Diarrhea, eat extremely little, lost a lot of weight - already been to vet a few times

Everyone,

Need some advice here. My cat that's like 1-1.5 years old started with diarrhea. Within a week or so, he refused to eat and eventually take a bite or two. We are at week 3.5 now and he lost a lost of weight and we can feel his bones when we pat him.

More Information :

1. Vet prescribed 2 types of antibiotics on two different visits but did not help. I stopped giving him midway since I didn't see any improvement. Should I continue?

2. His poops are watery and brown since the problem started, and for the last few days it's mostly clear, probably because he has no food to digest. Foul smell - from what I read, indicates that he's sick.

3. I've tried giving him a Drontal deworm pill last week, no difference.

4. He's very dehydrated now.

5. Went to the vet again today and suggested a blood test. It will only tell if liver (and some other parts that I can't remember) are down with infection. I did ask if there is any medication for these it and they just said it will tell which part is wrong and see how it goes from there. So I paid an exorbitant price and the results "indicate" that he is sick with some unknown infection, nothing new to me. No doubt I feel cheated. And of course, they suggested I leave him there to rehydrate him, which I did not.

6. Temperature has always been normal, no fever. Can I rule out virus infection here?

7. When the vet pressed his tummy, he reacted in pain.

8. There is a wound in his leg, bitten by another cat many months ago that never got to heal despite several visits to the vet.

9. If there's anyone who know how to read the result of the blood test I can take a snapshot of it. Generally he is low in HGB, HCT, MCV, ALB. High in TBIL, TP, and GLOB, whatever these refers to.

Anyone came across these type of symptoms before that could give some advice? Am thinking of trying another vet (the one that I'm going now has a few doctors and so far rely on antibiotics only).

Thanks

What country do you live in?

With the severity of diarrhea, I'd be doing a fecal test to test for Giardia, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, etc...this is a specialized test sent to an outside lab. Vet's cannot pick up these parasites/protozoans at their clinic. You also cannot treat with regular deworming medication.

***Also, with how sick your kitty is, I would think hospitalizing him to get fluids is CRITICAL!***

They can also start him on IV nutrition if needed.

If the leg is still causing problems, it is possible that your kitty has a bone infection that has spread. Though I would think this would be accompanied by fever?

Thanks for your response CatPack.

I live in Malaysia. I'm unsure if our vet technology is advanced as the Western countries like yourself. I can definitely ask.

Though they did not check his poo, they indirectly checked the residues (from the thermometer stuffed into his anus to check his temperature) under the microscope. I presume this is not sufficient?

He can still walk and jump at the moment. So I'm trying my best to revive him before he deteriorates further.

I am assuming that his leg should not be causing this problem as we applied medicine given by the vet. One possibility is that he managed to ingest part of the medicine (he was wearing a "cone" but that wouldn't stop him from trying to reach the wound - we took it off when this problem came).

I am ok with IV if this is the best option. My concern is the risk of it. He was screaming in pain when the doc withdrew his blood today. Am concerned that the IV needle could hurt him. Unsure if they'd sedate him, and if this would weaken him further. Let me dig for more info.

I've observed this too "Abnormal posture (i.e., may be "guarding" the stomach by curling up, or leaning forward with back end higher in attempt to relieve pain)" but instead of back higher, he is on his 4 legs instead of lying down relaxed.

I guess it's something complicated and wouldn't be cured by antibiotics. And it's going to require a lot more to determine what it is.

You can't stop antibiotics halfway through, hun. 

What will happen is his body will become resistant to them, because you've given him just enough to start immune system stimulation, but not enough to finish the job. 

Most likely you will need to start a new round of antibiotics, and finish them... even if you don't think they're helping.  Some infections can be deep in the body (my Pippin had one in his liver), and they can be difficult to fight (Pip had to go through 3 different rounds).

The posture you are describing, along with the loss of weight, not eating, and tummy pain, might indicate something going on either with his digestive system, or his organs.  He could have a blockage, or perhaps eaten something toxic, which could affect either or both systems.  I agree that fluids at this point are a necessity.

Bottom line is, until you know the cause, it's going to be difficult for us to help you.  The only way to find the cause is to do some testing, and follow your vets directions.

Thanks Furmonster Mom. Am resuming his antibiotics today, unfortunately he vomited about 2 hours after that. I wonder how much is absorbed into his body. Also tried to rehydrate him with some water.

HGB: Hemoglobin

HCT: Hematocrit

= Anemia, In a human they usually have a bleed somewhere. Usually a GI tract bleed. Sometimes it is caused by Iron Deficiency, but I do not know how or if cats absorb iron like humans.

Have they done any abdominal xray/ultrasounds?

If you don't want to leave him with the vet, can you ask for subcutaneous fluids? That way they could at least get some fluid into him that wouldn't have to go through his digestive tract, and you can take him home afterward. Considering how sick he's been for so long, getting and keeping him hydrated is really important to help him keep going and not deteriorate further. 

Can you use a syringe to get water into him every 15 minutes or so?  Having heard all my life how dangerous cat bites are, surprised that there hasn't been more discussion about that.

Thanks Reba, momto3cats, KittyMomma1122. Somehow I did not receive an auto email notication on your response.

My cat died today. I resumed his antibiotics as per my previous post. Yesterday I brought him to another vet for second opinion and the doc fed him some big brownish tablet (split into 2 and fed twice consecutively) for his liver (due to his "jaundice" look). About 8 hours later, his hind legs seemed partially paralyzed. He could move them but could no longer stand up. This morning, his front legs were like someone experiencing epilepsy and later on there were bubbles in his mouth.

Prior to that 8 hours, he was still taking some food. I felt that he was overdosed somehow.

Reba :

He never bit me as I fed through his mouth. I only use syringe to give him water. I only give him water through the syrince once every few hours when he's not sleeping. He'd vomit if I feed him too much, that's why I don't dare to give him much.

KittyMomma1122 :

No and I ran short of asking that. I wanted to try with the second vet but was told they don't have this nor do they have the facilities to rehydrate. The first vet does but it's quite expensive, hence I thought of doing it myself.

Momto3cats :

Wish I've read the "subcutaneous fluids" earlier. I did not receive an email notification of your response. I've had a bad experience leaving my dog at the pet years ago, so I tried to avoid it this time.

Thank you for your help and time everyone. I greatly appreciate it.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry, some of these ailments are just such a mystery and/or we never know if the treatment is right.

The TCS team would like you to know that we are so very sorry for your loss. Threads are locked after someone has suffered such a loss, as a sign of respect. We invite you to place a tribute at http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge as an enduring testimony to your friend.

I'm so sorry for your loss. May he rest in peace.