Very Sick Kitten

monkeysmom · Mar 12, 2009

Hello, I'm new to the forums but am hoping to find others who have gone through what I'm going through to get advice from!

We got our kitten 3 months ago from a local shelter. He's a tabby, and weighed 4.8 pounds when we got him. He was the most wonderful cat in the world when he came home. Extremely playful, always hopping and jumping around, chasing toys and playing with us. He has also always been extremely affectionate and we've never seen him show any aggression.

A month ago he got neutered. When he came home he was different, but we figured he was just recovering from the surgery and that he had become more docile. However he slowly has been getting worse, since he came home he barely eats, and he never ever plays. No matter how much we entice him. He only wants to sit on our laps and snuggle, and sit by the fireplace to be warm.

So today we took him to a vet, different from where he got his shots and was neutered. We found out he now weighs only 4.2 pounds. As well she found a lump in his abodomen. They did a lot of blood work, but we won't get the lab results back until tommorow. The vet was very very concerned. She said he should have doubled his weight by now from when we first got him. She is suspecting feline lukemia or a tumor. She gave him new hypo allergenic food and he's already been eating better, so hopefully he can start gaining more weight. It doesn't have anything to do with him being neutered, but we're upset that we didn't catch it sooner.

Needless to say we are extremely concerned right now. Has anyone ever gone through a similar experience? It's so hard seeing an animal you love so much get sick, and realize just how bad the situation might be.

Thanks for reading my long story and I'm looking forward to replies!

darlili · Mar 12, 2009

No experience with this, but lots of prayers for you and the kitten...thank goodness you saw another vet.

mews2much · Mar 12, 2009

Prayers for him.
My Sasha was spayed almost a month a ago and is fine.
I hope that vet did not cause him to get sick.

monkeysmom · Mar 12, 2009

Thanks v. much!
We don't think it was the vets fault, our new vet thinks he may have always had it, but that the other vet should have been concerned when we took him in to get fixed. He had only gained 4 ounces in those 2 months, when he should have been up a pound or two. Unfortunately the old vet didn't tell us anything about his health when we picked him up, just said he was very healthy and should recover soon. We've unfortunately learned a tough lesson about how a vet should be treating you! They should have let us know so we could have acted sooner.

yosemite · Mar 12, 2009

I'm so sorry to hear your kitty is sick. A male neutering shouldn't have caused a tumor or lump in the tummy area so I would guess that if it is a tumor that it either has been there all along or just recently grew.

The only thing I can do is pray for you and your kitty and hope your vet can find a solution.

mews2much · Mar 12, 2009

I sure hope he will be ok.

catnurse22 · Mar 12, 2009

I can't see how this would be related to his neuter. Probably a problem he's always had,

. I hope the blood tests come back okay and that they find out what's wrong with your boy and can fix him up quickly! If the blood tests come back neg for FELV and all other BW comes out okay, what did your vet say was the next step?

starfish · Mar 12, 2009

Originally Posted by MonkeysMom

Hello, I'm new to the forums but am hoping to find others who have gone through what I'm going through to get advice from!

We got our kitten 3 months ago from a local shelter. He's a tabby, and weighed 4.8 pounds when we got him. He was the most wonderful cat in the world when he came home. Extremely playful, always hopping and jumping around, chasing toys and playing with us. He has also always been extremely affectionate and we've never seen him show any aggression.

A month ago he got neutered. When he came home he was different, but we figured he was just recovering from the surgery and that he had become more docile. However he slowly has been getting worse, since he came home he barely eats, and he never ever plays. No matter how much we entice him. He only wants to sit on our laps and snuggle, and sit by the fireplace to be warm.

So today we took him to a vet, different from where he got his shots and was neutered. We found out he now weighs only 4.2 pounds. As well she found a lump in his abodomen. They did a lot of blood work, but we won't get the lab results back until tommorow. The vet was very very concerned. She said he should have doubled his weight by now from when we first got him. She is suspecting feline lukemia or a tumor. She gave him new hypo allergenic food and he's already been eating better, so hopefully he can start gaining more weight. It doesn't have anything to do with him being neutered, but we're upset that we didn't catch it sooner.

Needless to say we are extremely concerned right now. Has anyone ever gone through a similar experience? It's so hard seeing an animal you love so much get sick, and realize just how bad the situation might be.

Thanks for reading my long story and I'm looking forward to replies!

Hey, I've been going through some similar anguish with my Mons - and Luna decided it's a good time to get sick as well

. But Luna will get over her little bug or whatever she has. Mons has FIP (see cat eating cat litter thread). He is very young too. We got him at 7 1/2 months at 4.2 pounds. He gained .2 pounds in a week, but then started losing weight. He'll be 9 months on Sunday and we'd love to see him make it to a year.

the_food_lady · Mar 12, 2009

In addition to bloodwork, was there any talk about doing a basic abdominal xray? You'd think if there was a significant abdominal mass; such that it was causing inactivity, poor appetite and weight loss, it would be pretty obvious on an xray.......or even if there was something funky going on with basic digestive tract/intestines. I'd ask for this. An ultrasound of the abdomen would be even better but not all clinics have the ability to do an ultrasound.

