Poorly cat

[Flora]

Our youngest cat, a ginger tom who is so cute and lovely but very naughty is apparently very ill.

 

I took him into the vets this morning for the op to remove his naughty bits (they were weighing him down , becaue with the tribunal and getting Bill settled into school I hadn't got round to it until now and he's a year old now)

 

Yesterday he was asleep on my lap and I noticed he had some scaly skin and fur missing around one of his ears and back of his head. He's also got a bit thin (despite having a massive appetite) and sleeps alot, but I'd put that down to the fact that he has been going further afield looking for a 'girl friend' cat.

 

The vet rang me this morning after Mac had his premed and we discussed these 'symptoms', which on their own don't appear to be much but added together could indicate FIV (feline HIV) He examined him and said that his lymph nodes are enlarged and he has a temperature. Basically, with the weight loss, hair loss and sleepiness he has virtually all the symptoms of this fatal and uncurable virus.

 

I'm sat by the phone waiting for him to ring me back with the results of a blood test to see if he has FIV.

 

The vet says if he has it then he is obviously in fairly advanced stages and other than keep him comfortable there's nothing that can be done.

 

He's so gorgeous, and he's Bill's cat.

 

Flora

[mossgrove]

<'> <'> <'>

 

So sorry.

 

Simon

[smiley]

So sorry flora <'> <'> <'> Edited May 19, 2008 by smiley

[Suze]

oh sweetheart..............well you know how I am with my pets, so I can totally understand how sad you must feel , hope you can continue to keep him comfortable and happy <'> .These animals of ours are like members of the family and for them to be ill like that is heartbreaking, big hugs suzex

[Flora]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

 

He tested negative for FIV, but the vet said that it doesn't entirely rule it out nor does it rule out any of the other nasty viruses cats can get.

 

He isn't going to do the op today obviously, but we are going to get him home with a course of antibiotic injections and give him lots of TLC. If he doesn't pick up by next week then we have to seriously discuss his future. If he picks up and his lymph nodes go down then we can wait and see how he goes. Also the vet told me that his organs are enlarged, particularly his kidneys and that in his experience, even though the test was negative, it doesn't look good.

 

Suze, you are so right about pets. I feel really sad about this. He is such a little character and one of my dogs thinks he's her baby (she tried to breast feed him when we first got him as a kitten and he sleeps in her basket curled up next to her. She fusses over him and cleans his eyes etc, and it's kept her so happy because she was having phantom pregnancies and this has helped her with that, they really love each other! I so hope he recovers and is ok.

 

Flora X

[loobylou2]

so sorry Flora hope he feels better soon <'>

[Suze]

Oh no flo...........that image of your doggie nursing your cat and them sleeping together has set me off ,what a lovely pair of characters they must be .........stay strong, love suzex

[Bagpuss]

Hope he picks up Flora <'>

[lorryw]

So sorry Suze, I hope he improves. its so upsetting when our pets are ill.

[baddad]

Let's hope those antib's sort him out <'>

[oxgirl]

Aw, poor puss. <'>

 

~ Mel ~

[Kathryn]

I hope he gets better in the next few days Flora. <'>

 

K x

[bid]

<'>

 

Boho x

[Flora]

Thanks guys.

 

I've got him home. I have 6 syringes of antibio's to give him over the next 6 days. He's been wormed and has had his booster jab.

 

He's had a tin and a half of cat food with crunchy bits and is asleep on dd's lap.

 

So he's not off his food which is good, but he's very sleepy.

 

I feel as if he's going to be ok, just a feeling. Will let you know next week after his next appointment with the vet.

 

Flora X

[elun1]

<'> Hope he's ok Flora

Elun xxx

[Enid]

glad to hear he`s home and happy, <'> I lost one of my 3 cats last year, she was 17 and it broke my heart, My dog was 12 last week, we`ve had him since he was 6 wks old, am dreading him going, they are like part of the family are`nt they <'> , we also have a 9 yr old rabbit, a 5 yr old guinea pig, 2 tortoises aged 10, and 3 hens! oh and just the 4 kids Enid

[Tally]

Cats are very good at hiding it when they don't feel well.

 

Hope you get some answers next week.

[CarolineJ]

Poor little poppet. I hope he purrks up

[Flora]

Thanks guys.

 

Tally, you know about cats don't you?

