Advice please - Tom is acting weird

[booktigger]

He is barely eating, this morning he kept turning away from the food bowl, tonight he showed a bit of an interest but then only ate a few mouthfuls. And that isn't enough to keep a tiny cat alive, never mind an 8.3kg cat. He is also sleeping in odd places and I just feel he isn't right. Spoke to the rescue I foster for (have to have permission to take cats to the vets) and they think that I should just give him water for 24 hours - I am really paranoid about hepatic lipidosis though, so have come on to check some facts about it. The rescue think that as long as I can get plenty of water (preferably with glucose in, not that I have any) he will be fine, but I am not convinced. I do have a/d, and I do have syringes - should I start syringe feeding him now? I do have some fishy cat food that he loves (but not supposed to have due to his cystitis), I am going to give him some of that. I have also given him some biscuits, even though he isn't supposed to have that - the rescue think he might just be having an off day, but I don't buy that (have printed off a few articles, including Hissy's, to give to her next time I see her - it does amaze me that people who have worked in rescue for years haven't heard of it)

 

[hissy]

If you can get a reluctant cat to eat, that is always a good thing to try and do. Better safe than sorry in that department. They can go a few days without eating, but they really shouldn't. If they are vomiting you can rest the gut for 24 hours and get them to take some plain yogurt with active cultures to settle things down a bit. And giving them pedialyte will help as well. If you don't have this product you can make your own. Here is a recipe for it-

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/what_to_feed.html

 

[booktigger]

I have managed to get him to eat a small amount of food (some complimentary, some complete) and am just going to have to keep trying. I have a strong suspicion his teeth are finally at the stage where they are a big issue (he has had bad teeth since arriving here in July, but due to his size, we - including the vet - decided to get some of the weight off him first), if this is the case, we might just have to risk it. He isn't vomiting though, he is just sleeping in odd places. I thought there was a recipe on here for that, just didn't know what to search under!! I dont' have any baking soda in, but I may be able to get some tomorrow - thankfully I live round the corner from a shop that is open on bank holidays

 

[pat]

Just wanted to say best wishes to you, please keep us posted on how things are going. I suspect your thoughts re the teeth are right on, as being the issue or part of it.

 

[booktigger]

Thanks for that - I do really think it is his teeth, trust it to happen on a bank hol though - he does have anti-inflammatories for his cystitis, might ring the emergency vet to see if it would be OK to give him some till we can get him in tomorrow. He still isn't that interested in eating, yet will eat biscuits over wet food (he isn't supposed to have biscuits due to his cystitis, but I believe eating anything is better than nothing), just bought him some ham when I went for the baking soda (we only have bicarbonate of soda, have been told it is the same thing though), and he isn't interested. have got some pet mince and a/d left to try him on - I don't want to resort to a/d with him though. Fortunately I have about 6 different kinds of cat food in!!

 

[booktigger]

Well, tried cold and warm a/d, he didn't like either!! but he did eat some biscuits!! Spoke to the rescue who have said I can take him to my vets for a checkup, so I am on the phone at 9am tomorrow (they are normally good and squeeze me in) although if he does need a dental, he will have to go to theirs, I paid £94 for Pebbles to have 4 teeth removed, and Tom weighs 5kg more than her!! He has had a wee and that is fine (fortunately he used the white non clumping litter so I could check it). No idea how much water to get down him, and the rescue weren't sure, so I have rang the emergency vet who said 'a reasonable amount' - like that helped me - she also suggested I just give him plain water. So if anyone knows, I would be grateful - I have 1ml and 2ml syringes.

 

[booktigger]

WEll, my vet only works in the afternoon on a Wed, and they are full, but fortunately the vet nurse has squeezed me in at 3pm. I know they won't be able to do that much for him today, especially if his teeth are the prob, as no ops are done in the afternoon (and none at all on a Wed), but at least we should have a diagnosis and hopefully a shot to keep him going till they can operate. He is eating tiny amounts of a/d, but only if I coax him every 10-15 mins - I don't mind though, I would rather that than him not eat at all.

 

[booktigger]

Well, he went to the vets and he needs 2 teeth taking out - the vet couldn't quite work out how it was enough to stop him eating, but they are doing the dental tomorrow, so should be sorted. I have left him there overnight to avoid taking him back tomorrow, and I really don't like it - the house feels really odd, despite their being 5 other cats in the house.

 

[hell603]

well I m glad it has been sorted out . Teeth are a funny thing they can affect everything - the head, the stomach, etc and if you ever had a tooth ache it's nasty. So, I am glad that everything will be fine within short.

 

[pat]

I am glad to hear you got him in to be seen (he has a good advocate!!), and hope post dental that he gets back to normal.

 

[xocats]

Your sweet boy will be in my prayers for a quick recovery.

 

[booktigger]

Well, he has had his dental and is back home, although it was a very worrying time. I had to ring at 4, rang at 3.45 cos I couldn't wait any longer to be told there had been an emergency so he hadn't been operated on, so there was a chance he wasn't going to come home tonight. I was told to ring back at 5.30. Not only was I angry because the poor thing had been pre-starved when he already was barely eating (they got a bit of Liquivite down him last night) and then had to wait, but the thought of him having to spend a second night there wasn't nice (and I was concerned in case he got stressed and started with another bout of cystitis). Fortunately at 5.30 I was told I could pick him up between 6.30 and 7.00. Got there at 6.45 and he seemed fine. He is still seeming a bit off, and is still barely eating, but he shows an interest in the food bowl, so am hoping it is just cos the anaesthetic still hasn't worn off (will keep some food in the bedroom in case he wakes up with the munchies!!). They are open till 7pm tomorrow and also open for an hour on Sat, so that made me feel better.

 

[lizch6699]

Could he have eaten something that may have been toxic to him? My Otis got really sick and started sleeping in weird places aound the house. Is your kitty lethargic and non-responsive at all? Otis was on a medication that didn't agree with his liver and kidneys and esentially poisened his body with toxins. Is your kitty on any meds right now, particularily pain medications? If so you may want to consider taking him off of them until you know more about what is going on. Hope things look up!

 

[booktigger]

I honestly doubt that would be a prob. He was at the vets for just over 24 hours. I am sure the dopiness now is that it is only about 5-6 hours since he had an aneasthetic, and he is a big lad, so prob takes longer to get out of his system. And he will be on antibiotics and poss anti-inflammatories from tomorrow, but this is on the vets say so.

 

[booktigger]

He is still preferring biscuits to wet food, which he isnt supposed to have due to cystitis, but I think getting/keeping him eating is the most important. I just hope the antibiotics are going to be enough to stop a bout of cystitis (I do have metacam left for him, but I have to syringe it into his mouth and it is his back teeth that have been taken out, pretty sure it was one on each side, so am reluctant to put a syringe in, that could have been why he didnt appreciate being syringe fed in the first place). He is still looking interested at the sight of food though, so am happy about that.

 

[jcat]

I'm glad to hear the dental work went well, and that he's interested in food.