1 yr old cat behavior changing

[gina119]

Hi! I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this board. Thank you for being here and for helping so many cat lovers!

My concern is with my one-year old kitten. Felix normally inititiates play with my other cat Oscar and is very active. He has for the past 4 or 5 days become lethargic and seems to be sleeping a lot more. He is eating and drinking okay. I'm wondering if this might have something to do with the fact that we've recently started fostering kittens from our local shelter. We had six babies for 2 weeks who really had won over my cats by the time they had to leave (at 9 weeks of age). When we took them back, we picked up a momma and her 4 babies. I don't plan to introduce this new foster crew to my guys because the mom is already showing signs of anxiety when the kittens wander too far. We think they're about 4-5 weeks old. Could Felix be depressed or could something more serious be going on? I really can't afford a vet bill if I can avoid it. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance,
Gina

[Traci]

You should always be prepared for vet visits and emergencies whenever you are fostering. You can never gaurantee the health of a foster kitten or adult, kittens often cannot be tested until at least 10 weeks of age. There are numerous infectious virals that can be transmitted between cats, so you MUST always be prepared for that, seperation of the cats until testing is done and confirmed, etc. Other transmissions include fleas, mites, URI's, etc.

Lethargy should be your red flag to get Felix to your vet ASAP, play it safe, you have no idea if there is a viral being transmitted in your home.

[Guest]

Traci,

Thanks for your quick reply. I got Felix into the vet the next morning and she seems to think he got into a scuffle and was harboring an absess that wasn't obvious yet. She gave him an anti-inflammatory and a dose of antibiotics and he's feeling much better.

Thanks for the heads up on fosters and how it affects my cats. I'm planning to keep the fosters separated from my cats from now on.

Thanks,
Gina