My Pet World: Quarantine with pets required before transition to assisted-living facility

By Cathy M. Rosenthal, Tribune Content Agency on Jun 3, 2020

Option 2: Find a friend or another family member who can foster the cat for the quarantine period required. You also can try to call the local animal shelter to see if they have a foster family who might be willing to help in this instance.

Option 3: If the cat is up-to-date on his/her vaccinations, find a local kennel where the cat can reside during the quarantine period.

Please know your parents will only be happy with the first option. Placing the cat in foster care or a kennel would be hard on a 19-year-old cat, so look for a way to make the first option work. As long as the cat remains in the room the entire time and the dogs and cat don’t meet, all should be well. Keeping the cat isolated in their guest room also will prevent your wife and kid’s allergies from acting up.

Even under the best of circumstances, there would be some stress in the house as you oversee this transition for your parents. So, expect some stress to occur and remind yourself this is a temporary situation.

Dear Cathy,

My 10-year-old male cat, Morris, recently developed an issue where he will attempt to poop in his litterbox, but nothing comes out. He may do this several times a day. He is peeing fine. The veterinarian did an x-ray of his colon and there are no signs of blockage. The vet also checked for a urinary tract infection, also negative. The vet is stumped. Other than this odd behavior, he seems fine. Any suggestions?

-David, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Dear David,

I am not a veterinarian, but this mystery could be a symptom of several underlying health problems, so please visit your veterinarian again (or another veterinarian) to investigate this further.

In the meantime, dehydration and poor fiber can also cause these symptoms in cats, so my recommendation is to add more water to your cat’s diet by feeding him wet food instead of dry. And, talk to your veterinarian about the best way to add some fiber to his diet, which could involve a dietary change, or a fiber source added to his current diet.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)