Any ideas, and when should we schedule our vet visit?

Ugh.

So today, Leo has had a couple symptoms that are worrisome to me. None of them are consistent or serious and he's had quite the healthy appetite and has been romping around with Gracie like it ain't no thang. He worries me, and then is too spunky to have his temp taken. Grrrrrr....

Earlier today, he was in the box and he came rocketing out with some very hard poops stuck to/in him that he was having trouble getting off. When I looked in the box, the feces were hard and in small little bits. His feces are normally firm, but this whole freaking out thing was new, though I've read about other cats doing this.

Then, he vomitted and it looked like he was trying to get up a hairball, but one never materialized. The vomit, though, was a mustardy color, and he doesn't eat anything mustardy.

THEN, he was breathing very rapidly for a little while, not labored, and not open mouthed, but just fast and kind of shallow. Now, it's normal!

I swear, this cat.

Anyway, I tried to take his temp and he was too squirrely to let me do it but he doesn't feel warm. His eyes are clear and bright and there's no yellowing nor are they bloodshot, his nose and gums are a very happy pink color, his ears look normal, his heart rate sounds normal, I coudn't hear any fluid swishing around in his abdomen, he's not distended, he's hydrated, he ate and drank normally (and he is both eating and drinking)...by all these criteria, he's a healthy boy! But, although he goes into reverse easier than my others, it's not usually that color and the litterbox behavior and the breathing aren't normal for him.

Any ideas on what this is and if I need to get him tested for anything?

And do you think I can wait until Wednesday when I have a lot of the day free, or should I take him to an e-vet or something in between?

Thanks!

Watch him tonight and tomarrow and call MONDAY

I wonder if he's got a blockage? I agree to call a vet on Monday provided he does not get worse! You know what to watch for!

I rescind the random vomitting. My foot just found the hairball

OHH what a sweety giving Meowmy a hairball

Originally Posted by sharky

OHH what a sweety giving Meowmy a hairball

Click to expand...

And Sweet Maria, it was a BIG HAIRBALL. And it was in Leo color, so it was definitely him.

Breathing flares up when he is up and about and moving around, even low impact. Normal when he's laying around. Comes and goes. I'm going to put him in the bathroom with the shower running and see if maybe its some kind of congestion I can break up. He used ot have herpes-type flare ups, but they'd be the whole kit-n-kaboodle...sniffles, runny eyes, sneezing, congestion... this is just slightly quicker and more shallow breathing with nothing else....

Has anything major changed in his(or your) life recently? I mean, could this be a stress thing?

Ok, if he passes feces tomorrow, I'm going to assume that the breathing and intestinal symptoms are unrelated and that the earlier symptoms were related to that DOOZY of a hairball. I mean...it was the biggest I have ever seen, I'm not kidding. Those can act as intestinal blockages and he took a LONG time to pass that whopper, so it could have caused foreign-body symptoms, which I've read happens sometimes.

Wish us luck in the shower! Hopefully its just some allergies (he does have allergies, but they usually have a whole laundry list of symptoms including lots of congestion) and we can go to the doc and get some relief for him.

Everyone got their fingers crossed? We could use some vibes. I do NOT want to be dealing with a serious condition!

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Has anything major changed in his(or your) life recently? I mean, could this be a stress thing?

Click to expand...

Well, we cleaned today. It took 5 hours and they don't generally like having their little home torn up.

I've also noticed all 3 of them have responded to my "normal adult person" daytime schedule (I'm home less during the days) and last week was absolutely crazy, but with the exception of a couple late nights last week, I've been doing this schedule for over a month.

Well.... that it was just the hairball!!!

crossed here too

The mustardy colored vomit sounds like digested food to me...lots of stomach acid gives it a putrid color. I'm way too familiar with that as Leopold used to leave me presents on the bed.

Some of mine will vomit after having a tough time pooing, whether it's too hard or like diarrhea. The vet told me the name for that once...some XYZ reflex. I can't remember the XYZ part.

Well, he's pooping and eating fine today.

I put him in the bathroom with the shower running for about 25 minutes last night, and afterwards he coughed up some mucus, so I'm thinking he's really congested. I did the shower thing again this morning and his breathing has improved in rate, but it's more honky through his nose.

I think we'll call the doctor tomorrow and see if there's anything I can do about the congestion and if there's anything underlying to watch for/test for.