My cat is ill, at vets are at a loss...(gallbladder??)

I desperately need some input ! My Kitty is ill. She is a 4,5 year old housecat. Never been ill, but abit overweight most her life.

It started 10th of september. Kitty was ill, throwing up, not eating. Took her to the vets for fluids, and the next monday they started the tests.

 -Low white blood cell count.

- High SAA, over 500 (indicator of infection).

- She was tested for FIV -negative

- X-rays showed minor changes in lungs, vets concluded with lung infection

Started on antibiotics - veraflox

4 days later SAA gone down to 48, white bloodcell count was normal. Kitty continued to improve. She did however got bad diarhrea, possbily from the antobotics.

10 days after first visit she was back for controll. Vets thought her lungs looked better, but not good. She was given convenia. To try to avoid the diarhrea. I was not told about the side effect. Could this be her problem?

Diarrhea improved as well, and Kitty was perfectly fine untill a week ago. Last thursday ned xrays was taken and lungs looked almost good. Vets were happy.

Friday she got ill again. Stopped eating, vomited once. That weekend she was on fluids again. Ultrasound to rule out fluids in her abdomen was taken. Bloodtests looked fine apart from a tiny bit low white bloodcell count.

Monday at the vets they took new ultrasound of the whole cat, and the only thing they found was a thick gallblather wall. Indicating a gall bladder issue, infection/inflamation. Maybe this had been the problem all along? Since the lung infection wasnt a clear diagnosis anyway?

They took bloodtests to test the liver and kidney values - all ok. They also tested proteins in her blood, and based on this FIP or cancer is not suspected.

She was again put on antibiotocs, painkillers, and meds to protect gallbladder, and her stomach.

Wednesday she started eating abit on her own again.

Thursday she was in for a checkup, and more fluid. They found she still have a fever. However, at home, with two different thermometers we cant meassure a fever. At home she has around 38 c.

They took bloodtests for a new FIV test, and to test for autoimmune diseases.

They found some of her bloodcells looking abnormal in a microscope, but never seen this type before.

These two tests, we are still waiting for the results of. Im also in the progress of collecting stool samples from several different days.

The weekend has ben ok. She hasnt been eating much, but then again Im force feeding her about 2/3 of her recomended intake. She might eat the last bit herself, i see her in the food bowl now and again.


To sum it up... After all this, we got a thick gallbladder, and adnormal looking bloodcells (that we dont know what is).

Any input on this? Specially the gallbladder part? Anyone with exp with gallbladder infection, where there are no gallstones?


Im scared

Have you sought out an onion from a different vet? If not, you should do that. A different vet may have a better idea of what might be going on. Are there any other vet hospitals in your area that you can go to? An internal medicine vet may be more helpful than a regular vet.  If you're in the US, you can find a board certified internal medicine vet here:  http://www.acvim.org/

Your vet can contact other vets and ask for a consult. Vet schools and large vet hospitals often do consults to help vets out. VIN.com is a vet only web site with a forum that vets can discuss difficult cases and get help.

Hi, thanks for reply. 3 vets (2 of which iternal medicine) have been involved in Kittys case from the start. In addition to this I sought out a second opinion from another vet I trust a lot. And also ofcourse two emergency vets, one of which iternal medicin. I think we are at the point where we need to get lucky. That by some fluke someone knows something, recognise the medical history, and can put us on the track of something...

Today FIV, felv and also the mycoplasma tests came back negative as well. Now awaiting the stool samples (bacterias and paracites) and for someone to look at her odd blood cells, that our vets havent seen the likes of before.

Forgot to say, Im from Norway

i saw your post yesterday and was so worried- I am so sorry for your kitty, I understand how scared you must be.  I myself was very sick from gallbladder disease, it took my doctors two years to figure out my gallbladder was non-functional :-(  

I think it's time for your vets to seek out outside help--here in the US, Cornell Feline Health Center can be consulted; I may be wrong, but I think it is worldwide?  http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/about/  Even if they cannot help directly, they may lead you to a local teaching hospital.

