Sick Cat, advice?

[Sainters7]

My cat is just under 9 years old and has never been sick in that time. On Friday she decided to take a "nap" in my room for a solid 24 hours straight, which obviously concerned us. She then began throwing up the next morning so we took her to an emergency vet, where she was kept for 48 hours(had the runs and the flu), before we got her back today. They gave her an ultrasound and it came back negative, she seems fine there. She also seems to have improved since we dropped her off two days ago, but she's still very sluggish, and more concerning is that she won't eat a thing(she hasn't eaten anything since we took her to the vet). Our vet said if she hasn't eaten by tomorrow morning, to bring her back and they're going to have to put a feeding tube in her for a few days.

So my question is, have any of you had a dog, or even better, a cat in this type of situation? I'm just wondering if she just caught a bit of a bug, or if its alot more serious than that. As I said, the ultrasound came back negative, and although she is sluggish, she still runs up the stairs, and can easily hop onto my bed comfortably. I've researched it a bit on the internet but its so vague, so I was hoping I could get some first hand accounts. She's just never been sick before so I'm just worried about what's wrong with my girl, and I'm wondering how worried I should be. Thanks!

[Wookie]

Our cat wasn't eating much - we didn't think much of it. Was an interesting read, but a little too late.
She's dead now.

http://maxshouse.com/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis.htm

[automaton 3]

Our cat was sick like that once, and our vet prescribed...wait for it...Pepto Bismal administered with an eye-dropper.

Easier said than done though! I think we ended up getting more of the Pepto on us and all over his face than down the hatch. He looked just pissed at us after we finally got some down.

Fixed the little bugger up though.

Good luck and hope she comes through ok!

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Wookie

Our cat wasn't eating much - we didn't think much of it. Was an interesting read, but a little too late.
She's dead now.

http://maxshouse.com/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis.htm

Thanks for the link! Ya this is what they're saying they're going to do if she hasn't eaten by tomorrow morning(which I'm sure will be the case). Interesting to see the different types of tubes, because I believe the one they mentioned they want to do is the one that sounds the most uncomfortable for the cat. At least I can ask about the other types, I didnt realize there was more than one option of tube.

EDIT: Pepto Bismol, haha weird. At least I have a few questions to ask the vet tomorrow when I'm sure we'll have to take her in. That sounds alot more cost-effective than a tube too, hopefully they feel that is an good route to go. Thanks for the help guys!

[Dion]

Sorry to hear about your beloved cat, Sainters7. Wish i could be of some help.

Hope she gets well soon.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Dion

Sorry to hear about your beloved cat, Sainters7. Wish i could be of some help.

Hope she gets well soon.

Thanks bud. We've had lots of dogs and cats over the years, but for some reason this one has always clung to me(half of them wouldn't even go near me). She's definitely my favourite we've ever had, hence my concern over her sudden turn.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Thanks bud. We've had lots of dogs and cats over the years, but for some reason this one has always clung to me(half of them wouldn't even go near me). She's definitely my favourite we've ever had, hence my concern over her sudden turn.

I grew up with 2 dogs in the family. I know all too well the feeling when your pet gets sick and all. And when they eventully die it's like losing a member of the family.

[icarus]

It was the saddest thing in the world for me in July when my 18 year old cat stopped eating and drinking water to the point where she could no longer walk and barely stand. It was a very sad sight and we tried to give her all her favourite foods and she still wouldn't eat. What a helpless feeling. Within a few days we had to take her in to the vet and she was put down. It was very tough as she was my cat and we had essentially grown up together.

Your cat is a lot younger so hopefully she will start eating again soon!! I wish you and her all the best!

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by icarus

It was the saddest thing in the world for me in July when my 18 year old cat stopped eating and drinking water to the point where she could no longer walk and barely stand. It was a very sad sight and we tried to give her all her favourite foods and she still wouldn't eat. What a helpless feeling. Within a few days we had to take her in to the vet and she was put down. It was very tough as she was my cat and we had essentially grown up together.

Your cat is a lot younger so hopefully she will start eating again soon!! I wish you and her all the best!

Wow, I'm sorry, I can't even imagine what that must have felt like, I'm really sorry to hear that. When my cat first showed symptoms on Friday/Sat I brushed it off, as I remember back when I was a kid our dogs getting sick. All they'd do is hide under the bed for about 3 days, and finally emerge fit as a fiddle. I suppose I just assumed the same with her, as she's been such a healthy, active cat(as opposed to our sickly one, who surprisingly is still around). It was actually my girlfriend that basically forced me to take her down to the vet right then and there, which now in hindsight was obviously a good thing she did.

Well I just saw her drinking water about five minutes ago, so I suppose thats a good sign. Now if only she'd eat. The head scratcher is that she keeps walking to her food dish, but then looks at it, sniffs around a little and gets a change of heart. Meh, I guess we'll just see what the vet has to say tomorrow, sounds like that tube helps alot. Thanks for all the advice and kind words guys/girls!

