Need help with sick feral

Hi, I have a feral cat that I adopted when she was 3 weeks old, has always been crazy, but loves me and my hubby.... every time I have taken her to a vet they can't get within 2 feet of her before she starts hissing and spitting. The last vet didn't even get to look at her because he couldn't keep her still, and recommended euthanizing because the aggression was so bad.... That was 6 years ago, and she has been fairly healthy since, aside from the aggression, and occasional hair loss we always thought was due to stressors. She is now an unspayed 8 1/2 year old, and over the last 2 months, her back breasts closest to her tail have swollen but remain soft, and she has been losing her fur, and this time it is not coming back. The hair loss isn't complete, as there is a very thin coat of short hair (probably about 2-5 mm long) that remains. The last week her appetite has decreased, she won't eat the wet food we put down for her, and she barely picks at kibble. Today she vomited the kibble that she did eat, and we noticed very foul smelling diarrhea with small spots of blood in the litter box she shares with out younger healthy male. We have separated her to ensure it is her stool and not his, but I am hoping someone can help me try and figure out what is going on with her and whether or not I should spend the money it's going to take to get her looked at. We just bought our first home, and are paying double the amount we were before, so are already struggling, and I am currently 4 1/2 months pregnant, so trying desperately to not spend money we don't have. I love her with all my heart, but I suspect she may have cancer, and as much as I would love to, cannot afford treatments for that or any other long term disease. Any info of people's experiences with this would be greatly appreciated. And before anyone posts negative things like you should have fixed her, or just pay the vet bills, I already know how awful it is and am already riddled with guilt on the matter, I am simply looking for any medical advice people may have at this point. Thank you in advance. 

Well - then, you already know what I will say so I won't. In all honesty, since she is a senior now, almost nine years old, and is not spayed this could be a cancer of some sort in her mammory glands. And, that is just a complete guess since you mention about the swollen nipples and all of the thinning hair. She is unwell, obviously and need a vet. The best way to do this would be to give her a sedative before you go - a pill of some sort OR you may have to put her into a Havahart trap so the vet can inject her with a sedative at the vets office easily through the trap cage. That is the easiest way for a vet to handle and examine a feral cat - by way of the trap and sedation. Extremely stressful for the cat though so an oral pill ahead of time is necessary.

No one can diagnose or tell you anything else on the boards other than to get her to a vet. If she stops eating she could also get Hepatic Lipidosis of the liver and that is extremely serious so you may need to start to syringe feed her something such as Hill's A/D canned food purchased from the vet. I am sorry about this for your cat and am glad you came here for advice so we can encourage you to take her to the vet for proper care.

--------------------------------------From the TCS Forum Rules:


No online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forum while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.

That being said, sometimes members find themselves short of cash with a sick pet. Please take a look at this excellent article that contains advice on how you may be able to afford that trip to the vet, even if you think you can't: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/when-you-cant-afford-a-veterinarian

If I had the money for the vet I would be there and not on here.... I do not have the type of carrier you speak of. I am looking for any advice other than go to the vet, such as any experiences people may have had similar to this, I know that this isn't a vets office, hence the wording of my post. Thank you for your time though.

I'm so sorry your kitty is sick and your facing these decisions.  I don't know if not seeing a vet is something you have to take completely off the table for a couple of reasons.  First I think your expense will be limited to something you can handle either because it's out of your hands (i.e., she has a terminal illness) or you make the hard, yet responsible decision, that the expense of treatment is outside your means.  In other words, I think many unexpected expenses will come up throughout your life and you'll find ways to pay for them - you will because you have to -  and this is just one of those times. 

As far as taking her to the vet, you can have a vet come to your house.  In addition to the mobile vets there are (Let's hope I don't get flamed for this)  at home euthanasia services.  I'm posting a link below with a map you can search.  The reason I mention this is that I grew up in an area where people couldn't afford vet care. To me there are worse things than death and watching an animal in die slowly in agony is one of them. 

http://www.petlossathome.com/mobile-vet/

Again, I'm sorry and glad you posted.  About as helpless as I've felt as an adult is when my pets are sick and there's no clear answer as to what to do.

