Jasper Cat Very Sick & it's a Mystery - any similar experiences?

7 days ago my 4 year old male cat went from acting completely normal to throwing up and leathargy.
He stopped eating and drinking and was throwing up bile quite violently every couple if hours.
I took him to the vet and they couldn't find anything obvious after a physical examination. He was in discomfort when his belly area was touched.
Vet started him on some anti biotics and sent off blood samples.
Blood samples came back clear of anything bad - just a slightly abnormal white blood count.
Jasper the cat did not improve after a day so he went back in for x rays.
Nothing obvious on the x ray front but when they put dye in him they found it was only going as far as his stomach which was also enlarged.
Vet did an operation to see what was blocking him ... Found nothing apart from:
Some dried grass and poo
Inflamed lymph nodes
That was Thursday afternoon. Since then we have been medicating jasper with anti biotics and slurry tablets and one other that treats ulcers in the stomach.
On Saturday Jasper was interested in his good and had a mouthful and some water. Since then his interest in food has diminished and he's not taking much water either. He spends his time in a comfy bed in a quiet spare room (he never used to go in there much).
He is obviously getting weaker and I'm coming to the conclusion that there is not much else I can do for him.
He doesn't seem to be in pain but he has pain relief on board until Tuesday morning when that wears off (slow release bandage on his hind leg).
Is there anything I can do that would help further? Jasper is an indoor / outdoor active cat and would want him to have a good quality life doing what he likes to do.
I'm thinking whatever he has is very serious and hasn't been picked up yet ... I could send samples off for analysis - but would it do any good as he's so weak now?

Is he on any kind of steroid?  If there is some kind of inflammatory condition going on with him a steroid would help.  Did the vet take tissue samples for a biopsy?   A biopsy does not automatically mean cancer, it can also be used to pickup on inflammation.

I'm so sorry. Poor guy, sounds so uncomfortable! The pain meds may reduce his appetite - they may also make him constipated. Did the vet discuss any of this with you?

With cats, it's really not safe to wait until they eat on their own. Many vets have a "just give it some time" kind of attitude about it, but in some cats, even 4 or 5 days is enough to for fatty liver (hepatic lipidosis) to set in. The only way to prevent this is to assist feed him his daily requirement for food if he's not eating on his own. I would consider starting ASAP. You can use baby food, or turn wet food into a slurry. You should be able to find syringes at a pet store or pharmacy.

Inflamed lymph nodes HOPEFULLY are just a sign of infection - and hopefully the antibiotics will do the job. :heart2: And he's likely feeling off from having been blocked, the surgery, and now the pain killer.

So I'd assist feed him, make sure he stays well hydrated (you can give him children's unflavored pedialyte via syringe), and give his body some time to heal from what he's been through.

FYI, when he's done with the antibiotics, it's a really good idea to replenish his healthy bacteria with a probiotic. You want an L. acidophilus-based probiotic. Various brands and how to use them are listed here: http://www.ibdkitties.net/Probiotics.html

Vibes for your boy!

Thanks Guys,

Jasper isn't on any kind of steroid, just anti biotics and after operation medicine that helps protect the lining of his stomach (as it was opened to be emptied).

We made some fish food slurry and fed it to him using a syringe - we managed to get a mouthful in but he hated it and refused to open his mouth for more. Tried squirting it in the side of his mouth but we ends up wearing more that he got and he growled the whole time (he never growls normally).

He's back hiding again now after that experience but I've left his fav food and water at his hiding place.

Hoping the little but he got will help him. Will do it again later.

No quality of life for the little fella at the moment I'm afraid . And he is getting small - probably lost 1kg+ in the last week.

When he was 9 months old he had a paracetamol incident and needed hospital for 3 days - I'm wondering if it's related even though that was over 3 years ago...

I'd get him to the vet or an ER vet immediately.  All of these signs, hiding, not eating, and lethargy are indications of a very serious, even life-threatening problem.  He needs attention NOW.  Did the vet x-ray his bowels to be sure he wasn't impacted and constipated?

