# Kitten ?????? stressed



## oreo-cookies (Oct 7, 2010)

Hi
I am new to the forum and am looking for a bit of help/advice. I have two 5 month old male devon rex kittens, they are brothers. Oreo is very devon like, is very active and mischievous and has a gorgeous curly coat. Cookie is the runt of the litter and has always been much quieter. He has no coat at the moment so does feel the cold and likes to curl up under a blanket. Oreo does like to play he will pounce on and bite Cookie to play with him as kittens do. Cookie does not like this but will rarely fight back. Both cats are neutered.
So, now to the strange bit, for the past 4-5 days Cookie has taken to licking the walls and the "coals" on my gas fire. Nothing has changed that we can think of in the past few days that I can think of :
Just to complete the picture, we also have 2 dogs who Cookie gets on well with and they have a quality dried food and white fish twice a day. 
So does my kitten not like his brother or is it something else??????
Help please


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## Paddy Paws (Jul 11, 2010)

Hmm, if you think it is stress related you could try a Feliway Diffuser or one of the New Pet Remedy Diffusers which use essential oils. The advantage of the Pet Remedy is that the whole household will benefit.


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## sizzy_nat123 (Oct 3, 2010)

i have been using a collar with pheramones in it which i got from the pet shop. it is used for all sorts of behavioural issues (caused by a new pet/moving house/vets etc...anything stressful really) and i noticed a big change in my 6 month old cat very quickly. it is a bit cheaper than the feliway diffuser but does the same thing. ive been using it as my cat wouldnt poo in the litter tray and had become distant. we think due to me being pregnant. anyway that combined with different litter has made a world of difference. may be worth a go.


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

I'd suggest a feliway anyway... but 

The licking of coals etc, and his continued lack of coat..... Has he seen a vet? Would it be possible for the vet to do a simple blood test and check his dietry balance? I'm wondering if something is lacking. I have a rex and realise that some are more sparsly coated than others, but still its unsual to have zero coat.

Id get him a full bill of health and then we can start on more behavioural discussions. A feliway in the meantime wont be a bad idea.


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## oreo-cookies (Oct 7, 2010)

Hi
Thanks for all the replies. I have been considering the feliway so will give that a go. 
Yes Cookie has been to the vet, I took him on Wednesday, she couldn't see anything physically wrong with him and said his diet is a good one.(Hills science plan dry food and white fish twice a day). We are observing his behaviour and taking him back next week for another check up.

He has been to the vet several times since we have had him, upset stomach, swollen face (either due to acne or his brother???? not sure which).
He does have feline acne and an under shot jaw. 
He is very small and we do worry about him, which is why I posted on here, to see what ideas others had.
The vet has said it could be a liver problem , but he is showing no other signs of this, so this leaves us with stress. But I find it difficult to understand how his litter mate can be stressing him, they have never been apart?????
How usual is this for a brother to be the cause of the stress??
Just puzzled and worried, we got 2 kittens to reduce their stress


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## Paddy Paws (Jul 11, 2010)

The other thing that crossed my mind was taurine deficieny. You could try using something like Nurish Um which contains Taurine. It certainly wont do him any harm.


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

Paddy Paws said:


> The other thing that crossed my mind was taurine deficieny. You could try using something like Nurish Um which contains Taurine. It certainly wont do him any harm.


I wondered the same, or some other mineral imbalance (hence the lack of coat and coal licking).

Can you vet not do a blood test to check his liver, thyroid and nutrients?


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## ChinaBlue (Feb 3, 2008)

Have you discussed this with their breeder - have they offered any suggestions? 

Agree with Billyboysmammy that perhaps the vet needs to do a full work up.

As already suggested try him with some Nurish-um or Nutrigel.

Keep us updated.


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## oreo-cookies (Oct 7, 2010)

Just thought I would update you, Cookie seemed to improve a little which led us to believe it was stress related. However about 3 days ago he started to walk funny, he seemed to have a problem with one of his legs, it wasnt always apparent so we thought he might have hurt himself. He wasnt distressed and didnt seem to be in pain. 
Yesterday, when he woke, he could barely walk both his back legs seemed to be affected. An emergency appointment at the vet again suggested liver problems and blood tests were carried out. These came back reasonably normal and were inconclusive. Cookie was kept in the vets to be starved ready for another test due to take place today. His condition deteriorated from the time we took him to the vets to leaving him. We were confident that the iv fluids and care he was receiving would keep him going until the test. Throughout the rest of the day he stabilised but from 6pm - 8pm his condition deteriorated dramatically and we had to let him go. He fell asleep in my daughters arms last night. 
He had fought for all of his little life, we loved him so much, we couldnt see him suffer anymore, I feel so guilty that I didnt do more for him. So sorry Cookie, R.I.P little one.


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## ebonymagic (Jun 18, 2010)

OMG! Poor you , poor cookie, poor oreo

((hugs)))


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## oreo-cookies (Oct 7, 2010)

Thank you so much, we feel privileged to have had Cookie for his short life, I cant begin to describe what a sweetie he was. Oreo will miss him and is needing lots of love at the moment.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

So sorry to read of your sad loss. Run free little one.


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