Somethings Wrong! Help!

crazypoh

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Houdini has been acting very strange tonight and I am in tears because Im so worried! He doesnt want to walk-has taken a total of 10 steps since 5pm tonight (its 12:30am now) all he wants to do is sleep and lie down. He hasnt touched his wet food all night but has taken a bottle of forumula thoughout the night. He has urinated very little and has not pooped. Every time I put him in the litter box he lays down and goes to sleep in it. Every time I pick him up he cries and meows. He refuses to play and has no interest in his toys. Im terrified I am going to wake up in the morning and find him dead!


I called the vet and he was rude as all heck-said bring him in first thing in the morning. I asked him if he would be ok through the night and he said, "I dont know just bring him in the morning." And then hung up on me. So I called the closest Animal Hospital (2 hours away) and they said to bring him in- but I do not have a car at the moment and my aunt wont take me. I tried the other 3 vets in the area and got no answers so this board is my last hope tonight.

I think he may be in pain-he never meows like the way he is meowing-it sounds like its almost a cry. Ive put his bed on my bed next to my pillow and have him cuddled up with his blanket and monkey-hes sound asleep now.


So here are his symptoms:

Lethargic-refuses to play-wants to lie down and sleep only
Eating very little
Urinating very little and not pooping
Laying down in litter box
Breathing fast but not panting
Cries/Meows when touched

Any idea what could be wrong with him? Are these symptoms life threatening? I'll stay up all night with him if I have to....
 

carolina

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Oh brother... So you came back from work to find him like that? is that what happened?
Can you go through your house - look carefully everywhere within his reach... what could he gotten into? Any chemicals? plants? food? cold he fallen from anywhere? there is literally hundreds of possibilities here... it all depends of what is in your house, and what he has access to... look very very carefully kittens can get into tiny tiny places. Plants are a big suspect. Strings?
Think eat - drink - fall.
 

farleyv

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So sorry no one to take you to vet. Hope he is still sleeping by you. Get to vet asap. Please keep us informed. Ditto above. Look around house for possible trauma area.
 
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crazypoh

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UPDATE!

This morning Dini was much worse. He refused to eat at all and was barely able to stand up. When I put him in his litter box he sat down and looked so confused- his eyes just looked glassy and weird. It was so scary! I rushed him to the vet-and not the vet I spoke to last night but a FANTASTIC one in the next town and found out he is dehydrated and has an Upper Respitory Infection. He was running a fever of 102.5! They gave him an injection of saline to hydrate him and gave me some antibiotics and special wet food to feed him for the next few weeks which HE LOVES!

The vet was WONDERFUL! She checked him over completley(unlike the one I took him to for his shots-he barely even glanced at him-just gave him his shots and sent us on our way). Turns out he is just about 6-7 weeks NOT 8-10 weeks like the previous vet said. He weighs 1lb 10oz. She said the fever dehydrated him-it wasnt for lack of feeding although she said to not worry about weaning him at this point because he needs all the fluid and nutrients he can get untill he gets stronger. Which makes me FURIOUS because the vet I took him to 2 weeks ago said he was too old to be on the bottle and that I should wean him immediatley! So I cut him down to 2 bottles a day-one in the morning and one at night and just gave him wet food all day. So I suspect that also contributed to the deydration. I called that vet and chewed them out and said I was going to file a complaint with the state-there has to be some sort of liscensing on Vets right? Well anyways he hung up on me. But I plan on looking into taking action against him. He totally missed this infection as well as told me the wrong age and gave me horrible advice which very well could have made his infection worse.

As for Houdini now-within hours of him getting the saline injection in his neck he perked right up! Hes defintley not 100% but he is going to the bathroom-eating and playing a little. He gets meds 2x a day and I have to feed him every hour except when Im sleeping per the vet. Im so relieved hes feeling better. That was an absolutley awful experience and I am grateful to have found such a wonderful vet. They even called tonight to check on him and are calling again in the morning to see how he does thru the night.

