Please help Cat is sick have seen vet but

leprechaun414

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I
have a 3 year year old cat that has a problem. His symptoms are: he stopped pooping and throws up once a day. He trys to eat and when he has dry food he breaks it in little pieces, or when he has gravy he has a hard time after licking it. I have taken him to the vet and they have been giving him an antibitioc shot once a day for the past week. He had an ultrasound today and they are waiting for the blood results to confirm something with his pancreas or intestine being blocked. They said if he does not get better in a few days that surgury would be the next step. My question is should I bring him to another vet for a second opinion? He has not eaten in over two weeks and is getting thin. The vet has been giving fluids but I am concerned about his weight. Any ideas would be helpful. Please help.
 

arlyn

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Has he not had x-rays?
If that wasn't the very first suggestion after your vet did a visual check, you should head to a second vet for another opinion.
Sounds like a blockage to me, and that would be very serious.

Not eating in and off itself can be fatal very quickly for a cat, this is an emergency situation.
 

huggles

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Originally Posted by Arlyn

Not eating in and off itself can be fatal very quickly for a cat, this is an emergency situation.
I agree and I am surprised that your vet doesnt seem overly concerned about the fact that he hasnt eaten for so long.
I think a second opinion is a good idea.
 

xocats

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Did your vet tell you the results of the ultra sound?
I would call the vet this morning & insist on some answers or get a referral to a specialist.
This sounds critical.
Let us know what you find out.
 

les0304

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If it is stool or a FB, an x-ray is normally the first step taken (ecspecially before an US, guess it all depends on the vet.) An x-ray will easily show stool and they will sometimes look at the gas pattern to help the assesment. They really need to figure out the problem before it gets even worse. A second opinion (like the others suggested) is definitely a good idea.
 

ocicat_steph

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second opinion and has the vet you're with now tried any laxative like liquid paraphen?
 
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leprechaun414

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The latest is I have been waiting for the results from a blood test to see if it is pancreatitas. They told me it takes 5-7 days for that test. if it is that then we go from there. If not I don't know what other tests they can do? There was mention of exploreatory surgery but I don't like that option. I will consult another vet if the test comes back negative for the pancreas condition. This really sucks that I have to wait this long for a test to come back. Thanks for advice suggestions. I'm open to any more. Anything to get some help in solving this and getting my kitty better.
 

yosemite

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How awful that you have to wait. Is the kitty eating anything at all? If he doesn't eat he could go into liver failure. I'm surprised the vet is making you wait so long.
 

ktlynn

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I *strongly* agree with the members who've already suggested a second opinion.

Your kitty needs to eat - now - he can't and shouldn't wait til the vet sees the bloodwork results. If he won't eat on his own, you can assist feed him.
This is a very helpful site about how to do that. Please start ASAP:
www.assistfeed.com

Your kitty is still very young and this will hopefully be a factor in him pulling through. Sending lots of good wishes for a fast recovery.
 

kluchetta

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Your profile doesn't show where you're from - and I suspect that is some of the issue here.

My cat had a blockage about 1 1/2 years ago and it's really a medical emergency. Is your cat throwing up foamy matter? Is it able to eat at all? Is there a fever? When my cat had the blockage the vet thought it was a uterine infection but when he "went in" he discovered the blockage. She lost several pounds before we figured it out. The surgery is a bit expensive, but in my opinion, worth it. It totally saved her life and she was only a couple years old.

PS - are there any things like strings, threads, or cat toys missing? Sometimes they eat them!
 

cathyc

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My friends cat just went through a bout of pancreatitis. The cat had thrown up several times throughout the day and by the evening she was in obvious distress. She took her to the emergency vet and they were concerned she may have gotten into string or something like that and were scared to wait around so they did exploratory surgery. They found that she had pancreatitis. She was hospitalized for several days and on IV fluids and a couple of strong antibiotics. I remember the vet saying while she hated that she did unnecessary surgery it did at least let them know what was going on because pancreatitis can get serious and that blood work doesn't always diagnosis it. I would think if your cat did have it after 2 weeks on meds and fluids he should be improving. I know you don't want to put your kitty through surgery and I wouldn't either but after this long and him not doing any better I think i would be considering it and maybe another vet. This is just too long for him not to be eating and not know what's going on.
 

gizmocat

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Don't wait seven days. Go to another vet and get an X ray of the cat to see if there is a blockage.
 

kittenkiya

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Have you tried giving your baby some strained meats? When Old Pete had upper respiratory so bad he wouldn't eat, we got some baby meats like beef, mixed in some water to make s slurry, sucked it up into a syringe and force-fed him for a week. He survived, but his illness was no where near as bad as yours. Maybe if you decide to wait, you might want to try this to get some kind of nourishment into him.
 
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leprechaun414

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We have been feeding him with a syringe in small amounts. When the results come back the vet said that they would know what direction to go. I don't know if I should just go to an emergency vet right now and admit him to get into the right direction. He is geting very thin and I am concerned about that going into surgery but I have to do something.
 

cathyc

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I just can't imagine why the blood work is going to take so long. 48hrs. is the most I've ever had to wait. It might not be a bad idea to take him to the emergency vet now. Our emergency vet here can do a lot of in-house blood work that the regular vets have to send out. I would be very uneasy waiting until Friday because with him going without food can cause a multitude of other problems especially with his liver. Good luck.
 

stephanietx

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I would go with your gut and take your kitty to the emergency vet. I can't imagine not taking x-rays and having some kind of test results by now.

Stephanie
 

treeelf

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Originally Posted by leprechaun414

The latest is I have been waiting for the results from a blood test to see if it is pancreatitas. They told me it takes 5-7 days for that test. if it is that then we go from there. If not I don't know what other tests they can do? There was mention of exploreatory surgery but I don't like that option. I will consult another vet if the test comes back negative for the pancreas condition. This really sucks that I have to wait this long for a test to come back. Thanks for advice suggestions. I'm open to any more. Anything to get some help in solving this and getting my kitty better.
wow my clinic get s our bloodwork the next day usually... I would go to a different clinic for a second opinion. When you go I would ask about an enema and definately Xrays.
 
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leprechaun414

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I have an update after such a long ordeal. My Kitty needed surgery and so far it has gone well. We are not completely out of woods but things are are promising. I should have went to the emergency vet alot sooner. I still never got the blood test that I was told to wait for. Let me just tell you how unhappy I am with my EX vet. I thank everyone for all the advice. I'm sure many people can imagine how stressfull this has been. I am glad to have found this forum in my time of need. I will let everyone know how things go. I hope to one day be able to help someone else on this site. Even if its for moral support. Thanks everyone again.
 
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