kitty lost his meow and other problems

[comithy]

owner of a 2 year old male tabby here. tl;dr = my cat's health has been deteriorating gradually in different ways and i'm considering a getting blood test done.

my kitty recently got bitten by another cat on the foot and it punctured quite deep but not critical enough to need any intensive treatment. he was prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine which i give every day. for the first two days he regained his normal walk but on the third day he started limping again and its not getting any better. i check his wound and its been healing and is almost completely gone so i'm thinking it's an internal problem.
+ he has been extremely lethargic, probably sleeping 15-16 hours a day. he eats an extremely average amount of food (doesnt indulge/ finish a whole bowl0 and has stopped gaining weight, hes actualy been looking thinner. and hes been much more quiet.
+ he does have a tendency to vomit out his food, and it doesnt happen often but there are days when it happened consecutively.
+ now today, he was trying to meow at me to be let out of the house (i havent allowed him to leave since he got injured) and it sounded like air. his meow was really raspy and his voice cracked, and its more throatier. he appears very weak and his limp has gotten worse. as i write this, he's already gone back to sleep despite having woken up from a 7hour sleep just hours ago.

his usual vet seems to think its nothing to be worried about and it frustrates me. i'm going to another vet later and am considering asking them to check his blood, so i'd just like to ask now if these characteristics warrant a blood test (the tests are a bit pricy)? or it could be something else.

 

[jen]

Absolutely warrents a blood test, anytime a cat is not acting right. He is young, but even more reason he shouldn't be acting this way. I would rather be save and rule things out than sorry I didn't when I had the chance. Cats do everything possible to hide their pain. When they are visible acting off, something is usually wrong. I agree with finding another vet.

 

[molly92]

Those symptoms-specifically lethargy and loss of appetite-are huge warning signs that medical attention is needed. I hope you get him in to see the new vet quickly! If they don't let you in the building with him, ask them to keep you on speaker phone throughout the appointment.

It's probably worth the blood test, unless the vet looks at him and immediately knows exactly what's wrong. I would also ask if he needs: subcutaneous fluids (for dehydration as a side effect of his illness), a vitamin B-12 shot (often helps with appetite and lethargy), and antibiotics (this could be an infection from the wound).

Important note: Make it VERY clear BEFORE the exam begins that they are NOT to give antibiotics as an injection-ONLY pills or flavored solutions! The injectable antibiotic, Convenia, lasts in the system for months after one shot. Which is great if it works, but if your cat has dangerous side effects, there is no way to stop them. Whereas with a pill you give daily for 2 weeks, you can stop if there's an adverse reaction.

I don't want to stress you out, but this could get very serious and quick action now could save him. I hope everything goes well!

 

[jen]

Do you see a lot of side effects to Convenia? Someone else said this also.
We use it on literally every cat that comes into the clinic that needs antibiotics and I personally have never seen an issue. My own cats get it all the time like after dentals with extractions and my one cat gets a reoccuring infection on her food and Convenia works well for flare ups. Between them and the kitties in the clinic I just have not seen a side effect from any of them that I recall.

 

[molly92]

Do you see a lot of side effects to Convenia? Someone else said this also.
We use it on literally every cat that comes into the clinic that needs antibiotics and I personally have never seen an issue. My own cats get it all the time like after dentals with extractions and my one cat gets a reoccuring infection on her food and Convenia works well for flare ups. Between them and the kitties in the clinic I just have not seen a side effect from any of them that I recall.

It's not common, but it's one of those things that when it goes wrong, it goes REALLY wrong and then there's nothing you can do about it. The fact that it stays in the system for 2 months is what makes it so dangerous. There are a few threads on here about cats who died from it. It's less convenient to pill a cat every day versus giving a one time shot, but the convenience is usually not worth it even if the risk is small. Convenia isn't even designed for dental infections anyway, even though it's commonly used for that ecause of convenience.

 

[jen]

True I get that, it is best for bacterial skin infections. Where does it say that it stays in the system for 2 months? I know things are usually longer then noted, but 2 weeks is how its labelled, and 2 months is far from that.

