What should I do for my cat with feline uveitis who just stopped eating/drinking?

catgirl527

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My cat Nicky is a 3 year old Maine Coon who has always been in perfect health. On Fri, I came home and found him hiding and when I looked at him, he had redness to his eye and was barely able to open his eye. I rushed him to the vet ER and they diagnosed him with uveitis, administered Atropine but that made him vomit, so they did not prescribe it.

Yesterday I followed up with my regular vet but Nicky was still seeming ok besides his eye looking bad. He was again diagnosed with uveitis and iritis and prescribed Prednisone for his eyes. He tested negative for leukemia and AIDS. The dr suspected toxoplasmosis although haven't confirmed that yet - but prescribed Clindamycin for that.

Yesterday when we got back from the vet, he was fine..playing, eating/drinking, running around. After I gave him his second dose of predisone, his eye seemed really bothered by it and I started to see his third eyelid. The dose of clindamycin made him gag, although he did not throw up, but almost vomited a few times. I let him be for the night because he curled up to sleep. When I woke up this morning, he was in the kitchen sitting there with his eyes wide open. When I attempted to pet him, he moved away and went into hiding. He hasn't eaten or drank anything as far as I have seen and refuses treats, which he always eats right up. I have already spent over $500 in vet bills over the past two days and unfortunately my regular vet is closed since it is Sunday, so I would have no recourse except the emergency vet.

I am wondering - should I give him the Clindamycin even though it appears to make him nauseous and may be contributing to not eating (or it also may be that his eye has lost the effect of atropine and is now very painful)...

Is it ok for him to go a day without eating or drinking? I am going to go out and get some baby food and see if that will help him. I also could give him water in a dropper, but that is also aversive to him because that is how i administer the clindamycin.

I was planning on trying to keep him comfortable today and take him first thing to the vet tomorrow, because I actually trust them instead of putting him through the ER. Do you think this is ok?
 

kas

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They need to do bloodwork and test for the toxoplasmosis, not just guess that it's what he has. Also, have them check his gamma globulins. We just lost our precious Abby to FIP and the uveitis was the first clue. We ruled out everything else that can cause it. Do this quickly and if his globulins are high, have your vet send the paperwork to Dr. Legendre at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. They are making great strides with the dry form of FIP. Abby just got into the study too late. Be pushy about it.
 
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