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Question
Hi I just got this cat its like not full grown but like a teenage age. Well last night I got her from someone who said she had been abandoned and needed a good home. When I got her I quickly noticed how skinny she was very very bone skinny. I figured it was from being abandoned but on the way home she pooped in my car and it smelled very unusually bad and it was diareah. I got her home and gave her food and water and a litter box and she ate and soon after went diareah in the box and it smells awful! She also has a very rough fur coat and smells horrible. She smells like the smells of dirt literally. So I gave her a bath and she still smells the same. She also has white paws but they are like yellow tinted which didnt go away after cleaning her. I noticed she had fleas as well. I have no idea if this cat ghas had any shots or anything. I just want to know what wrong because she acts sickly. Shes very sweet and id love to keep her.
Lauren,
The first step in all this is to get your new cat to a veterinarian to find out what is going on. There are many causes of diarrhea and it is important to attack all of them. I am not a vet, but if I had to guess, your new cat probably has worms (tapeworms and/or round worms) and, at the very least should be wormed for both. These intestinal parasites can also lead to a very dry, dull coat.
After a complete veterinary work up, you will have to see how your cat does before you may want to do anything else.
Please let me know what your vet tells you.
Best regards... Norm.
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Answers by Expert:
Norman Auspitz
Expertise
I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.
Experience
I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.
Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.
Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook
Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.
Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.
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