Dehydration causes???

[charliebubs]

Hiya,

I can't remember if I posted about this at the time (as it was when I was moving job, house etc and didn't have time for the net!) by Abi wasn't very well at the end of August. It happened quite quickly and there wasn't really anything that I could put my finger on as such - she just wasn't herself. She wasn't eating as happily and her coat started to look greasy and her eyes lost their sparkle.

I took her to the vets and they immediately took her in and put her on a drip as she was getting quite dehydrated. They kept her overnight and also ran some tests. The next day she had perked up loads and came home.

I was nervous that the tests would show kidney problems (after Midas) but they all came back clear and the vet said that he wasn't really sure what had caused her to be ill and dehydrated (I should say that her poo was normal and she wasn't vomiting).

Anyway - she's starting to look like that again :( I rang the vets last night and I'm taking her in tonight after work to get checked over.

She's drinking fine, but she's not that keen on her food, her eyes look funny again and her coat is starting to look greasy again.

I just wondered if anyone had any ideas of what could be causing this dehydration (if it is that again) having ruled out kidney and liver problems?????????? :(

She's just not herself and I'm even more worried now that it seems to be the same thing reoccuring :cry:

[Jac]

I remember that Charlie. I'm sorry I haven't got a clue but I hope that they find the cause. Fingers crossed for you and her ((((((((()))))) Hugs

[tilly]

Hope the problem is sorted out son and abi recovers
Sally

[dandysmom]

How worrying for you! I have no suggestions, sadly; just hope the vet can get it sorted and find the cause of the problem,,,,,,

[Elaine]

Poor Abi, must be very worrying for you Charlie. The only things i know of that would cause dehydration are as you know Illness such as CRF, severe vomiting or diarrhoea. Other causes are fever, heatstroke and shock such as electrocution, poison or RTA.
I am sorry thats no real help, I am racking my brains to think of some sort of explanation for you.
Hopefully the vet will give her a thorough examination and determine why this is happening to her.
My thoughts and best wishes are with you both xxx

[Grete]

Poor puss :( I can't think of anything that hasn't been suggested but just wanted to say I'm thinking of you both.

[Kay]

Is she coming into call Charlie or just coming out of one? If so it could just be down to a hormonal imbalance. Try putting the rehydration solution down in her water bowl instead of just water. It won't do any of the others any harm. I put the recipe for the solution in this section somewhere. Good luck.

[Mags]

Is she coming into call Charlie or just coming out of one? If so it could just be down to a hormonal imbalance. Try putting the rehydration solution down in her water bowl instead of just water. It won't do any of the others any harm. I put the recipe for the solution in this section somewhere. Good luck.
Kay, here's the link to your rehydration solution ....;)

http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=19834&highlight=Rehydration+solution

[Fran]

Is she coming into call Charlie or just coming out of one?


I think she is speyed Kay??

I am sorry to hear that Abi is becoming unwell again Charlie, I do so hope the vets can get to the bottom of her problems, you must be so worried about her :( (((Hugs))) x

[Tink]

i'm not sure if you mentioned this or not on another thread but does she eat wet or dry food?

[charliebubs]

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and support.

We went to the vets last night and they took her straight in again to put her on a drip and run some more tests.

I had a long chat with the vet about the possible causes and he said that sometimes it's difficult to give answers. They treat the symptoms and if the cat gets better then problem solved. However, because this is the same problem that happened 6 weeks ago they are going to do more complete blood tests (they only checked kidneys, liver and proteins last time).

The trouble is that when Abi gets poorly she seems to give up (typical Siamese I suppose!?). She has no fight in her, she stops eating properly and goes downhill so quickly :( The last time that they gave her IV fluids she did perk up, but there must be an underlying problem for it to be happening again without her being sick as such. :?

Having said that she has no fight in her.......she did bite me at the vets last night :shock: when they took her temperature. TBH I think the vet was a bit rough with it as well :( there was blood on the thermometor afterwards and I haven't seen that before :(

I should hear about 10am this morning as to how she's doing. Please keep your fingers crossed and send lots of love her way. Thank you.

