I can't get a vet appointment for 4 days! HELP!

[a_loveless_gem]

In short, Esper has lost her voice.

For full details...

Yesterday when I got home, Esper greeted me at the door. However, it was not her usual meow. That came out was a raspy meow. Much like how a human would sound if they lost their voice. You know that half voice half scratchy raspy sound. If anyone watches The Simpsons, think Marge but REALLY REALLY raspy.

She has had no sign of Upper Respiratory Infection, no sneexing coughing, no watery eyes. She is purely indoors, never ventures outdoors as with all my cats. She is due for a vaccination.

Esper is eating/drinking normally and has used the kitty litter only to defecate and urinate. However, she has become more skittish than usual around males. She's always been that way but not to the degree that it is now. She now hisses at Russell and the new kitten intermittently. She didn't do that before. The only whole cat is the kitten.

I know I introduced the new kitten before he's had any shots but he has a clean bill of health from the vet. He is now due for his shots also.

I can't get a vet appointment until Monday morning....it's Thursday night now. So is there ANYTHING I can do besides sit, stress, sleep, twiddle my thumbs, work, stress some more and twiddle my thumbs until Monday? And does anyone know of ANYTHING that may cause this sudden loss of vocal ability?

 

[rosiemac]

I wish i had answers for you and Esper!.

Me being me, although Rosie goes to our local vets surgery, she has never been seen by the same vet each time we visit, so because i know a vet nurse here in the uk, her surgery is beside where i work, so i would'nt mind a different surgery have a look at her.

Susan

 

[a_loveless_gem]

I don't have another vet surgery to go to.

There is only one in town. If there was another one, I would gladly go to them considering I do not get the best service and especially if I could go to a vet sooner.

The next closest surgery is in a town 300km away.

I understand the need for Esper to see a vet as soon as possible. I'm on the waiting list if there are any cancellations on Saturday. They're closed Sundays. And emergency hours? Well, they don't exist. I really would appreciate any helpful advice.

 

[rosiemac]

OMG No emergency hours even!, you poor thing, no wonder your frantic!!.

I hope someone comes up with an answer for you both soon.

Susan (Sending you a head butt from Rosie in the meantime)

 

[a_loveless_gem]

Frantic doesn't even begin to describe it.

I'm trawling through massive amounts of vetrinary resources and so far two possible causes so far and both are not nice at all.

It's either throat irritation/infection or a case of URI that I didn't notice until now.

 

[rosiemac]

I've sent an e-mail to the girl i know who is the vet nurse to ask her if she has clue?.

It may be tomorrow by the time i get an answer but keep watching!.

Susan

 

[cineza]

FIND ANOTHER VET!!!! One who understands the urgency of NOT waiting and workimg you in....if nothing else camp out in the lobby until they WILL see you....nothing grabs ones attention like a PAIN in the hind end.......squeaky wheel gets the grease.....whatever saying works...

 

[sicycat]

Dont stress!! I'm sure kitty will be fine. I would feel good as long as I knew she was eating/drinking and urinating normally etc. Just keep a close eye on her until her appt!

 

[rosiemac]

Mags, got an e-mail back from my vet nurse friend.

She said without hearing Esper, you can't really tell,but as long as theres no breathing difficulties she should be ok,and said for you not to worry, and that the 'rasping' sound could be like what we get when we wake up first thing in the morning?!.

BUT, she also said to lay it on thick with the vet for someone to see her just incase it is the beginning of flu!

Keep us informed!

Susan

 

[a_loveless_gem]

Again I would like to stress that I cannot go see another vet. I live in a small town with only ONE vet in town. The next available vet is in another town 300km away, basically a three hour drive. This is something that would stress out the cats before the vet visit, not something I want to do in a hurry.

And currently it is the GOOD locum vet in town. Everyone who owns a pet knows this and it's partly why they're so busy at the moment. This is the only vet that comes to my town that I trust to give my cats vaccinations and medications. The other vets just seem less confident when it comes to cats.

