The last surviving of my three cats is sick. We lost one last October and one this past June. Now the last one - who just turned 10 - is not eating. I noticed it Friday evening but thought it was due to attitude regarding kittens I just adopted from a local shelter.
Saturday, he was chewing funny, so I thought it was a problem with his teeth. But then he started vomiting - even though he hadn't eaten. Saturday night and yesterday it was more of the same. He's interested in his food - wakes me the same way at the same time every morning, circles my feet as I fill the bowls then runs to his food. Only problem is once he gets there, he simply stares at it for a few seconds then walks away. He won't even eat his treats. He starts to eat them then leaves them on the floor.
I took him to the vet this morning and he's lost 1/2 pound since his annual exam less than a month ago. The blood test results will be in tomorrow, but as of now, the vet said it looks like liver disease.
I can't believe this is happening. All three of my babies so sick so suddenly. I lost two. I can't imagine losing this one also. I just can't.
Thread
Posts in chronological order
my last 3 cats i had all died within 2 weeks of each other,kidney failure,stroke and poisoning by a neighbour,which is why i refuse to get any more.
sorry to hear of your cats illness,i hope it gets better soon.
sorry to hear of your cats illness,i hope it gets better soon.
I am very sorry about this ongoing worry and grief you go through :-( I hope your cat recovers.
Oh no :-( I can't believe this is happening to you again! Sending good positive thoughts to you and your baby...
Oh No!!!
Magical, I'm so sorry to hear about this!!!!
**Hugs** My best thoughts to you and your cat for a speedy and full recovery! Please keep us posted
Magical, I'm so sorry to hear about this!!!!
**Hugs** My best thoughts to you and your cat for a speedy and full recovery! Please keep us posted
Dude man that is awful!!!!! :-(
That is sad, my deepest sympathy mate, what does the vet say?
Positive thoughts for you and the cat. I'm so sorry you're going through this again - and I'll hope for THE BEST!
do you think maybe your kitty has a virus? is it an outdoor one?
i do hope it will be ok!
i do hope it will be ok!
Thank you for all your positive thoughts. It means a lot to both of us.
I just spoke with the vet and it seems Ansel's blood work was all good except that he's dehydrated.
On the surface, that sounds great but the vet cautioned me, saying that all that means is whatever he has - if it isn't behavioral - has not yet entered his blood. He said if he doesn't come around in a day or two, then we'll start with X-rays and go from there. Right now, he's on a new, very wet prescription food that should help with his dehydration IF he eats it. Fingers crossed.
I did find something very interesting online. It's about 'fatty liver disease' in cats. Apparently, when they stop eating for a long time, the body stores fat, like humans. However, a cat's liver can't break down the fat and so it just sits there, slowly stopping the liver from functioning. The site also said, if it's caught early enough, it can be corrected with a change in diet. This is important because after Slinky passed away in June, Ansel barely ate for two weeks. It sounds like a possibility to me. I just found this out now, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to ask my vet more about it.
Thanks again for all your good thoughts. I was a wreck before but I do feel a little more optimistic now. I'll keep you posted.
I just spoke with the vet and it seems Ansel's blood work was all good except that he's dehydrated.
On the surface, that sounds great but the vet cautioned me, saying that all that means is whatever he has - if it isn't behavioral - has not yet entered his blood. He said if he doesn't come around in a day or two, then we'll start with X-rays and go from there. Right now, he's on a new, very wet prescription food that should help with his dehydration IF he eats it. Fingers crossed.
I did find something very interesting online. It's about 'fatty liver disease' in cats. Apparently, when they stop eating for a long time, the body stores fat, like humans. However, a cat's liver can't break down the fat and so it just sits there, slowly stopping the liver from functioning. The site also said, if it's caught early enough, it can be corrected with a change in diet. This is important because after Slinky passed away in June, Ansel barely ate for two weeks. It sounds like a possibility to me. I just found this out now, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to ask my vet more about it.
Thanks again for all your good thoughts. I was a wreck before but I do feel a little more optimistic now. I'll keep you posted.
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Sparrow wrote: [/QUOTENAME]do you think maybe your kitty has a virus? is it an outdoor one?
i do hope it will be ok! [/QUOTE]
Thank you, Sparrow. I hope so, too. He's an indoor cat. Strictly indoor.
I suppose a virus is possible but the vet didn't mention that - or if he did I didn't hear it because the words "liver disease" were echoing in my head.
After losing my other two cats so suddenly, it's hard to think past the panic, you know? For all I know, my cat is simply still depressed and further distressed by having new kittens in the house. I'd hate to think he's that sad, but I'd prefer that over some of the other options.
i do hope it will be ok! [/QUOTE]
Thank you, Sparrow. I hope so, too. He's an indoor cat. Strictly indoor.
I suppose a virus is possible but the vet didn't mention that - or if he did I didn't hear it because the words "liver disease" were echoing in my head.
After losing my other two cats so suddenly, it's hard to think past the panic, you know? For all I know, my cat is simply still depressed and further distressed by having new kittens in the house. I'd hate to think he's that sad, but I'd prefer that over some of the other options.
I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I hope he gets better. ;__;
Hey Magical,
I would only give it one day....trust me on that one. One day is all it takes sometimes, that's what happened with Boots.
If he won't eat the food, another way to get liquids into him is something I tried with Boots when she was sick. Though she ultimately died, the vet sugguested this to help her out and it works. He said that sometimes if they get a little dehydrated they'll stop drinking, but if you can get your cat hydrated just a little they'll start drinking again. All you need is an eye dropper and some Pedialite or Water. Hold the cat in your lap on his back and force the liquids down his throat. That will help with the dehydration.
