My cat is sick. :-(

My cat, Nibbles, has been sick, off & on, since July.


We first noticed something was wrong, when she started limping in July.  She was given medication and a full examination, (blood test, physical exam, etc) but nothing was ever found wrong with her. The vet said we could try a cat scan/MRI, but it would cost $2000.00, so... we asked if we could try the meds first and she thought that was ok.

She recovered after taking steroids. She'd stay well for quite a while, then start getting sick again, limping, along with starting to throw up her food, not being able to stand for long.

She is now in her third period (5 days) of steroids (we are giving them to her, as we had some left over from her last treatment), as she has really began to look bad when she walks and throws up consistently when she eats, making horrible, loud guttural noises when she does. We've tried different foods, but it doesn't seem to matter. She's drinking an awful lot of water.

She'll be 13 this coming April. It's so pitiful to see her walk. When she does attempt to, she walks a few steps and then sits down. She's beginning to have occasional bowel/bladder problems now. We are waiting to see how she reacts to one more day of steroids, then we are calling the vet on Monday morning to see what our options are. She doesn't appear to be in pain and never has, since getting sick.

I'm sorry this is so long. This site was recommended to me by my friend Stephanie. She suggested I come here and see if any of you have any advice for me, questions I can ask the vet on Monday.

Thanks,

Melanie

There's Miss Nibbles!  Hope some folks will come along with some words of wisdom soon.  I wish I could help more.

I'm sorry you're going through this.

An x-ray might be helpful, and is not nearly as expensive. Based on the x-ray, they may recommend an ultrasound. Those two tests wouldn't even add up to the cost of an MRI, and are very helpful diagnostic tools. If blood work was done and it all looked okay, then I'd be concerned about a mass/cancer that could be causing some discomfort (hence the limping) and also affecting her GI system.

Cats are masters at hiding pain. I would guess that she's in some kind of discomfort at the least if she's limping. If she's vomiting daily, you can bet her stomach and esophagus are irritated.

Is it feasible to get copies of her labs and seek another opinion from another vet?

She's limping but not in pain...do you mean staggering?

What is happening that she needs to sit down? Is she sitting out of weakness, or out of breath, etc?

The water drinking makes me think diabetes due to the steroids. Has blood work or any other diagnostics been done since starting treatment with steroids?

Peaches08, she's sitting out of weakness, it appears, as she is not panting or having a hard time breathing.

GoHolistic, Nibbles has been seeing this vet for about 9 years & she's always been a good vet, but if necessary, I won't mind seeing another one. This clinic is for cats only, which I really like. York post has given me some good questions to ask the vet.

Thanks,
Melanie

(Stephanie, thanks for letting me know about this site)

MelanieCap said:

Peaches08, she's sitting out of weakness, it appears, as she is not panting or having a hard time breathing.

GoHolistic, Nibbles has been seeing this vet for about 9 years & she's always been a good vet, but if necessary, I won't mind seeing another one. This clinic is for cats only, which I really like. York post has given me some good questions to ask the vet.

Thanks,
Melanie

(Stephanie, thanks for letting me know about this site)

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Obviously, you must trust this vet to have been going to them for so long. Perhaps you could ask them about getting x-rays done if they haven't been done already.    If, at any point in time, you feel you're at a standstill, you may want to consider taking Nibbles to a specialist. There are times when vets hit a point when they don't know what else to do, and that's okay.

Is Nibbles walking on her hocks, by any chance?

She's walking on all four paws, it's just the problem seems to be in her hips, or lower back. It lowers a bit as she tries to walk, sometimes. I will most definitely ask for an x-ray on Monday. The steroids help that though. They don't help the throwing up & gagging noises she makes. :-(

I am so sorry I can't help in any way but I know what you mean by how painful a cat's vomiting sounds can be. One of my cats used to throw up a lot and the first time she did it I was asleep and woke up to this wailing sound, it was so awful I thought she was dying.

Hang in there, Nibbles!

I am wondering if the limping is unrelated. Could she have arthritis? I would think the steroids would lessen the discomfort which would explain things on that front.

I do agree with x-rays to start. Is it possible she has an obstruction that's causing her to gag and vomit after eating? How long has the vomiting been going on for because it sounds like it started happening after the limping and steroids?

Plain meat baby food might be worth a try. Make sure it doesn't have garlic, onions, or other spices in it. That may settle her tummy. Or plain baked/boiled chicken and shred it for her. This is a temporary fix, but it would help to get her started in the right direction if it helps.