Please help try to diagnose my cat

[macatowner]

So about 3 weeks ago, my 7 year old cat started displaying these unusual symptoms as follows:

1. He hacks, sounding like he is going to spit up a hairball, but nothing comes out, even after giving him hairball remedy treats.

2. He has a muffled meow that is much quieter than normal. And he doesn't meow as often has he normally does.

3. He doesn't eat nearly as much as he normally does. I normally feed him 3 bowls of of wet food per day and also leave dry food out all day. He doesn't seem to eat the dry food at all, and when I give him the wet foot, he only licks it (doesn't chew it) and only eats about half his normal serving size. Sometimes he doesn't eat it at all. I know he's hungry because he tries to eat it and then goes to the refrigerator looking for more.

I also normally give him soft and crunchy treats, and he's been eating a few, but sometimes he'll spit them out half chewed like he can't swallow it.

I took him to the vet and they did bloodwork which came back normal. They also gave him an x-ray to see if he had any fur or anything else lodged anywhere in his throat or body, and the x-rays showed nothing in there.

The vet gave him an antibiotic in case he has tonsillitis, but she said she doesn't really know what could be wrong with him.

Coincidentally, I got a new kitten around the same time that these symptoms started. The kitten eats different dry and wet foods and it's possible that my older cat has been eating those. I'm not sure if the new kitten or new food for the kitten could be the cause of the problem. Maybe an allergic reaction? I am considering switching the kitten to the foods that my older cat eats so that my older cat doesn't have any access to the new foods and see if that makes any difference, but I'd love to know if anyone here has ever seen these types of symptoms in a cat and can help me figure out what could be wrong.

One final note, my cat also got a small scratch on his head. The vet says it's nothing to worry about, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities of causes. Maybe this could have something to do with it?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

 

[pakratjo]

I am not a vet by any means, but do have plenty of experiences with cats, especially with vet trips...lol....

It sounds like if the antibiotics don't work, (you should notice a difference within 24hours) you might have to have him scoped. You say that it looks like he wants to eat, but doesn't. I had a sweet kitty that would do the same thing. She would follow me for food, but then wouldn't eat anything. We even got to the point where we would give her tuna fish (her favorite) and she would lick it and just look at it and then look at me like that wasn't good enough. She did not have the cough though and she ended up having a lesion that made it too painful for her to swallow, even though she was hungry.

So with that being said, the fact that he seems to want to eat, but can't makes it sound like something is definately causing him to be unable to and if necessary a second opinion might be needed. I loved my vet, but had to go for a second opinion, and the 2nd vet guessed it on the first visit....go figure.

Jo Ann

 

[macatowner]

Thank you for responding. I will consider getting a 2nd opinion. What did you end up doing to cure the lesion, if I may ask?

 

[feralvr]

Since this just started coincidentally upon the arrival of the new kitten, I am swaying towards your cat picking up a virus from the kitten. Even though we don't notice it, a new addition to the family will cause stress to the resident cat on top of being exposed to something the kitten might be carrying, ie. a virus. I really don't think the scratch on the head has any weight on the other symptoms he is having. I would just gently clean the scratch and apply a triple antibiotic ointment.

A second opinion is not a bad idea. But, viruses do take awhile to completely go away, three weeks or more. And the antibiotics won't help if it is viral, but will help keep away any secondary bacterial infection that might sneak in. You could also try adding some L-Lysine (you can buy it at a health food store in powder form or on-line from NOW - powder form) You can give 500mg - 1/4 tsp. a day for at least ten days or more and then go to 250 mg. 1/8 tsp. after that for maintenance. I have two of my cats on this and it can be mixed with the wet food. But, of course, first you have to get your cat feeling better and eating. As far as the food, it won't hurt your cat to eat the kitten food. But you could try to just go to scheduled feedings each day. They also make dry/wet foods for All Life Stages, Kitten/Cat, which makes it easier when we are feeding both kittens and cats together. Much luck and I sure hope you cat feels better very, very soon. Good luck if you decide on that second opinion, might be a good idea. Keep us posted

 

[jennyr]

The other thing you might consider is a dental exam. MAny of the symptoms you describe could be caused by toothache or an abscess in the mouth. Good luck I hope he improves soon.