frustrated-no help from vet

My peanut developed conjuntivitis about 1 month ago. Was treated w/ Neo/poly/dex. Cleared up, then re-occured. Treated w/ Terramycin. Developed an eye ulcer. Used the Terramycin 3X daily. Eyes are clear presently. My concern is is sharp decrease in appetite, large weight loss, constant growling, even aggression(very out of character for him) and trembling. Developed lameness in his front right paw, went away within 48 hours. Now, he has lameness in his back right leg. He is very weak, and has a hard time supporting his weight. My vet, (I work for a vet) says maybe it is herpes related and has gone into his joints? He has been back and forth to the vet several times, and still he feels lousy. He really looks like he is dying. I'm a nervous wreck, he is my baby, and yet the vets just seem to scrug their shoulders at me. It has been weeks, and no improvement. I'm also having a hard time because we are also dealing with my boss here.

Anybody know what kind of questions I should be asking the vets and maybe what kind of tests should be run or which kind of specialist he should see? I can't keep watching him go on like this. I also don't want to spend a fortune only to get no answers, so I want to get more specific.

Poor Peanut!! this sounds really horrible. I would either take my kitty to another vet or ask your vet for a referral. I can't add anything from the medical point, but it sounds very serious and involved. Maybe if you posted with the different tests Peanut has already had and the results, another poster would have some pointers.

Sending good thoughts and wishes to you and Peanut. . .

He has had no tests yet. I did inquire about bloodwork today, and the vet that has been seeing him said since he was boarded for 5 days(I made a trip to NY and wanted him in constant vet care)wait to see if he settles, since he was very stressed, then if no improvement through the weekend, bring him in for bloodwork and a recheck. The only thing I could mention is the meds he has been on which is listed above. Forgot to mention that he used Atropine for pain relief for 3 days. Also, that the vet stained the eye and there was no absorption but she supected an ulcer due to the cloudiness and the blood vessels. When the vet examined his legs, she found nothing. The lameness was first in the front right, then resolved & moved on to the back right, where he is favoring right now.

My question really is how do I approach this? My vet's office is also my place of employment so it is difficult to cause a scene. But, I am frustrated and sadened by this, so I'm ready to voice my frustration. What kind of questions or requests should I ask of the vet? I can't stand to watch my kitty suffer like this anymore, I'm literally making my self sick. I never knew how much you could love an animal. He is only 3 years old.

I agree with Maui take Peanut to another vet asap.

I think another vet is definately in order. I'm certainly not a vet but the cloudiness and blood vessels in the eye make me think uveitis. Like I said though, I'm no vet. Just trying to offer suggestions to maybe have another vet look at. Although, you said he did a stain which I would imagine should have showed something. I say definately a new vet. Good luck with your kitty.

kris

This is really sounding serious. . .and I am cognizant how difficult this may be balancing employment and good medical care.. . .I'm sure it's extraordinarily stressful.

Because the vet you have taken Peanut to has not even drawn a single blood panel, I would *immediately* take Peanut to another vet! This current vet may not be the best one for Peanut. At this point, you just want to ensure the health of your kitty.

"But, I am frustrated and sadened by this, so I'm ready to voice my frustration."

Don't even bother voicing frustration. Someone else who works in a vet office can give you guidance as to what you tell the current vet at a later date (if at all). But right now don't tell anyone in your office, just focus on getting help to Peanut. If they didn't do any blood work, there are no test results to fax. You already know the meds Peanut has been on.

"What kind of questions or requests should I ask of the vet?"

Bring a list of all the meds, the dates of the various symptoms, the weight change, everything that you can remember all written down, etc. Right now, someone needs to start doing the preliminary work that should have been started weeks ago. As far as I can tell, if such little preliminary work has been started, suggesting directions for a new vet to take is jumping the gun in my opinion.

Maybe someone in the Georgia area can PM you with a recommendation, or can tell you where to call for a recommendation, or just ask a neighbor who has a few well loved pets — that's how I found one of the best vets around.

Good luck kris! Just take Peanut in to another vet. Worry about the other stuff later.. .

