Gastroenteritis, dehydration, and pill problems

I'm wondering how Cammie's doing, because Sami's symptoms are similar.

Friday morning, Sami started vomiting liquid. (Sami is 6 years old.) By Friday night, I was concerned. She was still vomiting, not eating, and just not acting like herself. I stayed up all night with her, and took her to the vet Saturday morning. After blood work, the vet determined she has gastroenteritis. They gave her some fluids, and shots of amoxicillin and an anti-nausea medication, which we also sent home with us in pill form. The vet said to wait 24 hours, and then offer her a little water. She's still vomiting, but at this point it's more like dry heaving.

I haven't been able to get her to drink any water, and she's dehydrated. We boiled a skinless boneless chicken breast and offered her a little bit of the broth, but she had no interest. She's been hiding, and she's not cleaning herself. I did get her to stick her tongue in the water once, but she didn't drink it, and even refuses to sniff it.

On top of it all, we're having the hardest time ever giving her medication. We've tag teamed her, but she shakes her head, gets her front paws loose and scratches whoever is trying to give her the pill, and pushes her tongue to the roof of her mouth. At the end of it, we hope we did in fact get her to swallow the pill. I've also tried crushing the pills (they're 1/2 pill and 1/4 pill doses, so I don't think crushing them would be a problem) and putting them in water and giving it to her in a syringe, but I still think she's only getting about half the dose.

I'm so worried about her. I've stayed up the past two nights keeping an eye on her, and tonight will likely be no different. I'm calling the vet again in the morning. I'm afraid they'll want to keep her there, which I know is best, but I also don't want to let her out of my sight. Any advice on how I can help her out would be much appreciated.

keeping her hydrated is important and if that means bringing her to the vet for fluids, it is worth it. and there they will be able to medicate her without stressing her too bad. The thing about giving cats pills is tricky. You need to scruff her securely and with your free hand secure her front paws. sort of arching her body. then have someone else deliver the pill. The way we have done it at the vet is simply by holding the pills with those needle nose plier looking tools and sticking the pill toward the back of her throat. they almost always swallow. But if that makes you uncomfortable, you could try putting it in some tuna or canned food, if your vet okays that method.

sounds like she should take another trip to the vet for observation and at least so she can be medicated. Sorry to hear your baby is sick and i know how hard it is to hospitalize them. Good luck and best wishes

Thanks for the reply, and the tips. I took her back to the vet first thing this morning. They did keep her there to keep her hydrated as well as run some additional tests to find out the cause. Today's been a roller coaster, so I won't go through the whole story, just cut to the chase. Sami just came out of surgery where they found some dried fecal matter blocking her intestines. She wasn't severly constipated, but a bit was hard enough to create enough blockage. The vet is supposed to call us back later to let us know if she can come home tonight or if she'll need to stay the night.

well me and mittens have our fingers crossed that sami comes out ok.. healing vibes sent to the both of you