 

[molly92]

True I get that, it is best for bacterial skin infections. Where does it say that it stays in the system for 2 months? I know things are usually longer then noted, but 2 weeks is how its labelled, and 2 months is far from that.

2 weeks is how long it is effective for,but there are still small amounts of it present after 65 days: CONVENIA Facts: Top Pet Owner Questions

 

[comithy]

owner of a 2 year old male tabby here. tl;dr = my cat's health has been deteriorating gradually in different ways and i'm considering a getting blood test done.

my kitty recently got bitten by another cat on the foot and it punctured quite deep but not critical enough to need any intensive treatment. he was prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine which i give every day. for the first two days he regained his normal walk but on the third day he started limping again and its not getting any better. i check his wound and its been healing and is almost completely gone so i'm thinking it's an internal problem.
+ he has been extremely lethargic, probably sleeping 15-16 hours a day. he eats an extremely average amount of food (doesnt indulge/ finish a whole bowl0 and has stopped gaining weight, hes actualy been looking thinner. and hes been much more quiet.
+ he does have a tendency to vomit out his food, and it doesnt happen often but there are days when it happened consecutively.
+ now today, he was trying to meow at me to be let out of the house (i havent allowed him to leave since he got injured) and it sounded like air. his meow was really raspy and his voice cracked, and its more throatier. he appears very weak and his limp has gotten worse. as i write this, he's already gone back to sleep despite having woken up from a 7hour sleep just hours ago.

his usual vet seems to think its nothing to be worried about and it frustrates me. i'm going to another vet later and am considering asking them to check his blood, so i'd just like to ask now if these characteristics warrant a blood test (the tests are a bit pricy)? or it could be something else.

update : i went to the vet and they said he was perfectly fine, and there was no need for other treatments. they checked his paw, temperature, mouth and throat and everything and he was just in good health according to the vet. he did meow out of discomfort in front of her and it definitely sounded horrible, like he hasnt used his voice in years but when i pointed it out, the vet just went 'hmmm' and left it at that. i insisted that something was wrong, or else he wouldnt be acting so weak and vastly different from how he usually is but they just said to continue the anti-inflammatory meds that he has now until its finished, then to come back if he's still not okay. i'm honestly just so frustrated right now, because every doctor is telling me he's fine, but they don't see how he isolates himself from everyone and is quiet and tired all the time. it's really disheartening, and not to mention where i live, there are only about 4 good vet clinics in the entire country and i just went to 2 of them. i really hope this doesn't develop into something worse.

 

[EmilyRoseLamb]

Hi there - I know this was a little while ago, but it sounds so very like my recent experience. Is it possible he swallowed something? My girl suddenly started acting strange around April 24th. She was gagging and regurgitating her food (when she ate which wasn’t often), and sounded raspy when when she meowed/congested. She’d been very vocal and active before this. I took her to the vet, they x-rayed and examined her, told me she was fine and gave her an anti-nausea shot. She picked up a bit after that, but was still so lethargic and eating very little. This went on for weeks and I trusted that the vet was correct in thinking it was a virus. She acted a lot like your kitty. Slow, vague, not wanting to play. I was very worried.
Last week a big sore appeared on her neck. I thought my other cat had bitten her and I was fuming that she had so go through something else while she was so unwell. I kept washing it every morning and night. But - while I was washing it, I saw something poking out. Horrified as you can imagine, I pulled...it was a needle and thread. The needle had pierced her throat and worked it’s way out to her shoulder. No idea where she got it, and I certainly don’t need to be told how lucky I am.
But - questions remain about why the vet didn’t SEE the needle in her throat in the x-ray AND when she was examined. The vet also seemed to ignore the symptoms that were telling of this, namely the raspy breathing and meow. I wish I’d trusted my gut and made them look closer at her throat and saved her the weeks of pain she must have gone through.
My point is - you know your pet. Go with your gut and insist on closer examinations/further tests. Best of luck