Cat Has Ambigious Symptoms and No Diagnosis

Hello All,

I have been browsing these boards for days, and would really welcome your wisdom on my sick cat. He is about 3.5 years old, domestic long hair, and has always had a rock solid constitution. The shelter speculated he is a Turkish Van, but was definitely born in the wild. He is incredibly playful and active, and will normally eat just about any food I have put in front of him. His typical diet has been Blue Buffalo Wilderness kibble with maybe a can of the BB Wilderness wet a week and a few BB Wilderness treats a day. He has always loved it, and has virtually no history of throwing up or illness. He also has a water fountain that he drinks from.

Now that you have a little background, let me go into what has been going on:

July 1 - He threw up a decent sized hairball, and then continued throwing up liquid over the course of a few hours. Since he had NEVER done anything like this I took him to the vet. Like I said he is playful and gets into stuff, so I thought maybe he had been into my girlfriends yarn or something. They did a brief exam, checked his mouth/teeth, felt for obstructions, etc. and basically said he was the specimen of feline health. They said passing the hairball likely just agitated his stomach, and gave him a shot to settle it. They also sold me some hairball gel.

July 4 - 8th - My sister passed unexpectedly, and I had to leave town. Everything had been back to normal over the few days before I left, and appeared normal upon my return. I did have him checked on, and made sure food/water were rotated during my absence.

July 9th - I returned to town, and he greeted me in his typically enthusiastic way - kneeding, pushing his face against mine, etc. What wasn't normal is that he started drooling. I have been out of town before for longer periods of time, and he has never done the drooling from excitiment thing.

July 10 - 12th - I noticed him drooling once or twice more and he also wouldn't eat his dry food. When I gave wet he would eat. When I mixed wet with the dry, he would eat. He just started turning his nose up at the dry. Immediately I thought there was a tooth issue, so I just kept feeding him the wet/dry mixture so was at least getting nourishment.

July 13th - He was drooling a lot when I fed him his soft treats, so I called the vet who assumed he had chipped or damaged a tooth. Brought him back in that day, and the vet said his teeth and gums looked "amazing". I said that I just knew something was off, and it wasn't like him to turn up his food and all that. I suggested a blood test since he hadn't had one for three years, just to put my mind at ease. She agreed, and also suggested it might have been a stress reaction to me being gone/my stress over my sister passing. She also gave his very passed due rabies/distemper shots.

July 14th - First thing in the morning, he threw up a VERY large and dense hairball. It was basically the size and shape of a magic marker, and very packed. After throwing it up, he was panting, drooling, throwing up little bits of water, diarrhea, etc. We went back to the vet, and she had the blood results - everything was great. She took x-rays - also great. They cleaned him up from the diarrhea, gave another shot to settle his stomach, and sent me home with liquid metronidazole. Her suspicion was that he had possibly developed a sensitivity to his food, IBD, something like that, but basically that he appeared to be in perfect health. So I switched to a one protein - one starch dry food hoping that will help.

July 15th - Present - I have been brushing him daily to prevent hairballs. He is taking the metronidazole, which he does not care for and drools a lot immediately after taking it. He has been eating very little compared to his normal self, but still acts hungry. Won't even touch the dry food if I haven't doused it with wet food AND tuna juice. The tuna water really seems to stimulate his appetite, so I have been using just a touch of that warmed up.  It is just not normal for him to take so much coddling and pressure to eat. It's just very, very unusual, and he is being a little less social.

Basically at this point I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars to be told my cat's tests all show he is perfectly healthy. Except for the isolated diarrhea, he is even going to the bathroom like normal. It just makes me so upset to see him act hungry, but then not really want to eat when the food is in front of him. How does that just switch overnight? I have always fed him a high quality, grain-free diet hoping to prevent these type of issues. So I am just really at a loss with what might be wrong. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

I am sorry to hear about your sister passing. Mega vibes

It sound like the vet has done many tests and I am not sure how to help. The metro IS very bitter and it is best to hide it in a pill pocket first - just roll it in a tiny bit of the pill pocket first then pill him. If you are putting the pill on his tongue then he is not going to swallow and there will be a lot - tons - of drooling. You did say that he was drooling before the metro though. My first thought was teeth too. Your vet says the teeth/gums are good. I have to say :anon:, I am surprised the vet gave your kitty vaccinations on top of him being sick. :disa: It sounds like there was not bad reaction though.

If you are wetting down the dry food, you don't want to leave it sit out for more than 20 minutes because it will spoil. Since he won't eat the dry food anymore and is drooling, then I wonder if there is something going on his mouth that the vet may have missed? :dk: Has the cat ever had a dental? Even though he is young, some of them need dentals early in life. You mention that your cat "gets into things" possibly your GF's yarn. I just have to wonder if there is something your vet is missing.... I do hope you can get to the bottom of his issues quickly. Maybe another vet's opinion? Bring along the test results that were already done. For you kitty

Thank you for your insight. I have called a couple other vets to voice my concerns and possibly bring him there. They have both said that they would have done what the current vet recommended. They basically said there is no reason to bring him to us, and I am not sure if the added stress of an extra vet trip is warranted?

