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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2006Kittens vs. consumer electronics
My wife & I have a kitten that acts like it's about to fold up. Weak, very little appetite, lethargic, stunted growth when compared to her siblings. Barely walks. The vet really couldn't do much in the way of diagnosis without blood tests, etc. Heres the fun part- This kitten made a habit, for a while of sleeping on top of the comuter monitor, assumably for the warmth. Normally, a person wouldn't think too much about that, but, we have had (2) kittens in the past who have taken to sleeping on (1) a power supply for a laptop, and (2) a heating pad (set on low). Both of them developed similar symptoms to this one. (one died). After 3 such common occurances, we are becoming convinced that either the heat or some form of electromagnetic radiation may be to blame. The vets have all poo-poo'd this immediately. Looking at other discussion groups, I found one post that stated they had heard that cats would do that as a symptom of feline leukemia. I'm thinking not. Our other 10 cats are healthy. I'm curious as to whether the heat may have induced some kind of feline heat stroke. Does anyone else have any ideas, or have had any experience with kittens who nap on electronic/electrical apparati and became ill? Thanks "Lurkster" <Perpetr8tor22@yahoo.com> wrote: > My wife & I have a kitten that acts like it's about to fold up. > Weak, very little appetite, lethargic, stunted growth when [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > either the heat or some form of electromagnetic radiation may be > to blame. The vets have all poo-poo'd this immediately. The simple idea that keeping warm is unhealthy should be pooh-poohed IMO. Yes, I imagine it could depend on what the electronics radiate. Being so close to the electronics in a computer monitor might be suspect. I think that is a very good concern. Good luck. Sounds to me like it might be a good question for one of the high technology groups. > "Lurkster" <Perpetr8tor22@yahoo.com> wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Sounds to me like it might be a good question for one of the high > technology groups. The front area of a CRT is lead coated to block X-Ray and other emissions, but the back part is not. So in addition to strong EM fields that cat probably got a pretty high X-Ray dose. I wrote: > Sounds to me like it might be a good question for one of the high > technology groups. Newsgroups: sci.electronics.repair Subject: Too close to a computer monitor? > My wife & I have a kitten that acts like it's about to fold up. Weak, > Thanks You wanna know what I think... I think you are right on. I think you're common sense KNOWS what the problem is yes..even a cell phone has a warning on it. there is considerable radiation coming from monitors especially a monitor... i can believe that a cats chemistry is not suited for this we get zapped being in front of them, but we don't lay on them I can't imagine how anemic we would look if we did go with your gut SEEING THAT THE BIG DOCTOR YOU PAID don't know squat about it... but true enough, if you give heat pad when not cold in house, it will weaken cats circulatory system Am I glad I read this! I think the kitten Lurkster describes is the runt of it's litter. Smaller, weaker, more prone to any passing infection. It's usually because the runt is born last and its stronger, more assertive siblings all got a better crack at and head start of their mothers milk. The first few grammes of an animals milk contain the best of the valuable antibodies to the common diseases. Runts of a litter always tend to be sicker and end up costing more in vets fees - that is, if they dont die in the first few weeks. A friends cat had a litter and the runt basically was destined to die. Even when it wasn't able to cope with solid food after the milk dried up, if anything it would climb inside the food bowl and end up a bedraggled mess. The first litter that cat had was a litter of only one, so the lone kitten had the lions share of its mothers milk (Literally) and didn't even have to compete for it. The kitten grew in to one hefty cat, humped it's own mother, stole its mothers milk for the new kittens then one day when I was looking after the house and cats for my friend, I caught the same cat HUMPING ITS OWN SISTER/DAUGHTER from the new litter!!!. Brazon it was too, on top of the Tumble Dryer. If that cat was a person, it'd be doing 10 years now for some unspeakable sexual offence! My cat has found an area in the hall way between the kitchen and living room where there must obviously be a hot pipe under the floor. That area of the floor is always warm and she loves curling up on the carpet over the warm spot. Unfortunately, she is short haired and completely black so I have to be carefull not to trip over her before I put the light on. There's a way to tell if you've stepped on the cat. An ear-splitting spine-chilling yowl and the not too pleasant sensation of teeth sinking in to your ankle! She