What a week it's been!

I'm a newbie to the site but have been a cat lover/owner..all my life

My story...

Had to take my cat (8 yrs old) Gizmo to the vet on Tuesday morning.

I had noticed he wasn't acting like his usually happy self. He wouldn't purr, nor eat or drink and he kept trying to hide so I felt it was time to call the vet. Got him in the same day..thankfully.

When we saw the vet...she said his eyelids were yellow etc. which ment something to do with his liver! They took tests (blood test, ultrasound, and sample of his liver). They thought it was cancer of the liver but vet said usually that doesn't come with a high fever and she seem puzzled over that and the fact he has alot of "destroyed red blood cells"...he seems to have a few symptoms of one thing but then it throws the vet off when he has symptoms he shouldn't have so to be honest..I was/am a bit confused when she explained this.
She did say his gallbladder bileducts were swollen/inflamed (which have since shrunk a bit).

The results from the liver sample takes 10 days for the results.

They sent him home that day saying it was less stressful to be at home then stuck at the vet BUT asked to bring him back to the vet during the day (for the rest of the week) in which he got an IV filled with suppliments, antibiotics and a painkiller. They "think" the medications are the right ones but can't say for sure if it will 100% cure him until they know what exactly it is.
He was quite alert thursday night after the vets and even purred a bit but then Friday morning he was back to having a lack of energy to move much etc. but after coming back from the vet he was doing a bit better....and ate more than he had the past few days and groomed himself for ages.
Today is Sat. and the vets here are closed so he can't go and get the meds thru the IV so they gave me 2 kinds of antibiotics to give him: Clamoxyl and Baytril. He hasn't eaten or drank today and he doesn't seem to have much energy.

So my question is..has ANYONE had anything like this happen to one of their lovely cats and what was the outcome?

I was told on the first day that Gizmo had a 50/50 chance of surviving this and of course I cried.
Since then though..the vet has said his chance of surviving is a bit better which I am very grateful to hear but I can't help feel gutted over this whole thing. I am one of those people who love their animals and consider them part of the "family" so I guess I am just trying to find someone who went thru the same thing and what the outcome was....


Sorry if this message is a bit of a mess but I am totally stressed and worn out over this whole thing as I don't want to lose my lovely Gizmo! I just want him well!!


A pic of him I took last month.

It is very important your cat eats. You said he hasn't eaten so far today. Can you buy a syringe and force feed him?

I'm so sorry that your baby is ill. He's a beauty. Cats are so good about hiding their illnesses. I don't know how long he has stopped eating but I have heard that fatty liver disease can be a secondary complication from something else (i.e. maybe from what is causing the fever?) . The best thing you can do is to keep your vet updated and follow the vet's advice. Sending many healing vibes for your Gizmo. Please keep us updated

Gizmo is a beautiful cat!! And Welcome to TCS!

My cat Arthur had an ultrasound and they found he had gall stones. Don't think this is pertinent to your Gizmo. Just when you said about the gall bladder thought I'd throw that out there.

It is important Gizmo eat. I fed my cat Beeba with a baby spoon, that was soft and did not hurt his gums. But I can't stress enough how important food is.

Sending vibes and prayers for your beautiful cat. We all know and can identify how having one of our cats sick, turns our world upside down.

For little Gizmo! I hope that everything turns out ok!

Thanks everyone for the welcome and get well wishes.

Gizmo is hanging in there. He won't really eat in his own so we have had to use a syringe and mixed some deluted tuna water with some Hills perscription A D wet food. Sat. he wouldn't move AT ALL and I made my husband call the vet hotline (when the vets are closed you call this number and they rate on if you need to see the emergency vet). What a joke that was. The women he spoke to just kept saying "Mhmm, Mhhmmm ok" after my husband would go into detail Gizmo's problems and how he was acting etc. It was making him (and me angry!) She seemed like one of those people who was forced to be on call that evening.
Anyways. She didn't tell us anything new to try and SHE was repeating what my husband already told her we were doing *sighs* which was giving him food thru a syringe. I HATE having to do this because it's me has to feed him most of the time as my husband holds him...I just use a soft, low voice saying something like "good boy, baby, hunny, or Gizmo" while I am doing it. I know it's for his own good but god I feel awful doing it!!

I stopped giving him 1 of the antibiotics called Baytril because I had a feeling it was that one that was making him feel so weak (more than he is) and low and behold...he is a bit more alert this morning.
The reason I did this is the same thing happened to me a few yrs when I took an antibiotic..it made me feel very weak and I didn't want to eat or drink either! Heck..one of the side-effects was "anorexia". I don't know about you folks but I never saw the point in why they put out some of the medicines when in the end they seem to do more damage then good!

