Worried about Guillermo...

Hey guys,

This is my Guillermo. He's a 6 year old Russian Blue (according to the shelter, lol). I'm worried about him tonight. I'm an emergency vet tech (hence my username) and I'm going to take him in to work with me tonight (at 11pm) but I just wanted to post something here anyway. I guess I could use some moral support.

I wasn't really worried about him until just now. I noticed his eyes are a bit sunken and I checked other signs for dehydration and he's definitely a little dehydrated. His coat has also been looking pretty shabby the last few days. There have been maybe three or four incidents of vomiting in my house over the last week, but with four cats it's really hard to tell who's responsible. I'm generally not concerned about vomit in the house unless one of my cats has other symptoms. Cats are generally just vomiters so it takes more than that to arouse my suspicion.

I palpated his abdomen and he really didn't appreciate it but it's hard to tell if he's painful or just being a squirmy cat. His bladder doesn't feel big so I don't think he's blocked. I'm just at a loss.

He was diagnosed with coronavirus about 8 months ago (no symptoms, just high titers in his blood work). But 3 months ago his blood work showed his titers were going down and his body was successfully fighting the infection. The vets weren't concerned about it at all. I don't know if this is what's making him sick now; I kind of doubt it. And he's a bit young for hyperthyroidism and renal disease, so who knows.

Maybe I'm stressing out for no reason. I don't know. I appreciate you reading my lengthy post though. Send out some good thoughts today, ok? He looks like he could use them.

-Emma

Sending love to Guillermo and you

Were you able to find any answers at work?

Haven't gone in yet. It's almost 6am here and I don't work until 11pm. He still looks sad and sickly although he's eating like a horse. Concerned maybe about hyperthyroidism but he's a bit young for that I think... This is probably the only time I'll ever be anxious to get to work... Ha ha. I'd take him in now but it's my bedtime and I've gotta get some sleep. Thanks for the good thoughts! I'll let you know what happens tonight.

Lots of positive energy from me too   Try not to worry. Everything will be fine 

I know you still haven't gone to work, but just wanted to send good wishes for Guillermo.  He's gorgeous, er, I mean HANDSOME! 

Since you're a Vet Tech, maybe you should keep some fluids and set-ups around just for these instances.  It never hurts to hydrate a dehydrated cat, does it, atleast with SOME fluids? 

Also, in my experience a cat is never too young to experience kidney disease.  We've seen kittens as young as 6 months old  with it (congenital) .  And certainly cats less than 6 years old, but you are right, the norm is a little older. 

fingers crossed everything is AOK

How is Guillermo doing today? [emoji]128573[/emoji]

Hey guys, thanks for the positive responses! So by the time I was up and ready to go to work Guillermo looked like brand new happy cat. No vomit, no more sunken eyes and he didn't even seem dehydrated anymore. I think all I had to do was threaten him with the vet and he decided to get better. Ha ha, just kidding! I have been keeping a very close eye on him though and I got some subcutaneous fluids just in case. My coworker also said she would come over and hold him for a blood draw and cystocentesis if I want to just bring some samples in instead of the whole cat. There are definite perks to being in my profession!

I did express his anal glands yesterday because they were quite full and the material was a bit chunky, so I wonder if that was what was making him feel a bit off. Poor guy needs them expressed from time to time and he hates it but I think he feels better once it's done.

Thanks again for all the happy thoughts!

Glad he's doing better