(P.S. - yes, she has been neutered)
(P.P.S - she does eat more dried than wet food, but she eats some wet and does drink a lot of water. I know that dried food isn't the best for dehydration - but at the moment for her to eat anything would be better than nothing :( )

[dinahsmum]

Don't give up on her CB. I thought I was going to lose Min when she was first very ill and needed i/v fluid but she picked up remarkably.
It's no fun seeing them ill and not knowing what's going on. Hope you get some answers shortly and, in the meantime, she is in the right place. x

[Fran]

{{{{Hugs Charlie}}}} I really hope you get some answers so you know why this is happening. Healing vibes and everything crossed for a quick recovery for her too x

[charliebubs]

I'm not giving up on her DM!!! No way!!!! The house last night was so quiet without her and Red really seemed to miss her :(

I have called the vets. My vet is out at the moment but I spoke to someone else. They said that Abi wouldn't eat last night but she has eaten a bit this morning. She's been on the drip all night and is looking a bit brighter.

They ran some bloods but haven't really had any answers from them, so they have taken some more blood this morning to send away.....................

.............update...........

they have just called me back. My vet has said that the bloods they ran this morning don't reveal much. She has a slightly high level of glucose, but that could be down to stress. They are going to try and take a urine sample to see if that has glucose in it to try and rule out diabetes.

They have tested for FIV and FeLV - both negative - which I'm quite annoyed about to be honest. Abi was tested at the time that William "broke in" and it was negative and she has no other contact with any other cats as the garden is cat proofed. The vets know this and I feel that I've just spent another £30/£40 lining their pockets unnecessarily. :(

Anyway, they have taken some blood to send away for haemotology testing (red/white cell count) as well.

The vet said that it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack - it could be anything :(

[Mags]

I hope the vet can come up with an answer to Abi's problem, Charlie :( ...... lots of healing vibes being sent to her and ((((hugs)))) to you....

[Grete]

I just had a thought, could it be a stress / behavioural cause? You mentioned the first time it happened you were moving or had just moved. Some cats are really sensitive to change even a small one and that could contribute to her not drinking enough because she's sad or out of sorts due to her routine changing. It probably wouldn't matter if she was on wet food all the time as it might have carried her through but with dry, I'm wondering if not drinking enough and not eating any wet food creates this problem that then gets out of control.

Has anything changed in her life recently? Even something small?

Just a thought anyway, I hope she does fine again after her fluids and you do find the cause of this.

[Kay]

Hope you get to the bottom of this soon. {{{Hugs}}} to you both.

[dandysmom]

Sending healing vibes to Abi, and a hug to you; this is so distressing for you! I hope the new tests can get to the root of the problem. xxxxx

[charliebubs]

I just had a thought, could it be a stress / behavioural cause? You mentioned the first time it happened you were moving or had just moved. Some cats are really sensitive to change even a small one and that could contribute to her not drinking enough because she's sad or out of sorts due to her routine changing. It probably wouldn't matter if she was on wet food all the time as it might have carried her through but with dry, I'm wondering if not drinking enough and not eating any wet food creates this problem that then gets out of control.

Has anything changed in her life recently? Even something small?

Just a thought anyway, I hope she does fine again after her fluids and you do find the cause of this.

Thanks Grete - but I don't think that has anything to do with it. The first time it happened was the end of August and we moved house on the 6th July :) Plus, Abi is quite laid back in that sense and is happy with all people and in all surroundings - I don't think the move bothered her at all ;)

I'm off to the vets in a bit to see her and dependent on whether or not she has done a wee - bring her home

[Fran]

{{{Hugs Charlie}}} Hope you alloowed to bring her home.

[dandysmom]

Was she able to come home, Charlie?

