Something is wrong with Sammy. He's 11 years old, I guess almost 12. Lately he's gotten really thin and his fur (he's longhaired) is nasty. He's not eating a lot, so clearly that's why he's skinny, but he eats enough that I'm not afraid of him starving himself, maybe half of what he should be eating. He is excited about meals, eats right away, and I've even made him special meals (baked chicken, baby food, etc.) but he'll only eat a little, kind of like his stomach shrunk and he's full after a small amount, but I've tried more frequent small meals and he just acts not hungry. Otherwise he's acting normal---active, playful, affectionate, nosy, into everything, and he likes to door-dash and that hasn't changed. While he looks and feels too thin, he still weighs 9 1/2 pounds (I believe he's about 12 pounds at a healthy weight) so he's not wasting away.
I took him to the vet, and Doc said he had a fever so he gave him a Convenia shot (now, reading up on that, I probably should have gone with oral antibiotics :/). But I'm not sure if he really had a fever or was just overexcited about going to the vet and worked himself up so his temp was higher. It's been 10 days and no change at all. Doc said to give it a couple weeks to see if the antibiotics work and we'll try something else, so I guess I'll be bringing him back sometime this week. My vet is a small-town farm vet so he doesn't have a lot of diagnostic tools, but he can run bloodwork and all that, and if it goes beyond his capabilities I'll take Sam to a vet in Sioux Falls with a more advanced clinic.
Doc doesn't think it's hyperthyroid because his heart rate is normal. And his teeth have been checked and are fine. Abdominal palpation felt fine. Temp was 104-ish but like I said, could have been excitement. He didn't feel hot to me before I took him in. None of the other cats are showing symptoms. He's not visibly anemic. His eyes and nose are clear. He hasn't vomited at all and is drinking normally. Litterbox output is normal.
He actually did the same thing a couple years ago but recovered before I got concerned enough to get him to the vet. He didn't get this skinny.
So, any suggestions as to what I should bring up when I take him back? I've already decided to ask for full bloodwork. Maybe a fecal. . .could be a parasite? Anything else I should suggest?
I took him to the vet, and Doc said he had a fever so he gave him a Convenia shot (now, reading up on that, I probably should have gone with oral antibiotics :/). But I'm not sure if he really had a fever or was just overexcited about going to the vet and worked himself up so his temp was higher. It's been 10 days and no change at all. Doc said to give it a couple weeks to see if the antibiotics work and we'll try something else, so I guess I'll be bringing him back sometime this week. My vet is a small-town farm vet so he doesn't have a lot of diagnostic tools, but he can run bloodwork and all that, and if it goes beyond his capabilities I'll take Sam to a vet in Sioux Falls with a more advanced clinic.
Doc doesn't think it's hyperthyroid because his heart rate is normal. And his teeth have been checked and are fine. Abdominal palpation felt fine. Temp was 104-ish but like I said, could have been excitement. He didn't feel hot to me before I took him in. None of the other cats are showing symptoms. He's not visibly anemic. His eyes and nose are clear. He hasn't vomited at all and is drinking normally. Litterbox output is normal.
He actually did the same thing a couple years ago but recovered before I got concerned enough to get him to the vet. He didn't get this skinny.
So, any suggestions as to what I should bring up when I take him back? I've already decided to ask for full bloodwork. Maybe a fecal. . .could be a parasite? Anything else I should suggest?
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