Help with Charlie... update #16

[Scooter's Mom]

Here's Charlie's history.
We adopted Charlie from a shelter on December 10, 2005. He walked around just yowling/meowing at the top of his lungs... Still does. They neutered him at the shelter, microchipped him and gave him all his shots, as well as tested him for kitty diseases (I don't know offhand the names of them sorry).

Well, when we took him to our regular vet when his shots were due, we were looking over the paperwork from the shelter. There was a little note that said that when they did his neuter, they could only locate one testicle. So, he got all his shots at the vet, and when we got the money we had our vet actually open him up and search for that missing testicle... which she did not find.

Charlie still meows constantly! He's also very THIN. I mean, he eats all the time but he's so skinny. I keep telling my husband something is wrong with Charlie, but my husband says no there isn't... that there are large people and small people and kitties are just like people. He uses his box fine, and it appears "normal".

Well, Charlie just pee'd on me! I was sitting here with a light fleece blanket covering my legs (old childhood habit, even when it's 100+ outside I have to have a blanket) and felt something against my leg... reached down and it was kitty pee... I figure he was marking me.

I've got appointments to take the kitties into the vet on Saturday morning already. Does anyone have suggestions for me as to what I can ask the vet about what could be wrong with him? I have had good luck with my kitties, never really had one who was ill or bad mannered before now, so I don't know what to ask about.

Thanks for the suggestions & advice.

[Scooter's Mom]

Oh, and they did run tests before they did his surgery to look for that missing testicle. I think they checked his kidneys and his liver.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems with Scooter.:( Is there some kind of a test that the vet can do that will test his hormonal levels? I've never had this problem. My Starr had both of his testicles still inside of him and then one of them finally descended but the other one was way up inside of him and it was also removed. Maybe the vet could do an ultrasound to see if he see's anything that looks suspicious. Good luck and please continue to keep us updated about him.

[Scooter's Mom]

Scooter's not my problem kitty. He's my good boy. :)

Charlie is the one who's got issues... and in his surgery last summer, the vet looked for 2 hours and found no sign of that missing testicle. She said in her 20+ years as a vet, she's seen ONE other case where it disintegrated; but that was an older kitty, not a 2+ year old kitty like Charlie.

I'm just worried mostly because Charlie is so THIN, and he meows all the time... and now the peeing or spraying issue.

I guess I will just have to bring it all up to the vet again and see what she says.

[smokey the elder]

Maybe an ultrasound can find his missing "equipment". Good luck!

[Catty1]

Or maybe checking hormone levels is good...he may on meds for the rest of his kitty life, though!

HUGS to Charlie and to you. Good luck!

[Marigold2]

Poor kitty. I hope your vet can find out the problem.

[Medusa]

Prayers on the way for your little furkid. I've not encountered this problem (yet) so I'm not much help except to pray.

[NoahsMommy]

Personally, I don't think his thin stature nor his meowing are cause for concern, espeically if he's been like that since you got him. Some kitties, like your hubby said, are just smaller, thinner. Some are plumper. Just like people - its his breeding, just normal for him.

Some kitties are MUCH more vocal than others. Phoebe and Micah are my vocal kitties, they make noises and meow all the time, almost like they're talking to me.

But, the urine issue...that's where you need to worry. A vet visit is certainly in order. They'll take a urine specimine and check it for crystals. Typically, if a cat has a UTI, they have a hard time in thier litterboxes and then seek out more comfy places to urinate - thus your soft, fleece blanket. Its actually very common for a kitty with a UTI or stool issues, like chronic diarrhea, to seek out soft alternatives for going potty. When my Micah (who has Inflammatory Bowel Disease) was having really, really bad diarrhea (so bad he'd cry in the litter box :( :( :( ), we found he was using a down comforter in our closet to pee on. The vet said this was normal behavoir for kitties that had urine/stool issues.

When kitties have ANY urine issues, you want to RUN, not walk to the vet. I'm not trying to scare you, but urine issues can lead to kidney damage and very quickly death. Please take Charlie to the vet ASAP...if its just a mild UTI, they'll give you some antibiotics and he'll get all better. If its something more serious, time is of essence.

Please keep us updated on your sweet Charlie. He's such a cute tuxie!

Hugs, Kelly :)

P.S. One of our males was also cryptorchid - meaning his testicles weren't distended. We thought the kitty was a girl!! When I brought HIM and his sister in for their spays, the vet was examining him and found his penis! We were shocked!! When he finally has his neuter, it was abdominal because one of his testes was all the way up inside his abdoman. :eek: He had a longer recovery, of couse...and got a name change from Emma to Samson! ;)

[Freedom]

Some male cats are vocal all their lives, my Amber was. (Mr. Amber Cat.) So I wouldn't worry about that.

