My Tango is very sick

[Samz5]

Tango is nearly 14, about 5-6 weeks ago he had some serious vomiting and was rushed to the emergency vet for it, he was getting dehydrated and looked like he was on deaths door, we were so worried, then on the 2nd vet visit they found a lump in his tummy... he had blood tests and they came back ok just high white blood cells, he had a high temperature but was given antibiotics for a week and the lump turned out to be a very hard bloody poo, after that had been passed he recovered quite quickly and has been quite well for two weeks.
2 days ago he seemed a bit down, and last night started vomiting badly again, so off to the vet this morning, now he has a slighly low temperature, high heart rate and some pain in his tummy, the vet says it must be more than an infection because the antibiotics would have cleared that up.

He really looks sick and depressed, its heartbreaking :(.
So the vet has kept him in, hes going to be put on a drip, have another set of blood tests, x-rays, an ultrascan and whatever medications they feel he needs, he might have to stay there tommorrow too, I hate leaving him there but hes in the best place I know.
The vet really doesn't have a clue what it could be yet, I was good and didn't cry at all at the vets, its my weakness to fall apart when my babies get sick I just love them so much

[dinahsmum]

Poor Tango and poor you.
Sometimes the drip makes them like new, as dehydration is very debilitating for them, but I understand how worrying it is.
Hope you get an answer soon. Thinking of you.

[Mags]

Poor Tango :( The vets will do their very best for him but it is so worrying for you.

I hope they can find the cause and treat the problem very soon so that you can have your old boy back home with you. Thinking of you and Tango.........x

[Sweet]

Sending Tango Get Well vibes and sending you a big ((((((hug)))))), I hope it gets sorted soon x

[Moli]

Poor Tango, he is in the best place, hope the vet can sort him out and he is hime soon...."hugs" to you and Tango.......

[Samz5]

Thanks for your kind words, it does help!
Got some results back from the vet.
Just the blood tests at the moment, all of the viruses they tested for came back negative.
Kidneys are fine, there is some problem with either his liver or gall bladder results but apparently they could be symptoms of the problem not the problem itself. There are some more tests to do regarding this but they have to test him before eating and after, at the moment hes still not eating so hopefully they can do this tommorrow.
He was having his xray while they were on the phone to me so no results back from that, and they still might have to do the ultrasound but the vet said that he is quite unhappy so they're going to leave that for tommorrow.

[EmmaG]

Hi Sam,

Sorry to hear about Tango :( they are such a worry. I would have thought that an xray would be more accurate/see more than an ultrasound. My previous cat lucy had a lump in her tummy, vet first thought it was compacted feces but it turned out to be lymphomas. She was running a very high temperature and was being sick every day, her coat had an oil/sticky appearance, and she seemed very out of it. The vet told me the only reason a cat will have continued high temperature is either through poisoning or cancer.

Keeping my fingers crossed for Tango

[alexgirl73]

Hi Sam. Thinking of you and Tango at this very hard time. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything comes back ok and that Tango will soon be on the mend. Will keep you in my thoughts tonight and tomorrow, ((((hugs)))) Alex x

[sandy]

Hang on in there, Sam. Hope you get some clarity soon and that your poor Tango will be more comfortable tomorrow.

[dandysmom]

Poor Tango; hope they get him sorted out and that he's soon home and well...this is so hard for you, I know. (((hugs))).

[Booktigger]

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for him.

[Elaine]

Big hugs to both you and Tango xxx I sincerely hope its not a serious problem and something that can be resolved.
Good on you for not falling apart at the vets, I know that feeling so well. I used to get very upset talking with the vet about my old boy but found that by remaining strong and not falling apart had a more positive effect for the old boy and for gaining the vets support in what needed to be done.
Its not easy but try to remain strong and possitive, my thoughts are with you both xxx.

[tilly]

Hope tango get better soon and everything is OK. Hugs

Sally

[Samz5]

Tango came home last night, hes feeling a little better and from what the vet said he wasn't happy there at all.

The ultrasound showed he has abnormalities with his liver, could be a bad infection or tumors. Hes had yet another blood test and the results won't be back until Monday/ Tuesday, hopefully that will tell us more.

Then depending on the results and how Tangos feeling he might have to have an operation to get a biopsy and have a look at the liver.
So for now its back to the bland diet and a 3 different medications to take everyday.

