Our 5 year old Maine coon is sick.

This morning she was in the same spot as I left her last night on our porch swing.  

She was outside, I picked her up and she howled as if in pain, put her down and scuttled across the floor with her back arched high as if she was in agony.  She hid behind the couch.  I had to move the sofa, and picked her up carefully to examined her. no broken bones, but she had fecal matter on her behind. I tried to clean her up. She was in agony.  Poor kitty. I took her to the vet. He thought it was intestinal or something like that. The vet gave her IV of fluids to help even though she wasn't dehydrated. Gave her steroid shot with antibiotics.  She is still hiding.  I am worried...wondering if she is dying.  I have her confined to one room with food, water, and litter box.  She hasn't moved from her hiding spot. She liked being petted as long as I stayed away from her stomach.  

This has never happened before - I feel so sad that she is hurting. I keep wondering if I should of had the vet do more tests.  

It doesn't look good, this is my daughter's cat, we got it for her when she was diagnosed with diabetes to help her cope, this little cat always sleeps with my daughter even wakes her up when she is low.  Such a good friend and pet.

Hi.... Hummm... The vet didn't do any x-rays?
Just gave her antibiotics and steroids without any diagnosis?
Yeah.... There is no way to know - she could been hit by a car for example, and have internal injuries - you can't see that :dk:
It is very very sad that your vet just sent you home like that
I wouldn't gone....... IMHO this kitty needs to go back in ASAP for x-rays and blood tests. This is not good

I would also add doing an ultrasound to catch what an x-ray won't. I would insist on full lab work, too--blood and urine.

I can't believe your vet sent her home like this. Antibiotic without knowing if it is an infection? Steroid--for what purpose but to mask any problems that are going on? IV fluids? No physical exam to check for broken bones or a bite from something? No scans of any sort? Sorry, this just is no way to treat a kitty that is clearly in pain.

Maybe find a different vet?

to you; hope you get some answers ASAP.

Sounds like she needs further testing.  If you can, get her to an ER vet ASAP.
 

please get your baby to the vet! i waited, and I paid the ultimate price..the loss of my best pal Taco 2 days ago! Apparently so many signs that I just freaking didnt see....my poor baby when I finally realized how sick he was, was already hypothermic, (90+ degrees still in Tx) as a result of being in kidney failure...which brought about the congestive heart failure that claimed his life while they were prepping him for a chest tap...so please have extensive diagnostic profiles done...ie complete blood work, urine analysis, these steps in addition to xrays and eckos are vital! I cannot stress to you enough had I taken my cat only 18 hrs prior would he possibly have lived? who knows but the NOT knowing is the guilt I suffer everday now...I will be getting all Tacos results etc from the vet tom. and would be happy to share anything I find in his "numbers"....I was so clueless before..thought he just had a lil cold or allergies....I couldnt have been more wrong and now the world is minus one great lil cat! I havent slept much in the 2 days since losing Taco but I have scoured the internet about anything and everything related to kidney and heart disease, pleural effusion, cardiac arrhythmis, azomtemia, etc... so that maybe Tacos death can save another cats life with this vast amount of  knowledge I learned unfortunately too late...Good luck to you...ps..i think giving steriods without knowing the underlying cause could be risky according to what ive read, as with humans sometimes pets need a 2nd opinion...

I should also add Taco was part calico part Maine Coon..these cats are genetically predisposed for kidney probs...if interested I can share tidbits of things I learned the past 2 days...again, best of luck!!!
 

ak12taco said:

I should also add Taco was part calico part Maine Coon..these cats are genetically predisposed for kidney probs...if interested I can share tidbits of things I learned the past 2 days...again, best of luck!!!
 

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Thanks, I would be interested in that.  I still have her in my daughters room, she did eat and drink and use the litter box.  Just number 1, no  # 2s.  I have another appointment for Monday.  I have been checking in on her.  She made it to my daughter's bed and slept most of the night.  She  was sitting in the window seat so she must be doing better if she is jumping.  Gave 2nd round of antibiotics.

Food disappeared.  I am crossing my fingers.

What are signs of a bladder infection?  What should I watch for?  How do they collect a urine sample to test for that?

 It is Sunday and the VET is closed.  I will call tomorrow.  Her anal glands were plugged and the vet expressed them.  I wonder if she has been ill longer and just hid it from us.  She goes in for regular check ups.   btw- I did take her immediately to the vet way before I posted.

I didn't know they did ultrasounds on cats.  

My maine coon is mixed with a short hair tabby. 

I forgot to say she was purring too...that must be a good sign right?!

Insist on those tests! If she gets any worse tonight please bring her to the ER. this is serious business! She could have a blockage and all those toxins building up are doing damage. 

Bigblue said:

I forgot to say she was purring too...that must be a good sign right?!

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I'm really sorry to say this, but cats can purr when very ill.

