Help me identify illness

middletown

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
409
Purraise
5
Hi all,


A couple months ago we got a real scare when one of our 2 year olds suddenly got sick. Me, the vet and a second vet are all stumpted as to what it was other than "some virus". Sleevo (the cat) is doing much better now.
I am just curious to know if anyone else ever experienced this.

at 3pm when the wife got home, Sleevo, as always the door greeter was there and appeared fine.
@ 5:30 when i got home, she was in the closet napping.
@ 7ish after diner, i went to check on her as she didnt come down for her canned food. She sluggishly looked up at me and gave a real stained meow. I noticed her panting and drooling.

I immediately dropped everything i was doing picked her up put her in the carrier and ran to the vet.
Luckily for us, we have a 24 vet with emergency service.
After checking her in at the vet the wife and I spent a very stressed 2 hour wait for some kind of feedback.
The vet stated:

her temp was 104 and climbing.
her white blood count was very low.
and her toungue was swollen and inflamed. the top layer of her toungue was actually "slughing" off.
All of our cats always have all their shots and tests for FIV etc.

he was not sure what was really the root cause and called another vet into the office for assistance. (did i mention i have a really good vet office
)
She too was stumped.

There were no bites or abscess on Sleevo. She NEVER goes outside unless its on my lap. cats are indoor animals IMHO. anyway....

Sleevo stayed at the vets office for 4 days on antibodics and very close monitoring. We got to bring her home. poor baby was so tired
.
anyway after about 2 weeks of pills she is back to herself.

The strange thing is the issue with the toungue. the top layer just fell off like your skin does with a sunburn.
We had thought of an insect bite, but most bugs up here are fairly benign compared to other locations in the US and the world. and both vet Dr's could not find any wounds to indicate a bite.

Anyone seen, read or experienced anything like this?


Both vets mentioned that if we had waited much longer, her temperature would have spiked, she would have went into convulsions and died.
I just wanted to point that out as a very good example of why it is so important with cats to get to a Vet quickly when you notice anything unusal.

The horror would have been if i didnt check back on her, she would have died a lonely miserable death in the back corner of our closet and we wouldnt have known til morning. Thank you God that didnt happen. it still brings me to tears thinking that was a possibility.

Sleevo is a bottle baby and very close to me and the wife. very tender and gentle cat. trusting and sweet. This experience has effected her personality a little. she is quite skittish now. I expect that to pass. But it proves to me that cats are aware of their environment and their own heath.
idiots call animals automotons without emotion.

anyway.
anythoughts would be appreciated.
 

kittenkiya

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
Messages
2,196
Purraise
2
Location
Tucson, AZ
Any possibility she could have gotten into some cleaning stuff, bleach, detergent, oil, antifreeze, hydrogen peroxide?
 

serenasmommy

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 7, 2005
Messages
130
Purraise
1
Location
Regina,SK, Canada
I don't have any experience with anything like this, but I thought I'd let you know that my thoughts and prayers are with you, and I'm so happy you did the right thing. So many of us shrug health issue off for a few days, and this is just another reason why that is not acceptable. Thanks for being a good "daddy"!
 

pushylady

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
16,398
Purraise
451
Location
Canada
Lucky her for having such wonderful humans. Glad to hear she's back to health.

Sorry I have no idea what could have caused that.
 

semiferal

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 15, 2005
Messages
1,890
Purraise
9
Location
in my apartment
This is an interesting one. I think the skin sloughing off the tongue could have been secondary to the swelling in the tongue.

An allergic reaction would be a possibility that I would consider. It is possible she was bitten by a spider or another insect and you might not even be able to find the actual bite wound.

The low white cell count is interesting, and points away from a bacterial infection. A viral cause is also a possibility.
 

hell603

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 9, 2001
Messages
4,560
Purraise
3
Location
Central New Jersey
I agree with Semiferal. You mentioned that "most bugs up here are fairly benign compared to other locations in the US and the world" but that dosen't mean she could not have an allergic reaction to one. Like in Humans it depends on the individuals chemistry!!!! Glad your baby was/is in such good hands and is feeling better.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

middletown

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
409
Purraise
5
Originally Posted by KittenKiya

Any possibility she could have gotten into some cleaning stuff, bleach, detergent, oil, antifreeze, hydrogen peroxide?
very remote chance of laundry detergent.
otherwise no to the rest we are very cat proofed home for chemicals.

I agree with Semiferal. You mentioned that "most bugs up here are fairly benign compared to other locations in the US and the world" but that dosen't mean she could not have an allergic reaction to one. Like in Humans it depends on the individuals chemistry!!!! Glad your baby was/is in such good hands and is feeling better.
That is a good possibilty and makes sense.
Thanks
 

kai bengals

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 5, 2005
Messages
3,931
Purraise
17
Location
North Carolina
I've seen our cats "play" with spiders. Then tend to sniff them, then lick them. I'm sure this aggravates the spider a great deal, so when I see this I stop them right away, so they don't get bit.
What is the likelyhood that your cat was bitten by a brown recluse? Are they in the area you live in?
Below is a link to a short article on how this spiders bites can affect a cat.
Looks like several of the symptoms you described are common when this spider bites. The sloughing of the skin on the tongue especially could be the bite zone.
Glad your kitty got better!

