Sick Cat, But Unclear Diagnosis From The Vet

Mamanyt1953 said:

I am just so very, very sorry. My thoughts are with you BOTH, and a candle remains lit for you both
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Jem said:

I have used this site before to ask a question, but I'm not sure if there is a place to upload images but you could check it out. Also, they only allow for 500 characters when describing your situation, so I would limit extra spaces and punctuation if you can avoid it, keep things point form if you can.
PetCoach - Ask a Vet Online for Free, 24/7
It's free if you don't mind waiting a day or so for a response, or, for a fee, you can get your answer right away (it explains that part when you submit your question.)
I don't know how helpful they will be about trying to "diagnose" your kitty but if you can upload those images to petcoach, a real vet does look at them.

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sidneykitty said:

I am so sorry you and your cat are going through this. Have you had any more updates?

Looking at the x-ray, the stomach looks quite big to me, but I am not a vet so I'd trust their interpretation of the x-ray for sure. I guess it could be due to bloating.

You said they think it might be an infection. Have they seen indicators in bloodwork for infection? like increased white blood cells? You also mentioned a fever. Have they run a "Fever of Unknown Origin" blood panel yet? If not, it might be a good next step.

Don't give up hope. Working at a vet hospital in the past I did see two cats with really odd illnesses - fevers, inappetance, etc. but no real diagnosis. Eventually with a lot of IV fluids, treatment and hospital stays, they did recover though no one every figured out what was wrong. All hope is not lost and I am holding out hope for you both that recovery will happen! And I am hoping it is not FIP (as you had mentioned it).

Have you been able to visit your cat while he is in hospital at all?

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sidneykitty said:

Oh no, I'm sorry the visit didn't give you any comfort. It is really hard to see your kitty sick in hospital like that, though. I understand. When my first cat was hospitalized I found it very hard to see her like that. Hopefully he got some measure of comfort knowing you were there.

The x-ray sounds like a contrast x-ray, is that right? They want to use a dye type of thing which will sort of light up on the x-ray? I was an assistant/tech-in-training, so I'm not a vet, but that would for sure help diagnose any digestive issues especially in the stomach. I'd say its especially helpful for determining the rate of digestion/how long it takes the stomach and intestines to actually digest food and pump it though the system.

An endoscopy would probably also help with diagnosing a digestive issues. I'm not sure if I'd personally opt for both endoscopy and x-ray. Maybe one or the other. Your cat will need to be put under for this, though, and will have to be stable enough to do so safely. If he is having trouble breathing I am not sure about this. Obviously, though, the vet should know the risks and be able to weigh them.

What concerns me most is the heavy panting/breathing though. That ought to be addressed/stabilized prior to digestive issues, in my opinion. Unless it is stress panting, but it sounds too chronic for that to me especially since he was coughing/gagging when you brought him home on night 1. Did you ask this vet have they done anything about the breathing?

Before your most recent post, I was thinking of various "excuses" for the vet's behavior but they should not be irritated you are calling regularly. I find that troubling. If a cat is hospitalized, one should expect the parents to check in regularly or the vet should arrange check-in times with the owner to let them know how things are progressing.

You could try looking into having your cat transferred to the other hospital in your area that I think you mentioned before. If you are really unhappy with the service so far. Maybe you can see about getting records transferred and even try for a second opinion what they think initially without physically moving your cat? How would you feel about a transfer?

Unfortunately FIP is difficult to concretely diagnose as far as I know. There's no real test that says yes this is FIP or no this is not FIP. I think it is often a case of nothing else is helping the cat get better and they are continuing to decline with symptoms of unexplained fever/fever that does not improve with antibiotics, lethargy, appetite loss, excessive weight loss or fluid in the abdominal or chest cavity.

Has this vet offered any appetite stimulants to your cat that you know of?
Sorry if that's a lot of info/questions for you.

Any more updates, changes today? I hope things are improving...

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