What’s Wrong With My Cat?! :’(

[brianna23]

I am so sorry this is long, but I just can’t hold it all in anymore....


This past Sunday, my cat jumped or fell from up high. She landed on all fours and paused for a bit before walking off. The next day, she was acting lethargic. She no longer wanted to climb anything as she usually always does. She would lay in a couple different spots in the room for several hours. She drank her broth from dinner, but didn’t really eat.


Come Tuesday, I call up our vet and set up an appointment. We go in, I explained everything and she recommended X-rays and blood work. I get those things done that day.


The next day (Wednesday) she calls to say there are no broken bones or fractures, but there is a blurriness in the abdomen-area indicating free fluid. She tells me that she can do a little ultrasound in the office or I can go to this other vet and get a more in depth ultrasound. I decided to go with the small one first. She also had partial blood work back and so far things seemed okay, but her white blood cell count is a little high. So I also got her antibiotics. Ultrasound shows some fluid, she said her body could be reabsorbing it, but if I want the better ultrasound she can set it up. I decided to wait and see how she responded to the antibiotics first. She said that’s fine and to just contact them if she gets worse.


This morning she jumped into bed with me for the first time in a few days. So I thought that was a sign of improvement. But my cat still isn’t eating on her own at this point. She threw up bile a little later in the morning from what I assume is antibiotics on an empty stomach. So I force fed her some wet canned food mixed with water. I call the vet to inform her of her condition. She recommended I go through with the ultrasound. So I set it up.


We went today and I paid extra to get my results faster. Ultrasound shows inflammation of the peritoneum (peritonitis/ not FIP related), a thickened omentum and the fluid. Now they are telling me to have a sample of the fluid taken for testing. The vet reading the ultrasound results told me this could be a bacterial infection or something like cancer. She said I can discuss it all further with my vet in the morning. She also mentioned I should ask for pain meds as the inflammation can be painful and might be why she’s not eating.


So at this point I have spent $1200 and have been left with more questions than answers. I having been doing my best to scrape money together, but this fluid test is another $200+! And what if I get it and still don’t have any answers?! I’m also so upset about the pain meds. I received this information at their closing time. So my cat is now enduring another night of pain. Maybe she would have improved if she had been on pain meds all along.


I’m so heartbroken and stressed out to the maximum. I thought maybe I could post here and get some words of advice...maybe from someone knowledgeable about cats and their health.


No one understands what my cats mean to me, so it also helps to know others on here can relate.


I’m so scared this is leading to a cancer diagnosis. I haven’t been sleeping well and haven’t been able to eat all afternoon/ evening because of this stress. My baby is only 7 years old. She’s a rescue. I rescued her 5 years ago from a high kill shelter the day she was set to be put down. She’s been dealt so much crap in her short life, I just want her to be happy and healthy again.

 

[Pook]

I'll be thinking and purraying for you. Keep us updated.

Purrs,
Pook

 

[kitty416]

I hope your Kitty will be well soon. I will say a prayer for her and pray God strengthens you during this. Keep us posted. It is wonderful to share our space and life with a cat.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I have no answers for you but I wanted to tell you how awesome I think you are for the steps you've taken so far. I'm really pulling for your cat.

Someone knowledgeable will come along in the next 24 hours or so. The folks on this board are truly amazing.

 

[brianna23]

UPDATE:

Today she got her pain meds. they gave her more fluids with vitamins and electrolytes. They were going to sample the fluid, But the only sac my vet could find on her small ultrasound, was surrounded by veins and not safe to take a sample from. They want to try again tomorrow. They would like a sample to test the fluid and see what that tells them. They also want to culture it to see if we should change her antibiotics. That will be another $500+. If she still does not want to eat today, they are recommending I hospitalize her tomorrow for the day for IV fluids. So I am still drowning in vet bills and have no answers.

She said this is either from the fall possibly bruising her organs and maybe it caused a tear that caused the fluid in the abdomen and infection.

Or this might be cancer causing the immflamuation and what not.

Or a small chance it is possibly FIP. I thought this was ruled out. I was told yesterday that her bloodwork showed she has been exposed to the coronavirus, but tested negative as a carrier. Also her protein levels were not high and the little bit of fluid she pulled out during the first small ultrasound was not yellow and stringy as you normally see with FIP. But apparently it can still be a possibility. :'(

I am hoping she will perk up and finally eat on her own for dinner tonight. Unfortunately these pain meds do make her sleepy, which sucks.

