Outside Kitty is Sick - URI + ?

Hubby and I noticed a buff and white adult cat hanging around our driveway/deck area about a month ago. Hubby always tried to talk to him and pet him but the kitty (who we now call Mike) was never overly friendly. As time passed, it was clear to us that Mike was very, very sick, but we couldn't get close to him so there was nothing we could do. Last week sometime, Mike finally warmed up enough to let us pet him and it was immediately like a flood gate had opened and he purrs and purrs and purrs and is crazy friendly. Hubby was kind of attached so one day while he was at work, I took Mike to the vet. I had no problem getting him into the cat carrier at all...weird! They tested for FIV and leukemia and both were negative. His belly was very swollen (hubby and I at first thought he was a pregnant female) and the vet said this could be a sign of FIP. She took his temperature and it was normal - she said FIP almost always presents with a fever - so that's a negative for FIP as well. She said the large belly is probably a symptom of worms, so she gave him a dewormer. He also got a rabies shot and Revolution for his terrible ear mites, fleas, and ticks. She also gave him an antibiotic shot (can't remember the name) that she said would last for 2 weeks and hopefully take care of his URI. He had goopy eyes (still has tear stains on his white face) but his biggest problem was a terribly snotty nose. His whole nose was irritated due to it being so snotty for so long. Very chapped and what not.

This was last Tuesday (1 week ago) that I took him to the vet. Almost immediately his nose started looking better. It still looks better, but improvement seems to have plateaued. His ears I would say are 100% normal - so the revolution worked for his ear mites. His fur looks much better, so I think if he had fleas, they are gone or headed that way. But his belly is still big and swollen. Shouldn't the worms be gone now? Was her negative diagnosis for FIP wrong? 

Hubby and I found a kitten (named River) on our way to our wedding in October. That was his first cat and my first pet of any kind, ever. We got a shelter kitten (Miles) as a playmate for River in November. Hubby is becoming attached to Mike though, and if he is well, we would like to bring him inside. But River and Miles are both happy and healthy and we don't want to bring any life threatening sickness into the house. So...since we're new to this whole cat thing, I guess my questions are: How long does it usually take to recover from a URI? Is this plateau Mike has hit in his recovery normal? How about the big belly thing? Should it be gone by now or do worms take longer than that to get rid of? Is there a definitive diagnosis for FIP so we know for sure before bringing Mike inside?

Thanks for any help I've come across this forum many times when googling other kitty issues...not sure why I never signed up til now!

You are very wise to not bring Mike around your other kitties until you are sure he is ok. FIP is very hard to diagnose, it is usually based on ruling out other things. Worms can take some time to go away. Most of the time a dewormer is done twice- once to kill the active worms and again several weeks later to kill the eggs that were unable to be killed the first time. 

It is possible that other people have been feeding Mike without treating him and that he got fat that way- eating cheap crunchies. I would telephone the vet and leave a message about his tummy still being swollen and asking whether he needs another dewormer and if so what kind and how far apart between wormings. 

If Mike has the wet variety of FIP, in which the most obvious sign in the later stages is a swollen belly, it should be obvious to the vet that his abdomen is fluid filled. Once they reach that stage cats go downhill rapidly. Actually, the wet kind of FIP takes cats very quickly overall.  That would lead me to think Mike might have something else going on. When the vet palpated Mike's abdomen, did she make any remarks about the way the distention felt?  As Barb said, he may have been a good scrounger for years and simply got rather overweight; I've seen this happen to strays also.

Even when Mike is over his URI, he could carry the virus that caused it in the first place - calici, herpes, for instance can be carried for life and be passed on to other cats. If that is happening, it can present as a persistently low-level snotty nose and goopy eyes. Not that I wouldn't like to see Mike, after all his travails, settled into a cozy home.

Your current pair of cats would have been exposed to many viruses before they were rescued so perhaps they have developed a resistance to viruses and can share a home with Mike. It's a gamble which your vet might help you assess.
 

Thank you both for your responses!

