Hi Everyone,
This is kind of a long story but I will try to condense it as much as possible. Basically I have a very sick cat on my hands right now and I don't really know what to do for him.
Basically, he threw up three times on Thursday (mostly mucusy bile and some foam) and ate and drank only a little bit. On Friday morning he was refusing to eat and drink altogether and had some diarrhea. I took him into the vet that afternoon and they gave him sub q fluids and a vitamin B12 shot and also did a full blood work up on him. He was a feral, hand raised and bottle fed by me since he was 2 weeks old so the vet also tested for Feline leukemia and FIV just in case I guess, as well as did a CBC on him. She then sent me home with him. The blood results came back about an hour later and she said everything looked good. He was negative for Felv/FIV and all his blood chemistry looked fine. The only thing was that he had a slightly lowered white blood cell count and at that time, she mentioned it might be a virus. He was doing okay last night, up and about and laying in his favorite spots but still not eating or drinking.
Then, he threw up twice more last night and had more diarrhea. This morning he was still refusing to eat and drink. I was worried about dehydration etc, so I called the vet back this morning and took him in once more. She said he was fine with fluids because of the sub Q yesterday. She gave him an injection for nausea and Metronidazole for his diarrhea. She told me not to force feed him because it could make him want to eat even less than he already does and she said not to worry about him for the next 24 hours (this was at 11am this morning and it's almost 8pm now and if I wait until tomorrow afternoon it will basically be 3 days with no food or water) she also said he didn't have a fever and was looking a bit more perky. And it's true, he was looking sort of okay this morning. Then she said she actually didn't think it was a viral infection after all and that she was more worried about pancreatitis and advised me to get a blood test for that and change his diet and put him on a novel protein source.
We came home and he's been really lethargic ever since then. He hasn't eaten or drank anything at all since Thursday night (so it's approaching 48 hours now) and he's getting pretty weak from what I can tell. I didn't know the Metronidazole can affect their appetite and that you shouldn't give it on an empty stomach until after I already gave him his first dose. Now I am wondering if I should dose him again or just leave it until after he starts eating. He hasn't thrown up or had diarrhea that I am aware of since last night. But after doing much reading on this forum and other sites, I am starting to get concerned about Hepatic Lipidosis... and wondering if I should assist feed him even though the vet said I shouldn't.
I called the emergency vet but she can't get back to me for another 3 hours and he can't be seen by his normal vet until Tuesday. The vet I took him to over the last few days is one we've never seen before and only went to her because there was no one else to go to. And I don't know if it's worth mentioning or not, but last month and into early this month he was suffering from megacolon and had to be on laxatives. He's been off the laxatives for 2-3 weeks now though, and was having normal bowel movements with no blood in his stool. He seemed fine until this thing hit. Also he's an indoor only kitty so I have no idea how he would have caught a virus or anything.
Anyway I am basically at my wits end. I have no idea what to do for him and I am scared for him. He's looking pretty bad tonight. Do you think I should try to assist feed him at this point or wait until tomorrow or wait to talk to the emergency vet? I just don't know what to do. Any advice at all would be much appreciated!
This is kind of a long story but I will try to condense it as much as possible. Basically I have a very sick cat on my hands right now and I don't really know what to do for him.
Basically, he threw up three times on Thursday (mostly mucusy bile and some foam) and ate and drank only a little bit. On Friday morning he was refusing to eat and drink altogether and had some diarrhea. I took him into the vet that afternoon and they gave him sub q fluids and a vitamin B12 shot and also did a full blood work up on him. He was a feral, hand raised and bottle fed by me since he was 2 weeks old so the vet also tested for Feline leukemia and FIV just in case I guess, as well as did a CBC on him. She then sent me home with him. The blood results came back about an hour later and she said everything looked good. He was negative for Felv/FIV and all his blood chemistry looked fine. The only thing was that he had a slightly lowered white blood cell count and at that time, she mentioned it might be a virus. He was doing okay last night, up and about and laying in his favorite spots but still not eating or drinking.
Then, he threw up twice more last night and had more diarrhea. This morning he was still refusing to eat and drink. I was worried about dehydration etc, so I called the vet back this morning and took him in once more. She said he was fine with fluids because of the sub Q yesterday. She gave him an injection for nausea and Metronidazole for his diarrhea. She told me not to force feed him because it could make him want to eat even less than he already does and she said not to worry about him for the next 24 hours (this was at 11am this morning and it's almost 8pm now and if I wait until tomorrow afternoon it will basically be 3 days with no food or water) she also said he didn't have a fever and was looking a bit more perky. And it's true, he was looking sort of okay this morning. Then she said she actually didn't think it was a viral infection after all and that she was more worried about pancreatitis and advised me to get a blood test for that and change his diet and put him on a novel protein source.
We came home and he's been really lethargic ever since then. He hasn't eaten or drank anything at all since Thursday night (so it's approaching 48 hours now) and he's getting pretty weak from what I can tell. I didn't know the Metronidazole can affect their appetite and that you shouldn't give it on an empty stomach until after I already gave him his first dose. Now I am wondering if I should dose him again or just leave it until after he starts eating. He hasn't thrown up or had diarrhea that I am aware of since last night. But after doing much reading on this forum and other sites, I am starting to get concerned about Hepatic Lipidosis... and wondering if I should assist feed him even though the vet said I shouldn't.
I called the emergency vet but she can't get back to me for another 3 hours and he can't be seen by his normal vet until Tuesday. The vet I took him to over the last few days is one we've never seen before and only went to her because there was no one else to go to. And I don't know if it's worth mentioning or not, but last month and into early this month he was suffering from megacolon and had to be on laxatives. He's been off the laxatives for 2-3 weeks now though, and was having normal bowel movements with no blood in his stool. He seemed fine until this thing hit. Also he's an indoor only kitty so I have no idea how he would have caught a virus or anything.
Anyway I am basically at my wits end. I have no idea what to do for him and I am scared for him. He's looking pretty bad tonight. Do you think I should try to assist feed him at this point or wait until tomorrow or wait to talk to the emergency vet? I just don't know what to do. Any advice at all would be much appreciated!