Thank you Susan for e-mailing the vet nurse. I do appreciate it. I have laid it on thick and will be on-call all tomorrow should anyone cancel their vet appointment. **fingers crossed**

I am keeping an eye on her. Her hostility level is still the same. It hasn't gotten any worse, nor has her temperament improved. At least she hasn't hissed at any humans just yet. She's still raspy as ever. I haven't seen her interact with the kitten or Russell today.

I'm keeping an eye on the kitten and Russell as well for signs of raspy voices. So far, all good.

 

[rosiemac]

Keeping my fingers crossed that there's a cancellation for you Mags.

Let us know on monday though what happened.

I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry.

Susan x

 

[deb eldredge]

First, your kitty is eating, drinking & eliminating normally right? Her actual breathing is normal & she isn't open mouth breathing, panting or her sides heaving when she breathes? No audible wheeze when she breathes? Nothing she could have licked or gotten into that would hurt her throat?
Cats can temporarily lose their voices just like we can. I forgot, how old is your cat? Older cats might have polyps or growths near their voacl cords. Some viruses might cause just the voice loss. Could she have stressed her vocal cords doing a lot of calling? (Think of a dog who barks enough to make himself hoarse.)
I would not panic, but I would watch her carefully over the weekend & go in as an emergency if needed but it doesn't sound like a true emergency right now.
You might be able to help her by closing her in the bathroom while you shower (sort of vaporising her). Sipping milk with a little honey helps my throat when it is sore. If she can handle dairy products that might help a bit.
Deb E

 

[deb25]

Mags:

If she seems to be normal otherwise, sounds like you can wait for the appt. A few years ago, Squirt got out and was lost for 2 weeks. When I found him, he had lost his voice, and it was very raspy for a couple of weeks afterward. I thought he must have been doing a LOT of extra meowing while he was lost. Can't think of a reason why Esper might have lost her voice overnight, though......

 

[a_loveless_gem]

*sigh*

No cancellation yet. Esper's mood is on the up at the moment.

She wouldn't have been able to get into anything that harmed her because I kitten proofed the house before adding the new kitten to the house. She's just over a year old.

I hope that this was from a lot of meowing. And it would have to have been an awful lot in the space of eight hours.

 

[a_loveless_gem]

It's now Sunday.

Esper has regained her voice. I'm very happy about it and very relieved but I am still taking her to the vet along with the kitten. They can both have a check-up and shots.

Hopefully the vet can provide some answers.

Then it's Russell's turn next month.

 

[jcat]

Mags, I hope everything is okay with her, and I can understand your being almost frantic. JC became very hoarse once because he kept "singing" for hours. He sat in front of the cellar window and just kept wailing. That went on for a number of days. I took him to the vets' twice, and they couldn't find anything wrong with him. I then thought maybe a female was in heat (although he's castrated; he regularly marks his backyard). The freaky thing was, when I talked to the woman who has two of his brothers, she told me one of them was doing the same thing, at the same time, but over 38 kilometers away from here. She also found out that their mother disappeared from her home at the same time (she has never been found). So perhaps Esper was doing a lot of vocalizing for some reason known only to herself.

 

[rosiemac]

I was so pleased to read Esper found her voice again.
I've thought about her at the weekend(and you!).

Let us know the minute you get back from the vet.

Susan

 

[a_loveless_gem]

It's not exactly the minute after I got back from the vet, in fact it's been four days.

The vet suspects that Esper had laryngitis. Fun fun.

By the time she was seen to it was already clearing up so it was pointless to medicate antibiotics. AND he was good enough to add to Esper's file to never give her Rilixene, an antibiotic she had that gave her severe diarrhoea. It was mentioned to the vet that the locum vets refused to listen to us on that.

I've been on the lookout for the other two to get similiar symptoms to Esper but luckily no one else is sounding hoarse. *fingers crossed*

 

[rosiemac]

And we humans know only too well how bad laryngitis feels, the poor baby!

Im thrilled that your minds been put at rest though Mags,you must be so relieved!, and i hope the other two fur babies don't catch it.