At A Lost! Don't Want My Cat To Become One!

Hello,

I have a cat named Maizy who is just over a year old. In the past month her health has drastically deteriorated. And I honestly mean drastically. My whole life I've had cats as pets, and I've never seen anything like this.

In late April, we saw that Maizy had some cloudiness in her left eye. So off to the vet who finds a high temperature and prescribes an antibiotic and some eye drops. Back to the house. Within a day, her left eye cloudiness was joined by the full dilation of her right eye. So to the vet we go again, and blood work is taken for FeLV and FIV. Two days later, after another visit to the vet because they sent the blood work to the wrong lab, we find she has neither FeLV or FIV. They then prescribe a different eye drop and an anti-inflammatory called Metacam. Little did we realize this is for canine osteoarthritis.

Within 48 hours, Maizy's eyes showed no change and her back legs became very weak, making her walk super slowly and awkwardly, preventing her from jumping up to the bed and couch. So we read the literature that came with the Metacam and find in bold letters, "Do Not Give To Cats". Stupid us, and stupid vet. So we call him for a reasoning. No response. Call again. No response. And this continues.

After nearly a week (6 days), we finally hear from the vet who simply says, "It's okay to give cats a small dose of dog medicine at times." I can believe that, but not when it says in the drug's literature, "Do Not Give To Cats". So we decide to go to a new vet.

Within 15 minutes with our new vet, they not only believe they realize the problem but also tell us none of the drugs from our previous vet should have been prescribed. Little Maizy is given a shot to relieve the pain in her lower back (for weak hind legs) and two new antibiotics.

In the past week, Maizy has showed no signs of improvement and begun losing bowl control. We've found her laying in her own urine and seen poop dropping from her rear as she walks. Also, her appetite has significantly decreased.

So, today (May 22) was our recheck with the new vet. Another blood test was taken and there was found to be no kidney failure. However, they say Maizy is not reproducing any red or white blood cells. She has only half the blood she needs in her body. They don't know the reason behind this. Could be from the Metacam or just a rare disease.

WHAT CAN I DO????????????

They want $1300 to keep her for a week, put in a feeding tube and give her shots and medicine to help with the blood regeneration. None of this guaranteed to work, or course.

WHAT CAN I DO????????????

I just feel there is no confidence coming from our vets and they are basically experimenting on her.

Once again, What can I do to help Maizy?

I would appreciate any advice and instruction. Thank you.

Can she get a blood transfusion. It saved my Cat from dying. She had so many tests and no one could find the problem. Then they did and it was Fia.

I can't help you with your problem, but I can reassure you that my vet, in whom I have the utmost confidence, also uses metacam for cats. In fact, it may have saved our cat's life when he had a reaction to a vaccination.

As far as your cat is concerned, I would wonder about diabetes, pancreatic cancer, and other such internal failures.

But we have experts on here, even a vet, so maybe someone will have a stroke of brilliance.

OH man! I'm so sorry to hear this! I don't know very much about Metacam and cats, but I do know that it is a little controversial when given to dogs. It's usually given to manage pain and is one of several Non-seroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs). They are not all alike, most cannot be given to cats at all the exception though is "meloxicam." The active ingredient in Metacam is "Meloxicam" which IS approved for use in cats. And a lot of vets do what is called off-label prescribing, meaning they go by the active ingredient and not by the recommendation.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_meloxicam.html
Cats ARE more sensitive to side-effects than dogs, but I've never heard of any NSAID causing problems with white and/or red blood cells.
What I don't understand is why this first vet gave meloxicam to Maizy in the first place, was she in such pain?

Coco had a Metacam Shot last Nov for her Arthritis and was ok. The Vet said she could only have that Shot once and no oral Metacam because it can cause Kidney Problems. They gave her buprenex instead. I do not know if metacan can cause the problem your Cat has.

No, she was in no pain when prescribed the Metacam.

They should have told you what could happen. Why did they give it?

Originally Posted by JJames0963

No, she was in no pain when prescribed the Metacam.

Click to expand...

I am not a vet so I don't feel comfortable saying that what a vet did was right or wrong. But something doesn't seem right. Honestly though what wouls scare me in Maizy's case is the blood problems. I hope she'll be ok poor thing.

It's disgraceful that it took your original vet almost a week to get back to you. You did the right thing to get a second opinion.

Though your new vet sounds like a huge improvement over the first one, they seemed to be stumped by her condition.If at all possible, take Maizy to a feline specialist. If you live near a university vet school, try to get her seen there.

There are also three large, speciality animal hospitals in the US that I know of - The Animal Medical Center, NYC; Angell Memorial Hospital in Boston, and I believe there may be one in California, but I'm not sure. If you don't live near these areas, try to find the nearest animal emergency hospital in your area and do a search for a feline internal medicine specialist as well. You want someone who's board certified.

