i have lost 2 cats, 3rd very sick, vets do not know what's wrong, please help

Blood work, xrays, medical records
Dec 2013 – Took in Sophie. 1.5 years. Female. Spayed. Vaccinated. Came from animal shelter.

Jan – Feb 2014 – Date approximate. Saw vet for noticeable jaw pain. Was given pain meds.

Behavioral began to be unusual around this time. Would find hiding in rafters in basement, under basement stairs, behind cabinets. Would find covered in her own urine/excrement about 2x/week. Was given a bath with dog shampoo when found filthy. Spent a lot of time hiding/sleeping. Lost interest in playing. Was not as active. Seemed apprehensive of people. Lost appetite, would eat but not as much. Mouth deformation seemed to begin, lower lip seemed exposed.

Although behavior was unusual, was not constantly acting unusual. Would be more active and vocal in the mornings and early afternoon still seemed in good spirits. By evening, seemed to decline.

Possible she was exposed to standing water in basement designed for sump pump – the basement wall that she would climb was directly across from the sump pump hole, as if she ran up from it afraid from having fallen in hole (about 20” deep). Sump pump had been disconnected at one point, which makes me think she might have gotten in the hole.

March – May 2014 – Date approximate. Noticed worms in poo. Long and thin. Was given dewormer. Noticed lump on the back of her neck. Lump was soft, did not seemed to bother her when touched. Vet attempted to get urine sample but was unsuccessful. Did have elevated temperature. Vet believed behavior was not related to a disease (seemed to think it was behavioral only). Was giving antibiotics a few times and she did receive steroid once.

Behavior still unusual as before. Began coughing and wheezing. Sounded as if there was fluid in the lungs. This was not constant, most noticeable at night, but not every night. Began twitching/having seizures while sleeping. Mouth deformation got worse, lost smaller teeth. Mouth appeared twisted or pulled.

June – July 2014 – Date approximate. Began limping, back legs appeared to be failing her. I began to let her outdoors for stimulation. Appeared to be getting into fights with neighborhood cats, would come home with scratches around the face. End of July, came home with red eye, bleeding mouth, noticeably limping. Vet gave her antibiotics. Two days later she was unable to walk more than a few steps without falling over, mouth looked terribly deformed, attempted to drink but not eat. The next morning she seemed terribly uncoordinated. Would try to walk but kept falling over. Once she would fall over she would lay there for awhile before attempting to get up again. Had several opened sores she was violently licking on underside of belly/closer to genital area. Was euthanized that day.

Around this time I took in a little orange haired cat, maybe 6 months old. He would try to play with Sophie and they were sharing food and water bowls, toys, and litter boxes (total of 3 boxes). He was active and playful for about a month. He also fell in the sump pump hole. Heard him meowing and got him out of the hole. Was given a bath. Directly after that, his mouth showed noticeable blisters. Was taken to vet, after having explained what had happened with Sophie vet suggested to euthanize without hesitation. They did test him for FIV which was negative.

August – November 2014 – Thoroughly cleaned house, furniture, bedding, walls, everything in basement was moved, vacuumed and mopped under, walls were scrubbed with bleach. Cat toys, bedding, food dishes were thrown out. Litter boxes were scrubbed with bleach, they are in basement but I’m not using them. Made sure it was three months before bringing in another cat.

Novemeber 2014 – took home Laverne and Shirley. They have been vaccinated and spayed. Both female, approx. 4 or 5 months old by now. They were spayed in Decemeber 2014.

Laverne has lump on neck. Laverne seems to be less active and less social. Seems to spend a lot of time sleeping. Isn’t putting on as much weight as Shirley. White rice-like things appearing in feces. Treated for tapeworm.

Exposure to essential oils. Used 1x a week or in cleaning products (diluted). Used them to clean their carrier in Dec., both were heavily exposed to fumes. Have not put the oils directly on them but were exposed to components from fumes. Daughter had applied to Sophie but this was well after signs of illness. Oswald was not exposed.

Jan 2015 - Laverne has lump on back of neck. Vet took sample of cells, thought they looked cancerous, sent them in to pathogist, results inconclusive. Suggested biopsy. Went in for biopsy, lump had decreased in size and they did not remove it. About a week later, lump has increased again, by this time it is much larger, vet doesn't feel confident in removing it. Also has a lump on cheekbone. Has begun wheezing/coughing though lungs were clear on xray. Is hiding most of the day, still eating, has begun to urinate/defecate where she is hiding/isn't getting up to use litterbox. Vet did bloodwork and another xray, has no idea, says nothing is pointing to anything specific.

Something is consistent. That sump pump hole. Why is it available to the cats? Can you close it off to them gaining access or breathing the fumes? Also, essential oils are not natural to cats. I wouldn't give them anything that's not food/water or prescription meds. Have you had your water tested? What kind of food are you feeding them? Corn and soy based foods contain GMO's which usually causes tumors in animals.

I would be closing off the sump pump hole.  There is no reason it should still be available to the cats!  Please be responsible and take care of it before you bring any more little cats into your home!

I would also be running some air tests in the house! If this was my situation, I'd have someone come in to test the air quality and water quality, just to rule those out. Good luck!

:/ The hole has always been covered, the first and second cat managed to move a board and fall in, i can't even believe they we able to remove it, it's pretty heavy, and they were little cats. Now it has cement blocks on it, and the 3rd cat didn't fall in, but it overflowed.. not even sure how it overflowed, we didn't do laundry that day, we werent even home, but still it flooded somehow and the cat got some of the water on her. It's beyond my control if it overflows when i wasn't even home or doing anything that would've filled it up.

