Low Body Temp in Sick Cat...also Subcutaneous Fluid, how helpful is it??

Had to take my cat to the emergency vet today because she is so sick. She seemed to go downhill pretty fast since Friday evening and didn't eat or drink anything yesterday.  She has feline herpes and chronic congestion has been an ongoing issue for her since the day I first got her.  She has an infection in her chest and here's the scary thing: I was thinking she probably had a fever but her temp is the opposite at only 92F, 10 degrees below normal. This is very concerning.  She is also dehydrated which didn't surprise me.  The vet gave her a treatment of subcutaneous fluid, an antibiotic and a steroid.  I need to keep her as warm as possible.  He was blunt in telling me she is seriously ill and her prognosis is not so great.  This is very upsetting for me but I need to do what I can to give her a fighting chance. I'm just wondering about the subcutaneous fluid...how effective is it at helping a dehydrated cat?  Anybody have any experience with this treatment?  The dehydration and her low body temp scare me.  I currently have her in the bathroom near the heat vent where she is laid on a rug and with a portable heater close by.  She was meowing in distress about an hour ago. She's quite now and seems to be resting/sleeping and the room she is in has gotten very warm.  I really want her to survive this

I'm sorry your kitty isn't feeling well! SubQ fluids are great for hydration because it allows for the capillaries to pick up the fluid at a rate that won't overload the cardiovascular system. Did they tell you to follow up with your regular vet? What antibiotic did they give?

Also, consider assist/syringe feeding. She's got to have nutrition in order to heal and hepatic lipidosis is an awful complication to deal with.

  I can't tell you how often I've seen a cat perk up after receiving sub-q fluids. 

I'm a little concerned with her in the bathroom with the portable heater though.  Is the door closed?  It might get TOO hot in there.  I know she needs to be kept warm, but there's warm and there's hot.  Can you not cover her with a soft baby blanker or something...build a little nest for her?  I'm just afraid since she is congested anyway that if the air gets too hot she might have a worse time breathing. 

for your little one

Thanks for the info on the SubQ.  I feel a little better about it now. Yeah, the steroid, antibiotic, and sub is a temporary fix. He said it will only last her maybe a week or so (if it DOES help, right now it's wait and see) and then I'd need to see my regular vet for continued treatment.  He gave me a couple of syringes in 2 different sizes so I can try syringing her water....but right now she's in such a bad state and I don't want to stress her out further by trying to force water down her throat. The vet visit was plenty stressful enough for her. I'm hoping the SubQ will hold her over for a bit until she's feeling a bit better (hopefully that WILL happen)  I've never seen a cat look so sick.  It's no exaggeration when I say she looks as though she's dying..a cat taking her last breaths. She's actually looking worse now than she did this morning when I took her in.  She's being kept in the bathroom which I've made as warm as possible for her and with a warm steam vaporizer as well.  She did pee on the floor next to the litter pan so I guess that means the fluids are getting processed through her, plus I give her credit for almost making it into the litter pan considering how weak she is.  I know she's going to be needing food/nutrition soon, but right now water is my bigger concern. This all happened rather suddenly, her going downhill like this.  I hate seeing how she is every time I open the bathroom door to check on her.  She does get up to move from place to place as every time I check on her she is laying in a different spot, but she looks so awful.

The antibiotic was Convenia, which I know is controversial.  I didn't even know it was Convenia that he gave her until after I looked at the invoice.  However, she has received this antibiotic twice before in the past and did not have any negative response to it and it seemed to help her, so hopefully it will be the same for this time as well.

