Sitting by the water bowl ?

Yesterday I heard Flynn vocalizing like he was fighting with someone so I went to him and he was sitting in the middle of the hallway with no other cats in sight. I picked him up to have a look at him and he made some more noise. That's not normal for him, he loves nothing more than to be picked up and carried around.
Following a hunch I put him down in a litterbox and he produced some very thin diarrhea.
I called the vet and we could come by right away.

The vet checked him very thoroughly but she said his belly felt and sounded normal. His temperature was normal. She gave us some paste for cats with diarrhea (leaves a protective lining in the bowels) and we went home.

Yesterday evening Flynn had some extremly noisy bowel movements, it sounded like he was blowing bubbles.

Last night I heard a cat vomit, don't know who it was but I guess it was Flynn.

This morning my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] was out of bed first, I asked him from under the covers how Flynn was doing. He replied that Flynn hadn't eaten yet but was sitting next to the water fountain. I immediately got out of bed and found a cat that almost hung his head in the water. He was acting lethargic.

I called my own vet practice but they said the vet wouldn't be in this morning. I called other vets but they were all doing surgery and wouldn't see us. I finally called our local "oddball" vet (does not work with the other local vets, has no computer, etc) and he told me to come by.
All the time I was calling vets Flynn was sitting by the water fountain. Now and then he took a sip but mostly he was just sitting there.

He examined Flynn, bladder was empty, belly was not swollen or hard. Flynn did have a fever (39,8 C = about 103 F). He got a shot of antibiotics and something to supress the fever. I got 5 days of Clavubactin pills to take home.

The vet couldn't explain to me why Flynn was glued to his water bowl, he insisted we should just wait and see what effect the antibiotics have.
My mind is still not at ease. Flynn seemed a little more alert when we got home, the first thing he did was go to the kitchen and eat something and he walked around a little bit afterwards.
Before we went to the vet he was just sitting there, cowering a little.
But since we got home I've seen him make an unusual amount of trips to the water fountain. I guess I'm just scared he has a problem with his kidneys because the vet did nothing to rule that out.

I will call my regular vet in about an hour (after lunch), just to make sure, but maybe anyone here has any ideas or experiences they want to share ?

God, I have no clue.... How old is he? I just wish they could talk sometimes!
many vibes for your boy!

Flynn is four years old (he turns five in may).

I just read that cats hanging their head above the water bowl can also be a sign of calici or panleukopenia.
He is up to date on his vaccinations and according to the vet yesterday he does not seem to have a respiratory infection or something like that, she listened to his lungs with her stethoscope and checked the airflow through his nostrils with a tiny piece of cotton wool.

I wonder if he could be constipated? When ever my cats are, they visit the box and sometimes a watery mess comes out, but no formed stool. Then they throw up after trying so hard to go.

That's just a thought. Probably not the answer. Is his mouth ok? Sore throat?

Please let us know what happens.

Originally Posted by farleyv

I wonder if he could be constipated? When ever my cats are, they visit the box and sometimes a watery mess comes out, but no formed stool. Then they throw up after trying so hard to go.

That's just a thought. Probably not the answer. Is his mouth ok? Sore throat?

Please let us know what happens.

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That was my first thought yesterday; maybe he's got some hard faeces stuck inside with watery stool passing around it. But two vets have been feeling for something like that with no result.

I called my own vet practice (under the guise of telling them what the other vet said about their patient, because this particular vet won't send them any files himself) and they were surprised to hear he was still pretty lethargic. The antibiotic shot should have made him feel a lot better by now. They will call me back within the next hour, if he is still not more alert I should bring him in.

I gave Flynn some of the paste for his tummy, he was struggling a bit and I got it all over him. It is sticky stuff so I've tried to clean him up a little. He just sat there and let me, not at all like the little firecracker he is.

Ew, diarrhea clean up - always unpleasant. Since he vomited one reason he could have been hanging out by the water could be from some nausea.

I'm sure you've probably thought about it, but is there anything at all he could have gotten into? Even if he's normally a very good kitty who doesn't do that stuff.

I'm so sorry your kitty is so ill! What I don't understand is why no one has taken blood work of Flynn? The symptoms you describe are very like kidney failure. Flynn needs blood work done to check his organs.

I would insist on that being done, today.

A friend of mine had a 3 year old cat with acute renal failure last year (she had a severe infection with E coli. The kidney infection was treated succesfully , but after a lot of specialist visits and several courses of antibiotics the bacteria were still present in her urine, and one day her owners found her dead next to their bed) so that's why I got out of bed immediately when my BF said something about Flynn sitting by the water fountain. And that is why I'm still so worried after two vet visits.

