Hopefully some of you can help me with your knowledge. We have a 6 month old kitten called Arthur. Early on he was a very active kitten, running around, wrestling with his sister (who is our other cat), very playful. About a month ago we noticed he was getting a bit subdued, and not eating much. After a week we decided to take him to the vet. She took an X-ray, and we found out he was full of.. Wait for it... Sand and grit! I had noticed that sometimes outside he would eat sand, or dirt at the base of trees. In the summer I think he was chasing ants, but even when the ants were gone he kept doing it. I also caught him eating cat litter some times - the clumping type, not good! She also did a complete bloodwork, and his results were perfect. He had no fever.
So she told us to keep him in, and keep him eating, and change his litter (we went for a corn based one) We did this, he seemed to be getting better, but then he seemed to get lethargic again, and didn't want to eat much. So we went back to the vet. No fever, so we were just to keep doing what we were doing, and she gave him a painkiller. But things didn't improve; he was always quite perky after the vet and for the next day or two, then it was back to being lethargic. So next week, back to the vet. This time he had a fever. This time we got 4 days painkiller to give him, and a course of antibiotics. We also got some high fibre food. Back home we went, and things were looking up, he was more playful, chasing his sister etc., and we allowed him outside - supervised. He wasn't interested in eating sand or dirt, and seemed quite happy. But over the next couple of days he started to have trouble jumping. He used to be able to jump 4ft up on to our deck, but now he was struggling to jump on to the sofa seat. He was more playful though, but still not up to full energy.
So today it was back to the vet, about 6 days since the last appt. she did another CBC and it was still fine. She says it's very peculiar, there is no indication of what's causing the problems. He still had a fever, it was 0.3 less than the last time. She thought the jumping problems were because he's not eating enough so he's becoming weak; he is looking thin. So now we have a different antibiotic, some high-calorie food, and our fingers crossed. Today was the first time she mentioned the possibility of FIP, and as a result I've been crying off and on all evening, he is such a lovely cat, if can't bear the idea of losing him so soon.
He's been very sleepy this evening (but I think the vet visit was stressful) but I have managed to get him to eat about 1/5 of a tin of high calorie food, by mixing it with a little warm water.
I've no idea the chances that he has FIP (dry form). It sounds rare, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have it. I would have expected some indication in his bloodwork, it wasn't there. After the sand eating incident, could it be something else? He's also suffering quite badly with teething, his gums are very red.
I'd love your thoughts...
So she told us to keep him in, and keep him eating, and change his litter (we went for a corn based one) We did this, he seemed to be getting better, but then he seemed to get lethargic again, and didn't want to eat much. So we went back to the vet. No fever, so we were just to keep doing what we were doing, and she gave him a painkiller. But things didn't improve; he was always quite perky after the vet and for the next day or two, then it was back to being lethargic. So next week, back to the vet. This time he had a fever. This time we got 4 days painkiller to give him, and a course of antibiotics. We also got some high fibre food. Back home we went, and things were looking up, he was more playful, chasing his sister etc., and we allowed him outside - supervised. He wasn't interested in eating sand or dirt, and seemed quite happy. But over the next couple of days he started to have trouble jumping. He used to be able to jump 4ft up on to our deck, but now he was struggling to jump on to the sofa seat. He was more playful though, but still not up to full energy.
So today it was back to the vet, about 6 days since the last appt. she did another CBC and it was still fine. She says it's very peculiar, there is no indication of what's causing the problems. He still had a fever, it was 0.3 less than the last time. She thought the jumping problems were because he's not eating enough so he's becoming weak; he is looking thin. So now we have a different antibiotic, some high-calorie food, and our fingers crossed. Today was the first time she mentioned the possibility of FIP, and as a result I've been crying off and on all evening, he is such a lovely cat, if can't bear the idea of losing him so soon.
He's been very sleepy this evening (but I think the vet visit was stressful) but I have managed to get him to eat about 1/5 of a tin of high calorie food, by mixing it with a little warm water.
I've no idea the chances that he has FIP (dry form). It sounds rare, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have it. I would have expected some indication in his bloodwork, it wasn't there. After the sand eating incident, could it be something else? He's also suffering quite badly with teething, his gums are very red.
I'd love your thoughts...