I'm going to hope then, that since it's been a week since Mike got his antibiotics and his condition is improving rather than degrading, that he does not have wet FIP. I don't recall the vet commenting on the "feel" of Mike's big belly - just that she said she hoped it was worms. He is going back to the vet next week and at that point we'll get further instructions on what to do with him. Just from the first time we saw him up close, his belly was just so abnormally large, but yet you can easily feel his hips and shoulders...it's just that hanging belly in the middle that's so big. He weighed 13.6 pounds at the vet with the tiny cat carrier - either way, that strikes me as pretty large for a sick stray. I suppose that cats, like people, can all carry their weight in different ways though, and you're right about it being possible that he's getting cheap noms from a neighbor that are bulking him up. If worms take 2 treatments to get rid of then maybe we'll just assume for now that that's what he has. I just thought worms were very quickly treated with meds and that after a week (now) he should have lost the belly. 

At this point, Mike's nose is still goopy, but it looks better today than it did yesterday (after a 4 day plateau of looking about the same), so we're hoping that the quality wet food we've been feeding him has been helping his body fight the infection better. 

Glad to see you thinking more positively about Mike. You are right, some cats carry their weight in different parts of the body, much like people. We will hope it is still worms (which do need a second treatment  as Barb said) and cheap grub.

Yes, that good food will help him a great deal. Have you thought of putting Lysine on his food to bolster his immune system? The shelter gives me syringes of it in a gloopy format so I can just swirl it on top of my sick foster's wet food. She really likes it, though generally a very fussy eater, and laps that up first .
 

Just read your post about Lysine - I actually have no idea what that is (first time pet owner here, although if that's a common human drug I'll feel silly...lol). 

On another note, Mike's nose is still looking good. Okay, not good. Just better than it did 10 days ago. A lot better. I snapped some pics while outside watering him in the 90 degree weather today. I did notice that in the pics it looks like the top of his nose is sore too - it's not - it's just that he happens to have an orange/buff spot right there on his white face and it looks a little odd in the pics.







Another note to add that...if you see any weird colors on him - red, blue, pink, orange, green...the neighbor's kids were used sidewalk chalk and Mike rolled around in it. A lot. It's mostly gone by now but I think you can still see a couple spots in one of pics!

Mike's nose is looking even better today, but you can hear that he's still all clogged up in his chest/lungs. Poor guy. I hope he gets past that too. I called and made a vet appointment for him on Monday - that will be 2 weeks since he was first there and that's when the vet recommended we bring him back for more Revolution and possibly more antibiotics. He's going to be able to see the same vet too which is great since she'll be able to gauge his progress. (It's a multi-vet clinic.) We don't actually have a vet we call "ours" just yet. We originally took our kitties to one that's literally RIGHT down the road from us which is very convenient since we don't have to lug them long distances. But he seems like a backwoods country vet and I'm just not convinced I really like him. This other place seems much more professional and current on things, but it's a 45 min drive which is a long stresser for the kitties.

Simka said:

If Mike has the wet variety of FIP, in which the most obvious sign in the later stages is a swollen belly, it should be obvious to the vet that his abdomen is fluid filled. Once they reach that stage cats go downhill rapidly. Actually, the wet kind of FIP takes cats very quickly overall.  That would lead me to think Mike might have something else going on. When the vet palpated Mike's abdomen, did she make any remarks about the way the distention felt?  As Barb said, he may have been a good scrounger for years and simply got rather overweight; I've seen this happen to strays also.

Even when Mike is over his URI, he could carry the virus that caused it in the first place - calici, herpes, for instance can be carried for life and be passed on to other cats. If that is happening, it can present as a persistently low-level snotty nose and goopy eyes. Not that I wouldn't like to see Mike, after all his travails, settled into a cozy home.

Your current pair of cats would have been exposed to many viruses before they were rescued so perhaps they have developed a resistance to viruses and can share a home with Mike. It's a gamble which your vet might help you assess.
 

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Just another point about calici. Not only do some cats carry it for life but even if you vaccinate against it all it does is minimize the severity of the symptoms. Cats can still get it, we found out the hard way. The rescue we adopted had it, the vet didn't tell us that our other cat could get it and he had been vaccinated and he still got sick.