[Jane]

How is she? If you've brung her home give her a kiss from us please :)

[Fran]

I spoke to Charlie a little while ago, Abi isn't home, there was a little complication, she's ok but stopping in over night. I'm sure Charlie will be along at some point to explain. I think Charlie will be able to collect her in the morning.

[charliebubs]

Thanks Fran :)

Yes, I went to collect Abi tonight but there was a problem removing her drip and a small piece of plastic from the cathater broke off and got stuck in her vein :( The vet had to keep her in to sedate her and make an incision to get it out :( They got it out fine and have glued the wound closed and I should be able to get her back in the morning.

As for the dehydration problem they are still no further forward in finding out what the underlying cause is :roll: They got a urine sample and there was no glucose in her urine - so diabeties can be ruled out.

They are just waiting for the results of the haemotology that they have sent away. They should be back tomorrow morning or Monday. If those results are normal, then they will have to start looking at some more unusual illnesses :shock:

The vet said that Abi is a bit of a puzzle to them! They can see that she's not right, but they are running out of tests to do to find out why :roll:

At least my little girl will be home tomorrow. :)

No nights out for me for a while now - I'm £240 lighter!!! ;)

[borderdawn]

Have your Vets considered "hyperglycemia" greasy coat and lethargy etc.. are symptoms. It can be bought on by stress too. related to diabetes, but I think you need blood glucose levels checked not urine.

[EmmaG]

Charlie, has she started doing anything else strange, like licking concrete?? a lot of the symptoms you describe (esp. the greasy coat) are the same as when Lucy had lymphomas, I hope it isn't anything as serious as that.

Good luck and I will be keeping everything crossed.

[Jac]

Aww Charlie. I'm so sorry it's not better news. Poor Abi! and of course poor you!

I hope the Vet gets to the bottom of it. (((()))) Hugs.

[charliebubs]

Have your Vets considered "hyperglycemia" greasy coat and lethargy etc.. are symptoms. It can be bought on by stress too. related to diabetes, but I think you need blood glucose levels checked not urine.

I'm not sure Dawn :? I know that they checked glucose in her blood, but they decided that the slight elevation was caused by stress. I'll have a look at hyperglycemia on the internet and see if any other symptoms match up.

Thank you :D

[charliebubs]

Charlie, has she started doing anything else strange, like licking concrete?? a lot of the symptoms you describe (esp. the greasy coat) are the same as when Lucy had lymphomas, I hope it isn't anything as serious as that.

Good luck and I will be keeping everything crossed.

Hmmmmmmmmmm :? I've not noticed her doing anything odd like licking concrete. I'll keep an eye out though. Thanks for the tip!

The vets did mention lymphomas - but I think they were ruling it out due to Abi not being very old (only about 3 years old).

Thank you though. :)

[babycakes]

I'm really sorry Abi is so poorly again Charlie. I do hope they find out what it is because they are treating the symptoms that keep reoccurring and its frustrating for you. Trouble is Abi can't tell you if anything else hurts etc. It is best that the vet does a process of elimination of the obvious illnesses but it may be best not giving her dry food at all at the moment if that may add even slightly to her dehydration.
Has she had anything unusual that she may have had 6 weeks ago? different food? walked on anything wet that she may have licked off her paws? maybe disinfectant or something she may be having a reaction to? I'm sure you have thought of all of these things it's just puzzling isn't it?

Big hugs Charlie and Abi and I hope you have some clarity soon. X

[charliebubs]

I'm really sorry Abi is so poorly again Charlie. I do hope they find out what it is because they are treating the symptoms that keep reoccurring and its frustrating for you. Trouble is Abi can't tell you if anything else hurts etc. It is best that the vet does a process of elimination of the obvious illnesses but it may be best not giving her dry food at all at the moment if that may add even slightly to her dehydration.
Has she had anything unusual that she may have had 6 weeks ago? different food? walked on anything wet that she may have licked off her paws? maybe disinfectant or something she may be having a reaction to? I'm sure you have thought of all of these things it's just puzzling isn't it?

