Cat ill - mixed vet messages - any suggestions as very worried!

[yoshi8]

Hi, one of my cats started (aged 13)to show signs of illness about 2 weeks ago. It started when he went off his food and started moving very slowly and cried before jumping down from sofa or bed. The vet suspected it might be a soft tissue injury and him not eating was how he was handling pain. The vet give him injection of painkiller / anti inflammatory and a course of loxicom (meloxicam). He seemed to perk up and after this and started eating again but in smaller amounts. The next day I noticed a sore bald spot that was weaping near his neck which I thought was a reaction to the injection. The vet said it was not and was just an invection from like a scratch or something. I treated this with hot salt water and this soon healed but cat went back to not eating or eating little and being lethargic. Back to vets again and they have taken blood for test and it does not appear to be a soft tissue wound as they thought now. The blood tests showed high while blood cell count but negative for other things like cat leukemia. He was given antibiotics (clavaseptin) and been on this for few days now but shown no improvement. He has also been given mirtazapine for appetite which helped the first time but the second dose 3 days later had little effect. I also noticed his breathing rate has shot up from 44-46 at rest to now 58 at rest but closed mouth but his nostrils so flare. This I noticed after giving mirtazapine but vet thinks its unlikely this is the reason but does not know why his breathing rate has went up other than due to whatever is wrong with him. One of the vets suspects pancreatitis the other thinks it more to do with his chest /heart. I am now waiting on second blood test results to confirm or rule out this. Then next step is full body x-ray although I am concerned about the anesthesia this would involve as he is now very week. I have been feeding him at times with syringe and hill AD although other vet today advised against this due to his breathing and may cause phenomia if it goes down the wrong way but I need to to eat so I am trying to get him to lick from spoon or I am going to try put small amount of undiluted food on his tongue.

I am concerned of the mixed messages from the vets and that it is all taking so long as my cat gets weaker by the day, losing weight and the vet I saw today did not seem really concerned with his current state (as in not being emergency)and just said she would call me in a couple of days with blood results. Any ideas on a) what could be wrong with him? b) should i take him to another's vets for a second option or is it simply they just don't know till they run the tests / x-ray. I really want to get this sorted but also do the right thing by my cat as he is very weak and high breathing rate. Am I overly worrying and that i just have to go through the steps? any help /advice appreciated.

[Shelley123]

Hello, sorry to hear about all the problems with you're cat.
It is very worrying but i guess it is difficult for vets to diagnose without tests. I think at first they try to rule out simple things.
Will he not eat anything at all without you syringing food ?
I guess the vet thinks he's in danger of aspirating, what else do the vets advise if he won't eat.
Sometimes it's very difficult when there are different vets at a practice, is ther one you trust more than the others ?
Don't be afraid of being pushy, you have to fight you're cats corner and you are the customer. Obviously you need to be polite but firm to get what you want.
I wouls be inclined to ask them directly what to do if you're cat isn't eating. Keep us posted and good luck

[angieh]

Hi yoshi8 - sorry to hear that your cat is not well. You do need to be assertive at the vet and fight his corner, whilst remaining calm and polite (I know it's very hard). I would be very concerned about his breathing rate too - that suggests to me that there may be fluid around his lungs. Has the vet just listened to his chest? Try and get a print out of his latest blood test results and post them here - there's a thread somewhere about how to interpret them. I'll try and find the thread .....

Here it is: http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=38055&highlight=blood+test+results

[Shelley123]

Hows things today ?

[Elaine]

Oh dear, sounds terrible and I completely understand your confusion. In all honesty, if it were my cat, I'd get a second opinion asap.
In the meantime maybe try to tempt him with some warm, mushed smelly fish, little and often is always the key. Just try to get him to lap it from your hands or fingers.

[Shelley123]

Hi how is you're cat doing ?

[truthisouthere]

Poor love, all these chemicals aren't good but sometimes it takes a thorough blood test or x-ray to diagnose. I hope you get the results soon.

In the meantime from experience I'd try and get him to have some fluid if possible.
Rehydration is fundamental to keeping him comfortable (blood pressure etc). I have found that home made chicken broth is readily taken by most cats. To make is easy; get some frozen chicken thighs or drumsticks, boil slowly, halfway through strain and cool, then break off the meat from the bones and put it all back in the pot with fresh water and simmer until the stock is reduced. Strain, leave the broth to cool completely, keep some aside for immediate use, and freeze the rest in small pots or ice cube it up and take out a couple of cubes each mealtime. Warm up a small amount of broth in saucepan and mix with mushed up wet food, feed several times a day. This really helps with rehydration. And it's warm food so more easily taken to.

You can also make up rehydration fluid:
1 litre warm water.
Dissolve 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt.
Drizzle it in side of mouth slowly and wait for him to swallow. Give approx' 4 small syringefuls to start with, monitor state of rehydration.
Will confirm sugar to salt ratio later, pretty sure that's right but cat currently on lap, finding it hard to type and stuck to sofa.

How is he?

[JMPARK]

How is your cat today Yoshi8 ? When my cat's stopped eating , my vet kept them in overnight and put them both on a "drip" so they would get the nutrients etc. Ime sure you are insured, and if so , i would ring them up and tell them what is going on and ask them if it's ok to go to another Vet to get another opinion. Hope all works out ok for you and Ime sur Joy and Beau send him their "love" to get better soon!!

[truthisouthere]

Sugar to salt ratio: 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, dissolve in 1 and three quarter pints (1 litre) warm water. Rehydrating fluid. xx