Caesar is not eating, looks sickly and thin, unkempt coat

I meant to ask for a breakdown with the wbc count being elevated, which ones and the numbers if you have a chance.

All in all, it sounds like it very well may be the silent uti only, that has caused his weight loss and unkept coat.

Some more news that the bacteria is identified and he is on the appropriate meds, and he should be on his way to recovery! Great news for sure.

Liam has a stubborn UTI right now (not sure if you read my thread about this) - no crystals, no straining to pee. He got very lethargic and his coat did not look as good. He was also not eating as well. He lost maybe about 6 ounces of weight or so. So yes, a bad UTI seems to have led to similar kinds of symptoms in both of our cats.

Thanks for the good wishes everyone!     @vball91, thanks for clarifying what concentration of urine means. I wouldn't put it past Caesar to hide his pain. He loves me so much that he probably didn't want to show it and have me worry. By the way, we are talking about Caesar in this thread.    Sometimes I have trouble keeping it all straight between the three of my cats and their issues.

I guess his signs were anorexia and lethargy maybe.     He was not crying or straining in the litter box or going more frequently. His "pee pods" are always on the small side because he is a small cat and the vet said he has a small bladder, so I didn't notice anything as far as the amount of urine. Thanks for the article, @catwoman707. It is very interesting that they call these silent UTIs a "silent killer." I really hope this is the only thing wrong. Also, the doc knows I like a copy of all the labs, but I haven't picked them up, yet. When I go to pick up the antibiotic, I'll get the results and let you know which WBC is elevated.

@Scarlett 001, I appreciate you letting me know about Liam's stubborn UTI. So does your vet think Liam's symptoms are all because of this silent UTI?

@GoHolistic, this is a learning experience for me as well, "silent" uti? Who knew.....I have never even heard it called that before, and it sounds to me like it's called a silent killer is simply because it can easily go undetected for a very long time, eventually taking a cat's life.

So catching and treating this now is a good thing!

Darn cats anyway.......I know, at least for myself, if one of my cats has an issue, life pretty much stops and it becomes all about them. Makes me crazy!

GoHolistic said:

@Scarlett 001, I appreciate you letting me know about Liam's stubborn UTI. So does your vet think Liam's symptoms are all because of this silent UTI?

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We did xray and a quick ultrasound the day I first brought him in as the colour of his urine was a bit worrying (ultrsound was not with the internal medicine specialist, but a regular vet). And there was no sign of anything more sinister going on inside of Liam (she did say bladder tumours are usually quite distinct and he had nothing obvious). No bladder or kidney stones. So we think that we have done all we can for now to rule out other things. So unless there is an unrelated other issue going on that is not in that general area in his body, then it does seem the symptoms must be because of the UTI. The symptoms started just a week before I brought him in so it does seem that they were due to this. His complete blood panel came out perfect other than some WBC increase.

Also, I weight Liam monthly at home and his weight was totally stable almost to the ounce for a year before this. Then he was lethargic/eating less and lost 6 ounces in a short period of time - so brought him in to vet after a few days and discovered the bladder/urine issue. If he had a longstanding sinister other issue, I'd not expect his weight to have been stable for the past year, so another sign everything is likely connected to this UTI.

And apparently these silent UTIs can lead to other things, like a kidney infection. Poor Caesar. I didn't mention this, but Caesar has been battling some serious chin acne for the past two months, as well. It started out as little black specs and gradually got worse and worse no matter what I did (yes, I eliminated plastic, etc. etc.). I won't go too off topic, but I wonder if it's related.  Like a system-wide bacterial infection or something...    I'm hoping that the antibiotic will not only kill the UTI, but the chin acne, too.

Scarlett 001 said:

 
The symptoms started just a week before I brought him in so it does seem that they were due to this. His complete blood panel came out perfect other than some WBC increase.

Also, I weight Liam monthly at home and his weight was totally stable almost to the ounce for a year before this. Then he was lethargic/eating less and lost 6 ounces in a short period of time - so brought him in to vet after a few days and discovered the bladder/urine issue.

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Wow, the things I quoted you above seem like exactly what happened to Caesar. He also has a slight WBC increase and this UTI. He peaked at just over 8 lbs. (this is a good for him) for a year and was doing really great. I'm looking back at some photos I took of him. He was good at the end of November. His chin acne started to get bad in December. Early January is when I noticed him getting kind of straggly looking and then it got to a point where he wasn't eating or grooming and I took him in on 1/24. I think he, too, lost a lot of this weight in a short amount of time. I probably waited too long to get him checked out and it just kept getting worse.    How was I supposed to know?