 

[1 bruce 1]

UPDATE:

Today she got her pain meds. they gave her more fluids with vitamins and electrolytes. They were going to sample the fluid, But the only sac my vet could find on her small ultrasound, was surrounded by veins and not safe to take a sample from. They want to try again tomorrow. They would like a sample to test the fluid and see what that tells them. They also want to culture it to see if we should change her antibiotics. That will be another $500+. If she still does not want to eat today, they are recommending I hospitalize her tomorrow for the day for IV fluids. So I am still drowning in vet bills and have no answers.

She said this is either from the fall possibly bruising her organs and maybe it caused a tear that caused the fluid in the abdomen and infection.

Or this might be cancer causing the immflamuation and what not.

Or a small chance it is possibly FIP. I thought this was ruled out. I was told yesterday that her bloodwork showed she has been exposed to the coronavirus, but tested negative as a carrier. Also her protein levels were not high and the little bit of fluid she pulled out during the first small ultrasound was not yellow and stringy as you normally see with FIP. But apparently it can still be a possibility. :'(

I am hoping she will perk up and finally eat on her own for dinner tonight. Unfortunately these pain meds do make her sleepy, which sucks.

If she took a fall before this started, you can't automatically erase cancer or FIP out of your mind (I know, I'm a worry wart!), but if she were mine I would focus on the probable bruising and treat her accordingly, and give her some time to heal.

Even if she landed on all fours, that's one heck of a jolt. She may sore, from her feet to her ankles to her shoulders/hips to her back. If she wasn't sure when she was going to "hit the ground", she had no time to prepare and tense her muscles. (Ever taken a flight of stairs in the dark and misjudged the last step, and either thought you had one more step to go and either tripped going up or were jolted when you were actually already on the ground level? Multiply that by 1,000 when it comes to taking a fall.)
It's so hard when they aren't well and we don't know exactly what's wrong.
Any one of us right here on this site could have a cat with FIP or cancer that hasn't been diagnosed, and no signs have presented themselves. It's a scary thing, but it's true.
I feel like a hypocrite even telling you this because I worry about everything but try to focus on the fact that:
1). She was fine.
2). She took a fall.
3). She started acting not right.
4). You did a good thing, took her to the vet, and they gave you ALL options of what could be wrong. Cancer and FIP don't usually come from a fall, so try to keep yourself from driving yourself nuts and focus on giving her some love and whatever her little heart desires and give her some time to heal.
It sounds crazy but it might help you both if you gave her a gentle massage along her back, neck, etc. If she protests (she might watch your hands closely, try to walk away, adjust position in a way that hides the body area you're working on, etc.) let her. But most of our cats that have been treated to this when feeling under the weather lean into it.
And it's relaxing for us, too. It actually has helped some horses that were lame and unable to be worked. They lean into it!

 

[brianna23]

If she took a fall before this started, you can't automatically erase cancer or FIP out of your mind (I know, I'm a worry wart!), but if she were mine I would focus on the probable bruising and treat her accordingly, and give her some time to heal.

Even if she landed on all fours, that's one heck of a jolt. She may sore, from her feet to her ankles to her shoulders/hips to her back. If she wasn't sure when she was going to "hit the ground", she had no time to prepare and tense her muscles. (Ever taken a flight of stairs in the dark and misjudged the last step, and either thought you had one more step to go and either tripped going up or were jolted when you were actually already on the ground level? Multiply that by 1,000 when it comes to taking a fall.)
It's so hard when they aren't well and we don't know exactly what's wrong.
Any one of us right here on this site could have a cat with FIP or cancer that hasn't been diagnosed, and no signs have presented themselves. It's a scary thing, but it's true.
I feel like a hypocrite even telling you this because I worry about everything but try to focus on the fact that:
1). She was fine.
2). She took a fall.
3). She started acting not right.
4). You did a good thing, took her to the vet, and they gave you ALL options of what could be wrong. Cancer and FIP don't usually come from a fall, so try to keep yourself from driving yourself nuts and focus on giving her some love and whatever her little heart desires and give her some time to heal.
It sounds crazy but it might help you both if you gave her a gentle massage along her back, neck, etc. If she protests (she might watch your hands closely, try to walk away, adjust position in a way that hides the body area you're working on, etc.) let her. But most of our cats that have been treated to this when feeling under the weather lean into it.
And it's relaxing for us, too. It actually has helped some horses that were lame and unable to be worked. They lean into it!