I'm hoping in this case she's purring as she's feeling better.  I agree with finnlacy, though. You need to know what is going on.

excessive drinking....lack of appetite...poor coat (lack of shine)...lethargy....hard to say...depends on the severity of the infection Im told...

ive googled and searched and binged and i wish i wish i wish i knew then what i know now in just 2 days....its just horrible the reasons that brought me to learn....i started with maine coons and kidney problems..wikipedia..then another page and another and another...

it seems the more they drink the more dehydrated they become when they have CKD...chronic kidney disease...and as the toxins build up more and more the kidneys start to fail and unfortunately these little furballs are good at hiding symptoms by the time we do notice theyve lost about 75% function of the kidneys...which then in Tacos case turned to the heart working harder and with the fluids not being excreted properly eventually he had a build of fluid in his chest constricting his little heart....i cannot stress the importance of monitoring your babies pee pee habits if they are drinking more than normal....

my vet said cats in general are prone to kidney probs due to the small urethea (sp?) and especially orange and white cats have an even smaller one....

apparently with all Tacos hair it was difficult to notice the weight loss at first til it was drastically enough to be noticable and his hair covered the swelling and fluid retention that i didnt notice either....

i read that cats do a lot of licking their groin area when they have a UTI and sometimes make a growling like sound when the infection is severe enough....

and like yourself...i didnt know cats could have eckos and all that technical stuff...but i do now and you can best believe our other cat will be headed in this week for a major check up...because as with humans, apparently all this stuff can be managed and treated, if caught in time....

i read when cats stop eating it can mess their liver up in just days and when they become dehydrated its even worse...as long as your baby is still doing that I take it as a good sign!!! good luck..keep us posted...I just posted a thread about the last 2 weeks of Tacos life if you wanna know more....and agan good luck to you and the lil furball!

Taco, I am so sorry for your loss. You shouldn't blame yourself, this is a genetic predisposition and from what I have read there is no cure or preventing it.

And I fear after reading more, I too have missed critical signs. Tomorrow we may have to say good bye to our good friend. I will not spend $1000 to stress her anymore. She is well loved and is a beautiful animal, but no cure or treatment can fix this. I will try another vet and get some blood work and tests, but within reason.

If there is a cure, I have not found one on all the blasted sites here. I saw there is a test to find out if it is present in the DNA, then selective breeding to avoid this.

We adopted our cat from the local humane society, she is well loved and lived a good life.
And I hope it is a simple fix. I think I will call the humane society to see if any others from this litter died from kidney failure.

unfortunately no, there isnt a cure for CKD/CRF....but when caught early it CAN BE MANAGED with relative ease without sacrificing quality of life....

DEMAND a complete blood work and urinalysis, or GET A DIFF vet! using steroids isnt good in cats with kidney probs....and why on earth give antibiotics when theres no clue if there is an infection and IF its viral or bacterial...yeah, get a new vet...

i agree ...the night before Tacos chest tap I contemplated how much was too much...too much stress/tests and too much money because as you said it is something that cannot be cured...I laid there and just petted him and prayed that God would let Taco die before all these procedures if it was just gonna be too much for him....when i awoke the next morning and Taco made it thru the night I thought woo hoo....but the little fellas heart gave out RIGHT before the procedure...the initial visit itself was 50 bucks off the top...diabetes test 12 bux...feline leukemia and HIV test 39 bux....complete diagnostic profile+electrolyes 81 bux...complete blood count 33 bux ...urinalysis 13 bux....subcutaneous IV fluids and lasix 35 bux....this was the first day 250 bux but we had answers....the next day unfortunately i cant say what the chest tap cost because my sweetie passed on before it...i know the IV drip for the procedure plus more meds and short exam were 69 bux....after the chest tap (fluid removal) they were planning the xrays and echo...which they estimated to be about 225 bux...i cannot believe im even saying this but Im so glad Taco gave up before we subjected him to all of that stuff, I can handle being out a few hundred bux but not thousands AND  MY cat!! He just had to of been so much sicker than I even knew...because 8 isnt old for an indoor well kept cat...my biggest regret is i even agreed to the chest tap because he couldve died here at home, but then no...I wouldnt want to see that, and i dont think i could pull the plug on him so to speak because i tend to always hope tomorrow will be a better day and i wouldve probably drug him along miserably extending NOT HIS LIFE but his agony....so while it still tears me up, i know things happened like they shouldve....dang im black and blue though from beating myself up!

just dont take chances...your baby could have a blockage and have only hours, or praying its just a kitty cold/upset tummy and we worried needlessly, but I can truly say I wish Id of erred on the better safe side than the sorry side! and please keep me posted....
 

BIgblue, IMHO, you don't know if this is CRF.... and I would NOT be jumping to these conclusions either. Your kitty is very young.... While it does happen in young cats, it is rare.
Please, take it to the vet, get at least an x-ray, a complete CBC and a urinalysis, then go from there. You will be able to make an informed decision. If the vet doesn't agree with these tests,demand it.
Something completely unrelated with anything can be going on here - poisoning, a fight, she could been hit by a car.... You simply don't know. But you might be making the decision to put him down for something that might be fixable - and honestly, if you do that in the dark, you might never forgive yourself

Please, give yourself the chance of knowing what is wrong, then going from there.

