Infectious causes of vomiting and diarrhea in both cats

[Pouncecat1]

On Sunday, my cat Pounce started vomiting and not feeling so good. I took him to the vet Monday. They did x rays and thought it was a foreign body obstruction and told me to come back on Tuesday morning to see the Surgeon (and possible exploratory surgery). I came back Tuesday morning, repeated x rays and gave subcutaneous fluids. Possible obstruction, but nothing was clear on the x rays. Was advised that we can try fluid therapy and supportive care to see if this would pass. The clinic forgot to send out his bloodwork on Monday so we repeated the bloodwork and sent out a fresh sample. Can't do surgery without bloodwork right?

I took him back on Tuesday night for additional subcutaneous fluids. They got the bloodwork results. Nothing real specific except he had low WBC and Neutropenia (low neutrophils) and was low in lymphocytes. Tuesday night he started looking better and was wanting to eat.

Wednesday he started eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom. All good signs. We went back and did additional x rays and fluids and again nothing was certain. Vet still seemed convinced this was a foreign body but again, there was some uncertainty there. Today he looks much better- eating, drinking, interested in the environment, and bright eyed and cheerful.

BUT his brother is coming down with the same symptoms. Caspian refused supper last night. Had minor diarrhea this morning, and is refusing to eat. I tried syringing water into his mouth and he vomited everything back up. So now I'm absolutely terrified that this is infectious. I have separated the 2 sick cats from the 2 healthy cats but this is really miserable because if all 4 of them get it, I don't know how I'm going to pay all of them to get fluids for the next 3 days until this passes. I'm also really really worried about Caspian because he is going to get dehydrated. If I take him to the Emergency vet for fluids, it will be $200 just for fluids and walking in the front door.

I'm starting to suspect feline panleukopenia- but they have been vaccinated for that in the past. Or I am also suspicious of food poisoning. Both cats are on different diets but they do share a litter box. It is plausible that Caspian could have licked his feet and picked up (whatever infectious disease this is) from Pounce by using the litter box.

I knew I should have insisted on taking some fluids home with me yesterday from the vet, but they didn't want to do that.

 

[Pouncecat1]

And I checked the house from top to bottom. I did not find anything they could have gotten into or eaten. Unless they both decided to eat carpet fibers in one day, I think it is unlikely that this is a foreign body.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Sorry about Pounce and Caspian being ill. How old are your cats - and have they regularly received their vaccinations? If so, it would seem highly unlikely to be panleukopenia. Is it possible that the vet is mistaking extra air or a thickened intestinal wall as a foreign body/obstruction? Did the vet perform a fecal PCR test to see if any viral/bacterial/parasitical issues showed up in Pounce's stool? Even if it is a viral issue, secondary infections can set in and require antibiotics to help the overall recovery process.

Whatever it is, if Pounce needed to have fluids to help with stabilizing him, it is probably necessary to do so with Caspian as well, unfortunately the sooner the better. Then, as you stated, be insistent that you are allowed to administer them fluids at home going forward. It would be helpful if Caspian received some sort of anti-nausea meds as well.

Once your vet knows you have a second cat with the same symptoms, I think they will forgo the obstruction idea and hopefully move on to other testing (such as the fecal PCR).

 

[Pouncecat1]

We have not done any further testing. The vets were pretty certain it was a foreign body obstruction, but there was some uncertainty there because otherwise we would have rushed to surgery instead of taking the watch and wait approach. I think a PCR test is a good idea. I will ask about it tomorrow. Thank you for responding. Caspian only started getting sick last night after the vet was closed. So both cats are going back in tomorrow. Pounce meanwhile, is looking much better.

 

[Jcatbird]

I am so sorry the kitties have been sick!
I would ask for fluids to administer at home as well. Did the vet say what made them feel this was an obstruction rather than some other cause? Blood work and fecal are things I would want done. Separating your kitties may be difficult but it was a good idea. It’s always best to err on the side of caution. If you do get a diagnosis from the vet that requires medication, make sure they understand you have other cats at home. My vet is very good about providing extra meds if it is something that may affect my other cats. We had a round of Coccidia that hit us. There was a litter of kittens in the house and the vet provided enough medicine to treat them as well as the two rescues. It may not always be something they can do but it might save you some cost if it can be done. I hope that Caspian recovers as quickly as Pounce.

 

[Pouncecat1]

Well not such good news. Pounce was eating and bright eyed starting Wednesday night, all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This morning he threw up all his breakfast- again not like him. So he was sick Sunday- Tuseday. Better for 4 days, and sick again today.

Caspian was sick Wednesday Night- Saturday evening. He finally started eating last night. But he is not eating normally- just nibbling bits and pieces of food. His bloodwork came back normal, so absolutely no help there.

I'm not handling the stress well. I can't sleep. I'm afraid they will get worse. Or something else will go wrong. The vet did not want to do a fecal PCR. Said they have a diagnostic approach for those things and a PCR would be expensive. The current approach is draining all my cash. They keep doing bloodwork, subcutaneous fluids, and repeated x rays. It all adds up, each visit adding more and more to the bill.

I called and set an appointment with Blue Pearl for Monday. They are $170 for the consult and $360 for an abdominal ultrasound. But they can do the diagnostic testing no one else can do. Pounce is going in and we shall see what the results show. But it could easily be a $900 bill.

Worst case scenario- both cats ate carpet fibers or insulation. Best case scenario, this is some sort of infection and will pass with supportive care. Or they both can have something different going on with them.

I don't know how I can be this unlucky. Please pray for my boys. I really don't want them to need surgery- or have cancer or something really serious.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I find it hard to believe that a fecal PCR test is going to be more expensive than the testing they want to do for the cost you listed above. It would seem to me that the odds of both cats having some sort of intestinal obstruction are next to none. And, the PCR test would have indicated an infection if there is one - which would require antibiotics, not just 'supportive care'. It just seems like we are all missing something in the vet's rationale given they seem to be so adamant about what might be causing this. But, if all the above testing they want to do comes back with no answer, you might consider finding a different vet.

 

[Pouncecat1]

Blue Pearl is expensive but they should be able to do whatever testing is necessary to get to the bottom of this and get some answers. The current vets don't seem to know what to do other than- "oh those x rays look very concerning, maybe you should consider exploratory surgery..or let's take more x rays and see if things look any better."

I did not care for the vet I have been seeing the last few visits.

The vet did say we could do a barium study. Can't remember if she said barium study or barium enema, but that would require sedation, and wouldn't be much more helpful than an ultrasound. So I might as well see the Blue Pearl specialist and get answers. Blue Pearl can do the ultrasound, the PCR test, or whatever else they think is necessary. At least if I get the ultrasound done, I can stop worrying. If i had known the local vets were so unhelpful, I would have just gone straight to the specialist.

If he has an infection, I need to figure out what it is so we can treat it.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Well, good luck with this upcoming visit and please let us know how it goes!