My biggest concern right now is getting her to eat. She was given an appetite stimulator and had her first dose of pain meds, but I just tried right now and she doesn't want to eat still. I gave her the 3rd dose of antibiotics and tried to force feed her after, but she is fighting me and will spit up the food now.

I am noticing more that she seems to be walking funny, I think she is very sore. Her next dose of pain meds isn't for another 4 1/2 hours.

I am having a hard time holding it together. I just want to curl up in a ball and cry. I have a lot of anxiety on a normal day to day basis, so I do not do well in situations like these. I am just so frustrated that after spending $1300 dollars, I still don't have a clue on what I can do to help her. I am trying not to go crazy over thinking about FIP and cancer, but it's next to impossible for my already anxious brain.

All I want is to help her feel better. I will try to massage her, but as of right now, I make her very anxious. All I've been doing the last 4 days is dragging her to the vet and forcing meds and food in her.

 

[Elphaba09]

This is an odd question, but what does her vomit look like? Other than the fall, her symptoms sound a bit like when my cat Tara's pancreatitis acts up. Tara stops eating and vomits up watery foamy stuff with pink hamburger looking bits. One of the medications she takes is Ondansetron for nausea and vomiting.

I hope your kitty feels better!

 

[brianna23]

This is an odd question, but what does her vomit look like? Other than the fall, her symptoms sound a bit like when my cat Tara's pancreatitis acts up. Tara stops eating and vomits up watery foamy stuff with pink hamburger looking bits. One of the medications she takes is Ondansetron for nausea and vomiting.

I hope your kitty feels better!

She was vomiting yesterday morning. It was your basic yellow bile. I think it was because she had her first dose of antibiotics the day prior on an empty stomach. She has not thrown up since. I am trying to force feed her to help. It's just been a really difficult task today.

 

[Elphaba09]

Poor baby! Does scruffing her help with the force feed? It helps with Tara, but we have a cat that scruffing just anges.

 

[brianna23]

Poor baby! Does scruffing her help with the force feed? It helps with Tara, but we have a cat that scruffing just anges.

I haven't tried that. I don't want to hurt her...

 

[Elphaba09]

It will not hurt. Vets do it and it triggers a relaxation reflect in the cat. The video shows a cat being scruffed with a single metal clip. My vet showed me how to do it with three for my bigger cats. It makes the experience of force-feeding less scary. It also helps when I trim their claws and when they need oral medications. I do not need it for a couple of my cats, and it just does not work one of the others. (We have nine cats!)

 

[Erinlinkcappy]

I’m surprised they didn’t put her in on fluids , pain meds and antibiotics to begin with given she is so sick. I know it’s expensive but an IV of antibiotics seems to work quicker.

I’ve been through this before and it is hell I spent a lot of money and a lot of tests to find out .. no cancer or FIV. Sometimes it’s something simple.

Bruce is right - the signs point to the symptoms being from trauma so fingers crossed. Cats get out of sorts easily when they aren’t well and antibiotics don’t work overnight. My cat was quite unwell recently and not eating - he had to take strong antibiotics for 8 weeks. For about the first 6 days he barely wanted to eat and would sometimes throw up. I bought like 12 types of food and would be hand feeding him begging him to eat! I thought he’d never improve. But eventually they kicked in - and he’s back to being a piggy. Hang in there.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I'm so sorry you and your cat are having to go through this. Your cat is incredibly lucky to have you. What an amazing custodian you are! No one could could ask for better treatment. I hope you have someone, preferably another human, to lean on for emotional support. You sound so bereft in your last message. I doubt it's any consolation but i do think this sounds like trauma. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my two cats, Atticus and Thirteen, are following suit with their paws crossed too. I hope you know that if all the poor strays and ferals I feed were only a tenth as lucky as your cat they would think they'd died and gone to heaven. You really are remarkable! Please take care of yourself and keep us posted. the

 

[brianna23]

I’m surprised they didn’t put her in on fluids , pain meds and antibiotics to begin with given she is so sick. I know it’s expensive but an IV of antibiotics seems to work quicker.

I’ve been through this before and it is hell I spent a lot of money and a lot of tests to find out .. no cancer or FIV. Sometimes it’s something simple.

Bruce is right - the signs point to the symptoms being from trauma so fingers crossed. Cats get out of sorts easily when they aren’t well and antibiotics don’t work overnight. My cat was quite unwell recently and not eating - he had to take strong antibiotics for 8 weeks. For about the first 6 days he barely wanted to eat and would sometimes throw up. I bought like 12 types of food and would be hand feeding him begging him to eat! I thought he’d never improve. But eventually they kicked in - and he’s back to being a piggy. Hang in there.

