Very worried about my cat

[Janeo99]

My 3 year old cat is usually extremely active, he is one of the most athletic cats I have ever seen and has never been sick a day in his life until yesterday. Yesterday I first noticed he seemed different, usually he would wake up in the morning then eat his breakfast and go right outside, the cats can go in and out until dark and we live on a farm so most days they will spend adventuring. He still felt like eating in the morning but he ate very little and stopped, then he went back to sleep, his eyes also looked kind of out of it, like there was no energy to them and that’s the same today. I decided to monitor him for the day and he certainly wasn’t himself but still not that bad, was hoping he would feel down for a bit and bounce back tomorrow.

That hasn’t happened unfortunately, he woke up today, he was interested in the food but wouldn’t try it, i tried taking him outside and he walked around for a second and started laying on the floor, he has also been drooling all day and wagging his tail in a funny way, like the way cats would do when watching a bird, in this case I think he is doing it because he is in pain. I would have already taken him to the vet this morning but I’m living out in the country and my family aren’t back yet, no cars here for me to use and you can’t even order a taxi in this area. I feel so useless.

I should be able to get him to the vet tomorrow morning but right now I’m panicking wondering if he would get worse over night. I thought about poison but I don’t think that would be likely, he hasnt been vomiting at all and the only possible poison I could think of around here would be weed killer and that hasn’t been put around for weeks.

Has anyone here experienced something like this? If so what ended up being the issue?

 

[mewlittle]

I might be wrong this sounds like rabies you need to take him to a vet asap, the drooling lack of eating etc, rabies is highly contagious to humans and other animals do not handle him with exposed skin until the vets clear him of rabies

 

[Janeo99]

It would be possible because there is a lot of wildlife out here but I think he is missing a lot of the signs. He isn’t aggressive in any sort of way, he was never in any fights, I’m sure I would have noticed the sore on his body otherwise.

 

[mewlittle]

I wouldn't risk it, he needs to go in asap just in case it is rabies, if it isn't then go from there but you can't say he does doesn't without him being seen, rabies you don't want to mess with because its contagious to humans and its fatal only one person in history survived it ,if he does have rabies then you need the rabies shot series

 

[Caspers Human]

How is his temperature? Can you take his temperature? (A cat's normal body temperature is between 100º and 102º F.)

How is his coordination and gait? Does he seem clumsy or seem to have difficulty balancing?

A fever and flu-like symptoms are common in early stage rabies but loss of coordination and agitated behavior are common in later stages.

Rabies-Rabies - Symptoms & causes - Mayo Clinic

Learn about this deadly virus that most often spreads to people through the bite of an infected animal.

www.mayoclinic.org

I'm not saying it isn't rabies but I don't get that vibe, yet. I get the feeling that he got into something harmful or poisonous.

When I was a kid, my family dog got poisoned when a bird that was in a nearby farmer's field ate poison then flew into our yard. The dog caught the bird and got sick. It took the dog months to fully recover from it.

It happened around this time of year. It's harvest season and farmers are out cutting down the fields. Animals that have made homes in the fields are now being evicted when the tractors plow through. We believe that it was one of these scattered birds that made our dog sick.

You said that you live in a rural area. That's what made the idea click in my mind.

 

[Janeo99]

I did just find a dead bird on the property about two days ago, there are also tons of mice around here actually. He just ate a little bit of his dinner which is a slightly better sign than this morning. Hopefully he gets through the night ok and I can get him to the vet as soon as it opens tomorrow.

 

[Caspers Human]

The vet should be able to help you sort it out but do keep that bird in mind when you are trying to track down the source of his problem.

A downed bird or varmint doesn't have to be poisoned to make a cat sick. Just picking up a rotten, dead bird could do it.

Spreading poison in open fields is illegal in many areas. The incident happened forty years ago. Laws were different, back then.

 

[CindyH66]

oh, poor kitty ! drooling is a symptom.. it can be from serious dental issue , pain, nausea; could be from ingesting some toxin, .. can be from rabies ( rare) .. allergic reaction to something ? so many foods have been recalled lately .. did kitty eat something new ? get a flea treatment ? might have chewed on a plant of some sort? there are alot of variables that a vet will need to look into. blood work and an exam will find the root cause. Praying they find it quickly and they recover !! hope they feel better , poor baby !

 

[solomonar]

Although illegal in many parts of the world, there are still opportunities to obtain aggressive poison.
Poisoning requires immediate care in a vet office.

 

[Janeo99]

So after a whole day of tests and updates I really know nothing. First the blood came back mostly normal which made the vet think it must be a snake bite, then he did a bunch of tests and couldn’t find any evidence of a snake bite, he doesn’t know what’s wrong. He did say his breathing is far better and he is still moving around ok which might be a good sign. He said it’s possibly some sort of infection which isn’t showing up on the tests yet. Now my cat is in the vet overnight on fluids and antibiotics, now it depends on how he does for the night, it is possible he will start to feel better and if not then I guess there are more tests coming.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. If it was a snake bite, he would have a swollen something where he was bit.

Are you in the US?

Do you have any plants in your house or any flowers planted he could have access to?

Do you have horses?

Anyone in the house on topical medications? Anyone using Rogain?

 

[Janeo99]

I’m in Australi, there are a bunch of plants around the house, there are some horses next door but that is quite far away. I guess some sort of poison from plants or something would be possible.

