I'm so frustrated and upset right now.

If Belle's eating, she's not eating much (I think she's had a few nibbles of wet food here or there).

She's still throwing up a bit. Bile now, whereas before she went to the vet it was more like phlegm.

I can tell she doesn't feel well. In the way she sits and how quiet she is. She's also nausous because she'll go through spurts of smacking her lips and gulping.

Delilah is still hissing and growling at her.

Getting her medicine down her is a nightmare and she hides for a couple hours afterward. We're going to try wrapping her in a towl today.

Here we are - a $1000 vet trip, 2+ days of caged hell for my baby, and she is no better, but actually worse than she was before I took her in.

I don't get it. I know so many people who have cats and don't take care of them - no vets, allowing them to get pregnant, feeding the crappy food, not cleanining their litterbox, and not even noticing if they are not feeling well. All their cats seem fine.

Me, on the other hand, had Zoey, who we got from a shelter and died 6 months later, despite multiple vet visits and medications. I admit I didn't know much about cats then and probably made some mistakes. But Belle has been fed good food from the beginning, had regular vet visits, etc. etc. and she's STILL sick.

Even Delilah had a trip to the emergency vet last year. Thankfully, she bounced back very quickly.

Why do my cats always get sick? What am I doing wrong?

The only thing I can imagine is that God or fate or something is guiding these cats who need extra love and care to a home and heart which is strong enough to give them that love and care.

But it is frustrating - like the people who would be the best parents, yet are infertile, while people who shouldn't even see a child have baby after baby.

I think it's only natural to be upset and sad and look for something to blame, even yourself - but I don't think it's you - and I'm sure you've talked with your vet and she thinks you're a wonderful parent. But ask her for advice for what possibly else you could do - I'm sure there's nothing, but maybe her reassurance will make you feel a little better.

It isn't anything you're doing or not doing. I have two cats about the same age. One has never been sick, never been to the vet for anything but checkups and her spay. My other cat has had the same problems you're cat is having now off and on since he was 18 monthes old. Physically it's like with people, some stay healthy their whole lives others have one thing after another no matter how well they take care of themselves. It is frustrating and expensive but it isn't your fault.

Oh, dear, don't blame yourself! These things just happen. Illness is so hard to understand and accept because it is so unfair and inexplicable.

Keep on loving your cats and taking such wonderful care of them. This bad patch won't go on indefinitely.

I've had 4 male black cats in my life. Except for the one I have now, Claudio, the other 3 died of cancer. So, I'm very paranoid about Claudio and anxiously watch him - though he is still a few years younger than the others were when they got sick (10+ years). My vet says there is no correlation between higher cancer rates and male, black DSH cats. But, I don't know. It's hard to accept that I'm that unlucky.

And, of course, I blame myself some though I know it is irrational. They depend on us to care for them, and when they get very sick we feel that we let them down. But, it isn't our fault.

Regarding Zoey, I've written about this before, but cats have and do live very long lives without the best food. And until the last 15-20 years, there wasn't good commercial food available for them, and not enough was understood about their nutritional needs, that few got good homemade diets either. Yet, many cats, even on not great cat food, live 15-20+ years (and their life expectancy, though it has gone up, is still only 15 years - for indoor cats). So, I wouldn't overemphasize any effects that a few months of less than optimum food could have done. The effect was most likely nil. I had a friend who had a cat who lived to be 22. That cat never had anything but grocery store cat food, and often the cheapest.

Here's hoping Belle improves. I'd put out a measured amount (teaspoon or two) of food to be able to tell if she is eating. And I'd call the vet tomorrow morning regarding the continuing vomiting.

Robin

Oh dear, I feel your frustration! It's so difficult when you do everything "right" yet they still get sick and/or don't seem to be improving.

What's wrong with Belle? Is it an URI?

Did you have a thread about Belle before? If so, I'm afraid I missed it.