Recluse Article
 

blueyedgirl5946

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Sep 10, 2005
Messages
14,593
Purraise
1,695
Did the vet check her blood to make sure she doesn't have kidney problems. Panting and drooling is a sign of poisoning and possible kidney failure.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

middletown

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
409
Purraise
5
Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

I've seen our cats "play" with spiders. Then tend to sniff them, then lick them. I'm sure this aggravates the spider a great deal, so when I see this I stop them right away, so they don't get bit.
What is the likelyhood that your cat was bitten by a brown recluse? Are they in the area you live in?
Below is a link to a short article on how this spiders bites can affect a cat.
Looks like several of the symptoms you described are common when this spider bites. The sloughing of the skin on the tongue especially could be the bite zone.
Glad your kitty got better!

Recluse Article
I am all to familar with that spider and the black widow. was bitten by both as a kid growing up in SC.
But here in NY its to cold for those spiders. which is good, now i can leave my shoes in the garage without having to look in them first.


The more i read from everyones posts (THANK YOU SO MUCH) i seem to think about spiders too. we have the common brown house spider everywhere this year. She might just be allergic to them or have issues with histimines from bites.


Did the vet check her blood to make sure she doesn't have kidney problems. Panting and drooling is a sign of poisoning and possible kidney failure.
yes they did a full blood work up on her. no indication of any issues with her kidneys. no inflamation or sensitivty to touch either.

And Thank you all for the kind words regarding her recovery.
she is my precious little alarm clock @ 5 am, but i wouldnt have it any other way.
she is all back to normal, other than she is just less secure than she was before. more skittish to loud noises etc.... i think it was due to the stay at the vets. its a lot less compfy than the small of my back or chest... or so she tells me with her little 'puurrrvvveeeerrrrpppps"
 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
I would ask them to run a tox screen. Do you use mothballs in your closet? Or put out any ant or mouse bait? This sounds like a toxic reaction to me, whether she licked a floor that had cleaning fluid spilled, or ate a mothball (cats love mothballs). It is possible that there was something tucked in the back of the closet (maybe there since you moved in that she found).

I am glad she is okay- how is she eating?
 

blueyedgirl5946

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Sep 10, 2005
Messages
14,593
Purraise
1,695
I am glad your cat is doing better, and that her kidneys are not affected. Keep us the good care and let us know how she is doing.
 

leia & lou

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Oct 12, 2005
Messages
6
Purraise
0
Location
Sydney
I hope Sleevo is feeling better and getting over her scare and that you are feeling better about it all.

I do agree with the others, seems like an insect related reaction. Especially with the tongue. Sounds as thought the Sleevo's body was trying to get rid of the most infected area.

But you did a great thing on checking on her and I am sure her days of playing with the insects are over!!!

Leia & Lou xxx
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

middletown

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
409
Purraise
5
Originally Posted by hissy

I would ask them to run a tox screen. Do you use mothballs in your closet? Or put out any ant or mouse bait? This sounds like a toxic reaction to me, whether she licked a floor that had cleaning fluid spilled, or ate a mothball (cats love mothballs). It is possible that there was something tucked in the back of the closet (maybe there since you moved in that she found).

I am glad she is okay- how is she eating?
Hi Hissy,

The vet ran a tox screen and a full blood work up. poor little thing had every part of her body invaded with a needle.

nothing showed up irregular, except the WBC. My first reaction was that of a bite of somesort. No one can say their home is 100% safe and free of toxins, but i know there are no mothballs or rat poision etc anywhere in the house. We foster as we can and raise bottle babies as we can for our local shelter, feline friends etc. so we are uber careful with any chemicals. plus both the wife and i are chemists so we are over cautious to begin with.
I am completely baffled by her illness. The area in the closet where she laid down sick, got completely cleaned out, scrubbed washed as well as all the clothes in that closet as a just in case measure. She does like that closet


She is 100% physically better. She eats great. shes a little pudgie puss
.
She lost some of her confidence around the house. IE she just doesnt roam and dig into things like she used to. and is a little skiddish around noises. but i think that all has to do with being at the vets for 4 days. She still grooms me in my sleep and snuggles up close to the wife and I as she always did. Her favorite pasttime is playing in the tub and watching me while i shower and get ready for work in the morning. She still greats me when i get home, but now only upstairs by the bedroom door.
other than that emotional stress she is OK. I keep giving her the once over trying to find tenderspots and examing her skin and privites for any "just in case" events.
Thank you all for your kindness.

Ric
 
Top