With regards to the heated bathroom, I've been checking regularly to make sure it's not feeling overly hot in there...keeping a close eye on things and the whole setup.  She needs to be warm but she won't stay in a cat bed..she doesn't even seem to want to lay on the rugs I have scattered on the floor.  Seems she wants the cold hard surface of the bathroom floor to lay on.  I've tried covering her with my shawl, something very lightweight and warm but she didn't like that. I wish I could hold her on my lap with a blanket as I watch tv or something but she doesn't want to be held.  It's frustrating.  So my only option is to keep her in a room that is as warm as possible (without being too hot), and let her lay in there where/how she likes.  I have a vaporizer running in there as well to help offset some of the dry air. It's a safe vaporizer, meant to be child friendly.not one that she can get burned on or anything.  The door is mostly closed.I do leave it cracked a little bit and I've been checking in every half hour or so.  This is a tricky situation.

Do you know how many ml's of fluid he gave her? Usually subQ fluids will hydrate her for a few days, so I would be concerned with food at this point. Even stage 2 plain meat baby food would be helpful. Even if it is only a couple of tablespoons worth of food. Before I knew about syringe feeding I fed my old cat by plastic spoon. Hey, it worked! Is there something that you know she likes? Something that's her favorite?

I've just now turned the heater off for a bit to give it a break, and the vaporizer seems to be doing a decent job at keeping moisture in the air as well as some warmth. I had the option of leaving her at the vet to be put in an incubator with IV treatment but it was not a guarantee it would save her and I hated to leave without her so I opted for the subQ treatment.  Plus I'm short on money so I can't really afford overnight stays there and this isn't my regular vet either, 

I don't know how much fluid he gave her. It doesn't state on the invoice.  The last time she ate was Friday.  I'd have to syringe her food unless she perks up enough to be able to eat on her own. She is, unfortunately, a very limited eater. She eats mostly dry food...I feed her Nature's Recipe brand.  I offer her a bit of canned food almost daily (Fancy Feast) but she only takes a few licks and nibbles of it at most. This is a cat that doesn't even like treats. The other two cats we have love their treats and they eat both wet and dry food.  They are more food driven. She never was a very food driven cat.  If I was to syringe feed her I'd probably do it by watering down some canned food.

Thank you for all your input.  My baby girl just passed away about 40 minutes ago.  I feel like I've lost a child.

TwinkleLight said:

 
With regards to the heated bathroom, I've been checking regularly to make sure it's not feeling overly hot in there...keeping a close eye on things and the whole setup.  She needs to be warm but she won't stay in a cat bed..she doesn't even seem to want to lay on the rugs I have scattered on the floor.  Seems she wants the cold hard surface of the bathroom floor to lay on.  I've tried covering her with my shawl, something very lightweight and warm but she didn't like that. I wish I could hold her on my lap with a blanket as I watch tv or something but she doesn't want to be held.  It's frustrating.  So my only option is to keep her in a room that is as warm as possible (without being too hot), and let her lay in there where/how she likes.  I have a vaporizer running in there as well to help offset some of the dry air. It's a safe vaporizer, meant to be child friendly.not one that she can get burned on or anything.  The door is mostly closed.I do leave it cracked a little bit and I've been checking in every half hour or so.  This is a tricky situation.

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Well then, what you are doing sounds ok, especially now that I know you have a vaporizer going in there too, so it's not a dry heat.  Poor little darling... I sure hope she's going to be ok

As to feeding her, yes, definitely water down some canned food to syringe feed her. it will serve two purposes...give her nutrition AND help with hydration.   Use Kitten Food if you can, simply because it's got more protein, fat and calories than regular food.  Fancy Feast makes kitten food, which is affordable.  Someone here is doing this and adding Nutrical to it for the added vitamins. 

Continued vibes

TwinkleLight said:

 
Thank you for all your input.  My baby girl just passed away about 40 minutes ago.  I feel like I've lost a child.

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I am so sorry.  You did all you could sometimes everything isn't enough.

I am so sorry. As Denice said, sometimes there's just nothing more that we can do.

I, too, am so sorry.  I know you did everything you could for her   And I also know how you feel about losing a child.  I have no human kids, only my furbabies, and when I lose one, I feel so lost.  My heart is breaking for you right now. 

Rest in peace, little one.