Awwww Mike looks like the sweetest ever boy!! I'm very glad you are taking him back to the vet. He does still look ill. Some of these illnesses cat be very pervasive and it sounds like his is one of those super strains of upper respiratory. You could ask the vet to give him a shot of b12 so he can better absorb nutrients, and ask her if she has any nutrient-rich food to add to his existing diet.

She probably gave him a shot of covenia which is a controversial antibiotic, but does make perfect sense for an outdoor kitty. 

I'm not sure why she would give him more revolution, since the dose she gave him already should take care of his fleas etc. instantly, no matter how bad they are, and should last for at least 5 weeks. He should have another worming, with a worm-specific medication, not another revolution. If she wants to give him more revolution, I would ask why. 

Also, most vets do not give a rabies, distemper etc. shots when a cat is already ill, because their immune system is already fighting the existing illness. If she tries to give any booster shots I would tell her to wait until he is better from his existing URI and do it then. 

Orange kitties normally have a little crust around their eyes and nose, altho Mike's looks URI-related. If you can get a damp wash cloth and wipe him, he might feel a little better. As long as he has a really good appetite, the URI should clear up. I would be most concerned watching his food intake and water intake especially in hot weather and with the URI.

We did take Mike back to the vet yesterday. She said his nose looks much better, and we agree. Although he did get upset in the carrier on the way to the vet and made his nose bleed trying to escape. He's still wheezing like crazy though, so the vet said she suspects he has a polyp. I'm not familiar with these at all - does anyone have any experience with them? The soonest we could get him in with our work schedules is next Monday (so 6 more days) and they're going to sedate him, look for the polyp, remove it if it's there, and try to clean his teeth a bit. She did give him another dose of the convenia since it did improve his condition last time and he didn't have any bad reactions to it. She wants to give him another dose of Revolution on Monday when we take him back because apparently it doesn't kill the fleas that are in the "caccoon" stage (I know there's a real word for that, but I'm too tired to think of it). Also worms that were in the egg stage last time too said said. She gave him a rabies shot when we originally went in 2 weeks ago, but no other boosters yet - she hasn't mentioned them at all actually.

But the best news was:

She said Mike was safe to bring inside with our other kitties! She said we should keep him isolated and let them meet through the door and what not. And not to let them eat from the same bowls just yet. So Mike has been living in our bathroom since yesterday. We got him his own little litter box in there, which he used right away, and his own food bowls. He does have a very healthy appetite despite being sick. The thing is, Mike has already been meeting our kitties through the front door for 2 weeks while he was living on our porch/deck. When we would come in/out they would all see each other and act interested. So I've actually already let Mike out of the bathroom for short periods of time to interact with the other kitties. It's very odd though...River hisses at him, but makes no aggressive moves like to hurt him. And he purrs at her. And then she gets a little confused, moves closer, and hisses louder. Then Mike will purr more, and maybe even flop down on the floor and roll around purring. And Miles, our neutered male, is scared to death of Mike, despite the fact that Mike does nothing but purr. Honestly, most of the time, Mike acts like he doesn't even know there are other cats around. Miles and River are both approximately the same age (almost a year now) and we got them both last fall when they were kittens. Has anyone ever seen a cat just purr like crazy when introduced to others? Even when they are hissing at him, he just purrs. I kind of wish he would just bop River in the face or something, cuz I think then she would knock it off and shape up. It's just weird how happy he is even when she's hissing at him...he doesn't seem to mind at all and will just walk away from her if he gets tired of it.

Yay! I'm so glad Mike can be inside with your family! He is absolutely gorgeous and I can see why you all are so in love with him. 

Yes a polyp is a little growth that is common in the nasal passage, it can cause irritation and sneezing. That may be why she wants to get in there and remove it. I would make sure he is feeling better before her doing a polyp removal unless it is causing him a huge amount of irritation. 