Yes, the antibiotics will help the chin acne actually.

You couldn't have known, that's why this got the nickname of "silent"

Also don't worry about this causing a kidney infection or anything else.

Just think in terms of catching it before too long

Spooky has had two actual UTI's in a little over a year. She takes out her stress on her bladder, and the slightly elevated pH along with inflammation in her bladder apparently are the perfect environment for infections.

I give her corn silk tea at two meals a day every other day to help keep her bladder walls soothed, and I follow these instructions for using D-mannose. I do this for a day every two weeks. http://www.vetinfo.com/d-mannose-for-cats.html

Corn silk tea: http://www.vetinfo.com/supplements-cat-urinary-tract-health.html

Instructions: http://www.holisticat.com/en/acute-conditions/36-feline-lower-urinary-tract-disease.html

(The holisticat site also discusses the D-mannose).

GoHolistic said:

 
I probably waited too long to get him checked out and it just kept getting worse. 

  How was I supposed to know?

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Don't question yourself. TBH I probably only acted reasonably quickly as I was almost "hyperalert" (not in a good way) at that point as all of my cats were coming down with serious issues within that about 1 week period. Otherwise, I am not sure I would have acted quite so quickly. I would have waited to see if the weight stabilized or went up or down, or something obvious happened. So definitely don't question your actions at all.

GoHolistic said:

And apparently these silent UTIs can lead to other things, like a kidney infection. Poor Caesar. I didn't mention this, but Caesar has been battling some serious chin acne for the past two months, as well. It started out as little black specs and gradually got worse and worse no matter what I did (yes, I eliminated plastic, etc. etc.). I won't go too off topic, but I wonder if it's related.  Like a system-wide bacterial infection or something...  :dk:   I'm hoping that the antibiotic will not only kill the UTI, but the chin acne, too.

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Yes - the antibiotic will help with the chin acne if there is an infection beginning. Pipsqueak had an extreme case of it two years back when I put him on Hill's C/D for his FIC recommended by the vet. Four of my six developed chin acne from eating that dry/canned food. This was before I made a serious diet change with my cats. Anyway - Pipsqueak's was worse because he has a weaker immune system than the rest. The acne is usually caused from within and not always just from "plastic" bowls like everyone thinks or from something external.

Here is a really good plan for treating chin acne. Wash with Hibiclens once daily http://www.hibiclens.com/retail You can pick it up at any pharmacy too. Then you can apply Mupirocin ointment once daily. http://www.medicinenet.com/mupirocin-topical_ointment/article.htm which I just bought from the vet. Also, for an extra punch - I would use Colloidal Silver at night on the chin. In Pipsqueak's case and because it was so severe, I shaved his chin closely so I could clean it up better and apply the meds directly on the skin.

Continuing those vibes for Ceasar!! :rub:

Well, I haven't updated because I'm just a little overwhelmed. The urine culture came back for E. coli and Enterococcus, but may be "normal colonization."     The vet asked me again if Caesar had any urinary symptoms, and I said no. Before administering antibiotics unnecessarily, she wanted to do an ultrasound to rule out anything else that may be going on. She wanted to look at his kidneys and abdominal organs. I agreed. Caesar had the ultrasound on Friday (1/31) and it showed inflammation around the pancreas and intestinal loops. She's thinking Caesar may have pancreatitis/IBD, too. She talked to the consult on the phone, but the official report has not come back.    She said they could send out for the spec fPL pancreatitis test, but it probably wouldn't change her recommended course of action. I left the vet late on Friday with Baytril (as a combined UTI/pancreatitis antibiotic), a refill on Mirtazapine (appetite stimulant), topical Mupirocin for his chin acne (but not to start it right away), and to start Caesar on prednisolone and sub-q fluids. Caesar is not cooperative like the other two and pilling is stressful for him. He clamps his jaw shut and tries to push me away with his paw. Since I've gotten good at pilling, I am able to do it, but I'm sad at the thought that I may have to do this daily for Caesar, as well. He also growls and squirms when trying to give him fluids.