I can't help but be very stressed over this..if I could give a yr or 2 off my life so that Gizmo would be back to his normal self. I would. Where is that Jeanie in a bottle when one needs it!

Sorry for my long "vents" and I reallllly hope no one goes thru anything like this anytime soon (would prefer never).

Take care.

Where you able to get in touch with his vet today?

Originally Posted by My4LLMA

Where you able to get in touch with his vet today?

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Yes, thanks for asking. Spoke to the vet and she said it was ok to stop to stop with Baytril as this was given just as an extra antibiotic but the most important one she says is the other one which he seems deal with way better than the other stuff. I'm glad I stopped it when I did. She also said the most important thing is that he is getting food/fluids (which we have been doing). She also gave us a new medicine that we can try..it's actually for humans and it has something to do with...opening the gallbladder ducts. She said only give this to him if he continues to not eat on his own.

On a better note...Gizmo has eaten on his own today!! In the morning..I had to give him some food via syringe (to take with his medicine) but an hour later..I just got this feeling to see if he would eat some of the Hills wet food on his own and guess what..he did! He ate 2 teaspoons full and was actually cleaning himself and even a little purring went on too. He has been more alert today and just ate a little wet food on his own...just a few mins ago. Now he is grooming and a purring softly. It's not like he ate a whole can but it's a great start for him.
Soooo this has been a great day so far and I ONLY HOPE that things will get better for my sweet kitty.

my own cat has been sick too and has IBD issues so I alway panic when he shows signs of illness. I tried the pedialyte with him and had good results there the vet says it's good to give them if they've been somewhat dehydrated.

Originally Posted by farshawn

My cat was sick,,, i took it to the vet. today he was vomiting all the time,,,http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...it.html?cat=53

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This article has no bearing on the OP's circumstances. The cat has already been taken to a vet, making the point of the article moot. Also, citing a source from associatedcontent.com (and citing it in every post you've made) isn't really solid advice to be giving. Especially since the person has no credibility as a vet (or anything else from what I can tell).

Originally Posted by rad65

This article has no bearing on the OP's circumstances. The cat has already been taken to a vet, making the point of the article moot. Also, citing a source from associatedcontent.com (and citing it in every post you've made) isn't really solid advice to be giving. Especially since the person has no credibility as a vet (or anything else from what I can tell).

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IMHO that's a Spambot - all his posts are the same.

Gizmo, get well sweetie. We are all pulling for you.

Originally Posted by Carolina

IMHO that's a Spambot - all his posts are the same.

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Lol I see that now that all the posts are gone, and I appear to be chastizing thin air

I know when you call the emergency vets in my area after hours, they are nothing more than an answering service so the employees are just writing down what you are telling them and don't really work for a vet's office. My kitties are sensitive to some medications. Maybe that was bothering his stomach??? Still eager to hear more about Gizmo and his health.

Originally Posted by captiva

I know when you call the emergency vets in my area after hours, they are nothing more than an answering service so the employees are just writing down what you are telling them and don't really work for a vet's office. My kitties are sensitive to some medications. Maybe that was bothering his stomach??? Still eager to hear more about Gizmo and his health.

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Well...here in Norway almost everything is different when it comes to humans AND pets. They don't even have animal shelters and I swear...if I won the lotto and became a millionare...it'd be one of the first things on my list to do here! Seeing all these homeless cats, walking the streets etc. breaks my heart.

As far as the vet call..in the past we had spoke to someone who was "on call" because each weekend the local vets take a weekend and handle all the emergency calls, visits etc.

In the states it would much easier to just go to a vet as I used to live down the street from a vet who was open 24 hrs a day but like with most things in the country...most things shut down early on Sat and don't even think about anything being open on a Sunday (except gas stations). I may sound a little bitter but moving to this country has it's up's n downs for me. I soooo miss the variety the US (and even the UK) has compaired to us.

As far as Gizmo...he was a naughty boy and ran outide lastnight and was out til 5 this morning! He has been in for a week now and I guess he needed some fresh air but I was so worried...but he seems to be doing better and he is eating all by himself now. and getting his appetite back because he ate a whole can of food within 2 hrs. It's amazing..this time last week he was at deaths door and now it seems with each hour he is slowly getting better. Cats are tough yet beautiful animals (big and small). As I always say...cats are people too

I'm glad to hear that he's all better!