[Titan]

Sorry about your cat. If you do have to give her some medicine here is a good method:

http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/pill.htm

Another version

http://stuffucanuse.com/all_jokes/jo...20a%20pill.htm

(Trying to lighten the mood a bit)

[Ozy_Flame]

Our cat lived to be 17 years old, and he finally succumbed to what we think was dementia. He went crazy, jumped off ledges too high for his own good, and ripped his own claws out with pure rage. It's a sad way to go too, because we though he was a goner when his urine started to crystalize a couple years before.

Sucks to hear your cat is sick!

[Russic]

Good luck man, I hope everything works out.

[Gozer]

1. Take pictures.
2. Caption.

[Alpha_Q]

Sainters,
My cat, Mauzer, at about age 12 had the identical thing happen. Totally limp in a corner, hiding, not eating not drinking, he couldn't even wak more than 2 steps. He was at the vet overnight on an I.V. and had a water/saline solution injected under the skin between his shoulders because he was so dehydrated. He came out just fine, and I'm sure your cat will too. After 3 days at home it was like nothing had happend, with the exception of the shaved foreleg;
That was 4 years ago, and the little bugger can still beat the crap out of the dog.

You might have to give your cat some medicine when he gets back home, it's usually a two person job. Have some polysporin handy...

[Sainters7]

Thanks all for the comments, both for the advice(which believe me, I took note of all of them) and the kind words. Took the sicky into the vet this morning, she's getting a temporary tube placed in her for feedings until she can finally eat on her own, and we're picking her up tomorrow. Gonna be interesting feeding her with a syringe through a tube for the next couple weeks or however long it is. If it turns out it is her time to go, then that's fine, thats just the way it goes. I'm certainly not going to pay thousands of dollars in surgeries just to delay the inevitable for a few months. But seeing as the X-Rays came back negative, and that she still has a bit of a spring in her step, I'm feeling positive about this. She's not yet 10 years old and until now was a very healthy cat, I think she should pull through fine. Guess we'll see where we're at in a week or two...

[Stumptown]

My dear geriatric cat recently went through a similar situation, and the problem turned out to be an abscess in her mouth, and they didn't find it when I first took her to the vet. She couldn't open her mouth enough to chew on anything. When her cheek started swelling up I took her back and they drained the abscess, put her on antibiotics, and she recovered from that. An infection like that would show up in a blood test, though.

One thing you really should worry about would be if the cat's a little overweight to begin with, when they stop eating and losing weight it can cause serious liver trouble. A friend of mine recently lost her cat to that. (edit ... Wookie already posted about fatty liver)

I hope all goes well, my thought are with you and the kitty.

[Ford Prefect]

I hope the vet's treatment works. Whenever one of our cats have been sick over the years, my wife has had the job of looking after them ... she is an RN so I figure sick pets are her department. She says it's worse looking after an animal than humans because you can't communicate with them to find out what's wrong.

Not to make light of your problems Sainters7, but all this sick pet talk reminded me of this old bit of humour. You've probably encountered it before, but keep it mind while trying to feed your kitty with a syringe.

http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/...l-Cat-Dog.html

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

I hope the vet's treatment works. Whenever one of our cats have been sick over the years, my wife has had the job of looking after them ... she is an RN so I figure sick pets are her department. She says it's worse looking after an animal than humans because you can't communicate with them to find out what's wrong.

Not to make light of your problems Sainters7, but all this sick pet talk reminded me of this old bit of humour. You've probably encountered it before, but keep it mind while trying to feed your kitty with a syringe.

http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/...l-Cat-Dog.html

Hahaha thats awesome, and oh so accurate. My girl who's sick now is pretty docile. Obviously no cat likes it, but we can usually get em down there. But our other one weighs 22lbs and is as surly as he is morbidly obese. No joke, I put on my old Starter Calgary Flames jacket from junior high(which to this day is still too big for me. Gotta love the mid-90's and those baggy clothes) and winter mitts when I have to hold him, when my girlfriend is attempting to drop pills down his throat. Good times...

[Devils'Advocate]

Just this week my cat was lethargic and wasn't eating. I was going to call the vet but before I got the chance to, she started having another symptom... she was trying to meow but she was having trouble getting her mouth open. So I checked inside and she had a loose tooth!!! It was 90% out already so with tweezers I got it out. (As already pointed out, getting inside a cats mouth is quite a chore... getting in a cat's mouth with an extremely painful tooth is near impossible)

I got her some wet cat food instead of the dry crunchy stuff tonight and she ate the whole can of food in one sitting. She seems much happier now.

I should probably take her to the vet to ensure the gap is healing okay. I guess now she has a set of teeth like a hockey player.

[CaptainCrunch]

Don't stick a thermometer up your cats butt, it might look funny when it becomes the ceiling cat, but when you least expect it . . . REVENGE!!!!