My Kitty is sick

And no one can seem to give me any answers .

It started in Friday when she threw up her food. She throws up like a normal cat and has always had hairball issues. We usually give her Cat-lax and all is fine.

Not this time. She threw up on Friday night about every 3 hours on average. We brought her to the vet early on Saturday. He told us to watch her litter box usage and gave us some medicine for her tummy. He also gave her a shot and took an X-ray. X-ray was normal and she was acting fine. Came back from the vet a bit annoyed at us, but we played a nice game of laser pointer , rolled around with some catnip, and cuddled.

She then stated throwing up again Saturday evening (last night) and she didn't use the litter box. She's acting a bit not like herself-she's breathing ok, just not playing as much, still not eating, not using the litter box, and overall just tired and resting.

So we went to the emergency vet today (Sunday morning). They took blood, gave her a stronger antibiotic ( we noticed her vomit was a bit pinkish) and gave her a shot for nausea. Her temp is normal and the vet checked out her stomach and she was in pain slightly when pressure was put on a spot. She isn't constipated.

The vet mentioned maybe she ate something, like an Xmas decoration. All of our decorations are on our curtain rods and are Christmas tree is an outside decoration. No plants or flowers were around that could harm her. I'm really careful with anything lying around. She also just doesn't like that stuff. She'll only eat her dry catfood. I've tried everything- smelly moist cat food, boiled chicken- nothing works! She doesn't eat that stuff anyway.

However, we can't rule out that she didn't eat something.

We'll get the results in a few hours and if nothing is there, then we are getting a sonogram for her Monday morning.

I'm really concerned. And to top it off my other cat is really being nasty to her. I'm not sure if it is the smell from the vet's or what, but he is hissing and growling. They were best friends always sleeping together. I think this is the first time the have had a fight since we introduced them.

We are supposed to fly to Australia Wednesday evening to see DH's family for Xmas, but not if kitty is not good. We could stand to lose $5,000 as the tickets are not transferrable. We could put her up in a hospital while we are gone, but I think that would just make her more stressed. What would you do? Please be honest.

The price of the vet bills don't concern me. We have pet insurance and here in Germany even shots are covered, so we will do everything we can possibly do.

If you read this far, thanks so much. If you could just keep Phoebe in your thoughts, that'd be great.

Re: My Kitty is sick

I'm so sorry that your poor kitty is sick. It's so stressful when they can't give you any answers. I pray that she gets better soon! As far as going away, that is a tough one. Honestly, if it were me, I don't know if I could go on a trip knowing one of my pets was sick but on the other hand, maybe it would make you feel better knowing she is in the hospital with such a close eye being kept on her. I know that's no help. Good luck with your decision.

Re: My Kitty is sick

Poor Phoebe Your other cat is probably picking up on the fact that she is not feeling well (combined with the nasty vet stink). My thought is blockage? That will show up in a sonogram, no? As far as your trip, I would probably play it by ear and see what happens tomorrow. WHo was going to watch your kitties while you were gone? I dont think forfeiting 5K in travel arrangements is practicable. I would probably put her in the hands of the vet hospital at that point.

I am praying you get some answers tomorrow and Phoebe starts to feel better

Re: My Kitty is sick

Well we got her blood work back and everything is fine, nothing abnormal. We've been force feeding her as the vet said to do. We are not shoving anything down her throat- lol! The vet today gave us some calorie rich high protein food wet food. We put dab by dab on her nose. When something is on their nose, they automatically put the tongue up there to lick it. The vet gave us a feeding syringe, but she doesn't like this. So dab the food on is better we think. I just want her to get something.

Side note: this touch the nose trick works to get pills down. I've known this trick for years since my sister was a vet tech and I grew up helping take care of many animals.

She also went to her food dish and had a few bites of her regular food. The past few days she has just been standing over it.

She hasn't thrown up since early this morning, so that's good. However, she isn't totally herself, but she's had a stressful day with bloodwork, so I'll let that slide.

We've learned a whole lot of German vocab- enema, polite way to say poo and vomit, etc. The vets don't just say puke or upchuck which is apparently what we've been using.

We're still bringing her in tomorrow- just to be safe.

We're not sure what to do about going away. When we go away, we hire someone to come over an hour a day to feed, pet, and scoop. The cat sitter is really good with them, and if Phoebe has improved by Wednesday, we'll just have the sitter come an extra hour for that first week. If she hasn't we may do the hospital. We'll see.

Message edited 12/18/2011 5:59:46 PM.

Re: My Kitty is sick

Prayers kitty is better soon!

Re: My Kitty is sick

I'm sorry your kitty is not feeling well. Are you just getting a sono? I would do an endoscopy as well. They can see things better. There's also a supplement called tinic (sp?). It's a liquid vitamin supplement and supposed to help with appetite. When my kitties had cancer a few years ago, we used it and think it helped. I hope kitty feels better soon.

Re: My Kitty is sick

Poor kitty, I do hope she feels better soon.
Will she eat her regular dry food if your moisten it a bit with water ? Might be easier on her tummy.

Tough call on the trip. I wouldn't know what to do either.
What are your plans with the kitties while you are away ?

Re: My Kitty is sick

Poor kitty!!

Feel better!!

Re: My Kitty is sick

So we had the ultrasound done on Tuesday. We were supposed to have it done on Mondy, but she started eating on Sunday night a bit.

Then on Monday she stopped eating, so I decided for piece of mind to get the ultrasound done before we leave on our trip.

The ultrasound didn't show anything serious, which, naturally, is a good thing . However, it did show that it might be her gallbladder is inflamed/infected. At least I can relax and know it isn't too serious.

But she still won't eat on her own or use the litter box (probably because she isn't eating enough to warrant a trip to the litterbox). I feed her with a little shot thing with wet food mixed with water. Anyway, the doctor said it isn't serious enough for her to be placed there since we are going away. We have a cat sitter and she is going to come by twice a day and I have to show her how to feed her.

If she still isn't eating on her own by next week, our catsitter has to bring her in. They have to monitor the liver. Since she's such a big cat, she can be at risk for fatty liver if she doesn't eat. They checked her liver on the ultrasound and it's all ok there, but they want to keep an eye on it.

I'm a bit nervous about leaving her, but the catsitter is awesome and really knows about animals, so that's comforting. We leave tomorrow .

My kitty has a shaved stomach and she fell asleep during the ultrasound. The tech said she was pretty relaxed. She loves belly rubs, so I guess that's why .

Message edited 12/20/2011 12:29:05 PM.