Thank you Reba, it is the financial aspect right now... the only money we have is on already heavily loaded credit cards as like you said, in life many unexpected expenses come up in life, and we have already had to deal with them, as I stated we just bought our first house, and have to make many unexpected repairs, and I don't get paid again until next week. Even if we did find a way to get testing done, we know we can't afford treatments, and we know that the vet is just going to say they can't tell what is wrong without doing tests that we cannot afford. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, is still prowling the house, and is picking at food... she actually hasn't vomited again since the one earlier today, just exhibiting some concerning symptoms. If we knew for sure it was time because she was in pain, we wouldn't hesitate to bring her in to be relieved of her pain. I was just hoping someone might be watching these threads that has dealt with these types of symptoms before, or even that has dealt with feline cancers before that could tell me if my suspicions were on the right track. I've tried to research feline breast cancer but most sites talk about hard masses and tumours, and not swelling, which I know can be a symptom of human breast cancer, so thought maybe the same would apply to animals. I also wasn't sure if the hair loss could be associated with the cancer, or if that would be something else entirely.

KittyLove81 said:

I also wasn't sure if the hair loss could be associated with the cancer, or if that would be something else entirely.

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I have no idea as to whether the hair loss is associated with the possible cancer your cat may have. There is also care credit that most vets will allow. Your cat needs a vet. And, if your suspicions are right about the cancer then she may be suffering at this point? I am not sure and again, you are the best judge of that.

This is the best place I find to see if someone has experience with similar symptoms, though they can't give treatment advice, that can be very helpful.  I completely understand where you're at with the dilemma regarding the tests.  When I was young nobody had to worry about running up thousands for vet bills because there weren't that many tests or options for treatment.   If you do need to make that awful decision your local animal shelter may offer low-cost euthanisia as well.    How is she doing now?

Isn't it possible the vomiting and diarrhea are caused by something different than the swelling and hair loss? Personally, I would always try the basics first for digestive upset - don't feed her for a few hours (not too long though) and then offer something bland like plain cooked chicken or baby food meat. If she seems to be having trouble with her usual food, maybe try one for sensitive stomachs.

It is possible  that all the symptoms are related, and they could be caused by cancer or something equally serious. I just wouldn't want to overlook the possibility that there's a simple fix for part of it. 

Just an update for everyone... miss Kitty hasn't vomited since, only the one bout, we are thinking it may have been the kibble she was on, since we stopped feeding it to her she has been fine as far as the vomiting and diarrhea, and no more red spots in her stools... we are bringing her in for a checkup to have her breasts examined (which the vet did confirm can present as swelling and not necessarily as a lump) and assess her hair loss, she has definitely not lost any of her spunk, is still terrorizing our dog, and any guests that enter our home LOL So no she is not suffering, if I thought for a second she was, like I stated previously, as hard as it would be to do, I would not allow her to suffer needlessly. She is not the first senior animal we have cared for in our home, and all of our animals are rescues that would have otherwise been put down at a very young age, or came from abusive homes. I am still curious to know if anyone who has dealt with feline cancers has experienced hair loss, or if anyone who has dealt with feline thyroid issues (hyperthyroidism) have experienced hair loss in this manner or behavioural issues such as aggression. Our vet thinks that the hair loss could either be related to stress or be related to a thyroid problem. Again, thank you for the replies and any experiences with either disease that is shared in the future!

Tht's great news!  You know your mention about stress hair loss reminded me of when my parents adopted two of my aunt's senior cats after her husband died.  They both had lost all the hair on the back half of their bodies.  We speculated that it might be because of stress because it did grow back after a few years and there was no other treatment.

Just a couple of things I wanted to mention.

