help sick kitty

hi, im having aweful trouble with my poor wee cat chelsea, now, iv already had her at the vets 3 times in the last week and a half and she even had an overnight stay, and weve come up with nothing a little background, chels is 6 and a half years old and a spayed female. when she was 2 she had a very big trauma, where i used to live when she was out being nosey (as cats do) some very evil person cut her left back leg off, she was missing for six days and then like a miracle brought herself home, she was starved n maggots had stopped the wound bleeding, i rushed her straight to a vet and she had the rest of the leg removed and has had no trouble since she heeled, she is still faster than most other cats an jumps up and down as if she had all four legs. so, now to her current problem, she was vomiting near constantly and nt eating or drinking about a week an a half ago, as she wasnt eating it was bile coming up so i took her to her vets and she was checked all over and the conclussion was she had a swollen tummy and a urine infection, she was given KESIUM 62.5mg (1 tablet twice daily) and METACAM 0.5mg/ml to be given in with her food and also special food thats easy on her tummy. i got her home gave her her tablet and the food with the drops, she wouldnt eat the food so the vet said try her with small amounts of chicken. she eat the chicken but was sick again, the vet said to leave her to settle and try again in the morning. morning came and she was still throwing up, at the vets request i took her in and she stayed for the night then next day the vet said they checked her bloods (all ok)and he thought she was in pain around her back end which seemed to ease over night.he was putting it dwn to her missing leg. but she wasnt having trouble moving though im not an expert. and put a drip with fluids and she had perked up but had not been to the toilet (forgot to mentipn that as 1 of her first symptoms) so he wanted to try her at home as it may be the strange enviroment. i got her home n straight away she went for a wee. for a day she seemed better then she got very lethargic again but was eating and drinking but she was so lethagic that i took her back n they checked her over an said it may just be all the comotion and to take her home. she did perk up a bit n was only vomiting the odd time. the last 2/3 days she has been vomiting 1 - 3 times a day, has had dihoria and hardly moves and is licking her lips evry few mins (when awake) when i call her she looks but barely lifts her head. she is still eating and drinking and doesnt throw it all up. im so worried because she is usualy the happiest and noisiest kitty ever, always letting me know shes there and always wanting attention and playtime. but she has hardly moved of her favorite chair in days except to eat. please any advise is welcome, i dont mind taking her to the vet a million times but im sick of them telling me shes ok when i know she isnt, or to pawn it of on her missing leg when i really think it has nothing to do with that cus she doesnt hurt when i touch it. please help me. thank you

Wow! I wish I had some useful advice, bit I really don't! Maybe you can go to another vet for a 2nd opinion? I hope she feels better soon, poor little thing

thank you for responding. i really appreciate it. yeh i think i will have to ring around the other vets and see were it gets me. thank you

She definitely needs to see a different vet as something is going on.  As for the Metacam, check the forums for extensive information on the pros/cons regarding that.  In the meantime, try her on plain boiled chicken in small servings to see if that helps her.  Has she been checked for worms recently?

she gets wormed regularly. could she still have worms even though she is up to date for her worming medecine? how would i know? thank you

I would take her back to the vet and request another check of her urine.  Be sure they do a culture to find any types of bacteria.  She may not be completely over the urinary infection.  Also, ask for something to settle her tummy so that she'll be more inclined to eat.  If need be, you can syringe feed her.  You also might ask them to do a full blood panel on her to rule out anything abnormal there.

Worms do cause vomiting, but if she's up to date on her wormer, then I would think that's not the problem.  Does she go outside?  Wonder if she got ahold of some kind of prey that was bad on her system.  (Trying to think out loud here, no real answers except another urine test.)

At this point, I would get another opinion and am very concerned about her symptoms after receiving the Metacam. If the dosage is wrong it can cause serious complications liver/kidney. Some cats cannot tolerate any dosage of that pain medication. Of course, how would you know this and we are glad you found us. There are other safer pain meds to give a cat. If it were me, and I was not satisfied with what a vet is telling me, then I would gather up all of the records/tests and go to another vet. It may be worth it in the long run. :cross: for your kitty.

Check out this recent thread on Metacam... http://www.thecatsite.com/t/256923/metacam

no chepsea is strictly an indoor kitty, she used to love going out but once she came home minus a limb she wasnt so fussed anymore and as i now live in the country side there are too many wild animals about to risk her being out. i have made her an appointment for the morning to get another test of her urine and the cultures.

i have also stopped giving her the metacam, she is getting small amounts of boiled chicken spaced out over the day. she is still being sick, not as often though and that means she is keeping some food in. but again she is very listless. i checked her mouth incase it was a tooth problem but all looks normal (shes very gd and lets me look and poke about) she has alspo started opening her mouth n shaking her head. i swear if i did not know better i would near think she had eatin some sort of poison. but i have been with her constantly and i know she hasnt been out and could not have eaten anything around the house as im always more than careful and she has never been a gobbler or snacker. she only eats what is put in her food bowl.

What was her food before she got sick? Is it possible that any of it has gone/was bad? It does sound like she could have ingested something that is upsetting her system.

kazp said:

yeh i think i will have to ring around the other vets and see were it gets me. thank you

Click to expand...

I still think you should get a different vet's opinion. Were you able to find another? I am glad to hear you stopped the Metacam, just in case. But, unfortunately, just a few doses or wrong doses, can cause serious damage in some kitties. I am not trying to upset you or scare you , but if it were my cat I would try another vet. You mentioned that your current vet says she is not in pain? IMO shaking/shivering is a sign of pain in cats - either pain, fever or both and can even include some fear from being afraid of what is happening to them.

Just want to say that I am so sorry that your kitty had to endure such a traumatic injury years back and it proves to me that she IS a fighter and I think she will get through this health issue with your love, care and help. :cross: Keep us posted, hun.

she has a mix of crunchies and meat in jelly, her food def could not have went off as i only buy small amounts at a time for that reason. and as chelsea is such a smart kitty i dnt think i need to worry about the metacam because she never really eat the food i put it into, she maybe had 1/2 drops over all. like i said earlier she has never been a gobbler and is very particular in what she eats which i see as a very good thing as i am able to know with almost total accuracy what she eats. i took her to another vet and they checked her out and are keeping her in to do some test and keep her off all solids n just give her a drip of fluids so fingers crossed.

yeh she deff is a fighter, to get over such a trauma of losing a leg and still come home and bounce back to being her happy self shows how strong she is. i hand reared her from 3 days old as her mum (my grand parents farm cat)was killed on the road, she was the runt and the other kitten was suckling at her neck because the mother was missing so i took them both home and bottle fed them, her brother died a few days after but she fought and fought and i know she will never stop fighting shes taught me a lot about strenth and determination

kazp said:

shes taught me a lot about strenth and determination

Click to expand...

You have a very kind heart stepping up to take in those kittens. I am sorry about the little brother, but you certainly did the right thing for all of them. I couldn't agree with you more on your comment above. Our pets do teach us SO many important characteristics and lessons if we only listen. I, too, have learned so much by sharing my life with these wonderful little beings and for that, I am grateful to them. :heart2:

Well, keep us posted on what the new vet says. I am sorry she had to stay in the hospital but I am sure that is where she needs to be right now being so unwell. Ramping up the vibes for Chelsea today and for you, too.