Has your vet given her anything for nausea? Reglan worked like a charm for Bugsy, you give 20-30 minutes before a meal, 2x a day... It coats both the stomach and the intestinal tract.
Also, to give meds, I use a cat bag - I would be nobody without it... It woks wonders for force-feeding as well... It makes pilling Bugsy a breeze; without it is very hard and stressful, while with it, it takes me just a couple of seconds... Here are some bags I have used I really liked:
Klaw Kontrol: This one is really great, and the one Bugsy was the most comfortable in it. The material is not the best, but Bugsy was so comfortable in this bag, he literally walked right into it and laid on the top of it for me to close it. It is a fantastic bag design wise, but unfortunately even the X-Large is too small for him...
The cat Sack: This is the one I currently use... It is a great bag, really tough, the nylon is very thick, the claws do not go through and it does the job very well.

Make sure to feed your baby... Do you have a syringe you can do that with? You can probably pick one up from your vet, or you can buy one at Petco or Petsmart... I didn't like the ones from my vet, as the plunger was made of rubber and was getting stuck... Silicone or just plastic is way better IMHO.
Here is a site with a lot of good info in Assisted Feeding. With Bugsy, with the help of an appetite stimulant and Reglan, once he started eating (I syringe-fed him for a day), his tummy got better and he started eating on his own on the second day. I do believe both Reglan and the appetite stimulant were key though... The first Reglan was an injection since his tummy was already upset.
Good luck

Oh, I so hear what you are saying. I wish we could get together over coffee and commiserate.....

I paid my care credit off and the next day...boom 800 dollars back on it. It seems sometimes you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I went years and years without hardly any vet bills at all. I am paying for it now. It's the luck of the draw. When it all gets too much, I try to realize that thank goodness I do have them to take care of, because who else?

Tomorrow is Monday....lets hope you can get Belle in and get some answers. I was almost resigned to loosing Arthur last week. Sooo thin. I thought cancer for sure. It was his pancreas not doing its job to digest his food. Things look brighter now.

It can change on a dime for the good. Try not to borrow trouble till you know.

Thinking and praying for you and your dear Belle.

Thank you to those who gave words of encouragement.

For those who asked, I began mention of Belle's issues at the end of this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...=209744&page=2 and talked about her trip to the vet here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=225157

Things haven't really changed throughout the day today. My boyfriend just went out to pick up some baby food. I'll post more of an update later...it'll take me a bit to go through some of the suggestions here...I have tried some of the things. We tried wrapping her in a towel for meds this morning. The issue isn't really restraining her - it's that she foams and spits like mad as soon as we put anything (water, food, meds) in her mouth.

As I said, I'll post more a bit later, but thank you for the suggestions!

I'm going through something similar right now with Callie, only we know her not eating is associated with her CRF. Still, it doesn't make ME feel any better!

One of the things that might be a problem is that she's picking up on your stress and frustration. Things are chaotic at your home right now with Delilah being sick and now Belle's sick. For Delilah, have you tried giving her Miralax? We give this to Callie, 1/4 t twice a day every other day to keep things moving and to keep her from being constipated. You can also use Slippery Elm Bark, but I'd have to look up the recommended dose.

Belle may not be eating because she had fluids and is feeling a bit bloated. She's probably just not feeling like eating, which isn't good, but her tummy may still be a bit upset.

What did they give her for the nausea? Was she having diarrhea? Metro is usually used for diarrhea and/or loose stools. Did they give her an appetite stimulant?

Sending vibes for you and Belle.

