Fever of unknown origin

Muppyguppyjane

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Hi everyone just wondering if anyone else had this issue with their cat. So my 3 year old female just out of the blue started laying around/not eating or drinking and super hot to the touch. I took her to the vet Tuesday and they ran all the tests and it was all negative except for her white blood count was elevated. They think it’s either bacterial or viral infection.

They had her at the hospital on onsion injections and constant Iv fluids. Her temp would go down to 99 and then up to 104 something. I didn’t have the funds to keep her another night after the 2 so I picked her up last night. Before leaving she had a temp of like 102 something. They sent me home with augmentin drops and sub q fluids.

After she got home she kinda wanted to explore around a bit but you could tell she was totally weak. Still not eating or drinking on her own. She has been kept away from my other cats and I left her in a spare room with food and stuff. Didn’t touch anything but is using the cat pan to pee in. I went to the store and got her some wet food to blend up and feed her. I tried doing that and she immediately threw up and it had specks of blood in it. So I just checked her temp and it’s 104.9. Her eye is kinda junked up and her third eye(????). Is showing so much. Anyone else have anything like this happened. I’m just not sure what to do and it’s so hard to get the vet to call back because they are super busy
 

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daftcat75

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My Betty had a fever of unknown origin after an endoscopy. The specialist said such an incidence is really low but not unheard of. After a whole endoscopy's price worth of follow-on diagnostics (X-rays, ultrasound, bloodwork, etc), she was given a five day prescription of a general antibiotic (pradofloxacin aka Veraflox) and she was feeling much better the next day. Never did figure out what caused it.

That might be something to try with your girl. You may also ask your vet about Hills A/D. It's a prescription food used to get sick and old cats eating again. It's not meant to be a forever food. But it may certainly be what she needs to keep her eating until she's feeling better again. If she likes the A/D, I would mix it with her regular food just as soon as you can get her eating a mix and eventually transition her back to her regular food. The reason for that is because A/D is very rich and she likely won't eat enough of it. But the other reason is that it's highly appealing. If she decides she wants only A/D, you have nowhere to go when she gets sick of it. Best to keep the pure stuff for emergencies.
 

FeebysOwner

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It does kind of sound viral in nature between the fever and the eye discharge. Has your cat had the standard vaccinations? If not, they can easily test for FIV or FeLV to see if that is behind this. One of these two viruses can be tested for even if she has had previous vaccinations (I can never remember which one). I know you can't easily get ahold of the vet, but a secondary vet in the office should at least be able to answer the question. Sometimes, a full fecal PCR test can identify various bacterial and viral conditions.

If you truly think there were blood specks in her vomit, then the next time she throws up collect the vomit and take it to the vet - most will test it for blood without an appt. You can call and ask.

First off, ask the vet (or anyone in the office) about getting an anti-nausea med to see if that helps. In addition to the Hill's A/D food, you can also try baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) to see if one or the other might entice her to eat again.

Hope more members will chime in with other ideas/suggestions.
 
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Muppyguppyjane

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It does kind of sound viral in nature between the fever and the eye discharge. Has your cat had the standard vaccinations? If not, they can easily test for FIV or FeLV to see if that is behind this. One of these two viruses can be tested for even if she has had previous vaccinations (I can never remember which one). I know you can't easily get ahold of the vet, but a secondary vet in the office should at least be able to answer the question. Sometimes, a full fecal PCR test can identify various bacterial and viral conditions.

If you truly think there were blood specks in her vomit, then the next time she throws up collect the vomit and take it to the vet - most will test it for blood without an appt. You can call and ask.

First off, ask the vet (or anyone in the office) about getting an anti-nausea med to see if that helps. In addition to the Hill's A/D food, you can also try baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) to see if one or the other might entice her to eat again.

Hope more members will chime in with other ideas/suggestions.
The only vaccine she has ever had is her rabies shot. Idk they are indoor only so I just never got the vaccines done, bad I know!!!! See I have never had a cat stay over night and I’m wondering if she hurt her throat my meowing constantly there. When I syringe feed her food she swallows like it hurts and dies her head a weird way, idk how to explain it. After being on antibiotics should I see a huge improvement in her, because she’s been on for 2 days and she honestly doesn’t look any different to me, she’s just laying down and not moving at all
 

FeebysOwner

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It may take a few more days to see results from the antibiotic. It seems to be pretty typical for it to take about half the duration of the meds for any noticeable improvement. Most antibiotics are prescribed for 7 - 10 days, so just as a simple baseline, you might see any positive change for a few more days.
Fever of Unknown Origin for Cats | VCA Animal Hospital (vcahospitals.com)
 
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