Here's hoping...
Jul. 24th, 2006 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wordinistaIt's been a gradual thing -- so gradual, I don't know how long it's been going on -- but Bronte's been losing weight. She's also been shedding like crazy, which I attributed to the warmer weather. But Thursday night, Tora reached down to pet her and was shocked at how lean and bony she'd gotten. Mind you, this is the kitty who's been nicknamed "Chunky Puff" and "Bronte-saurus" for as long as we've had her.
So, she had a vet appointment this morning, and the vet couldn't find anything wrong with her in the initial exam -- normal temperature, nothing unusual in the physical exam. They took some blood, and I should hear back tomorrow.
That said, the vet suspects (and I do too) that the problem is stress-related. Introducing a dog into a cat household is a pretty stressful thing, and while Kisa seems to be doing well (honestly, if you'd asked me, I would have guessed that KISA would've been the one having trouble adjusting), Bronte... does not seem to be doing well. She was doing all right for a while there, but... I don't know -- something changed. I suspect it had to do with Darwin being able to reach the location of the kitty bowls. I had to get more and more creative with the placement of their food to make sure he didn't get into it. It may have become too difficult for her, or ... too much. I don't know.
The first thing I did when we realized there was a problem was to move the kitty food, water, litter box, and toys into our spare room and throw up a baby gate. This gives teh kitties a nice, spacious "safe place" to hang out and eat without a certain mutt butting in. (She could have also decided that she did not like the lamb and rice kibble I bought last time around, so I figure I'll get the regular old "whitefish" flavor, which she seemed to like. Frankly, I am thisclose to giving my poor girl tunafish just to get her to put her weight back on.)
Heh. The vet was like, "Well, she's 8.1 pounds, which is normal for a cat this size."
"Yeah, but it's not normal for HER. She's normally in the 10-12 pound ballpark, and she's always been a little bigger than her sister, who is leaner." *pause* "Her nickname at home is Chunky Puff. This? Is not chunky or puffy."
He didn't laugh, but he looked like he wanted to.
Given the weight loss and the shedding, the vet thinks stress is the culprit, but he ordered bloodwork done, just to rule out any metabolic problems. I'll get a call tomorrow, hopefully, and we'll start figuring out the best course to get Bronte-bear back to her cuddly, smooshy, slightly-chunky self.
So, she had a vet appointment this morning, and the vet couldn't find anything wrong with her in the initial exam -- normal temperature, nothing unusual in the physical exam. They took some blood, and I should hear back tomorrow.
That said, the vet suspects (and I do too) that the problem is stress-related. Introducing a dog into a cat household is a pretty stressful thing, and while Kisa seems to be doing well (honestly, if you'd asked me, I would have guessed that KISA would've been the one having trouble adjusting), Bronte... does not seem to be doing well. She was doing all right for a while there, but... I don't know -- something changed. I suspect it had to do with Darwin being able to reach the location of the kitty bowls. I had to get more and more creative with the placement of their food to make sure he didn't get into it. It may have become too difficult for her, or ... too much. I don't know.
The first thing I did when we realized there was a problem was to move the kitty food, water, litter box, and toys into our spare room and throw up a baby gate. This gives teh kitties a nice, spacious "safe place" to hang out and eat without a certain mutt butting in. (She could have also decided that she did not like the lamb and rice kibble I bought last time around, so I figure I'll get the regular old "whitefish" flavor, which she seemed to like. Frankly, I am thisclose to giving my poor girl tunafish just to get her to put her weight back on.)
Heh. The vet was like, "Well, she's 8.1 pounds, which is normal for a cat this size."
"Yeah, but it's not normal for HER. She's normally in the 10-12 pound ballpark, and she's always been a little bigger than her sister, who is leaner." *pause* "Her nickname at home is Chunky Puff. This? Is not chunky or puffy."
He didn't laugh, but he looked like he wanted to.
Given the weight loss and the shedding, the vet thinks stress is the culprit, but he ordered bloodwork done, just to rule out any metabolic problems. I'll get a call tomorrow, hopefully, and we'll start figuring out the best course to get Bronte-bear back to her cuddly, smooshy, slightly-chunky self.
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Date: 2006-07-25 12:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 01:28 pm (UTC)Oh, and your icon? SO ADORABLE!!
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Date: 2006-07-25 01:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 01:29 pm (UTC)Frankly I wish she'd kick Darwin's ass, just once.
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Date: 2006-07-25 01:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 01:34 pm (UTC)I would be very surprised if Bronte had a hyperactive thyroid, because she's so young, and one of the biggest signs is that the cat eats and eats and eats, but doesn't put on any weight. I'm not convinced Bronte is eating enough to keep a gnat alive, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.