Member

Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 01-17-2004 03:51 PM         

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Hi this is lotty and i havent been here a while, but i got a new cat and i need some help. I resucued a little black and white kitten with only three legs! ( she makes trike feel normal! now jacks all confused on why he has four legs!!) i am feeding her scince diet and she has the runs! its really gross and she is not using her kitty box. should i change her food? and how do i train her to use the box? its like she uses it when she feels like it. sometimes she goes and sometimes she doesnt. oh yeah one more thing... jack is acting different ( my other cat) when will he be back to normal. well thanks for any advice. oh yeah my new kittens name is vsetlana. but we call her lana. (its a russian name, and when said correlty its really pretty, but people rarely say it right!! ) thanks lotty trike jack and lana.

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Member

Posts: 240
From:Campton, NH USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 01-17-2004 05:38 PM         

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maybe she's having trouble getting into a litterbox due to her size and lack of a leg. Use a jellyroll pan for awhile till she gets bigger and stronger - or cut one side down on the litterbox.

I have a friend who adopted a tripod kitten a couple of years ago and she had to convert a litterbox to make it easier for Tipsy to get into.

Have you had your kitten tested for any parasites? Since you found her it would be safer to take a stool sample into the vet to be sure she doesn't have a bug causing the "dire-rear"

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Member

Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 01-17-2004 06:28 PM         

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well i have two cat boxes now. and she seems to get in and out with little problems. (she does make a huge mess!!!) I got her from the humane society. they tested her and all, but she is getting her stiches out in a few days and i'll ask the vet about all that, i was just wondering if it was the food that was messing her up (she will get into the dog food or eat jacks grown up food) that could be upsetting her tummy too.

another question: the humane society thinks she was a stray. (she is about ten weeks old.) she is missing her front left leg. well not missing it, she has a numb. its like a birth defect. so what i was wondering was if she was born to a stray mother cat, would she try to kill the kitten becasue it was disabled? isnt that what animals in the wild do? kill the weak? i dont know. i dont think she was a stray. but that humane society says she was. oh well just wondering.

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Member

Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 01-17-2004 06:41 PM         

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here is a picture of me and the kitten at the humane society http://www.sumnerhumane.org/Elizabeth%20Gray.htm

oh yeah any suggestions on how to get jack to be happy again. he is oh sooooo sad

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Member

Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 01-17-2004 10:53 PM         

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Your kitty is very cute. She looks like my Moo.

Most cats will take care of their kittens as far as I know, unless they are really sick. I don't think having three legs is something the mother would kill the cat over.

I would try switching her food. Mainly b/c I don't like science diet. I would suggest Nutro, Authority, or Natural Balance. They are about the same price as Science Diet and a lot better in my opinion.

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Member

Posts: 701
From:CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 01-18-2004 12:14 PM         

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Hi Lotty. Welcome back. The picture was very cute. I agree with Marynh and Fleafly. Take a stool sample to the vets to rule out any parasites and also get her off of Science Diet food.

Keep us posted.

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New Member

Posts: 6
From:
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 01-18-2004 01:40 PM         

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hi! i'm no cat expert, but when we first got one of our cats (he was feral), he had the same diarrhea problem and we took a sample of his dooky to the vet and they ruled out any parasites. what they did tell us was that some kittens just have diarrhea and it would go away as he got older. i was a little skeptical, but at about 20 months our cat started pooping normal and it hasn't been an issue ever since.

about your older cat, i would just wait it out. we just got a new kitty and the other two hated her for the first week, and they were very grumpy but they eventually got over it. we just kept loving our cats to reassure them we still loved them, but were busy trying to introduce a new kitty!

good luck!

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Member

Posts: 240
From:Campton, NH USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 01-18-2004 06:17 PM         

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what a cute kitten....my guy Zeus was listed as a stray kitten at the shelter and I got him when he was 9 weeks old. He had horrible "dire-rear" for the first few weeks here. I took sample after sample to the vets to be tested. I used to give him a little Kaopectate to help (DON'T DO THAT - THEY CHANGED THE FORMULA) and it would help for a little awhile. I found the only food that he could tolerate was Friskies canned kitten food. Apparently it has less fat in it and it was the fat going through him from the other foods - and I tried every kitten food I could get my hands on.

Now my friend's little tripod kitten - she and her littermates had been left on the side of the road right after they were born (wish I could find the butthead that did that) and stray cat came along and tried to eat them. He managed to eat enough of Tipsy's front paw that they had to amputate the entire leg. Fortunately a good samaritan came along, witnessed the entire thing and got the kittens right to the shelter.

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Member

Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 01-21-2004 02:21 PM         

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Thank you to all that replied! well i took little svets to the vet to get her stiches removed and ask about the diarrhea problem, he asked if i was feeding her wet food, and i was. i didnt know that was bad but he said that could be what was giving her diarrhea. and i think it was because her waste has become more soild. I give wet food as a treat. my older cat does fine but maybe she is just to little for it. the dr. said she was gaining weight well. so is wet food a bad idea for both cats? and science diet. Whats up with it? is it not as good for cats as i think. i might switch her to netro, i give the dog treats to trike and she seems to love them. I just want to feed her something good, you know, something to make her stronge and healthy. well tell me what you think!

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Member

Posts: 30
From:Cleveland, OH USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 01-21-2004 02:28 PM         

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Hey Lotty!

I don't have any research on the benefits (or lack thereof) on Science Diet food.

BUT...

I've fed my guys Nutro Max Cat Lite for about 2 years now. They needed to lose a bit of weight and my vet recommended it. They guys love it (as opposed to Iams, which they hate--I'm starting to believe there aren't any cats on the planet who actually like the taste/smell of Iams). Both are now maintaining a very healthy weight. Well...so much for my testimonial...hope you find something your babies like (and that likes them back!).

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Member

Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 01-21-2004 02:32 PM         

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Hey what do you know Jack (my older cat hates iams too! I wasnt about to try it with svetslana, i thought i would be wasting my money!

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Member

Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 01-22-2004 11:50 AM         

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I love Nutro Maxx too. My kitties have such nice fur on it. They are soft and fluffy. Authority and Natural Balance are also very good.

My cats never liked Iams either (I wonder how they stay in business). And I don't care for Science Diet. Nutro is a much better food for the same price or cheaper.

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