My kitty is sick

lilnana65

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So my kitty Kesi stopped eating food late Thursday evening 10/1/2020, we thought maybe she was just feeling under the weather. So by Sunday she wasn't pee'ing or pooping and still not eating, so I took her to our V-E-T. They did blood work and hydrated her. Her Blood results were good, so they sent us home and said if she still was not eating to bring her back on Monday (Today), she is current still at the vet, they are giving her fluids and doing xrays and giving her an appetite stimulant and were going to do a couple more blood tests. The vet has just called and said they can't see anything on xray and blood results came back good, appetite stimulant didn't work, so they are going to give her valium to see if that will get her appetite going. So I asked them what is the next step if she won't eat, the vet said they may need to put a feeding tube in to keep her from getting fatty liver syndrome and it is also possible they may need to open her up to do exploratory surgery to see if there is something that the xray's is not picking up. I want to know if anyone has ever gone through any of this with thier cat? I am at a loss of what to do, do I go ahead and let them do the exploratory and feeding tube? I am very nervous, as the last cat we had a vet do exploratory on didn't make it through the surgery. Please any advise would be greatly appreciated
 

Furballsmom

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Hi! Is this the same cat who had chiggers back in July?

If he needs the feeding tube in order to receive nutrition because he's still not eating on his own, you may want to do that.

Hopefully he starts eating :vibes::crossfingers: :alright:
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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I had a cat recently who wasn't eating very much at all, lost one half pound in two weeks, and they gave him a Vit. B shot which seemed to work miracles. When I brought him home from the Vet, he was begging for food! They also gaveme an appetite stimulant to rub in his ear for 14 days, which also worked quite well. They told me if that didn't work, they would next try a steroid, which helps increase their appetites.

Does your little one even act hungry at all. Is she going up to her bowl and at least sniffing her food, or completely turned off by it? If the latter, then I suspect some type of health issue is causing it. Before they perform exploratory surgery, couldn't they do an ultrasound? Sometimes xrays don't pick up on every little detail, like perhaps a blockage. I thought xrays were mostly for bones, so not sure an xray might pick up certain blockages, if that's the issue.

Is she vomiting at all, or trying to? How about peeing, now that she's had some fluids put in? It's hard to say whether or n ot she should get a feedng tube installed until a blockage has beencompletely ruled out. Putting food in when there is a blockage (or twisted intestine) could be problematic. If everything else fails, she may truly need that exploratory surgery :frown:
 
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lilnana65

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Hi! Is this the same cat who had chiggers back in July?

If he needs the feeding tube in order to receive nutrition because he's still not eating on his own, you may want to do that.

Hopefully he starts eating :vibes::crossfingers: :alright:
No this isn't the same cat that had the chiggers, it is one of my other cats. Never got the chigger problem resolved but now that it is fall time, hopefully he will stop itching so much
 
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lilnana65

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I had a cat recently who wasn't eating very much at all, lost one half pound in two weeks, and they gave him a Vit. B shot which seemed to work miracles. When I brought him home from the Vet, he was begging for food! They also gaveme an appetite stimulant to rub in his ear for 14 days, which also worked quite well. They told me if that didn't work, they would next try a steroid, which helps increase their appetites.

Does your little one even act hungry at all. Is she going up to her bowl and at least sniffing her food, or completely turned off by it? If the latter, then I suspect some type of health issue is causing it. Before they perform exploratory surgery, couldn't they do an ultrasound? Sometimes xrays don't pick up on every little detail, like perhaps a blockage. I thought xrays were mostly for bones, so not sure an xray might pick up certain blockages, if that's the issue.

Is she vomiting at all, or trying to? How about peeing, now that she's had some fluids put in? It's hard to say whether or n ot she should get a feedng tube installed until a blockage has beencompletely ruled out. Putting food in when there is a blockage (or twisted intestine) could be problematic. If everything else fails, she may truly need that exploratory surgery :frown:
They tried the stimulant on her ears today at the vet but didn't work. Then they tried valuim that didn't work either. She smells the food in the dish but just turns her head away from it after smelling it. She vomited once when she first got sick, hasn't since though. She has peed but only because she is full of fluids from being hydrated at the vet as well. Her vet sent us home with urgent care canned food and told us to mix it with a tiny bit of water to make into a slurry and give her 5ml every hour as long as she is not puking it up. This is to keep her from getting fatty liver syndrome. our next step is possible ultrasound or the exploratory surgery. Will see how tonight goes. They left the IV in her arm in case she gets worse overnight or we decide to do the exploratory surgery in the morning.
 

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Amy news today? We're ALL quite concerned about this little one. Did they try a Vitamin B shot?

I do know about Fatty Liver and understand why they want you to give her little bits of food as long as she doesn't vomit. Has that restarted her appetite at all? How is her coloring on her gums and inside her ears? Is she the least bit yellow?
 
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lilnana65

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Amy news today? We're ALL quite concerned about this little one. Did they try a Vitamin B shot?