I was so bummed about this over the weekend, and had wondered "what did I do" and "did I give them something bad," but my boyfriend eased my mind a little. He said the two cats with the digestive issues (Caesar and Sebastian) are the ones I adopted as seniors from the shelter. I don't know their history or where they came from. They could have had a lifetime of the worst kibble on the market. They came from the same household, so most likely ate the same thing all their lives, and they both have the GI issues. Boo is the one that my family has had since he was a baby, and he does not have GI issues. So, I feel a little better in that I can't blame myself for their issues.

One positive thing is that I have not started him on the Mupirocin for his chin acne, yet, but it appears as though the combined use of pred and Baytril over the past three days is starting to clear up the chin acne. It is already looking much better. We'll see if it returns after stopping the Baytril.

So, there we are... 

I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you're going through.

Oh no!  I am so sorry for this diagnosis.  I too wonder sometimes if it's something I did that made 3 of my 5 kitties sickly.  I have 4 sickly critters including my dog. However dog is doing reasonably well considering her past.  I think you are on the right track that they both could have had the worst kibble on the market prior to you adopting them. 

Caesar is eating some on his own, but he didn't eat much last night and wouldn't eat at all this morning. If he doesn't eat for me tonight, I'm going to have to give him the appetite stimulant. Even though he's eating some, he acts like he feels "icky." He's sleeping a lot. Can Baytril cause upset stomach or add to his overall yuckiness? I've never had to give Baytril before.

I need him to gain weight. He's so thin. He gets wet and dry food (previously a kibble addict) and I'm debating whether or not to switch him back over to the EVO dry since it is high calorie. I typically don't go back to a food after a mass recall, but...  He eats the EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey canned, which is pretty high calorie, as well as some Fancy Feast and Sheba canned pates.

To add to the challenges, both Caesar and Sebastian are now sneezing, so I'm sure that's not helping their appetites. 

Just a thought, but have you tried Dr. Harvey's Power Patties?  They are freeze dried Raw Green Tripe, and have 30ish calories per patty.  You have to break them up since they are actually dog treats, but all 3 of mine like them, and they are 100% nutritionally complete.  Callie needs to gain weight desperately, so I feed her these on and off during the day.  They might be good for Sebastian and Boo too, although I gringe (slightly) when I think of doing anything different for Sebastian.  But Green Tripe is like a miracle food, in some ways.  I just feed it for the calories though.  Some folks have fed it because they were advised to for the nutrients.

BTW, if you get this (I ordered mine on Amazon), don't be put off by the smell (smells like cow poop).  Supposedly it doesn't smell, but don't be fooled...it DOES .  Anyway if you get it, your furkids may go for it immediately, or they may not.  Sometimes mine are crazy for it, other times they don't want to have anything to do with it.  You might have to do the old "oops, didn't mean to drop that...NO, you can't have it" routine to get them to eat it.

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
They might be good for Sebastian and Boo too, although I gringe (slightly) when I think of doing anything different for Sebastian.

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This made me LOL. 

Thanks so much for the tip on Dr. Harvey's Power Patties. I could certainly give them a try. And, actually, you reminded me that I have Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried rabbit medallions (for dogs) at home, which Boo and Sebastian both loved as treats, although I've had to stop them (for now) due to Sebastian's strict diet and then I forgot I had them.      I don't think Caesar would touch them, but I can try again. He's pretty picky and it took me 2 years to get him to eat a small rotation of wet foods.

Caesar is not doing great. 

The Mirtazapine wore off by Sunday night, and he didn't come out for dinner. He had been underneath the bed covers sleeping all day. He only came out to pee, and that was only after I had to drag him out to give him his pills. He also didn't eat this morning. So, it's been 24 hours since his last meal. I'll be giving him the Mirt again tonight.

Geez. I'm sorry. I'll be rooting for him!

Caesar had me very upset last night. I gave him the Mirt and after two hours he still didn't want to eat. It usually has him going within 15 minutes. I know it is a really bad sign when they don't want to eat even on the appetite stimulant. Luckily, he started to eat before bed and was eating this morning. I gave him a feline multivitamin last night to help him get his nutrients, and he seemed more peppy this morning. Maybe I should keep that up.

He definitely has a cold on top of everything else. I put my ear by his nose to listen and I could hear "bubbling" and "wheezing" coming out his nose like it was clogged. I've been using a gentle saline mist in his nose each night.

Oh, I am so sorry you were upset. I know it's so hard not to worry and fret when they're ill. Lots of  for you.