Help! My cat is sick. I'm worried

0 Kudo

Author	Comment
country4ever	Help! My cat is sick. I'm worried		Lead	[-]
Posts: 3826 06/11/08 01:16 PM	Hi all, My 12 year old cat (indoor, neutered), has had intermittent problems with furballs. The Laxatone didn't seem to work and now the Science Diet Hairball formula doesn't seem to be working either. Yesterday, several times he vomited large quantities of foul-smelling bile, and became lethargic. I just felt like he was VERY sick. I got him into the vets this morning, and the vet said his temp was 102.2.......just .2 above upper end of normal. He said the cat's abdomen wasn't tender or bloated, and he felt that it was still a hairball. He gave him 3cc of mineral oil and told me to do this for several days, but that he should be feeling better within a couple days. I brought kitty home this morning, and all he does is lay around. He's definitely not himself. He won't eat or drink. I'm very worried about him. Can a hairball cause all this??? I usually have alot of confidence in the vet, but I'm afraid he's treating this too lightly. Kitty seems so sick to me. Is there some recipe for electrolyte solution I might give him?? Am I too concerned? He's peed once today, but no results from the oil yet. Any suggestions? I love this little fella and I'm so worried.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
Hoosierchick		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1076 06/11/08 01:46 PM Crown Princess of Smileys!	If you dont trust the results or actions of the 1st vet get a 2nd opinion ..fast. Was any bloodwork done to test his functions? At his age I would be concerned about kidney function and other old age kitty problems. Believe me, I know how you feel, I just lost a 17 yr old last night and i have a 14yr old on the brink of crossing the bridge, bes to you and kitty.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
robin416		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3394 06/11/08 03:12 PM	I was thinking the same thing about blood work. I suggest you also have them test the thyroid function, costly but it saved my 14 year old's life. Robin Summertown, TN www.silkiesofsummertown.com
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
country4ever		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3828 06/11/08 03:17 PM	Thanks Hoosierchick and robin, I'll take him back to the vets tomorrow if I see no improvement, and ask for more testing. Hoosierchick..........my sympathies on your loss. It can be so hard, when we've lived with and love these little sweeties for so long.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
Spotted Crow		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10338 06/11/08 05:48 PM Hens do TOO crow!	Good luck with Kitty, C4. Come see my DreamWebs and shirts at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5406335
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
bluroze		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 579 06/11/08 06:41 PM Chickens...Nature's Antidepressant!	Yes, Yes, by all means seek a second opinion fast and good luck. I've taken the mounds of manure heaped on me throughout my life and with it created beautiful, sweet-smelling blooms and, of course, a few wickedly dangerous thorns.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
country4ever		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3829 06/11/08 07:37 PM	I just spoke with another woman on a different forum, and the exact same thing happened to her cat today! She took it to an emergency vet clinic, since her vet is out today, and they did labs and couldn't find anything wrong. She brought up the issue of contaminated pet food. Gosh, I sure hope not! My SIL suggested opening a can of tuna in water and giving my cat the water....and he loved it!!! So I'm seeing a little tiny light in the tunnel. I think I'll use a different cat food, until I'm sure there isn't a bad batch of it going around. I just opened a new bag of Science Diet Hairball Formula the other day. I sure hope its not a poisoning issue!
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
jjthink		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 9 06/12/08 11:37 AM	Concur with the idea of another opinion quickly - sounds like more than hair balls to me - they usually do not make a cat sick like this. Also concur with switching off of Science Diet. Try brands like Wellness or Wysong or others of similar caliber tho transition slowly (mix a little more in each day till tranition is complete) so as to avoid digestive upset. You also might try a very bland diet for kitty for a couple of days. Dare I say it - pure clean baked chicken (no skin) - with brown rice and little bits of garlic clove cooked in with the rice. Hope your furry kid will feel well again soon. JJ Edited to add: When is the last time kitty pooped? If they get impacted they vomit. Or if they swallow something like string or thread and it constricts intestines (very much the emergency). I don't want to alarm you - hopefully it is just something very simple - but having antenna up as you do is good..... Last Edited By: jjthink 06/12/08 11:40 AM. Edited 1 time.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
country4ever		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3830 06/12/08 01:08 PM	Thanks jjthink, He's been taking some water from canned tuna. No poop yet. No vomiting. I was suspecting obstruction too, but the vet said he felt soft. I just called the vet again and asked if I could give an extra dose of oil and he said no........but to bring him in tomorrow, if he doesn't poop after tomorrow's dose of oil, and start looking better. So.........that's where we're at. I can't remember when he pooped last, since I cleaned out the litter box on Monday, and wasn't paying attention, since its the clumping stuff. But he hasn't pooped since Monday. I need to do a search on ways to keep furballs from happening. There must be something he isn't getting in his diet.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
robin416		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3403 06/12/08 02:50 PM	One suggestion is to add fiber to his diet. I just used the fiber caplets for humans, I'd grind them up and mix a little in the food at each feeding. That helped with the dry feces. Will he eat the tuna at all? If he's not eating then he's not taking in any thing to need to expel. I need to add the reason he does not want you to use more oil than recommended is that the oil coats the GI tract and prevents the absorption of nutrition. That would just cause a whole different set of problems. It really is time to take him back in. Robin Summertown, TN www.silkiesofsummertown.com
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
country4ever		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3831 06/12/08 07:56 PM	Thanks Robin, He really isn't eating.....just the water from the canned tuna. I suppose there were some calories from the canola oil this morning. The vet's office said that if an xray shows an obstruction, they'll do an enema. I suppose they sedate them alot for that? My cat is a finicky eater, and refuses to eat the gooey canned stuff that would probably be easier to slip extra stuff into (like the fiber). If I try to sneak in anything in with the dry stuff, he just won't eat it. I'll keep you posted about Friday. I'm not going to hesitate to take him in though. Hopefully he's just impacted, and its nothing more serious.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
