bloated?

[anie]

My female cat Josie seems to be little bloated. She looks normal when she lays down, sits or just stands, but when she walks she looks like a barrel, meaning her abdomen beetwen ribs and waist kind of "swings" from side to side. I hope I am not describing it too crazy I just have an impression she was not like that few days ago. but i have no idea if it's bloating or just her belly she is somewhat fluffy and little chunky.

if she's bolated, can it be related to hairballs? Few days ago she lost her appetite and I saw her hacking. I have been giving her laxatone for three days already and she is almost back to her normal self: she eats much better, she poops ok (I actually saw some hairs in her poop yesterday and today), she plays and runs, and she hacks much less. she does not seem in pain/discomfort - she did not care when I petted and touched her belly.

I was also thinking worms, but she was dewormed 7 weeks ago with Drontal (which is Pranziquantel and Pyrantel) so theoretically she should be fine (however I am no specialist on deworming so if I am mistaken, please, correct me).

I am thinking of taking her to the vet, but:

1. we had huge snow storm recently and 70% buildings in town lost electricity, including our vet clinic. they will be reopening soon, but first taking in animals in need and emergencies (I called yesterday to reschedule my other cat's follow up appointment that we missed because of snow and he got is for Monday in 6 days) so I dont know if I should insist on visit immediately.
2. she is still adjusting to us (we adopted her 7 weeks ago) and is still far away from trusting me and letting me pick her up so loading her to carrier and vet visit could be a huge stress for her.

considering all the above I dont know, what to do. wait and see..? or take her to the vet? any opinion will be appreciated.

[scottd]

It's possible you need to give 2-3 doses of Drontal over a 2-3 week period.

[anie]

Yeah I was thinking that, but everywhere I look online I see that drontal is administered as a single dose. Also, our vet did not prescribe additional dose after that first one. I assume she would if that was the case.
I am going to ask about it next time I see/talk to her though.

Also I forgot to add that Josie is supposed to be FELV and FIV negative. (I haven't tested her for those viruses but upon adoption from local rescue group I was told that she was tested and is negative for both)

Thanks for suggestion!


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[anie]

now, I looked closer at her and it seems like she is not pot-bellied, but more like she got some sort of "love handles" just above her waist, on her sides.
maybe she is just gaining weight?? but I always thought that when cats gain weight they kind of get rounder everywhere, not in one particular area of their abdomen.

[Arianwen]

As well as the "flap" some cats develop, a minority do get a sort of "lump" that is a way of storing food. Any chance it could be that?

[anie]

Originally Posted by Arianwen

As well as the "flap" some cats develop, a minority do get a sort of "lump" that is a way of storing food. Any chance it could be that?

well, I looked closer at how much food I give them both per day. It looks like my two cats get 460-500 cals per day sometimes even more, so at least 230-250 cals/day/cat.
I have no idea if they eat equally, because they often leave some food and eat up later, but they are only 7 pounds (Blackberry) and 9 pounds (Josie). They are just over 2 yeast old, so are not kittens, don't need extra food.

So it looks like I am overfeeding them?

I was always sure that cat should eat 20-30 cals per pound of body weight per day. But just saw on Dr Pierson's website that she recommends 150-250 cals/day for a cat depending on lean body mass. My cats are rather smaller...
so maybe they should be closer to 150-200 cals/day/cat.

And I have noticed that they often do not finish their meal and it happens fairly often that they are not that hungry when it's time for next meal. maybe I am overfeeding them... that would explain Josie's "love handles", and low hunger drive here and there.

[anie]

Also, the other cat, Blackberry definitely gained some weight since adoption. He was super skinny when we adopted them both 7 weeks ago, so skinny that his backbone would protrude. he looked like malnutritioned cat. Now he looks much better, still skinny and lanky, but no protruding backbone and he is definitely heavier, but just healthy looking lean cat.
They eat the same food, and weight difference between them is not that big, so it's possible that Josie is gaining too.