[/b]
I have never been to this board so I am unsure how post a question but I am so desperate for help or advice that I can only hope it gets posted.
If this was my cat I could provide more detail but is my sister-in-law so I am limited. Tommy is a 7 year old Tabby who has never had health issues. He is pretty big but not over weight. He is for the most part an inside cat but for some reason she has this need to stick him outside for a while every day though he could care less.
She came home Wednesday and found him hiding under the bed, no problem then when she tried to feed him later she saw that he had not moved. She pulled him out and she realized that he had almost no control in his back legs, they are like noodles and just fold up and quiver. Refused food and water so she got to the Vet. His temp. was 106. They did some blood work, I am not sure of what kind but understanding is that they said it was normal. They gave her an antibiotic, not sure of the name but it is given with a dropper. This is Sunday morn and I saw him for the first time and have no doubt that she is going to loose him if something isn't done. She was charged over two hundred dollars for a 20 minute exam, a blood test and a small bottle of medicine. She can't afford to keep going back and not even have a diagnosis. I have seen animals with a head injury act like he is but they didn't have the high temp. He is never outside alone so we know that he was not hit by a car or anything.
Sorry this is so long but if these symptoms sound familiar to anyone would you please send me an email or post here and I will try to find it.
Any answers or ideas will be really appreciated.
Very sick cat, need help
Buiza, I'm very sad to hear this! Thank you for trying to help!
I'm not a vet, so I won't be of much use to you, but others on this board will be. In the meantime, could you give more info here, so that people are more likely to be of help to you?
Please try and find out what blood tests have been done, only a blood count, or also kidney and liver values? You could call the vet and ask. Also could you ask what is the name of the medication he is on now, and what the vet suspects is wrong with him?
My feeling is that more tests have to be done, possibly an x ray. It could also be some kind of poisoning .... If you and your sister-in-law feel that the vet didn't do enough, or wasn't sure about the diagnosis and the treatment, please get the cat to another vet asap!
Also, can you describe in more detail what you saw this morning? What makes you say that she will lose him? Was he eating? Has he been to the toilet? Is he drooling? Has there been any improvement at all since she brought him to the vet? Since when is he on the antibiotics? Does he still have a fever?
Many vets will arrange scheduled or delayed payments, so your sil should call around and find a vet who is willing to do that, if the current vet isn't. Please don't give up on this cat! You could also sell something of value or borrow money.
I hope he'll improve!
Please check back here later when the vet is online!
All the best!
I'm not a vet, so I won't be of much use to you, but others on this board will be. In the meantime, could you give more info here, so that people are more likely to be of help to you?
Please try and find out what blood tests have been done, only a blood count, or also kidney and liver values? You could call the vet and ask. Also could you ask what is the name of the medication he is on now, and what the vet suspects is wrong with him?
My feeling is that more tests have to be done, possibly an x ray. It could also be some kind of poisoning .... If you and your sister-in-law feel that the vet didn't do enough, or wasn't sure about the diagnosis and the treatment, please get the cat to another vet asap!
Also, can you describe in more detail what you saw this morning? What makes you say that she will lose him? Was he eating? Has he been to the toilet? Is he drooling? Has there been any improvement at all since she brought him to the vet? Since when is he on the antibiotics? Does he still have a fever?
Many vets will arrange scheduled or delayed payments, so your sil should call around and find a vet who is willing to do that, if the current vet isn't. Please don't give up on this cat! You could also sell something of value or borrow money.
I hope he'll improve!
Please check back here later when the vet is online!
All the best!
I am so glad that you read my post and I am so sorry that my details were somewhat sketchy. I will admit I have to pad rather softly because I tend to be very pushy on certain topics and will not bend for any reason because on certain issues I Know I am Right and no one will convince me otherwise.Ash wrote:Buiza, I'm very sad to hear this! Thank you for trying to help!
I'm not a vet, so I won't be of much use to you, but others on this board will be. In the meantime, could you give more info here, so that people are more likely to be of help to you?
