7 hours in vet ER last night with Stanley

[les26]

Well our in house "hospital" continues, the last couple of days our 9 year old tabby Stanley has been really lethargic, just laying around, not eating or drinking and that's not him, he's usually up everyones butt getting in the way, meowing at us, so we know he isn't right, so when I got home yesterday Deb tells me he is like this so I told her to call the vet and talk to them about it. She did, they said they would be concerned about a blockage, and thought we should take him to the ER vet to make sure, so we loaded him up and took him to the vet that Sylvester used to go to see his opthomalogist and where Sabrina had a heart attack and died there, where we put Slim down in December, where we had one of her mother's cats there and got home and to bed at 2:30, so we knew that we would be in for a long night. He isn't used to going to vets, so he carried on of course, but settled down in there. They took him back right away to check for a blockage and said they didn't think that he had one, brought him back out, we finally were called back to talk to the vet, she ran bloodwork and 7 hours and $780 later they said his bloodwork was fine, he did have a little fever , they gave him some P-Lyte fluids and some pain med and anti nausea med even though he wasn't throwing up, said his fever had gone down even before they did anything, couldn't really figure it out, sent us home with some appetite stimulant to rub on his ears, told us to watch him and that was that. I told them that he is a "chewer", likes to chew on plastic wrappers that bottles of water come in and other things, but they didn't think he had a blockage but more of maybe a virus. He is sitting on the same chair since 1:00 last night, and every now and then makes grunt noises, almost like our big cat Socks does when he is snoring, I don't know what that is, maybe sore from the shots, but I know that this was a VERY traumatic experience for him (and us), so we will give it some more time and see what happens. But he is usually really active, and Deb got the laser light out yesterday which he loves to chase but he could've cared less, so something is affecting the poor little guy.

It's always something, thank God I didn't have to go to work today, I would've fell alseep at the wheel.

 

[les26]

He jumped down off the chair that he was on most of the night and Deb said he tried to jump up into where we have our bath towels stored, they like to lay in there and sleep, not exactly what we like them to do but they do, and he lost his balance and fell backwards and was stunned. I said he's still weak and off balance from this whole ordeal, but at least he is starting to move around. She is going to put some of that appetite stimulant on his ear so he eats something. She just found him upstairs, he is trying to find a place where he can be away from everyone and relax I'm sure.

This is so nerve wracking, just more stress on top of tons of stress in our lives, but that's life...

And now the vet's office called, I hear Deb giving her a "play by play" of how he is doing, I'll be interested to hear what they say about all this.

 

[betsygee]

Oh poor little guy, and you two! I'm glad to hear he's moving around a bit, sure hope you find out what's going on and it's something easily treatable! Sending lots of good your way.

 

[les26]

It was our vet that just called not the ER vet, they talked with Deb and asked some questions and we are just going to watch him and let him be and he should respond, it's not been a long time since we got home so this will take time. They did say they heard a slight heart murmur but that could be from stress, we have had several cats with that and it never was an issue. He did pee this morning and came in here to lay next to me while I was on the computer like he does, but now walked out and laid on a blanket behind the recliner chair, he just needs to be alone to get himself together and we will watch him but leave him be and give him time. That little "grunt" or "sigh" noise concerned us, but the vet said it could be many things, and he was in the carrier for hours then poked and prodded and they did trim his claws and I'm sure that he fought them about that so he has been through the ringer, hopefully he'll be better and it might take a few days. And he did test negative for Pancreaitis.

Ugh....

 

[les26]

And Wednesday morning we will have our twice a year wrestling rodeo match catching Sylvester to take him to get his haircut and exam, all right!! He heard the carrier last night with Stan and took off like crazy, I kept saying "You're not going Ves...not yet"!!

 

[stephanietx]

Did they do an x-ray to check for a blockage or just labwork?

 

[les26]

They did not do an x-ray, she said they could tell something with the urine condition and bladder saying it wasn't a blockage, but I told them he's a "chewer", likes to chew on plastic and things like that and she said "if he had that type of blockage he most likely will be throwing up" which he isn't, but I don't know...

He is quiet now, more settled than this morning, not eating or drinking yet but I called the vet and talked to someone there about him and they said since he had sub fluids he might not drink yet, but they are going to have the vet or someone like a tech call me back because I questioned if they looked in his mouth; last night she said he gave her a hard time about it, but he did have teeth issues in the past so I am asking was she able to look in his mouth and at his teeth? I'm assuming they would even if he gave her a hard time, not just give up on it, but I want to know for sure.

This is very unusual for him, to be this quiet and lethargic. They ran the tests they thought would be needed but did say if he doesn't respond they might suggest some others. I wish they would've done an abdomen x-ray, but didn't want to push it since she said they couldn't find anything, and to give it some more time which I understand. But we will give it just a few days, we aren't going to fool around, if he's not perking up in a bit he's going back there or to our family vet, but I hope we don't take him to our vet and they say "we can't do these tests, you'll have to take him back to the ER Vet", but I'll ask them beforehand, otherwise we'll go back to the ER and wait another 9 years there, so so slow...

 

[stephanietx]

That just means he doesn't have crystals or anything in his urine, but doesn't rule out an intestinal blockage. Oh goodness!

Has he eaten anything today?

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. If he still isn’t eating, it is serious. Cats with a fever won’t eat. I’m surprised they didn’t do xrays.

 

[les26]

It's 2:30 in the morning, we just got back from the Vet ER, we took him back again, he just isn't right, very listless and when we pick him up he is like dead weight, trying to go relax but doesn't have the energy so back we went and saw the same vet, this time she is going to do x rays and let us know what they find. She said it still could be Pancreatitis even though he isn't throwing up, or could be heart disease even though she said his murmur sounded better tonight. I talked about a blockage, she said that should show it and if not ultrasound will, but they can't do that until Tuesday? We left him there, they will give him more fluids and said if they have to force feed him to "jumpstart" him they will, but they have to do some imaging to see what they are dealing with.

 

[les26]

He has a fluid filled mass in his one lung, the prognosis is not good. She said they could "tap" it to see if it gave him some relief but she is pretty sure that it is cancer and we are not going to put him through anything harsh, she said she had a dog that had lung cancer and she put him through surgery and he passed two weeks later, so there is no easy "fix" or cure to this, so this morning around 10 we are going in to help him out of his suffering.

No way that we thought she would say the x rays revealed this, he's only 9 years old, but he has it and is sick and suffering and we must help him and stop his suffering...

 

[di and bob]

I am so sorry Les, i'll be praying for you all.......

 

[dianajune]

I am very sorry to hear this. I wish there was something I could say to comfort you and help out! <hugs>

 

[Kris107]

Sorry to read the diagnosis. You're a good pet parent for knowing when your cat wasn't acting right and taking him in. Knowing what's going on means you can make informed decisions and cherish the time you have left with Stanley. Sending caring thoughts...

 

[betsygee]

Oh, no, I'm so very sorry to read this. My thoughts are with you all today.

 

[betsygee]

We’ll close this thread now out of respect for your loss. There’s a tribute thread for Stanley in our Crossing the Bridge forum. Rest in peace, sweet boy.