Brat is sick, symptoms

[StarandBratsmom]

Hi. A week ago, Brat, my pixie bob has lost a lot of weight. He was acting normal, playful, eating, drinking, but yesterday he started acting like he was sick. He's lost weight and his coat seems oily. I also noticed a bump under his arm. Last year Star did the same thing, only it lasted a week, and the bump went away. I saw tooth marks in her lump though. Brat, he won't let me look at his.

I have an apointment with the vet. I am scared it is feline leukemia. I hate it my baby boy is sick. It's like a part of me is sick too. I am worried. What does it sound like to you? Could it be worms? I also found out he hasn't been vaccinated. The previous owner mentioned something about it, then a year later, I found out he hasn't been at all. So I am all panicking over here.

[lvpets2002]

So sorry to hear about your baby boy sick.. It could be lots of diff things.. I would for sure say get this baby to a Vet fast.. Cats can dehydrate so fast.. Now does this baby go outside too?? Good Luck & keep us posted..

[Catlady711]

That's alot of symptoms there, and would be very difficult to narrow them down without a vet looking at Brat, probably doing some lab work and maybe an xray.

When is the vet appt?

Keep us posted.

[cassiesmom]

Paws and fingers crossed for Brat the Pixie-Bob.

[catmandu]

IT COULD BE WORMS OR ATHYROID CONDITION AS MY MR SCRAPPY LOST A LOT OF WEIGHT YEARS AGO IN THAT WAY.
OR IT COULD BE DIABETES AS WELL!!!
WE ARE PRAYING FOR BRAT THE PIXIE BOB , THATS ALLLS WELL AND HIS WHITE COAT HAS A CURE FOR HIM

[StarandBratsmom]

Brat is a mostly outdoor tomcat. He started marking his territory when he was younger. We rent a place so we couldn't keep him indoors with his spraying. I am thinking he got into something, got it on his coat and cleaned it off. He is still eating, that's a good sign. I am unsure if I should get him canned food since it has water in it. May help him stay hydrated. He seems to respond a lot more when his daddy pets him and talks with him. He actually purred for him. I was relieved. Star seems to supportive. Wants to be next to him, when usually she wants away from him, ( he's a typical male teen cat) he wants to pick on her. I could tell he wanted to pick on her but just didn't have the energy.

[Catty1]

Maybe there is a reason you haven't had him neutered, but now might be the time to get it done.

He'll be less inclined to wander, and get into any cat fights (they may happen far away from your place, as tomcats do fight over territory, females, and other things).

Spaying and neutering in general keeps cats healthier. Please get it done when you take him in. If money is a problem, Humane societies or shelters have discount vouchers (ask them if they do), or a few of us here could chip in.

I know you'll do the best for your boy.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

The lump might be an abcess(sometimes you cant see a bite/scratch), and got infected, leading to internal infection making him sick and lethargic.

I dont know, it is hard to tell over the computer.

If possible, get him vetted and get him fixed. That will help with fighting.

I will pray for your boy

[Medusa]

I wouldn't even venture a guess because it could be one of several things. What I will do, however, is send up prayers for Brat and you that all will be well. Please keep us posted.

[StarandBratsmom]

The lump is gone. Just appeared for a couple days and then disapeared. It could have even been matted fur from the sticktites here. I live in a county town, but right behind me my landlord owns a mechanic shop. I just hope Brat didn't get something on his fur and licked it off. This morning he does seem better. Of course I stayed up all night, migraine and all, praying for him. This morning, he jumped down from his bench, meowed, did his morning stretch as he usually does, ate, got a drink, ate some more, then went into the sun light and cleaned himself. After that he ate some more and then got up in the chair and was just chilling. He's not energetic but he does seem better.

The reason he is not neutered is because he is 3//4 bobcat. I fell in love with him when he was a kitten. I begged his owner, my uncle, if I could have him and he said on one condition, you let me get a litter of kittens out of him. So far he hasn't been interested in breeding. I wanted to get him fixed when he was young so he wouldn't have even sprayed in the first place.

You know, after all this stress of having sick cats, I can't imagine what you parents go through when your human kids are sick. I don't think I want to ever have any.

[Catty1]

So...what kind of cat would your uncle like Brat to breed with? If Brat is 6 months old or older and has been outside a lot, he may have produced a litter or more of kittens not far away.

Here's some info I found on Pixie Bobs. First, Wikipedia (where there are some lovely pictures!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie-bob_cat

Later DNA testing failed to detect Bobcat marker genes[1] and these cats are considered wholly domestic for the purposes of ownership, cat fancy registration, import and export.

Pixie-Bob cats share many of the physical and personality characteristics of bobcats, except they are approximately half the size, and do not have some of the wild characteristics. Pixie-Bobs are a paradox. They look and act very much like Bobcats, but are legally defined as domestic cats. For a cat to be considered a Certified TICA Pixie-Bob cats, they cannot be bred with bobcats, and one of their parents must be traced back to Pixie the cat.

http://www.pixie-bobs.com/

Common Misconceptions about Pixie-Bobs


* A Pixie-Bob is not a hybrid.
* A Pixie-Bob is not a American Bobtail.
* A Pixie-Bob is not a Snow-Bob.
* A Pixie-Bob that weighs in at 20+ is the rarity, not the norm.
* A Pixie-Bob does not have a 'regional' look.
* A Pixie-Bob does not have a 'wild blood percentage' based pedigree.
* A Pixie-Bob has never bred with a captive full blooded bobcat - be wary of those that claim they have.

The info I have found so far is that while a bobcat may breed with a regular cat, that type of cat is NOT a Pixie Bob in the breeder world.

A comment on one site I visited raised the idea that since Bobcats are so much bigger than most domestics, the BCs would see the smaller cats as dinner rather than sweethearts! Apparently bobcats can kill each other when mating in captivity.

I hope your uncle has something specific in mind...also, male hybrids are often sterile. If there is a way for your vet to figure this out, and Brat IS sterile, then you can get him neutered with no guilt.

Slightly OT, I wonder about breeders like this:http://www.mokavecats.com/

[StarandBratsmom]

So...what kind of cat would your uncle like Brat to breed with? If Brat is 6 months old or older and has been outside a lot, he may have produced a litter or more of kittens not far away.

Here's some info I found on Pixie Bobs. First, Wikipedia (where there are some lovely pictures!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie-bob_cat





http://www.pixie-bobs.com/


The info I have found so far is that while a bobcat may breed with a regular cat, that type of cat is NOT a Pixie Bob in the breeder world.

A comment on one site I visited raised the idea that since Bobcats are so much bigger than most domestics, the BCs would see the smaller cats as dinner rather than sweethearts! Apparently bobcats can kill each other when mating in captivity.

I hope your uncle has something specific in mind...also, male hybrids are often sterile. If there is a way for your vet to figure this out, and Brat IS sterile, then you can get him neutered with no guilt.

Slightly OT, I wonder about breeders like this:http://www.mokavecats.com/

Thank you for your replies and links. I found them to be very informative. I got Brat from my uncle, he has a full blood pet bobcat he rescued. Anyways, he ended up breeding another pixie bob, my uncle's cat, and she had 3 kittens, Brat being one of them, and the rest died. I fell in love with Brat, he was the cutest fluffiest kitten. So of course we made the deal, my uncle would get one breeding out of him. Brat is more than six months old, actually he's 15 months old and the vet said he is still too young to breed. lol. They mature slower than regular cats.

I added an update to Brats condition. Great news.