Sick dog, sick kitten, panicked mama
June 24, 2015 7:07 AM Subscribe
Is my kitten reacting to recent stresses in the house, or could something else be going on? Snowflake details follow.
Last Monday, I brought a new kitten into the home. He is six months old, neutered, and up on all of his vaccines. He was de-wormed in the beginning of May, according to his medical records from the shelter.
Due to a recent death in the family, I had to go clean out a storage locker over the weekend. I was gone for about 30 hours, and a neighbor came by to feed/play with kitten and clean out the box.
On Sunday night, my dog started having blood in his urine and went to the emergency vet. The next day, he had to see a normal vet. He has a bladder stone and an infection to go with it, and the new diet and antibiotics combination has him not feeling very well most of the time.
Since we came home, kitten had a tiny bit of diarrhea on Monday night, then a lot of it this morning. When not actively having an upset tummy, he has horrendous gas. He has also taken to being much more rough with the dog when trying to get him to play; we've gone from the occasional pounce or batting with a paw to outright claws. The dog is scared to the point of curling in my lap and whimpering -- which he has never done before.
Full disclosure: Like an idiot, I changed kitten's food suddenly instead of gradually. He has been on it the entire week without issue, however. Dog also had hookworms ~2 months ago. Lastly, I live in a large, old, dusty house with lots of places for kitty to find things he shouldn't eat, and he did rip up a roll of toilet paper (though after the initial upset tummy).
TL;DR, older dog has a bladder stone that required immediate attention, kitten has since developed an upset tummy and a mean streak. Could this be from collective household stress? Can a food change cause it a week later? Am I overreacting because it's my first cat ever? You are not a vet, you are not my vet, I will see a vet if symptoms do not improve after the 12 hours/bland diet routine.
Cat/Dog tax for asking silly questions on AskMeFi.
Last Monday, I brought a new kitten into the home. He is six months old, neutered, and up on all of his vaccines. He was de-wormed in the beginning of May, according to his medical records from the shelter.
Due to a recent death in the family, I had to go clean out a storage locker over the weekend. I was gone for about 30 hours, and a neighbor came by to feed/play with kitten and clean out the box.
On Sunday night, my dog started having blood in his urine and went to the emergency vet. The next day, he had to see a normal vet. He has a bladder stone and an infection to go with it, and the new diet and antibiotics combination has him not feeling very well most of the time.
Since we came home, kitten had a tiny bit of diarrhea on Monday night, then a lot of it this morning. When not actively having an upset tummy, he has horrendous gas. He has also taken to being much more rough with the dog when trying to get him to play; we've gone from the occasional pounce or batting with a paw to outright claws. The dog is scared to the point of curling in my lap and whimpering -- which he has never done before.
Full disclosure: Like an idiot, I changed kitten's food suddenly instead of gradually. He has been on it the entire week without issue, however. Dog also had hookworms ~2 months ago. Lastly, I live in a large, old, dusty house with lots of places for kitty to find things he shouldn't eat, and he did rip up a roll of toilet paper (though after the initial upset tummy).
TL;DR, older dog has a bladder stone that required immediate attention, kitten has since developed an upset tummy and a mean streak. Could this be from collective household stress? Can a food change cause it a week later? Am I overreacting because it's my first cat ever? You are not a vet, you are not my vet, I will see a vet if symptoms do not improve after the 12 hours/bland diet routine.
Cat/Dog tax for asking silly questions on AskMeFi.
Response by poster: Additional information because the first comment made me realize I hadn't added:
Kitten is happy to play with toys, run through the house like mad, be cuddled for long periods, and even let me clip his nails with zero fuss this morning. He's only being "mean" toward the dog, and I may honestly be mistaking rough playtime with aggressiveness — he's my first cat, and I am learning. It has occurred to me that he might be jealous of the extra attention the pooch has gotten too, but I have no idea if that's a thing with cats.
It just seems odd that it happened at the same time. Not ruling out a vet trip, just providing extra info in case it helps anyone who might want to chime in.
posted by iarerach at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2015
Kitten is happy to play with toys, run through the house like mad, be cuddled for long periods, and even let me clip his nails with zero fuss this morning. He's only being "mean" toward the dog, and I may honestly be mistaking rough playtime with aggressiveness — he's my first cat, and I am learning. It has occurred to me that he might be jealous of the extra attention the pooch has gotten too, but I have no idea if that's a thing with cats.
It just seems odd that it happened at the same time. Not ruling out a vet trip, just providing extra info in case it helps anyone who might want to chime in.
posted by iarerach at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2015
1. Diarrhea in a kitten is not uncommon, and not necessarily cause for concern, but they can dehydrate quickly, so vet within 12 hours is sound thinking.
2. Pets will often react poorly to other household pets who have been to the vet, especially if they are on medication -- it messes with their smell considerably, as you can imagine. That said, dramatically increased aggression is a cause for concern, as it can indicate pain, stress, or even neurological issues.
