Need help, urgent!

[Aleks]

My cat started to feel bad on New Year Eve. He stopped eating, and vomited a lot of foamy yellow stuff. On January 2nd I took him to the emergency vet clinic. One day and $800 later, I still don't know what's going on with him. He is 8 years old, a strictly indoor cat, strong and healthy. His blood, urine and poop are perfect, X-ray does not show foreign objects in his stomach, and the vet told me that she did not see any damage in his throat or his mouth. In a meantime, he is given anti-vomiting medicine (which does not stop him from vomiting at any attempt to put anything into his mouth, even if it's water) and an antibiotic. He cannot swallow, and is in a lot of pain. I took him home for the night, and tomorrow we are going back to the vet for one more barium X-ray. However, it seems to me that the problem is either in his throat or his mouth. I am desperate, please help with advice! [/img]

[kate & kobi]

I'm glad you're taking him back to the vet tomorrow - I'd go first thing in the morning; this doesn't sound like something you want to wait on. In fact I might call the emergency vet now and ask if there is anything they could do, especially to rehydrate him and get some food down.

Your post left me wondering a couple of things. First, is there any chance he got into a poisonous substance - maybe ate part of a plant, or got into cleaning supplies? And second, you said he's not able to keep any food or water down - I hope your vet put him on an IV? Cats can't go long without food and water ... make sure you get specific instructions from your vet about how to feed him (syringe, sub-q fluids, etc).

Other than that all I can offer are prayers that your cat will feel better soon, please keep us updated.

[Aleks]

Thanks for answering. My cat just had endoscopy and nothing wrong was found. He got worse during the night, so I decided on a surgery. The vet told me that there is some abnormality on his barium test. Please pray for Kitty!

[jason]

im glad you are moving quick with this, its probable that time could of made this worse. let us know how your kitty is doing when your able, and his name too.

[Auntie Debbie]

I hope your kitty is doing better and that your vet was able to help him. Please do let us know how he is doing as soon as you can, ok?

[Aleks]

The vet cut my Kitty wide open, found absolutely nothing, and stiched him back together. Kitty is in the hospital on IV, antibiotic and cortison. They fed him through the tube and he was not vomiting. However, his mouth is really irritated and the vet called me later in the evening to tell that she found two painful bumps the size of a pea near his tongue. She took biopsy - will know the result on Monday. I wonder what it might be. Any ideas?
I feel so guilty that I agreed on the surgery. I felt from the beginning that the problem was in his mouth or his throat, and not in his abdomen. So we still have the old problem plus a large incision to deal with. We all pray that he makes it through - it is so empty without him.
He is an angel of a cat, very kind, intelligent and beautiful. When I had three major surgeries last year, he was bed-sitting me until I got well.
By the way, that's his 'official' name - Kitty. It came from his previous family, and we did not change it. Usually, we call him Keesa - same as "kitty" in Russian. And my name is Aleksandra.

[Traci]

Aleks, your vet took appropriate action in wanting to perform exploratory surgery, this is usually always a good approach when all other diagnostics fail in determining the source of the problem. Since you did say that upon the second barium series, she noted something 'abnormal', her surgery approach was warranted. It could also be that the lumps near the tongue were not developed or noticeable at the time of the first exam/diagnostic series.

Unfortunately, you have to wait for the biopsy results in order to know how to proceed. It could be anything from ulcers of some sort to a tumor forming or potential eosinophilic granuloma, it's good your vet opted for biopsy because without it, you wouldn't know how to treat most effectively.

In the meantime, try to visit Kitty every chance you get in the clinic. Abdominal surgery is really invasive and the recovery period for an older cat can be prolonged, so your presence can encourage the healing process, and he will really appreciate your being there to comfort him, bond with him.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Kitty and you...hang in there and keep us updated...

[Aleks]

When I visited Kitty twice yesterday, he was still pretty sick and fed through the tube. In the evening, I insisted that he was given antihystamine shot. The vet agreed, although relactantly, because cat is on cortizon already. This morning there was a dramatic change. My cat is so much better! The swelling in his mouth and throat is almost gone, he is active and curious, and even if he still does not eat on his own, he does not mind to eat from the syringe, and does not throw up. He clearly wanted to leave his cage. Hope I can take him home tonight. I called the landscaper trying to find out if anything was sprayed on the grounds lately, but it looks like it's not. Kitty is a very picky eater, and never eats anything that is not fresh or smells suspicious, but sometimes he chews on insects and lizards. So the only thing I can think of is that my Kitty accidentally ate an insect, likely a fire ant, and has developed a reaction in his mouth and stomach. These fire ants are nasty little creatures. A year ago we had a collegue who developed an anaphylax shock because of fire ant bite.