Please help! Sick kitty after vet visit for ear infection and FVCRP

A little over a month ago I took my 11 year old cat, Precious to the vet for ear problems. She was scratching them constantly-has always done so and the vet said she had an ear infection. She has always had her ears bother her on and off and has been to the vet many times for this. Three different vets have all said she is allergic to her food- and I know this is terrible that I am just now learning about the raw food diet. I guess I never thought it was a problem, because she has never been sick and always a very happy, playful, ornery cat even up to a month ago. She has NEVER been feeling "down" before.

This last time (a month ago) the vet gave her two different oral meds and administered a cream med inside her ears to stop the itching, along with the vaccine. Ever since then she has been "off" and has become somewhat deaf. She seems to be able to hear a little better now, but acts as if she has the vestibular syndrome-walks in circles, tilted head, unbalanced, and doesn't eat her normal dry cat food. Second visit to the vet, he said if she had an inner ear infection, this is normal and she should return to herself with time-since she is older. I finally got her to eat wet cat food, but then that turned into just licking the gravy off the food chunks and doesn't drink water. Vet says the gravy has some water in it, so she isn't becoming completely dehydrated. I am not happy with this answer.

Over the last week, she has become progressively better and has been playing a little (biting me, tearing up all my important papers, etc.) I could tell there was some of her normal self coming back. One morning last week, I woke up, saw vomit on the floor and found her in the closet. She wouldn't eat or drink anything, and was very lethargic. When I picked her up she was lifeless and cried in what sounded like pain, still purring lightly when I pet her and moved her tail a little. I took her back in to the vet and she had a 104.2 fever. She was very dehydrated also, so he kept her there for 4 days, ran blood work and said everything came back fairly normal. She was a little anemic, but the rest of the lab work looked okay. After visiting her every day, along with my two calls a day, the vet said she was eating the wet food more and she seemed to be doing much better. To me, she did look better- she was crying telling me to take her home and rubbing against me the whole time I was there.

I brought her home today and I still see she is not her normal self. Her ears and paws are warmer than normal and I am wondering if she still has a fever. I am worried this is something completely different than the past ear infection. Maybe an adverse reaction to the vaccine?

The thing that is most concerning to me is that even with her occasional itching once a day, she was perfectly happy- would run up and down the stairs like a kitten and was constantly playing and "talking" to me. Now, she is very quite, won't eat her normal dry food and is still very lethargic.

Please, if anyone has experienced anything similar-I would love to hear!!! Thank you in advance-to whomever read through this long post!!!

You might want to consider, taking her to another vet. This shouldn't be going on this long, kinda like a person having to keep taking their car back in, because it is still not right.

What blood work did they do? Did they do a CBC and Wellness blood panel?
It should have been sent to Antech or Idexx, and not, done in house (at the vets). What values are not normal? They should have given you a copy of the results, all they do is photocopy it, and you should keep it for your records.
The blood panel would show what the normal value range is, and what her values are. Any values that are too high or too low, need to be address, coupled with what signs she is exhibiting, and, they have specialists at Antech, that work with your vet, to help determine diagnosis and treatment.

Did the vet take a swab of the gunk in her ears? Did he "slide" it? Did he look in her ear, with the flashlight thingy?

Just licking the gravy off, is NOT enough, to keep her from getting dehydrated, it concerns me, that a vet would tell you this, another reason, you might want to consider another vet. Being dehydrated, would cause her not to feel well, and not want to eat.

I would take her to another vet, insist on a CBC and Wellness blood panel, and insist, it be sent to Antech. I would also insist on an x-ray, to see what is going on inside, to see the reason for her throwing up, is there a blockage, are her intestines inflammed, does it show anything that is not normal. Tell the vet to then get on the phone with Antech, to help, determine the diagnosis and treatment. Dr De Pinto is a good specialist to talk to, she is in Wash DC.

Look for a vet that is AAHA accredited. Here is a link to help you find one.
Best of luck.

http://www.healthypet.com/Accreditat...talSearch.aspx

Get her to a different vet.
I also have a kitty who has constant ear issues. She really can't hear when she has a problem. It sounds like your girl still has issues. A fever is a sign of infection. And she's not acting right so you know that something is still wrong. It's more than ok to get another opinion. It's your baby after all.

The ear thing could be a yeast infection and/or blockage from allergies. If her ear canals are swelling due to the allergies, the body can't flush out all the gunk (dead skin cells and ear wax) and it can become clogged. I would take her to a different vet and ask for a culture of her ear and have them look in her ear with a scope that shows the pic on a screen, not the hand held device most will use.

