Hi... I'm worried with a time-limited decision to make with my sick cat, Sophie. I know what my vet has advised me, but I would appreciate other opinions too, as this is weighing very heavily on me.
I'll outline the background info to explain how she got to today:
Dec 2014
- started pooping outside box, showing signs of bowel discomfort - poop looked okay
- vet dewormed her, vet grade food diet, gave her an antibiotic which caused diarrhea and no improvement
Jan 2015-May 2015
- continued pooping outside box, occasionally inside box, showed signs of discomfort
- I tried going natural route for diet and gave her Weruva Tuna + Pumpkin (I know tuna's not great for cats, but she wouldn't eat the chicken+pumpkin)
June 5
- she had an incident with another cat and ended up with bite wounds
- she was put on clavaseptin for the wounds, which made her poop turn diarrhea again - still pooping outside the box
- she was also given a probiotic in a tube
June 20
- After her wounds were healed, her digestive symptoms seemed to get worse (stress-related is my guess?) and we did an x-ray of her intestines which showed colitis
- The vet gave her metronidazole 2x a day, cyproheptadine 2x a day (appetite stimulant), and continued the probiotic
- The vet also put her on Hills I/D gastro-high fibre chicken + veg
- I gave her 15 doses of metronidazole, 8 doses of the cypro (it was hard to give her 2 pills 2x a day, and I wasn't always successful being on my own)
- She POOPED in her box for the first time on June 28! It was big and healthy looking. YAY!
And then things took a turn for the worse...
June 29
- She started vomiting. She vomited 3 times - mostly water. She didn't eat much. (It was VERY hot that day too).
- From here on, I stopped giving her all her meds as she was throwing up.
- She ate a little.
June 30 (another hot day)
- Ate very little break and puked again
- She did do another healthy poop in her box!
- She starts licking and scratching herself
- not drinking
July 1 (another hot day )
- The vet was closed for Canada Day, but a tech came in to give her 100 cc's of water intravenously
- She has a slight fever
- She ate a little food, but vomited again, this time with a small amount of bile in it
- She didn't eat or drink.
July 2 - Today - ANOTHER hot day
- The vet gave her 150 cc's of water intravenously and an injection of Cerenia to help with the vomit
- Her temp is at 39.7
- She's slept all day, and so has not eaten
The vet wants to give her an ultrasound tomorrow (which will cost $1100)...
However, I'm realizing how serious the side effects of metronidazole - including irritated skin and vomiting. My brother has been on metronidazole and it did really bad things to him, too.
I realize with the lack of drinking and eating this is a crucial decision... But $1100 is so much money after I've spent $1400 treating her in June alone. And I can't help but wonder if all of this is a symptom of the metro? If her body would recover after a little while of the drug. After all, she was starting to poop back in her box right before this happened.
But the vet is pressuring me (though I don't fault her for her) saying that this ultrasound is urgent care, and that I can't leave her without care for the weekend.
I agree that I can't do NOTHING if she doesn't start eating and drinking very soon.
But I'm getting very anxious and stressed out having to make this expensive decision. The vet is very unimpressed that I wouldn't do the ultrasound tomorrow. The specialist comes in every couple of weeks to do it, so it's not like I can get it done anytime. I could go get a second opinion?
I don't know what to do. I feel very lost. I have to confirm tomorrow morning if I'm coming in for the ultrasound.
I'll outline the background info to explain how she got to today:
Dec 2014
- started pooping outside box, showing signs of bowel discomfort - poop looked okay
- vet dewormed her, vet grade food diet, gave her an antibiotic which caused diarrhea and no improvement
Jan 2015-May 2015
- continued pooping outside box, occasionally inside box, showed signs of discomfort
- I tried going natural route for diet and gave her Weruva Tuna + Pumpkin (I know tuna's not great for cats, but she wouldn't eat the chicken+pumpkin)
June 5
- she had an incident with another cat and ended up with bite wounds
- she was put on clavaseptin for the wounds, which made her poop turn diarrhea again - still pooping outside the box
- she was also given a probiotic in a tube
June 20
- After her wounds were healed, her digestive symptoms seemed to get worse (stress-related is my guess?) and we did an x-ray of her intestines which showed colitis
- The vet gave her metronidazole 2x a day, cyproheptadine 2x a day (appetite stimulant), and continued the probiotic
- The vet also put her on Hills I/D gastro-high fibre chicken + veg
- I gave her 15 doses of metronidazole, 8 doses of the cypro (it was hard to give her 2 pills 2x a day, and I wasn't always successful being on my own)
- She POOPED in her box for the first time on June 28! It was big and healthy looking. YAY!
And then things took a turn for the worse...
June 29
- She started vomiting. She vomited 3 times - mostly water. She didn't eat much. (It was VERY hot that day too).
- From here on, I stopped giving her all her meds as she was throwing up.
- She ate a little.
June 30 (another hot day)
- Ate very little break and puked again
- She did do another healthy poop in her box!
- She starts licking and scratching herself
- not drinking
July 1 (another hot day )
- The vet was closed for Canada Day, but a tech came in to give her 100 cc's of water intravenously
- She has a slight fever
- She ate a little food, but vomited again, this time with a small amount of bile in it
- She didn't eat or drink.
July 2 - Today - ANOTHER hot day
- The vet gave her 150 cc's of water intravenously and an injection of Cerenia to help with the vomit
- Her temp is at 39.7
- She's slept all day, and so has not eaten
The vet wants to give her an ultrasound tomorrow (which will cost $1100)...
However, I'm realizing how serious the side effects of metronidazole - including irritated skin and vomiting. My brother has been on metronidazole and it did really bad things to him, too.
I realize with the lack of drinking and eating this is a crucial decision... But $1100 is so much money after I've spent $1400 treating her in June alone. And I can't help but wonder if all of this is a symptom of the metro? If her body would recover after a little while of the drug. After all, she was starting to poop back in her box right before this happened.
But the vet is pressuring me (though I don't fault her for her) saying that this ultrasound is urgent care, and that I can't leave her without care for the weekend.
I agree that I can't do NOTHING if she doesn't start eating and drinking very soon.
But I'm getting very anxious and stressed out having to make this expensive decision. The vet is very unimpressed that I wouldn't do the ultrasound tomorrow. The specialist comes in every couple of weeks to do it, so it's not like I can get it done anytime. I could go get a second opinion?
I don't know what to do. I feel very lost. I have to confirm tomorrow morning if I'm coming in for the ultrasound.