Big hugs Charlie and Abi and I hope you have some clarity soon. X

Thanks Babycakes :)

I wish it were that simple! Nothing has changed here - the diet and living conditions are exactly the same.

It is very puzzling - but at least she's home now - back where she belongs ;)
x

[babycakes]

Glad she is home Charlie. You must be going mental wondering what it is. Hope it's solved soon

[dandysmom]

Glad to hear she's back home; I do hope the new blood tests will give your vet an idea what it is and how to treat it....sending good vibes!

[Kay]

Glad you have got Abi back home now where she belongs. Fingers crossed that all the tests come up with something. You know where I am if you want a chat. {{{Hugs}}} to you both.

[babycakes]

How's Abi Charlie??

[Donna]

Just read the whole thread. Sorry Abi is poorly and I hope he vets can work out what is wrong so that they can help her. It must be very worrying for you x

[Fran]

So pleased that Abi is home with you Charlie, I hope the results give you some answers x

[charliebubs]

I've called the vets this morning, but no test results as yet :roll: I've got to call back after 4pm this afternoon.

[Fran]

Have you phoned the vets yet Charlie? Just wondering if there is any news. How is Abi today?

[charliebubs]

Have you phoned the vets yet Charlie? Just wondering if there is any news. How is Abi today?

I rang them twice yesterday Fran - but no results as yet. I'm waiting for the morning surgery to finish today and then I'll ring them again. You can imagine that I'm pacing the floor here waiting for the results :(

I'll post as soon as I know more.

[Fran]

How is Abi at the moment Charlie?

[charliebubs]

How is Abi at the moment Charlie?

She is brighter in herself, Fran, but still not 100% right. Her eyes and coat still look "funny" :?

I've just called the vets again, but still no results. She has asked me to call again after 3pm :(

[Fran]

She is brighter in herself, Fran, but still not 100% right. Her eyes and coat still look "funny" :?

I've just called the vets again, but still no results. She has asked me to call again after 3pm :(


What a worry for you Charlie, I do hope you get the results today. I'm glad Abi is at least feeling a little brighter in herself x

[charliebubs]

The vet has just called me. The results of the haemotology are back and they don't really tell us anything more :( He said that there is a very slightly higher amount of red blood cells than normal, but that could just be because she was dehydrated. :?

I spoke to him about hyperglycemia and lymphoma and he didn't seem that convinced that it could be either - although he said not to rule out lymphoma completely as it's symptoms can vary so much :?

He said that he'd like to see Abi again in a few days time if she still isn't looking quite right. He also apologised again for the incident with her leg :)

[Fran]

Oh Charlie, I was rather hoping that the vet might have some answers for you. Perhaps a specialist referral might be the way forward?

[dinahsmum]

Well - at least it's not bad news CB, but it's not a lot of help either :roll:

[charliebubs]

Oh Charlie, I was rather hoping that the vet might have some answers for you. Perhaps a specialist referral might be the way forward?

What kind of specialist though?? :?

You're right Hilary - no news is good news - or along those lines!! It's just frustrating now that it's happened twice and we're still no further forward in finding out why :mad:

[dinahsmum]

She's not pining for Bernard is she?

[Kay]

So sorry the results haven't showed anything. It is so frustrating not being able to get to the bottom of it. Fingers crossed the vet can come up with some new ideas.
Glad Abi is feeling a little better. Give her a gentle hug from me.

[Jac]

Charlie I'm sorry. I was hoping that the Vet would find something. You must be worried sick and wondering what to do next:? . I hope your Vet comes up with "something".

[dandysmom]

Poor Abi, poor you...sad that the blood work didn't give any clues. It's the not knowing that's so worrying...(((hugs)))

[charliebubs]

She's not pining for Bernard is she?

I doubt it with the way he used to go for her :lol:

[tilly]

Hope she gets better soon. It is very worrying when you don't know what is wrong.
Sally

[sammy]

Sorry you still have no answers Charlie. Hopefully she'll carry on improving, very frustrating though! :roll: