Ask US Anything: Intercontinental Airline Travel with a Ragdoll Cat, LR III and Ragdoll Cat with Constant Diarrhea

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Our “Ask US Anything” is a series of posts on the site where I share the questions/concerns/ideas that readers have sent in and then the responses from our readers about those questions/concerns/ideas.

Intercontinental Airline Travel with a Ragdoll Cat

Jill wrote in saying, “Hi, I’m moving to the states from the UK and despite my research having been in favor or in cabin travel, coming to book tickets is actually proving this is likely not the case. I’ve been in touch with airlines whose websites state it’s possible yet on the phone it’s not possible, government agencies in the us (for my specific state) and uk who says it’s fine, and an animal coordinator at the airport I am going from actually said it’s not possible. I’m at a bit of a loss and am regrettably having to consider in cargo transport. It is approximately a 10 hour trip. I’ve searched floopycats.com for air travel info but not found what I was looking for exactly. Do you (or any readers) have anecdotes (positive and negative) on cargo travel for rag dolls? Mine are 1 and 2, the 2 year old is extremely sociable but also neurotic and hates traveling. The 1 year old is very placid and I feel she would better.”

I replied:

Hi Jill,

A pet transport company is who you want to deal with.

I think I have covered some of those on the site, but not recently, so I don’t know how good they still are.

Maybe Google “Pet transport companies” and see what you find?

More Like This

I can also ask on our Facebook page, if you’d like?

I know it’s scary and it sucks – I hope it all goes better than expected. My friend moved her Ragdoll from South Africa to Sydney, Australia and he had to be quarantined for 6 weeks or something. That is pretty awful =)….but all went well.

Thanks,
Jenny

And then Jill wrote back:

Yeah hearing other cat owners experiences would be helpful. We are so anxious about it!

Luckily we won’t have to quarantine, just an unpleasant 10 hours or so for them – it could be more serious so it’s good to hear your friend and her baby got through it all ok!

So I posted on Facebook for Jill:

Litter-Robot 3 with Connect – Is it worth it?

Alecia wrote in saying, “I’m thinking about buying a new LR III. It’s a bit of a stretch budgetwise. I’m curious if you think the wifi capability of the Open Air is worth the extra $50 in a young (less than 2 years old), two-cat household? Unless there is a camera on the LR, how does one know which cat is using it. “

I replied:

“Hi Alecia, I forwarded your email onto Litter-Robot – I had started to respond and was going to say that it’s entirely subjective, and they seemed to say the same thing:

‘It depends on their needs. The Connect app will allow them to check the waste drawer level from anywhere, as well as receive notifications if the Litter-Robot needs attention. That’s especially helpful if it’s in the basement or a less-frequented area. The Connect app will not be able to determine which cat is which but if you see a drastic increase or decrease in use, you know you should check on the kitties.

If they’re interested in grey, they’d need to go with the Litter-Robot 3 Connect. Grey is not available without Connect’

Have you seen our blog post on the Litter-Robot Connect?

Does that help? What else can I answer for you?”

Are you interested in a Litter-Robot 3 with or without Connect? Use our affiliate link to save $25 off your purchase of one.

Ragdoll Cat with Constant Diarrhea

**this is actually from 2016, but came up the other day, so I decided to share it**

Kelin wrote in, “I have a 4 year old female ragdoll that I got when she was a baby and we were living in Scotland. We have since had 2 babies and moved her with us to Houston. Once we moved into our new home she started getting horrible diarrhea all the time, all over the house. We have taken her to the vet several times and after various tests and x-rays all he could conclude was that she is eating something in the house that is making her sick. We haven’t seen her eating anything abnormal and have cleaned the house top to bottom and even hired professional cleaners. My husband is very often away and I am alone here with 2 little ones and honestly I am at my wit’s end with having to bathe her and clean up her mess all over the house every week. I don’t know what she is allergic to in the house but the only solution I can come up with is to rehome her. She is a good cat but right now she just feels like a burden to me and I would love to see her bring joy to someone in a different home where she would be healthy again. Is there any chance you could help me find someone? “

I wrote back:

“I am sorry to hear about the constant diaherrea. That really sucks for her and for you.

