Daily Kitten Chat Forum » General Chat

1. 

   hello,

   i was wondering if someone can help me. i have two separate situation s that might be related and it has become a very big problem and i am very worried. i have two ragdoll kittens, one is 3 (male - alpha kitten) and the other is 2 (female - beta kitten), both as fixed and have been living together peacefully for two years.

   just recently i came home from work and the female beta kitty was all curled up and her eye was squeezed shut and was very lethargic, i took her to the vet and they found that the eye was very swollen and red and had a milky firm over the top of it and it actually looks like inside the eyeball there is a milky substance building up in the front bottom part, its pretty scary.

   the vet said most likely it came from a cold or from being sick and probably because of a trauma to the eye or right above the eye, it settled in the eye.

   they prescribed presidone which i think is a steroid drop and was told to come back in two days if it is not better. this is one problem if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions

   the second problem occurred when i returned home, the alpha male kitty has gone a little bit off the wall...it hisses and growls at the female cat now almost as if it doesnt even know it and it is a menacing threat. it swipes at her and seems genuinely frightened by her whihc is very surprising because they were living peacefully before no problem.

   i dont know what is going on, but my guess would be either my alpha cat is trying to protect me from the sick cat so it is trying to scare her away? or is it something like the male alpha kitty thinking because there has been so much attention to the sick beta female kitty that he feels like his position is treatened?

   either way, now it is like a constant battle at home and very tense, we have scolded the male kitty for his actions and he has even hissed and swiped at us whihc has never happened before. any thoughts on how to resolve this and my poor sick kitty?

   thanks for any responses, and if this post is in the wrong place again, i apologize ahead of time, i am not trying to offend anyone, i am just not very schooled with these computers.

   thx ;)

   -Chris T

   Posted 3 years ago by ChrisT #

2. 

   The previous answers on the other thread were right - male kitty doesn't like the smells the female brought home with her. Try rubbing one down with something you have been wearing, then rub the other with the same garment. Do it a couple of times and the scents should be pretty thoroughly mixed by then. The amount of attention one is getting could cause a little jealously as well. Make sure they both get some one-on-one time with you.

   When did you take the female to the vet? (BTW-what are their names?) If he said two days, and it's been more than that, call the vet. If you saw the vet on Friday and the female is getting a little better (or no worse) then you can probably wait until Monday to call again.

   Cats tend to respond better to positive reinforcement. You can pick them up and separate them when the male gets aggressive but you will probably have better results if you watch until he is being nice then reward him (treats, rubs, soft voice).

   Posted 3 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

3. 

   Hi Chris,I'm pretty sure that Alpha male is distressed by the new smells on his friend beta kitty and is just reacting to that. It is a fairly common problem when one cat come home smelling of the medicines treatment of the vet and the other one doesn't recognize his smell. He isn't doing anything wrong,he is reacting by instinct and they should be OK if you keep them separated until beta is feeling better and smells more like she used to.
   If you can there is a calming diffuser of pheromones called feliway;
   http://www.petsmart.com/search/index.jsp?kw=feliway.
   Just keep them separated and show them both affection and give alpha boy treats and lovins' because he didn't do anything wrong.
   I hope that helps,others will come along and offer more info. Good luck! Please keep us posted we get attached to our new people and their babies.

   Posted 3 years ago by Buttercup #

4. 

   So sorry you are having problems with your kitties--hope the problems are taken care of soon. As for the male kitty getting upset at the female, I know from experience that when one comes home from the vet, there are strange smells and the other kitty reacts. My Max had been having problems with UTI's, and I had to take him in to the vet several times last spring/summer. When we got home, Molly had a hissy fit. Now Molly is just home from the vet after a stomach operation (she eats anything and everything and it didn't go through), and now Max is treating her like she's an alien. They are siblings, almost 10 years old, and this still happens. They'll get over it eventually.

   Posted 3 years ago by MaxandCali'sMom #

5. 

   any thoughts on the eye problem? it is very disstresing and i dont know what else i can do to help her

   Posted 3 years ago by ChrisT #

6. 

   Best advice I can give is listen to the vet, give her the prescribed meds, and watch her carefully. Good luck.

   Posted 3 years ago by MaxandCali'sMom #

7. 

   I don't have any experience with eye problems in cats. You might want to phone the vet and describe the condition of the eye to find out if this kitty should go back in to be seen. Some eye conditions can cause permanent damage to the eye that leads to blindness. There are a variety of information sources online that address this issue. Try Googling "eye problems in cats."

   What are your kitties names? I hope the eye problem clears up soon with no lasting damage. Keep us posted! :)

   Posted 3 years ago by Kitten Whisperer #

8. 

   Chris, how is her eye this morning? Is it getting any better?

   Posted 3 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

9. 

   Hello Chris...after reading your post I happened upon this page while looking at another and it's simple but every bit of knowledge is supportive and good so if it helps that's good. The last paragraph particularly caught my attention as you described your cat's eye condition.
   http://blogs.dogster.com/vet_blog_information_advice/are-eye-boogers-normal-in-cats/
   Good Luck! =) Oh and you posted your topic perfectly in the right place. Welcome to TDK!

   Posted 3 years ago by Karenopa #

10. 

    Welcome to TDK Chat Chris, hope the eye condition is better today. If not, then certainly consult the vet again.

    I can vouch for the smell thing being an issue, when we first let Pickle & Button outside, Pickle didn;t like it at all, and started hissing and swearing at Button, because she smelled of outside. This actually lasted about 10 days, and was pretty distressing at the time because they had been so close. Feliway is definitely worth a try, but the situation will resolve itself over time.

    Don't worry if you're not too good with computers, you're in good company! - and if you're ever in doubt about anything, just ask. We're a friendly bunch who all have one major thing in common - we love our cats! :o)

    Posted 3 years ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #

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