My cat Mieka started with a drippy eye. I don't know if that is common in cats or not. Then she started licking at her back and licking her anus alot more than usual. Then she started rubbing her behind on the floor before laying down to lick her anus. We took her to a vet and with out an exam he drained her anal sacs. He said she would be uncomfortable for a week, but to wait it out. In one week she seemed to feel worse. We took her a 2nd time and he drained them again with no exam. He got very little liquid from the sac. Again, he told us to wait a week. Still progressivly feeling worse after a week, we saw a different vet in the office. He took her temp it was 103 deg. He did an anal exam and said he felt a hard mass around the anal sac. He gave her amoxacillin. Feeling very unsatisfied, I took her to a new vet that day. The new vet said after an anal exam that he did not feel a hard mass, or any sign of infection. But her temp was 104 deg. He gave her some pain meds and said to give her the antibiotic.
So, that night after we gave her a second dose of the antibiotic, she had a reaction to the med. She had diarrhea all night. She was misserable after 2 anal exams and uncontrolable diarrhea all in one day.
Just to make sure she didn't eat a string or anything, we had an x-ray done. No string. They did a blood test which he said there was no sign of infection, and everything looked good.
Now the antibiotic is out of her system, she is still sick. I do not feel my vet is competent. I have spent over $300 through all of this. I am making an apointment at a new vet, but it is hard to find vets that will dig and research to find whats wrong with an animal.
Any advice would be a help.
Vet bills no answers sick cat
Re: Vet bills no answers sick cat
I certainly feel for you in this situation.
I wonder if a third opinion is warranted here. I am sure Traci can post a more thorough and technical post to you to help you.
If the first vet found a mass, and the second one did not, I would get another qualified vet (teaching hospital, well known animal hospital). Certainly there is something wrong to cause him to be so sick.
Please let us know any updates and what decision you make for him.
We will keep him in our prayers.
Mona, HOneybun and Chloe
I wonder if a third opinion is warranted here. I am sure Traci can post a more thorough and technical post to you to help you.
If the first vet found a mass, and the second one did not, I would get another qualified vet (teaching hospital, well known animal hospital). Certainly there is something wrong to cause him to be so sick.
Please let us know any updates and what decision you make for him.
We will keep him in our prayers.
Mona, HOneybun and Chloe
Re: Vet bills no answers sick cat
First, how old is your kitty, and did the weepy eye problem disappear?
Second, did your kitty have any other health problems before this, or did anything recent change, as in, her diet?
If the the second vet felt a mass, this should have been more thoroughly investigated, regardless of the third vet's comment that he didn't feel it. Chances are it was inflammation of some sort, probably due to infection and/or from the two anal gland expressions prior. However, anytime a mass is suspected, demands further investigation.
It's strange that she had a slight fever, but bloodwork revealed no infection. While prescribing antibiotics and taking a wait and see approach would have been a common thing to do, at this point, ceasing the current antibiotic and maybe opting for a different one may be your next step.
Since you are making an appointment with a new vet, ask them to thoroughly rule out inflammation vs mass. Another CBC may need to be done if a fever is present again (and/or a quick administering of sub-q fluids). Also ask them, based on her recent health history, if they feel she may now be prone to anal gland infections, in which at some point, surgery may be indicated to remove them. Be sure to tell them if you've recently changed her diet or if there's any possibility she got into something she wasn't supposed to (garbage, rancid food, chewed on a bone, etc....especially if there was blood or mucous noted in her stool/diarrhea)
If your kitty is older than 7, ruling out a potential mass is paramount.
Second, did your kitty have any other health problems before this, or did anything recent change, as in, her diet?
If the the second vet felt a mass, this should have been more thoroughly investigated, regardless of the third vet's comment that he didn't feel it. Chances are it was inflammation of some sort, probably due to infection and/or from the two anal gland expressions prior. However, anytime a mass is suspected, demands further investigation.
It's strange that she had a slight fever, but bloodwork revealed no infection. While prescribing antibiotics and taking a wait and see approach would have been a common thing to do, at this point, ceasing the current antibiotic and maybe opting for a different one may be your next step.
Since you are making an appointment with a new vet, ask them to thoroughly rule out inflammation vs mass. Another CBC may need to be done if a fever is present again (and/or a quick administering of sub-q fluids). Also ask them, based on her recent health history, if they feel she may now be prone to anal gland infections, in which at some point, surgery may be indicated to remove them. Be sure to tell them if you've recently changed her diet or if there's any possibility she got into something she wasn't supposed to (garbage, rancid food, chewed on a bone, etc....especially if there was blood or mucous noted in her stool/diarrhea)
If your kitty is older than 7, ruling out a potential mass is paramount.
