Mysterious Feline Ailment

Hi Everyone,
I am new here and hope you will welcome me with a big 'meow' and certainly share your thoughts and feedback with me.

I have 2 'kids'. Both are fed Felidae dry and Merrick wet food twice a day. Totally indoor cats/loads of love and care. Fresh distilled water at all times. Our apartment is kept very clean and both cats do not have access to anything potentially dangerous.

My boy has not been himself for the past few days. A few weeks ago, we noticed that there would be a piece of stool on the floor every morning. That seemed to stop. Most recently, my boy has been vomitting. Clear, greenish, sometimes some small particles. He has also been less energetic and not himself. We took him to a vet last night, and $ 500 later, we have him home (he spent the night) and he still is not himself. We did x-rays, sub-q, overnight.

This is a complete mystery to us as our boy is normally the most energetic, happy, vocal cat who love his dry food and fresh water.

Any ideas?

Thank You!!

Sounds like he had to eat something bad. And if he is going to the bathroom on the floor instead of his litterbox, that also indicates a problem.

Did he have a bloodtest and fecal sample?

I was not impressed with the vet we took him to last night. No blood work/fecal analysis. I suspect my cat may have eaten something bad also. We keep everything tidy but do leave dirty dishes out and perhaps he licked or ate some leftover food. He is very inquisitive and inspects everything!

The vet didn't come up with anything? No blood work etc. and it was $500?? I'd be finding another vet. When my male, Jake, was so sick I took him in and he was in the hospital for 2 1/2 days. He had multiple blood and urine tests, IV and oral antibiotics and IV fluids/nutrition and it was around the same price. I ended up taking him back in for xrays and spent more and still didn't have a definite diagnosis. The best they could tell was he got stressed (from a rescue kitten that was here temporarily) and got irritable bowel, which then led to fatty liver. It always amazes me how much you can spend at the vet and they hardly ever come up with a definite diagnosis.

I doubt if your puss had got sick by licking your plate. If that had been the cause you would probably have become ill yourself. Cats and dogs are notorious scavangers. Most of my cats go out (I'm in the UK) and it is not the first time they've come back in having helped themselves from something out of someone's dustbin (garbage can) and had no ill-effects whatsoever. Usually I catch them sitting in the front garden munching on some ill-gotten gain. They stay far enough away from the door so if I try to take it from them they pick it up and run away with it. My cats are very well fed and they still do this

Be very careful that your cat isn't coming down with cat flu. As we've found out, cat flu can affect indoor cats only too. I'd certainly take your cat to another vet. Perhaps some friends or neighbours could recommend a good vet to you?

I have to admit I'm not too keen on feeding cats dry food because of the problems associated with it, particularly in male cats. I also wouldn't give my cats distilled water. I've only ever used distilled water to put in my ironing press or my motorbike battery when it's needed topping up. My cats just get water out of the tap (fawcet) and we've never had a problem with them.

Certainly there's something wrong and I would definitely go to another vet for a second opinion. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

What a great bunch you all are on this forum!! Thanks for all the feedback! I love my kids beyond belief and I hate to see any animal suffering. My boy is doing a wee bit better today. I am going to start looking into alternative feeding options for him. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again!

You say you give them distilled water? Years ago, my photographer brother used to keep distilled water around for use in his darkroom. He was warned never to drink it, because it has no minerals in it, and it has the effect of "leaching" the minerals out of your body.

Does anyone know for sure whether this is an issue?

I would think that could be an issue. Here in the UK I've never heard of anyone giving their cat distilled water. It is used in car and motorbike batteries or for use in irons and iron presses in hard water areas like we live in. I would also seriously question anyone drinking distilled water. In our local ASDA Walmart supermarket, the only place you will find distilled water is in the motoring section. Mineral water is a different ball game altogether.

For interest, when you defrost the freezer that is distilled water you get. Safe enough to top up the car battery with but definitely not safe for anyone, animal or human to drink as most of it is industrial.

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

You say you give them distilled water? Years ago, my photographer brother used to keep distilled water around for use in his darkroom. He was warned never to drink it, because it has no minerals in it, and it has the effect of "leaching" the minerals out of your body.

Does anyone know for sure whether this is an issue?

Click to expand...

It is to a degree... as most municiple sources of water contain heavy metals and not the natural mineral levals of "spring" water ... Distilled water should be used in things like Irons not kitties