decided to lie on the DVD player when I had it on the floor but I shooed her off because I didn't want fur inside the appliance. I never thought about E-M Radiation. > Am I glad I read this! > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > sicker and end up costing more in vets fees - that is, if they dont die > in the first few weeks. With good help from day one, a runt does not have to be any different from any other cat. No more prone to infection or sickly, etc. If you are there when the kittens are born, it isn't very hard to remove some of the larger kittens for a short time and give the runt a chance at the good milk. And from then on, supplement with kitten milk, and also rotate the kittens to give the run a chance at the mother's milk. Many years ago, my mom's cat chewed through a screen window, spent the night in the garage with a farm cat, and produced 8 kittens. She was only 7 pounds, and she didn't have enough milk for 8 kittens. It was obvious right away that 3 of them were smaller. So, we rotated them to give them all a chance at her milk, and we started supplementing from day one. We kept the smallest of the 3 runts, a really ugly looking kitten. The others went quickly, but nobody wanted him. Until he had stayed with us awhile, and I found myself hooked. I was only 14 at the time, and I decided I would spend my paper route money to get him neutered if my dad would let me keep him. He died last May, a week and a half before his 19th birthday. He was very healthy all his life. He had one minor respiratory infection when he was 9 years old, easily cleared up with meds. And he had an abcess when he was 17. Somebody else swatted him in the butt. And that was it until his liver failed last May. He was a healthy 9 lb cat. If we, as their caretakers, step in and take care of the kittens when they are born, there is no reason that a runt can't live a healthy normal life. Nobody would have thought Maynard was a runt if they looked at him. Not as an adult. He just needed some extra supplementing as a kitten and a little help to get his share of mother's milk. As far as monitors, I do not know. None of my cats have hung out on the monitor. Fiona spent years sleeping on the tv and vcr and lived to be 18, but I don't know how those compare to computers and monitors. I have used a heating pad (on low) on Amber's window seat for several years. She spends about half of her time there. There is another heated window seat next to it (for Tiger) but he doesn't use it (he is long haired). ---MIKE--- >>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') > I have used a heating pad (on low) on Amber's window seat for several > years. She spends about half of her time there. There is another > heated window seat next to it (for Tiger) but he doesn't use it (he is > long haired). you forgot to mention you made your cat bald with this we've been over this! nothing is free, it's a trade off heating pads are for sore backs etc.. turn the thermostat up to 70 and let the cat curl up on a couch a.shole Barry wrote- >>you forgot to mention you made your >> cat bald with this we've been over this! She was NOT bald - just lost some hair on her belly which was probably not from the heating pad. ---MIKE--- >>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') > She was NOT bald - just lost some hair on her belly which was probably > not from the heating pad. oh good heavens man, do I have to go get the post mike mike, it's alright, embrace the truth she was only bald where the heating pad was SHA! Better than the post is a photo. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/View?u=1777604&a=13746150&p=71729977&Sequence=0& res=high ---MIKE--- >>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') > Better than the post is a photo. > > http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/View?u=1777604&a=13746150&p=71729977&Sequence=0& res=high steeeeerike ONE! nobody home at link Better than the post is a photo. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/View?u=1777604&a=13746150&p=71729977&Sequenc e=0&res=high nobody home at that link i posted this earlier under from google acct i think i will stop using google to post ok, I see... i had to copy paste link rather than click through but what is that in the picture is that the top of your head? damn shame really, all that hair and a pink bald spot just kidding, hope she grows back when you cut the heating pad off do her heart a favor and make her stay warm on her own Mike. >>hope she grows back when you cut the >> heating pad off do her heart a favor >> and make her stay warm on her own >> Mike. The hair all grew back last summer. I now have a "diffuser" over the pad to reduce the heat. It is just slightly warm now. I will be checking her tummy frequently to see if there is any hair loss. ---MIKE--- >>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') > My wife & I have a kitten that acts like it's about to fold up. Weak, > very little appetite, lethargic, stunted growth when compared to her [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > became ill? > Thanks Electro magnetism does do some interesting things to living tissue. Mostly it cooks it. Depending upon the power level and wavelength the length of time varies. > Electro magnetism does do some interesting things to living > tissue. Mostly it cooks it. Depending upon the power level and > wavelength the length of time varies. I suspect that is no more true than warming something through any means eventually leads to cooking it, when in fact it just gets warm and stays warm. > Path: newssvr11.news.prodigy.com!newsdbm04.news.prodigy.com!newsdst01.news.prodigy.com!newsmst01b.