I was literally filled with so much anxiety, I didnt even think about pain meds for days! I was so upset with myself, but I am mostly very upset those were not prescribed since day 1! I asked for her to have subcutaneous fluids that first visit because to me she seemed dehydrated. I also asked for them yesterday. Today I plan on taking her in to be hospitalized and put on IV fluids.

She still won’t eat on her own. After her pain meds last night, I force fed her almost half a 3 oz can of food. It took a few tries of scooping some onto a couple fingers and putting it directly into her mouth. I’m just worried because she has not eaten decent on her own since Monday, and all she did then was drink up the broth and take a couple bites of chicken.

She fell from about almost 9 ft. She landed hard. I’m am really hoping this is trauma related and not cancer not FIP.

No one has mentioned IV antibiotics at the clinic, but they really want to culture this fluid to see what antibiotics will be best to use. They just need to be able to get a sample. Would have been easier if done on Thursday at her fancy ultrasound, but I did not have enough funds that day, so I had to decline. I have enough to cover the fluid testing and culture and the hospitalization tomorrow, but after that, continuing at this rate will be next to impossible.

 

[brianna23]

I'm so sorry you and your cat are having to go through this. Your cat is incredibly lucky to have you. What an amazing custodian you are! No one could could ask for better treatment. I hope you have someone, preferably another human, to lean on for emotional support. You sound so bereft in your last message. I doubt it's any consolation but i do think this sounds like trauma. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my two cats, Atticus and Thirteen, are following suit with their paws crossed too. I hope you know that if all the poor strays and ferals I feed were only a tenth as lucky as your cat they would think they'd died and gone to heaven. You really are remarkable! Please take care of yourself and keep us posted. the

I’m the biggest Cat lady at heart! My cats are like children to me. Making this extremely difficult to go through. I just lost the very first cat I owned back in May. It was literally the worst day of my life. I couldn’t help him, so I’m doing all I can to help her. My beautiful Robbie is one of the greatest gifts in my life these past 5 years!

 

[brianna23]

UPDATE:


She is back home now. She didn’t eat for them, nor use the litter box. I was hoping to hear that she had used it because it’s a bit hard to keep track at home as I have other cats.


I decided to set her up in a kennel with a litter tray and big blanket at home. She went pee in her box first thing. I warmed up a bone broth by Only Natural Pet, but so far no interest. She just tries to cover the bowl.


She seems a little more alert. She was trying to figure out how to get out of the kennel for a little bit. Right now she’s just resting.


She did have a slight fever this morning when I first took her in. I’m hoping she won’t have it again in the morning when she goes back. She will go back tomorrow and Monday to continue all day IV fluids.

 

[Jelly1995]

UPDATE:


She is back home now. She didn’t eat for them, nor use the litter box. I was hoping to hear that she had used it because it’s a bit hard to keep track at home as I have other cats.


I decided to set her up in a kennel with a litter tray and big blanket at home. She went pee in her box first thing. I warmed up a bone broth by Only Natural Pet, but so far no interest. She just tries to cover the bowl.


She seems a little more alert. She was trying to figure out how to get out of the kennel for a little bit. Right now she’s just resting.


She did have a slight fever this morning when I first took her in. I’m hoping she won’t have it again in the morning when she goes back. She will go back tomorrow and Monday to continue all day IV fluids.

Please do let us know how she is. My kitty is hospitalised too at the moment following a big fall from a height so I can only relate to the pain too well. My heart goes out to you both

 

[Erinlinkcappy]

Hello - just wanted to add that I took my kitty in to the university vet with a fever recently - they initially thought the fever was caused by trauma / pain so it might support that diagnosis.

Mine ended up having toxoplasmosis ( too much raw mince they said).

I suggest if you start running out of funds you should ask them for treatment options you could try at home without further testing such as antibiotics or steroids.

 

[brianna23]

UPDATE:

Just dropped her off. Her temperature was normal this morning. Still won’t eat. Last night I even went to petsmart and picked up some wet fishy cat foods, cat milk and her favorite treats. She wanted none of them.

She only used her litterbox to urinate once, possibly twice since yesterday evening.

Trying to stay positive, but it’s just so hard. I really hate doing all of this to her. She is so unhappy and anxious.

Hoping there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel soon.