Here is the link for Revolution. http://www.1800petmeds.com/Revolution-prod10265.html  It is to be applied topically once a month. It should continue to work for a month, killing any fleas or ticks that emerge from the cocoon stage. Anything that appears on your cat from the last treatment until one month later should be killed. And actually it will probably be fine for even 5 weeks although the company would like you to buy more sooner lol. If a month has elapsed then it is fine to treat him, but if it is less than a month, that is a little too much medication for your boy, especially given that he is sick. I am a little bit surprised that the doctor would put that on him again so soon. I understand he is outside but it isn't a one-time thing and it goes into his bloodstream and remains there. That is the only reason I would not give him another dose until it is time, bc he would be overdosed and he is already immune-compromised by his URI. 

On the Convenia shot, you need to know that most antibiotic shots for cats are meant to last two weeks. Don't let your vet over-treat your boy, there is definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing. The shot is given instead of the daily medication. He could get sick from the medicine itself, both the convenia and the revolution. http://fdlibrary.yuku.com/topic/160...hot-dangers-and-warnings?page=-1#.T-qchLWvLTo

I hope this helps. I'm sure your vet has had a lot of success, maybe she is more dog-oriented. Cats can be dicey with medicine, I would proceed with caution and don't let her give him the revolution unless it has been a full month since his initial dose. 

Awwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT a wonderful thing you and your DH are doing for Mike! I've fallen in love with your beautiful boy already! :lol3:

Having worked with a lot of kitties like this over the years, here are my thoughts.

Revolution is good for most internal parasites and ear mites, but it doesn't treat tapeworm. We always treat rescued kitties for tapeworm, we just assume they've eaten a mouse or something that would give it to them. :nod: What the vet was explaining to you is that the poisons used to kill internal parasites only kill them at various stages of their life cycle. So ANY dewormer needs to be applied several times, three weeks apart., and usually three treatments are needed to rid the kitty of the parasites in my experience. :nod: That three week interval accounts for their life cycle. The eggs have to become pupae, and those have to become adults, etc. NONE of the dewormers kill the eggs, thus the multiple treatments.

BUT Revolution is meant to be applied every month. It CAN be used every three weeks. When a kitty is indoor-only, first rescued, and the goal is ridding kitty of the worms (not for ongoing prevention in outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats), it is typically used every three weeks for three treatments or so. I've never heard of it being used every two weeks, that seems aggressive to me, especially since he's fighting the URI as well. And he probably ought to be treated with Droncit for tapeworm (this one only needs to be given once to kill tapeworm. :nod: ) Given he's already fighting the URI, I'd consider asking the vet if you can take the Revolution home with you so you can apply it the third week after that last treatment. :nod:

Are there slugs where you live? We have slugs up here, and almost every kitty we've rescued has had lung worm. In some places it's not common, so it's not something that comes to mind for many vets, but it can happen. That can make for very raspy breathing - in fact, it would sound like a cold and/or asthma (and poor fella HAS a URI after all anyway). If he has lung worm, the only treatment for that is Ivomec (Ivermectin), which is usually an injection. Unfortunately, the only way to really tell if he has lung worm is an x-ray. I don't know if you want to pay for one, but if it looks on an x-ray like he has asthma, it may well be lung worm.

Of course, a polyp is also quite likely. I think you should go ahead with that procedure, especially because getting his teeth cleaned is important anyway. :nod:

Was blood work done? The profile of his blood would help the vet figure out with more certainty if the issue is FIP, even though everyone's pretty sure at this point it isn't. If he hasn't had blood work done, it's a real good idea to have it done anyway. :nod: It's always good to get a baseline if everything checks out fine, and if something's off, it helps point the vet in a direction. This is something we do every year for our kitties (and twice a year for the older cats) - it's the number one thing you can do to help catch problems before they're actual problems.


Herpes virus is VERY prevalent, and it's best just to assume he's got it. Since he's doing so much better with the antibiotic treatment, clearly there was also a bacterial infection as well. But as your other kitties are rescue kitties, it's actually probably a really good idea to put them ALL on lysine (and it can't hurt ).