Hi all,

Jasper is still in the animal hospital.

Been on an IV drip, painkillers and anti biotics.

They are going to do an untrasound on him as there's no improvement in his condition at all.

If they find nothing then will review biopsy results when they come back.

Fresh blood tests are all clear.

He only has a slightly raised temperature.

Mystery and suffering continues and we still don't know anything.

Worse Easter break ever

Don't loose hope.  My kitty has IBD and he had several crisis where I thought he was going to make it before I found a vet that able to get it under control.  This inflammatory stuff can be nasty but it is treatable.

I almost had him put to sleep yesterday - but he put up so much fight at the vets then I thought he was still fighting and it wasn't his time , hence through new tests.

Always have hope for the little fella . You never know if your call is right or not in these circumstances do you ...

Hope whatever the issues is can be treated. Will give it to Saturday.

Sending lots of vibes for Jasper...     

I've been there, too, with my Sebastian, who was hospitalized on an IV for pancreatitis (still has chronic pancreatitis). His symptoms were similar to Jasper's - violent vomiting, lethargy, anorexia - as well as a fever and high WBC. Sebastian's belly was distended and painful. I was going to ask if they got a good look at Jasper's pancreas. Might be worth asking about. 

Symptoms sounds very similar - the vet he's with now is making sounds like it's to do with the pancreas and even thigh that organ was fine during the operation it may have gone bad afterwards.

They have put him under to administer feeding tubes and to check out if the fat around the wound is infected.

Thanks for all the vibes - he needs them all!

Poor Jasper. 

     

Results are in - it's not cancer. Something is attacking the outside blood vessels of his intestines. 2 contenders - FIP or Gastritis. The latter is treatable via administering a tablet every other day for life. Minamal side effects and good quality of life. Have told them to treat that for a week - if there is no response then it can only be FIP so we would have to put him down. There is no conclusive test for FIP so not worth pursuing testing that. So at least we are down to 2 things ... Will pick jj up tomorrow and treat him from home and feed via his tube until he responds or a week passes... Thoughts?

It sounds like an unusual way of describing IBD.  I know many vets will prescribe a steroid to be given every other day.  The reason being there would be time for all of the medicine to leave the system which will stimulate the kitty's body to produce it's own.  When it's given daily the medication is always in the system so the kitty doesn't produce it's own.  My kitty has been on a steroid for a little over 3 years.  The main side effect that can occur is diabetes which clears up when the steroid is stopped.  My kitty hasn't had any problems so far.

Hi;

I would take Jasper to an internal medicine veterinarian if you can. Jasper sounds like he could have Pancreatitis and even Hepatic lipidosis due to the associated anorexia. Just what it sounds like on paper. The blood tests don't show the pancreatitis in cats and it would not be possible to tell from the surgery. In fact the pancreas is very sensitive and it doesn't take much to set it off.

I would get an abdominal ultrasound with a specialist only since they are very subjective and you want someone who does 100 a week doing it as opposed to someone who only does a couple a week.

Force feeding can cause more problems than good with a cat. It is very important for a cat to eat though as they can go into hepatic lipidosis from just a large decrease in appetite or not eating for a day or so. So it is important that Jasper eat. If they put in a Esophageal Tube and you are going to be feeding him at home make sure all food is fed in small doses and it is room temperature when fed. Also discontinue all feeding at any sign of nausea and call your vet.

I sure hope he is feeling better soon.

If you haven't already, see a specialist and if you have, see another one. Get copies of all your records so nothing is repeated.

If you can't see a specialist due to $, I totally understand and you can only do what you can do but try a website IBDkitties.org not that I think he has IBD but because it is a good site with allot of information about many different cat diseases including hepatic lipidosis, if that is what it is. Any yellow color to his ears on the insides?

Good luck. I sure hope he is better soon.

There are two versions of FIP, the "wet" and the "dry" version.  If the wet version there would be fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity.  Was there any?

I'm so sorry for what you and you cat are going through, sending positive vibes.