 

[Janeo99]

Just to update, the vet called this morning, said he was looking better in some ways, he was finally eating, seemed to be more alert and his temperature was back to normal. He did mention the muscles seemed to be weaker than the last day which made him think of a snake bite again, overall he seemed pretty positive and said I might be able to pick him up today to see how he goes at home. I waited the last few hours for a call, finally just got it and it didn’t seem to be good news, he said he still looks pretty positive overall but seemed to be having trouble digesting food, his temperature went back up, he still wasn’t as active as they had hoped. He said something about sending off a sample to another city to check about the snake bite thing again but to me it sounds like they have no idea what to do, they can’t work out what’s wrong with him and I think it will just be a wait and see, if he doesn’t improve from the treatment he is receiving right now then I guess that’s it. It’s really frustrating.

 

[MissClouseau]

First the blood came back mostly normal which made the vet think it must be a snake bite

Do you have a copy of the tests? I would ask the vet to send the tests to you. Did they take Xray in case there is a foreign object? Did they check for toxoplasma - it's not a part of the routine blood test but toxoplasma can have a long variety of symptoms. I have known some cats who had muscle weakness as a symptom.

 

[Janeo99]

I didn’t get any copies, there have been blood tests which really showed nothing, x rays, he mentioned being able to see gas or something but basically admitted they got nothing truly useful. I dont know if they have checked for anything specific other than a snake bite, they said themselves said his eyes aren’t dilated and his muscles aren’t going completely floppy which confuses them but then they don’t suggest any other solution.

 

[CindyH66]

aw, poor baby ! Sounds like your vet is really trying. Snake bites and cats in your area is not unheard of, and can be hard to catch as cats dont show right away what happened , and bite wound can be hard to find with fur; plus you dont know what kind of snake since you dont see it happen. giving fluids to flush it all out and treat symptoms sounds about right if he thinks that the cause ... I pray you baby is better today ! please keep us posted !!

 

[MissClouseau]

I didn’t get any copies, there have been blood tests which really showed nothing, x rays, he mentioned being able to see gas or something but basically admitted they got nothing truly useful. I dont know if they have checked for anything specific other than a snake bite, they said themselves said his eyes aren’t dilated and his muscles aren’t going completely floppy which confuses them but then they don’t suggest any other solution.

There are different reactions to different types of snakes and I don't know what kind of snakes there are in your area. In my country a non-venomous snake bit my cousin's cat once. He developed a big abscess quite shortly afterward and had fever. Right before that there was visible, bloody scar. I don't know about your area to say much and your vet definitely knows better. But since there is lots of wildlife other than snakes, and plants, and probably other options we can't think of, if I were you I would ask the vet what the other options are than snake bite. If your cat is short-haired and doesn't have a scar on his body, I would also ask the vet would there not be a wound if it was a snake bite. (If they didn't exam his body, they should!)

You may get a second opinion from a different vet if possible too. I would especially recommend this if the kitty does not get better and the vet still doesn't have a certain diagnosis.

 

[Janeo99]

Just been an awful few days for me, last night my 14 year old dog woke up shaking, I put her under the blanket to try get her warm but she continued to shake, I took her outside and she was still walking at this point but not that well and seemed confused what to do but she eventually went to the toilet on the grass and I took her back to my room, she continued to shake and even get worse, I tried putting her down to walk but she would just fall to her side with her legs going crazy, it was sort of like a never ending seizure. After two hours of this I decided to call the emergency vet, they aren’t open but they are willing to send someone over if the situation is serious, the first lady I talked to was great, I told her I would probably have to put the dog down and that I didn’t really wanna wait another 4 hours until the vet opens and make her suffer, she understood and thought it was a good idea, she transferred me to the on call vet and this lady wasn’t so good.

She was clearly upset about being woken up, didn’t wanna discuss the situation with me, just wanted to know if I need her to go or not, I can understand not wanting to get up and go to work at 4am but I certainly wish she showed more of an interest. I decided to not go, I held my dog for the next four hours, didn’t get any sleep at all and I tried my best to make her comfortable until I could finally take her. Once I got there the vet was great, it was a different person which I was happy about and unfortunately I had to put the dog down. Wasn’t gonna put her through blood tests or anything when she was clearly in a terrible way. Before last night the only wrong thing I ever noticed with her was a bit of confusion, she was in good health otherwise.

I did also get an update about my cat, I saw him afterwards and he doesnt look so great right now, clearly very weak, he head butted my hand a bit but he really just wanted to sleep. The vet told me that she is pretty confident he will get better, she is almost certain it’s a snake bite but thinks the amount of venom wasn’t lethal, so just a few more days of flushing his system out and he should be fine. That sample from another city is coming today so hopefully it can confirm bite so at least i have an idea of what’s going on. It’s already been well over $2000 and will keep becoming more and more as long as he stays there but at least I have a decent amount of hope now.

 

[Janeo99]

Another update once again, just got a call from the vet, they have finally confirmed that it is definitely a snake bite. So it had to do with CK levels, I guess to see how much his muscles had been damaged, so the normal level is around 400, she was expecting him to be at 20 thousand but turns out he is actually at 130 thousand. It’s the biggest she has ever seen. To me that sounds absolutely awful but the vet is telling me he still has a good chance. I don’t know if I believe her or if she is trying to make me not worry so much while he doesn’t truly have much of a chance.

 

[silent meowlook]

The CK is the creatinine kinase. It can be elevated with a cardiac event or a stroke. Just something to bring up to your Vet.