Thank you for all your kind words and advice! I'll keep everyone posted on his progress.
 

stephanietx

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Awesome! So glad you took him to a different vet and that you're happy with this one. How's the little man this morning?
 

ruthyb

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Im so glad he is ok, poor little mite and as for the vet that gave you the wrong advice and was rude, take this to the top and complain, he could do it to someone else and their poor animal may not be so lucky.Please keep us updated.xx
 
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crazypoh

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Houdini is almost back to his old self....he even went a round with one of my dogs this morning (all in good fun!). I tried to get it on video but by the time I found my camera they were done. Its too funny to see this 12lb dog running from this 1lb cat. LOL!
He seems to be feeling much much better although he felt a bit warm yesterday-I am wondering if he has a fever again. Im trying to keep him quiet and and warm but obviously its not working. When he wants to play-he wants to play and I figure if he's feeling well enough to run around then Im going to let him.

Im keeping him in the cage at night and he seems to be doing ok with it although I feel awful about it! Im sure it bothers me way more than it bothers him-he has his bed, his blanket, his monkey and a few toys in there and he seems perfectly content. He even goes in it by himself during the day when he's had enough of terrorizing the dogs.


The vet who I saw the first time owns the clinic-its a very small office run out of an old house so there really is no higher up I can complain to aside from the AVA. Like I said-I live in a rural area and that was the closest vet without having to drive 40 minutes. But as I found out it is well worth the trip to get excellent care!

He isnt taking his medicine very well...I have to pin him down and pry open his mouth to get the dropper in. It smells good to me and I dont see why he hates it so much! It smells almost like Amoxicillian? Like bubbleum? Any tips on lessening this battle?

Thank you all for your good vibes!
 

carolina

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I am glad he is ok - I was afraid for him!
Try mixing his antibiotics with his wet food - with 1/2 of what he usually eats - and see if he eats - or with tuna. Usually it does the trick, and there is no fighting...
Good luck!
 

darlili

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Is that maybe Clavomox liquid? When Dharma was on that, it did smell like bubble gum to me. I had some luck mixing it with chicken baby food (no onion or garlic) for about five days, twice a day - then she caught on! Also, for her, her tummy wasn't happy with it and her appetite waned a bit, but fortunately I got enough down her that she healed beautifully.

Good luck - glad you found a vet you can work with, and let's hope you won't be taking that drive except for check-ups down the road!
 
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crazypoh

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Yes it is Clavomox. His appetite has gone down a bit and he seems a little more lethargic this afternoon than he was yesterday-a little concerned about that. He's been sleeping on and off all afternoon and not eating as much as usual...I guess I may just be paranoid! I am so afraid of him getting deydrated again...
 

darlili

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We all get paranoid - I called Dharma's vet at least three times while she was on Clavomox - the lethargy, loss of appetite, and no pooing (well, duh on me - she wasn't eating much, thus, not pooing much - but they gave me a can of Hills, ah, W/D I think, because it seems to help with pooing - and, for Dharma, it did help. They told me to not worry about calling whenever I had a question, but the lethargy and appetite was pretty standard for those meds. She vomited once toward the end, after I had finally gotten her to eat, so of course I called!


At that point, we were just about done with the meds, so vet said to stop. It was actually sort of funny to see how quickly she perked up, but by then the meds had done their job as well. I did take her in for a follow-up checkup to make sure, though.

I'd say just call the office, especially since he was dehydrated, with any and all questions - maybe just have a little list in front of you when you call so you're not like me and call back in a little bit. I ended up bringing the staff a little basket of Trader Joe goodies to thank them for their patience with me.
 
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crazypoh

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Thanks Darlili! I dont feel so silly now! I think it may just be a combo of the medication and the infection together making him not so perky. And he hasnt been like this all day just for the past 4-5 hours or so...I sometimes forget that hes still a baby and babies sleep alot...anyone know how much sleep is normal a day for a kitten?
 
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crazypoh

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Thank you! He seems 100% better today! Running around like crazy and eating like a champ. He devoured a whole can of that Hills wet food from the vet and then sucked down a whole bottle around noon today-thats the most he has ever eaten!

I took some pictures this morning-I am home sick with the flu so we were spending "quality" time together in my bed. After he wore himself out playing he curled up next to my head and we both took a long nap.
 
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