 

He hasn't changed much over the past week. He sleeps and eats and goes outside when nature calls sometimes for up to half an hour, but other than that he's sleeping, eating, and not much else. He appears to have lost more weight or if not, he certainly hasn't gained any, despite eating huge amounts of food.

 

From a distance he looks find, but once you get up close to him he has patches of furr missing off his head, his ears are completely bald now and his coat is a bit dull. His tummy is swollen and quite hard but you can see the bones sticking up on his sides and back.

 

Any thoughts or ideas?

 

I'm taking him back to the vet tomorrow, who hopefully may be able to get to the bottom of this. All the usual things have been taken care of ie, he's been wormed, vaccinated, had the flea treatment, eating a good diet with loads of water.

 

It's very puzzling.

 

Flora X

[Tally]

I know more about cat behaviour than cat medicine.

 

The only thing I can think of is an overactive thyroid, which can cause loss of weight and increased appetite. You would expect him to be quite active though, but if he is over 10 years or so, it could be a bit of a red herring. My mum's cat had this and her cat was anything but hyper, and with the treatment he became even more drowsy, but he was quite old by this point and was supposed to spend a lot of time asleep. (My vet says 20-22 hours sleep a day is quite normal for a 16-y-o cat.) His coat could be in poor condition due to undernourishment (as it passes through so quickly, even though you are feeding him a good diet). Another sign is swelling in the neck, but this is not always apparent.

 

It does sound like it could be a stomach problem. It might be worth keeping him in for a day with a litter tray, so you can see what's happening. Diarrhoea wouldn't explain the hard stomach, but would explain the weight loss. Constipation would explain the swollen belly, but he would have to be vomiting regularly if he is still eating large amounts. Would also be helpful to know if he is weeing as normal.

 

It may also be worth re-running the FIV test. In rare cases, you can get a false negative. It's probably worth running some other blood tests to see how his organs are functioning, especially since they are enlarged.

[Flora]

Hi Tally,

 

Thank you <'>

 

He's only one year old.

 

I was thinking about providing a litter tray, if he'd use it! He never used one as a kitten, used to walk past it and ###### in the corner All my cats go 'else where', not in my garden thankfully, but somewhere else

 

I will see what the vet says tomorrow. I was thinking of the thyroid thing, because I have had an over active thyroid and even though I had a lot of nervous energy I was very tired and lethargic all the time. He is very nervy although very sleepy so I might mention it to the vet.

 

Flora XX

[CarolineJ]

My cat had an overactive thyroid. He'd eat - a lot, sleep and do his toilets. His poos were very runny and barely digested. He did have a thinning coat, but not a distended abdomen.

 

Poor little furry boy

[Suze]

Hope it goes o.k with the vet and you get some answers, if they can just find out what is the matter it would help, everythings crossed you get some good news, hugs suzex. <'>

[Flora]

Well it's curtains for my poor ginger cat

 

He's got one of two things and we'll know within a week; either lymphoma or the third stage of FIV. Either way there's nothing that can be done other than to keep him comfortable. The vet took two biopsies from his swollen lymph nodes and further blood for analysis. He called in a specialist cat vet who said that she thinks he's certainly got FIV and that the lymph nodes will come back negative for lymphoma.

 

Flora

[oxgirl]

Aw, sorry, Flora. <'> <'> <'> Poor puss-puss.

 

~ Mel ~

[smiley]

<'>

[baddad]

<'> <'>

So sorry

[bid]

<'>

 

Boho

[Suze]

oh hunni I,m so so sorry <'> , you must be devastated , I hope he can continue to remain comfortable and you can spend some quiet happy times with him this week, thinking of you all, hugs suzex.

[Tally]

Really sorry to hear that Flora <'>

[CarolineJ]

I'm so sorry. I was dreading hearing something like this I hope you can keep him comfortable. In experience, my cats have let me know when it's time It doesn't make it any easier though.

 

((hugs))

[Bard]

I'm so sorry that it's not a good outlook.

I dread anything happening to our little ginger tomcat, he's the centre of B's universe.

[Kathryn]

Flora,

 

 

Sorry to hear this

 

<'>

 

K x

[Clare63]

Flora,

 

I am sorry to hear this too ~ <'> <'> <'> <'>

 

Clare x x x

[kellyanne]

Flora <'> ><

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. I have 3 of them. I can only imagine how you feel right now, I would probably be feeling the same. <'> >< <'> >< <'> >< <'>