Please try and find out what blood tests have been done, only a blood count, or also kidney and liver values? You could call the vet and ask. Also could you ask what is the name of the medication he is on now, and what the vet suspects is wrong with him?
My feeling is that more tests have to be done, possibly an x ray. It could also be some kind of poisoning .... If you and your sister-in-law feel that the vet didn't do enough, or wasn't sure about the diagnosis and the treatment, please get the cat to another vet asap!
Also, can you describe in more detail what you saw this morning? What makes you say that she will lose him? Was he eating? Has he been to the toilet? Is he drooling? Has there been any improvement at all since she brought him to the vet? Since when is he on the antibiotics? Does he still have a fever?
Many vets will arrange scheduled or delayed payments, so your sil should call around and find a vet who is willing to do that, if the current vet isn't. Please don't give up on this cat! You could also sell something of value or borrow money.
I hope he'll improve!
Please check back here later when the vet is online!
All the best!
I have begged, got angry, gave advice, even to the point of telling MariLu that she did not love Tommy because if she did she would not continue to stick him outside every day just because she has this belief that all cats want to go outside. He never tries to go out she just assumes he wants to but can't ask.
That is why I said if it was my precious Rainbow I could almost tell you how many hairs she has. She is almost six years old and has never so much as touched a blade of grass in her life and never will while I am alive. Rainbow has no interest in going out, she can't miss something she has never experienced. Since birth I have given her everything to assure her a full rich life so she has no time to lay around sleeping all day because she is so bored. My reward is knowing that I will never see a dog attack her or have to pick her up off the road where a car hit her.
All I can think of when Tommy attempts to walk, is nerve damage but then I have a hard time trying to connect that with the high fever. Mary said that the vet said the antibiotic had some ingredient that would lower his temp. but Mary has not checked it since he came home. He has had no interest in food or water since I believe Wed. night. He eats a good quality dry food but I got him a couple of cans of wet food hoping to temp him. He was interested then his little back legs started to wobble and he almost fell into his water bowl.
It only took one look for me to know this was a very sick cat and that he is not far from the point where it will be to late start giving him medicine. Since he does go outside there are so many things it could be. He could have gotten into some poison or such I just don't have a clue. I just know that inside there would probably be evidence of what he had gotten into.
I will get the name of the medication today and type of blood test and I think a chest xray was the only other test he got.
He is a big sweet boy and it will hurt so bad if something happens to him.
Thank you so much for trying to help me.[/b]
Re: Very sick cat, need help
It's up to you and your sil that he gets the treatment and help he deserves.
If you are in any doubt about whether the antibiotics have any effect, please see another vet.
If he hasn't eaten since Wednesday that in itself is already worrying and he should go back to the vet immediately to receive further treatment.
Please check again later here for better advice than I am able to provide.
If you are in any doubt about whether the antibiotics have any effect, please see another vet.
If he hasn't eaten since Wednesday that in itself is already worrying and he should go back to the vet immediately to receive further treatment.
Please check again later here for better advice than I am able to provide.
Re: Very sick cat, need help
Ash wrote:It's up to you and your sil that he gets the treatment and help he deserves.
If you are in any doubt about whether the antibiotics have any effect, please see another vet.
If he hasn't eaten since Wednesday that in itself is already worrying and he should go back to the vet immediately to receive further treatment.
Please check again later here for better advice than I am able to provide.
Since I had mentioned the fact that Tommy has not been eating which could be due to several reasons but I don't have the answer. I just wanted to say that not eating and getting weaker the longer he goes I am positive that has nothing to do with his difficulty walking. If you could look at him you would see what I am seeing, he will struggle to stand and he gets his back legs up then they start to quiver and appear to fold sideways on him. He can't make them accept the message that he is trying to send to his brain.
The only neurological problem that I could think of that would also cause a high fever would be an infection of the brain but then I am just guessing and grasping at straws. I have to make Marilu take this more seriously and realize that once he starts shutting down it is almost impossible to get those organs up because once they go it is like a domino effect with the other organs begin to slow down then crash.
