14-Year-Old Cat Fighting for Her Life Tonight

I'm having some very serious problems with my 14-year-old cat Chyna, and if anyone can give me advice, I really appreciate it. I'll try include all the important details of this story. Basically, fleas are ridiculous here in Indiana this year. About a month ago, they made their way into our home. They immediately started taking over. Chyna was attacked the worst of our pets, and even though we treated her with a “spot on” medication and powdered the carpets, we don't have the problem under control yet.

While we continued to work on that flea problem, Chyna started to show a lot of signs of feline anemia – irregular eating/drinking habits, weight loss, excessive sleeping, rapid breathing, pale gums, eating litter, etc. And, while bathing her, I noticed a large circular lump on her stomach.

I took Chyna to our veterinarian this morning. It turns out that I was right about the anemia. Also, the lump on her stomach is a damaged/non-functioning kidney, and combined with the anemia and her old age, it's done a number on her body. The vet started by giving her an antibiotic shot (I think). He recommended flea bombing our house. Then he sold me Adams Plus Flea and Tick Mist, and probably most importantly, EnerCal Nutritional Supplement and Appetite Stimulant.

Since I brought Chyna back home, she's been more lethargic than ever. I'm trying to get her built back up. I rubbed the Adams Plus onto her body, and basically force fed her the EnerCal twice. She's slowly started to move around a little more, drink healthy amounts of water, and purr when I pet her – Unfortunately I can't get her to eat anything. I've tried giving her beef Fancy Feast (to build up her iron), feeding her tuna (because she'll normally eat that no matter what), heating up the Fancy Feast to make the smell more appealing, etc. She's not eaten more than one or two bites though, and after I give her the EnerCal, she lays down and starts back at square one.

So my questions are.. Could either the shot or the EnerCal be adding to Chyna's fatigue? Could the EnerCal be nutritionally “taking the place of” her food? And, most importantly, what can I do to get her to eat her regular cat food? I'll try anything.

Thank you.

l can't believe any vet would give you that poison (Adam's) for your cat. Please read the label, and if it contains Pyrethrins, PLEASE do not use it on or around your cat. This stuff is horribly toxic to cats.

I would bath the poison off of her body first of all..... Bathing will remove the fleas.  Since she is ill, you need a natural substance to remove the fleas. (just my opinion)

Second I would question the vet about the non functioning kidney.  Animals don't eat when they are sick.  That could be the whole culpret.  

And I would use a non poisonous substance like Diatamacious earth for the fleas in my house and on her body while she is ill.  I use it all the time.    Just get the kind that is "food grade".  I buy Pure Earth D.  I keep it on my animals, in their cat house and in their drinking water.

This  year due to tons of fleas I had to resort for a few months of using Comfortis for my animals.  But while she is sick with a bad kidney, I'm not sure I would even use that before I talked to a vet first.  You need another professional opinion. A different vet.

Here's a quick link about DE.  You can get it on amazon.  It is very important that you get food grade.  This is where I buy mine.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.htm...IKX0DER&me=A19EV5CGMBDV6C&tag=&tag=thecatsite

But the kidney thing is the most important thing in my eyes.  Keep water in her and keep her urinating to keep it flushed out.  

I would also "go to a different vet" ASAP... That is what I would do if it were my cat.

I am sorry your first post is here in the Health Forum with a problem.  Did your vet do any blood test to determine how bad the kidney is.  It seems to me that your cat should have been given some fluids.   Spot treatments can be very dangerous to cats and dogs.  Frontline and Advantage are usually what the vet sells.  I agree with the above poster.  If the Adams contains pyrethrins, it is only going to make your cat worse, if you use it.  If you have already done so, your cat may need a bath.  I don't know your vet, I would want to take my cat somewhere else for a second opinion.  Also there is a type of cat litter called yesterday's news that is made of newspaper.  The cat won't eat that.  I know Wal Mart in our area sells it.  I hope your cat can recover. 

First of all, I appreciate your quick replies.

You have to understand how bad this flea problem's been. My arms and legs are covered with cellulitis marks. I tried every natural solution and home remedy that I could find to help Chyna, and when that didn't work, I "upgraded" to the Sergeant's spot-on. I wasn't happy with the results of the spot-on, but it didn't seem to have any health effects. After a few more weeks of my natural solutions, the fleas have obviously taken their toll on Chyna. The symptoms match severe anemia so much that even I could see what it was. If I hadn't made the vet trip this morning, I don't think she would've had a chance of making it through the weekend. The mist and the bomb are basically a last ditch effort at getting these fleas off of her body.

Do you have any ideas how I can get her to eat the cat food? I'll be watching her closely throughout the night, and wash off the mist if she seems worse.

Some flea meds damage the kidneys. I really do think the kidney problem is due to the flea meds. Only vet-quality meds like Advantage, Revolution, and Frontline are reasonably safe; everything else is fairly toxic. But even the safer meds need to used be used with extreme caution in elderly animals.

Yes, the fleas have to go. But poisoning her in the process won't help. I would give Capstar to all the other animals (it would probably make her sicker at this point), and apply a vet-quality spot-on (again, to the other pets, not Chyna). You can split a large Capstar in quarters to save money. For Chyna, frequent bathing (regular shampoo, not flea bath) and flea combing should help. I wouldn't try any chemical treatments on her at this point. Old cat kidneys are delicate things.

Borax or diatomacous earth sprinkled on the carpets will kill fleas. I also hear salt will do the same, but I haven't tried it myself. Although it can end up being cheaper to call a professional exterminator than to fuss around with home treatments, so you might want to go with that option.

