Re: ot: Antonio

[Nina]

Hi Elizabeth, I'm glad to come in late and find Antonio's problem diagnosed and dealt with!  Poor chubby boy.  I just spent 2 days biting my nails and giving my little dog Vladimir pain meds after having to help him with the same problem.  He's feeling much better today.  He has a history of needing his anal glands expressed and he tells me when it needs to be done.  I was a bad Mommy and didn't take care of it in a timely manner.  This was the first time that he had associated pain because of it.  Not a pleasant activity, but you better believe I won't be putting it off next time.  Let us know how the new food works for Antonio.  I have a couple of couch potato boys that should go on a diet too!  You're lucky, (in a way), that Antonio lets you help him stay clean.  My Kimba Cat gets really pissy when I try to help him out with his imperfect hygiene, he can't reach his nether region either. Nina  [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm taking my big boy to the vet this afternoon.  Last night when he got out of the litter box - he flopped on his side and looked up at me and cried.  It really startled me.  I checked him out well and asked him what was wrong.  He would just look at me and make his little high pitched meow.    I think part of the problem is that he is overweight (22lbs but he has maine coon genes, I believe)...and I don't think he can reach himself properly to clean.  I've noticed that a couple of times and used baby wipes for him.  I put him in a nice warm bath with kitty shampoo last night and washed him well.  He seem to appreciate it.  I saw him several times in the 'leg of mutton' stance trying to clean but he just can't reach.   It isn't often that a kitty will make that much effort to tell me something is wrong and so I made an appointment because I want to rule out a UTI, bowel or gland problems.  I just feel like I wouldn't be a good mommy if I didn't have the vet look at him.   Any thoughts on what could be the matter?    How can I help my Antonio loose weight?  He eats the same as the other kitties -- the rest of them weigh between 8-11lbs except for Phelix who weighs 18lbs (but is not fat - big kitty).   Thanks, elizabeth   *Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.* Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.