We learned for sure today what we have suspected for a while, that Mojo is not the only sick cat in the house. Peeps and Zoulie are also showing symptoms. When they were all sick before, we were almost certain the culprit was coccidia. Peeps had come from “the kitty farm,” and it’s not unusual for pound kittens to catch parasites or for them to have trouble fighting the parasites off. The treatment for coccidia seemed to cure them. But it is very unlikely that coccidia would strike them again now. They’re all adults and they all live indoors, away from other potentially infected cats. It also seems unlikely that all of the cats would have a food allergy or cancer. It’s probably not the water, because we were on city water then and we’re on well water now.
But it’s theoretically possible that the food is to blame, since it’s the same brand we were feeding them back then. Maybe there’s melamine (or worse) in there. Who knows? Take a moment to look up “cat food problems” on the Internet, and you’ll soon be disgusted by the ingredients that some people claim are in there—chicken heads, rancid oil, intestines, moldy grains, not to mention parts from dead cats and dogs. Yuck. How much of it is true? Based on my personal experience and understanding of the world, it could all be true. It probably isn’t. I shouldn’t be. But it could be.
The problem could even be caused by something not in the food. One brand of dry cat food was recently recalled because it lacked sufficient levels of thiamine to keep cats healthy.
It could be almost anything, really. I just hope that if it’s a disease, it’s not something that our son could catch.
Now I need to stop worrying so much. Contrary to common opinion, venting doesn’t make you feel better. By focusing on your negative emotions, you become consumed by them. It is best just to deal with the matter—talk to the vets again, give the cats any medicines they need, buy a different brand of food—and turn my thoughts to the positive things.
Positives: Separating Mojo from the other cats helped us be sure that he wasn’t the only sick cat. It also forced me to clean out my office, and overall it’s much nicer in here, even if it does smell like cat food. And I’m happy to report that Mojo seems to be a little better today. He’s been moving around more, eating more, and using his litter box.