Foul smelling, blood tinged poop is usually caused by either parasites or food intolerance.

The blood is from inflammed bowels/intestines.

So you may be correct if the kibble was changed or other foods she is not accustomed to.

I also thought to mention, the cost of a vet visit is under $50.00, and he will be able to tell alot just from examining her, without the extra costs of blood tests, etc.

Perhaps if he knows right from the start that it was hard enough to afford getting her seen so you are unable to go much further, he might base what he sees and give you the medication he thinks she might be needing rather than confirming it with diagnostic testing.

Like for instance if he suspects she may have a uterine infection, he can give you antibiotics for this rather than doing a blood panel to confirm.

Best of luck with your girl!

To:  KittyLove81

Sounds like you may be on the right track with blaming the food.

What food were/are you feeding her?

Please be aware that many Purina foods have been causing serious damage to cats/dogs.  A friend of mine lost his 10-month old puppy - to Beneful (Made by Purina).

And there are many stories from people whose pets became ill/died from Purina Foods.  You can read about this on a forum site  - ConsumerAffairs.

It appears that - for years - there have been recurrent problems with virtually all the Purina Pet Foods - at one time or another.

A while ago - There was a class-action suit being started against Purina, but, I don't know what happened to it.  There may still be info on it on consumeraffairs.

Purina manufactures pet foods under MANY different names (Friskies, Beneful, Delicat, and lots more).  You need to look closely at the label to see if it's one of theirs.

If you're buying pet foods in a supermarket - you can be pretty sure it's a Purina Brand (That's virtually ALL my supermarket carries, as Purina buys out the shelf space to eliminate competition).

If you're concerned about cost - check out the internet for good prices on brands other than Purina.  They have a much larger selection of food brands - and - their prices are usually good.

Many also provide a listing of all the ingredients included in each food.  (eg. petfooddirect, wag)

Also - from what I've read/researched on the internet:

CARRAGEENAN: 

I totally avoid pet foods (and People-foods!) that contain Carrageenan.  Carrageenan is an extremely potent Carcinogen. 

Carrageenan is such a strong carcinogen - that it is often used to trigger cancer in Lab animals!

Carrageenan also can cause extensive damage to the digestive tract (Esophagus, stomach, intestines).  It can cause lesions.

And, it is found in most canned pet foods (even Premium Brands).  You need to check everything in each ingredients label - Some brands will use it in SOME of their foods - and not in others.

A few years ago, I found several articles written by a doctor who did extensive research on Carrageenan.  I saved the articles, but, cannot locate them right now,

as they are in one of my crashed computers! 

If you ask the pet food companies about this - they will tell you that they use the "safe" form.  However -  There is no safe form.

There’s a High-molecular weight Carrageenan – and a Low Molecular weight Carrageenan. 

I think it’s the High-Molecular weight that is deemed “safe”.  BUT – when the stomach acids hit it – it turns into the

LOW molecular Weight Version – which is not safe.  (Or the reverse!).

Because so many companies use Carrageenan in their food products - Most sites you can find easily - will say it's safe. 

If you want to research it on the internet - you should use wording that may pinpoint some of the risks: such as "Carrageenan + Cancer", or "Carrageenan + Lesions" or "Carrageenan + inflammmation" - etc.

I also avoid Ethoxyquin - another carcinogen often found in pet foods.

Hope this helps, Jackie Page

I just want to second catwoman's recommendation about the vet.  The risk is that you'll be missing a window where a condition is treatable at low cost, versus waiting and finding out there's nothing you can do.  I like her idea of sharing your limitations up front so he can structure his treatment recommendations accordingly.  A big pet peeve of mine is when vets give people a laundry list of treatments they know they can't afford.  They may dress it up as informed consent, but in my view it's ethically lazy (as well as cruel) to offer people thousands of dollars worth of options they can't afford or would have to go into massive amounts of debt to do so.

