Fever

Hi,

After treating my new kitten for URI the past few weeks, I took him to the vet for a recheck and he still has a fever! The vet said he doesn't look sick nor does he act sick. He is very playful, eats fine, drinks fine and runs around like a normal playful kitten. The vet said that his body temperature may have gone up because of the excitement of going to the vet. He was bouncing around in the cat carrier trying to get out the whole way there. I felt his ears last night and they felt hot and then this morning I felt them again and they were cool. Anyone have any advice or experience with this? I got him from a shelter and he has had the normal shots, etc. My sister adopted animals from the same shelter and they will not let the animals be adopted if they were not tested for leukemia. I'm confused. Any advice. I would hate to have to give that beautiful little guy back.

Thanks.

I know what you mean and your Vet is right on the money. That also happens to my boy.

I took the cat back to the shelter's vet today because they agreed to do a recheck for leukemia, it was negative. He still has a fever 103.5 which is not normal. After reading the symptoms of FIP (one of them being a fever that does not respond to antibiotics, which he was on for 4 weeks), I am concerned. I have only had him for 2 weeks and the shelter gives you a guarantee that if the cat is sick, you can get a refund or get a different cat. This is breaking my heart. The shelter will not pay for the FIP test and I certainly cannot afford all these tests. I don't know if I should return him or not, but if he does have FIP, he will not survive.

The FIP test is a simple blood test. For peace of mind, I would invest the money to have this test run to answer the question on your mind. It could be that this cat is a carrier of FIP many are, and they do not come down ill. They just have the disease in their blood. For those cats, being an inside only kitty and a solo kitty is the way to go.

I would of thought that because FIP is one of the standard diseases to check for, this shelter would step up and foot the bill. But if they don't, then knowing what is wrong, should be worth the price you will have to pay for a professional to give you the right answer.

Best of luck!

I know that your kitty really *does* have a fever, and I hope the little baby gets better quick, but I just wanted to share a little tidbit my vet told me. She said to not necessarily go by the ears or paws to feel for a high temp, but to use their gums as a guideline, as that is usually more accurate, and thier ears can get hot just from playing, or whatnot.

Who knew? Not me.

My cat is 15 months old and has had a fever for the past 11 months 103.7, otherwise seems fine. Tested for everything, $1500 later fever of unknown origin!

IMO the whole point of taking a cat from the shelter is to give it a better life and do what you can for them. If this were my kitten, I would have a CBC and a chemistry panel done. FIP tests aren't very accurate and the other test may tell you much more. The ONLY way to tell if a cat or dog has a fever is to take a rectal temerature or use an ear thermometer. If a cat has a fever, there is always a reason weather it be a viral or bacterial infection going on somewhere in thier bodies.

With Tage... he had a really bad URI for a good 4 or 5 months of his life... possibly longer. He DID have a fever for quiet sometime. Even now, I personally think that he always feels warmer than any other healthy cat I have held.
His little ears are always warm, his little paws are always warm, all the other cats are just typically room temperature, and sometime even coldish feeling, but not Tage.

I don't really have an explination for this, but that's just how he is now.