He seems happy to be home, rubbing on everything, purring and we were even playing with some string last night and he was purring SO loudly, its good to see even through he is still obviously sick.
So really were still not sure what exactly it is but were narrowing it down fairly quickly.

[yola]

I'm happy to hear Tango's back home. Some cats really don't take to the vets do they? My normally docile cat turned into a devil-cat when overnighted at the vets. Let's hope the results come back showing nothing more serious than an infection that can be treated with antibiotics.

[Mags]

Pleased to hear Tango is back home with you again and I hope there will be nothing too serious showing up in his test results......

[Booktigger]

I am glad he is home, and fingers crossed the tests show something positive.

[alexgirl73]

Keeping everything crossed for you Sam. Nice to hear Tangos back home though.

[Fran]

So glad Tango is home with you! Fingers crossed for his results x

[Samz5]

Got the latest test results back, the test was to see how well the liver actually works, and it showed that there is a problem but its not too bad.
The vet asked how he is and how well hes eating and was happy to hear that over the last 2 days hes been very happy, purring, playing and getting back to usual, also hes been very hungry, even shoving the other cats out of the way to eat their food (something he never usually does).
So hes going to stay on the medication until Monday then go back for a check up, then we can deciede what to do next, thankfully the vet thinks opening him up and getting a biopsy won't be needed, at most he will have a biopsy taken with a long thin needle which won't be nice for Tango but better than a full on operation, especially as hes a bit old, not up to full heath and has a heart murmor.
But hes reacting to the mediactions well (I think they are all some kind of antibiotics) and that seems to suggest infection rather than cancerous tumors, fingers crossed!
Also my mum and granmar have offered to help with the vet bills so that takes some of my stress down too :)
Next stressful thing to go, central heating being fitted as of tommorow and that means plumbers/ builder types in the house for a week, banging and making a mess and I have to try and keep Tango and stress free as possible, the house is already in chaos but it will be worth it to be warm this year and better for the cats too im sure.

[Naomi]

Glad to hear it's not all bad news and hopefully Tango will continue to improve :D

[dinahsmum]

Hope this is just the start of Tango's recovery.

[Samz5]

Well Tango has been doing great since the last update but then his antibiotics finished on Saturday and by Monday he was being sick again, and generally looking sorry for himself, so we're right back to where we started. So phoned the vet and spoke to him yesterday evening and gave Tango another Clavaseptin pill that was left over from when one of the other cats was ill, got Tango booked in for more tests this morning. The new ultrasound scan showed the liver is now all looking the same (as opposed to last time when it was uneven and had lumps in/on it) but we still don't know whats causing this illness, we could still have the liver biopsy and open him up to have a look and see what the liver looks like but it may not show whats wrong and any operation in an older cat carries risks so we want to avoid it if possible. The vet says its an unusual case, we asked about possible poisoning and have ruled that out because he doesn't show any classic signs, which is good. So now hes back on antibiotics for a month, see how he goes and then back for more tests the week before Christmas, fingers crossed that will be the last visit - I also have to take Bones back around then for his kidney tests, Christmas funds are just about gone already - oh well never mind ! Tango has perked up since yesterday since his antibiotics have kicked in, its a relief! I hate seeing him unhappy!

[dinahsmum]

How disappointing after the previous improvement. Hope it's only a temporary setback and he gets properly better now.

[Samz5]

I had a feeling it wasn't the end of it, I think all this started will a tummy upset back in July, which 3 of my cats came down with, it was actually when I first signed up to catsey, Tango got it worst of all so it may have been down to that. When hes on the antibiotics he is 100% happy and appears very healthy, he just goes downhill so fast when they stop.

[dinahsmum]

:(
You, Fran and Alex could almost start a whole new section on cats with poorly tummies.
Hope they all get better soon

[Mags]

I hope this new course of AB's will do the trick and Tango will be well again.....

[Booktigger]

I do hope they can figure out what is wrong with him, I know there are some things that an extra long course of antibiotics sort out though.

[alexgirl73]

Keeping my fingers crossed for Tango Sam. (((hugs))) to you.

[Elaine]

Poor Tango, fingers crossed for her and hoping the antibiotics will sort her out soon. xxx