Lethargic, Not Eating

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going nova

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One of my two-year-old males (Loki) hasn't been his usual playful self. He usually eats with Nova, but I noticed last night that he wasn't accompanying her to the bowl.

This morning, he had about two dry kibbles and walked away. I bought him some (Stage 1) chicken baby food, and he gave it a few laps. It looked as though he wanted to eat, but felt uncomfortable so he didn't eat that either. He has been drinking water, and using the box.

I don't notice any discharge coming from his eyes or nose, and he doesn't feel abnormally hot. However, his nose is very dry and the lymph nodes in his throat seem like they might be swollen?

We have a vet appointment for tomorrow afternoon. Does anyone know the sorts of things a vet might look for? Am I wrong to wait until the vet can see us, or should I take him to an emergency vet?

I'm very worried and not thinking clearly.
 
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He won't eat baby food or chicken broth. He did lap up tuna water, and that's all he's had today aside from some regular water.

Thanks to anyone who read this, I'm disappointed there aren't any replies.
 
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strange_wings

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He'll be ok till tomorrow..
Try some food again in the morning and call to see if they can bump your appointment up earlier.
Since it seems to be too common lately, have the vet make sure nothing urinary is going on with him.

What's his past history of URIs that you know of? It could be a virus flare up that just hasn't gotten bad enough to show more symptoms, yet.
 
sharky

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

He'll be ok till tomorrow..
Try some food again in the morning and call to see if they can bump your appointment up earlier.
Since it seems to be too common lately, have the vet make sure nothing urinary is going on with him.

What's his past history of URIs that you know of? It could be a virus flare up that just hasn't gotten bad enough to show more symptoms, yet.
Click to expand...
Just keep an eye on him...
 
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Thank you strange_wings and sharky, for your kind replies. I tend to be something of a mother-hen and I drive one of my vets crazy because I worry so much!


I think he hasn't had any URIs since I plucked him from the outdoors a couple of years ago. You may be on to something regarding urinary issues, though. In the past day, I've seen him go #2 in the box, but not #1.

I think he will be OK until tomorrow. He seems to be enjoying his tuna water (I know it isn't the best thing for him, but I'm desperate to get anything in his tummy). I will update when I return from the vet.
 
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sherry526

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I hope it goes well at the vet and that it's nothing serious. It's really good that your cat is lapping the tuna water--it will help with dehydration.

Good luck at the vet appt. Loki, get well soon, sweetie
 
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Since you've not seen him pass any urine, please do call the vet this morning and let them know this.
 
stephanietx

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So glad you're taking him in to the vet. Please let us know what you find out.
 
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He has an ulcer on his nose, and some little things in his mouth that make it uncomfortable for him to eat. The vet suspects Herpes or Calici. I am so scared. She gave us a pain medicine, something to stimulate his appetite, and an antibiotic. She said if he doesn't improve by tomorrow to take him back and he may need to be force fed. I am so worried, and I feel so guilty. She said stress may have triggered a flare up, and she thinks that its due to the fosters we have brought in. I'm so torn, I feel like I made a commitment to find homes for my fosters, but I'm worried that Loki will get worse.
 
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I'm so glad you got him in and got some treatment for him. Callie, my 14 yo, got mouth ulcers several years ago from the stress of a new cat in our home. She has neither FHV or calici. *IF* he has herpes, you probably shouldn't be fostering, but talk to the agency you're working with to find out for sure. You can get the IDEXX Real PCR URD test and it will accurately diagnose herpes and calici. Then, you'll know for sure what you're dealing with.

Running a Feliway diffuser will help cut down the stress level in your home, too. We run them 24/7 because Callie's old and stresses easily and Hannah has FHV. Plus, we added a new kitten to our home in July and it's helped everyone adjust better.
 
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Originally Posted by stephanietx

I'm so glad you got him in and got some treatment for him. Callie, my 14 yo, got mouth ulcers several years ago from the stress of a new cat in our home. She has neither FHV or calici. *IF* he has herpes, you probably shouldn't be fostering, but talk to the agency you're working with to find out for sure. You can get the IDEXX Real PCR URD test and it will accurately diagnose herpes and calici. Then, you'll know for sure what you're dealing with.

Running a Feliway diffuser will help cut down the stress level in your home, too. We run them 24/7 because Callie's old and stresses easily and Hannah has FHV. Plus, we added a new kitten to our home in July and it's helped everyone adjust better.
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Thank you so much for the helpful post. My vet is pretty awesome, and also suggested a Feliway and some Lysine (the Feliway is now plugged in, and he's getting lysine in addition to his meds). I didn't know that stress could cause symptoms like mouth sores!

I sent a note to the lady who heads the kitty adoptions for the rescue I'm volunteering with, to let her know the situation and ask if my fosters can have the next opening with another foster or in the kennels at the store. I will not be fostering in the future.

I would like to have a better idea of what Loki has, could you please tell me about the IDEXX test? Is it something that my vet does in the office (or something I can do at home), and what type of sample is needed (blood)? I'm hesitant to take him back to the vet's office before he has more time to heal because his nose and mouth looked a lot worse after I got him home.

On a positive note, the medicines and Feliway are doing their work. Loki ate some soft food a little while ago (his first meal in a couple of days!), and also used the box for #1. (The vet felt his bladder yesterday, and said it felt full but not hard. I'm pretty sure he wasn't using the box.)
 
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I recently posted about the test from IDEXX on the Feline Herpes Yahoo group. Here's the info:

For those of you looking for information on the test that DOES accurately
diagnose Feline Herpes Virus as well as several other things (Bordetella
bronchiseptica, Chlamydophila felis, feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus type
1 (FHV-1), H1N1 influenza virus and Mycoplasma felis), here's the link to the
IDEXX website for the US.

http://www.idexx.com/view/xhtml/en_u...sts&SSOTOKEN=0

If you click on the link for the Canine and Feline Respiratory Disease Panels,
Tests, & Profiles, you'll find the information on the test code and what all it
tests. On the right hand side of the page under "Education", you'll find links
to documents including the Feline URD Panel. You can print this out and take it
to your vet. The direct link to the .pdf document for the Feline URD panel is:
http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources...-urd-panel.pdf . If your vet doesn't use IDEXX, perhaps s/he can refer you to a vet who does for this test or perhaps another lab does it..

We did this on Hannah in 2007 and it took about a week to get the results back. The price varies from vet to vet, but it seems like in the Spring sometimes IDEXX runs a special where you can get the test done for less. Again, ask your vet.

I'm so glad we did this on Hannah to know what we were dealing with and to helpus understand that it takes her body longer to recover from illnesses. Also, going grain free and keeping our home as stress free as possible has helped tremendously as well.
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When we had Hannah tested, the vet took a swab of nasal discharge and something from her throat. He sent them off to the lab and in about 3-5 days, we had our answer. It could very well be that Loki doesn't have herpes, but just stresses easily. I never knew my Callie was stressed until we got Hannah. That's when she started peeing inappropriately and developed the mouth ulcers.
 
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