Cat Has Apparently Unusual Symptoms, No One Knows What's Wrong

[sperry01]

Hi All. I am brand new here, and stumbled upon your site multiple times in the last week and a half in my relentless Google searches trying to find possible explanations for my baby girl's symptoms.

This is veryyyyyyy long because I was trying to be as thorough as possible with the details so that hopefully someone may have some suggestions.


My girl is 9, going to be 10 at the end of the year (Christmas Eve baby). She is a short hair gray tabby and has been relatively healthy her whole life. She did have surgery in 2012 for a condition called Entropion, but she recovered well and has only had to have minimal doses of steroids (very infrequently) when her allergies flare up so she doesn’t rub her eyes raw but has not had any in well over 8 months. She’s also been overweight half her life despite being on diet food for YEARS.

About two years ago, she had the first few “episodes”, which the current thought is she’s had/has absence seizures. There have been a total of maybe 6-8 over the last two years, and I think I linked it to a B&BW air freshner that has clove in it, because all of them happened around the same time I used that particular scent. It was plugged in on my side of the bed for fall/winter months and she sleeps on my pillow all night every night, so the vet thinks that’s why she had reactions and my other cat didn’t (he does not sleep with me).

We immediately stopped use of ALL fresheners in our home and everything was normal for a few months… then in May she had another episode. This time she was fully alert, but when she tried to move, she could not move her front legs. She was basically pushing herself across the room with her back legs and you could see terror in her eyes. Her front legs were bent up by her face and were stiff (we tried to move them gently). I cried for hours and the next day we took her to the vet. The vet thought she might have HCM so promptly did a proBNP test which came back completely normal. We brought her to a neurologist that week, who did an exam of her and said she showed nothing immediately alarming He suggested some tests (radiographs, MRI, spinal tap, etc) but then basically talked us out of them because her symptoms are so infrequent. To our knowledge, she’s been fine since that time (first week of June).

Two Sundays ago (9/16), she threw up 3 times after eating her dinner (within about 15 minutes) and I noticed she kept was having almost like a hiccup motion in her body (no sounds or reaction from her mouth, but the best I can explain is it looked like hiccups) and the hiccups happened randomly for a couple of days (no further vomiting).

Around 1:30am on 9/21 I woke up to her meowing on my pillow, when I reached out I realized her head was moving side to side like a bobblehead. She was completely aware of me and her surroundings, but she was purring constantly she kept meowing at me like she wanted me to pet her (Even though I was). This lasted maybe 3-5 minutes. We sat up with her for an hour and she was her normal self…. after arguing with myself, decided against the emergency vet. We took her to her normal vet that afternoon and they said it sounded like tremors, and ran bloodwork, her ALT came back at 488. They immediately started her on IV fluids for 3 hours until they closed and arranged to have us transfer her to the emergency vet (same place the neurologist works at). By the time we got to the emergency vet (45 minutes), they said she was showing signs of fluid overload. Her nose was dripping, her breathing was awful, her oxygenation level was low (93 I think), and had a fever well over 103. They did NOT put her back on fluids, but put her in an oxygen cage overnight in the ICU.

While she was there, they did chest/abdomen radiographs (there were a few spots in her chest but it was not fluid and not distinct enough to be masses, so they are not concerned, don’t think it’s anything). They also did an echo, which came back perfectly normal, and a full abdominal ultrasound which showed nothing visibly wrong with her liver, or any other of her organs. All of her other bloodwork was normal except ALT was 475 Saturday afternoon (Down from 488 Friday night), and ALKP was 138.

The critical care vet said based on all of that, her opinion is that she must have had seizure activity that caused her to be hypoxic and therefore elevated her enzymes. She showed no seizure activity while in the hospital, and after tests came back and she was stable, we took her home Saturday night.

Tuesday evening we brought her back to her normal vet for a recheck, and her ALT level was 405. The vet said she would have expected it to drop MUCH more but was happy to see at least very mild improvement. We scheduled for another recheck in two weeks on 10/12.

