My cat is sick...need advice

One thing I've learned is that kitties pick up on our stress.  That makes it harder for them to recover as stress just aggravates everything and makes it worse.  You want to be proactive, but also remain calm, cool, and collected.  Monitor his progress and even keeping a journal of his behavior, improvements, and things like that might help you.  It'll help you communicate with the vet better, too.  So, take a deep breath (or 2 or 3) and love on your guy.  Don't hover, but check on him throughout the day and record your findings in your journal.  That way you can see progress.  Also, some meds are hard on kitties, so it's almost like they've got to get over the effects of the meds and also the infection.  You're doing a great job with him and you're so caring; I have every confidence you'll do what it takes to get him well.

@stephanietx, now that I think about that, I think you're right about staying calm. I just get so anxious and nervous. I have two other cats and Odie is so different in his personality. I find him to be more interactive with us than the others. He's also more dependent. When his litter box is dirty he cries up a storm for us to clean it. When my mom combs her hair in the morning, he runs to her to be combed (no one else). When I pick up my bottle to drink water, he wants to drink at the same time. He knows when I've bought a new bag of food for him and he'll get upset with me and stop eating for a few hours. If I don't feed him on time, he refuses to eat when I'm ready to feed him and sits facing a corner, but steals looks to see if I'm looking. He's a cat with a huge personality, and I've never owned a cat like him. He has different meows for all different occasions and he's vocal about everything. When he's sick, the house is so quiet and it makes us all sad Since your advice, I'm keeping an eye on him but giving him more space to relax and recover.

I have started keeping a journal. GoHolistic advised me to do that earlier in the post, and I think it's an excellent idea. When the vet asks questions i can provide answers immediately.

Hope your cat is doing better.

My Hannah is improving.  Like you, I wish it was faster, but I know that her body needs longer to heal.  We'll call the vet in the morning for another Rx to knock out the last of the infection and probably pick up some more nose drops while we're at it.  Thanks for asking about her. 

@QueenOf3, how's your kitty today?  Did you speak with the vet?

Hi, Stephanie. Thanks for asking! I appreciate it so much. Odie is making good progress. His appettite is increasing, he's eating more. He has started following me around the house and vocalizing like he used to. Im so happy, really. Today was day five on Baytril. The vet at the AAHA hospital was not in today but I'll be able to speak to her tomorrow. There is a growing concern i have besides the type of antibiotic. When he's eating, he suddenly starts tilting his head to the side. It looks like he has food stuck somewhere and he's trying to get it out. Then he'll paw his mouth. Sometimes it looks like something is trying to come up. He'll be pawing his face and suddenly his head hits the ground. If it bothers him enough he walks away from the food, but I know he wants to eat because a few minutes later he'll ask me for food again. I wonder if this problem has something to do with toxoplasmosis? He has had his mouth examined by three different vets in the past week and they all said he has no dental or gum issues. And this problem started recently in the past month. I just hope Odie is able to get past this.

That's very intriguing.  Let us know what the vet says about that particular thing.  I wonder if he has a loose tooth or something?  Glad to see he's doing better, though!

Thanks. I will keep u posted. Im on my way home now. Hope he's ready to eat.

Hi, guys. I wanted to update you on Odie's progress. I spoke to his vet at the hospital this past friday and she told me in addition to toxo, he's also positive for bartonella. Hes had fleas before...a few times...as well as my other cat, Baby. She said it might not even require treatment or i can get him treated after the toxo. This was a lot to digest I put him on Pepcid ac quarter pill twice a day and his head tilting episodes are down. His eating habits are much better and overall he looks good. He's still not playing with the other cats yet but he's much more interactive with us, which is good enough at this point.

Here's the problem....he's now on clindamycin half pill twice a day (today was day 4) and he had some blood in his stool today. I saw him straining a bit towards the end of his bowel movement but nothing more came out, and when he jumped out of his box, a drop of stool fell on the floor. When I examined it closely, there was blood in it!! What should i do? Should I stop the clindamycin? I'm supposed to give him a dose in about an hour. I have the purina probiotic but haven't given it to him yet. I tried to give him some a few weeks ago but it was culturelle, not the cat brand, and he was repulsed.

Does anyone have any suggestion for me? I'm so desperate. We've been going through this for over a month and there's no end in sight

Oh no. I'm so sorry Odie has Bartonella on top of the Toxo.     When I looked up side effects of Clindamycin, it says to call the vet if there is blood in the stool. I really don't know what you should do about the next dose, but I would suggest that you call the vet first thing in the morning and let them know what you've observed.

@goHolistic, I will do exactly that. I called a local hospital and spoke to a vet. I described the entire situation to her and told her how the blood was only in the last drop of poop that actually fell on the floor. She told me to still give him the clindamycin :/ and call his vet in the morning. I didnt feel comfortable with that advice so i didnt give him any. I told her that I read that if one's pet develops loose or bloody stools, the clindamycin should be stopped. And she insisted the blood in poop is not a side effect seen in cats :/

I do hope your vet can tell you for sure in the morning, and I hope it's nothing serious. Personally, I don't like seeing blood in the stool for any reason. It's just not supposed to be there. 

So the vet odie saw at the hospital was not in and I couldn't get in touch with another vet at the hospital. I had to call his local vet who told me to continue the clindamycin. She said it was just a drop of blood towards the end and it's not alarming :/ Well, I'm freaking out

I will continue monitoring him for further changes...