RuthM said:

 
i saw your post yesterday and was so worried- I am so sorry for your kitty, I understand how scared you must be.  I myself was very sick from gallbladder disease, it took my doctors two years to figure out my gallbladder was non-functional :-(  

I think it's time for your vets to seek out outside help--here in the US, Cornell Feline Health Center can be consulted; I may be wrong, but I think it is worldwide?  http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/about/  Even if they cannot help directly, they may lead you to a local teaching hospital.

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Thank you very much for you reply <3 I will give this link to my vet, and beg her to try to get some outside help. She should have a lot of testresults to share with them!

Kitty has been eating a bit today, charged around for bugs a bit too, so thats good. I still find myself stuck in "limbo" when we cant find any answers. Cant sleep, cant eat. Its really getting to me

A little update. Today I booked an appointment for a bigger animal hospital for kitty. I feel our current vet is too passive. Also she had no clue wether or not a cat can live without a gallbladder, if it comes to that. Made it sound like i was a bad person for thinking of putting Kitty through that surgery, IF it came to that. Turns out, both dogs and cat can live without a gallbladder, if needed. We arent quite there with Kitty yet, but it made me feel unsure if our regular vet is the right choice for Kitty this time.

However the animal hospital we booked appointment at is dead expensive, and Im not sure how to pull this one off. Im allready behind on vet bills. But she is my magical Kitty. They also are very found of opening pets to have a look, rather than doing a lot of tests (explorotary surgery??) Kitty has allready been through most tests, without any findings.  Any thoughts on this? Experiences?

Today started badly. I woke up to a cat puking in the bed next to me. What came up was a pretty thick "rubbery" sausage. More tightpacked than a regular hairball (also kitty is short haired, and never through up hairballs before). I tried to tear the sausage apart, to have a look inside it (not a pleasant picture Im painting here, I know), but it was too rubbery and tight packed to do that. It was about 4-5 cm long.

After that I gave her medication, then went outside in out kitty-coop, where we spendt a few nice hours together. She senjoyed the sun (wihich we havent seen in a while), played, and cuddeled her blanket Overall she had a good day, apart from the bad start

Again, i apologize for my english, and if it's hard to read and make sense of.


 

Your kitty is so pretty- thanks for sharing those videos :-)  Yuck on the hairball though, poor baby.

Are you working with an Internal Medicine Specialist now?  And is he saying the gallbladder is definitely imflammed?  I only have personal experience with gallbladder disease, not feline unfortunately. But in a human, you would first get an Ultrasound, then a HIDA scan prior to surgery.  I am praying for your kitty and you, how is she doing?  How are you holding up? 

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/pethe...ers_of_the_liver_and_gallbladder_in_cats.html

Its so up and down, both with me and Kitty. I'll feel we are on the road to recovery, then an hour later, I'm panicking! We got an appointment with a bigger and more competent vet/surgeon on monday. But Im scared, as he might want to open her up to have a look inside, since all tests have allready been taken, including x-rays and ultrasound. It was the ultrasound that made them  think its a gallbladder thing, the gallbladder wall its too thick. I dont think anything is definite with the diagnosis. The vet we have an appointment with on monday, was not convinced, from what I told him, but he hasnt seen the cat yet.

So still stuck in limbo, not knowing what route to take, what vet to trust, and where to get the money for all this. But my kitty wont suffer from my lack of money, ill lend some, and sell some.
 

Are you seeing an Internal Medicine Vet? They are specialists. I really do think one will be able to help you. Sometime you really do have to have blood tests, x-rays and/or ultrasound to help diagnose things. It is so complicated and all so expensive. They may be able to offer you some hope. And the office/hospital may be able to find some way to help you financially. They do want their money, but they do realize that the treatments are very expensive. Anyone of them who has a good reputation and has been in business for a while will not be in it for just the money...there has to be some options available....

I think going to a hospital which is part of a teaching Vet school is a very good idea. Although they do have hospitals which only deal with referrals, an emergenices in the emergency room. The doctors are all specialists, except for the ER. They are residents who have a specialist in Emergency Medicine reviewing their work, and is there to guide them. They are also affiliated with a Vet school.