Maybe she has taken him back to the vet and that is why I haven't been able to reach her.
Please let me know if you think of anything else.
Carol[/b]
Re: Very sick cat, need help
I am not a vet or tech either, and I am sure Traci and davet will be along later today...
Tommy MUST get to a new vet and have more tests and x-rays done...
one of the first things that comes to mind for me is crystals...male cats are prone to get them, and they will cause a complete urinary blockage, cause excruiating pain, (which cats are VERY good at hiding) and if he is now showing this much distress, it has been going on way too long and something must be done NOW...if this is the reason, then all of those toxins are building up in his body, affecting his kidneys, and with it going on so long, hopefully the damage is not irreversable...
he may have fallen or jumped from a high place within the house and broken his pelvis...
Also, please have your sister-in-law read the following link INDOOR ONLY
Has she recently treated him for fleas or ticks with something other than from the vet?...Have her read this also...JUST SAY NO
Hopefully something will turn on a lightbulb in your sister-in-law's head and make her realize this IS a life or death situation and Tommy is depending on her to bring him away form this terrible pain and suffering...
Please let us know how he is doing in the next few days...and if she will not take him to a vet, be proactive and take him yourself and explain what has been going on to the (different) vet, or call your local animal protection agency if necessary...
Tommy MUST get to a new vet and have more tests and x-rays done...
one of the first things that comes to mind for me is crystals...male cats are prone to get them, and they will cause a complete urinary blockage, cause excruiating pain, (which cats are VERY good at hiding) and if he is now showing this much distress, it has been going on way too long and something must be done NOW...if this is the reason, then all of those toxins are building up in his body, affecting his kidneys, and with it going on so long, hopefully the damage is not irreversable...
he may have fallen or jumped from a high place within the house and broken his pelvis...
Also, please have your sister-in-law read the following link INDOOR ONLY
Has she recently treated him for fleas or ticks with something other than from the vet?...Have her read this also...JUST SAY NO
Hopefully something will turn on a lightbulb in your sister-in-law's head and make her realize this IS a life or death situation and Tommy is depending on her to bring him away form this terrible pain and suffering...
Please let us know how he is doing in the next few days...and if she will not take him to a vet, be proactive and take him yourself and explain what has been going on to the (different) vet, or call your local animal protection agency if necessary...
Re: Very sick cat, need help
Can you take Tommy to a NEW vet? Obviously, the other vet isn't doing enough, either with diagnostics or treatment.
While the outdoor adventure could be a clue to what happened, it's also entirely possible Tommy has an underlying health condition surfacing that your SIL must get attended to by a competent vet. Could be a vital organ disfunction (kidney, liver, heart or thyroid), but could also be something that happened outside. If he were unsupervised for even a moment, many things can happen to a cat outdoors in a short time frame (attacked by dog, fought with another cat and developed a hidden abcess, hit by car, stuck in something, taken a fall from something high, ingested a toxin, etc)
Your SIL can't wait around to find out...either encourage her that her vet isn't doing enough, or take it upon yourself to get Tommy to a new vet IMMEDIATELY.
While the outdoor adventure could be a clue to what happened, it's also entirely possible Tommy has an underlying health condition surfacing that your SIL must get attended to by a competent vet. Could be a vital organ disfunction (kidney, liver, heart or thyroid), but could also be something that happened outside. If he were unsupervised for even a moment, many things can happen to a cat outdoors in a short time frame (attacked by dog, fought with another cat and developed a hidden abcess, hit by car, stuck in something, taken a fall from something high, ingested a toxin, etc)
Your SIL can't wait around to find out...either encourage her that her vet isn't doing enough, or take it upon yourself to get Tommy to a new vet IMMEDIATELY.
..........Traci
Re: Very sick cat, need help
I finally got in touch with MariLu and she said just that minute Tommy had come creeping into the kitchen on little shaky legs and started to nibble on the wet food I got him. He stopped and started to move away but seemed to think about it and started nibbling again.Traci wrote:Can you take Tommy to a NEW vet? Obviously, the other vet isn't doing enough, either with diagnostics or treatment.
