Mystery Illness in 5 Year Old

[DizzyLizzy2187]

I'm sorry to be posting again (I'm the one who stepped on their cat's tail last night), but I had a question regarding the same cat. My sweet little Stormy is a usually chatty and active 5 year old. On July 3 I fed her her usual breakfast and left her be (there are other cats in the house and they all have to be separated for feeding times). When I checked on her a few moments later, she had thrown up her food. She refused to eat the rest of the day and then didn't eat much the next day on the 4th. This was concerning because she is a food driven cat. So because I worry about my cats, especially when they don't eat, I took her to the ER vet. They did an xray (didn't see anything), and administered some Cerenia. She still didn't improve so I took her to our regular vet, they did another xray (said they saw something small and soft that would pass on its own) and administered fluids and told me to give her mirtazapine. She still didn't improve so she went back on Tuesday where they did the same thing and said whatever they saw the day before was moving along. Well, she happens to have a heart murmur and because I didn't connect the 2, she was never supposed to have subQ fluids and they sent her into fluid overload. She ended up back at the ER vet where they got her stabilized and all the fluid off her lungs, (and also found she had a fever,) and when they started investigating her lack of appetite they didn't really find much. Her blood work was normal and in the ultrasound they saw that the area around her pancreas was a little brighter than normal which would potentially indicate mild pancreatitis. So they were thinking either mild pancreatitis or a virus. They finally got her fever to break with some Meloxicam and she came home after spending 2 nights there. She had a rough time back and was definitely lethargic and out of it for a few days but as I started syringe feeding her, she perked up a bit and started coming around. She was scheduled for an echo about a week and a half later when she developed some conjunctivitis. In the echo they found she has moderate mitral regurgitation. The thing is that it is 3 almost 4 weeks later and while I can get her to eat well with the mirtazapine, she still isn't herself. She is still sleepier than normal and less active. She is usually an incredibly chatty girl who follows me around and will climb all over me to be in my face and she is not really doing these things.
I am bringing her back to the ER vet today after work (we are currently not using our usual because of the fluid overload situation), but I didn't know if anyone had any similar experiences or thoughts. I had a dream she has FIP so now that is stuck in my head and freaking me out.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi--

(said they saw something small and soft that would pass on its own)

What happened to this?

(we are currently not using our usual because of the fluid overload situation)

You commented that this was your regular vet, but were they aware of the heart murmur? Did they say she was dehydrated and that's why they gave fluids two consecutive days?

 

[DizzyLizzy2187]

They were very well aware of the heart murmur. She wasn't dehydrated, they just did them "in case" she was dehydrated. I'm fine with her getting fluids if she's dehydrated, but as the critical care doctor explained, cats with heart conditions can't get subQ fluids because there is no way to control the rate at which the body absorbs them and there is no way to stop the absorption if they go into fluid overload.

 

[DizzyLizzy2187]

Whatever they saw didn't seem to show up anywhere else. When they did the second xray on Tuesday, they said it was moving along.

 

[Furballsmom]

they just did them "in case" she was dehydrated

Poor baby!!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you-all, let us know what they say tonight!

 

[DizzyLizzy2187]

Poor baby!!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you-all, let us know what they say tonight!

So I didn't really get much for answers? They checked her over physically and she was fine and then ran some bloodwork and everything came back normal. The next steps are to stop the mirtazapine and see how she does. We can see if her appetite goes back to normal and see if the lethargy goes away (I guess it's not a common side effect but it can happen). If it persists or new symptoms appear we will repeat the echo and abdominal ultrasound, and from there go to an internist.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm sending you tons of love and prayers that she gets back to normal

 

[MissClouseau]

Her blood work was normal and in the ultrasound they saw that the area around her pancreas was a little brighter than normal which would potentially indicate mild pancreatitis.

They checked her over physically and she was fine and then ran some bloodwork and everything came back normal.

So they were thinking either mild pancreatitis or a virus

What kind of blood test they did? If you have the results it could be helpful if you can share here. I don't see how everything can come back to normal if there is a virus and/or if she had fever. There are basic blood tests that show if there is an infection, and detailed blood test that specifically check organs like liver, gallbladder, pancreas, etc

In the echo they found she has moderate mitral regurgitation.

I don't have info on this condition but since out of the tests this one seems to be the only significant diagnosis, can you try to find a veterinary cardiologist and/or a vet who is experienced with cardiology? Local cat forums and reviews might help.

 

[DizzyLizzy2187]

I'm sending you tons of love and prayers that she gets back to normal

Thank you!!!!!

 

[DizzyLizzy2187]

What kind of blood test they did? If you have the results it could be helpful if you can share here. I don't see how everything can come back to normal if there is a virus and/or if she had fever. There are basic blood tests that show if there is an infection, and detailed blood test that specifically check organs like liver, gallbladder, pancreas, etc


I don't have info on this condition but since out of the tests this one seems to be the only significant diagnosis, can you try to find a veterinary cardiologist and/or a vet who is experienced with cardiology? Local cat forums and reviews might help.

I don't have it with my right now but they ran 3 different panels last night. During her stay 3 weeks ago they did a few more I believe. They did a thyroid panel and that came back fine. They did a urinalysis and that was negative. They did the specfLP and her pancreas levels came back in the normal range, but they said sometimes in mild cases of pancreatitis its not enough to cause an elevation.
The ER vet happens to be a referral hospital with a cardiologist, that's who did the echo last week. The dicey thing is that our regular vet never had me do an echo a year ago when I adopted her so we have no baseline. The vet doesn't think that the fluid overload caused any damage and doesn't think that the condition has progressed, she strongly feels she was born with it. We talked about how if she doesn't improve we can redo the echo, redo the abdominal ultrasound, maybe try her on a heart pill, and from there we would go to an internist. The hard thing is that at home she will be very sleepy and quiet and not herself, but because of how stressed she gets going to the vets, adrenaline kicks in and she is super chatty and alert and all over the place at the vets. The ER vet last night said it was hard because she presented as healthy. We talked about the possibility that at this point she might be over what caused her to be sick initially and is now just still recovering and acclimating. The week she went in was a really hard week for her. She barely ate that week, she was back and forth to the vets office, she went into fluid overload, she had to stay in an oxygen tent for a day, she was in a strange place for 2 nights, she was given different medicines, they were poking her to get blood and urine, I know it was hard for her. She is a very sensitive cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

The vet doesn't think that the fluid overload caused any damage and doesn't think that the condition has progressed,

Whew!!