The following day, her regular vet called me to follow up and said she had a nightmare about my girl, and she personally called the neuro we saw in May and explained it all to him… at which point he said he is “intrigued” by her symptoms, which I feel cannot be good because that means they are unusual. He said it was VERY VERY unlikely that seizure activity caused the elevated ALT and based on all the data, thinks she may actually have an arrhythmia and wants her tested for that. Also he said the hiccups could be a form of seizure activity, but he has never seen that, so could not confirm. So per my vet, I called immediately to get her put on pet insurance before any further tests or diagnoses, but it’s a 30 day waiting period so we are just holding our breath and watching her like a hawk to make sure she is stable enough to wait that long. If she declines I will of course bring her sooner, but I am trying to not overreact. Oh and it was determined she did NOT have fluid overload,…and her current vet thinks she had a reaction to the Convenia. She had one other cat who had the same type of symptoms (breathing, fever, nose drip, etc) in the past, so she’s flagged her file to never use that drug on her again.

The only treatment is right now she is on day 5 of a 30 day course of Denamarin for her liver.

After tons of reading, I am wondering if maybe she has hyperthyroidism? For some reason I was thinking they said her thyroid was fine, but in all the results over the last year, I don’t see where her T4 has ever been tested (unless it correlates with other values), so I think maybe I made that up? But I’d think that would be something they would try to rule out first especially since she’s almost 10.

She is NOT diabetic, her kidneys are fine, she is NOT in liver failure. She grooms herself as much as ever, she could eat all day long (always has been that way), but she has lost like 2.5 pounds since May and is around 13.3 now despite having a full appetite. So she’s definitely not underweight, but that seems like a substantial drop. Litterbox habits are normal, drinking is normal. When we go back in two weeks to re-test the ALTs, I am planning to ask if they can also test her thyroid just for peace of mind. Also planning to bring her in for monitoring for possible arrhythmia after the 30 day waiting period for her insurance.

Has anyone else experienced these symptoms in their fur-baby, and what was wrong? Since she’s eating as much as ever and is grooming herself, we are confident she has a lot of live left in her but so far the only answers have been no answers and I am having trouble accepting that, just waiting for another shoe to drop.

So sorry for the length – I promise I really did try to edit it down but it just all seems potentially relevant. I have all the bloodwork values and discharge papers if there is anything else that may be helpful to know.

 

[duckpond]

I dont have any ideas, just wanted to send my best wishes that they can figure it out, and she makes a full recovery. Sending her, and you my best wishes, and hugs.

 

[sperry01]

Thank you very much. I have been on this site all day, I think it's comforting to read stories of other cat parents who can relate. So many people in my life don't understand how my cats can be so important to me.

If it wasn't for the bloodwork, I don't think anyone but me would ever think she's sick, which is giving me hope. At least she's acting very normal. But in my heart I can't shake this feeling of grief, as if I am going to lose her soon. It's one of the rare times that I hope I am proven to be very wrong.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm pretty sure the Pro BNP test tests for arrhythmia, but check with your Vet on that. As far as hyperthyroidism, the only symptom you mentioned that might follow suit would be the loss of weight, which definitely fits. But nothing else you've mentioned seems to fit (that I am aware of) This IS a mystery. It very well could be neurological, and the inflated liver value could simply be from the quick weight loss, or from some sort of infection. My girl used to get raised ALT, and she'd get a Convenia shot which would lower her ALT again, then a few months later her ALT would go up again, she'd get the antibiotic again, and so on. We never knew WHY this happened, just knew how to fix it. She didn't take Denamarin simply because no one could pill her, not even the Vet But she didn't ever get those seizure type episodes.

that once pet insurance kicks in, the neurologist figures out hte issue.

Keep us posted, okay?

 

[Jem]

Hi, I'll warn you that my post will probably be long as well, but several of the symptoms you talked about reminded me of my cat. Unfortunately my cat passed, but felt I should share.

So, we adopted Fritz, male, neutered, DSH from a shelter when he was approximately 2 years old.

He was also overweight, no matter what food he was on, or how much exercise he had. But was overall very healthy, our vet at the time never really looked further into his weight, although I will admit, as an indoor cat, we did not take him to the vet very often (this is when I was still living at home, he was technically my step-mom's cat).

Fast forward a few years, I've moved out and he's now mine, he is also approximately 9 at this point. And he's suddenly developed seasonal allergies (runny, sometimes goopy eyes, sneezing, runny nose). He's also still fat. We bring him to the vet, and he simply gets eye drops, which does help, but we just stopped opening the windows during bad pollination and that seemed to help even more.

The following year, in the spring again, he gets really bad third eyelid infection, that coincided with his allergies acting up again, same treatment of eye drops, but this time with an antibiotic.