Originally Posted by Carolina

Has your vet given her anything for nausea? Reglan worked like a charm for Bugsy, you give 20-30 minutes before a meal, 2x a day... It coats both the stomach and the intestinal tract.
Also, to give meds, I use a cat bag - I would be nobody without it... It woks wonders for force-feeding as well... It makes pilling Bugsy a breeze; without it is very hard and stressful, while with it, it takes me just a couple of seconds... Here are some bags I have used I really liked:
Klaw Kontrol: This one is really great, and the one Bugsy was the most comfortable in it. The material is not the best, but Bugsy was so comfortable in this bag, he literally walked right into it and laid on the top of it for me to close it. It is a fantastic bag design wise, but unfortunately even the X-Large is too small for him...
The cat Sack: This is the one I currently use... It is a great bag, really tough, the nylon is very thick, the claws do not go through and it does the job very well.

Make sure to feed your baby... Do you have a syringe you can do that with? You can probably pick one up from your vet, or you can buy one at Petco or Petsmart... I didn't like the ones from my vet, as the plunger was made of rubber and was getting stuck... Silicone or just plastic is way better IMHO.
Here is a site with a lot of good info in Assisted Feeding. With Bugsy, with the help of an appetite stimulant and Reglan, once he started eating (I syringe-fed him for a day), his tummy got better and he started eating on his own on the second day. I do believe both Reglan and the appetite stimulant were key though... The first Reglan was an injection since his tummy was already upset.
Good luck

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Carolina,

I've been following your posts on other threads (mine and others), so many of your suggestions I've already considered or tried.

As for the cat bag, I did look at those, but this doesn't really seem to be the problem. We wrapped her in a towel today and she was fairly calm. However, the frothing from the mouth is a huge problem - I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and see if I can get some meds in pill form instead. It'll be harder to get in, I'm sure, but once it's in, at least she's getting some. And when I say frothing, I mean frothing. And it's not the taste (the vet warned me about that with the metro), it's just her way of keeping stuff out.

She has a definite food aversion at this point. The ID food is quite strong smelling so you can smell it as soon as you walk in our kitchen, and as soon as she does, she starts smacking her lips and swalling. I can tell she's nauseous.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow. I REALLY don't want to take her in if I can avoid it. It has nothing to do with cost, but rather the stress it causes her. If I felt what they did there would really help, I would take her. But for a matter of some new meds, I'd rather just pick them up and administer them myself. I'll have to talk to the vet, because she may benefit from some sub qs or an med injection. BUT, I'd like to try an anti-nauseant and appetite stimulant first.

She is taking Sulcrate, which is supposed to coat the upper GI tract, kind of like Pepto, but it's clearly not sufficient. She had some Pepcid injections and the vet, and I believe she was eating a bit there, so perhaps we can switch to that.

I'm just feeling a bit helpless at the moment. We're having such a hard time getting the meds into her and force feeding us just a big mess (we did both these things with Zoey and it was not nearly as difficult as it is with her). Luckily, she does seem to be getting used to us fiddling with her and no longer hides for a long time afterward.

We could really use vibes that things start to turn around soon!

Will your vet do home visits? Some will if they know the stress of an office visit is too much for your cat. Hope you find a solution for her soon.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

I'm going through something similar right now with Callie, only we know her not eating is associated with her CRF. Still, it doesn't make ME feel any better!

One of the things that might be a problem is that she's picking up on your stress and frustration. Things are chaotic at your home right now with Delilah being sick and now Belle's sick. For Delilah, have you tried giving her Miralax? We give this to Callie, 1/4 t twice a day every other day to keep things moving and to keep her from being constipated. You can also use Slippery Elm Bark, but I'd have to look up the recommended dose.

Belle may not be eating because she had fluids and is feeling a bit bloated. She's probably just not feeling like eating, which isn't good, but her tummy may still be a bit upset.

What did they give her for the nausea? Was she having diarrhea? Metro is usually used for diarrhea and/or loose stools. Did they give her an appetite stimulant?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, Stephanie. Delilah is actually healthy at the moment....the original thread was from LAST year just before Christmas when we had to take her to the vet. This year it was Belle's turn. Delilah's feeling great, except for her general despise for all things Belle at the moment. She's being a little hissing gremilin since Belle returned from the vet.