It does sound as if the vet you work for isn't quite "up to date" with cats. If he suspects Herpes, he can send a culture to the lab and they can tell you for sure. Also, it would be a good idea to have them send off a CBC/Superchem/T4. Even though he's only 3, there's some signs that they should take a little closer look.
If I were in your position, I would either find another local vet, or try to find a cat specialist, or an internal medicine practice.

Your kitty should have also been on amoxi or clavamox. It helps fight the infection from the inside. I wouldnt use the terry. for conjunctivitus. Causes ulcers which is what happened.

Take your baby to a different vet. Maybe one that only treats cats.


Elizabeth

Today we took Peanut in to the same vet(because I work there, and get a major discount and work long hours making it difficult to go elsewhere)

They tested him for fiv/felv which was negative. They tested his glucose because he ran high the last time he had bloodwork. He stresses easily so his glucose runs high. The fructosamine at that time was normal. They spot checked the glucose to see if they also needed to recheck the fructosamine. Glucose was normal. They ran a cbc/chemprofile/T4 results should be in Sat/Mon.

Doctor suspects something neurogical. She found no pain upon his examination, and today he is not limping. Still having tremors though and not eating well. He should be eating 1/3 cup twice daily, and is only eating 1/3 cup total aprox, with about 1-2 teaspoons of can food. He is underweight. Lost another pound. Could be due to stress from his boarding though.

Seems like the doctors are a bit more attentive because I broke out in tears today at work and embarresed myself.

We will see what the bloodwork shows. He may need a referral to a neurologist which will cost at least $1000. I don't really have this money which is partly why I broke down. I fear I may need this money to save his life. If he needs to go, maybe my parent's will lend me the money.

Kristin

Just hang in there! Just take one step at a time, and remember that you are doing everything you can for Peanut

I know how it feels to have to borrow money for your baby. I would sugest also going to your local church, to see if they would help you in setting up a fundraiser to get the money for he operation. That's what I did for my Hobo, and out of a 3500$ bill I only had to pay 200. The outpouring of help was wonderful... not to mention I'm still trying to get rid of the 100's of boxes of purina kitten chow lol.

Ask... a lot of people are willing to help if you ask.

Lot's of love and best of luck...


~ Salem

Today the bloodwork is back and is normal. Monday they will send a toxoplasmosis titer out for analysis. That should be back shortly. From there is the referral to a neurologist for a work up, and that has an estimated cost of $900-1300, and that doesn't even solve the problem. Not only don't I have that money, but it's killing me to know that even with this work up, they still may not figure out what is wrong with him. Who knows how much it will cost from there. I'm so upset because I don't want to put a price on his life & if he ends up being put to sleep due to poor quality of life & lack of funds, I'll be forever guilt ridden not ever knowing if I was able to help him. He is very dear to me, he is only 3 yrs old. He isn't eating his normal dry food, which is hills prescription w/d. He eats this due to a history of diarrhea, and it has helped him. He doesn't eat canned food either. So instead of letting him starve/ and or syringe feeding him, I tried another dry food and he likes it very much. Proplan chicken and rice. He will eat this fine so as long as I feed him behind closed doors, talk softly to him & feed him by hand. Hopefully he won't get diarrhea.

About going to a church to set up a fundraiser...Just go to a local church near me? Is this a common thing that people do? As far as the fundraising, does the church collect the money so the people generous to donate know that I'm legite and not trying to scam people? That would make sense to me.

Last night Peanut was out and around for a while! He was exploring his environment as if it were new, & crying at me for constant attention. He jumped into my lap & flipped over upsidedown. I even locked the kitten up and played with him. He wasn't as active as normal which is understandable, but he did bat at the toy and follow it around! He slept by my side all night long. This morning his appetite has returned! He still doesn't like his regular food much, but will at least eat a small amount of it now.

I don't think he is out of the woods yet, but it looks like he is beginning to feel better!

kris
I'm so glad to hear Peanut is feeling better! Right now, if it were my kitty, I wouldn't worry so much about the type of food, but rather just that he is eating. As long as Peanut is eating and drinking and the new food is not agravating the previous diarhea condition, just keep on providing whatever food he has the appetite for.