The vet from this morning did not want to do bloodwork, he wanted to try the antibiotics first. Even though I was worried I have a hard time insisting on something a vet doesn't think necessary and would stress out an already sick cat.

However, right now I feel the first shot is not working sufficiently, I can tell Flynn is still feeling pretty bad.
I'm going to call my own vet that I want to bring him in.

Just sending good wishes and hoping you got into your own vet and they were able to do some diagnostics.

Really, if only they could talk, just a little, when they're sick.

sorry your cat is so sick and no clear diagnose after 2 visits to vets. Will keep him in my prayers.

My experience has been that my cat was very, very dehydrated when they hung over the bowl like that. It's happened with more than one of my cats, and one didn't make it.

Please, please insist on bloodwork! It's not normal!

Mega for Flynn!!!!!

A cat hunched over water bowl like this is usually due to either nausea, or dehydration. This is commonly seen in cats with kidney disease/chronic renal (kidney) failure. Can also be a sign of increased stomach acid (that is also a result of kidney disease):

http://www.felinecrf.org/symptoms.ht...ver_water_bowl

How old is your kitty?

I would highly recommend kitty have a full bloodwork panel done, including a urinalysis. Both will show whether kitty has issues with kidneys.

If you pinch his skin over his shoulder blades does it stay bunches up? That would indicate dehydration. i remember one of our cats did that when I was a kid, and it was her kidneys. She did make it through that crisis, and lived to be 17. The vet also said that looking at the inside of the ears, they should NOT be tinged with yellow, which I think they were on my cat.

If you pinch his skin over his shoulder blades does it stay bunched up? That would indicate dehydration. i remember one of our cats did that when I was a kid, and it was her kidneys. She did make it through that crisis, and lived to be 17. The vet also said that looking at the inside of the ears, they should NOT be tinged with yellow, which I think they were on my cat.

Originally Posted by kluchetta

If you pinch his skin over his shoulder blades does it stay bunches up? That would indicate dehydration. i remember one of our cats did that when I was a kid, and it was her kidneys. She did make it through that crisis, and lived to be 17. The vet also said that looking at the inside of the ears, they should NOT be tinged with yellow, which I think they were on my cat.

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Actually, if the insides of a cat's ears have a tinge of yellow to them, or the whites of the eyes do, that's a sign of liver issues.

And yes, you can test a cat's hydration level by pinching a bunch of skin on the scruff area. If it falls back into place very quickly, like instantly, that's hydrated well. If it takes 2-3+ seconds to return to position, dehydrated. This method becomes less accurate as a cat gets older because they naturally lose elasticity in their skin due to age.

Another way to check is to run your finger across the cat's gums. If they are slippery and moist, good indicator of hydration. If they are "sticky" or "tacky" feeling and finger doesn't slide over gum easily (meaning the gums are dry), that signifies significant dehydration (common with kidney disease, undiagnosed diabetes, etc) and a prompt trip to Vet is in order, for assessment and rehydration.

I called the vet yesterday after my post and she said to bring him in so she could keep him overnight, perform some test and give him some fluids.

At home he was still kinda limp but once at the vet he perked right up and acted completely alert and normal Go figure.
He was not dehydrated, his temperature was back to normal, she saw no reason to make him stay or draw blood.
She said he might well have been dehydrated because of the diarrhea and the fever, which could explain his behaviour by the waterbowl.
She did tell me to bring him in first thing in the morning for tests if I felt not entirely comfortable with his behaviour by then.

It is now morning and Flynn is back to his normal self so he got out of another vet visit.
He is not drinking excessively anymore and I've even seen him play.

I'm happy this has turned out well but I also feel a bit stupid for being so worried and dragging him to the vet again

Man, they sure can scare us!

Glad all is well.

Thanks for the happy update!

Please, don't feel stupid. You did the right thing taking him to the vet, it is not stupid to be concerned about the health of your cat.

They can't tell us where it hurts, so our only recourse is to take them to the vet when they ail.

Cats are the masters of hiding illness and pain, and often by the time they show symptoms they are very sick indeed. It is always better safe than sorry, in my opinion. I'm not the wait and see type, and peace of mind is worth a "needless" trip to the vet.

What Otto said - it's worse than a human baby, in some ways, since cats will hide that they're not feeling well, and human babies usually try to let you know there's an issue. If anything, the vet just feels you're a responsible pet parent.

But, yeah, great when you get there and they're suddenly all bouncy and perky.