Elderly cat breathing difficulties when purring

[3chicks]

Good Evening

 

One of my girls has had a 'limp' for the last week and a half from trying to jump a wall - but failing!

 

She seemed to be getting better but for the last two days has looked pale, her comb has been slightly pale but her face has been really washed out.

 

This afternoon the girls were put in the eglu run and she went even more pale and sat down and shut her eyes - this is so worrying as she is normally such a cheeky character and is into everything.

 

Has anyone else seen this? Do you think she may be deficient of vitamins? I am really stuck as the two other girls I have are really (touch wood!) healthy and happy.

 

Any info greatly appreciated.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum, 3chicks. Sorry your first post is a problem . Are your girls laying? It sounds like behaviour you might see if a softie was on the way ?

[3chicks]

Thanks for the reply, I didn't think anyone else was awake!!

 

I have had a few problems with her laying softies but she has been laying an egg a day for the last month and laid an egg this morning.

 

Do you think it could be worms or red mite - saying that I got the girls about six months ago and they were all 'wormed' according to the breeder. I keep the eglu really clean so I would be amazed if it was red mite, I do use the red mite powder as well.

 

I have a bad feeling that she may not make it through the night When I went to shut their door I had a quick peek at her through the egg port and she was very subdued, the others had a good look!!

 

I just seems so strange that her face should be pale, it was amazing to see the difference this afternoon when they went back into their run.

 

Fingers crossed for the night, any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Egluntyne]

If she has been laying softies and is limping maybe she needs some extra calcium.

 

Why not give her some limestone flour, available from ebay (sold as for reptiles) or from equestrian supplirers.

[Olly]

Sorry, no real ideas but I sympathise - having just spent two days with one of mine thinking 'will she make it through the night' - it's horrible.

 

Are you sure the limp was caused by her falling? I just ask because I know someone on here has posted about their chicken limping due to a calcium deficiency - they fed it limestone flour and it recovered. In fact, there's a sticky about it on this forum here.

 

I'm not sure that would account for the paleness though. Have you got anything like Avipro that might give her a boost? Hope she picks up.

[3chicks]

Thanks for all the replies. After an awful night not really sleeping for worry, I have let them all out in their run and she seems a bit brighter (but not literally - still a bit pale in the face).

 

I do give them the tonic sold at the Omlet shop but not all the time just if I think they need a bit of a boost - I will definately be putting this in their Water at the moment!!

 

Thanks for the advice about limestone flour - I will pick some up today, I take it you just mix some with their layers pellets? I do put poultry grit in their layers pellets and have just started using crushed oyster shell which seems higher in calcium but I think I will give the limestone flour a go - hey, I'm willling to try anything to have a happy chicken again

 

Thanks for the sympathies Olly, I hope your chicken recovers, it is quite horrible thinking 'will she make it'. I feel so helpless and responsible for them - Oh the joys of keeping chickens!!

 

I am just wondering if the paleness could be red mite, I have read in the chicken health section that because the horrible things suck their blood, this can leave them pale - the thought of her having this appals me, I keep their eglu spotlessly clean

 

The ony thing the chicken health section tells you about red mite is that you can spray the house which will last for a period of time (shall pick some up today!) but would they actually be living on the chicken and if so how the heck do I get rid of them - spray her! (God she will love me for that!!!!)

 

Well I will continue to do all I can, thanks for all the help and advice it really is appreciated.

 

[Olly]

Glad she's perked up a bit. There's a sticky on lice and mites, too!

 

They don't live on the chicken, but in the house (mites, that is, not lice) - if you look at the thread it will tell you what to look for. I'd have thought all your chickens would be affected though, if that were the case, not just one.

[SueChick]

Hi, I am the lady who posted the sticky regarding our solution to our lame chicken. Sorry to hear about all of your troubles but I really feel that you should be okay now that you have got your limestone flour (it is amazing stuff).

 

My chicken nearly died 3 times due to just calcium defiency before I finally found out what was wrong with her. The last time she went lame and couldn't stand her comb looked pale as well. I don't know the exact reason but if chicks are the same as humans, a defiency in calcium can affect everywhere in the body, including blood levels, I think.

 

I don't add the flour to the pellets because they wouldn't eat their pellets with it on - fussy ladies! I add one teaspoon per 2 chicks to their afternoon mash of left over veg along with poultry spice, oyster shell or their own shells baked and crushed.

 

I couldn't believe that just calcium would have such an amazing affect on her but it has. By the way, before she went lame she hadn't laid one softie in her life and so I didn't expect the calcium thing at all. The vet said that they use their own body's supply of it to the point of illness. Silly things, you would think that they would stop the laying for a bit to build up their supplies wouldn't you?

 

Eventually on the last bout of lameness she laid 3 softes in the row but before that her eggs had been fine - even when she was so ill she couldn't even stand up to eat. I know the limestone is working because if I even miss a day or two her eggs start to go pale and thin now.

 

My other lady doesn't seem to be so sensitive to the drop in calcium but she is not such a large chicken so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

I hope you have no further problems now and am confident your little lady will perk up.

[3chicks]

Thanks so much for the reply suechick, she has really perked up since I have taken delivery of the limestone flour. She is still limping slightly but that tends to be later on in the day (perhaps when she has been on it all day!).

 

I have been putting the limestone flour in with their pellets and her comb looks a better colour and she is a better colour facially - everyone thinks I am mad because she is actually white, so when I'm going on about her looking a bit 'pale', my family think I've finally gone nuts!!!

 

I totally agree with you about the calcium deficiency, It is something people perhaps don't think of as you are giving them grit/oyster shell and they are picking things up from the garden but they obviously need a helping hand with calcium as it takes so much out of them forming a hard shelled egg and then laying it.

 

Thanks so much for your post, it makes me feel not so mad!!

 

3 chicks

[SueChick]

I am so glad she is getting better and that the limestone has worked. As you can probably see on here, I am always telling people to use it (maybe I should get shares in the stuff!).

 

I just don't want anyone else to suffer the way we did - we felt so useless and then along came a great vet with some great advice and our troubles were all over!

 

Hope yours will be all over too from now on.

[Egluntyne]

Good to hear that she is improving.

[BarbaraJ]

Glad she seems to be sorted now. I bought limestone flour, wasn't cheap though so am a bit loathe to just put it in their feed as Ebonys eggs shells were fine. Should i just keep it incase of a soft egg?