I do know about Fatty Liver and understand why they want you to give her little bits of food as long as she doesn't vomit. Has that restarted her appetite at all? How is her coloring on her gums and inside her ears? Is she the least bit yellow?
Thank you for your concern, I took her back to the vet this morning as she vomited all food the vet gave us to try and feed her by syringe, we only gave her 10ml of it and she threw it right back up. Thankfully the vet left the IV in her arm, in case I had to bring her back today. So now they are just keeping her there and giving her supportive care with fluids and are also doing a test for Toxoplasimosis which the vet said it is possible since she is indoor/outdoor kitty and eats mice. If the test comes back negative then they will do exploratory surgery to see if there is something in her that xrays could not detect. Her gums are good color, ears look great. As far as being yellow i didn't notice any yellowness. I expect to hear from her vet team soon to give me an update
 
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lilnana65

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Update on my Kesi girl, she had a barium xray done yesterday and more fluids given at the vet. The barium didn't show anything abnormal, so on Friday she will undergo exploratory surgery. We really hope this will give us the answers we so need and want as to why she is so sick. This is our last hope as there is nothing else that can be done after this. Please keep Kesi in your prayers. Thank you
 

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So no talk of doing an Ultrasound before going straight to exploratory surgery? What do they think it might be? Did they mention Linear Foreign Body? Does she ever go after yarn or string or anything like that? It wouldn't necessary cause a blockage, but might cause her intestines to bunch up or other things and could definitely require surgery, but I would think would show up either in that barium xray or an ultrasound, not sure though.

I know this is very late in the game, but did they do a thorough check of her mouth? This all started because she wasn't eating, so am just wondering if everything is ok in her mouth, since so far it appears via the barium xray that everything is ok from her esophagus to the other end. One of my guys was barely eating, although he did come up to his bowl everyday and acted likek he was starving, and it turned out he had two FORLs in his mouth that needed attention. They couldn't be seen by the Vet because they were under the gumline, but she suspected they might be there from touching his teeth. Perhaps Kesi has a very painful mouth? (also, my guy's bloodwork came back perfect, so these won't show up there)

Whatever the issue, we'll be thinking of both of you tomorrow. Please keep us posted

:hugs:
 
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lilnana65

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So no talk of doing an Ultrasound before going straight to exploratory surgery? What do they think it might be? Did they mention Linear Foreign Body? Does she ever go after yarn or string or anything like that? It wouldn't necessary cause a blockage, but might cause her intestines to bunch up or other things and could definitely require surgery, but I would think would show up either in that barium xray or an ultrasound, not sure though.

I know this is very late in the game, but did they do a thorough check of her mouth? This all started because she wasn't eating, so am just wondering if everything is ok in her mouth, since so far it appears via the barium xray that everything is ok from her esophagus to the other end. One of my guys was barely eating, although he did come up to his bowl everyday and acted likek he was starving, and it turned out he had two FORLs in his mouth that needed attention. They couldn't be seen by the Vet because they were under the gumline, but she suspected they might be there from touching his teeth. Perhaps Kesi has a very painful mouth? (also, my guy's bloodwork came back perfect, so these won't show up there)

Whatever the issue, we'll be thinking of both of you tomorrow. Please keep us posted

:hugs:
They felt that the barium xray would have shown better if there were something foreign in her stomach area rather than doing ultrasound. She has never really played with yarn or string so I don't think that is the case here although could be possible.They checked her mouth and said it looked really good.. I really hope this surgery will give us answers as to what is wrong because if it doesn't then I am not sure what can be done next. . Thank you for your concern and your thoughts. Will update after her surgery tomorrow
 

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we just went through an episode of non eating kittens- they acted normal but kept loosing weight and would not eat ... brought them to the ER vet who suggested all kinds of treatment like X-rays and such ... and of course suggested Parvo wich we tested for but - negative ... Long story short ... I insisted that Metronidazol should be tried and a de-wormer ... within 24 hours both kittens started eating ... we had some loose stools for a while but they are improving ... I assume your doctor has treated for gastritis/ colitis ( an inflammation of the stomach wall and intestinal tract ) ? Almost 80 % of my fosters come with some form of this due to Gardia mostly which they picked up outside and Gardia is difficult to diagnose and find
. And some just have a different types of chronic stomach/bowl issues... there are many things you can see on an ultrasound that cannot be evaluated with x-ray ... Liver, kidneys and urinary tract ( a blockage there is extremely painful ) , fluid in abdomen.
 
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lilnana65

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Update as of 10/9/2020 Friday. My kitty Kesi went in for exploratory surgery this morning and I just got a call from her vet team and the vet said she could not find anything that would be causing Kesi's illness and not eating and her constant vomiting. However she did say that she has fatty liver syndrome and a very enlarged gallbladder due to be being anorexic and sick. She has place a feeding tube in Kesi with the hopes that we can get Kesi's liver back to normal again. She will be sent home later today with the hopes that we can get her feeling better. has anyone had a cat get fatty liver and have a feeding tube and get their cat better with it?
 

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Update as of 10/9/2020 Friday. My kitty Kesi went in for exploratory surgery this morning and I just got a call from her vet team and the vet said she could not find anything that would be causing Kesi's illness and not eating and her constant vomiting. However she did say that she has fatty liver syndrome and a very enlarged gallbladder due to be being anorexic and sick. She has place a feeding tube in Kesi with the hopes that we can get Kesi's liver back to normal again. She will be sent home later today with the hopes that we can get her feeling better. has anyone had a cat get fatty liver and have a feeding tube and get their cat better with it?
I have not; but my heartfelt *PRAYERS* go up for Kesi and I am hoping others here on TCS may be of more help and comfort as you go through this difficult time.
 

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Is she also getting ursodiol or another medication for the gallbladder? If so, get it compounded into a liquid so it can be shot into the tube. That will make things so much easier. Just make sure that any medicine that's supposed to be given with food is given with food first, then medicine. And maybe a little more food after that.

I can't speak to fatty liver. Krista did have a feeding tube though. They aren't as scary as they sound. I recommend getting a Kitty Kollar which will make cleaning the tube site much easier and keep the tube out of the way.

Kitty Kollar - Special Hugs for special kitties & kanines
 
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