Kitty ever throw up?

How are his poops? He likely poops infrequently due to not eating very much.

Perhaps meds they gave for the neutering (anesthetic, sedation, pain meds) did a number on his liver (I'd imagine the labwork your vet ran would include this) and the lack of appetite is related.

Any chance kitty swallowed something and it's caused a partial obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract; not enough to cause a full obstruction (in which you'd end up noticing vomiting, lethargy, etc) but enough to cause some inflammation inside.

Let us know how things turn out.

How long did you have him before he was neutered? What was his appetite and activity level like then?

monkeysmom · Mar 16, 2009

Thanks for all the support so far.
The vet has ruled out feline leukemia, and right now we're still waiting on one blood test to get back. This weekend he ate 3 cans of food in 4 days, which isn't enough for his size and age still, but at least it's something.

Before he was neutered, he was about as active as any kitten could possibly be. He ate well, though our old vet had told us to feed him dry food only. After he was neutered, within the first week home he was still fairly active, however it just started dwindling after that. When he was neutered he was also given a rabies vaccination, the only problem is that the same vet had given him one a month earlier when we brought him home from shelter.
Our new vets thinks that just all the trauma from being fixed and getting the second shot triggered what he has, and that whatever he has he probably got as a stray when he was a baby. It doesn't directly link to the neutering or the second rabies vaccination, but just the stress on his body could trigger it.

Right now our vet says we're waiting to see if it's FIP. (god I hope not!) If she can't figure out what it is after the rest of the results come back, she's said we should do an ultrasound. It's going to be pricey though at around 360$ but I guess we don't have a choice.
Thanks for all the comments again and please let me know if you have anymore advice! I've never had a sick animal before and it's just so heartbreaking.,,

monkeysmom · Mar 22, 2009

All of the blood work cam back and thankfully Monkey doesnt have any recognizable diseases. The vet is now just hoping it's a virus that will go away. There is still the matter of his lump in his abdomen, he's going back to the vet on tuesday to see how it is, and we're hoping it was just an inflammed lymph node.
He's still not eating as much as he could be, but is getting enough calories to get by.
Hopefully he can keep eating and get through this, and get back to his old playful self soon.

carolina · Mar 22, 2009

That's great news! Let's hope for the best on Tuesday! Also, what are you feeding him? Have you tried adding some calorie additive on his food?
Here is one that might help: http://www.petco.com/product/102528/...t=OnSiteSearch

hissy · Mar 22, 2009

There is no definitive test for FIP so please just keep that in mind. Sometimes, if there isn't a cause that can be found, it is chalked up to being FIP even if it isn't. Perhaps one day this will change, but for right now, this is how it stands.

Does the kitten vacuum the floor? What i mean, does the kitten follow scents on the carpet and eat things found on the floor? It could be anything really strands of carpet, or some other obstruction that you are feeling. Were x-rays taken?

trouts mom · Mar 23, 2009

Awwww, I am sending many prayers and vibes for the little one.

monkeysmom · Mar 23, 2009

He's currently eating a Medi-Cal hypoallergenic/Gastro food as advised by the vet, as well as Royal Canin Sensitivity to mix up the flavours a bit.

He doesn't eat anything off the ground, he only eats his food. When he does eat, he scratches a lot around the dish. We often sit beside him while he eats as that seems to be the only way to get him to stay at his bowl and eat. When he scratches we just tap the bowl once and he starts eating, or pet him once and he goes back to him. Otherwise if we just leave him to eat he only scratches.

monkeysmom · Mar 24, 2009

Just got back from the vet, prognosis is not good.
He has lost more weight, his tumour has grown, and he had a fever.
It seems it must be lymphoma.
We are beyond distraught.

violet · Mar 24, 2009

I can't tell you how sorry I am. I've lost one of my babies to lymphoma, so when you say you're beyond distraught, I understand. It's a horrible, unfair disease. One of the most unfair diseases there is. I'm sending you comforting hugs and heartfelt prayers.

http://felinelymphomacaregivers.org/cases.html

kittieshasme · Mar 24, 2009

I am so sorry. I, too, have lost a cat to lymphoma. It's just not fair.

for your little Monkey.

mews2much · Mar 24, 2009

Prayers for your cat.
Sorry he is sick.

monkeysmom · Mar 24, 2009

Thanks everyone for your well wishes. We are lucky to live in a town that has a very good veterinarian college, so our vet is liasing with them to discuss our options.
Our vet said our choices will most likely be a surgery to remove the tumor, chemotherapy, or just nothing at all.
It really depends on how strong they think he is and if he can withstand any sort of stress from treatment. It just worries me since he is only 7 months old and now weighs only 4 pounds.
Has anyone been through chemo with a cat before?

Very Sick Kitten

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