Hello, forum of assumed cat lovers. I'm not too dense when it comes to animal care, but I'm certainly no vet, and trying to find a balance here on what to do with our cat.
About 3 days ago, she started vomiting more than usual. Of course we've been keeping a close eye on her, making sure nothing goes downhill, but in her circumstance we would not rush to the vet at the very first sign of a problem - She's an incredibly timid cat, and if the problem were just a tummy ache or a kitty flu, the stress the vet trip would cause her would be devistating. However, it's getting to the point of consideration now - Starting yesterday morning, she got lethargic. She may be incredibly shy, but is by no means calm in normal circumstances. At this point, she's just vomiting bile, which can't be too good a sign, I know that much. She's been eating, but not as much as normal. What really startled me was when I woke up and found her sleeping in the middle of the bathroom floor - Being such a timid cat, she's almost always sleeping in the closet, or in the bed with us. This caused me to go in to worry-mode.
The plan for today is to measure how much food and water are in her bowl, and keep her under 24 hour surveilence (a tricky task considering we both work and go to school.) If she doesn't get any worse, and she is eating and drinking, we're going to give her until monday to see if she gets any better before we force a vet trip upon her. If she doesn't eat and drink in the next day, or she gets any worse, she'll be going to the emergancy clinic ASAP. If this were one of my dogs, or one of the rats, they'd probably be at the vet right now (considering their love of food and attention cancels out the trauma of the vet,) but because the cat is so incredibly fearful of unfamilliar situations, I don't want to put her through it unless it is necessary. I believe it would be more harm than help.
I believe she most likely just has a flu or some kitty-equivelent of the sorts, but because I had a dog die of kidney failure a few years back who was displaying similar symptoms, I tend to be very attentive and worried. We're pretty sure she hasn't gotten in to anything, considering we have a very clean house and don't tend to leave anything around, and that helps to dull my concern a little. The weather has gone from upper 60s to below freezing a few times in the past week, and if cats are anything like people, I know that can cause flus. The house does get pretty cold sometimes (we're kids, and gas is expensive) but hasn't gotten below 50F, which is plenty warm for a kitty I imagine, especially with all the blankets and warm people to sleep with.
I suppose I'm just asking if I'm making the right choice here, looking for some consolation. I'm also don't really know how common it is for cats to just get sick - I'm not an expert, I'm taking a guess that they are just like people - They get sick sometimes, and normally get better in a few days.
Oh, also. She does have regular checkups, the last one being a month or two ago I believe. (not real sure, it's the boyfriends cat, he takes care of the traumatic vet trips and I just play nice guy and consultant.) Everything did check out normal, and she has no record of previous illness (though she does have a sensitive stomach.) We haven't changed her food or anything like that.
About 3 days ago, she started vomiting more than usual. Of course we've been keeping a close eye on her, making sure nothing goes downhill, but in her circumstance we would not rush to the vet at the very first sign of a problem - She's an incredibly timid cat, and if the problem were just a tummy ache or a kitty flu, the stress the vet trip would cause her would be devistating. However, it's getting to the point of consideration now - Starting yesterday morning, she got lethargic. She may be incredibly shy, but is by no means calm in normal circumstances. At this point, she's just vomiting bile, which can't be too good a sign, I know that much. She's been eating, but not as much as normal. What really startled me was when I woke up and found her sleeping in the middle of the bathroom floor - Being such a timid cat, she's almost always sleeping in the closet, or in the bed with us. This caused me to go in to worry-mode.
The plan for today is to measure how much food and water are in her bowl, and keep her under 24 hour surveilence (a tricky task considering we both work and go to school.) If she doesn't get any worse, and she is eating and drinking, we're going to give her until monday to see if she gets any better before we force a vet trip upon her. If she doesn't eat and drink in the next day, or she gets any worse, she'll be going to the emergancy clinic ASAP. If this were one of my dogs, or one of the rats, they'd probably be at the vet right now (considering their love of food and attention cancels out the trauma of the vet,) but because the cat is so incredibly fearful of unfamilliar situations, I don't want to put her through it unless it is necessary. I believe it would be more harm than help.
I believe she most likely just has a flu or some kitty-equivelent of the sorts, but because I had a dog die of kidney failure a few years back who was displaying similar symptoms, I tend to be very attentive and worried. We're pretty sure she hasn't gotten in to anything, considering we have a very clean house and don't tend to leave anything around, and that helps to dull my concern a little. The weather has gone from upper 60s to below freezing a few times in the past week, and if cats are anything like people, I know that can cause flus. The house does get pretty cold sometimes (we're kids, and gas is expensive) but hasn't gotten below 50F, which is plenty warm for a kitty I imagine, especially with all the blankets and warm people to sleep with.
I suppose I'm just asking if I'm making the right choice here, looking for some consolation. I'm also don't really know how common it is for cats to just get sick - I'm not an expert, I'm taking a guess that they are just like people - They get sick sometimes, and normally get better in a few days.
Oh, also. She does have regular checkups, the last one being a month or two ago I believe. (not real sure, it's the boyfriends cat, he takes care of the traumatic vet trips and I just play nice guy and consultant.) Everything did check out normal, and she has no record of previous illness (though she does have a sensitive stomach.) We haven't changed her food or anything like that.