I mean he IS still eating, just not the same. This morning he ate a whole small can of food, which was a positive sign. So there is no real "emergency" at this time, but I want him back to normal.

The metronidazole is liquid form, administered through a syringe. So we just do our best to get it in him, and it's getting easier. I know that can cause a decrease in appetite as can vaccinations...

I am also still thinking it could be his teeth. The pet hospital I take him to has multiple vets, and two have looked at his mouth in the last couple weeks, and said everything is good. He has never had a dental cleaning, but one of them even said, "His teeth and gums look healthy...honestly they look amazingly good". I just can't think of another reason he would act hungry, but not eat his dry food. He even goes up to the dry food, but almost seems timid about eating it. My gut is just telling me this might be the issue.

Do food sensititives and IBD physically manifest that quickly? I know cats are excellent at concealing symptoms, but would things go this badly after years of virtually the same diet with never the slightest sign? I mean the cat had never even thrown up a hairball prior to this.

I also don't know about it being due to stress or me being gone. I have been out of town before for longer periods of time without incident. He has moved to different states with me twice, and never hid or acted skittish in new surroundings or been tentative about his food.

I should also mention he is an indoor cat who has had no contact with other animals or been outside in the last 3 years.

My cat developed IBD when he was 18 months old and it was sudden.  He had atypical symptoms so he went through several flares and vets before it was diagnosed.  Kitties with IBD will usually have normal blood test results unless the liver or pancreas becomes inflamed.  I never did figure out what was triggering it so he is on a small daily dose of a steroid.  Many people have had good results with a raw diet but my cat doesn't even care for wet food so that's a bridge too far for him.  The only definitive way to diagnose IBD is with a biopsy which involves surgery.  Short of the biopsy it is a diagnoses of elimination.

Thanks Denice,

The vet basically said lets treat like he has food sensitivities or IBD, and go from there. So that's what I have been doing. I just wish it was something more finite or definite, so that I knew for sure I was doing the right thing...

Since food sensitivities do develop over time, it is possible that a food sensitivity has triggered IBD. Given that his diet has been mostly dry, I would say that it's very possible. While BB is grain-free, it does still contain a high amount of carbs from other species-inappropriate ingredients like potatoes, peas and other veggies and fruits. IBD can often be successfully managed with diet change although sometimes corticosteroids are used temporarily to stabilize the condition. IBD kitties really benefit from a novel single protein with as limited an ingredient list as possible. I disagree that it should be one protein, one starch. All grains and starches and vegetables should be eliminated. You are trying to eliminate as many possible allergen culprits as possible. This is why raw feeding has been known to help many many kitties with IBD.

IBD is such a tricky disease to diagnose. While it would be nice to have a definite diagnosis, feeding a species-appropriate diet is never wrong, so you are not harming your cat by trying this.

Yeah,

I always heard that dry food was better because it improved dental hygiene. That coupled with a busy work schedule led me to a weekday - dry and weekend - wet food rotation. The more I read, it seems this line of feeding could be flawed. I guess I don't care that much about the debate, just want to do what is best for my cat.

With that in mind I already went out and got single protein foods that don't have the potatoes, carrots, etc. As long as I can get him to eat something and he doesn't have any other symptoms, I will just watch/wait for now. The vet did say decreased appetite and drooling were normal on the antibiotic they put him, and just to make sure he is eating enough.

rodonnell0215 said:

I always heard that dry food was better because it improved dental hygiene.

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That myth has pretty thoroughly been debunked even though there are vets out there who still give out that erroneous bit of info.

So they put him on an antibiotic even though there is technically nothing wrong with him?  I don't understand that (although I don't profess to know much about IBD )   Particular this one, because it's a pretty strong one, and can cause loss of appetite, etc.  Are you giving him the liquid metronidazole with food?  From what I read about it, it should be given with food to try to offset the stomach upset it often causes.

Anyway, hopefully he'll like all the new canned "goodies" you got him and will eat like a good boy.

Yeah they put him on the antibiotic, and it definitely seems as though his appetite is decreased. I offer him food a little bit before giving it to him, but find that he is generally eating a little while after the medicine. Probably to get the taste out of his mouth.

One thing that I didn't mention before, that I saw when looking over the vet's paperwork is that when I brought him in on July 1 he weighed 11.5lbs. When I brought him back 12 days later, he had gained half a pound. The first time they didn't take his temperature, but the second time it's recorded as 98.6. Is that not quite low? The vet made no mention of it to me...

