3 vet visits, no answers, cat does not look good?
I don’t know what to do. Let me start from the beginning.
almost 2 weeks ago my 6 year old indoor cat began losing his appetite and acting a bit lethargic. I took him to the vet, and they couldn’t find anything wrong. They sent him home with some antibiotics, an appetite stimulant, and a dewormer just to cover the bases.
The first day home he seemed OK, and the second day he ate a meal and seemed to have a little energy. But that night, he began acting like he was in pain. he had not had a BM in a few days, so I thought that was why. The next morning I took him to an emergency vet because mine was not open that day. He did have a large BM on the way there, and again, the vet found nothing wrong. At home again, he seemed better, and the following day he seemed great, but the day after that, he totally fell off the wagon again. This time he seemed as if he wasn’t able to swallow.
The original vet again could find no problems after 2 blood tests, a urinalysis, stool sample, palpitation, etc. He acted totally fine at the vet, and I think they thought we were being overly dramatic. Home again tonight, and he’s very weak; I think he might even be dying. There are no vets that I know of that are open at this hour, I wouldn’t even know where to call. He hasn’t eaten or drank today, is dehydrated, and won’t swallow water from an eye dropper. I still think he is in pain, he has bouts of random growling. He feels cool to the touch and is mostly unresponsive.
I like to think I have a good grip on what a healthy cat or a sick cat is. I grew up on a farm and worked in an animal lab. But I have no idea what to do right now, and I don’t know who to call, or if I’m missing something or overreacting. I’m a wreck. Up until two weeks ago he’s been completely healthy. Has anyone ever had something like this happen or know what might be going on??
Negative Parvo, negative FIV, normal RBC count, normal white count
Hannah
8 Responses to “3 vet visits, no answers, cat does not look good?”
Carter
What were the blood tests for?
Update: Get a heartworm test done. They have discovered a small number of cats are beginning to be found infected with heartworms. It’s rare, but it happens. Sypmtoms of heartworm include coughing, vomiting, and weight loss.
Other diseases that fit your description:
-Fatty Liver Disease
-Diabetes
-FIP
-Leukemia
-FIV
-Kidney disease/failure
-Cancer
I would see another vet, bring copies of the test results from the first vet, and ask them to fill in the the missing tests to check for the other possible problems.
Layla
That’s horrible! Vets are so stupid. I know how you feel, I held my chinchilla all night as she died while my husband called 20 vets looking for one that was open and took chinchillas. I hate to be so negative but this might be the end. Just try to make him comfortable. Keep him quiet and calm. Don’t let him pick up on your sadness and stress or he’ll get stressed, too. I suggest taking him in straight in the morning and demanding they do something. You know your cat! They are such idiots. =( I’m really sorry I don’t have any good advice. Good luck!! 3
Madeline
Sorry to hear about your kitty being sick, The first thing to do is apply some corn syrup on the gums to Raise his blood sugar due to possible hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that will give him enough strength to take some water but when giving him water be sure to support him under his arms and allow his head to hang down slightly so that you dont drown him, then get some warm towels or even fill water bottles up with warm water then cover the bottle with a sock and let him lay on them to keep his body warm, Then if improvement is seen then you could possibly try some Soft cat food or dry cat food soaked in warm chicken broth to get him nutrition till he can see a veterinarian, But keep in mind the sooner he sees a vet the quicker he should improve, Hope This Advice Helps -Cody D.V.M.
Allison
there does sound like there is something serious wrong with your baby………i would take him to a different vet today as he could be dying………..i would force feed him water anyway
Even if he resists it……….hold him and eye dropper water…….you can also try giving him baby,s food such as GERBER,S INFANT CHICKEN AND GRAVY IN JARS………ONLY THAT FOOD MEAT..YOU CAN ALSO ADD A LITTLE WATER IN IT SO IT CAN ALSO GO INTO A EYEDROPPER AND FORCE FEED HIM……………YOU MUST GET WATER IN HIM…..WHEN CATS ARE SICK THE ONE THING IS THAT THEY WILL EAT THE BABY FOOD
CHICKEN AND GRAVY…………..MOST LOVE IT…………TRY IT AND ALSO TRY TO TAKE HIM TO ANOTHER VET TODAY AS TOMORROW AS THURSDAY IT IS THANKSGIVING AND ALL WILL BE CLOSED………….AND THAT IS TO LONG TO WAIT FOR……. SO CALL ANOTHER ONE OR TAKE HIM TO THE EMERGENCY CLINIC . RIGHT AWAY……….I SEND TO YOU FOR HIM POSITIVE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS YOUR WAY HOPING THE CAN FIND THE PROBLEM AND GET HIM HEALED ONCE AGAIN…..LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENS
WITH HIM…………………GOOD LUCK……….AND GOD BLESS.