Oh, yes, to get her to eat: get some chicken or turkey baby food (make sure it doesn't have onion or garlic powder), and a large plastic medicine dropper (usually sold in the baby medicine section) and force-feed her. She'll need 1-2 jars a day. If she doesn't eat something her liver will fail. You can also get some Hills A/D from the vet --it's made specifically for force-feeding.

If she gets dehydrated, either take her to the vet for fluids or force-feed her Pedialyte or homemade Oral Rehydration Solution (Google for recipes). If you force fluids, be careful not to get any in her lungs.

Chyna had a long night, but she's hanging in there. She drank a decent amount of water throughout the day. I didn't notice her sneaking anywhere to urinate though. Also, I forced her to eat the EnerCal supplement/stimulant (which has a list of, like, 25 vitamins on the back). After some other food ideas didn't work, I had to give her a couple syringe shots of a liquified beef cat food. And, in case she wanted to go in the night, I had her comfortable with a favorite shirt, food, water, etc. She was still laying there alive and lethargic when I woke up this morning. 

At this point, I think I'll keep trying different ideas. Hopefully her lethargy and lack of appetite are mainly do to the shot. I hadn't really considered that before reading online, but she was still eating half a can of cat food in the days before the shot. Our usual vet (who, despite the way it might read on here, is the popular/award-winning vet in our area) isn't in on Sundays, but there's a second vet in the area in case of any emergencies. I'm not sure if I should keep nursing Chyna for another day, or have her hooked to IV's at this other vet -- who's actually hurt one of our animals years ago.

In the meantime, I think I might get some of the Hills A/D from the other vet.

The fleas live in the carpets and upholstery, and only jump on the cats to feed. So you must fully treat the house to get rid of the problem. But to do that effectively is toxic for both you and the cats. I would treat this as an absolute emergency - make an appointment with a pest controller to come and treat the house and get you and the animals out of there for the required time while they do it (typicaly 24 hours). Is htere anyone you can stay with while it is done? If the infestation is so bad as to be killing an adult cat then I think it is the only solution - home based remedies are not going to be enough.

Good news (I hope): I smeared some of the EnerCal on her paw and put some beef cat food over it. She completely ignored it and went to sleep. An hour later, I heard a slight licking/smacking noise, and came in to see her paw without the food on it and what looked like the last second of her licking the "blanket" (tshirt) she was on. I started petting her as soon as I noticed this, her purr came back for the first time in about 24 hours, and she went back to sleep. I have to think this is a really good sign.

I don't have much to say other than I'm sorry for what you're going through. I hope you and your beloved pet get through this crisis. Keeping you all in my thoughts.

jlc20m

I'm very sorry you and your beloved kitty are going through this health crisis. Wishing you the very best of outcomes and keeping in my thoughts.

jlc20m

Alright, I've got some questions about "nursing Chyna for another day". I'm sure a few of you have really good answers. After slowing/stopping on her food yesterday, she's done the same with her water today, and I've decided to force food and water/Pedialyte until I can get her back to the vet for, I assume, fluids tomorrow (I was wrong about the other vet in the area being open on Sundays). In the meantime, I've fed her beef and gravy cat food from a syringe with the tip broken off. It might have been the most pitiful part of this whole experience. About half of it got all over her face, and as she's gone back to laying around, the purring and signs of life have gone away again. Even though I'm trying to help her, it feels like torture.

So here are my questions: Is there a "best" way to force feed a cat? How often should I do it? How much food/water in one session? Should I rotate food sessions and water sessions?

vet vet vet vet vet.........Go to the vet....

Well, tomorrow there will be a vet to go to.

The vet will be able to provide syringes and Hill's pet a/d to use with them if she continues to need assist-feeding. But in the future, the easiest impromptu way to assist-feed is with plain chicken babyfood. I recommend Beechnut, at this point, as Gerber's started adding corn starch to their formula.

Basically, you just squirt a very little at a time into the pouch of her cheek at the back of her mouth. When I syringe fed Lazlo, I gave him 30ml, 3x a day. He's a 12 pound, 10 year old cat. Of course feeding less more frequently works too.

for your kitty.

I'm in an extremely tough position right now. Chyna's not eating/drinking/peeing/moving. I've been giving her syringes of food, water, and Pedialyte, and when it looked like last night was going to be her last,  I gave her a favorite shirt, catnip, and a lot of attention to make her feel comfortable. She had the most shallow breathing when I finally fell asleep this morning. But, after I woke up, she was still breathing soft and steady.

The vet's schedule was packed today, but I talked to the vet's assistant. First, she said that we could bring Chyna in later today, have fluids pushed into her, see if that changes her behavior, and if it doesn't, think about having her euthanized. And, when I explained that Chyna's not getting up at all, she mentioned leaving her at home one more day, giving her a full day of forcing fluids, and seeing whether she improves before bringing her in. 

I love the thought of doing everything I can to save Chyna's life. But I hate the idea of "torturing" her (and then possibly killing her) on a table in some strange room instead of letting her go in the room she's literally spent 99.9% of her life in. What would you do? (I already know JCribb's answer).

Also, as I was typing this, she just threw up stronger than I can remember. And went into this dazed look in her eyes.

See if your vet can come to your house to check on Chyna.  My vet does this for a small fee. 

If I remember from above, you put flea powder in the carpets.  Is it possible the powder is still there and is making Chyna feel sick?  Has she had a bath to remove the spot on treatment?  Carpets been vacuumed to remove powder?  At this point I see the treatment as a possible bigger problem than the original fleas.