Sick Cat, Vet Is Stumped?

[Crocker]

Hello there, I’m new. I’m hoping someone can give me some insight about my cat. She has been at the vet for 3 days and I still have no answers. Vomiting, diarrhea, using the bathroom outside the litter box, not eating, sleeping all day. She’s a 7 month old Siamese mix. They have done X-rays and blood work and can’t find anything but slightly elevated pancreas levels? They are keeping her again tonight. Any ideas? I keep wondering if they are keeping something from me until they get her better?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Would they consider talking with other vets? Or a university veterinary medical department?
Keeping something from you, doesn't seem like they'd do that, I would hope not anyway!
Hang in there!!

 

[Kieka]

Can you share the x-rays and lab results? Someone here might recognize something from their experiences.

 

[Crocker]

Hi! Would they consider talking with other vets? Or a university veterinary medical department?
Keeping something from you, doesn't seem like they'd do that, I would hope not anyway!
Hang in there!!

Well I had actually taken her to a different vet Saturday as ours was closed. They chalked it up to the food, Purina, and made me feel like a bad cat mom for feeding her dry food. They checked her for parasites which she didn’t have and sent us home with anti nausea and anti diarrhea meds which she threw up. I brought her back to our regular vet Monday and they kept her. She has been there since and will stay the night. It’s weird to me that they have done so many tests and are not finding anything. They have her on fluids now.

 

[Crocker]

Can you share the x-rays and lab results? Someone here might recognize something from their experiences.

Unfortunately I don’t have the lab results and X-rays. I honestly didn’t even know I could have those! She is still there at the vet. They left out 5 different foods for her over night. They said she ate a little bit however there was diarrhea and vomit in the cage. They are giving her iv fluids and repeating the process tonight. The kids and I just left from visiting her.

 

[Crocker]

 

[Furballsmom]

Awww poor baby!!
I'm sending every good healing thought I have!!

 

[Crocker]

Thank you!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Hello there, I’m new. I’m hoping someone can give me some insight about my cat. She has been at the vet for 3 days and I still have no answers. Vomiting, diarrhea, using the bathroom outside the litter box, not eating, sleeping all day. She’s a 7 month old Siamese mix. They have done X-rays and blood work and can’t find anything but slightly elevated pancreas levels? They are keeping her again tonight. Any ideas? I keep wondering if they are keeping something from me until they get her better?

Prior to this, did she have any instances of diarrhea or constipation, or "holding" it?
Did they say how high her pancreatic levels were elevated? A little, somewhat, or sky high?
As hard as it is, it's probably good that she's at the vets for the fluids because dehydration would certainly happen otherwise and that's never a good thing on top of this!
Does she seem painful in her abdomen? Did the vet mention the possibility of pancreatitis?

 

[Kieka]

Those symptoms are just a little too broad to really know without more information. Immediate thought is some sort of blockage which wasn't apparent on the inital x-ray. But there are any number of viruses and parasites that could also cause it.

Best course is probably ask them to send the records to another vet for a second opinion.

 

[artiemom]

did they comment on pancreatitis?? with elevated pancreas enzymes....

and all the other symptoms..

You would need a specialized EPI test for diagnosis.. but... it sounds to me as if it could be pancreatitis...

kind of uncommon in a kitten, but anything is possible.. could be an allergy to a specific ingredient in food... or did you kitty get into something she should not eat??

Is there a good Vet School near you? If so, do they have a clinic? I would go there for more intensive diagnostics...good that she is gettin re-hydrated...

Also, she needs to eat.. They need to begin syringe feeding her...

There are also a lot of other things it could be..

Sending you tons of love, and luck.. ((hugs))

 

[1 bruce 1]

did they comment on pancreatitis?? with elevated pancreas enzymes....

and all the other symptoms..

You would need a specialized EPI test for diagnosis.. but... it sounds to me as if it could be pancreatitis...

kind of uncommon in a kitten, but anything is possible.. could be an allergy to a specific ingredient in food... or did you kitty get into something she should not eat??

Is there a good Vet School near you? If so, do they have a clinic? I would go there for more intensive diagnostics...good that she is gettin re-hydrated...

Also, she needs to eat.. They need to begin syringe feeding her...

There are also a lot of other things it could be..

Sending you tons of love, and luck.. ((hugs))

Yup. If the pancreas is involved it's our experience that a low fat (VERY low fat) diet is in order, at least for now...maybe forever but that is not a huge deal once you find foods and food combos that work.
I'm no vet but if my cat was throwing up, not eating, acting lethargic and the vet had no answers aside from pancreatic enzymes that were elevated I'd want to see if they or another vet was able to diagnose this. It's a tricky diagnosis but can be done.

 

[LTS3]

You can request copies of your cat's medical records. Blood work results, x rays, etc. You can also ask your vet to consult with a vet school. Many vet schools offer consults for vets. VIN.com is an online vet only web site that your vet may be aware of and can join to get more eyes on your cat's case.

Is your cat indoors only? Could she have gotten into household cleaners / chemicals? Ate some craft material the kids were using (paint, slime, etc)?

 

[Crocker]

Prior to this, did she have any instances of diarrhea or constipation, or "holding" it?
Did they say how high her pancreatic levels were elevated? A little, somewhat, or sky high?
As hard as it is, it's probably good that she's at the vets for the fluids because dehydration would certainly happen otherwise and that's never a good thing on top of this!
Does she seem painful in her abdomen? Did the vet mention the possibility of pancreatitis?

They said her levels were only slightly elevated. She did not appear to be in pain. Just very lazy. Certainly not her high energy self. Prior to last week, no she was not having any diarrhea. They are now leaning towards exploratory surgery. They think she might have injested something that got stuck in her digestive tract that’s not showing on X-ray. The update this morning was that she had eaten more this morning than any of the other days so that’s good! Waiting to see if she keeps it down and they will do another X-ray. She appears to have a lot of gas in her small intestine and the lining is a bit thickened and inflamed.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm so glad to hear of your baby's improvement!

 

[silkenpaw]

I wonder whether the entire intestine is thickened or just a part of it. I don’t know how likely it would be for the entire intestine to be swollen from an obstruction after just one day. Some kind of a systemic inflammatory process would need to be considered. If they do go ahead with the surgery and don’t find an obstruction, make sure they do their job and look at the rest of the digestive tract and take the appropriate biopsies.

Any notes and lab results on your cat belong to you. (Same about your own or your child’s medical record). You should have no problem obtaining copies. Vets don’t routinely give you your results because most people are not trained in interpreting them and sometimes fixate on unimportant deviations from the standard ranges. But if you ask, you will get them.

Good luck with your kitty. I hope she makes a complete recovery. She’s very pretty. What’s her name?