Sick Cat - Don't Know What To Do :(

[Potterk16]

Hey friends,

I have an 11 month old kitten named Puddles. She was given to me by a co-worker. She was born in a barn but was not outdoors very long - I believe she contracted a respiratory infection and she stayed inside from that moment on. After some medicine, she was good as new.

Anyways, this girl had been playful, wild, and feisty until 2 weeks ago. All of a sudden, she stopped jumping and got very lethargic. I took her to the vet for an x-ray and they said she was constipated but other than that, the xray (bones, etc) looked great. They gave her an enema after the laxatives didn't work. She got worse. Lost a pound, wasn't eating or drinking, and started walking on her back feet flat footed. I took her in for blood work - it all came back normal! Except for slight dehydration.

She continued to not do well so I took her to another vet, a hospital, for a second opinion. They have no clue what's wrong either. They said the next step would be a neurologist and a $4,000 CT scan. I don't know what to do. Isn't walking on their flat feet a very specific symptom? It can't be diabetes because the blood was fine. I feel like the vets didn't try very hard to diagnose her. I've already spent $800 and I'm at square one. I'm hesitant to spend more - if it's neurological, I don't think the outlook is great anyways. Any thoughts? My poor baby is way too young to leave me like this

 

[Megsnan]

I’m so sorry your kitten isn’t feeling well. I have a sick kitten too. I never knew how upsetting it would be when all tests came back normal. I honestly have no clue what could be going on based off of those symptoms and I have no personal experience with kitties and neurological conditions. The most important thing is that your kitty keeps eating. Try to keep her hydrated too, dehydration can make them feel pretty crummy. I hope everything works out and your kitty starts feeling better.

 

[mikameek]

I'm so sorry that the reason you found this community is because of your sick kitten, but regardless, welcome to TCS.

I can't offer anything in terms of neurological but my question was about the constipation. Did she actually pass everything? You said the laxatives didn't work but did the enema?

Not eating and drinking can definitely be signs of pain which could be associated to the constipation. Are you feeding her a dry food? If so, you should switch to an all wet diet. Constipation in cats is caused by a lack of moisture. Cats naturally don't have a high water intake because in the wild they get most of their water content from the animals they hunt and eat. Dry food offers no moisture and can often suck the moisture out of the body. A rule of thumb that is said around here "If your cat is drinking water, its most likely dehydrated." That saying though, is for cats off medications. Some medications do cause an increase in thirst and water intake as a side effect.

I am so very sorry you're dealing with a sick kitten. It's never fun and it's especially harder when everything is coming back normal. My advise is that she sounds like she is in pain.

PLEASE make sure to keep her eating. When cats stop eating all together for more than 48 hours, they develop something called Fatty Liver Syndrome (also known as Hepatic Lipidosis). Their bodies are not made the way that yours and other animals are. Their liver cannot break down the fat in their body for energy, rather, it sticks to it. The only way to reverse this is to get them to eat. HL can be serious if not treated right away.

Good luck with this little one, Puddles is absolutely SO stinking cute. Please keep us updated. Now that you're here, you're apart of this family and so is Puddles. We'll worry about her!

 

[bonillac416]

Did your vet run a blood panel? This will tell you how your kitten's organs are doing and if the kitty has an infection. If she isn't eating I would suggest syringe feeding her. My cat last month all of a sudden became lethargic, wouldn't eat or drink, blood panel suggested an infection. I started to syringe feeding him by using my nutria bullet to puree his food with some lysine powder, probiotics and water with some apple cider vinegar. It really got him perked up. Apple Cider Vinegar has lots of vitamins and can also kill any bacterial infections in the body. Maybe give that a try. I hope your little one does better soon.

 

[bonillac416]

Did your vet run a blood panel? This will tell you how your kitten's organs are doing and if the kitty has an infection. If she isn't eating I would suggest syringe feeding her. My cat last month all of a sudden became lethargic, wouldn't eat or drink, blood panel suggested an infection. I started to syringe feeding him by using my nutria bullet to puree his food with some lysine powder, probiotics and water with some apple cider vinegar. It really got him perked up. Apple Cider Vinegar has lots of vitamins and can also kill any bacterial infections in the body. Maybe give that a try. I hope your little one does better soon. Also giving her pumpkin puree helps with constipation. Probiotics do that also.

 

[SiameseMummy]

Hi bonillac416 , we didn't do blood panels, just the stool sample for starters with the intention to do further tests if the diarrhoea continued. The diarrhoea hasn't returned (in that it's not watery, frequent stool) and she's eating well and gaining weight at an appropriate rate for a kitten her age.

No lethargy at all (even at 2am she is bringing toys to our bed and wanting to play!). The only symptom is the mushy stool and a bit of gas.

I don't want to subject her to a load of tests without good cause (especially considering the link between coronavirus and stress) but wasn't really sure if I should be concerned!

 

[bonillac416]

That is fantastic news! So glad she is doing great. I agree about the tests. If she is back to her normal self and no longer lethargic I would hold off on any other tests unless it happens again.

 

[bonillac416]

That is fantastic news! So glad she is doing great. I agree about the tests. If she is back to her normal self and no longer lethargic I would hold off on any other tests unless it happens again.

I would add some probiotics or the pumpkin for mushy stool. She may have IBS or an allergy to her food. This is not uncommon.

 

[SiameseMummy]

Ooo! Sorry bonillac416 , just realised this is not my thread and not about my cat. That'll teach me to half read alerts while on a train .

I hope your kitty feels better soon Potterk16 ! Sorry for the thread hijack!

 

[bonillac416]

lol no problem