One Cat Sick— Now Both Cats Sick! Suspicious.

Bird

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I have a separate post about my cat Dusty being sick with symptoms of vomiting and no appetite. After weeks of testing and procedures, most recently an endoscopy with biopsies, the vet said she has IBD based on inflammation in the intestinal biopsy. A spiral bacteria was also found in the stomach biopsy, but the vet wasn’t concerned about it and didn’t want to give her an antibiotic.

Over the course of Dusty’s illness (a month or so), my other cat Mojo threw up several times. Two times we saw her throw up, and the third time we suspected it was her. These incidents were very spread out, and she was otherwise fine. Neither cat is a puker normally, so any vomit is viewed as abnormal with them. But I thought the stress in the household and the unusual goings on with Duster might be causing Mojo to be upset. There has been quite a bit of recognition aggression—Mojo hissing at Dusty after vet visits, and both being hissy to each other.

Mojo’s appetite slacked off over the course of this week. Mojo is normally a piglet and a big eater, cleans out her bowl immediately, always clamoring for food. She is now skipping meals. Ate little yesterday. Had no interest in breakfast today. I heard someone vomiting last night and found a small vomit of frothy yellow liquid with a bit of fur, and Mojo was the only one in the vicinity, so I picked her up and she was very growly! That’s really unusual for her.

So I am very suspicious now. I don’t believe in coincidence. I am thinking food contamination, transmittable illness—bacterial, viral, parasitic. Any thoughts? We never had a fecal test done for Dusty’s illnes.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
Do you have a different vet you could speak with?

Have you had any big, or small changes in the household?

Different laundry soap, different perfume, an addition of a plant that's toxic, candles, air freshener diffusers or spray, new spray cleaners, depending on where you are if there's been fertilizer or weed killer applied to yards, new furniture or carpet with the fumes from glues and fire resistant chemicals, --is your water quality safe?
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. It would probably be a good idea to have a full fecal testing done on both of them at this point.

If you are unsure of your vet because of what has transpired to date, then get a copy of your cats' records and send them to another vet before an appointment so the new vet can at least have their history, and won't have to repeat any tests that have already been done.
 
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Bird

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The only thing new was an amaryllis, which is a toxic plant. When Dusty got sick, I removed the plant. But there was no damage at all on the plant. It seems unlikely to be the cause. I gave the vet a list of all my houseplants on one of Dusty’s early visits. They are indoor cats not exposed to other animals. I’m not aware of any water quality issues. I have city water. I searched the town website and the local news but don’t see any water quality problem references.

I took Dusty to both local animal hospitals, and she has seen multiple vets, but of course we can go farther. I live in a large metro area so there are many choices.

Mojo ate very little yesterday, mostly kibble. She has been sleeping more and not her usual self. She hasn’t thrown up again. There was quite a bit of poop and pee in the boxes for the prior day.

Kibble has never been a major part of their diet, but during this illness, it’s sometimes the only thing they will eat. Yesterday I replaced their usual kibble with a different brand, in case of food contamination.
 

She's a witch

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It could be something as simple as worms, so I would do fecal test for sure (and maybe fecal culture). Do they have fewer as well?

If you can go to the cats only clinic, I’d highly recommend that
 
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Bird

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I saved some poop today for testing. I can’t imagine how they would get worms. Dusty never had a fever. Not sure about Mojo.
 

She's a witch

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Indoor cats can get worms eg. humans might have brought something on their shoes, this isn’t uncommon.

I think it could be beneficial even if just to rule it out. But the fresher the sample, the better chances of finding anything (if it’s present at all)
 
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At the 24-hour animal hospital with Mojo now. Brought the stool sample for testing, and having bloodwork done.
 
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Update: The fecal test came back negative. No worms or giardia. Mojo's bloodwork and urine indicated dehydration, which is not surprising. (The vet gave her fluids that same day, Sunday.) No answers. No answers. No answers. Will get a urine culture done just to officially rule out UTI and because I seem to like throwing my money in a hole when I feel helpless. I am sending the bloodwork results to my other vet to review. Must decide whether to do an ultrasound on Mojo. So frustrating. I feel like there aren't many possible causes left to investigate if both cats have the same illness. Food or environmental poisoning? Virus?
 
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FeebysOwner

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Did the fecal test involve looking for bacteria? That is the kind of test that I had in mind when I mentioned in a previous post. And, I thought both cats should have it done. I still think that you need to address this aspect of testing with your vet - or some vet. This type of testing likely requires a fecal sample to be sent out to specialized labs - probably not something that can be done at most vet locations.
 
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Bird

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Did the fecal test involve looking for bacteria? That is the kind of test that I had in mind when I mentioned in a previous post. And, I thought both cats should have it done. I still think that you need to address this aspect of testing with your vet - or some vet. This type of testing likely requires a fecal sample to be sent out to specialized labs - probably not something that can be done at most vet locations.
As far as I know, this was a standard parasite screen. I did take samples from several different deposits of poop, but have no idea if they actually tested them all. I can't tell for certain which cat the poop belonged too. I will ask about the bacterial testing tomorrow. When I spoke to the vet today, she recommended that I separate the cats in order to monitor what was happening with each one. That will really stress out one of them (the one shut in the bedroom). I know it's in their best interests, but I am reluctant to do it. :(
 

FeebysOwner

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By all means, please ask about additional fecal test screening - it sounds like all they did was the one looking for parasites. But, there is a more in-depth screening for bacteria.

If it helps any, if they are pretty 'regular' as to when they go, you could separate them long enough to accomplish that and then put them back together again.
 
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Mojo Update:
We had further testing done on Mojo's urine (urine culture; protein testing): all normal. This was just a rule-out test-- there was no reason to believe she had a UTI, and she didn't. Within a couple of days of starting on her meds (Cerenia, Mirataz, Prilosec), Mojo started having squishy stool and there was one diarrhea pancake. It only lasted a few days, and then the stool went back to normal. This is the first time we have seen diarrhea in either cat, and I felt pretty sure it was a side effect of the medication. Nonetheless, we sent off a sample of the soft stool for testing in a diarrhea PCR panel for infectious diseases (bacterial).

In the last few days, Mojo has been eating normally, in her usual piglet fashion, without any Mirataz help. Yay! Her behavior is back to 90% normal--she is begging for food, asking for cuddles. So we stopped all medications, and we will see if she has any relapse this week. Holding off on the ultrasound for now. One vet said "it may have been a viral thing that just took some time to resolve". We aren't done yet, because we went through this same thing with Dusty, who would relapse about 3 - 5 days off medication. Fingers crossed for Mojo.

Dusty Update:
Dusty is about the same, which is: okay sometimes good. She is still taking prednisolone and Cerenia (both transdermal cream). She has had some strong eating days, but sometimes her appetite decreases significantly (but she still eats). This uneven appetite has been there her whole life, but it has taken on a new ominous tone in light of the IBD diagnosis. I don't believe that the prednisolone has had any significant benefit for Dusty. But I know that the Cerenia was helping her. I think the numerous unending vet trips and the daily stress of getting the meds are detrimental to her. I want to start weaning Dusty off the prednisolone, but I received no long term instructions from the vet internist. And the vet hasn't returned my calls! Grrr.

I believe Dusty's recent and sudden illness may not be due to IBD, even if she has IBD, especially given the similar symptoms in Mojo.
 
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Bird

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Ug. I wrote too soon. ☹ Dusty threw up twice tonight. The rollercoaster continues. She was still very hungry after, but she only wants kibble. Is it because kibble is bland?
 
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