Animals strike curious poses

[overthehill]

Our poor cats. They've completely wilted. Neither of them has any appetite at all. It's unheard of. Tiggy even refused chicken jelly. They're drinking a little water and otherwise behaving normally. So, I'm thinking they'll perk up once it gets cooler. It wouldn't be the first time they've encountered this sort of heat, but not for at least 3 years, and they're older now. It is a bit of a worry, if I'm honest.
Here they are, flaked out, yesterday afternoon ...

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And, just for fun, same situation, 2007 (a few months old)

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[Wiggle]

Oh I love the two pictures and comparing them side by side

I understand the worry, I am the same with Tom. He didn't eat as much but thankfully was drinking. He normally hates the fan but in the last heat wave he actually sat in its breeze. I wonder if chilling the cat food helps?

[Ella77]

Little dotty tums!

[Turtle Bean]

Taffy pretending she is a sweet innocent angel and definitely did not pee in the laundry basket after she was brought home from the cattery.

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You will notice her fondness for the pure white bedding. She needs to make sure she displays well.

[Turtle Bean]

And for balance, Storm looking noble.

[Ella77]

Poor Taffy, she is much maligned .

[overthehill]

Taffy pretending she is a sweet innocent angel and definitely did not pee in the laundry basket after she was brought home from the cattery.

Ooooh! That was Tiggy's favourite signal of disapproval too. Even now, I have to tell him not to do anything "dastardly" when he jumps in the laundry basket. Luckily, he usually just has a good rifle through the dirty washing and then jumps out again ... rejoicing in the knowledge that he's had me worried for a moment.

[Cerise]

Oh those pictures! Ziggy enjoyed licking ice cubes when he was hot.

[Disco]

They are beautiful, OTH.

As are your plushies, Beetle. Monk showed me a photo earlier of George with his arm flung over his head in a dramatic woe-is-me pose.

My phone is full of George being lonnnnnnnnnnng anywhere and everwhere.

[overthehill]

I'm relieved to say that we've just got in from a fabulous evening out, and have managed to persuade both cats to eat a proper meal of wet food. Phew!

[overthehill]

Well, that didn't last. The following morning (yesterday), neither cat had any appetite to speak of and barely touched their water. By afternoon, I was panicking a bit and rang the vet, who told me it was the heat and nothing to worry about - unless they showed signs of dehydration. Last night I started squirting a syringeful of water into their mouths every so often. Which was not appreciated.

Foggy took a couple of syringes of water this morning and then decided he was hungry. He also had a good long drink. But not Tiggy. By this evening, I was beside myself with worry, as Tiggy is clearly dehydrated and his breathing is very fast. I gave him three syringes of water, which turned out to be too much, and which he promptly threw up. I decided it was now an "urgence" and took him up to the vet. They weren't very happy that I hadn't rung first, but they were very good. He got a thorough checkup and an x-ray (in case he had eaten something he shouldn't) and, €320 later, was given a clean bill of health. Which is great, but does nothing to resolve the situation.

So now Tiggy has a trans-dermal cream (applied to his ears!) to help his appetite and Zylkene to calm him down, and I'm to continue with the syringes and giving him a cool 'blanket bath' now and then to cool him off. Your positive turtle vibes will be much appreciated. It's just gone 11pm, and it's currently 31C in our darkened, shuttered living room, with a fan on.

Oh, and we bought them a little water fountain.

[Cosmopolitan]

Cats are such worries sometimes but I have just tried the trick where you put a teaspoon of milk in a bowl of water and all the animals have drunk some, so you could try that?

[overthehill]

Cats are such worries sometimes but I have just tried the trick where you put a teaspoon of milk in a bowl of water and all the animals have drunk some, so you could try that?

Unfortunately, absolutely nothing is working at the moment. Tiggy's absolute favourite thing in the world is the chilled jelly I make from the chicken bones, when I make their food. Normally, even if he's stressed or off-colour he'll take a little bit from me on a teaspoon. And he was doing that until Wednesday. Now, he's just not interested, so I'm giving him a 5ml syringe of water each hour.

It's our fault, really. They were both OK when they first got here, but it wasn't quite as hot during the day. On Wednesday, the temperature got up to about 38C, and we left them to their own devices, in their favourite sleeping spots, upstairs. Unfortunately, that's the hottest part of the house, and they have no concept of 'too hot'.

Yesterday, we banned them from upstairs (2nd floor, attic rooms, little insulation), and brought them down to our living room and kitchen on the first floor, where we can keep them cooler. It was actually so hot upstairs, last night, that we brought our bedclothes down and made up the sofa bed in the living room, rather than use our own bedroom.

[Cerise]

Can you get something like Lik-e-lix or whatever it’s called? Or those cat “soups”?

[overthehill]

The vet did say that the medication was usually very effective, but I wasn't expecting it to be 'single dose' effective! Tiggy is absolutely ravenous. He's polished off his own and Foggy's breakfast, and is still eating!

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Looks like we can all breathe a bit of a sigh of relief. Turtle vibes helped too.

[Rebel Pebble]

Oh, I'm so glad hot Tiggy is now ravenous Tiggy!

[Turtle Bean]

I'm going to try the milk water thing. My two don't seem to drink at all and they can't be finding water outside. I've switched to exclusively wet food and while they won't eat during the day they do eat in the evening so not as worrying as yours, OTH. I'm so glad Tiggy has had a good scoff.

[Rebel Pebble]

I'm going to try the milk water thing. My two don't seem to drink at all and they can't be finding water outside.

They might if any neighbours put out water for the birds. I reckon my assorted ground level birdbaths supply as many cats and foxes as they do birds.

[Turtle Bean]

Well no interest in milk water. I'm going to get some cat milk tomorrow. They both like that.

[overthehill]

You may find that their thirst and appetite reflexes have simply dried up with the hot weather. Tiggy wouldn't even touch the chicken stock that he usually loves. In the end, I've had to throw it out, as it doesn't last - especially in this heat. It's difficult to know what to do. When I initially rang the vet, on Wednesday, she told me not to worry too much unless they were actually displaying signs of dehydration. Cats, generally, tolerate hot weather much better than dogs. She said the easiest way to check for dehydration was to grab a handful of skin at the scruff of the neck and then let it go. It should spring straight back into place. If it remains visibly wrinkled at all, your cat is dehydrated and you need to seek veterinary attention. Oddly, Foggy has much thicker fur than Tiggy, but seems to be coping with the heat much better.

The medication (trans-dermal mirtazpine, an anti-depressant) wasn't quite the one-hit wonder drug I'd hoped it was. Both cats are eating today, but nowhere near normal volumes. I've thrown away at least half the food I've put out, as it goes off so quickly. At least, we have thunder storms forecast for tomorrow, so we should all be a lot more comfortable.