Back To The Vet Or Wait?

[catsins]

My cat has been lethargic for the past few days, eating and drinking less, not playing with the other cat and at first I assumed it's because of the heat wave we had, but this morning I noticed he was walking with arched back and super slowly (he's usually fast, playful etc.) so I took him to the emergency vet. She did examination, checked his eyes, ears, mouth and then his abdomen very carefully, she asked me about him going to the litter box (he did go this morning and didn't seem to be in stress) etc., and told me she can't find anything wrong and that he doesn't seem to be in pain when she was checking his belly/abdomen, she said there is nothing hard in there that would make her think he is in pain. I was told to go home and monitor him for 1-2 days and see if it stays the same or better.

Now it's been a few hours, he is in way more pain I think (he meows sadly when I try to pick him up) and hasn't been to the litter box. But he did eat his bowl of tuna, so I am not sure if I should go back to vet (worried he has urinary blockage) or wait. Any ideas?

 

[white shadow]

.........But he did eat his bowl of tuna......

Exactly what kind of "tuna" is this......and, how often & how much of it does he eat ?

 

[catsins]

Exactly what kind of "tuna" is this......and, how often & how much of it does he eat ?

Monge wet food tuna, he eats maybe a can per week or less? It's the small can, I split it between my cats. He eats all the other wet foods on a daily basis but tuna/fish ones are usually a treat. I gave it to him because the vet recommended to give him something he would eat,since he ate so little in the past few days.

 

[white shadow]

So, then, tuna fish isn't playing any part......I looked through your older posts and didn't find any historic issues that might be at play. Personally, I would just take the 'watch carefully' approach.

 

[catsins]

I ended up going to the emergency vet because he seemed to be in major pain around 9PM, they gave him shots for pain and told me to come back tomorrow for blood tests and sonogram and watch if he goes to the litter box and come back if he doesn't or stops eating completely. His bladder wasn't full and his abdomen seemed fine as well, so doctor suspects he might have fallen and injured himself internally. He did go to the litter box after over 12 hours of me waiting but started to have soft stools today and while the doctor was happy he is eating more, and using litter box she was not happy about that and about how he still seems to be in pain (still arched back, slow movements, doesn't let anyone but me touch him, hisses at my other cat when he tries to approach).

On the bright side, he seemed a bit more interested in life this morning, he came to the kitchen when I opened can of food (used to happen all the time before he got sick) and now he is sleeping on his favorite window perch, which is very high and took him a few daring jumps that he avoided these days, so it seems to me that he is feeling a bit better. I still want to do tests but I am happy he ate again this morning and enjoyed street/bird watching, even if it was only for 2 minutes. He also groomed himself for 30 minutes as well which he didn't do in the past two days, so I hope my kitty will get better and maybe the arched back/slow movements really is a result of him falling while jumping, and loose stools might be the stress of two vet visits in one day (he is terrified of driving in cars).

 

[foxxycat]

Some soft tissue injuries take a good week or more to heal-I would keep offering good foods to eat and let him rest as much as he wants..like how we feel when we pull our backs or twist ankle. Glad you took him to be looked at. Sometimes we never find out what's wrong. If he's grooming-then he's feeling better-just may take a week to a month to heal.

Two/Three summers ago my hambone Honeybee fell and twisted her knee trying to get where she doesn't belong-it took 5 weeks to heal-it was a nerve wracking 5 weeks because nothing was showing up on xrays. So we did the watch and wait...took a while but sometimes time is what is needed=but she also got a long term steroid shot to help with internal swelling in the knee-I don't know if it helped or not=but maybe they can do a short term steroid shot IF no cardiac issues going on. I know most people don't like steroids=but they have their place in medical care.

 

[catsins]

Some soft tissue injuries take a good week or more to heal-I would keep offering good foods to eat and let him rest as much as he wants..like how we feel when we pull our backs or twist ankle. Glad you took him to be looked at. Sometimes we never find out what's wrong. If he's grooming-then he's feeling better-just may take a week to a month to heal.

Two/Three summers ago my hambone Honeybee fell and twisted her knee trying to get where she doesn't belong-it took 5 weeks to heal-it was a nerve wracking 5 weeks because nothing was showing up on xrays. So we did the watch and wait...took a while but sometimes time is what is needed=but she also got a long term steroid shot to help with internal swelling in the knee-I don't know if it helped or not=but maybe they can do a short term steroid shot IF no cardiac issues going on. I know most people don't like steroids=but they have their place in medical care.

Funilly enough I actually sprained my ankle a week ago so that was the first thing that made me wonder if Sirius has injured himself. But as you said, sometimes we never find out what happened. So far none of the tests show anything and all vets and I can do is guess. But thankfully he really seems to be improving, he still walks with arched back, but it's a smaller arch and from time to time no arch at all, and while he hesitates to jump and does it very carefully, he does it a lot. Today he actually chased a fly (he stopped after a few jumps but still) and groomed not only himself but Remus (being the ringleader he is ) and playfully chased him for a minute. He also came to my lap three times (it used to be his favorite "place" where to be before he got sick) to sleep and purr and roll around and "kiss" me (he was so affectionate and cuddly I wanted to cry ), he ate as much as he usually does and even tried to steal food from Remus' bowl, which again, something he used to try to do (I always watch over and make sure it doesn't actually happen). He even went to a scratching post and sharpened his claws. He still sleeps a lot more than he used to do but instead of dark corners, he stays near me or in sunny patches. We are going to the vet tomorrow for another check up, but I feel like no more tests are needed.

I think I wouldn't mind a steroid shot (or anything that helps him, to be honest), the problem is that so far nobody has found the injury site, we don't know what happened or where, even when doctor checked him all over, he didn't show any signs of something being in pain (like meowing or trying to avoid the touch etc.), so if they need to be administrated to a specific location, that wouldn't work. But now I am hoping no shots will be needed.

And can I just say, Honeybee is the cutest cat name ever! <3

 

[foxxycat]

Thank you. Humbee or Bee Kitty is her other name...she's a feisty cat so she's a B LOL. But when I first got her I kept calling her "Honey" because she was howling like crazy in the car home from the home she was at. Then bee because she had bee like stripes on her back=turns out they are splotches of color instead of stripes..and she's as sweet as Honey when she's in a good mood...and strikes like a bee when she's mad LOL.

 

[foxxycat]

The steroid shot just goes subskin-usually in the back of neck/shoulders area-they don't put it in the sight for injury or it goes intramuscular on the right rear leg/thigh area-that way makes it work better. Just make sure your kitty doesn't have cardiac issues before doing this-steroids contradict with heart patients-but there are other less potent steroids that can be used for heart patients. I can't remember the names off the top of my head=the vet should already know the difference or at least ask-because it could be better.