A specialist is the way to go.. They are trained in many things and are not afraid to ask for help, in order to give an animal the appropriate care.

Please keep us updated..

Artiemom said:

 
Are you seeing an Internal Medicine Vet? They are specialists. I really do think one will be able to help you. Sometime you really do have to have blood tests, x-rays and/or ultrasound to help diagnose things. It is so complicated and all so expensive. They may be able to offer you some hope. And the office/hospital may be able to find some way to help you financially. They do want their money, but they do realize that the treatments are very expensive. Anyone of them who has a good reputation and has been in business for a while will not be in it for just the money...there has to be some options available....

I think going to a hospital which is part of a teaching Vet school is a very good idea. Although they do have hospitals which only deal with referrals, an emergenices in the emergency room. The doctors are all specialists, except for the ER. They are residents who have a specialist in Emergency Medicine reviewing their work, and is there to guide them. They are also affiliated with a Vet school.

A specialist is the way to go.. They are trained in many things and are not afraid to ask for help, in order to give an animal the appropriate care.

Please keep us updated..

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Like i said, yeah we have seen several internal medicine, took several x-rays. ultrasounds, and they have done all the bloodwork they can think of. Several times. We are stuck. So stuck.

We got an appointment for another hospital on monday. They have a vet which is one of two with his level of education in Norway. So if he cant find anything, Im guessing no one can. We just have to get through the weekend :/ I think the next step might be to open her up and have a look. The vet said that might be our only hope of finding something.

Ill keep you all posted

See if your vet can do a consult with an internal medicine vet here: http://www.mspca.org/angell_services/referral-services/ There's a few ACVIM board certified vets there. And since they're part of a big hospital, they can present cases to other vets in other specialities to get opinions and suggestions.

So we went to see this new vetrinarian, the one thats supposed to be one of the best in the country. He felt her over, did a clinical examination, and said she didnt look like an ill cat, with shiny fur, clear eyes, and no pains in the abdomen. His message was "This cat is heavily overmedicated, take her off all the medication, to see whats her REAL sympthoms, and whats the medication. Each of these six medications have their side effects, and we got no idea what all of them put together would do".

He said he never seen a cat so heavily medicated, with so much different drugs, and he also said he did doubt her gallbladder diagnosis, as Kitty's liver values was fine.

So we'll have a very nerve wrecking weekend now, taking her off the meds. This way, he can start his examination on monday with "clear sheats". We are probably looking at a CT scan on monday.

That sounds so much better than any other Vet you have been to! 

Hopefully you will are on the right track right now.

Glad to hear you found a Vet with common sense!!

I am glad you have persevered! and you kitty will be grateful also.

It will be a hard weekend.  We are all here for you. If you have an issue, I am sure this Vet has someone available, on call...

sounds good.

The on call vet this weekend, is the cliinc we been going to all along. So Im kind of hoping it wont be needed. The last thing I need is to try to explain why the other vet think they are doing it wrong. When things in my life is tough, I find it hard to relate to people, comfrontations and disagreements especially. But ofcourse, if we need to, we need to.

Like I said, we live in Norway. The degrees are well under minus during nighttime. Its 1 am now. Kitty just woke up after sleeping for quite a few hours, and meowed to get me to open her kitty coop. The door is out is in my living room. So now Im sitting here with my winter jacket and blanket on, inside my livingroom. Because those moments of Kitty taking initiative to be active and happy just mean so much. Also to my own well beeing.

I dont know if it's normal, but I havent been able to cook or eat for the last week. Get bursts of panick, specially during the nights. Im 32 years old, and I had to get my mum to sit with me and keep me company, just to get a break from my own thoughts and nerves. After living 12 year with an epileptic dog, where i never knew when the monsters were gonna strike, I thought I'd be stronger. But like my mum said, at least then i knew what enemy we were facing.

So far I see no bad effects from taking her off the meds . Its probably too early to see which way it is going to go. But she dont seem to be in more pain, than before i took her off the painkillers.

I contacted this new vet because our regular one didnt get anywhere. Because I felt llike they stopped searching and were grasping for whatever they could find, without knowing for sure. I have to keep reminding myself this. That this vet is good, and that he will give her an examination when drugs are out of her system.

