Conference misery::feline_v1

    
    
    From my personal experiences:
    
    I wouldn't let Micky sort this out herself!!
    
    There's been cats in my house since age 0.  Out of say, 20 cats,
    there would be one that I'd have that would drag his bottom.  Instantly
    I say to myself "worms".  I would think the vet should have possible
    known this immediately!  Of course, he could have been put off by
    the sac problem, but I wouldn't think that would make him drag his
    bottom.
    
    Again, of the cats I've had with worms (very few) after being treated
    they haven't come back.  So to me, that seems a little odd.
    
    It wouldn't hurt for you to try another vet.
    
    I don't believe Mickey would drag her bottom for no reason!!  There
    has to be a problem there.
    
    Of course, all of the above are just from my previous experiences
    with cats, no actual text-book educated facts.
    
    I've known people with vet horror stories, so always keep any eye
    out for bad vets!
    
    What town do you live in?  I trust my vet 100%.
    
    F.

    Are you sure the worms are gone?  Some types of worm medication
    require a second treatment, I think.
    

    The reason that cats drag their bottoms on the ground is irritation.
    The irritation may be from worms, or from anal sac problems, or
    from constipation.
    
    As far as I know, there is no relationship between anal sac infection
    and tapeworms.  Some cats have more anal sac problems than others.
    I disagree that you shouldn't worry about it.  If the anal sacs
    need expressing and you don't take her in to have it done, you could
    have a real mess on your hands (on your carpet, on you sofa, etc.
    :^})
    
    Have you had a fecal sample tested to check for the presence of
    other types of worms besides tapeworms?  Tapeworms are the only
    type of worms that would migrate outside the body (except in rare
    cases of *extreme* infestation), so you would not be able to tell
    if some other type of worms are bugging her without testing.
    
    Does she have a hairball problem?  I have seen cats drag their bottoms
    when they are constipated from ingesting too much fur and not being
    able to cough it up.
    
    
    Jo

    Check for fleas. You can clear up tapeworm, but if the cat has
    fleas and ingests the flea eggs while cleaning itself, those
    tapeworms come right back!

    Also, did you give the medication to both cats? When I noticed that
    one of my kitties had tapeworm, the vet gave me medication for all
    five.
    
    Marleen    

    My little kitten used to do the same when she was 7 - 8 weeks old
    but it wasn't any disease that made her do that.
    
    At that age she wasn't able to balance to well, so when she
    went to the litter box she would topple over backwards straight
    into her own s..t.
    And with the sweetest possible face she would come into the 
    sittingroom to wipe her bottom on my carpet.
    
    Thank God she finally learned how to balance while on her box.
    
    But this couldn't be the case with your cat. I agree with previous
    note to have her checked for different kind of worms.
    
    Lots of luck.
    
    Caroline
    

Well, I took the advice of the past replies and decided to get a second
opinion.  I went to Dr. Kaas in Nashua (whom on the basis of my limited
experience I would recommend) and had both kittens examined.  I got a fairly
detailed explanation of how the anal sacks should function, and Dr. Kaas's
opinion is that Mickie's problem is that there is too much Mickie :-)

So, now I have to explain to Mickie and Winchester that they won't be seeing
as much food in their bowls as they have in the past.

(Sort of a cute story: One morning I was more than usually reluctant to get
up.  Winchester had already been up [obviously, it is his duty to make sure
the sun rises every morning!], and he was busily engaged checking the various
holes in my head [eyes, nose, ...].  The alarm went off, and I was given the
usual "good morning, let's rise and shine and feed me breakfast" chirp.  Yeah,
right, go away ... Well, he waited a few impatient seconds while I refused to
budge.  Meanwhile, his examination was continuing, and he had made it to my
ears.  Then, he decided I hadn't heard him, so right in my ear I got a *very
loud* meow that made me bolt upright.  Unfortunately :-), this was positive
reinforcement for him; he now understood the idea of "speak directly and
clearly into the breakfast request device."  Somehow, I have this ominous
feeling that the news of putting him on a [gasp] diet means I am going to have
very vocal complaints directed towards the "breakfast request device" every
morning :-)

    You are right - you can always get swimmer's ear plugs to block
    the breakfast request device!!  or you will have to replace the
    damaged drum!!

    perhaps some science diet light formula....so you can put down
    the same amount but it'll have less calories...
    
      and there's always ear muffs!
    

    Perhaps the direct request is preferable to the indirect request
    (ie. the claws in the toes routine!).
    
    K