For the next two years he would get his allergy flair up in the spring, and off to the vet for his eye drops we go. I will also mention that every year it seems his allergy symptoms seem worse than the last.

On the fifth year (after the development of his allergies), we move to a new house, it is November, so no allergies yet, but over the course of the winter we notice him losing weight. We figured he was simply finally losing because we now had stairs in the house and we also recently switch to a new food.
He is now 14 and even thought he has lost "some" weight, we also noticed mild arthritic symptoms starting. But because of his age and weight issues, we simply kept an eye on him for a period to see if he showed signs of pain or more pronounced limitations.
Unfortunately it was not arthritis. All of a sudden, he went from stiff looking to not walking in a matter of days, during that same time it seemed he developed a cold of some sort. We had booked an appointment for him, because of the cold and possible arthritis, but obviously moved it up to right away when we saw his first collapse.

So we get to the vet (this is a new vet now) and he says that although very rare in cats, he believes he may have had hypOthyroid most his life, but it was missed. Then when is immune system became compromised (sudden onset of allergies) it sent his body into an autoimmune response and eventually kick started a hypERthyroid condition.

I still don't know if the hypo/hyperthyroid and autoimmune disease are connected from the beginning, but they both played a part in his passing.

What we thought was weight loss was actually muscle wasting, (hypERthyroid) that went unnoticed because it was hidden under all his fat. With this, his heart was damaged (also a muscle). But when he got the cold, it sent him over the edge.

From the onset of the cold and not walking, to his passing was less than two weeks. He went into cardiac arrest, unfortunately his heart was too badly damaged for our medical intervention to help.

I know my story does not have seizure activity, but the "fat cat with allergies that's now suddenly losing weight with possible arrhythmia" struck a cord with me. I wonder if it's possible that an autoimmune response could be attacking his nervous system?
Autoimmune disorders are confusing enough in humans let alone cats. And what if untreated hypOthyroid (which is rare in cats) does have some sort of long term cause leading to autoimmunity disorders and a kick start to hypERthyroid?

I'm really sorry, I hope my story does not scare you, that is not my intention. Obviously my experience is not exactly what's going on with your cat, but because everyone seems to be confused, I felt I should share my confusing story that has some similarities. I honestly still don't have concrete answers about Fritz either, the vet was simply theorizing on what he strongly believed was the trigger for his quick decline. I just hope my story points you or the vet in a direction that provides you with an answer.

If you need me to clarify anything, don't hesitate to ask me, I'm no writer so sometimes my thoughts make sense to me but not everyone else. lol!

I wish you and you cat all the best.

 

[sperry01]

Thank you so much for your responses! I posted on another site a week ago and still haven't received a single response, which has been really discouraging.

mrsgreenjeens -- I think the BNP test is specify to test for heart failure, such as due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. I could be very confused, but I don't think it tests for an arrhythmia, as I've been told that the only way to know is she would have to go in for at least 24 hours with a heart monitor to confirm it, and only as long as she had an arrhythmic rate while there, otherwise it could be a false negative.
The echo came back that her heart was not enlarged, no fluid buildup, confirmed the walls of the heart are not thickened (aka, HCM)...and I know before her yearly dentals (at least in the past) they've asked if I wanted to pay for an EKG before they put them under, and I always say yes, which it's been normal, so I don't know. It's discouraging that we keep ruling out her heart just to come back to it maybe being her heart again. I hate the idea of her just having a heart attack or dropping dead because of stress (she and her adopted brother do NOT get along) and potentially just dying alone or in pain and we come home to find her like that.

