Seeking Advice On A Sick Cat

[Antonio65]

A bit of update.

Yesterday, Sunday, she was very fine in the morning, but hadn't eaten anything since the evening before.
What I had noticed was that she prefers the gravel and the juice of the wet food.
So I thought she might have troubles chewing the morsels. I went to the shop and bought two cans of R/C Recovery, I watered it down a bit, and she ate it all. She ate 3/4 of a can in half a day, much more than she would require, and that is good. Her eyes were bright and alert, like I've never seen them before.
She also had a short walk in the backyard, in the unusually warm sun of this February that feels like April. She also curled on my lap later in the afternoon and slept deeply.
But this morning I found her not in a great shape, she was crouched in a meatloaf position and was keeping her eyes squinted. She was also breathing badly, her nose sounds like stuffed though I cleanse it many times a day, I also rinse it with a bit of saline solution and a small syringe, and this helps her a lot. She sneezes out lots of mucus.

She is having some good days and some not so good days. But she's so lovely, she's clinging to me a lot, seeks a contact constantly, she loves me very much, I can feel it! She's sweet, loving, calm and beautiful.
But I think the vet is right, and she's at the end of her path.

I can't figure it out how a person decided to get rid of such a sweet creature after many years of incredible love
Not even the devil could be that cruel towards a creature so tender.

 

[verna davies]

There is so much cruelty to animals in this world it is heartbreaking. You are going all you can for Viola and she knows it. Enjoy the good days and ride out the bad, but remember to also look after yourself.

 

[Antonio65]

Yesterday I cleaned her coat with a cloth and some white vinegar. Could this have caused her to be off?

 

[Antonio65]

There is so much cruelty to animals in this world it is heartbreaking. You are going all you can for Viola and she knows it. Enjoy the good days and ride out the bad, but remember to also look after yourself.

Thanks, V verna davies , I'm trying to give Viola the best days she can have.

Looking after myself has never been a priority when I have a life in my hands. They always come first.

 

[verna davies]

Yesterday I cleaned her coat with a cloth and some white vinegar. Could this have caused her to be off?

White vinegar is non toxic to cats so I dont think its that, its often used to clean their fur.

 

[Antonio65]

I am starting thinking that Viola is getting bored of a kind of food after just one day, and she'd like to taste something different everyday.
The R/C Recovery that I had bought on Sunday and that she liked a lot on that day, was untouched yesterday. So I went back to square one when I gave her a kitten food on the first day, and she liked it again last night, but not much this morning.

I see that she's a bit subdued in the morning, more alert in the afternoon, then again a bit off in the late evening.

I weighed her again last night, she lost another 120 grams (4.23 oz) since Saturday, so it seems she lost at least 650 grams (1 lb 7 oz) in 13 days. Now she's 2.13 kg (4 lbs 11 oz) and I think she'll lose more weight.
Of course she will, because she isn't eating enough, and I don't know why. She cries for food, but then she won't eat anything that we give her. I don't know how long she can go on like this...

Her eyes don't need to be wiped and cleaned anymore, her nose dripping seems a bit less, and even the head tilting seems improved, last night I saw her eating with the tip of her mouth, not from her side as she was doing until a couple of days ago.
She's so affectionate, she wants to stay curled on my lap when I am eating at the kitchen table, or when I'm on the sofa watching the TV.

My wife has the theory that she was actually hit by a car, not on the day I found her, but probably several days before. Then she was disoriented and suffering for a few days in the countryside, not eating or drinking and wandering till she came up on that road. This could explain her wasted conditions.
The incident to her head might have caused the head tilting and the deafness, and also this kind of dementia that we witness at home, when sometimes she looks like she's lost and doesn't know where to go, or when she pees on the floor though she knows where the tray and the puppy pads are.

 

[verna davies]

She is so light. I hope she gets her appetite back. I imagine you have tried all sorts of food but have you mashed it so she doesnt have to chew. I would think that if she has been hit by a car and has head trauma, her mouth must be tender too. Do you think you and she could handle syringe feeding. I kniw its not a nice thing to do but it might get some much needed food inside her.

 

[FelisCatus]

Of course she will, because she isn't eating enough, and I don't know why. She cries for food, but then she won't eat anything that we give her. I don't know how long she can go on like this...

I know you mentioned that she is hungry but doesn't want to eat... have you considered getting your vet to prescribe her Mirtazapine? It would probably push her beyond her limit of appetite vs. picky eating and she would just eat anything at that point.

She could also have oral pain which is why she isn't eating, and for which an anti-inflamatory like Metacam would help.

Her kidneys aren't the best though, right? In which case Metacam would be out, but Mirtazapine might still be an option.

 

[Antonio65]

She is so light. I hope she gets her appetite back.

Apparently she's hungry, but then she doesn't eat.

I imagine you have tried all sorts of food but have you mashed it so she doesnt have to chew. I would think that if she has been hit by a car and has head trauma, her mouth must be tender too. Do you think you and she could handle syringe feeding. I kniw its not a nice thing to do but it might get some much needed food inside her.