Also, she most likely has airborne allergens and that's what's going on with the ears. If she had food allergies, you'd likely be seeing other signs of a reaction on her skin, face, and such.

The fever and such she experienced after the FVCRP could be a reaction to that, and this needs to be addressed by a vet as well. Also, consider not giving her the FVCRP in the future, especially if she's had one every year you've owned her. She probably has enough antibodies in her system by now to ward off any of those diseases, especially if she doesn't go outside, you don't foster, and you're not planning on bringing in a new kitty to your home.

Hi BlueDallas,

Thanks so much for your words. Yes, they did an Antech-Feline Cat Scan Plus. I am not sure about the CBC or Wellness Panel, as I did not get a copy of the results-which I will be asking for. He did look at her ears with the flashlight/scope, but again, not sure if he examined it. He did clean out quite a bit though.

As for the food, she will not eat anything else, so my vet recommended gradually adding in another food. I have done this with EVO wet food, which she seems to not mind too much; although, she is still very picky. I switched to bottled water and she has been drinking much more. Go figure...

Thanks again, I am very much considering a second opinion. Although my current vet is the best in the state and Purdue Veterinary School/Hospital contacts him when they can't figure something out. If she was slowly getting into her "old age" before all of this, I would think that it is more normal, but like I said, she had so much energy constantly.

Originally Posted by Ligwa

Get her to a different vet.
I also have a kitty who has constant ear issues. She really can't hear when she has a problem. It sounds like your girl still has issues. A fever is a sign of infection. And she's not acting right so you know that something is still wrong. It's more than ok to get another opinion. It's your baby after all.

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Thanks so much! She seems better; her paws and ears are not warm anymore. Maybe something to do with coming home from the vet that day?

Originally Posted by stephanietx

The ear thing could be a yeast infection and/or blockage from allergies. If her ear canals are swelling due to the allergies, the body can't flush out all the gunk (dead skin cells and ear wax) and it can become clogged. I would take her to a different vet and ask for a culture of her ear and have them look in her ear with a scope that shows the pic on a screen, not the hand held device most will use.

Also, she most likely has airborne allergens and that's what's going on with the ears. If she had food allergies, you'd likely be seeing other signs of a reaction on her skin, face, and such.

The fever and such she experienced after the FVCRP could be a reaction to that, and this needs to be addressed by a vet as well. Also, consider not giving her the FVCRP in the future, especially if she's had one every year you've owned her. She probably has enough antibodies in her system by now to ward off any of those diseases, especially if she doesn't go outside, you don't foster, and you're not planning on bringing in a new kitty to your home.

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That is interesting about the swelling of ear canals. Thanks, I will have to ask him. When you mention airborne allergens, what examples? I constantly am cleaning my house... I was also thinking about climate. Very bad allergies in my area, but then when we lived down in FL, she had the exact same issues. I have heard about cats being allergic to their own dander, but not sure how true this is. What would one do if there were swelling of the ear canals? Again, interesting about the skin rashes I keep hearing about...

With regards to the FVCRP, she had gotten the vaccine only twice in her life. I know, this is bad. She has always been an indoor cat and is never around any other animals. She is an only child and wants to keep it that way! I was reading however about older cats who receive the vaccine and how it can sort of put their bodies into shock if they haven't been up to date with them in the past. In my thinking, (although, I could be completely off) since she hasn't had the shot since a kitten and has never been sick all of these 11 years, she must have built up enough antibodies to keep her healthy (w/ the exception of the ears).

Cats are susceptible to airborne allergens just like we humans are. I have a cat that gets watery eyes and starts sneezing when the weather patterns change seasonally and when the wind blows from a different direction. My Callie girl used to scratch her ears and rub her eyes raw when the seasons changed. The vet put them both on an antihistamine to help with that.

I'm not a huge fan of vax after the initial time given, so you won't be getting a "talking to" from me. Thankfully, I've found a good vet who doesn't think it's necessary to give vaccinations yearly.

Yeah, that is a great point I need to bring up to my vet about seasons. I do however, need to start logging when they are bothering her the most-which I'm sure would be beneficial.

I have mixed feelings about the vaccines-I have read/watched many bits about administering to older cats who are not used to receiving them. Just as I read your "...talking to..." made me a little nervous-anticipating those comments from others who strongly believe in them...

After stumbling across your sad story and reading it, I must send my condolences! I hope you find a caring vet who knows how to care for your Precious. Nobody should get paid for not putting care into what they do.