Jem - Thank you so much for sharing your story!!! First, I am so sorry for your loss, and I really appreciate you sharing those details with me, I know it can't be easy to relive each of those moments. It does sound actually more familiar than anything else I've read in the last few weeks (and even prior), so I am definitely going to print this to bring to the vet. Her allergies also got worse each season, but I was told it was because over time the body gets used to steroid use and that it wasn't so much that her symptoms were worse, but that her body wasn't responding as well to the steroids after repeated use.
I've noticed she does have some issues at times jumping or also going up the stairs, and I assumed due to age. She will still use the stairs but sometimes it's a slow "hop" up the steps vs a run, unless food is on the line and then it's always a sprint. We got a cheap storage ottoman a few months ago and I keep it near the end of my bed so she doesn't have to jump as high. She's always had a lot more trouble getting onto the counters and tables than her brother, and I assumed it's because she's overweight, but I feel like her age is showing a little more often now.
Her normal vet, the ER vet and the critical care vet (critical care is basically the daytime internal med staff at the hospital she was at, and was transferred there after her night in the ICU) all noted there was NO muscle wasting, but I admit I have no idea how they determine that...if it's just based on looking at her, or if there's an actual measurement/standard of some sort? I can definitely feel and see her lower spine a lot more pronounced than we used to, but she's still got a tummy (a lot of excess skin in her tummy too which she's had most of her life). How did you/your vet finally determine it was muscle wasting, since it had been overlooked for a while?
I'm intrigued by the thought of hypOthyroidism and then the allergies kickstarting his system into hypERthyroidism. If he had the allergies for 5 years, why would it have taken so long for that to happen? I know you may not have the answer, just thinking outloud I guess.

I know the rest of her symptoms don't point towards causing hypERthyroidism, but I'm wondering if maybe hypERthyroidism is causing the rest of her symptoms (minus the seizure activity since that's been about two years now). I've read that hyperthyroid can cause the liver enzymes to elevate, and also put a strain on the heart. So between it being able to elevate enzymes already, if her heart is strained and she's not getting enough oxygen/blood through her body, that could potentially have elevated her enzymes and the elevated enzymes can cause tremors in cats. And it's possible the seizures are a completely unrelated thing.

I went through all of her records ever and her ALTs have always been normal, until May this years when they were 135ish, and then just on 9/21 they were 488. So it does line up with the period of weight loss since May as well, so who knows...maybe I'm grasping at straws just trying to find an explanation that could be treated more easily.
If we rule out an arrhythmia, we are back to thinking it's something in her brain, like an infection or a tumor, which I've been told by vets is also possible but they would think unlikely just because it's been two years of very sporadic seizures without an increase in episodes.

I am so very very very thankful everyday that she has NOT gotten worse, but I hate feeling like I'm not doing anything to help her.

 

[sperry01]

also Jem -- Did Fritz have any allergy flair up right before he had trouble moving/losing weight? Based on your post, it doesn't sound like it, but wanted to check. Biscuit has not had an allergy flair up in at least 8 months, and even then it was so minor I was able to get her a dose of prednisolone and then keep the windows closed for a few days while it passed. She hasn't had a really bad flair in maybe 2 years?

 

[Jem]

How did you/your vet finally determine it was muscle wasting, since it had been overlooked for a while?

We knew it was muscle wasting when we brought him to the vet after the first time his legs collapsed under him. He did show some symptoms prior, that I honestly missed, like the fact that his spine and hip bones were much more pronounced. And of course what we thought was "stiffness" and the difficulties going up stairs and jumping up on higher things, where actually the muscle weakness and atrophy from the wasting, but again, we misinterpreted what it was.

If he had the allergies for 5 years, why would it have taken so long for that to happen? I know you may not have the answer, just thinking outloud I guess.

I honestly don't know for sure, but my understanding is that it was autoimmune. Maybe the move stressed him out? Maybe his body was put under more strain being in the new house (multi level home)? Maybe it was just coincidence, that his body was simply able to keep stable during that 4/5 year period??? That's where I'm still unsure.

Did Fritz have any allergy flair up right before he had trouble moving/losing weight?

He did not have an allergy flair up before losing the weight, but the weight loss did start within the first few weeks of moving. Stress may have messed with his thyroid/hormones/immune system?????
Then when he took a major and fast turn for the worse (legs gave out on him), it coincided with a respiratory infection, the vet gave him an antibiotic, and we started him on thyroid meds, but his heart was too far gone.

We moved in November and for the those first few months, it really just seemed he was losing weight, then he started with what we simply thought was old man stiffness, I think that was end of Jan. beginning of Feb., then less than 2 weeks before St. Patrick's day is when he collapsed for the first time. He passed on St. Patrick's day (March)

I've read that hyperthyroid can cause the liver enzymes to elevate, and also put a strain on the heart.

I wonder if during the times of the seizure activity, her blood pressure was high? High blood pressure can cause seizures and strokes. And it does not mean that she has to have high blood pressure all the time either. Blood pressure can fluctuate, especially if there are underlying issues. And the thing is, if she does not have high blood pressure at the time of the vet appointments, they might not make the connection. I'm just thinking out loud on this one.