While the outdoor adventure could be a clue to what happened, it's also entirely possible Tommy has an underlying health condition surfacing that your SIL must get attended to by a competent vet. Could be a vital organ disfunction (kidney, liver, heart or thyroid), but could also be something that happened outside. If he were unsupervised for even a moment, many things can happen to a cat outdoors in a short time frame (attacked by dog, fought with another cat and developed a hidden abcess, hit by car, stuck in something, taken a fall from something high, ingested a toxin, etc)
Your SIL can't wait around to find out...either encourage her that her vet isn't doing enough, or take it upon yourself to get Tommy to a new vet IMMEDIATELY.
I know he needs more than just food but I"m sure the little fellow must be so hungry.
I attempted to get more information but I have to ask for patience. You see MariLu is from Peru, as my husband is and they have both been known to murder the English language! I wanted what she got from the Doctor but I am sure I didn't get all the spelling correct but I'm trying to fill in the blanks.
He was given one injection, an antibiotic, 50mg of Maxcel.
Something for pain, Medtacam.
Antibiotic drops, Clavamox.
The bloodwork is going to be a guessing game.
A Renal ck.
bun
creatimime
Metabolic
heptic
leukicites
Erythrocyte
Platlics
I hope I came close enough that someone may be able to unscramble them and know what they mean. The vet said that all the results came back normal which really means nothing to me because I have seen him and I know something is wrong.
Someone had mentioned the site about keeping your cat inside and just as soon as I read it I printed it so I could give it to her. She thinks I am over -protective of Rainbow and oh how right she is! I have another name for it though, I call it "LOVE" and I see to it that she gets plenty of it.
My Vet specializes and treats only cats but he is closed on Sunday but if need be I will take him to the UGA Vet School open 24 hours a day.
I just hope his eating may be a turning point and the antibiotics may be kicking in.
Everyone here has been so kind and supportive even though you all don't even know me, much less my little old nephew cat.
I hope when I come back on I will be able to say that he is beginning to respond to the medication.[/b]
Re: Very sick cat, need help
Good he was eating. Nevertheless, please have him seen again by YOUR vet asap! Like Traci said, his pelvis could be broken or he could ingested something poisonous ... anyway he seems to be in a LOT of pain, the poor guy! 
Clavamox is often given to cats, it's for most general illnesses. It might help him, it might not (because no diagnosis was reached).
The blood test included kidney levels and other values, and if the vet said they are okay, than lets hope that's what they really are! But a poison might not even show this fast ... Nevertheless, what you should do is this: go to that vet and take the blood results and the x ray with you and take them and Tommy to YOUR vet.
I think it's great you are taking care of him, which should be your sil's task ...
Please keep us updated! We all pray for Tommy!
Clavamox is often given to cats, it's for most general illnesses. It might help him, it might not (because no diagnosis was reached).
The blood test included kidney levels and other values, and if the vet said they are okay, than lets hope that's what they really are! But a poison might not even show this fast ... Nevertheless, what you should do is this: go to that vet and take the blood results and the x ray with you and take them and Tommy to YOUR vet.
I think it's great you are taking care of him, which should be your sil's task ...
Please keep us updated! We all pray for Tommy!
Like others have said here, so many things could be wrong and Tommy having access outside leaves it to a guessing game. You are correct in thinking she is going to lose Tommy fast if aggressive treatment is not sought.
We all understand the financial burdens of caring for a pet, but then again it's not a burden when one chooses the responsibility of having a pet. I truly hope and pray your sister in law will understand this and allow you to take control of the situation for Tommy's sake.
INDOORS ONLY
We all understand the financial burdens of caring for a pet, but then again it's not a burden when one chooses the responsibility of having a pet. I truly hope and pray your sister in law will understand this and allow you to take control of the situation for Tommy's sake.
INDOORS ONLY