My cat George has undiagnosed problems

Sarawyn

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Hi everyone. My cat George (6 year old Maine Coon) has been having something going on for nearly a year, and its been worse the past few months. He sort of sits bent over sometimes, has glassy eyes, runny nose, looks and acts off , his eyes are half lidded like he’s tired and doesn’t feel good, he lays on me when I’m in bed which he never did before, meows loudly but nothing satisfied him, he follows me constantly, and seems stressed when my other cat is around. He’s also been “dominanting” the other cat like mounting her (they are both fixed) and getting more aggressive when they play.

I’m at the end of my rope because I’ve taken him to three different vets, aside from a heart murmur all of them have said his tests are”normal”. ☹ I literally don’t know what else to do, and now with the new aggression stuff, the vets have said I can use Feliway but I’m allergic to it. All of them mentioned putting him on Prozac, but I’venever heard of doing that for a cat so I’m leery of that.

Anyway, after having every test done knowm to man and being told hes fine, and having this new behavior stuff, I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’d do anything for my George, I just don’t know what the heck it is!!

If anyone has had similar experiences with their cats please let me know. I’ve been worried and frustrated for a long time, and I hate to think if him feeling sick or in pain. ☹

Thanks so much,
Tracy
 

neely

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I don't blame you for being worried and frustrated. :alright: You know George best and whether he is not acting like himself. I'm glad to hear after multiple test and, I'm assuming bloodwork, that three different vets didn't find anything wrong but sorry to hear something's not right. Just out of curiosity, how is his appetite? Any change regarding his eating habits? Although I haven't experienced this particular problem I thought one of these Articles might be helpful for you:
Cat Acting Strangely? Here’s What It Could Mean – TheCatSite Articles
35 Signs That Your Cat May Be In Pain – TheCatSite Articles

I'm sure other members will share their experience(s) and offer suggestions. Please keep us posted on his progress.
 

di and bob

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Well, it sounds for certain George doesn't feel good, by your descriptions and his escalating behavior. It doesn't sound behavioral to me with those symptoms. Since the vets can't really find everything, I would start with allergies, either food-related or environmental. Change his food to a good quality IBD or sensitive stomach one, one, an allergy one would be good if you can find it. If that doesn't work, try giving him an allergy medicine like Claritin, 5mg., or Zyrtec, 5 mg. or1/2 tablet, or call your vet and see what they recommend. It takes a while for these to work so give at least daily for 2 weeks. Hide the pill in a tiny bit of cheese, my cat took pills for years by me taking a tiny bit of cat pill pocket and 'cementing' the pill to a tiny piece of bacon. Cats love bacon and if you hold another tiny piece to their face while they are eating the first, they usually swallow quickly. I hope this works, something is wrong, it is just a matter of finding out what!
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. In addition to letting us know how he is eating (and, drinking/using the litterbox), what are all the tests the vets ran? Standard tests, which is basic blood work and maybe a urinalysis, aren't always going to show a health problem if it is outside the scope of what these tests are looking for. What Grade did they quantify the heart murmur as, and are any of them expecting to treat or try to determine its cause, given it is happening in a cat that is only 6 years old. Did they check his blood pressure? Depending on the severity (and, perhaps cause) of the murmur his other behaviors could be connected.

I take the 3 different vets George has seen were from different practices (to avoid colleague bias)? If these were all from the same practice, talk to everyone you know and get a recommendation for another vet outside that group. You can get a copy of all George's records in order to share them with a new vet.

It's hard to make any other suggestions until we know how George is eating, etc. and what the tests were that George went through - as well as any other information you can think of to share with us.
 
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Maurey

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I agree on getting more info on his heart. I’d also suggest getting an ultasound + echo of his heart, as well. Being an MC, he’ll be more prone to HCM than your average cat, even if he’s negative for the gene.

When he sits hunched over, does he make any noise? I’d be eating&toileting normally? Is he interested in play?
 

Kflowers

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It sounds as though several things maybe going on. Hunched over, in my experience, has meant arthristis in the spine. Full body x-ray should show this. dasuquin, cosequin, other joint medicines have helped but you need to know what's going on. Pain can be depressing on a mental level and on a physical level.
 

ladytimedramon

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Are any of those vets a veterinary internist? According to my cousin, a veterinary generalist, it's about 5 extra years of training and specialization. You may need a referral. When my cat had a medical issue the generalist had trouble in an exploratory surgery locating the issue. The internist did a sonogram, found the problem, referred us to a surgical specialist and told her exactly what and where to look, and then was the problem solved. I wish I'd asked for a referral before the exploratory and saved my baby the pain of more surgery than she needed. God forbid something happens again, and the generalist can't solve it, I'm asking for a referral immediately.
 
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