The thinness seems to bother you. They could do a blood test for thyroid issues. Overactive thyroid is common in cats, but older than your boy. Amber was 5 when he developed thyroid issues. They eat a LOT, often eat more than 6 times per day, can't go all night with OUT eating, and keep losing weight. If Charlie has always been thin, that is different than losing weight, thought.

The peeing and spraying, I can't really say. Amber sprayed all his life, drove me nuts. He was neutered, no issues with his neutering, either. Talk with the vet about that.

These are just some thoughts.

[momcat]

Poor Charlie! This needs the advice of your vet. Explain what's going on and be sure to tell your vet what has you concerned. If you trust your vet it will ease your mind. Prayers are being prayed for Charlie, I hope the problem is minor and easily treated. Would you give him some scritchies and tummy rubs from me?

[Medusa]

How old was Charlie when you adopted him? I took my Boo Bear in because he's so thin but after a good teeth cleaning and blood work, my vet said that he's thin just because he's getting older now. He's 15. Boo Bear's tests came back AOK. Just something for you to consider.

As for the peeing, yep, get him checked. Not sure if I mentioned this in another thread or not but my Peeka (RB) peed on me once during the night. I heard it before I felt it. She actually peed on my hair and I felt it run down my neck. I had to strip the bed and take a shower. I don't know why she did it and she never did it again after that. So it may be just a one time occurrence. But it's best to have Charlie checked just to be safe.

[catmandu]

Some Cats are just thin , thats the way that they are.
Precious is a tiny Cat, and she digs into her grub with gusto.
And she pees on me once in a blue moon.
Why?
She just likes to I guess as theres nothing physically wrong with her.
We are sending prayers that they can find what ails Charlie!

[Catlady711]

Here's Charlie's history.
We adopted Charlie from a shelter on December 10, 2005. He walked around just yowling/meowing at the top of his lungs... Still does. They neutered him at the shelter, microchipped him and gave him all his shots, as well as tested him for kitty diseases (I don't know offhand the names of them sorry).

Well, when we took him to our regular vet when his shots were due, we were looking over the paperwork from the shelter. There was a little note that said that when they did his neuter, they could only locate one testicle. So, he got all his shots at the vet, and when we got the money we had our vet actually open him up and search for that missing testicle... which she did not find.

Charlie still meows constantly! He's also very THIN. I mean, he eats all the time but he's so skinny. I keep telling my husband something is wrong with Charlie, but my husband says no there isn't... that there are large people and small people and kitties are just like people. He uses his box fine, and it appears "normal".

Well, Charlie just pee'd on me! I was sitting here with a light fleece blanket covering my legs (old childhood habit, even when it's 100+ outside I have to have a blanket) and felt something against my leg... reached down and it was kitty pee... I figure he was marking me.

I've got appointments to take the kitties into the vet on Saturday morning already. Does anyone have suggestions for me as to what I can ask the vet about what could be wrong with him? I have had good luck with my kitties, never really had one who was ill or bad mannered before now, so I don't know what to ask about.

Thanks for the suggestions & advice.


When you go to the vet bring with you (in case the vet asks):

All the lables from all the food/treats you are feeding Charlie (only need the parts with the name/% of protien etc/ and ingredients)

A fresh stool sample, some litter in it is fine.

Make a note of how much Charlie is normally fed each day (you may need to measure it out to be sure) and how often you feed him.

Make note if Charlie has been drinking more water than he did say 6 months ago.

Is Charlie going to the litter box more/less often than he used to.



Personally if Charlie were my cat I'd at least ask about having any of these tests done and see what your vet thinks:

Stool check for parasites

CBC (blood test that checks for infections among other things)

Thyroid (t4 & t3)

BUN, Creatinie, Glucose, ALKP, ALT (blood tests that check on the function of liver, kidneys and blood sugar).

Any one of those things not being right may cause Charlie to be peeing innapropriately and be thin despite eating alot.

As far as Charlie being a unilateral cryptorchid (one testical decended) from what little I know about not being able to find the second testicle there are other ways of finding out if one is in there.

Taken from ivis.org (http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:UilEFeApdc4J:www.ivis.org/advances/Concannon/memon/ivis.pdf+feline+cryptorchid&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us)

In a cryptorchid cat, an examination of penis for presence of spines is an excellent diagnostic technique. Penile spines, which are testosterone dependent, become atrophied after 6 weeks of castration.

They can also do blood sample tests for testoterone which would indicate if the other testicle is indeed in there somewhere. If one is, some of the symptoms noticed per that article are excessive meowing, and urine marking. So that might be part of the problem also.



Keep us posted as to what your vet finds out.

[Scooter's Mom]

Thanks for all the great advice.

Charlie was about 2 1/2 when we adopted him in December 2005, so he was about 2 when he was neutered in July 2005. His teeth were in great condition.