 

From my point of view, it is very normal to lose your appetite when you are caring for a seriously ill kitty(or any other stressful situation!)  You don't know what you are dealing with yet, and that just adds all kinds of stress to the situation, but you must try to take a deep breath and try not to worry about things that haven't happened yet. Just be glad you do have an ER Vet closeby, if needed. And, you do need to take care of yourself, first and foremost- you can't be a good caregiver to kitty if you are sick yourself! Hugs!

This new vet has a good point about the elevated liver enzymes.  However, it will likely take more than one day to make a difference by going off of all the medications.  But I like his thinking that he wants to see what kitty looks like without being overly medicated. 

We often have to be proactive in making our needs known to our vets--you have the right to expect your questions to be answered by the time you leave the vet's office and if those questions are not answered to your liking, yes, seek a 2nd opinion.  This was true with my human doctors as well- like I said, it took them 2years to figure out what was wrong with my gallbladder, so I have a good idea of the anxiety you are going through! Keep us posted!

Hi!

I completely understand how you are feeling. Stress hits me very hard. I understand the feelings of needing someone there with you. I am glad you have your mom. The not eating is so common with stressful periods. It happens to me also.. Stress does a horrible job to your body and psyche. This is anxiety at one of it's worst points. 

Try to keep in mind you have finally found a Vet who is willing to work WITH you and your kitty. Who is willing to go the extra mile to help her and to fine a cause for all her health issues. 

Be grateful for that. Try to leave it up to this new Vet. You are doing all that you can, both physically and mentally.

Your mom is correct about how you reacted to your dog. Once you know what the demon is, then you can deal with it. The unknown is what is so frightening. 

Remember there is always someone here for you also. This is an international forum, so someone is always here. Know that you are not alone.

Fairly recently, I went through a very stressful period with my guy. You could say I am still going through it. It is very hard. 

Remember, you baby can sense all your anxiety, and responds to it. Cats are very perceptive. Try to calm down a bit. Write some thoughts down on a journal. Talk it out if you feel it will help. Sometimes seeing your feelings in print is a great stress reliever. 

You are an awesome cat guardian...you are doing the best you can. Sometimes we just have to give up control and allow others to take the lead. You did the work of finding this new Vet, now let them take the lead...

take care...

The last couple of days her only sympthom has been that she seem extremely tired. Fatigued. She gets up to eat a bit now and then. She orders me to open the kitty coop about once a day. Today the wether was nice, so she spendt a couple of hours out there. She ate a bug, caught a flying leaf, and fell asleep. I made sure she was warm. After about two hours, she comes in and jumps on my chest when im relaxing on the sofa. Wanting a proper cuddle, before she lays to sleep on my chest. That made me happy. That she took initiative for cuddles. These days I feel like Im the one doing that 90% of the times. Now she has been sleeping on and off since about 7 pm (its midnight now)

Im glad she dont have more sympthoms, but at the same time it doesnt give the vet much to go on. I just want to figure this out.

1. She is tired from an extremely harsh month

2. Convenia can stay in the body for up to 60 days. Can this make her like this?

3. There is an underlying cause, still not fixed.

Thank you for your replies. For not making my feel like Im losing my mind more than I allready am. You should know it means the world to me.

I think her body is reacting to having the medicines taken away just like our bodies. Give her time for it all to resolve itself without worrying too much.
And eat.

I try, but not worrying seems impossible! Its my most magical little Kitty <3

Today has been quite good actually. Sunday morning is the day each week, where we can sleep in. Kitty however started beeing on my case very early. She saw the sun, and wanted outside. She jumped in my bed, and i tried to cuddle her back to sleep. But she had other plans. Kept doing this for a couple of hours before I got up to syringe feed her, and let her out. She was outside for an hour before she came in to lay with me a while. Now she is back outside. She seems happy today. Havent seen her eat on her own though.



Edit: Actually she ate quite a bit when she got her food served outside...

That's wonderful that she ate on her own

It sounds like it's a good day so far and you can be happy for small victories

Looking forward to seeing more updates. Sending positive vibes