Sick Cat Question

Grundlestiltskin

Hi H/A,

My cat started acting a bit unusual starting probably Sunday morning (that we noticed). Basically, she hadn't eaten that morning, hadn't been drinking much, and proceeded to lie about much more than usual. She wouldn't move from a spot unless we moved her, wasn't cleaning herself, was pretty lethargic in general. When we picked her up and put her in front of her food bowl she would prod at it a bit and then just walk back to bed.

Monday morning wasn't much better (she was still in the exact same spot we put her in Sunday night) and she hadn't eaten much. She had however used her litter box at some point and that looked normal. Monday afternoon I called the vet who asked us to bring her in.

Tuesday morning there'd been no change in her behavior so I brought her to the vet, who took blood (liver/kidney results normal, still waiting on pancreatitis test results), xray (could see "something" from one side but not the other, no reason to believe it wasn't anything she wouldn't just pass at some point), temperature (~104 degrees), and weight (she had lost about a pound since she was just there a couple weeks ago). The vet gave our cat a fluid IV to rehydrate her, some antibiotics, and some wet food (we typically feed her Science Diet dry food) to help keep her hydrated. The cat went back to bed. The few times I picked her up and put her in front of the bowl of wet food she absolutely went to town on it, though she's probably still only finished about 1/2-2/3 of the can in the past 24 hours or so.

This morning she's basically the same. Still has a fever (104.5). Waiting on the results of the pancreatitis test, but when the vet calls and I report she still has a fever they're going to want more tests done (They'd mentioned an ultrasound with required sedation). I love my cat and want to make sure she's ok, but this is all getting a little expensive. I was wondering if this sort of prolonged fever in a young cat (3 years old) was incredibly uncommon or if I can just expect it to go away at some point without subjecting her to excessive testing. Would appreciate any feedback.

Obligatory photo:

Calica

This is exactly the sort of question you should ask the vet when s/he calls you. They will be able to tell you what the potential risks are and just how necessary it is to do further tests. They should also be willing to discuss costs - most vets understand that, while we love our pets dearly, sometimes other things have to come first.

That is a beautiful kitty. I hope she feels better soon!

Hawkstone

Everything I can think of must have been immediatley dismissed by your vet. For example things like urinary tract infections are common in kitties and can cause fever, but your vet would know this and has looked elsewhere. I know its expensive, but hang in there...Let the tests come back and see if they have a diagnosis.

Cog

We have had surgery done on our cat in the past, and while it does get expensive (a bit over a grand for us), vets are understanding that their bills can be a big shock to drop unexpectedly in some people's laps. If it's any condolance, nearly all vets will set up a payment plan, $100/mo or something. They may charge you a pittance of interest, but a lot of vets would rather extend you a little credit than kill your pet because you can't afford to pay them off all at once.

Grundlestiltskin

Yeah, it's not a matter of being unable to pay so much as wanting not to pay for things that may (will?) end up being unnecessary. Example, I'm at the animal hospital now which charged me $150 to onboard the cat and give it a physical to repeat exactly what I already knew and what our vet had said next steps were.

It's like going to people doctors, but without that handy insurance you're forced to pay to cover most of it. I should look into pet insurance but I'm not sure she'd even be insurable at this point.

Edit: And yep, hospital vet lined up $1200-$2400 worth of tests that may or may not actually turn anything up :?

Grundlestiltskin

So they think she has toxoplasmosis, which seems unlikely given that she's an indoor only cat but whatever, she seems a it better after returning from the animal hospital. Problem is, they gave me these Clindamycin capsules to give her. She doesn't really do pills, apparently - the two times I even managed to get the thing in her mouth she just spit it right back out.

Can I open the capsule and put it in her food? Is that a bad idea?

ceres

Nope, kitty burrito. Do not open the pills unless he tells you!

Also, toxoplasmosis is totally a thing indoor cats can have. It's why I get out of changing cat litter completely for the next 5 months or so.

Ormuss

For the pills, if you are not confident in the kitty burrito technique, you can try Pill Pockets first:

http://www.greenies.com/cats.aspx#/products/cat-pill-pockets

If the pills are fairly large, though, I might not recommend these as much.

I've been able to find them in most pet food stores and in my vet's office. I had great success with them with my cat, until she stopped liking them randomly at one point and I had to get comfortable with the burrito method.

Cog

Go with the purrito method.

Press inwards on the sides of her mouth near the back of her jaw with a finger on one side and your thumb on the other side and her mouth will pop open. Stuff that pill as far down the back of her mouth/throat as you possibly can, and then clamp her mouth shut on it and hold it shut with your hands for 10 seconds or so. Don't let her make any chewing motions, that's her trying to work it back out. She's perfectly capable of swallowing it without moving her jaw.

She'll hate your guts for the next 15 seconds to 3 minutes depending on her disposition.

Grundlestiltskin

Cog wrote: »

Go with the purrito method.

Press inwards on the sides of her mouth near the back of her jaw with a finger on one side and your thumb on the other side and her mouth will pop open. Stuff that pill as far down the back of her mouth/throat as you possibly can, and then clamp her mouth shut on it and hold it shut with your hands for 10 seconds or so. Don't let her make any chewing motions, that's her trying to work it back out. She's perfectly capable of swallowing it without moving her jaw.

She'll hate your guts for the next 15 seconds to 3 minutes depending on her disposition.

Thanks for the feedback all. I had better luck this morning after finding a Youtube video last night that had some pointers that were effectively this, but also added that while clamping her mouth shut rubbing her throat would trigger a swallow reflex. It seemed to work out. She wasn't particularly happy with me, given that I then forced her to swallow some water, and then again for some painkillers.

I gave her treats in between though, so she doesn't hate me *too* much.

ceres

She'll get over it, and then hopefully she'll feel better.