At this point the only thing he will really eat consistently are these pouches made by Best Feline Friend, which are really a liquified consistency. I can get him to eat maybe 8 oz of these a day. Still won't touch the single protein dry (Natural Balance Duck and Pea) they recommended, or even other canned foods that he would normally devour. If I mix a pouch with the dry, he will just lap up the sauce or eat around the kibble. He actually started doing that before the second vet visit. I am considering placing one of these canned foods in a blender to bring it to the consistency of the BFF pouches, to see if it's possible that he just won't chew.

That antibiotic is pretty standard for an IBD flare because it also has anti-inflammatory properties.  I was told by the vet that the antibiotic was to protect the liver from infection.  The openings from the liver and pancreas  is very close and they will often get involved when there is an IBD flare.  There is a condition called triaditis where the liver, pancreas and intestines are involved.  They always gave it to Patches in pill form which is still bitter.  The last vet cut up the pills and put the pieces in empty gel caps.  That worked until I didn't get one far enough back in his mouth and he worked it open in his mouth.

rodonnell0215 said:

Yeah they put him on the antibiotic, and it definitely seems as though his appetite is decreased. I offer him food a little bit before giving it to him, but find that he is generally eating a little while after the medicine. Probably to get the taste out of his mouth.

One thing that I didn't mention before, that I saw when looking over the vet's paperwork is that when I brought him in on July 1 he weighed 11.5lbs. When I brought him back 12 days later, he had gained half a pound. The first time they didn't take his temperature, but the second time it's recorded as 98.6. Is that not quite low? The vet made no mention of it to me...

At this point the only thing he will really eat consistently are these pouches made by Best Feline Friend, which are really a liquified consistency. I can get him to eat maybe 8 oz of these a day. Still won't touch the single protein dry (Natural Balance Duck and Pea) they recommended, or even other canned foods that he would normally devour. If I mix a pouch with the dry, he will just lap up the sauce or eat around the kibble. He actually started doing that before the second vet visit. I am considering placing one of these canned foods in a blender to bring it to the consistency of the BFF pouches, to see if it's possible that he just won't chew.

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Have you tried just mixing the antibiotic right into the BFF to see if he'll eat it all together?  Those are pretty much fish flavors, aren't they (they used to be, but think that are finally adding in more chicken)  I figure the fish taste might hide the taste of the antibiotic.

Yes, 98.6 is rather low for a cat.  The "norm" is 101.5.

8 oz a day seems like quite a bit to me!  My 13 lb guy eats less than 4 oz per day (granted, he eats a raw diet, so it's PURE meat and nothing else, but still ).  You cannot go by what the cans or pouches say...they usually have you feeding WAY too much!  One of mine is on canned right now, and she is maybe eating 3.5 oz per day and is maintaining her weight at 6.8 lbs.  Plus that 3.5oz includes me adding water to it, so by just canned weight, she's probably just getting 3 oz max (it's hard to say because I feed her from various larger cans I keep in the fridge then add warm water to to make them soupy - don't ask )

Denice said:

That antibiotic is pretty standard for an IBD flare because it also has anti-inflammatory properties.  I was told by the vet that the antibiotic was to protect the liver from infection.  The openings from the liver and pancreas  is very close and they will often get involved when there is an IBD flare.  There is a condition called triaditis where the liver, pancreas and intestines are involved.  They always gave it to Patches in pill form which is still bitter.  The last vet cut up the pills and put the pieces in empty gel caps.  That worked until I didn't get one far enough back in his mouth and he worked it open in his mouth.

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But HIS cat hasn't officially been diagnosed with IBD.  Guess it was given as a precautionary measure.

Maybe 8oz a day is more than enough then! I honestly was just going off what the pouch said, as I have never fed them before. They said 1oz per 1lb of body weight. Yesterday he ate a little more than 2.5 of the pouches, at 3oz a piece. Each one is like $1.29, I was hoping to not have to feed 4 a day or even 3 a day for very long...since $120+ a month is much more than I am accustomed to paying for his food...

Today he has eaten one 3 oz pouch and maybe 1/4 cup of the Natural Balance they recommended. He is definitely more active now, and hasn't been sleeping under the bed. Most of his efforts are dedicated to catching a fly at the moment.

The low temp concerns me because I read online that anything under 99 is hypothermic, but they just wrote it on the paper and didn't say a word about it. At the time I had no idea that was low, I even made a comment about us having the same body temperature. 

The vet said she wanted to treat as IBD for now, but the antibiotic is only temporary to bring down possible inflammation (I'm guessing she sold us about a ten day supply). She said we could do an ultrasound later if things haven't improved with changes to his diet. The X-rays, physical exam, and blood work didn't really indicate anything.