I didn't put the oils ON the cats, i just use them in the home, tho not that much. My daughter did put oil on the one cat but she was so sick already i don't think that's what's causing it,.

I'm thinking it must be some type of disease but of all the vets that have seen them, none have any idea. I just want to know what's causing it.

I know what it must sound like, that i keep taking these cats in irresponsibly, but the first vet kept telling me over and over it was just behavioral, so when a professional tells you it's behavioral that many timesi guess you just believe it, still i shouldn't have taken oswald in and i feel terrible about that.

There was no reason to believe that the homev wasn't safe after waiting 3 months, having them vaccinated before bringing them home, and all that cleaning. From what i understand about some of these diseases they can survive for a year in little crevices and only a strong bleach solution could kill it,but can't use bleach on every surface.

I have called a home inspector who told me he could only test for mold and radon and didn't know what else he would test for. I called the health dept and they told me they could only test for rabies. I don't know what i should be testing for and everyone I've asked doesn't seem to know either. Any one know? Concerned about whether or not is even safe here for my family. Have already tested for gas, have a co2 detector also.

She's spending the night at the vets and they are going to take a biopsy first thing, lump has gotten bigger since last time. She's now leaking fluids from her eye and nose and sneezing as if she has an upper respiratory infection.

Sorry for grammar, on mobile

This is a very disturbing story. And I'm sorry that you worked hard to make sure things would be better for the two newest additions to your house and it's happening all over again. It sounds like this has been very emotional for you and I'm sure for your daughter too.

I don't know much about using essential oils around cats, but I do believe the sump pump water is the common denominator in this. Here's why: oral problems make me think that it was something the cat ingested, toxic plants do similar things; symptoms of neurological problems; possibly cancerous lumps appearing; rapid decline. Sump pump water is not just from your washing machine, it can also be seeping from other things like the foundation or the soil below, which can contain heavy metals and parasites not to mention chemicals.

Where do the cats spend their time in the house? Are they allowed in the basement on a regular basis? It may not be enough to close off access to just the hole. Sumps flood sometimes (as it did with Laverne) and it's unavoidable that the cats will come in contact with the water if they are allowed in there.

My advice is to test the water, and try and figure out a way that the cats never get into the basement. You can buy water testing kits online and possibly through home improvement stores like Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/LABTECH-H2O-Ok-Plus-Water-Analysis-Kit-LT5015-1/205540501

I really hope you can figure it out and that Laverne gets better. Good luck! <3

Thank you for that link, i will be ordering that. The sump pump is what i was thinking too, the fact that it flooded makes me think outside drains must be draining into it. I was looking online last night to try and figure out if outside drains commonly led to the indoor reservoir/pump hole/whatever is called and i couldn't really tell.

I do know the house was treated for termites, there is previous damage from termites and terminix stickers around the house, also holes drilled in outside walkway so I'm thinking they might have poured pesticides in the holes.

The only thing that doesn't add up is that the basement flooded Christmas day and i noticed her behavior was unusual before that. Tho perhaps she had been exposed before and i didn't know it.

There isn't a way to put up a door tho we can build a landing at the bottom and put doors up there.

Thank you for your sympathy it has been extremely emotional, i was so excited to get a house after 10 years in 600 sq ft apt, and after we were settled i wanted to get a cat, have had a cat since i was 2, have always loved cats, but i could never find one that found my toddler agreeable. Now that she's older she's doing well with them but they keep getting sick and its been hell to watch them suffer and have no idea why.

I can't add much more, beyond what others have mentioned & suggested. But I can tell you that we had our house exterminated for termites and yes, they put pesticides into the holes dug around the house. I actually don't grow any veggie plants in the soil near those holes for that exact reason. It definitely leaches into the soil. I understand that it seems like this house came with the existing sump pump problem & it will likely be expensive to fix...but I'd really consider getting an estimate. Even if I didn't have pets, I would not trust living in a home with those conditions & potentially making me and my family sick. While it may end up being something else, its really worth the peace of mind. I really hope everything works out for you. 

We've already replaced the pump, it works ok, but when it flooded it had gotten unplugged. I have no idea how that happened, unless the cat had played with the cord and pulled it out. We are going to pick up the water test kit today and if anything is alarming we will be putting up a landing and doors this weekend. Even if there isn't anything alarming we will be doing that anyway as we have wanted it done anyway (it's unsightly to see in unfinished basement from upstairs. Had a curtain but cat pulled it down). Didn't want to take from savings to do it but if that's endangering the cats it will be done.

This IS very disturbing.

I HIGHLY suspect the sump hole as others do.

There is no cat disease that even remotely resembles what you have experienced. None.

No, this is extremely suspect of contaminated water/fumes. 

It's like when something very foreign and toxic gets in to their system, their bodies are doing everything it possibly can to get it out, the random neck lump, the sudden sneezing and nasal congestion, eyes, the loss of coordination, all of it.

I think it's critical and should be considered an emergency to get that basement closed off ASAP. 

I would most definitely be highly concerned of your family's well being too.

Could it be whipworm? The rice-like things in the poop sound like the eggs, and the eggs are often seen there. The long thin worms you saw would be the mature worms. Whipworms can coalesce into lumps under the skin. They cause all kinds of crappy symptoms, including anemia, neurological changes, and can cause secondary bacterial infections that can show up as sores, infected lungs, etc. Whipworms are found in infected soil and water where the soil has run off into it.