Lysine is an amino acid, one that is water soluble (meaning it doesn't build up in their systems, so you don't need to worry about toxicity of the supplement). It has been shown in clinical studies to help reduce the replication of the herpes virus. It's also has an immune-boosting function. It REALLY helps cats fight the herpes virus (which never goes away), and helps prevent "flare-ups," which can happen for any number of reasons.

It's a white powder with no taste, and if you're feeding wet food, all you do is sprinkle it on top or mix it in. Most cats just eat it without noticing it's there. For every day "maintenance and prevention," you use 250mg; for your Mike, for the next few weeks or months, you'd use a "flare up" dose, which is 500mg - 1,000mg. Start at 500mg, and see how he does with it. For some kitties, it causes gastric upset. If it gives him diarrhea, then lower the dose, and see if he adjusts. If not, then you can't use it. But if it doesn't bother him, then increase it to 750mg for a few days, make sure he's OK at that level, then bump it to 1,000mg for a few weeks, and see how he does. :nod:

A couple of links for you:

http://www.holisticat.com/uri.html

And
1/4 teaspoon is about 500mg.


As Barb points out, it's a tough balance with a rescue kitty, figuring out priorities in treating things. Over-treatment can be a concern. It seems like a LOT for kitty, but getting rid of the parasites will help ease the burden on his immune system. So I know the addition of Droncit and the potential addition of Ivomec may be a lot.... but that's all the more reason I'd want to space at least that last Revolution treatments out to the third week. :nod:

I would definitely hold off on vaccinations until he's healthier, though the vet I think would recommend that. I don't know if you've seen this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245463/do-indoor-cats-really-need-vaccines But when it does come time for vaccinations, I'd discuss with the vet doing only rabies and distemper (which requires a 2nd shot after three weeks). I'd make sure they use the PureVax rabies vaccination (which reduces risk of injection-site sarcoma: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245720/how-long).


Please keep us posted! And vibes for Mike! !!!!

OH! About the introductions. :lol3: THAT IS TOO CUTE!!!!!! River is just letting him know she doesn't like him being in "her" space. That is totally normal. And Mike is letting her know he knows it's her space. :lol3: That is just terribly sweet! :heart2: Because Mike is SO non-aggressive, Miles will get over his fear.

I'd just focus on playing with them, and giving them treats and stuff. Get Miles and River associating Mike with fun and treats. Next time River hisses, tell her WHAT a good girl she is, standing up for her space, and give her a treat. THEN tell Mike what a sweetie he is, and give him a treat. Always give RIver and Miles the attention first, to reassure them they're still #1 in the pecking order of things. This will make them less defensive about Mike being there, as he poses no threat to them - either in their space or in your heart (no matter how you really feel. :lol3: ). AND Mike means more attention, more treats, and more play - and they get praise and treats and play before Mike does. :rub:

Oh sorry!! :anon: One more thing. Something else you can do to help support his immune system is put him on a probiotic. :nod: In fact - it's something I recommend be used for all cats, all the time. (All people too, in fact. :lol3: ). But at a minimum, it should be used with antibiotics.

Antibiotics kill ALL the gut flora. And there's all kinds of healthy gut flora we need. The GI system is the "gateway" to the immune system, and a healthy GI system is the number one thing we can do to help prevent disease or a stressed immune system. :nod: Canned or kibble cat food, just like highly processed human food, isn't "natural," and so it REALLY helps all of our systems to keep a healthy gut flora.

Any acidophilus supplement is good. What you're looking for is 10 billion active cultures. I use the same supplement for the cats that I use for Gary and I. We use Natural Factors acidophilus+bifidus. I get it from the refrigerated section at the health food store. But you don't need that one. If you want one just for the kitties, Proviable-DC is used and well liked by a lot of people and their kitties:
Again, just sprinkle it on their food once a day. Most cats like it.

