Getting concerned, despite vet trip

shemarie

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Greetings all. One week ago, hubby brought home a stray cat. All I knew about her was that she had been outside, hanging around a construction site, for about three months. She kinda looked pregnant to me.


Day one, kinda constipated. Day two, diarrhea. Days three thru five, better, but still "loose". Day six, initial trip to vet for general check-up and advice, including stool sample to be checked.

Vet says, no worms, no fleas, no ticks, no leukemia / aids. Pregnancy undetermined....she might be....but if so, too early to tell.

Last night, she vomited - not a hair ball. Early this morning, she sorta vomited again...but just a thin stream of watery stuff...as not much left in her belly from first time. Also back to diarrhea again.

She still looks like she might be pregnant....but belly isn't greatly distended. Vet felt nothing major there, anyway....no signs of tenderness or anything like that.

She has also been sleeping practically non-stop. Now I know cats sleep a lot - but this one sleeps constantly! I initially concluded that she was sleeping so much, and had the first bout of diarrhea, due to possible pregnancy / being indoors instead of living outdoors / change in diet. But it's been a week now, still no energy, diarrhea's back, and now the vomiting.

What else? Coat and eyes and teeth all look good & healthy. She's had a good appetite....and ate again this morning, after being sick last night. Has kept the food down (so far). Hasn't gotten into anything that could have made her sick....so I'm at a loss here.


This is the first time I've dealt with a "possibly pregnant" cat since I was about 8 years old - could this be an extreme case of kitty-morning-sickness? Obviously if she doesn't improve, or get better, even, I'll be getting her back to the Vet quickly. But until then....I'm fretting....

Shemarie
 

catfan4567

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Would you consider spaying her? It could solve the problem, especially if she is pregnant, but then there's the issue of abortion.
 
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shemarie

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Well she'll be getting spayed eventually. But you are talking about having it done now, yes? Way too soon to even think along those lines. If it came down to a question of her needing the spay/abortion to keep her alive,...then I'd choose to keep her alive, of course. But at this point, the vet can't even tell me if she's pregnant or not.

Shemarie
 

momto3cats

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Could your vet do an ultrasound? That would show whether she's pregnant unless it's very, very early.

Also, she could have worms even if the vet didn't find any evidence on the first check. A second test for parasites might be a good idea.
 
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shemarie

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Yeah, Vet mentioned the possibility of doing an ultrasound. They don't have the machine in this office....but in the "main office" in a near by town. I opted to wait a couple of weeks...but that of course was before she started getting sick. However, she's been fine all day, so will keep my fingers crossed and see how it goes. I checked her belly....and her nipples are definitely getting more prominent - so odds are, I will indeed be having grand-kitties!

As for the worms - vet gave me some drops to use on her (tho I haven't yet.) It's a medicine called Revolution - and these drops are supposed to treat ear mites, fleas, and worms. One tube per month...and was told that using this medicine would be safe, even if she is pregnant. Anyone here know about this medicine? I'm extremely hesitant to use it on her right now, with her all ready feeling a bit under the weather. Especially as she's tested negative for worms, and doesn't seem to have fleas.
 

emmylou

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It would be very rare for a stray cat to *not* have worms. And there are many different types of worms, some of which are very difficult to detect... because they go through cycles, and there aren't worms in every stool.

So I think it's a good idea to deworm her, because many of these symptoms are common with worms. A friend adopted a cat everyone thought was pregnant, and it turned out her belly was just distended because of roundworms.
 
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shemarie

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Yeah, I found it incredible that she didn't have worms, too. Glad to say she seems to be feeling better....so...ok...will go ahead and treat her for worms today.
 
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shemarie

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Update - well I tried the simple-ist solution first - & changed her diet, again. I had been giving her kitten chow, as that was what I had on hand in anticipation of adopting a kitten. Vet said to keep her on it for duration of pregnancy & while nursing (we are still assuming she is pregnant).

Yesterday however I took her off the dry kitten chow and started feeding her some canned cat food, which she readily accepted, by the way! Am happy to report that she seems to be doing much better - no more vomiting, no more diarrhea. YAY.
 

jimmylegs

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revolution is great stuff, works well for everything, ironically, except fleas. i put some on a kitten and it took care of his worms but he still had fleas. but the vet pointed out the fleas were 'woozy' and dying off. so it does work if not as well as frontline (for fleas). i think it's a great product since you just drop it on the back of their necks and you're done. regular wormer is always a pian cuz you have to get them to swallow it.
 

misskiwi67

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She could still be stressed from the transition to a new home, but its certainly a good sign that her appetite is good.

If she continues to be overly lethargic and has intermittent vomiting I would have her go to the main clinic for both an ultrasound and bloodwork so you can get the whole story on both the pregnancy and her overall health as well.
 
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shemarie

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Thanks for the info on Revolution, Jimmylegs. Did go ahead and treat her with it, so hopefully if there were any undiscovered worms...they won't be an issue for much longer. The canned food / getting rid of the kitten chow seems to be doing the trick on all else. No more vomiting after that one episode, and she seems to be coming out of her sleeping funk. Showing a bit more energy and ambition,...and perhaps even a hint of playfulness. Perhaps it's just her happiness that she's finally trained me to give her the canned food she's been wanting all along.


So now I'm pondering best food for her. Vet's recommendation to keep her on kitten food was so she could get extra nutrients during the (now probable) pregnancy and nursing. Ok, I'm all for that, no problem. Is there any particular kind y'all would recommend? Is there a good quality canned kitten food? No pet stores, or even department stores, in my town. Guess I can check online, but I wouldn't know how to tell one from the other....so am definitely open to suggestions.

It was Purina kitten chow that seemed to disagree with her. I have a "sample" bag of Iams Kitten food that the vet gave me, but haven't tried her on it yet. So anyway - suggest away, folks. What would you recommend for a pregnant kitty with a sensitive tummy?

Shemarie
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by jimmylegs

revolution is great stuff, works well for everything, ironically, except fleas. i put some on a kitten and it took care of his worms but he still had fleas. but the vet pointed out the fleas were 'woozy' and dying off. so it does work if not as well as frontline (for fleas). i think it's a great product since you just drop it on the back of their necks and you're done. regular wormer is always a pian cuz you have to get them to swallow it.
Actually, the fleas are probably more in your house than anything else. Fleas don't live on the animals - they hop on for a meal and jump off into your upholstery/carpeting. The reason you keep seeing fleas on your cat even after the Revolution is that they are still in your house. You need to also treat your cat's surroundings to get rid of all the fleas. The ones that jump on your cat and feed will die, but the little critters living in the house are just waiting to jump on for a meal next time kitty walks by.

Revolution does work for fleas on your cat, but you need to de-flea your carpets, etc. The best product I've found is Diatomaceous Earth which I sprinkle in the carpets and use a broom to work it down into the fibres. This will kill any hatching flea eggs (which can live in your carpeting for I believe it's up to a year) and is perfectly safe for you and your pets.
 
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