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Illness

If your cat appears sick or is acting unusually quiet and is not eating, it is best to take him to your vet. There are pet insurances you can buy and for a monthly fee, most vet bills are covered.

If your vet is closed and you need to treat kitty quickly, try some of our tips.

Symptoms

Coughing can be a very serious sign of infection or possibly pneumonia in which case you should make a trip to your vet immediately, especially if your cat has other symptoms like sneezing and not eating.

However, coughing can also be an indication that your cat is about ready to cough up a hairball. To reduce their coughing and make coughing up the hairball easier, try one of these remedies:

  1. Put a dab of butter on your finger and let kitty lick it off. The butter should coat her throat and lubricate her stomach lining;
  2. There are many hairball products on the market, such as Temptations treats for hairballs and wet food with hairball prevention. Look for these types of products to help ease hairball coughing and to prevent them in the future.

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Dandruff

Dandruff is a sign that your cat has dry skin. This can occur with the change in seasons, the dryness of your home or because her food does not have enough oils. Sometimes, dandruff can be the cause of a serious medical problem. However, if your cat seems normal except for the dandruff, try:

  1. Spraying a mist of olive oil on your cat's dry food, the oil helps treat her coat;
  2. Adding a bit of salmon to their diet, but careful not to allow her to get addicted.

Conditioning your cat's skin needs to come from the inside out, which is why natural oils will help reduce dandruff and give your cat's fur a healthy shine.

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Goo in eyes

Eye infections are one of the problems you should not chance. Get to your vet as soon as possible. If green pus is coming out, that means an infection. If your vet is closed and you want to treat your cat until your appointment, try:

  1. Polysborin baby eye/ear drops. They are gentle enough for cats and work well for eye infections. Just put one drop four times a day;
  2. Keep your cat's eye clean. When wiping the goo, try dipping a cloth or tissue in room temperature green tea - it helps fight infection.
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Hairballs

Hairballs occur more frequently with some types of cats. Prevention is the best treatment. For more tips see coughing.

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Not eating/drinking

Not eating usually means something fairly serious. Many times, your cat will refuse to eat if they have a cold. When cats have a stuffy nose they can't smell and therefore can't recognize their food as food. There are also cases of anorexic cats. To get a sick cat to eat:

  1. Try a can of a/d formula wet food from your vet. This food is packed with vitamins, water and calories for cats who have not been eating properly. It is extremely tasty, so be careful your cat does not become addicted;
  2. Tuna water is a great way to get a sick cat to take in some liquids. The water is packed with flavonoids - a powerful anti-oxidant. It also smells very strong;
  3. For cats that really won't eat anything else, try a jar of pureed chicken breast baby food. I dilute this with cooled green tea. It smells strong and even a sick cat will have a difficult time refusing this mixture.

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Shaking of head

When cats shake their head a lot, you might notice they also scratch their ears. Shaking their head tends to mean an ear problem. Most likely, your cat has waxy ears. However, waxing ears if left untreated can cause an infection. It is always a good idea to take your cat to the vet for proper ear drops.

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Sneezing

Some cats sneeze more than others. Cats, like people, can have allergies that cause them to sneeze. Sometimes it will be from a new type of litter, the changing seasons or the dust under the couch.

Sneezing can also mean an infection or the beginning of one. Often cats will sneeze for a while and in about a week, it will stop.

However, sneezing can be the sign of other diseases, so it is good to be cautious.

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