*sigh* Not much improvement in the introduction process over the last couple of days. River still hisses at Mike every chance she gets. He mostly just purrs or stares at her like she's stupid. Although I did see him reach up to bat her in the head once. (She moved, he didn't actually hit her, and he didn't pursue her.) And Miles is still terrified of Mike. I'm trying to do what you said about getting them to associate Mike with good things like play and treats, but it's hard. Because of Mike's URI and polyp and who knows what else, his breathing is TERRIBLE. He wheezes constantly and gets very winded if he has to do any sort of running at all, so he's really not into playing at this time. I also think Mike's wheezing noises might be part of what's scaring my other kitties. He also can't meow. Not sure if that's because of his polyp or some other condition. He opens his mouth and you can tell he's trying to meow but no sound comes out, just air...and that kind of makes it sound like he's hissing, even though he's not. Hubby and I thought he was hissing at us for about a week when he first showed up outside, then we realized it's his mutated meow. So anyhow, it's possible that my kitties *think* Mike is hissing at them when he's not and are creeped out  by his odd body noises. I'm pretty patient about it, but hubby is getting worried that they're never going to get along since we haven't really made any progress at all since we started introductions.

Also Mike seems to be drinking an awful lot. Like twice as much as my other kitties. He is bigger than them, but still. He's eating almost all wet food, as are the other 2. Should I be worried about that or is it just cuz he's constantly leaking from his eyes and nose?

edit cuz I wanted to add: Hubby did find one particular ball that Mike likes to play with. Then he got out the laser pointer. The other cats went nuts, but Mike doesn't care about it at all. He doesn't even seem to follow it with his eyes. Could he have some kind of vision problem or is he, as an outside kitty, just not interested in such silly pursuits? On a side note, if the other cats are chasing the laser and I put it right near Mike, they won't go near it and they growl at it as if Mike has stolen their toy lol. Too funny.

If Mike is wheezing and winded, I think you are correct in not encouraging him to play more than he can deal with, since he is still recovering. On the laser thing, a lot of cats don't care about it. Some really love to chase the movement, and for others, if they can't smell it or hear it too, they are simply NOT interested LOL. 

As long as Mike is purring at the other kitties and not stalking or engaging them in any way, that is fine for introductions. Just give them all treats whenever they are in proximity to each other, especially your kitties, and make sure to pet them when they are in proximity to Mike, give them more attention than him when they are around him. They will feel worried that they are going to get less attention now that there is one more cat, they keep score on that stuff LOL, so just indulge them. 

Mike sounds like a regular outdoor kitty who leaves other cats alone- and Mike knows enough to know he is the newcomer, so as long as he is chill, your home should be in good shape for now. Just focus on getting him well! (Don't let the vet give him any more Convenia, it is a 2 week shot and just Mike needs time to clear out whatever he has).

It is fabulous that Mike is eating only wet food and lots of it, that is good for him. If it is grain-free, all the better. On the water, I would make sure and let the vet know. It is not because he is leaking from his eyes and nose. Maybe others have some thoughts on why he is drinking so much. (?) Diabetes is always a concern but I don't know, I would think the vet would have done a full blood panel when you first brought him in, esp with her testing for the other diseases and him being from outside. 

A lot of cats have a scratchy almost whisper meow, so if his never changes, that is fine too. If your vet has not X-rayed Mike, maybe that is a good idea to see if he has any fluid in his lungs, although if he doesn't have any temperature, I guess he's doing fine for now :-). I am SO glad you have this gorgeous personality boy in your home. He looks ecstatic to be with you :-) :-) :-) Post more pix if you have time!! 

Ahh, you guys have such good info here! Not sure if I said this already, but I had never owned a pet of any kind until I got married last October. (My parents were mean lol!) So alllll of this is new to me. I had no idea some cats didn't like laser pointers, that's so weird to me because both of mine go nuts over the things! I also didn't know that some cats have raspy meows, because both of mine have loud meows and they use them ALL the time! And I certainly didn't know anything about kitty blood panels and convenia and URI's and ear mites and all this scary kitty medical stuff! Thanks to you all for being so informative

To recap Mike's drug use: The first time he went to the vet, almost 3 weeks ago at this point, they gave him Revolution, a dewormer, rabies vaccine, and convenia.

-When we took him back 2 weeks later, he got another shot of convenia.