Did you change her food?

Did she go on antibiotics before you moved?

It could be chemicals from cleaners that you use that cause it too.

Have you tried probiotics? Pumpkin?

…and yes, if you truly want to rehome her, we can find someone pretty easily by posting her.”

Kelin replied: “Thank you so much for your thoughtful and quick response. You know, I didn’t think about the food, I did change it but figured since it was an upgrade in quality (to Orijen) and it was many months afterward she started getting sick that it was probably not the food. However, I am going to try changing her food and I had never heard about pumpkin but just looked it up and that sounds promising as well. I will get back to you after I try some more changes if she is still getting sick like this.”

I replied:

“You are welcome – I had to rehome my brother’s dog one time. It was so horrible to walk away from him – he found a good home, but it was awful. So I try to help find solutions for people so they don’t have to deal with that pain.

Probiotics might help her too.

Mine won’t eat pumpkin by themselves – I usually have to force it down them when they have diarrhea. I put pumpkin in wet food, mix it together, then syringe it up and squirt it slowly into their mouth. They aren’t fans, but I don’t like diarrhea. I usually turn to pumpkin if probiotics aren’t doing the trick. Given your kitty’s duration of diarrhea, I am not sure where to start.

I posted your orignal email (without rehoming stuff) on our Facebook page – this link will always work, so be sure to check it again in 24 hours.

OH! Did her litter change from Scotland to the USA? Could she be allergic to her litter? (they lick litter residue off of their fur too) – you have to think of EVERYTHING she is exposed to.

Whenever you change foods with a cat, it has to be very slow to allow their intestinal flora to get used to the new food. For this reason, mine are on many different flavors and brands.

I know you are very busy, but if you have time, try and listen to the video on this page – https://www.floppycats.com/best-canned-cat-food.html – it will help you understand cat nutrition more. Dry food is really bad for kitties in general and maybe that’s what is causing her situation.”

Kelin replied, “Thank you so much again for all this info! I had no idea dry food was bad- in fact she was eating wet food until we moved here but I mistakenly thought dry was better! I especially liked all the info on brands and how to get it at a better price. And it was so kind of you to put my question on Facebook and actually I kind of had an “aha” moment when someone mentioned air fresheners…we noticed that Marshmallow is at her worst when my mom comes to stay and now that I think of it, she is always plugging in air fresheners that we unplug sometime after she leaves. Hopefully if we try the food change, probiotics, throw away any air fresheners and pumpkin then we will be onto something!”

I replied, “AHHHH! Yes! Air fresheners are deadly – read this post: https://www.floppycats.com/ragdoll-cat-poisoning-from-bath-and-body-works-plug-in-air-freshener.html

And she, hopefully, will be better off on wet food – dry food + diarrhea is a recipe for dehydration.

I hope all of this info helps you both out and you can live more in harmony.

Please do keep in touch and let me know what works – as it will help the next person with this problem =)”

Enjoy reading common reader inquiries? Check out more of our Ask US Anything here: Ask US Anything

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Patti Johnson says:

November 21, 2018 at 12:03 pm

WOW! Such interesting questions/situations this week! Brilliant guidance and info suggested to Jill for her upcoming move from the UK with her babies! Wishing them the best of luck in find the purrfect pet transport company to get the move done smoothly for her babies! 🙂 <3

Excellent info regarding the LR purchase questions and functionality of the new Connect feature which can be purchased in the new model. I hope Alecia will be able to make the right decision for her situation with her purchase and that she enjoys the heck out of her new LR!! 🙂 <3

Poor Kelin and her baby! Yikes! Diarrhea! The nemesis of every kitty owner! You certainly gave her tons of great info to research and digest (no pun intended)! Praying hard the great guidance regarding food choices, probiotics/prebiotic blends, litter, environmental changes, etc…will make a huge difference and help her precious baby get back to normal bowel movements! 😉 <3

Big hugs & lots of love!!

Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3

P.S. Once again, I am LEARNING SOOOO VERY MUCH for this awesome weekly series! 🙂 <3

Reply to this comment
1. Jenny says:
  
  November 22, 2018 at 6:01 pm
  
  Glad you enjoy these, Patti!
  
  Reply to this comment