Thanks Carolina for the hope.  

There is no way to know if it is CKD/CRF or not unless you get testing done as it can be any number of things like Carolina said. I did have a non-Maine Coon kitty, Tuffy, develop CKD when he was only two, but we managed his disease for 5-1/2 more years before he had to leave us. He was well into the disease before it was figured out what was going on--that vet gave Tuffy two months TOPS to live. Boy did my new vet and I prove that prognosis wrong! So even if it does turn out to be CKD, it is a very manageable disease--no matter at what stage it is diagnosed.

FWIW, I have a purebred/pedigreed Maine Coon, and they are NOT predisposed to CKD. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM--inherited), hip dysplasia (because of their large size), and polycystic kidney disease (PKD--inherited) are some of the diseases associated with MCs.

Please don't give up hope for your little fella. It is important that you have him seen by a [competent] vet though to get a proper diagnosis.

By Dr. Becker

Today I want to discuss chronic kidney disease in cats.

Chronic kidney disease is also called chronic renal disease and chronic renal failure. It means the kidneys have been gradually and irreversibly deteriorating over a period of months or years. Chronic renal failure is unfortunately extremely common in older domestic cats and is a leading cause of death in kitties.

Certain breeds of cats seem predisposed to developing chronic kidney disease, including the Maine coon, Abyssinian, Persian, Siamese, Russian blue, and Burmese.

Elderly cats usually develop some degree of kidney disease, and hyperthyroidism and chronic kidney disease tend to go hand in hand in many aging kitties.

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Again, theres NO need to panic and lose hope...it is MANAGEABLE!!!!! The fist step IS TESTING!

My intention is CERTAINLY not to scare you, but to help you be informed....early detection is the key!!!!

Now that I have studied and researched and learned the signs/symptoms I will not be so clueless for my other cat!!!

And as always ...please keep me informed....and God be with you and your baby!

Feline chronic kidney disease is a type of debilitating disease where the kidneys start to shut down and lose their function to get rid of certain toxins, absorb or get rid of certain electrolytes, and produce certain enzymes that are important the for daily functioning of a cat’s body.

A veterinarian may not know the initial cause of why a cat’s kidneys have started to lose their ability to work, but certain risk factors that can cause a cat to be predisposed to this disease include old age, chronic urinary tract infections, certain genetic breeds (Maine Coon, Abyssinian, Siamese, Russian Blue, and Burmese cats), toxins that can damage the kidneys (such as the ingestion of lilies or ethylene glycol), kidney stones or any stones that may obstruct the urinary tract, cancer within the kidneys or urinary tract, or certain immune mediated diseases that can attack the kidneys. Please note, however, that cats of any age or of any breed can be affected by chronic kidney disease.

Early on in this disease, some cats may not show signs of illness. This is in part due to the fact that either one kidney has started to take over the job that the other kidney has not been doing or for the fact that toxic metabolites that are normally excreted by the kidneys have not built up at high enough levels to cause a cat to feel sick. In the later stages of the disease process, however, a cat that has been experiencing chronic kidney disease for several months may show signs of illness that can include not eating, vomiting, weight loss, increased volumes of urination, drinking a lot more water than usual, appear lethargic or very weak (like in the picture illustrated), have foul breath, or have seizures. If your cat has been experiencing any of these clinical signs, it is extremely important that he or she gets checked out by a veterinarian for further assessment.

If a veterinarian thinks that a cat has chronic kidney disease, he or she will run blood work and will obtain a urine sample in order to provide incite as to the extent and/or cause of why of the kidneys have started to lose their functioning. The blood work may show elevations in certain kidney enzymes and electrolytes. This is due to the fact that as the kidneys lose their function, they also lose their ability to excrete these enzymes or electrolytes from the body and therefore, they start to build up in larger, toxic levels in the blood. The build-up of these enzymes and electrolytes can cause a cat to feel very sick. This is why once a diagnosis is made of chronic kidney disease; a veterinarian will typically recommend immediate treatment within the hospital in order to help the cat’s kidneys get rid of these toxic metabolites that are building up at high levels within the blood.

Thank you wholly cat and taco for that information.  I am glad that it is treatable.  My cat is doing better today, she is playful and eating, acting like her normal self.  

MAybe cats do get tummy aches or gastroitis.

I haven't taken her to another vet since we have been at the hospital for our new grandbaby was having complications. I need a week of non eventful days!

But I worried less since our Maine is acting like her normal self.

Bigblue, I am glad she is doing great today, and hope you can take her to the vet soon. Please note, because one cat had a disease, it doesn't mean your has it as well.... Just keep that in mind.... Of course.... Only a vet, doing tests can tell what the problem is; often we get to conclusions on our own, and it isn't the case, for better or worst.
Please keep us posted....