I have an elderly kitty (16 yr old) that has always thrown up 1x or 2x a week, then bounce back to her normal self, only to do the same thing a week later. I tried several very expensive brands of food which she refused to eat. The food that she really wanted to eat was my other cat's low allergen (even more expensive) food which I initially prevented her from because I didn't think she had any allergies. Eventually I relented and now give them both prescription low allergen. She has not barfed since. We also got her Royal Canin sensitive stomach (non-prescription) which she also loves and she has not thrown up on this either. So, at least in this case, the patient "healed thyself" because she was the one that chose the two foods that she eventually did the best on.

Keep us updated on Peanut. . .I hope he has continued improvement!

I will surely keep everyone updated! He seems much better! He still has some leg tremors, but they aren't as constant nor severe. He is eating his full portion of food! Most of which has to be fed by hand, but he will come out to eat a small portion of it w/ the other cats. He will eat about 1/2 his usual portion of his regular food now, and the other half, Proplan. His stomach seems ok for the most part. No real diarrhea yet, it is mostly solid, then toward the end very slightly mushy. No odor, and he doesn't seem uncomfortable. With this in mind, I will continue to feed him what he will eat unless his tummy gets worse. Then, hopefully, I can wean him back onto his regular food.

He was even playing with me today on his scratching post, doing the kicky thing with his legs.

here is a picture of him, I think it should work.

Awwwww. .. what beautiful cats!! makes me want to mush them. . .

"He was even playing with me today on his scratching post, doing the kicky thing with his legs."

oooh that's a really good sign. Sicky kitties don't have the energy to do that.

:kitty5:

Today, he ate almost his entire morning portion of food with the other cats! I only had to follow him with the last couple of bites. I wonder how much of this is exasperated by stress? In April, I brought home Balki the wild and crazy kitten, to whom makes Peanut very grumbly & jealous. Then Peanut got sick and I medicated him three times daily. Then, I had to go to NY, and boarded Peanut for 5 days because he wasn't feeling well, and I didn't want to leave him by himself.

So, I'm not saying his illness is stress induced, but I wonder if it is all that much worse because of all the different changes in his life. In general, he is a VERY needy cat, needs constant attention, and can become sensitive and grumbly in a heartbeat.

That is why I feel constant attention and acknowledgement is CRUCIAL to speeding up his recovery. The more attention I gave him yesterday, the more he came out of hiding, and even played w/ me.

Oh my yes! Stress can indeed make physical illnesses worse. I don't know the cause of the trembling and other neurological stuff, but ALL those things you mentioned (new cat introduction, boarding, illness) would be VERY stressful to most cats and exascerbate any underlying conditions. And if Peanut is a more sensitive kind of cat. . . well it might really be over the top for him.

Have you gotten the Feliway plug in? One of my kitties has a skin condition that suddenly got MUCH worse when we got a new cat. My vet was treating her with prednisone and low allergen food, but it wasn't until I got a Feliway plug in that my kitty's skin condition improved so much we could stop the prednisone.

Go out and get one plus give Peanut all the reassurances that he needs. .. good for you for seeing that he was doing better with more attention.

Hi I just read this post, and want to say hope Peanut continues to improve.

and stress can cause a kitty to tremble and get sick, especially if it is herpes stress tends to bring on the syptoms (eyes, decreased appetite..

also more attention and reassurance can drastically improve the kitty's condition when it is cause by stress. (also try to dristract or remove him from what stresses him out!))

I am hoping after another few days, Peanut will bouce back.

food allergies and diarea are very common problems, and you are dealing with them properly. I would however suggest to change from w/d to a food with no by-products and natural perservatives. Although prescription W/d is known to be a better food, there are others as good without some of the 'bad' stuff that I personally think is better fot the cat.

if you have any other questions, please ask...
and continue to update us...

It is amazing what stress can do to any creature on this earth. It can cause the heart to pace faster, the head to feel woozy, the hands to shake, and the body to become vulnerable to infections and bacteria.

And it can effect animals as well just as severly.

My one friend left for Las Vegas for a week. Hers was an outdoor cat so they didn't think of any additional care for it during her period of absence. The cat when they returned wasn't eating, constantly shook, and seemed critically ill. The vet gave the cat a clean bill of health, but recommended her and her husband to an animal behavorist who looked into the situation and said that it was all stressed induced. The poor cat felt that she had been abandoned. After several thousand dollars they were able to help out the kitty. Her husband wasn't too happy to spend that much money on a cat.