Hi guys,Odie is still having some mucousy blood in his stool, which is still soft and not diarrhea. I finally got through to his vet today and she said as long as he's eating and drinking, I should continue with the clindamycin. I'm going to bring his stool sample to her on Monday.

Since yesterday, I've seen Odie's hind legs twitching and when it happens, he quickens up whatever he's doing--if he's walking, he'll speed up and change his direction. If he's sitting, he stands up and kicks his hind leg like there's something stuck and he's trying to get it off. He was sitting in his window seat, and when he jumped off i noticed he wasn't walking properly. One of his hind legs wasn't straight...it was kind of bent and he was walking really funny. You could tell something is wrong. Few minutes later he was fine and stretching.

I'm so afraid. Has the toxo gotten hold of his Neuro system? I can't understand why since he's on the medication. I don't want to loose him. He's my life. I can't live without him

Re your Quote :"Since yesterday, I've seen Odie's hind legs twitching and when it happens, he quickens up whatever he's doing--if he's walking, he'll speed up and change his direction. If he's sitting, he stands up and kicks his hind leg like there's something stuck and he's trying to get it off. He was sitting in his window seat, and when he jumped off i noticed he wasn't walking properly. One of his hind legs wasn't straight...it was kind of bent and he was walking really funny. You could tell something is wrong. Few minutes later he was fine and stretching."

The back legs thing is scary!  Let's hope it's just a neurological thing secondary to either his infection or his treatment and not a blood clot.  Has he ever had a heart murmur or any heart problems? Watch him closely and if he has more serious hind leg trouble, appears to be in pain or starts dragging his leg or legs, rush him to the emergency clinic. And if it just stays the same, like an annoying numbness, call your vet first thing Monday and tell her about it.  She never did identify what the strange thing was on his x-ray when he was one year old.  [Quote: "She did say that on the x rays she noted something strange in the abdominal or thoracic area (i can't remember now) but wasn't sure what that was. She said he was still young so it could be nothing or maybe birth defect."]  You might want to get an ultrasound if he continues to have any leg problems.

@red top rescue, I took him to a local vet two weeks ago and she told me then he had a tiny heart murmur. His first vet of six years never told me anything about a murmur so thus was news to me. The local vet is just a back up vet and his primary vet is one at the AAHA hospital, which is about an hour away from me. I'm going to be seeing her on Monday so I'll tell her about the leg twitching/jerking/kicking and about the heart murmur and ask her about the necessary ultrasounds.

If this problem is secondary, and I hope it is, to his toxo infection , will he recover? I'm going to monitor him even more closely now and if I see it getting worse, we're going to the ER. I don't want to take any chances. Someone on this site posted a story about their cat, Scooter, whom they had to put down because they couldn't afford the tests and surgeries associated with removing the blood clot, which was interfering with the function of his hind legs. I'm ever vigilant after reading the account of that poor cat.

About the strange finding in his chest x ray at age 1, I showed the results to his now primary vet at the AAHA hospital and she said since it's still there and it hasn't gone through any changes, it's likely how he was born. I purchased him from a pet shop and the vet said they were likely running a mill and there was a lot of interbreeding going on. Odie's health is not that bad but we've been in and out of dr's office since I got him at about 6 weeks.

He has some litter stuck to one of his hind paws. I wanted to remove it and when i touched it, he reacted very violently, like he's in pain. So im assuming that 's the offending leg and it seems to be hypersensitive since he wont let me touch it. He's not dragging or limping, just when he has the sudden twitching he does what i described above.

I don't have any advice to give since I don't know what's going on with Odie and his leg, but wanted to send good vibes. Let us know how the vet visit goes.

What Scooter had is exactly what I was concerned about but didn't name as I didn't want to scare you unnecessarily, but you need to tell the vet about the leg symptoms ASAP.  It's called a "saddle thrombus" which is when a clot forms in the heart and then travels down the large vessel until it reaches a "fork in the road" and it lodges there, blocking off circulation below that point.  It is usually sudden, with no warning signs, but if he had just a small clot and only partially blocking one side, it might create symptoms like numbness and tingling and/or pain in one leg.  Neuritis could create the exact same symptoms, however, without being so dangerous.  The blood clot problem is often associated with heart disease and/or heart murmurs, which is why I asked about that.  You said the local vet had heard a heart murmur two weeks ago, so you definitely need to share this history and these symptoms with your AAHA vet and see what she suggests.  I'm glad you are seeing her tomorrow.  Let us know what you find out.

Check the foot of the affected leg and see if it feels cold. Also look at the toes for the color. Saddle thrombosis is extremely painful and usually they can hardly move. You said that cat little was stuck on his paw. Could there be more in between toes or something irritating him? I would not allow him to jump up and down off things until you have him checked out.

Hi, Quiet! I always appreciate your input and i was hoping you'd reply. So thanks. Yes, there's more litter stuck between his toes, and today when i tried to pick it, very gently, he acted very aggresively (growled and hissed). Any time i try to touch his paw, he acts very protectively of it. If it's a litter issue, he shouldnt have done what he did yesterday--he jumped off the window seat, and when he landed, his left hind leg was slightly bent and his walk was not smooth (slight limp) but few seconds later he was fine. Ive place stairs next to the window where he hangs out and i encourage him to use the chair when hes jumping on the tables and back down. Im trying to assist him as much as possible. His leg is definitely in pain. Is this expected of neurological problem? Im bringing him to the vet tomorrow to see whats going on.