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- Jan 1, 2019
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Hi Friends,
Katy has been rather unwell these past couple of days and I would like to seek your thoughts about what's been going on. I've been so worried, and yes we have been to the vet, but I'm not sure if we are on the right path to recovery..
Here is what has happened:
On the 11th of December, we went over to my mum's place (about 1 hour away) for the holidays. Katy loves it there. It's quiet, she is the only cat in the house, there is lots of space. We go there frequently, she is very used to the house, has her own routines/areas there and basically she loves it because she gets access to a porch where I take her for walks on a leash. She seemed to be having a good time over there until last Friday.
On Friday the 17th, she suddenly stopped eating and drinking.
She had about 1/3rd can of wet food for breakfast and a bit of kibble for lunch.
She then refused to eat or drink anything for the rest of Friday. She also slept constantly throughout the day and by late Friday evening was totally lethargic.
She stopped doing all of her usual activities, and just napped non-stop in one spot. She got up to use her litter box once, then immediately went back to sleep after (which is very weird for her).
On Saturday, she continued to be just as lethargic. She didn't even want to get out of bed in the morning, I had to coax her awake. Again, she refused to eat or drink all morning/afternoon on Saturday.
She has been peeing less than usual and pooping a lot less too, which made sense to me since nothing was going in. But there was no vomiting, no sneezing or runny nose, nothing really other than not eating and being so lethargic. One odd thing, I found her sitting in her litter box (which is very very weird for her, she never does this) on Saturday at noon. Just sitting, not peeing or anything, but sitting in there.
So I called the vet and they told me to bring her in straight away. On Saturday evening I got her to her usual vet close to where we usually live.
Now this is where I start to feel a bit strange because to me, I'm worried sick to have a cat that is refusing to eat/drink and is basically sleeping constantly, but the vet on the other hand didn't seem too concerned.
According to the vet, Katy was well hydrated, with pink gums, no fevers, and some tenderness over the bladder but nothing else.
They didn't run any tests though. Vet basically did a physical exam (she listened to her heart/lungs, palpated her belly, had a very quick look into her mouth).
They didn't do bloods, or urine tests, or any other test, which is what makes me wonder if the vet is being a bit dismissive?
Based on the bladder tenderness and the hanging out in the litter box, the vet thinks it's cystitis.
Vet prescribed Katy some gabapentin for pain and urinary supplements (Cystophan). Nothing else.
In the past, she had a period of peeing outside of the box. They found crystals in her urine and the diagnosis was cystitis. She had the same treatment (gabapentin, calmurofel supplement) and got better very quickly. Note that she was not sick in herself this past episode, it was just peeing out of the box and being stressed out because I had started volunteering at a shelter. This was way back in 2019, and somewhat stress-related.
I admit that there have been some unusual stressors over the past week. First of all I've been incredibly busy and not spending as much time with her as I usually do, and secondly we ran into two (leashed) dogs on one of her walks (nothing happened, just a lot of growling from the dogs and Katy, at a safe distance). Other than that, nothing is different. She was on the same food, same feeding routine, and had no contact with other cats or dogs.
That said.
This current illness seems very different than her previous stress related cystitis issues. I have never seen her this lethargic for as long as I've had her. Somehow I can't shake the feeling that there may be something else going on, I find it hard to be believe that stress/cystitis issues is causing her to withdraw to this extent. At the same time I'm doubting my own feelings, because I have health anxieties myself and I know I can be overly protective (sometimes paranoid) over Katy and tend to worry about the smallest changes, even if it turns out to be nothing.
Now, since the vet visit:
There is been a bit of improvement from Saturday (yesterday). I gave her the gabapentin, which was no easy feat. She is lethargic until I try to give her meds, then she is a ball of fire and rage. After the gabapentin, she finally ate a bit of kibble and drank a bit of water, after almost 30 hours without food or water!!
This morning (Sunday), she ate half a pouch of her favorite wet food mixed in with the cystophan. I was completely overjoyed, but then the rest of the day is not showing much improvement. I coaxed her into eating a small amount (like a teaspoonful) of boiled fish for lunch. Now it's evening time and she hasn't had anything all day.
She hasn't been peeing a whole lot either. Usually, she eats 3 pouches of wet food a day and gifts me with 3 to 4 big pee clumps. She has only peed once today morning (and once last night).
So I wonder, should I take Katy to a different vet for a second opinion? Take her back to the same vet and insist something is not quite right?
Wait and watch, maybe it is cystitis after all and it will settle in a few days? Maybe cats take a while to recover from illness?
This is the first time Katy is seriously ill like this (she is only over 3 yrs old), and honestly it has got me so worried.
Any and all advice is much appreciated. Thank you so much for reading this essay and let me know if I can give any more information.