Mary
(((( OMG, HUGS )))) You poor thing!
Try giving the cat a few grains of salt… it will make him thirsty, or at the very least, will help him to retain water (I am not a vet, but was told by a vet to encourage the cat to drink water by this method, after my cat had had a bladder operation to remove a blockage).
Maybe try calling the shelter? Maybe they have a vet there you could speak with? You really need to find another vet… this one is doing everything, but is missing something. Change vets. Not because this one is bad, but because another might be better… another vet might find the problem. This needs to be looked at from fresh eyes (but bring your old files to new vet, or have them faxed, so tests don’t have to be repeated).
It sounds like it could be something internal, as the cat is far TOO young for it to be a falling-apart-from-old-age thing. Maybe something inside is torn? Bloated belly = internal bleeding? You were maybe given the wrong antibiotic for this type of infection and maybe kitty needs a different, stronger antibiotic??? Cancer???
Speaking of cancer, is this vet an oncologist? If not, see if you can find one of those. They’re usually schooled to death.
Love the kitty up, and just incase (sorry) take lots of pictures.
And if you have to put it down (sorry again), then do that at the humane society / animal shelter (they will charge considerably less than a vet will to do the same thing).
Hope kitty is fine. I hope it’s something minor.
BTW (by the way): Do *NOT* give the cat Acetaminophen (= Tylenol), and do *NOT* give the cat Acetylsalicylic acid (= Asa / Aspirin / Ibuprofen, etc.)… BOTH are very, very POISONOUS to cats!
EDIT / ADD:
I WAS JUST READING OTHER ANSWERS ABOUT GIVING BABY FOOD. ONE VET SUGGESTED I GIVE A CAT SOME BABY FORMULA = CONTAINS MANY, MANY VITAMINS MINERALS. MAYBE MIX A JAR OF MEAT BABY FOOD INTO IT ((( HUGS ))).
EDIT / ADD *MORE*:
I HEARD SOMETHING THE OTHER DAY ABOUT CONSTIPATION IN HUMANS (OPRAH’S DR. OZ ON TV)… SAID IT CAN BE A SYMPTOM OF HYPOTHYROIDISM (LOW / SLOW THYROID). MAYBE CHECK KITTY’S THYROID???????? Sorry, grasping at straws for you.
Sophie
mi cat was acting very similar and the problem that they found was that there was some type of thread or string caught in his intestines and thats what caused all of that pain so maybe you should check with another vet regarding the same problem my cat had
Mason
Oh, no I’m sorry. When was the last time your cat received a FIV test? Or vaccination? They can get vaccinated but they are still not 100 percent protected against it and similar fatal diseases
Sorry, I had a cat die of Feline Leukemia once–but let’s not give up hope when we are not certain with your cat. How about some Indeferin to boost its immune system?
Also, please don’t give it human meds without vet approval. Also you can give it some pedialyte (clear kind) to compensate for the nutrients and fluids it must be losing. You can force feed it with a dropper.
Perhap you can try to force feed it more aggressively. like force the dropper between its clenched teeth or drip water in from the corner of teh mouth–it will be forced to swallow.
Also I agree with the baby food–but please make sure the ingredients do not contain onion or garlic as it is toxic to cats.
Also I double that suggestion of checking out if your cat swallowed something with possible thread in intestines–but do it soon because if its true, the thread slowly tears up the intestines, and the cat perishes.
Timothy
For a start, wet the cat and ruff up it’s hair – this forces the cat to ingest the water in it’s coat. Then skip the dry food and get some good quality tinned foods, and add water into that. I think the cat needs a second opinion at a different vet – I think the cause would be something not in such depth – hat has been done to see if there is a problem in the throat area? DIscuss this all in deth with the vet – what they think, why, how they would like to treat it, what they will do after that, etc.