9 month of feral kitten (heavy breathing?) Help please..

[SammyCat]

I've posted on here a few times concerning my 9month old feral female kitten (Sammy)..

When I give her a bath her breathing becomes shortened, and she breaths very fast (out of breath) sometimes you can hear little whimpers.

Also, sometimes when I'm watching tv, I'll go get her so I can hold her. She always seems frightened regradless.. then sometimes, only sometimes she starts breathing very quickly and it's like she has no breath left in her..

Does anyone know whats wrong with her? She seems pretty healthy when she plays with my 4 yr old male cat.

Please help!

Also, how often should you bath a cat?

[kimlovescats]

If she is feral, and only seems short of breath during a bath or your holding her, it's possible she is just really scared. However, labored breathing could be a serious illness, such as FIP .... I think a vet check would be the best thing for her! Good luck!

[Dog1,Cats2]

Bless your heart for taking in a feral kitty. Sometimes they never really get over their wild beginnings.

I've got a big black formerly feral kitty, started gentling him when he was about 4 or 5 months old. He's a little over a year now, and most of the time he's quite comfortable in our household - but he spends more time hiding in safe places than any of the other cats. And he runs away frequently rather than letting us pick him up - but then he comes around later wanting to be cuddled - go figure! Best way to get him comfortable and liking me was to give him lots of treats (chicken always worked!) whenever he'd come close or while I was holding him.

(Cats only need a bath if they get too dirty to bathe themselves! I've never bathed my kitties!! If it stresses Sammy out that much - quit bathing her!!)

[catmandu]

I HAVE TO AGREE,WITH THE OTHER THREADS,AND THERE REALLY,IS NOT A REASDON,TO BATHE YOUR CAT,AND THAT MIGHT,BE A SOURCE,OS STRESS FOR SAMMY.AND LET HER,COME,TO YOU,PLEASE DONT TRY,TO HOLD HER.THERE ARE A LOT,OF THE FOUND CATS,ATHT EVEN,AFTRE YEARS,I CANNOT HOLD,AND WE LIKE,IT LIKE THAT!

[dragonchilde]

Originally posted by SammyCat
I've posted on here a few times concerning my 9month old feral female kitten (Sammy)..

When I give her a bath her breathing becomes shortened, and she breaths very fast (out of breath) sometimes you can hear little whimpers.

Also, sometimes when I'm watching tv, I'll go get her so I can hold her. She always seems frightened regradless.. then sometimes, only sometimes she starts breathing very quickly and it's like she has no breath left in her..

Does anyone know whats wrong with her? She seems pretty healthy when she plays with my 4 yr old male cat.

Please help!

Also, how often should you bath a cat?

In honestly sounds like plain old stress. If I were you, unless she absolutely HAS to have it, I'd stop bathing her. Cats are pretty darned good at keeping themselves clean, and generally don't need extra help.

[momcat]

Hi! Sounds like poor kitty is scared but a vet check would be a good idea to rule out any kind of health issue. I've been told that cats generally don't need to have baths and from what you said, kitty really doesn't like them and baths stress her out. A good brushing helps but cats tend to prefer to clean themselves. Please let us know how things work out?

[furrykidsmother]

It probably wouldn't hurt to have her checked out by a vet. It might put your mind at ease. I agree, unless kitty has gotten into something messy that requires bathing, they usually do a pretty good job on their own.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Have you not consulted your vet about this problem? I would do that asap!
I also agree that he might be scared. I NEVER give my cats a bath. They are completely able to take care of the grooming by their own . I only washed Inka's bump a few times when she was small: it got all messy because her long hair isn't really great in combination with "diarhea"