Does anyone know of either aforum similar to this about cats or does anyone have any ideas about my cat if you are cat people too. my 5year old Burmese who I have had since  a baby and has also always lived with dogs and another cat has become v.worring. Vet has checked her over 2 nights in and a 300 pound bill and has decided stress. She looks awful third eyelid almost permanenty over v.v. anti social, scratching and growling at everyone but eating and good coat. Any ideas please.  Over the years we now have a different dog cat and another dog she is the original one.Any ideas please

Hi I dont know if you've tried Catsey.com? Cant really help apart from that, sorry (novice cat owner). Hope your cat gets better quickly.

Have there been any changes to your household that could have triggered stress, or have you recently treated for flea and worms?  Maybe a new Tom is in the area and spraying your doors.

In all the years I have had cats I have only ever seen the third eyelid show when they have been ill and not from stress.

If it was me I would get a second opinion, animals are very good at hiding pain especially at the vet.  Once my male cat was limping very badly but at the vet he showed no signs at all, the adrenalin acts as a natural pain relief.  If you can ever get her in a good enough mood just try gently feeling around for painful spots, if she's been bitten by another cat it would be almost impossible to find the puncture but there would be an infection for sure.  Also cats are not always as nimble as you think and if they land badly may jar their neck or back.

I'm no expert but I really don't think a cat would suddenly suffer from stress at 5 years of age for no noticable reason. Just make sure she has a warm and private place away from the rest of the household until you get it sorted.  It must be very worrying for you but at least she has a good appetite so must be keeping her strength up.

Hope she gets better soon.

How long since there was a new arrival in the house? Stress can account for a lot and it can often be hidden quite well, i.e. I had a cat that got repeated cystisis caused by stress, took ages before I worked out he disliked one of the other cats. Once I rehomed that other cat the cystitis never came back. Having said that, prominent third eyelids are almost always a sign of illness. What checks did the vet actually do?

There are various cat forums but you'll find the mailing lists are far better than forums when it comes to cats. Avoid anything American as it differs too much from the UK. I can give you the details of the main UK ones if you want to PM me.

Thanks people I agree about 3rd eyelid. i have had cats all my life and have only seen this happen when they are ill and its a temporary thing.
What I found odd was that when taken in she had previously a bout amonth ago had a nasty tummy bug which had affected her worst but the kitten and one of dogs got it mild ly. The others recovered well but although her tum seems ok the 3rd eyelid and her bad temper contiued both before and since The vet had her for 2days and she was on adrip to rehydrate during that time although she had never stopped eating she must have been dehydrated and that isnt usually stress is it. She is now on zelkene tabs for stress and feliway but not yet respondong.
As for changes this year we have a new dog (pom/chi) and a new kitten her previous cat friend died at xmas. We had  a the gsd 19 months ago after we lost our flattie , so changes yes but still she is used to being around cats and dogs.
I am really not convinced about the stress thing. Oh and also if you pick her up and she doest want to be she will leak poo slightly as she struggles.
Sorry this is so long folks

This doesn't sound like stress at all furriefriends. 

She's had a nasty tummy bug, she's scared of being picked up (or in pain) and is unable to hold her bowels 100%.  I have no medical expertise at all but this sounds as though it is all connected.  Was there any blood in her stool when she had the tummy bug? If her bowel was a bit damaged and bleeding she may have got a bacteria into her blood stream.

You know your girl best and you sound an experienced pet owner so if you think there is something wrong then there probably is.  If it was me I would see another vet and take a stool sample.

Hope she gets better soon.

Thanks Lunamooma for ur posts, I think a second opinion is needed. My gut tells me there is some physical underlying cause. I am no medic either. I am going to watch her carefully for the next few days  unless I give the tabs etc ago for abit longer I think the vet may not be terribly helpful  he said it could take a month or more if its stress. Although I am not leaving her that long Then I will find out about how you get second opinions, it is a big practice so there are 4/5 vets surely someone must have some other ideas and I have been there over 20 years

I think you are doing the right thing to keep a close eye on her over the next few days.

I realise it is awkward going for a second opinion sometimes.  I was with a big practice which was thought to be the best in the area, with very experienced vets but when I had a problem with one of my chows they just seemed to back each other up with not being sure but try this, try that, or we could open him up and have a look.  Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy for my guys to have an op if it is needed but not to just 'have a look'.  In the end I went to another recently set-up practice, not in a posh area, not with a big reputation and not many clients. BUT they are fresh minded, enthusiastic and explain very clearly what they know and what they need to find out.

I would be very disappointed being sent away with a sick animal and being told to 'try' some tablets for a month to see if they work.

Although vets aren't perfect like the rest of us, you are paying for a service and need to go home feeling that everything posible is being done for your precious girl, to go home with doubts is horrible.  For your peace of mind I would take her to another practice for a fresh set of eyes and new ideas and then you don't have to worry about your present vet being miffed that you don't agree with his diagnosis.

Hope she gets better soon

I agree with the others about something is not right and stress??? Hmmm.. I don't think i would be going with that either.
The fact that when you pick her up she sometimes leaks is to me an indication i wouldn't leave it much longer before i sought out new advice from another vet. If you can trust another vet in the practice then i would see them, easier knowing all the history. If you do decide to go elsewhere the medical history can be transferred over very quickly.

Good luck and hope your cat is ok..

Burmese cats are cats of extremes

When they are happy they are very very happy, but when they are stressed they can become ultra stressed :(  It could be that your cat is unhappy about either the pup or the kitten (or both) but I wouldn't expect this to affect her hydration levels unless she has stopped drinking ???  How much is she drinking?

the leaking of poo when she is struggling against being picked up could be from stress,

How badly was she affected by the tummy bug?  was there copious amounts of diarroeah? was it 'explosive'?  etc  It may have caused some internal problems which may have been missed?

Is it possible that she has a bite wound somewhere that has formed an abcess?  Kitten teeth and claws are very sharp and they can be quite fierce in play ;)

Difficult to tell from a forum - you have to be there really

I had a 'rescue' cat once who became unhappy in our home, she was wild-born and needed to be an outdoors cat, as I had Burmese this wasn't possible.  She became more and more antisocial and would attack our dog (who she grew up with) if there were any sudden noises (postman, car going past etc) she then progressed to pooing in odd places and 'going' for anyone who happened to walk past her and losing weight.   I advertised for a new, safe outdoor home for her and she 'chose' her family (she had been dumped in my arms as a tiny kitten)  after a period of settling-in she was the most sociable, relaxed, clean cat imaginable  

Thanks everyone for your help, fingers crossed I have seen some improbement in last couple of days. She has just jumped on my keyboard and her eyes look normal keep yur fingers crossed

kittenlist.co.uk They have a forum with lots of different categories, health being one of them

Good news Lotus is at last looking a lot better her eyes are mostly back to normal and seems more settled in the house. Am going to keep going with feliway and Zelkene as see how it goes.
Thanks for your help and kind words.

thats great chris glad your kitty is feeling better :-)

Brilliant news :-D

Then you will be able to relax too :-D

hope your cat feels better soon.