Hi,

I recently adopted Maggie about 6 weeks ago. She has a lovely nature and loves playing. She is black and an average size with gorgeous big eyes. Maggie seems to have had a tough life, we're not sure how old she is. She was found in Leeds about 4 months ago now by a cat lover, her hair was falling out and desperately needed some attention. She was taken to the vets and was found to be allergic to flea saliva. She was nursed back to health and the person who found her really wanted to keep her but couldnt as she didnt get on with her other cats. We were not 100% sure even after 3 vet checks if she had been spayed or not but having going everyday for 3 months and not coming back pregnant it was assumed that she was spayed.

My partner and me were looking to adopt a cat and saw her advertised on gumtree. We fell in love with her instantly and we've all been living very happily together until this week. We've had a new cat flap fitted and have noticed that 2 cats have been getting into the house, eating her food and scaring Maggie. Yesterday with the catflap locked 2 cats tried no more than 6 times to get into the house! It has all come to a head today, after deterring a cat once I went to the supermarket today for an hour and a half leaving Maggie in the house and with the clap flap locked. When I came home I saw 2 cats sitting outside the house watching it with Maggie looking through the cat flap scared. Even as I was emptying the car of the shopping one of the cats was looking at trying to get into the house before I promptly scared it away. When I got in the house Maggie was very scared and began to wee little bits all over the house. I've noticed in her litter tray that she had also left a blood clot.

Do you think this indicates that she hasnt been spayed at all and the cats were trying to get in to mate with her?

I'm looking for some expert cat opinions on whether you think she has just come out of season and if so if anyone recommends a reasonably priced vets in Leeds. I have been to one vets with her already for flea treatment but they put me off as they were trying to sell me everything under the sun.

Thank you for your time, I know its a long post!

Jen

oh dear!! if you go into the vets and let them know you would like to keep treatment minimal and don't need all the bells and whistles they might not push loads of stuff on you so much. sometimes they do this because you are new and want you to be aware of all the treatments available. i wouldn't take this as them not looking after your pet they may still be good vets. if you're still unsure shop round, i'm not from Leeds so i can't offer any advice there but i'm sure there is someone on here that could. As for the cat flap they have some on the market that have magnets in them. I personally prefer the CatMate ones with the electromagnetic. the lock on it is not as easy to force open as the Petmate and Staywell, but i do use the smaller Staywell magnet as the Catmate one is huge!! lol as for the odd behaviour i don't know your cat and it sounds like you might need to have the cat examined by a vet to be sure she's ok. you can also sprinkle a little bit of her used litter around the perimeter of the house outside to mark her territory with the other cats. this might put them off coming in to investigate.

Hi, sorryto hear about the problems with Maggie. Cats don't bleed when they're in heat so I'd suepct the blood is due to cystitis especially as you say she's been weeing small amounts around the house - this is a classic symptom. Cystitis can certainly be caused by stress and these cats outside are obviously behind it
You need to do something to deter them, and certainly need to stop them getting into the house. You can get lockable cat flaps, or ones controlled by a magnet on your cat's collar. That might be worth looking into. Maggie should see the vet about her cystitis, she will probably need to be fed a diet of wet food only as dry food can make things worse.good luck and I hope things will improve soon!

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I can only suggest Beechwood Veterniary Group in Leeds they have surgeries in Leeds 15 Crossgates (ours ) Chapel Allerton Leeds 7, Garforth Leeds 25.

Another good one is Abbey House Morley Leeds 27. I'm sure they too have a few surgeries but it was back in the 70s I last used their services.

Sue

You can also get microchip catflaps that work by scanning your cat's microchip - obviously you have to have the cat chipped. The advantage is no collar.

yeah saw those!! i want. i'm waiting a year though as i'm sure they will be updated some how in the next year.

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your great advice. Maggie went to the vets on Monday, she was a bit perkier after a good nights sleep. The vet said she did have cystitis but because she seemed to have calmed down he didnt prescribe her anything. We've just got to keep a close eye on her and make sure it doesnt flare up again.

Thanks also for the tips on vets in Leeds. I'm just not happy with the vets we're at and think I might take up the advice on the others in Leeds.

Maggie is feeling much better and hopefully will be back to 100% in the next few days.

As for cat flaps we have a 4-way one, its currently locked and we're just letting Maggie out when shes supervised. However the bully boy neighbourhood cats are still trying to get into the house and the banging they make on the cat flap is still scaring little Maggie a bit. As a temporary solution I have put screwed up newspaper in front of the cat flap on the outside to muffle noise. If they do try to get in they don't make a noise and don't scare Maggie. We've also put cat repellent out in the garden. Obviously the newspaper is only a temporary option and we dont really have the finances at present to upgrade the cat flap. Any other ideas to deter the cats from trying to get in?

Thanks,

Jen

Have a look at this page which will give you advice on having your cat neutered. It might help you!