Alarmed By Symptoms, Already Took To The Vet

[alishadt]

My cat Nermal, a 7-year-old female, has been pretty healthy her whole life, though recently she's been picky about her food and has lost weight...we've tried some different foods and found something that she likes within the past few days, so we were hopeful she would start to put on weight again.
Then yesterday I came home to find her huddled on the doorstep and practically unable to move...very wobbly when she did walk. She'd been outside since the previous night, which is not unusual. I took her to the vet immediately.
They noted that she was somewhat dehydrated, but couldn't find anything else conclusive. They said her temperature was a bit low. Because I am on a budget, we didn't do any blood work at this time, but they gave her a round of medication. Convenia, dexamethasone, doxycycline, and Capstar blue. They also gave her some sub-Q fluids and sent me home with some special cat food and recuperation formula.
Today, she has eaten really well and drank some water, and has urinated once. She is not quite as wobbly as yesterday, but can't jump and still doesn't want to move around, so I periodically carry her to her food and litter box. Other than that she's just sleeping.
I wish I could figure out whether something happened to her while she was outside yesterday, or if she had just gotten more dehydrated than I knew and is taking a while to get back up to speed.
I know there's no way to get a definitive answer from a forum, but I have been babysitting her all day and feeling alone and worried, and the people on this forum seem pretty nice, so I just felt like reaching out and asking if anyone had any ideas or similar experiences. Anything encouraging?

 

[Kieka]

It's always hard when our babies have illness of unknown origin. Hopefully, something in the mix will help her feel better.

As another idea, if she doesn't have a bowel movement soon, it could be constipation. My boy recently had a bout and it stumped the vet until I said something. His x-rays showed he was very backed up after that. But he had similar symptoms of being listless, not wanting to eat or drink and wobbly.

 

[ArchyCat]

A alishadt -- I have a standard rant about outside cats. (Pulling out the soapbox). Please don't let your cat outdoors.

There is nothing good that can happen to an outdoor cat. Getting hit by a vehicle. Being attacked by a dog. Or another animal, such as raccoons, another cat. Being injured by a cat hating neighbor. Being shot with a pellet or BB gun. Catching parasites (fleas, worms, ticks). Being poisoned, either deliberately or accidentally.

In my neighborhood, there are poison baits for rats set outdoors, by the trash recepticals. If a cat attacked a poisoned rat and ate part or all of it, the cat would also probably be poisoned. Maybe not lethal, but at least to the point of getting ill.

End rant.

I hope Nermal recovers soon. Please keep us updated!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Hmm. I hope she perks up soon!

Because of her age and the previous issues with food and weight loss you've mentioned I would try to get that blood work done if she does not soon. I totally understand being on a budget; but that really was what helped me get my 2 senior girls on proper medications. They've done well since then. It's also good to have a baseline for future reference too.

I would also monitor her litter habits from now on as well as her water intake. Both are good at indicating when things start to change with their health. Cats can be really good at hiding things. It would be easiest if she either stays indoors 100% now or has very limited or supervised time outside. One of my old cats was indoor/outdoor and we were never able to track her litter box habits to see the signs of her kidney failure earlier. It would have helped us get her treatment if we had known what to watch for.