Hi! I really need some advice. I have an extremely sick cat and three vets don't know why. I got him from the humane society about a week and a half ago. He's a beautiful solid white turkish angora cat, three years old, with blue eyes. He's also deaf in both ears.
He was fine the first few days we had him. About a week ago he became extremely lethargic, stopped eating and drinking water. He also started to drool excessively ( a teaspoon at a time) every time we picked him up. He would also run away when he was picked up, which was strange for a cat that was so cuddly and affectionate at first.
Furthermore, he started to sneeze excessively, and then shake his mucus all over. Eventually, he was sleeping in one spot for 15 hours at a time, so we took him to the vet. They weren't sure what was wrong, but rehydrated him intravenously, gave us an antibiotic that we needed to administer orally, and advised us to buy a cat water fountain to encourage him to drink.
Two days later his condition was no better. He was drooling more than ever before, becoming increasingly lethargic and dehydrated. We took him to the vet again, and she did another thorough inspection. They did his bloodwork, and everything came back normal. They tested him for feline leukemia and hiv, all negative. She inspected his mouth for any sores that may be preventing him from eating and drinking, and there was nothing. She tested his eyes to make sure it wasn't neurological, and it wasn't.
She did discover that he had a very high fever. The vet was able to get him to eat a pea sized amount of food off of her fingertip, so we know he is able to swallow. Now, we go to the best and by far most expensive vet in the city, so it was discouraging to hear her say "I have no idea what's wrong with him. If he had a cold, he'd still be drinking and eating a bit. I've examined all the reasons for a cat drooling, and none are present." This was Friday. So we had him hospitalized over night, where he was fed and hydrated intravenously, and given medicine to bring down his fever (we were completely unsuccessful at giving him an antibiotic orally.)
We went Saturday (yesterday) to pick him up at three, since the clinic was closed until Monday. A second vet inspected him, and inserted a tube through his nose down his esophagus so we could feed him and give him more medicine to bring down his fever. This other vet suspects he may have a bad, undetected viral infection that he's fighting though. We've fed him twice using liquid food and water down his tube. After feeding he tends to gag for a few minutes. Also, he gags and or chokes whenever he's picked up. Today his energy level seems slightly increased.
Has anyone ever experienced something similar to this? Was anyone's vet successful in diagnosing what it was? We've only had him a week and a half and we've spent $1000 on vet bills. I'm becoming increasingly concerned that he's in a lot of pain and discomfort, and that I'm keeping him alive for selfish reasons.
Anyone have any advice or any idea what might be wrong?!
He was fine the first few days we had him. About a week ago he became extremely lethargic, stopped eating and drinking water. He also started to drool excessively ( a teaspoon at a time) every time we picked him up. He would also run away when he was picked up, which was strange for a cat that was so cuddly and affectionate at first.
Furthermore, he started to sneeze excessively, and then shake his mucus all over. Eventually, he was sleeping in one spot for 15 hours at a time, so we took him to the vet. They weren't sure what was wrong, but rehydrated him intravenously, gave us an antibiotic that we needed to administer orally, and advised us to buy a cat water fountain to encourage him to drink.
Two days later his condition was no better. He was drooling more than ever before, becoming increasingly lethargic and dehydrated. We took him to the vet again, and she did another thorough inspection. They did his bloodwork, and everything came back normal. They tested him for feline leukemia and hiv, all negative. She inspected his mouth for any sores that may be preventing him from eating and drinking, and there was nothing. She tested his eyes to make sure it wasn't neurological, and it wasn't.
She did discover that he had a very high fever. The vet was able to get him to eat a pea sized amount of food off of her fingertip, so we know he is able to swallow. Now, we go to the best and by far most expensive vet in the city, so it was discouraging to hear her say "I have no idea what's wrong with him. If he had a cold, he'd still be drinking and eating a bit. I've examined all the reasons for a cat drooling, and none are present." This was Friday. So we had him hospitalized over night, where he was fed and hydrated intravenously, and given medicine to bring down his fever (we were completely unsuccessful at giving him an antibiotic orally.)
We went Saturday (yesterday) to pick him up at three, since the clinic was closed until Monday. A second vet inspected him, and inserted a tube through his nose down his esophagus so we could feed him and give him more medicine to bring down his fever. This other vet suspects he may have a bad, undetected viral infection that he's fighting though. We've fed him twice using liquid food and water down his tube. After feeding he tends to gag for a few minutes. Also, he gags and or chokes whenever he's picked up. Today his energy level seems slightly increased.
Has anyone ever experienced something similar to this? Was anyone's vet successful in diagnosing what it was? We've only had him a week and a half and we've spent $1000 on vet bills. I'm becoming increasingly concerned that he's in a lot of pain and discomfort, and that I'm keeping him alive for selfish reasons.
Anyone have any advice or any idea what might be wrong?!