My non-medical advice would be regular vet within 12-18 hours (if possible), upgrade to emergency vet if you can't be seen promptly by reg vet OR if you seen any additional symptoms out of the kitten, especially lethargy.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:26 AM on June 24, 2015
2. Pets will often react poorly to other household pets who have been to the vet, especially if they are on medication -- it messes with their smell considerably, as you can imagine. That said, dramatically increased aggression is a cause for concern, as it can indicate pain, stress, or even neurological issues.
My non-medical advice would be regular vet within 12-18 hours (if possible), upgrade to emergency vet if you can't be seen promptly by reg vet OR if you seen any additional symptoms out of the kitten, especially lethargy.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:26 AM on June 24, 2015
I thought kittens were always noxiously gassy, so I'd blame that on kittenness and possibly the new food.
My guess is the dog smells like the vet, which means it smells like a different dog entirely, and it's activating the kitten-attack subcircuit. Now your dog is feeling sick and submitting, which is making the kitten more of a dominant a-hole. (My one beta cat always turns into a jerk when the alpha cat isn't feeling good, like clockwork. It's to the point of it being a sign that the alpha cat is sick even before alpha cat starts showing symptoms.) Or it could be that the kitten is just experimenting with different behaviors with the dog, as part of growing up. Sounds like he had a lot of time alone and may have pent up energy too.
I would separate them for a while so the kitten calms down and slowly reintroduce as the dog starts to feel better, re-build dog's confidence and rebalance the household.
Dog on antibiotics - did he cough up a pill that the kitten ate? That could cause the runs.
I would be inclined to monitor the kitten for 12-24h but not jump to the vet. I might mix old and new food (but if you say he was eating new food without issue before then this might be a red herring). If he's still runny then vet it is.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:23 AM on June 24, 2015
My guess is the dog smells like the vet, which means it smells like a different dog entirely, and it's activating the kitten-attack subcircuit. Now your dog is feeling sick and submitting, which is making the kitten more of a dominant a-hole. (My one beta cat always turns into a jerk when the alpha cat isn't feeling good, like clockwork. It's to the point of it being a sign that the alpha cat is sick even before alpha cat starts showing symptoms.) Or it could be that the kitten is just experimenting with different behaviors with the dog, as part of growing up. Sounds like he had a lot of time alone and may have pent up energy too.
I would separate them for a while so the kitten calms down and slowly reintroduce as the dog starts to feel better, re-build dog's confidence and rebalance the household.
Dog on antibiotics - did he cough up a pill that the kitten ate? That could cause the runs.
I would be inclined to monitor the kitten for 12-24h but not jump to the vet. I might mix old and new food (but if you say he was eating new food without issue before then this might be a red herring). If he's still runny then vet it is.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:23 AM on June 24, 2015
The rough play could have been learned from the neighbor - he might have played roughly with either the kitten, the dog, or both. I would find a different cat sitter next time, unless the neighbor is young and you can supervise a play session or two and teach the neighbor about best play practices.
You could _try_ watching the kitty play with the dog and doing the rough-play squeak when he bites or grabs the dog. (More in this question's - the linked answer and others on the page)
You're right to pay attention to the tummy issues and the behavior change.
posted by amtho at 8:50 AM on June 24, 2015
You could _try_ watching the kitty play with the dog and doing the rough-play squeak when he bites or grabs the dog. (More in this question's - the linked answer and others on the page)
You're right to pay attention to the tummy issues and the behavior change.
posted by amtho at 8:50 AM on June 24, 2015
Response by poster: After posting I gave it some more thought and the gas has been an issue since I got him. So I gave him a small meal of 50% shelter food and 50% the food he's had since he's been with me, and the whole family took a long nap (myself included, since I'd been up almost 24 hours).
They had a supervised visit, where kitten was much less aggressive and dog less scared. Kitten has had a normal bowel movement, and his farts smell less deadly.
I'll keep an eye on things, since kitten had normal movements between the two bouts, and if his stools get loose again we'll head to the vet to see about parasites. Behavior could be weird smells -- pooch is finally keeping down his new food, for instance -- or the fact that morning kitten is a hellbeast. For now, I'm keeping them separated unless I can supervise.
posted by iarerach at 4:37 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
They had a supervised visit, where kitten was much less aggressive and dog less scared. Kitten has had a normal bowel movement, and his farts smell less deadly.
I'll keep an eye on things, since kitten had normal movements between the two bouts, and if his stools get loose again we'll head to the vet to see about parasites. Behavior could be weird smells -- pooch is finally keeping down his new food, for instance -- or the fact that morning kitten is a hellbeast. For now, I'm keeping them separated unless I can supervise.
posted by iarerach at 4:37 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Agree that the vet visit could easily be the reason for the sudden, aggressive play. This happens whenever one of my cats goes to the vet. He returns stressed out and covered in weird, alien smells. His brother sniffs, hisses, and then not-so-playfully attacks. It takes a few hours to a couple of days before relations between the two of them return to normal.
The attacks are always subsequent to sniffing and the attacker continues to sniff A LOT in the presence of the returnee.
posted by Lycaon_pictus at 9:25 PM on June 24, 2015
The attacks are always subsequent to sniffing and the attacker continues to sniff A LOT in the presence of the returnee.
posted by Lycaon_pictus at 9:25 PM on June 24, 2015
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posted by chaiminda at 7:10 AM on June 24, 2015