I think my cat was bitten by spider

He is not doing as well on this new medicine as he was on the Pred. He is wheezing. I have to clean his nose a lot. I am really excited about taking him in today, I am hoping to get him alot more relief from this as fast as I can. I think they should do some really aggressive treatment at this point while he is still healthy enough to withstand it. He has been brave and strong throughout. I am proud of him. He figured out his own version of an ice compress, he lies against the side of the tub and the cold porcelain feels good to him. He is a smart cat. I will be gone all day and will update later when we return from vet.

Poor baby How long have you to go before the vets appointment?. If he's wheezing i would be sitting on their doorstep if they don't have a 24 hour emergency surgery

Poor baby! What kind of tests have they done? Please let us know how it goes today.

It is 9:45a here and his Doctor can see him at 11:30, so I am just waiting. Roll on 11:30. Today will be 1st set of tests. We have tried to treat it up til now with medicine, but it is not responding. I am in the unfortunate situation that I had lost my job just before Christmas and money is very tight. My mom has gotten approved for Care Credit on my behalf and now we can proceed with the expensive tests. I have gone without groceries to pay for Smokies medicine. He has just got to get better, I cannot bear the thought of not being able to fix this. He is such a good and beautiful cat. I am thankful for the many years we have spent together and hope for many more.

He's gorgeous How old is Smokie?

I hope you can get some answers today.

Smokie is around 12+ years. He has been with me for at least 11 years. Even this picture doesn't do him justice because his eyes are actually emerald green and they almost look yellow in the pic. He looks exactly as he did when I first got him, like he hasn't aged a day. He has always been healthy as a horse and so this is absolutely killing me.

it won't be long now! you'll be at the vet and things will get better i'm sure of it!

Originally Posted by carisue1

I have gone without groceries to pay for Smokies medicine. I am thankful for the many years we have spent together and hope for many more.

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Bless your heart for putting Smokie first An i've no doubt that he'll be with you for a lot more years to come

Oh my goodness.. Smokie is just beautiful. I am sorry you are going through this. I hope that he feels better soon

Originally Posted by carisue1

He is 100% indoor cat. I know it is a belief that brown recluse are only in southern state but, that is completly false. If you look into it you will see that more people in the state of MI have been bitten than in any other state. I worked at A Cosmetic surgery clinic and a lady came in with a horrible bite on her hand she lived in Rochester Hills. She had a huge crater in her finger where it had bitten her and her hand swelled up to 5 times the normal size. It was awful. Check around you will find that brown recluse spiders are more common to MI than you have read.

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I can verify the fact that brown recluse spiders live in Michigan. I was working in my shed when I was bitten on my hand by one. I even saved the dead spider for identification, so there was no question. It was a terribly painful bite. It started out as a swollen spot and progressed to a blanched (whitish) area with a red bullseye patch in the middle. Eventually the red area turned purple, and turned necrotic. It was an open wound for a couple of weeks. I have pictures of my hand if anyone is interested. It took several weeks to heal. My doctor put me on Keflex, Dapsone, and Dilaudid for pain. The doctor that treated me said later that he had treated seven brown recluse bites that summer. I live in mid-Michigan, so there are obviously more of them here than anyone actually thinks.

Please, please do NOT give your kitty Metacam!!! It is not approved for use in cats and is known to cause renal failure in some cats. Google it and find out everything you can before you use it with your kitty!!! If you've already given it to your kitty, make sure you get his renal function checked ASAP!!!
Here is a link that discusses the risks of Metacam use in cats http://www.persiancats.org/nss-folde...isksInCats.pdf



Good luck!!!

Pookie & the girls

For anyone who says for fact that Michigan does not have brown recluse spiders, they are just going by a myth. My ex-boyfriend got bitten by one as well. I would like to see your pic if you want to send it privately to me, I need all the resources I can get. Thanks for your input and believing me.

Smokie has had a required tests done now and I am picking him up at 6:30p. He did very well and he is coming home with some pain meds, anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic until we get the results of 2 biopsies that were taken today. He has clear chest and lung X-ray which mean if it is tumor, good possibility it is non-cancerous. Means it has not spread. I still 100% believe that it is not cancer or even tumor, but you gotta go with what the Vet says.
Well, I am just thrilled that he has come this far and he is still very strong and healthy. Please keep us in your prayers. It will be 2-3 days before I have any results of the biopsies. Thanks to everyone. I will keep you updated frequently.

bless your heart and taking care of your kitty, by all that you've said it sounds like a spider bite - i hope this will start to heal itself.

Did your vet get biopsy results yet? That would be the definitive way to diagnose it. It can be pricey but it will get down to the bottom of it.

Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

Did your vet get biopsy results yet? That would be the definitive way to diagnose it. It can be pricey but it will get down to the bottom of it.

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We just had the biopsy surgery today. They will send samples to lab for result. The bone biopsy will take up to 7 days and the tissue biopsy may be sooner 2-3 day, if they got a good sample. Smokie was good and brave. He is a bit dopey right now. He has a shaved spot on leg and on cheek and he has 2 stitches on his face. He had a bandage on his leg (from IV's) but as soon as we got home he pulled it off. He is so funny that way. I am very pleased and excited about the procedures that we had done today, it went better than expected.

Awww bless him Sending more (((((((((healthy vibes for Smokie))))))) and i'll watch for an update

I just caught up with this thread now. I'm so sorry to hear Smokie is suffering.
The fact that he rested his cheek against the porcelain tub, makes me think his little face felt hot. This makes me think that there's an infection and inflamation of some sort, not a tumour. Hopefully it's just an aggressive pus reaction, and kitty antihistimine and the right meds will take care of it with time. Maybe a pus drainage if required?
Your spider theory sounds like a good possibility. If he also had a bite in his mouth, maybe he tried to eat the spider after it bit him on the leg. Judging by Pookie-poo's description of her spider bite, it sounds very feasable that this type of spider bite could cause Smokie's face to swell up.
Keep us posted! I'm rooting for Smokie and sending him normal face vibes!

Sending prayers and hugs from Mississippi that Smokie starts to feel better soon.

Please keep us updated on him.

I'm glad they were able to get all the necessary tests done. Sending lots of positive thoughts for Smokie and hoping everything turns out all right. please let us know when you get the results!