Cats and checkups (shots, worms, etc).

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Moe Hair - 09 Jul 2004 15:28 GMT

Yesterday I noticed a strange, 2 inch string like thing on the living room
rug. It was wet, as if chewed, and had my cat's hairs all around it. Since
her hairs are all over the rug, it's very possible that she didn't
regurgitate or excrete it. My first thought was that it could be a worm, but
since she's a house cat, and I was eating a banana and a sweet potato in the
vicinity of the area I found it, it's possible that she was chewing on some
skin from the banana or potato. She also chews on the cardboard scrapings
from her scratching posts as they're always loose.

She shows no other signs of having any worm problems, but I thought I'd bring
her to the vet anyway as she hasn't seen one in two years.

It can't hurt to do a fecal matter test, however since she's never had a
booster shot, I'm a little reluctant to start now. She's 7 years old (I
think, since I adopted her when she was about 4).

Any other suggestions about the vet visit?

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kaeli - 09 Jul 2004 16:47 GMT

> It can't hurt to do a fecal matter test, however since she's never had a
> booster shot, I'm a little reluctant to start now. She's 7 years old (I
> think, since I adopted her when she was about 4).
>
> Any other suggestions about the vet visit?

If I remember correctly, worm eggs found in feces can be tracked into
the home on your shoes and ingested by a curious cat, so it is
*possible* she has worms. I'd be more thinking it was something else,
though, like the banana peel you mentioned.

As to suggestions, I don't like to over-vaccinate my indoor-only cats
and have recently been of the opinion that every 3 years is fine for my
healthy, indoor-only cats. My one who goes outside (attended) gets a
booster yearly, just in case, though I skipped last year's b/c she was
ill with a URI and I didn't want to vaccinate her while she was sick.
Don't let the vet talk you into any vaccinations you don't think your
cat needs. There's plenty of threads in the archives on that topic, so
I'll leave you to decide which ones you think your cat needs. Vets are
people too, and they have differing opinions on vaccinations.

Keep your cat in her carrier at the vet's until you go into the exam
room and disinfect your hands with one of those hand sanitizer rubs
before you remove her. If your vet doesn't sanitize his or her hands
before handling your cat, request that he or she do so.
The vet office sees plenty of sick animals. Hospitals can be germy
places, too, so I'm not picking on any particular place here. Where
people and animals with germs go to get treated, there will be germs.
The same goes for if you have cats at home and go visit an animal
shelter. Sanitize your hands before you come home and play with your
cat. Better safe than sorry.

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Moe Hair - 09 Jul 2004 17:43 GMT

> If I remember correctly, worm eggs found in feces can be tracked into
> the home on your shoes and ingested by a curious cat, so it is
> *possible* she has worms. I'd be more thinking it was something else,
> though, like the banana peel you mentioned.

The thing wasn't moving, and when squished, there really wasn't any matter
that oozed from it. I'd still feel more comfortable after a stool test,
however.

> As to suggestions, I don't like to over-vaccinate my indoor-only cats
> and have recently been of the opinion that every 3 years is fine for my
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Don't let the vet talk you into any vaccinations you don't think your
> cat needs.

Are you ever worried about the outdoor cat transmitting germs to the indoor
cats? That's the only reason I would even consider a regular booster shot
for the indoor cats.

There's plenty of threads in the archives on that topic, so

> I'll leave you to decide which ones you think your cat needs. Vets are
> people too, and they have differing opinions on vaccinations.
>
> Keep your cat in her carrier at the vet's until you go into the exam
> room and disinfect your hands with one of those hand sanitizer rubs
> before you remove her.

EXCELLENT suggestion.

If your vet doesn't sanitize his or her hands

> before handling your cat, request that he or she do so.

The last time I went, I noticed that he was spraying his tools constantly,
and I think he washed his hands, though I'm not sure.

Thanks for the comments. Are there any good cat internet discussion groups
that are grouped by locality?

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kaeli - 09 Jul 2004 18:37 GMT

> Are you ever worried about the outdoor cat transmitting germs to the indoor
> cats? That's the only reason I would even consider a regular booster shot
> for the indoor cats.

Slightly, but not enough to put them through the stress of a vet visit.
From the latest stuff I've read, every three years might be enough of a
booster for *any* cat. I'm just playing better safe than sorry with the
one who goes out because she's in a higher-risk group.
Vet visits are highly traumatic for my guys, and they actually get sick
for a day or two after from the vaccinations and the stress, so upon
weighing that with the above, I decided against what could quite
possibly be totally unnessesary, even detrimental, visits. Then there's
also vaccine-associated sarcoma risks to think about, too. On top of all
of it, many of the vaccines are not 100% effective, anyway.

If we had more roaming neighborhood cats, I might feel differently. But
luckily, I've only seen a couple idiots letting their cats roam freely
in our high-traffic area. I see dead cats every few weeks, but not right
by me where I walk my cat (cul-de-sac type setup condo complex). We
don't go far. She just likes to sit right out in the front, mostly.
I might also feel differently if we had a yard she went out in
unattended, as I steer her clear of feces and other animals when I'm
with her. If I weren't with her, she might get into things I didn't know
about, like raccoon droppings and the like, or run into roaming cats.
Mostly I keep her vaccinated yearly for two reasons.
1. In case someone managed to get close enough to her (despite my
vigilance) to try to grab her to pick her up or pet her (I'm thinking of
the neighborhood kids here, most of whom know her and know to stay away
from her, but there's always a newbie or two). She'd nail them. *heh*
She doesn't like strangers. There's a big 'ole "BITES" in red on her vet
chart. I don't know whether to find that amusing or embarrasing, so I
tend to be both. *g*
Proof of rabies yearly vaccination would come in mighty handy for any
accidents of that nature.
2. In case, despite my vigilance, she actually manages to catch one of
the things she chases (bird, bunny, squirrel, etc) and it is carrying
something nasty (or if there was a dead one lying around I didn't see or
something).

> Thanks for the comments. Are there any good cat internet discussion groups
> that are grouped by locality?

Not on Usenet that I know of, but quite possibly on Yahoo groups. Check
that out.

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~kaeli~
It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in
rats.
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