My continued best wishes and please keep in touch with us!
I would only give it one day....trust me on that one. One day is all it takes sometimes, that's what happened with Boots.
If he won't eat the food, another way to get liquids into him is something I tried with Boots when she was sick. Though she ultimately died, the vet sugguested this to help her out and it works. He said that sometimes if they get a little dehydrated they'll stop drinking, but if you can get your cat hydrated just a little they'll start drinking again. All you need is an eye dropper and some Pedialite or Water. Hold the cat in your lap on his back and force the liquids down his throat. That will help with the dehydration.
My continued best wishes and please keep in touch with us!
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]magicalfreddiemercury wrote: [/QUOTENAME][QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Sparrow wrote: [/QUOTENAME]do you think maybe your kitty has a virus? is it an outdoor one?
i do hope it will be ok! [/QUOTE]
Thank you, Sparrow. I hope so, too. He's an indoor cat. Strictly indoor.
I suppose a virus is possible but the vet didn't mention that - or if he did I didn't hear it because the words "liver disease" were echoing in my head.
After losing my other two cats so suddenly, it's hard to think past the panic, you know? For all I know, my cat is simply still depressed and further distressed by having new kittens in the house. I'd hate to think he's that sad, but I'd prefer that over some of the other options.
[/QUOTE]
oh i didnt know you had new kittens in the house! i think thats possible. i can understand feeling distressed about losing him tho.
my aunt's cat was really sick last week, almost died. it turned out he was just really dehydrated and had a virus (he is an outdoor cat and has been sick in all his 3 years of life) but is a fighter, and with some medicine and rest he feels for the most part, normal again.
usually cats tend to be drama queens when it comes to sicknesses (at least mine do, they are indoor divas) so they make the smaller sickenesses seem like its terminal, then a few days later theyre ok. i hope your kitty is just doing some silly things for attention like mine tend to do, and with new kittens, i imagine thats exactly what hes doing, just trying to keep your attention on him. but im no doctor. i hope for your sake, that he is definitely ok.
i do hope it will be ok! [/QUOTE]
Thank you, Sparrow. I hope so, too. He's an indoor cat. Strictly indoor.
I suppose a virus is possible but the vet didn't mention that - or if he did I didn't hear it because the words "liver disease" were echoing in my head.
After losing my other two cats so suddenly, it's hard to think past the panic, you know? For all I know, my cat is simply still depressed and further distressed by having new kittens in the house. I'd hate to think he's that sad, but I'd prefer that over some of the other options.
[/QUOTE]
oh i didnt know you had new kittens in the house! i think thats possible. i can understand feeling distressed about losing him tho.
my aunt's cat was really sick last week, almost died. it turned out he was just really dehydrated and had a virus (he is an outdoor cat and has been sick in all his 3 years of life) but is a fighter, and with some medicine and rest he feels for the most part, normal again.
usually cats tend to be drama queens when it comes to sicknesses (at least mine do, they are indoor divas) so they make the smaller sickenesses seem like its terminal, then a few days later theyre ok. i hope your kitty is just doing some silly things for attention like mine tend to do, and with new kittens, i imagine thats exactly what hes doing, just trying to keep your attention on him. but im no doctor. i hope for your sake, that he is definitely ok.
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]HistoryGirl wrote: [/QUOTENAME]Hey Magical,
I would only give it one day....trust me on that one. [/QUOTE]
I thought about you and your baby when this started happening. And I agree - one day certainly is enough.
I took him back to the vet this morning. Between yesterday and today he had maybe a tablespoon of food - and today I had to literally force it into his mouth.
They did X-rays and oddly enough it showed a completely full colon. I mean FULL. Could all this fuss be due to simple constipation? Can you imagine??? From liver disease to this? Gross but also quite a relief. They gave my poor little guy an enema and now we're home... you can guess what fun we're having.
They also gave him an appetite stimulant, so hopefully, we'll see some progress there, too. The vet did say that this 'backup' would certainly cause the symptoms I'd described. So, as of now, things seem a million times better than they did yesterday.
Tomorrow we go back for a follow-up exam and hopefully find out why this happened in the first place. He is on prescription food and I didn't introduce anything else into his diet so I don't know why all of a sudden he'd have trouble like this, but hopefully the vet will have a simple answer and not say something horrible was the cause.
Thank you all again for your well wishes. And my apologies for the panicked thread. I really and truly thought the worst was happening yet again. Thankfully, that seems not to be the case.
I would only give it one day....trust me on that one. [/QUOTE]
I thought about you and your baby when this started happening. And I agree - one day certainly is enough.
I took him back to the vet this morning. Between yesterday and today he had maybe a tablespoon of food - and today I had to literally force it into his mouth.
They did X-rays and oddly enough it showed a completely full colon. I mean FULL. Could all this fuss be due to simple constipation? Can you imagine??? From liver disease to this? Gross but also quite a relief. They gave my poor little guy an enema and now we're home... you can guess what fun we're having.
They also gave him an appetite stimulant, so hopefully, we'll see some progress there, too. The vet did say that this 'backup' would certainly cause the symptoms I'd described. So, as of now, things seem a million times better than they did yesterday.
Tomorrow we go back for a follow-up exam and hopefully find out why this happened in the first place. He is on prescription food and I didn't introduce anything else into his diet so I don't know why all of a sudden he'd have trouble like this, but hopefully the vet will have a simple answer and not say something horrible was the cause.
Thank you all again for your well wishes. And my apologies for the panicked thread. I really and truly thought the worst was happening yet again. Thankfully, that seems not to be the case.