I think I answered all your questions, but if not, just let me know.

 

[Jem]

Her allergies also got worse each season, but I was told it was because over time the body gets used to steroid use and that it wasn't so much that her symptoms were worse, but that her body wasn't responding as well to the steroids after repeated use.

One more thing, whenever he had a flair up in the spring, the only thing we used were eye drops, he did not take any steroids or medications orally, nor were they given on going. Not sure if that changes anything when it comes to your cats use of steroids. But his allergy symptoms always seemed worse at the ONSET, before we started him on his meds, not that he was not responding well during/after the eye drop use.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

... By the time we got to the emergency vet (45 minutes), they said she was showing signs of fluid overload. Her nose was dripping, her breathing was awful, her oxygenation level was low (93 I think), and had a fever well over 103. They did NOT put her back on fluids, but put her in an oxygen cage overnight in the ICU.

While she was there, they did chest/abdomen radiographs (there were a few spots in her chest but it was not fluid and not distinct enough to be masses, so they are not concerned, don’t think it’s anything). They also did an echo, which came back perfectly normal, and a full abdominal ultrasound which showed nothing visibly wrong with her liver, or any other of her organs. All of her other bloodwork was normal except ALT was 475 Saturday afternoon (Down from 488 Friday night), and ALKP was 138.

The critical care vet said based on all of that, her opinion is that she must have had seizure activity that caused her to be hypoxic and therefore elevated her enzymes. She showed no seizure activity while in the hospital, and after tests came back and she was stable, we took her home Saturday night. ...

Hello, S sperry01 -- I am so sorry to hear your kitty is going through all of this!

A big question: did the ER/critical care vet send the xrays and ultrasound results out to a trained radiologist to be read?

Some ER vets or "regular" vets are not trained radiologists.

Every vet I've had for my cats has acknowledged that to me, and has always impressed upon me that only trained radiologists can interpret the xrays, ultrasounds, et cetera, the best. They have always deferred to the radiologist for the final interpretations.

 

[babiesmom5]

I am so sorry your cat is having these problems and know how frustrating it can be trying to get a proper diagnosis.

In reading your description, what struck me was the vestibular symptoms--tremors, vomiting, seizure like activity, the instance of loss of front leg control. This could be indicative of something deep in the inner ear.

If it were my cat, I would ask the neurologist for an MRI--to rule this possibility out. I believe your neurologist did initially suggest this.

I had a cat who displayed some similar symptoms of vestibular dysfunction. A consult with a Neurologist and an MRI revealed badly infected polyps deep in the inner ear near the brain. She had a operation and the problem was resolved.

 

[sperry01]

Omg she just had another episode about 30 minutes ago. This time she was alert again but unable to move. Our vet doesn’t have an answering service, and the emergency vet said if she seems stable then she shouldn’t need to come in. She ate a few minutes ago and is using the bathroom now, but I don’t know what to do. I took a video but it won’t let me attach it because it’s too big and I can’t find any examples online to link to

 

[sperry01]

If anyone sees this...

Basically she’s been fine all day/night wanting to be pet and was yelling for some food. She was laying in the doorway to the bathroom like normal and all of a sudden her right paw went up above her head (almost like trying to make half an M). Then she rolled on her side, her back leg did the same thing. She tried to walk and fell over. Whole thing lasted like 2 minutes. She was alert and meowing the whole time. Breathing was heavy but now seems back to normal.

 

[babiesmom5]

I am so sorry. I am not a vet, but from your description, it sounds like some sort of neurological/brain dysfunction.

Assuming she is stable through the night, I would pursue an MRI with the Neurologist as soon as they can set something up.

Keep your cat in a secure environment till then; no stairs, indoor only, watching her closely.

 

[sperry01]

Jem Thanks for the follow up answers, I appreciate it.

PushPurrCatPaws -- Yes they said they were sending them out to a radiologist to read them but it's been 9 days and I haven't heard anything. I finally got the urinalysis results Sunday and when I asked about the radiographs I was told basically no news is good news, but I asked them to check definitively and let me know, haven't heard anything yet. I really LOVED the staff when she was there and they were very very accommodating and informative but the follow up since we took her home has definitely been lacking.

