BG vets halp... (Cat issue)

[Fhloston]

Just moved in to my apartment about two weeks ago, roommate was set on getting a kitten. Picked one out, which initially they wouldn't sell to her at first because of a small injury on that cat's ear. (Pet store not selling the cat should have been the first sign...) She brings the kitten home, and all seems fine. Cat has energy, is running around, exploring. Well we feed him, and as expected, he uses his litter box...

I swear it smelled like a grown man came and took a giant shit in that box... Roommate says the kitten's stomach is probably upset from adjusting to regular cat food, from the shitty kind that is given to them at the pet store. We also start to notice a couple of spots above the kitten's eyes where his fur is thinning. Fast forward two weeks, the kitten's shit still smells like a human's, (BTW we already have a cat, and we have no issues when she uses her litter box, use the same litter for both cats.) he now has two small "bald" spots above his eyes, one on the back of his neck, and one near the tip of his tail. Also, he keeps randomly taking a shit in corners of our roommate's room. He'll use the litter box, so this adds to our confusion of why he's still shitting on the floor.

The apartment is starting to smell like cat shit, so I am not happy, as expected. Right now we cannot afford a trip to the vet, due to apt deposit, energy company deposit, cable/internet deposit, etc. At most we'll have to wait until early/mid October to take the kitten to the vet, but I am just curious if any fellow BG have had this issue before? Any veterinarian advice is welcome. I know there's a lot of cat owners here, so I figured I'd ask here.

Thanks in advance!

[wyrmtung]

Go to the vet. If the bill is more than you can afford then I'm sure they will work with you on a payment plan.

[Yabby]

A cat is like a child in the sense that if you can't afford it, you shouldn't have one.

[Amelya]

Ringworm can cause random bald spots on a kitten, and it's transferable to humans too. I'd get together some cash and take it to the vet; explain your situation and maybe they will let you do a payment plan or something. I assume the vet will need to do a skin scraping to figure out exactly what is wrong.

As far as the smell, it could have some sort of food allergy, but not all food agrees with every cat. Has it been wormed? I'm assuming not. Again, vet visit.

And slap your roommate for buying a kitten from a petstore...

[Plow]

If you can pay in a week you should be able to find a vet that will bill you...

[Xno Kappa]

Throw him out of the apartment and keep him out so he'll learn his lesson.

[Salodin]

There's a credit company that works with you on things like this, I think it's called carecredit? Try looking it up, they usually work with your vet and you pay them back over time. It's pretty neat.

[Swarley]

The stools are probably a combination of the stress from moving to a new place, adjusting to a new food, parasitic worms, and just being kitten-poo in general. All but one can be adjusted over time, but the worms must be diagnosed by a vet and treated with the correct medication.

The hair loss could be stress, but is more likely to be a form of mange. Sarcoptic mange (aka "scabies") are transferred from other infected animals and are common on stray animals. Demodetic mange is a local skin inhabitant that has outbreaks on animals who's immune systems are weakened, either by young/old age or by an auto-immune disorder. There's also the chance of fleas or ringworm on the cat. The only one of those you yourself can treat is fleas and it's not cheap between baths, topical meds, and bombing your own place if you have rugs.

Just a word of advice for the future, and I don't want to chew you out here, but the pet store was your first mistake. There's no reason for a domestic shorthair cat to be sold by any means, they don't have bloodlines or pedigrees, they're just typical American cats. Shelters always have kittens, and they make sure that they are spayed/neutered, dewormed, free of fleas, and generally healthy before adopting them out.

[Ksandra]

as other people said take itto the vet. And as a note bring in one of the stools so they can check it. It's actually cheaper for you, they will charge extra to stick the wand thing up their butts.

[Mojo]

It sounds like worms to me. If the cat has a semi bloated stomach then it's worms almost for sure (sometimes you can see them in the poop too.) It's common in kittens (especially kittens who have been living in confined areas with other kittens, i.e. pet store.) You should take it to the vet either way as if it is worms they can supply you with the proper medication to eradicate them.

[Crowort]

If Your cat will be getting outside it should be being wormed regular anyway not only when it has symptoms. You can't stop worms so they should be treated for them every 3-4 months. Same with fleas you should treat cats even if they have no signs of them at about the same time intervals.

[Fhloston]

A cat is like a child in the sense that if you can't afford it, you shouldn't have one.

I know, if you read my post you would have seen that we just moved in, deposits, etc. We can afford it, just not for a week or so. I agree though that the pet store was a bad move for my roommate, would have saved her a lot of money in the long run to adopt from a shelter. I did forget to mention that his stomach is a little bloated. We figured it is just because he eats like a goddamn bison. Though our roommate mentioned his excessive drinking is also a sign of sickness.

The wife and I are just hoping anything he has won't spread to our other cat, though she has had her shots already. Going to check out a couple of vets tomorrow and see what they do about payment plans. If they can't work with us, we'll just take him next week.

[Crowort]

Another good thing about getting a cat from a shelter is that everyone I've heard of gives the cats their 1st year shots and worm them. Cats can be born with worms too if they mother has them.

[Swarley]

Bloated belly is another symptoms of worms. About your worries on spreading problems, worms are spread through infected feces and the litter it touches. If your cat uses the same litterbox, then there could definitely be a problem. As for other diseases, if your cat has had her shots, she is fine. The biggest worry of diseases in kittens is the distemper virus, and it normally only spreads to cats who's immune systems are weak (other kittens, old cats, auto-immune cats).

[Odon]

Should probably just take the kitten out back if you catch my drift.

[Max™]

Throw him out of the apartment and keep him out so he'll learn his lesson.

^


Seriously, try to avoid getting kittens unless you're willing to accept that sometimes kittens die for what seems like no reason. Combinations of little things like new diet, new environment, exposure to a virus or whatnot which an adult cat would shake off, and generally being built to grow fast/breed young means you wind up digging little holes in the back yard with surprising regularity.

I love kittens, they're disgustingly adorable, but it's much harder to take care of a couple month old kitten than a full grown/fixed/vaccinated cat.


I'd be terrified of ringworm, I dunno if you've ever got it from a cat, but that ranks as easily one of the worst periods of my entire life, I went completely batshit motherfucking insane, and I'm pretty sure the only reason I didn't claw patches of my own skin off was because my fingernails were too short.