I'm using food that is already mashed, it's a mousse. R/C Recovery is runny enough to be syringed, I even watered it down a bit. Also, the kitten food I've been giving her, is very soft, enough to be licked off.
She has access outside with me right behind her. She smelled the dry food of my semi-ferals, and showed to like it. I gave her a bit and she ate it. I prepared a dish of those kibbles inside, she hasn't touched them!

On Saturday the vet checked her mouth and found nothing that could justify this behavior. Don't know if she could handle a syringe in her mouth, but I'd say no...

We have an unplanned vet visit in 3 hours time.
I went home during my lunch break and checked her and she was very limp, so I texted the vet and she gave an appointment.
I'm honest, I'm a bit scared!

 

[Antonio65]

Her kidneys aren't the best though, right? In which case Metacam would be out, but Mirtazapine might still be an option.

I will mention it to the vet later, we have an appointment.
Viola isn't well today, and I'm scared... She is so weak...

 

[verna davies]

I hope the vet can suggest some way of getting food onto her. Please let us know. Good luck.

 

[FelisCatus]

We have an unplanned vet visit in 3 hours time.
I went home during my lunch break and checked her and she was very limp, so I texted the vet and she gave an appointment.
I'm honest, I'm a bit scared!

How did the vet visit go? Is Viola okay? Did you inquire about the Mirtazapine?

 

[Antonio65]

I'm still in the waiting room... There has been a delay with other visits, and I had been given a slot between two patients, so I'm a bit late.
Hopefully I'll be home in about 30 minutes, the practice will close anyway... I'm sorry for Viola who has been sitting in her carrier for 45 minutes now

 

[Natashan]

Been reading all that’s been going on.
Wish you and Viola luck at the vets.

No matter what happens, I know she will be forever grateful for all the love and care you and your family have shown her. She sounds like a lovely little girl who’s having a super rough time.

 

[FelisCatus]

I'm still in the waiting room... There has been a delay with other visits, and I had been given a slot between two patients, so I'm a bit late.
Hopefully I'll be home in about 30 minutes, the practice will close anyway... I'm sorry for Viola who has been sitting in her carrier for 45 minutes now

Any update? Hoping for good news..

 

[Antonio65]

Here I am.
The vet told me "We can visit Viola in the late afternoon, please come here after 6 pm". So At 6:15 pm I was there, but the previously booked visits had the priority and eventually our turn was at 7:05 pm!

The vet saw nothing worrying, furthermore Viola was feeling much better in the late afternoon. She was so limping at lunch break time that I was nearly sure I would have found dead at 6 pm. She was active and alert, she also peed on the vet's floor!
The vet gave her some food and she licked something, but then she turned her nose. It's clear she's hungry and would like to eat, but when it comes to food she seems disinterested.
Just in case, the vet gave her a shot of Cerenia, and adviced me to buy some very soft wet food (Gourmet Gold Mousse, I don't know if it's something that you know in your countries), and also a multi-vitaminic paste.

The vet would have liked to put a feeding tube, but this would need a sedation, something that the cat can't stand at all, she could die, that's for sure!

I bought it all right after the vet visit. Viola came with me in the store, she was alert, just like she was at the vet's.
But once we were home she got so off that I was very worried again. She slept all night. I just gave her the vitamins and at midnight I forced about 40 grams of food down her mouth, I couldn't believe she wasn't eating. It was the food I had given her in the morning and had been sitting in the dish all day.

This morning I gave her the mousse I bought yesterday, but she just licked it and then went to sleep.

I weighed her again yesterday, she was 2.040 kg, she lost 90 grams in just 24 hours.

It's OK for Mirtazapine/Cyproheptadine. The former one might need a prescription, the second one might be off-the-counter, if I remember it right.
I'm planning on giving her further supplements, there's a highly nutritious broth from Virbac I had used before with another cat.

I'm not giving up on her. I will fight, as I always did!

EDIT: I forgot to tell you that Viola is meowing less often. And she has stopped grooming, the last time I saw her doing it was on Sunday, after I had cleaned with the white vinegar. I think I did something wrong with it...

 

[verna davies]

We know you wont give up, its not in your nature. I know the Gourmet mousse you mentioned and my cats wont touch it. What about Sheba cat soup, even if she wont eat the bits of chicken or fish, there is lots of liquid in the sachet and you mentioned that she is licking. Can you get them, or something similar where you live?

 

[Antonio65]

We know you wont give up, its not in your nature. I know the Gourmet mousse you mentioned and my cats wont touch it. What about Sheba cat soup, even if she wont eat the bits of chicken or fish, there is lots of liquid in the sachet and you mentioned that she is licking. Can you get them, or something similar where you live?

Yes, this an option that the store mentioned to me yesterday, but I wanted to feed her something more than just liquid.
On Sunday I gave her the R/C Recovery watered down to make it more soup-like, she ate a lot, now she doesn't want it anymore.

I've ordered the NutriBound (Virbac) at my pharmacy, it should be there already, or arrive mid-afternoon.

 

[verna davies]

I wish you luck with that. When my cat was ill, my vet gave me a tin of prescription food that was really high in calories but I had to syringe it into him. I wish I knew the answer for you.

 

[Kflowers]

Dilute the white vinegar until you can barely smell it. The smell maybe putting her off.

She sleeps at your house because she feels safe. You are giving her a sense of safety and security. No one can ask for more than that from anyone else.