robin416		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3408 06/12/08 08:20 PM	Trust me I know what it is to have a finiky eater. I've opened and wasted more food because of the skinny girl it makes me sick. She never noticed the fiber as long as I didn't get carried away with it. The grilled fancy feast even worked well because of the gravy in it. Robin Summertown, TN www.silkiesofsummertown.com
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
jjthink		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 12 06/13/08 03:29 PM	How's your buddy doing? JJ
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
country4ever		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3832 06/13/08 03:59 PM	Thanks for asking jj! I took him to the vet's this morning and they did blood work and an xray. The bloodwork was normal, except his blood sugar was elevated. I guess normal is 70-150 and his was 186. Also his xray looked like he had alot of stool in his lower bowel. They said they wondered about "megacolon". I guess your blood sugar can be elevated with that too. They gave him an enema, and wanted me to have him start to eat Science Diet Diabetes Formula. But considering how stressed my cat has been, I asked if I could wait awhile, and recheck the sugar, and maybe it would be normal......and we wouldn't have to buy that expensive food forever. They said that was fine. Kitty is really worn out. Plus, we tried to give him a quick bath when he got home, and it just about killed him. He got sooooo out of breath. I was so afraid we'd done something terrible! Anyhow, he finally calmed down and is resting. The vet tech couldn't tell me what caused this.........maybe not enough exercise, or too much food and not enough water.......... I sure wish I knew though, so it doesn't happen again. We need to get kitty to exercise more......but how do you do that with an indoor cat? Treadmill?? The tech also showed me 2 little white spots in his stomach or upper GI track on the xray that were a bit disconcerting. He said he might have eaten something that's stuck in there. So I guess I'll really need to keep my eye on him, and make sure he doesn't start acting sick again. I was relieved that his other labs were normal. This has sure made me realize how much we love him, and want to keep him healthy! Thanks again for asking.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
robin416		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3412 06/13/08 04:54 PM	A quick bit of info, the stress of whatever is ailing him and the trip to the vet will cause an elevated sugar. When Red Kitty was so sick I ran her to an emergency vet, they said diabetes and wanted to do this and that. I looked at her lab results and thought for a few minutes then told them no. On Monday I was in my vet's office conferring with my vet, told her why I didn't think it was diabetes. She also agreed that the elevated blood sugar was probably not her problem. We experimented, I gave her some Ace before a visit. Red's blood sugar was well within normal range. The stress had caused it to zoom. If they want you to bring him in again ask for a dose of Ace and then check his sugar. Robin Summertown, TN www.silkiesofsummertown.com
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
Spotted Crow		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10353 06/13/08 05:05 PM Hens do TOO crow!	That's good news about Kitty. Come see my DreamWebs and shirts at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5406335
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
country4ever		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3833 06/13/08 05:16 PM	Thanks Robin and Spotted Crow. What's Ace?
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
mailmam71		#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 518 06/13/08 05:42 PM	It's probably acepromozine, a tranquilizer that we give our male cats before Hubby castrates them. You asked about exercise, is your kitty at all playful when he is well? Our cats love the 'flying bird' toy and also a lazer dot, anything to get them moving. Our upstairs cat, Ghost, because she is never seen and is quite elusive, has a scratching pad that she works over daily and then I hear her tearing around. She wouldn't be bothered with a toy but she creates her own exercise. Good luck with your kitty. Julie
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
country4ever		#18	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3834 06/13/08 06:29 PM	Hi Julie, Oh, now I get it.........just going to the vet's might cause their blood sugar to go up, so the med calms them down. No, our cat rarely does much of anything! The most exercise he gets is when she tries to escape from our overly-energetic dog Suzi! I'll buy or make one of those flying bird toys. Surely that will get him going just a little! I bought one of those cardboard scratching pads. My SIL said her cats love that thing. Well my cat just lays on it! hahaha Thanks for the info, and the good suggestions!
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
robin416		#19	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3413 06/14/08 06:11 AM	My two are like mutt and jeff, Red is sleek and active. Still plays with stuff around here. Her wacko daughter is a slob, the only thing she will exert energy over is a live mouse. This whole Ace thing was simply because Red fought me so hard about going in the carrier I had to calm her down. When her last blood draw was done my vet didn't even catch the glucose level, I did. Her focus was on Red's thyroid levels. Please remember you are obligated to keep us updated. With all these folks pulling for him he's got to start feeling better. Robin Summertown, TN www.silkiesofsummertown.com
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote
smoky73		#20	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2411 06/14/08 08:15 AM	I thought my 13 year old cat was lierally going to die last November, he looked so bad. Matted fur, dandruff, dehydrated, peeing all over, diahrrea, intestinal pain (cries out then runs to poop) vomitting, and he also suffers from excessive acidic urine the vet wanted me to give him pills for daily. I switched food to a more expensive brand and have seen miraculous results. He is still going, and his coat and his bathroom problems have greatly improved, he is no longer matted, but he still has loose stools. No more vomitting and the food is designed for acidic urine in cats. The brand is Flint River (www.flintriver.com) and is made with human grade food. A 9lb bag lasts me a little over a month with 3 cats. ~ Cara ~ http://www.silverpulletpoultry.net
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking	Reply Quote

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Yuku free message boards

Help! My cat is sick. I'm worried

Help! My cat is sick. I'm worried

Quick Reply