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!newscon06.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.net!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!peer01.cox.net!cox.net!p01!dukeread04.POSTED!53ab2750!not-for-mail > From: Tony P. <nospam.kd1s cox.nospam.net> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2006 20:30:44 EST > Xref: newsmst01b.news.prodigy.com rec.pets.cats.health+behav:420179 Am glad someone else is asking this question, too. We have a 3-year ol tortie cat that loves to sleep on top of the monitor in my wife' home-office. She (the cat) has always been allowed outside, hunte mice and voles and the occasional bird. She has always been fed high-grade organic cat food, as well as occasional small portions o meat and fish. Never had any problems with her, until just befor Christmas. She started vomiting virtually everything we tried to fee her, so we took her to vet. X-rays revealed a "possible" foreig object in the small intestine, so we let them open her up, looking fo string, Christmas ribbon, etc (apparently a very common problem). Ve found a "possible" object that had passed into the large intestine b the time he got in there, so he didn't cut her bowel open, thankfully. After surgery recovery, she went right back to vomiting everythin except some very expensive venison-based "I.D." brand food. She ca eat as little as one pellet of our other cat's food, and the whol vomiting process begins again. Anyway, to get to the point, is ther any medical evidence anywhere that prolonged close exposure to the bac of computer monitors causes digestive or other health problems in cats? Has anyone else besides Lurkster thought seriously about this? The vet' diagnosis is ""extreme" food allergies and irritable bowel syndrome, but he can't give us any ideas as to why she could eat virtuall anything for over three years and all of the sudden not be able to kee anything down but the strictest regimen of this "ID" food. The onl difference between the two cat's lives has been that the tortie spend so much time sleeping on the top of the computer monitor. Sorry thi is so lengthy, but it seemed like a thorough explanation in th beginning might prompt the best answers. Thanks, hope to hear fro some of you. Lurkster Wrote: > My wife & I have a kitten that acts like it's about to fold up. Weak, > very little appetite, lethargic, stunted growth when compared to her [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > became ill? > Thank -- sCatologist sCatologist <sCatologist.21jr7j@news.catbanter.com> wrote: > Anyway, to get to the point, is there any medical evidence > anywhere that prolonged close exposure to the back of computer > monitors causes digestive or other health problems in cats? Has > anyone else besides Lurkster thought seriously about this? Have you read the rest of the thread? John Doe Wrote: > Anyway, to get to the point, is there any medical evidence > anywhere that prolonged close exposure to the back of computer > monitors causes digestive or other health problems in cats? Has > anyone else besides Lurkster thought seriously about this? > > Have you read the rest of the thread? Yes, I scanned it quickly, and it seems like there is only speculatio and replies, but no one with any real "proof" of cause/effect, nor an evidence of an animal's improved health if they prevented the anima from parking itself up on the monitor for a great length of time; fo instance, several months of intentional prevention. Without that, it' just speculation, like saying "my eyes are getting worse because I star at a computer all day for my job," but not proving it by taking a extended time off and avoiding staring at the computer to see if th eyes return to normal (I did this: taking a 3 1/2 week raft trip i the Grand Canyon, and my eyes got LOTS better, so there was verifiable cause/effect relationship). Anyway, I'm going to ri something so the cat can't lay on the monitor, and see if it helps her -- sCatologist > John Doe Wrote: >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > speculation and replies, but no one with any real "proof" of > cause/effect, You might not find many people here who are experienced in that particular subject. So I wouldn't expect many offers of real proof. If you can do research or even ask questions in other groups (sci... for example), you don't have to limit yourself to this group and this thread. Good luck.
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