The dilated pupil and leg weakness make me wonder if Maizy needs a neurological work-up too.

Your poor baby obviously has some serious medical problems, so the sooner you can get her seen by a specialist, the better.

Please keep us updated if possible.
Many good thoughts and prayers going out to you and Maizy

The one here in California is Uc Davis and its very good but to far for you.

I do hope you can get a second opinion and some answers. I have used MEtacam in quite a few cats with no serious issues, and it has actually been licenced to use in cats in the UK since last July. I can only guess that the original vet used it because it is an anti-inflammatory and as such can also help with pain relief, and while its main use is for arthritis, it is also used for a wide range of things - I have used it for cystitis relief, dental issues as well as painful joints.

I thank everyone for their replies and advice. In regards to the Metacam, I just don't understand why should would be presrcibed this for pain relief, as she was showing NO signs of pain. She simply had the eye issue. It makes no sense. It wasn't until after the Metacam treatment did her little legs stop funcitioning right. I just feel so sick to my stomach watching her try to walk. She looks like someone taking their last steps.

I dont understand why the Vet gave metacam when she isnt in Pain. Can you call another Vet?

The vet more then likely thought that the problem was do to inflammation and thus rx'ed the metacam. It honestly sounds like a neurological problem. I hate to say it, but the pupil dialation and the weakness would make me think that its something in her brain. Did they check her blood pressure? High blood pressure can cause sudden problems with the eyes and lead to stroke. As for the CBC... I couldn't tell you...

PLEASE see another vet if you can as soon as possible.

Lots of vibes

I agree with what another poster said, I would take your cat to a university medical center asap where they will have more supplies to treat your poor cat... this looks very serious and universities are more equipped to handle these kinds of cases than regular vet offices. I hope everything turns out alright for your kitty and for you.



please keep us updated

JJames, I did a quick search and there is a vet in Lakeland who is a board-certified specialist in canine and feline medicine. He's at the Northside Animal Clinic. Have you been there?

My previous suggestion to you was to find a university veterinary school. I recommend the University of Florida Veterinary Medical Center. I know Gainesville isn't close, but at 2 hours from you it's a possibility. Maizy would have the benefit of a team of specialists, and the latest in technology and medicine. It's an excellent hospital. If you've exhausted all options that are local, please consider this. www.ufvmc.com Click on the "small animal" picture in the upper left corner.

Since Maizy continues to have difficulty walking, and according to one of your vets has an unusual blood condition as well, please try to find competent vet help for her ASAP. You don't want these conditions to possibly worsen.

James,

I am very sorry to hear that Maizy is so ill! that she gets better, whatever she is struggling with. And I can sympathize with the heart break you feel when you watch Maizy try to walk! It is horrible to watch such proud animals lose some of their dignity and keep trying and failing.

Has the possibility of FIP come up at all? I am not one to jump to assume a cat has FIP (I'm still not convinced that Zoey died of FIP), but it is a possibility worth checking out. I know it can cause anemia (low RBC), low white blood cells (or high WBC, depending on the diseases progression), eye problems, and neurological symptoms. I truly hope that FIP is not the problem, but if the symptoms match, there are a lot of people at the Yahoo Group FIPCatSupport who can help with some differential diagnoses.

As for metacam, it is certainly controversial, but, as far as I know, many, many vets use it quite routinely. A huge problem with metacam is overdosing, which can happen with even tiny amounts of the drug. My vet is very insistent that he has used it on thousands of cats without any ill effects. He uses very small doses. According to him, he does not know any vets who do not use metacam with cats. I am still hesitant to give it to my cats and am going to try to avoid it when it comes time for their spay surgeries. If she was in no pain when it was prescribed, it is possible that the vet prescribed it to help with the inflammation (in her eye, even) or to bring down a fever.

Good luck! Make sure you find a vet whose opinion you are confident about!

**The Update**

We took Maizy to our new vet this morning (Saturday) and began a two week treatment, consisting of six shots of Procrit Injection and daily doses of a multi-vitamin, appetite enhancer, and medication to help the shots. The Procrit and medication's purpose is to start the regeneration of her red blood cells.

Our vet, Dr. Carrier, explained that the Metacam basically turned off the red blood cell production in her kidneys and this has led to her declining health. I asked if everything turned out okay, could this be a future issue. He said it wouldn't, as long as Metacam was never used with her again. I place my trust in him and am hoping for the best.

Once again, I really want to thank everyone for their advice, sympathy, and caring words. I'll be sure to update regardless of the outcome. Thank you, again.

I wont use it either. My Cat had the Procrit Shots and it worked good. She had Winstrol too. She had Crf though when she got those Shots. I am glad your Cat will get better. Is the Vitamin Pet Tinic? Coco has had that. She had Severe Anemia when she was 9.

i have no advice but i wanted to send healing to your precious maizy. what a scary, horrible time for you all.

i truly hope that things improve for maizy really quickly.