 

[sperry01]

I tried to edit down the video into smaller chunks so maybe you guys can offer feedback but now it won't let me because of it's extension, so ugh.
I am just so irritated that I spent all night on google and couldnt find a single video that is remotely similar

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I am so sorry. I am not a vet, but from your description, it sounds like some sort of neurological/brain dysfunction.

Assuming she is stable through the night, I would pursue an MRI with the Neurologist as soon as they can set something up.

Keep your cat in a secure environment till then; no stairs, indoor only, watching her closely.

Like B babiesmom5 , I am wondering about neurological/brain issues as well.

S sperry01 - how are things going?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

...
PushPurrCatPaws -- Yes they said they were sending them out to a radiologist to read them but it's been 9 days and I haven't heard anything. I finally got the urinalysis results Sunday and when I asked about the radiographs I was told basically no news is good news, but I asked them to check definitively and let me know, haven't heard anything yet. I really LOVED the staff when she was there and they were very very accommodating and informative but the follow up since we took her home has definitely been lacking.

9 days!!

Those are your results, you paid for them, and I would ask to have copies of the xrays and the ultrasound, no matter the results. It's good to have those things on hand in case you want a 2nd opinion.

 

[sperry01]

God it has been a very long day. Thankfully my regular vet called me promptly this morning and I was able to send her the videos. She reached out to the neurologist that Biscuit saw a few months ago, and he was supposed to watch the videos and get back to her (he had a full schedule booked today) today but as of 5:30pm, he had not called back yet. She is going to call him again tomorrow to follow up.
I asked the vet if it could be thyroid and she said most likely not because she had lost like 3-4 pounds last year but then gained it back, and now lost 2-3 pounds again. The vet said if she had hyperthyroidism, it would have been impossible for her to gain that weight back without treatment... but she is going to ask the neurologist if he suggests the testing be done (I'll probably have her do it anyway the next time we are there).

I monitored her all day on the web cams and she seemed to sleep most of the day and I didn't notice anything weird. She's been quiet tonight which is unusual but I assume because it was a long a night, I hope.

I HATE not knowing what is wrong or how to fix it, and even my vet said today she feels awful because she doesn't know what's wrong with her yet either.

For now we are staying put at home and monitoring her, and if she has another episode (especially in the coming days) we will take her to the emergency vet right away.

She's always been a big-time groomer, constantly cleaning herself (never to the point of wounds or hair loss, etc). but in the last few days I've noticed she's been cleaning her front paws more excessively and even biting them, the way she does to her back claws... but her front paws don't have claws.
(Yes I know, declawing is terrible and I don't need a lecture on that right now. I wouldn't declaw another cat now, but I can't undo what's already been done for 9 years).
Everything is making me think it must be neurological, but no one seems to know what the "episodes" are, because she's alert and meowing and recognizes us while they are happening. And it seems unlikely it's a (malignant) tumor because it's been progressing for 2 years without rapid changes, so ugh.

Either way, I plan to move forward with MRI and other testing, just more a matter of when and in what order is deemed the most critical/valuable step. He also said if all else comes up empty, he'd do a spinal tap at the base of her brain... but since it's near her brain, if it went wrong she could literally just die during the procedure, so that's one thing that really scares me. Has anyone gone through that test before with their fur babes?

I know this is just rambling but it's been a very long, emotionally terrible day. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that she has a good night tonight and good day tomorrow.

I still wish I could show the video, so if anyone knows how I could some how put it somewhere to be seen for feedback, let me know.

 

[Jem]

I am sending you as many positive vibes as I can during this ordeal.
I hope you find out soon what could be going on.

One thing I wish to point out though, is about the excessive paw grooming. She could be stressed and her stress could also be magnified because she senses your stress as well. Try your best (I know, easier said than done) to stay calm and give her things that keep her calm as well.

Cats seem to really respond well to classical music, you can even get a cd specially made for cats, I used one when my cat had a bout of cystitis. It seemed to really help.
I also have calming treats I give my cats when they are upset about something (thunder storms, animals outside, etc...) they really work well.
They are from a company called "Head to Tail" and they are called "calming".

And of course, you need to take care of yourself also. I've literally been sick 3 times this year because I did not take my own advice (I hardly ever get sick), I'm home sick as I type this, UGH! (It's been a rough several months for us) When stress and emotions run high for too long your body will shut down, and as I mentioned, your cat feels it too.

We are all pulling for you and your little one. You are doing all you can and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that you are doing a fantastic job caring for her and fighting for her.