Cat health/behaviour

Question
QUESTION: I have a week ago adopted a 1 yr old spayed black domestic short hair cat from a very reputable national Santuary, fully vet checked by their Vet,& all okay, Injections, worm flea treat etc, & spay scar healed but fur still short, so a recent op.
She has settled in very quickly, no accidents, very clean little lady, though not overly affectionate bar with our Daughter who she already seems very attached too, & sleeps on her bed.

I have noticed this last day or so, that she seemed even less affectionate with us than on first arriving, but put it down to the novelty wearing off & her probably not been over used to handling as been in the Pen a few months & given up due to her first family been allergic.

Tonight my Daughter has just got into our bed & woken me, saying our Cat was coughing badly, & theres now wet on her bed, on checking, there is a wet patch, though doesn't really look enough to be proper wee, on checking the Cat, her hind quarters are wet on inside of her legs, & a tiny little white on her mouth, possibly mucous/vomit,

She does seem okay otherwise, but is displaying strange behaviour, more akin to a female cat on heat, walking with stiffened back legs, bum in air, & seems a bit like shes not able to sit comfortably, though no howling, shes also suddenly very affectionate, & purring loudly, though i know this can also be a sign of distress in some Cats, but her general demeanor doesn't come accross as distressed, shes just let me clean her down, & is now curled on the sofa seeming quite happy & purring loudly, though does seem to want her bum in the air after a few minutes as if uncomfortable, or on heat

I am very experienced with Cats, but really don't know what to make of this at all, should I worry or not??

WE have only recently lost our old Cat, though at 20, I shouldn't complain, so I'm possibly been a bit over cautious, especially as I don't want our Daughter that upset again but I've not seen this sort of behaviour in a spayed Cat before, & I am puzzled, & worry it could be a sign of infection or something else??

We do by coincidence have a late appointment with our Vet tomorrow, check up & program flea jab, but not sure if I should perhaps be taking her now to the emergency Vet, though she doesn't seem in real distress or pain, it is odd, but its the middle of the night here in the UK

Any advice, thoughts much apreciated



ANSWER: Hi Lynette,

THe coughing sound could be a hairball or obstruction. If she is breathing OK she can wait until morning, I am glad to hear you are already panning to bring her in.

If she seems to have any difficulty breathing or appears to be choking, then it is an emergency.

Other causes for coughing in cats (besides hairballs, which I hope it is) are heart disease and asthma, hopefully she does not have either of these problems but hopefully the vet will be able to rule those out with an exam.

The wetness could have been from a bit of vomit if she tried to cough up a hairball.

Also it is not unusual for cats to have diarrhea or vomiting after adoption due to changes in food and the excitement and fear of having a new home. Even though i am sure your cat will be very happy in your home, at first it can be scary for them to experience such a change.

Good luck and hopefully she just has an upset tummy and/or hairballs.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks very much for your reply,

Thankfully she is now okay & I've found out what her problem was,

Seems shes into acrobatics when we sleep...lol, as realised she'd managed to get up to a Poinsetta plant that we thought was safely tucked out of her reach, & no fear of leaf fall that she could get to, especially surprising as  during the day shes very good at not climbing onto tables, & Kitchen tops etc.

Anyway, turns out she had chewed on a leaf...clear teeth marks, & as they are toxic it made her sick, somehow she was sick all down her hind quarters & under tail, perhaps she was cleaning herself at the time, & obviously from her antics she HATES been wet far more than any other Cat I've ever known, hence the weird "in heat" like behaviour, as it was the wet bits she was sticking out to air...lol ........by this morning she obviously felt well enough to clean herself down properly, & after drinking lots of fish flavoured water to flush out her system, she now seems right as rain again....phew!! ....though I'm feeling a little bit sad shes back to her very aloof old self, I quite enjoyed the cuddly thing she became last night...lol,

I did speak with our Vet just to be sure, & he agrees that if shes acting okay & drinking lots, then she will be fine & not had enough of the plant to worry about, but he will check her over properly later just to be sure.

Needless to say the plants now in the bin

Thanks Again

Regards

Lyn

Thanks again  

Answer
Lyn,

i am very glad to hear she did not ingest enough to cause her permanent injury. I don't have any house plants because even if they are non toxic one of my cats will chew them and then vomit everywhere. One idea for having plants along with cats is to put the plant inside a decorative birdcage, so the cats can't get to it. They can look quite pretty especially hanging up!