-He goes back in Monday morning and is scheduled to be sedated so they can look for a polyp and remove it if they find it. They also want to get a better look at his teeth and clean them. They're also going to put another dose of Revolution on him at this time - it will have been 3 weeks at this time. (Long story, but he's apparently had some kind of topical flea meds applied to his neck in the past and hated it, so when they went to give him his first dose at the vet, it took 4 of them to hold him down and get it on there properly!)

I realllly hope they find a polyp down there. Mike's breathing is absolutely terrible! At this point his eyes and nose look 100x better than they did when we first met, but his breathing sounds exactly the same. Don't get me wrong, his eyes do still water, and his nose is still snotty, and he still blows snot bubbles from time to time (lol) but the severity has been greatly reduced. Do you think it's still worth it to request a blood panel at this point? What would it tell me? (I'm completely unfamiliar...) Hubby is taking Mike to the vet on Monday (I have to be at work at 6am that day...eeek!) and he's not the assertive type, so it might be something I have to call and ask about on my own anyhow. 

I remember being where you are. I didn't know a thing about cats when we rescued our first kitty. In fact, TCS helped me through everything too! :lol3:

If Mike hasn't had a blood panel done already, definitely have it done!!! It's just like in humans - it tells the vet SO many things! Even if it says he's healthy and there's nothing going on, it's really good to have as a "baseline" for comparison in the future. :nod: Blood work should be done every year, actually, at an annual exam. :nod: It's the number one thing you can do for your cats to help detect problems/illness/disease before it progresses to the point that it's harder (or impossible ) to treat. :heart2:

Here - these may help.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/evr_dg_reading_the_blood_chemistry_panel#.T-5WA_VSTEc
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Health/Blood-Urine-Tests.html
More detail about the tests: http://www.petplace.com/cats/understanding-blood-work-the-biochemical-profile-for-cats-2/page1.aspx

But yes, the drinking water should be mentioned. It can be a sign of kidney problems, diabetes... or ???????? He may just be a kitty that likes drinking water. :dk:

As to your DH being concerned about the kitties.... I think things are going great, actually. :lol3: Cats are SO not dogs. Cats are VERY territorial, and it can take quite a while for kitties to figure out how to share the same space. They may well end up becoming friends! But it can take a while. That they are not fighting or having "tiffs" trying to figure out who is "top cat" means they'll work things out sooner or later. I completely agree with BarbB on this one. :nod: Mike sounds like a streetwise kitty who is really calm about this, and your other two will eventually accept him.

One of our girls takes MONTHS to stop hissing at a new kitty. The last introduction we had, it took her six months to stop hissing. But she was never aggressive, and the other kitty just ignored her, so we didn't worry about it - just gave her lots of love and play. :rub:

Alrighty, so Mike is going back to the vet Monday morning. They are checking for a polyp, removing it if it's there, and cleaning his teeth. On the paperwork they gave me to fill out, there's a list of all the procedures I can have done on him and I'm supposed to check off the boxes for which ones I want. These are the relevant options:

Bloodwork Option 1: Mini-chemistry - 5 chemistry screenings (liver and kidneys) and complete blood count $42.50

Bloodwork Option 2: Complete Wellness Profile - 17 chemistry screenings, CBC, Thyroid, electrolytes $89

Fecal Exam for Internal Parasites $16

Electrocardiogram to assess heart rate and rhythm $24.25

Which ones of these do I need to go with? I can make it work financially, but it's making me cringe a little! We've already spent a pretty chunk of change on Mike and I'm sure the anesthesia and polyp removal won't be cheap, let alone all these possible add-ons...

Also, do those prices seem to be in the range of reasonable? 

I have NO IDEA what an electrocardiogram costs, but that seems like an incredibly reasonable price. The other blood work numbers are right in line with what we pay here.

I'd go for the Bloodwork Option #2, the complete wellness screening. :nod:

As you're treating him for parasites, I wouldn't bother. As to the electrocardiogram, that's only if a heart problem is suspected. You might want to attach a note to the paperwork to have Mike as for the vet's opinion on whether or not to have one done, but not check the box now. :nod: