Ditto has gotten very thin and is breathing fast...

Ditto is very skinny and is acting lethargic. He isn't wanting to eat very much even when we try tempt him with real meat, and his breathing is fast and has a case of semi-diarrhea. His brother (littermate) Sunflower died recently from something that we think was the same thing as this. What could it possibly be? Any ideas?

I wish I could help, but I have no idea. Only advise I can give is try to find a vet who will look at him.

Sending prayers for his recovery. I'm so sorry he is going through this.

Thank you for your thoughts...it's very hard going through this, both for him and for me.

My mom doesn't want to bring him in because it could get really expensive, but she said if I'm willing to pay for it she'll bring him in tomorrow. I don't have a lot of money, but if I can pay for it I will. The thing is, if I knew what it was, I could research it and get an estimate on how much it'd cost...does anyone have any idea what it could be? He was fine just two or so days ago!

Oh, and I can post a picture of him if that would help.

Sorry to say, but cats don't usually lose massive amounts of weight in just a few days unless they are EXTREMELY dehydrated. If this is the case, your cat needs a vet NOW!!! Tomorrow may be too late...

I don't have any suggestions for you. I just hope Ditto pounces back. Hopefully you can make arrangements with your vet for the bill. I hate to see you lose another baby.

Not knowing exactly where you are my dear here is what I'd do: Look up an emergency or 24 hr animal hospital or the humane society in your area. Ask for a sliding scale or hardship consideration. PLEASE act fast and make a deal with your mum that you will "work it off" either in household chores or summer job or whatever it takes. I can honestly hope that any parent hearing this reasonable and urgent plea from their kid will help ACCELERATE your kitty to the vet ASAP. Please keep us posted!
Fingers crossed!!!

Kitty needs a vet ASAP

I'll do the best I can. Right now he's inside with plenty of water available and I'm cooling off of his stomach every half an hour or so. We're ssupposed to be going to a family gathering, but I'll work on my mom to get her to take me. I have money saved up and am going to use it...hopefully it'll be enough!

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I'll definitely keep everyone posted.

I tried, but to no avail...Ditto can go to the vet tomorrow but no earlier. I'm doing the best I can to keep him as comfortable as I can for the moment. He's curled up on my lap as I type this.

I hate being as helpless as I am right now. I wish I could do more, but I can't!

You tried... hopefully tomarrow is okay for kitty..

Is there some other member of the family you can call that may be willing to take you?

I'm so sorry - this is a terrible situation to be in.

I'm sending vibes for a Christmas Miracle. Hopefully with persistence on your part, you can help make it happen.



Laurie

No, nobody. No one besides my mom or me would consider Ditto important enough to drive him to a vet on Christmas Eve night. I looked up over the counter medications, but I decided not to use any...it'd be worse to have a cat die with me trying to help it rather than waiting a bit longer to take it to a vet to have it correctly diagnosed.

Ditto isn't doing any better, but he isn't doing any worse. He's still walking around, and the only sign of lethargia he has is how he goes to sleep often, more often than he did when he was healthy. It's just sickening picking up a mere skeleton of a cat that was completely healthy just a few days ago.

He can still purr even though his breathing is fast, and I can steer him to a steadier breathing pattern if I compress a bit. However, after a few seconds, he'll start breathing faster again. He's not as hot as he was previously, but I don't have anything to take his temperature with, so I'm still using the ice pack to help cool him down (on his stomach). As for eating and drnking, he's doing both regularily...he's not showing a specific want to eat more, though maybe a bit more drinking. I can't be sure, though.

Does anyone else have anything I could try to help him?

http://www.judithstock.com/Speaking_...r_in_cats.html

I would focus on keeping the kitty fed and hydrated. Can you call an ER vet and describe the symptoms and your situation? Some are willing to give limited advice over the phone.

Not sure this is helpful, but a bacteria strikes kittens at the humane society here. Diarrhea, lethargic, & skinny.

Keep him hydrated & eating. for him & for you

I don't think so. Right now I've got water and food in reach for him, but he's been sitting on my lap for more than an hour, probably going on two and he hasn't been drinking anything. I'll stick some down next to me so he won't have to go as far to drink.

Thank you all so, so much for the support and help. You have no idea how much it means to me...I'd be lost without you all!

Here's a picture of the sick little man:

What a cutie! Do you have an eye dropper to give him some water? Or a syringe?

Bless him I sure hope he bounces back~~keep us posted, please!!

I think our Christmas Miracle is arriving. Ditto's fever is finally going down and his third eyelid has gone back into place. What's more, he's jumping up and down from the furniture and drinking lots of water! He's still skinny enough to fit down the drain and breathing quickly, but with luck those will vanish, too.

TCS vibes work wonders. Keep them up!

Good, good, but stay vigilant. Don't let up until he is seen by a vet. They will run the most obvious tests first which cause the mysterious fevers, I could rattle off a list but it's not critical I do right now, but talk to him and tell him to be strong. Please keep us posted.