I also find it highly doubtful that Purina is engaged is a massive conspiracy to co-opt the market so they can sell carcinogen laced pet foods.  And, FYI, Consumer Affairs is a trolling site for class action attorneys.

Quote:

Reba said:

I also find it highly doubtful that Purina is engaged is a massive conspiracy to co-opt the market so they can sell carcinogen laced pet foods.  And, FYI, Consumer Affairs is a trolling site for class action attorneys.

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1.  CARRAGEENAN-ETHOXYQUIN:  You're misunderstanding what I presented.  I did not include the information about Carrageenan and Ethoxyquin as part of the problems with Purina Foods -

     but as additional issues to be aware of for ALL pet foods.  MOST pet food brands are using Carrageenan, and some use Ethoxyquin.   Purina, like many, includes these additives in SOME of their foods,

     and, not in others.           (The issues with Purina on consumeraffairs - have mostly not been cancer-related)

2.  BUYING OUT SHELF SPACE:  My supermarket manager personally informed me -  that various companies (INCLUDING Purina) - DO buy out shelf space in his store (A Food Emporium Store) -

     when I asked why some of the better pet foods were no longer being sold in his store.  I'm sure this practice is not limited to his store. 

3.  CONSUMERAFFAIRS:  The validity of the scenarios about Purina causing damage/death - has nothing to do with attorneys "trolling" the site.  These are peoples' personal experiences with Purina Foods.

     I also seem to recall that the Class Action Suit that was being started against Purina a few years ago - was being headed by a Senator - not an attorney.

     However, I think it's a GOOD thing that attorneys check out this site a lot.  Attorneys do not tend to waste their time pursuing issues that have no merit. 

     And, consumers need all the help they can get.

     You do really seem concerned about animals, so, with all due respect, I suggest that you really should check out the forum about Purina Foods on consumeraffairs - before tossing out the claims.

     There are Hundreds of letters from consumers about damages to their pets from Purina Foods (There must be Thousands over the years, if they're still available on the site). 

4.  PURINA:   I Know that many people - especially animal rescuers - must depend on lower-priced pet foods.  And, so, they tend to use Purina Foods a lot, as they are easily available, and priced

     right.  Most animals being fed on Purina foods apparently are OK.  But, there seem to be TOO MANY animals that have gotten sick (or died) from Purina Foods. 

     And, I think that when an animal is having health issues, especially involving GI issues - It's always a good thing to look at the food - especially if Purina is being fed.  (Or, foods with Carrageenan,

     Ethoxyquin)   

     (Again, my friend lost his puppy to Purina's Beneful, and, I fed my cats some Purina for a while years ago (Well before the Melamine crisis) - and, suddenly - all of my 10 cats were vomiting, and,

      some developed Granulomas.  This all stopped when I stopped the Purina.)

I hope this clears up my previous post,

Jackie Page

KittyLove81 said:

Just an update for everyone... miss Kitty hasn't vomited since, only the one bout, we are thinking it may have been the kibble she was on, since we stopped feeding it to her she has been fine as far as the vomiting and diarrhea, and no more red spots in her stools... we are bringing her in for a checkup to have her breasts examined (which the vet did confirm can present as swelling and not necessarily as a lump) and assess her hair loss, she has definitely not lost any of her spunk, is still terrorizing our dog, and any guests that enter our home LOL So no she is not suffering,

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This sounds like good news overall and glad that you are going to take her in to have her examined. Another thought crossed my mind since she is not spayed. It is possible that she is going through Pseudo-pregnancy - a false pregnancy. A hormonal imbalance is thought to play a role in the development of this type of condition in which an unaltered, non-pregnant female cat shows symptoms about two months after her estrus (heat cycle) is over. Symptoms that could possibly occur would be and could be: abdominal distention, enlargement of mammary glands, vomiting, loss of appetite, some depression and possible behavioral changes to even include restlessness - just to name a few. Just a thought!! Best of luck with Miss Kitty.