As for medications, I'm going to call and ask about that tomorrow. Metro seemed like an odd choice to me, since she never did have diarrhea. I think it was that their best guess was that she was an inflammatory bowel kitty, and that's suppossed to help? But, as I said, I plan to call tomorrow and make sure she is on an effective one each of an appetite stimulant and an anti-nauseant.

On a decent note, Belle has went to the water dish for quick drinks twice in the last 10 minutes. I doubt she drank much, but it's something at least.

For what it's worth....I usually opt for pill form over liquid. I coat the pill with a bit of butter or hold the pill between thumb and forefinger, put a bit of butter on the next finger. Pop the pill and smear the butter on the side of her mouth so she starts to lick it right away.

They kind of forget about the pill that just went down when they taste the butter.

Thinking of your Belle

How scarry this is, a big hug for you! I know about frothing, our Sammy does that and we prefer pills to liquids. We use butter or pill pocket to coat the tablet and while Joe holds him and opens his mouth, I quickly push the tablet as far as I can in his mouth. Then for a few good seconds we keep his mouth closed, kiss his nose and rub his throat to make him swallow.

If Sammy has something in his mouth he hates, he froths so much that it gest on his coat etc...Very distressing to watch.

Depending on what medication you need to give her, a compounding pharmacy might be able to make a transdermal product.

Lots of vibes for little Belle

Originally Posted by LoveWhiskers

How scarry this is, a big hug for you! I know about frothing, our Sammy does that and we prefer pills to liquids. We use butter or pill pocket to coat the tablet and while Joe holds him and opens his mouth, I quickly push the tablet as far as I can in his mouth. Then for a few good seconds we keep his mouth closed, kiss his nose and rub his throat to make him swallow.

If Sammy has something in his mouth he hates, he froths so much that it gest on his coat etc...Very distressing to watch.

Depending on what medication you need to give her, a compounding pharmacy might be able to make a transdermal product.

Lots of vibes for little Belle

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"kiss his noes" - cute! I kepts kissing Belle on the head as I was squirting the syringe into her mouth.

Just called the vet...they are closed today as well, I guess (probably to give their staff the statutory holiday for Boxing Day, since it fell on a day they are not normally open). In any case, I think we can wait another day. Medicating and force-feeding is getting better. I got two small syringes of watered down food into her this morning and she didn't make a huge mess. She seems to have stopped frothing as much, except for the metro, so we always give that to her last. She certainly doesn't seem to be feeling any worse, and I haven't heard any smacking/gulping yet today (of course, I've been up for all of 30 minutes after going back to bed post-meds/food). Perhaps she is feeling a bit better with a bit of food and water into her. Time will tell.

I will still be calling first thing tomorrow morning to talk about meds. Those who have used anti-nauseants and appetite stimulants before - what are your drugs of choice?

The vet he is going to now gives Reglan and it does seem to help. The vets I took him to before recommended half a regular strenghth Pepcid. The Pepcid didn't seem to help much. She gave him an appetite stimulate when he stayed there but she didn't send any home with him so I don't know what she used.

Originally Posted by Denice

The vet he is going to now gives Reglan and it does seem to help. The vets I took him to before recommended half a regular strenghth Pepcid. The Pepcid didn't seem to help much. She gave him an appetite stimulate when he stayed there but she didn't send any home with him so I don't know what she used.

Click to expand...

same here - the appetite stimulant lasts 3 days.
Pepcid, my vet only let me give once every other day, so sometimes it is no good. Reglan worked well for Bugsy - you give it before each meal, 2x a day.

P.S.: When you force feed, make sure to get enough food into her throughout the day... Get larger syringes so you don't need to do a whole bunch of them. She needs to eat... You want to aim at almost a can of food a day, divided in 4 (or more) meals. Try giving her at least 40CC per sitting; remember, that is diluted food too...

No helpful suggestions, but lots of for Belle!