..........Traci
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lookingforhelp
Re: Vet bills no answers sick cat
Mieka just turned a year old this October. Nothing in her diet has changed. Before this she was an energetic fun loving cat. She has had all of her shots. She was also spayed in July this year.
She was born an outdoor stray. I found her at 5 weeks old. There was no mother or litter around. We took her strait to the vet and he said she was in great health and we gave her lactose free milk and dry kitten food untill about 5 months ago. We then slowly swithched from kitten to adult food. She has always been very playful and active all day long. Now she will play for only 5-10 minutes at a time. Then she will lie down for a while. I live in a small town and have always gone to the same vet. I always felt he was competent, but now I feel my cats problam has been neglected. Other than word of mouth how would you suggest picking out a vet?
To comfort the pain I would place a warm wash cloth near, but not on her anus. The nurse at the vets office recomended that. It would comfort her while I was doing it, but as soon as I took it away, it still really hurt. Then the doctor said to use a cold washcloth. That seems to help more. She is a very smart and expressive cat. She pretty much asks for the washcloth now when she needs it. Do you think this may help?
I am going to try a new cat food I got today. After looking for about an hour in the local pet store, I found one that is mostly natural and is also for sensitive stomachs. I plan on very very slowly introducing the new food.
By now I just feel desperate. This is the first good advice I have recieved. Thank you SO much for trying to help Mieka.
She was born an outdoor stray. I found her at 5 weeks old. There was no mother or litter around. We took her strait to the vet and he said she was in great health and we gave her lactose free milk and dry kitten food untill about 5 months ago. We then slowly swithched from kitten to adult food. She has always been very playful and active all day long. Now she will play for only 5-10 minutes at a time. Then she will lie down for a while. I live in a small town and have always gone to the same vet. I always felt he was competent, but now I feel my cats problam has been neglected. Other than word of mouth how would you suggest picking out a vet?
To comfort the pain I would place a warm wash cloth near, but not on her anus. The nurse at the vets office recomended that. It would comfort her while I was doing it, but as soon as I took it away, it still really hurt. Then the doctor said to use a cold washcloth. That seems to help more. She is a very smart and expressive cat. She pretty much asks for the washcloth now when she needs it. Do you think this may help?
I am going to try a new cat food I got today. After looking for about an hour in the local pet store, I found one that is mostly natural and is also for sensitive stomachs. I plan on very very slowly introducing the new food.
By now I just feel desperate. This is the first good advice I have recieved. Thank you SO much for trying to help Mieka.
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Lookingforhelp
Re: Vet bills no answers sick cat
Also, We did stop giving her the antibiotic after her reaction. She hasn't had anything since.
Re: Vet bills no answers sick cat
First, have you found a new vet yet? In answer to your question about what to look for in a veterinary facility, I have a write-up on this if you want to check...How to Find a Qualified Vet... in the immediate sense, start in your yellow pages and look for the AAHA accredidation symbol. You can also call a few in your area, and depending on their response to your plea/request for a second opinion, you should be able to make a first-impression decision. For example, if they tell you, yes, bring her right in, that's a pretty good indication they are dedicated to helping (as opposed to a long song and dance they're backed up, not able to make an appointment for days, etc)
While the initial complaint indeed sounds like an anal gland problem, a fever was observed two different times by two different vets....by all accounts, this indicates infection. Not sure which test they ran, but a CBC is helpful in determining infection, degree of, and sometimes can help pinpoint the cause, if run with other diagnostics. If this wasn't done, then they can't say with certainty that an infection is not present.
As for the amoxicillin, perhaps opting for clavamox would be another option, but only the vet can prescribe the correct antibiotic, based on the exam/suspicion/findings.
Common sense tells me that when you applied warm compresses and she didn't respond as well as to the cool compress, this could be inflammatory in nature (in which the cold felt better to her in order to reduce swelling than warm). However, don't go by that alone, she could still have a deep-seated infection, in which another antibiotic approach may need to be attempted.
While the initial complaint indeed sounds like an anal gland problem, a fever was observed two different times by two different vets....by all accounts, this indicates infection. Not sure which test they ran, but a CBC is helpful in determining infection, degree of, and sometimes can help pinpoint the cause, if run with other diagnostics. If this wasn't done, then they can't say with certainty that an infection is not present.
As for the amoxicillin, perhaps opting for clavamox would be another option, but only the vet can prescribe the correct antibiotic, based on the exam/suspicion/findings.
Common sense tells me that when you applied warm compresses and she didn't respond as well as to the cool compress, this could be inflammatory in nature (in which the cold felt better to her in order to reduce swelling than warm). However, don't go by that alone, she could still have a deep-seated infection, in which another antibiotic approach may need to be attempted.
..........Traci