Like I said, the vet actually did surgery on him last summer (June 23rd, to be exact) to try and find his missing testicle. She kept him under for 2 hours and did not find it. Said it wasn't there... and that it could have been like the other case where she had seen that it had sort of disintegrated.

Before they did the surgery on him they did tests on some of his organs... like his kidneys and his liver I think. They were alright in June 2006.

The vet appointment is at 9:30 in the morning, so I'll post an update when I return...

Thanks again!

[Scooter's Mom]

So... the vet.

Scooter is at 8.8 lbs! He's doing SO well. I'm a bad mommy and have never had his teeth cleaned. But they said I still don't need to - they're in terrific condition. He's going to be 12 in September, and he's doing awesome! He's such a good boy!

Now poor Charlie.
Charlie is only 7 lbs. He has a tiny bit of plaque on his teeth, they said nothing to worry about just yet. He does heve ulcers in the back of his mouth though. And, I made them do a urinalysis... it's got bacteria in it, as well as some crystals. So, he's been given Clavamox that I have to give him twice a day and take him back in to see the vet next Saturday.

Charlie HATES medicine. The next week or so will definately not be any fun trying to corner him to give him the medicine. Last time (when he had his surgery) we had to just chase him until he gave up, and sat in a corner. He is somewhat fractious - only wants to come to you if you're on the couch or the bed, or me in this chair. And he does NOT like you to walk towards him under any circumstances.

So, we'll see how it goes next week. :(

[kitimom]

A message for Charlie:
Dearest Charlie,
I am so sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well. I know that the medicine that Mom has to give you is yucky, but it will make you feel much better. Trust me on this. Mom is not trying to scare you or hurt you. She loves you very much and wants you to be 100% better.
Please be a good boy and let mom give you the medicine and try not to run and hide. All that stress isn't good for you!!
Love and Kisses,
Kitimom

[krazyaboutkatz]

I hope that Charlie gets better soon. Is the medicine in liquid or pill form? When Storm had a UTI he had pills so I used pill pockets to hide them and he loved them so there was no stress involved in giving him his pills.
I'm glad to hear that Scooter is healthy.:)

Since Charlie also has crystals, did the vet recommend a new diet for him?

[Scooter's Mom]

She said we'll run the test again next week. See where to go from there.
She does have a new diet we discussed but we agreed to see how he improves or doesn't on this antibiotic (Clavamox, liquid).

Hopefully he'll be much healthier soon.

[Catty1]

Do check the Pill Pockets - your vet might have them, or a good pet store.

Tastes better for Charlie - and less stress all around.

Maybe your vet would give you a sample pack to try, if she has them.

Good luck with dear Charlie!

[Catlady711]

Clavamox liquid is quite bitter tasting to animals, particularly cats who sometimes do the whole drooling all over the floor thing when they get it. Didn't your vet flavor it for you? At work we have a flavoring concoction that we can make meds just about any flavor from tuna and chicken to grape and root beer flavored. If your vet doesn't have this flavoring stuff, ask your local human pharmacists, it's the same stuff they use to flavor kids medicine, they might, for a small fee, flavor Charlie's Clavamox. It won't make it taste perfect but it will help make it more tolerable for Charlie.

Keep us posted.

[jennielynn1970]

So good to hear that Scooter is doing well! Poor Charlie, I hope he will be better soon!

[Medusa]

Good grief, I don't think a day goes by that I don't learn something from PT! What is a pill pocket? Is that the same thing as a pill popper used to give a cat a pill?

[jennielynn1970]

Good grief, I don't think a day goes by that I don't learn something from PT! What is a pill pocket? Is that the same thing as a pill popper used to give a cat a pill?

A pill pocket is a "treat like" thing that has a hole in the middle of it where you can place a pill and squeeze the end shut and hopefully your cat/dog will think it's just a treat and eat it! It worked with some of my guys who were hard to pill, and others just chewed all the treat part off of it and left the pill. :rolleyes:
http://www.pillpockets.com/index_fs.htm

[Scooter's Mom]

Clavamox liquid is quite bitter tasting to animals, particularly cats who sometimes do the whole drooling all over the floor thing when they get it. Didn't your vet flavor it for you? At work we have a flavoring concoction that we can make meds just about any flavor from tuna and chicken to grape and root beer flavored. If your vet doesn't have this flavoring stuff, ask your local human pharmacists, it's the same stuff they use to flavor kids medicine, they might, for a small fee, flavor Charlie's Clavamox. It won't make it taste perfect but it will help make it more tolerable for Charlie.

Keep us posted.


We chose chicken flavor this time. Last time was tuna and he did not like it! lol... the hard part is cornering him, since he likes to be loved and touched only on HIS terms. I think it's because before he was a shelter kitty, he was an "I'm a kitty who was abandoned in the desert" kitty. :(