Katy has been rather unwell these past couple of days and I would like to seek your thoughts about what's been going on. I've been so worried, and yes we have been to the vet, but I'm not sure if we are on the right path to recovery..
Here is what has happened:
On the 11th of December, we went over to my mum's place (about 1 hour away) for the holidays. Katy loves it there. It's quiet, she is the only cat in the house, there is lots of space. We go there frequently, she is very used to the house, has her own routines/areas there and basically she loves it because she gets access to a porch where I take her for walks on a leash. She seemed to be having a good time over there until last Friday.
On Friday the 17th, she suddenly stopped eating and drinking.
She had about 1/3rd can of wet food for breakfast and a bit of kibble for lunch.
She then refused to eat or drink anything for the rest of Friday. She also slept constantly throughout the day and by late Friday evening was totally lethargic.
She stopped doing all of her usual activities, and just napped non-stop in one spot. She got up to use her litter box once, then immediately went back to sleep after (which is very weird for her).
On Saturday, she continued to be just as lethargic. She didn't even want to get out of bed in the morning, I had to coax her awake. Again, she refused to eat or drink all morning/afternoon on Saturday.
She has been peeing less than usual and pooping a lot less too, which made sense to me since nothing was going in. But there was no vomiting, no sneezing or runny nose, nothing really other than not eating and being so lethargic. One odd thing, I found her sitting in her litter box (which is very very weird for her, she never does this) on Saturday at noon. Just sitting, not peeing or anything, but sitting in there.
So I called the vet and they told me to bring her in straight away. On Saturday evening I got her to her usual vet close to where we usually live.
Now this is where I start to feel a bit strange because to me, I'm worried sick to have a cat that is refusing to eat/drink and is basically sleeping constantly, but the vet on the other hand didn't seem too concerned.
According to the vet, Katy was well hydrated, with pink gums, no fevers, and some tenderness over the bladder but nothing else.
They didn't run any tests though. Vet basically did a physical exam (she listened to her heart/lungs, palpated her belly, had a very quick look into her mouth).
They didn't do bloods, or urine tests, or any other test, which is what makes me wonder if the vet is being a bit dismissive?
Based on the bladder tenderness and the hanging out in the litter box, the vet thinks it's cystitis.
Vet prescribed Katy some gabapentin for pain and urinary supplements (Cystophan). Nothing else.
In the past, she had a period of peeing outside of the box. They found crystals in her urine and the diagnosis was cystitis. She had the same treatment (gabapentin, calmurofel supplement) and got better very quickly. Note that she was not sick in herself this past episode, it was just peeing out of the box and being stressed out because I had started volunteering at a shelter. This was way back in 2019, and somewhat stress-related.
I admit that there have been some unusual stressors over the past week. First of all I've been incredibly busy and not spending as much time with her as I usually do, and secondly we ran into two (leashed) dogs on one of her walks (nothing happened, just a lot of growling from the dogs and Katy, at a safe distance). Other than that, nothing is different. She was on the same food, same feeding routine, and had no contact with other cats or dogs.
That said.
This current illness seems very different than her previous stress related cystitis issues. I have never seen her this lethargic for as long as I've had her. Somehow I can't shake the feeling that there may be something else going on, I find it hard to be believe that stress/cystitis issues is causing her to withdraw to this extent. At the same time I'm doubting my own feelings, because I have health anxieties myself and I know I can be overly protective (sometimes paranoid) over Katy and tend to worry about the smallest changes, even if it turns out to be nothing.
Now, since the vet visit:
There is been a bit of improvement from Saturday (yesterday). I gave her the gabapentin, which was no easy feat. She is lethargic until I try to give her meds, then she is a ball of fire and rage. After the gabapentin, she finally ate a bit of kibble and drank a bit of water, after almost 30 hours without food or water!!
This morning (Sunday), she ate half a pouch of her favorite wet food mixed in with the cystophan. I was completely overjoyed, but then the rest of the day is not showing much improvement. I coaxed her into eating a small amount (like a teaspoonful) of boiled fish for lunch. Now it's evening time and she hasn't had anything all day.
She hasn't been peeing a whole lot either. Usually, she eats 3 pouches of wet food a day and gifts me with 3 to 4 big pee clumps. She has only peed once today morning (and once last night).
So I wonder, should I take Katy to a different vet for a second opinion? Take her back to the same vet and insist something is not quite right?
Wait and watch, maybe it is cystitis after all and it will settle in a few days? Maybe cats take a while to recover from illness?
This is the first time Katy is seriously ill like this (she is only over 3 yrs old), and honestly it has got me so worried.
Any and all advice is much appreciated. Thank you so much for reading this essay and let me know if I can give any more information.
