressed when pregnant
— giving a cat a pill. For me, opening the mouth from where the jaw connects, throwing in the pill and stroking the throat works best
— teething. For first time cat owners, the double-tooth effect can be scary
— nipples. Sometimes people don’t realise that boy cats have nipples and think they are ticks or tumours
— sucking while kneading. Sucking on a blanket while kneading often happens when kittens are taken from their mothers too soon.
— hyperthyroidism. This often happens in older cats. They become noisy, agitated, eat loads, lose weight. It is manageable with medication
— sudden hissing. This is often due to pain – teeth, bladder infections, eat mites for example
— cutting claws. It’s often easier when the cat is sleeping or sleepy. Spicier cats can be rolled in a towel like a burrito (purrito!)
— FORL/TR. Previously called forl, now TR (tooth resorption). Very painful for cats and very expensive to fix as you need special insurance to cover it.
— hand rearing. The most important is no cow’s milk and don’t feed them on their backs
— biting. This often happens with lone kittens or hand-reared kittens because they don’t have mom or siblings to teach them it hurts.
— constant licking or pulling fur out. Stress – moving house, new cat, new baby, tension in the household
— peeing outside the box. Often a UTI
— Flehming. When they smell something stink, get a funny expression and breath with an open mouth.
The double tooth thing – can happen with dogs, too. Our little Scottie pup, Tiegen – 5 months old – has just had that while her adult canines were coming through. Ickle teensy puppy needle tooth with a honking great adult tooth coming out of the gum right beside it is a very odd look!