Mom's cat is not acting right

Mom paid money she does not have (goes without her own special foods for her kidney issues) to pay these vets for lots of tests and found nothing. Something is wrong. I am not stupid. This cat is very very skinny now and lost some hair too. She used to be obese, really, they had said she needed to lose 9 lbs...well she did, fast, and they are happy not concerned? Mom has only Social Security, but took a cat twice to two different doctors, one was the veterinary ER. They said she is healthy.  

Well, she was born with respiratory issues, and she has no front teeth (looks like fell out or?), but she used to be playful and active. She now just runs for under the sofa and lays there all night and all day, literally, for days, she has been under there since about this time yesterday when I pulled her out. She may every 2 or 3 days run out for Iams dry cat food and a lot of water, then urinate, then drink more, then urinate a lot. But no feces for a long time now. She had been doing it on the carpet. Last few times we saw any it was hard and dark brown, and just before that was very soft medium brown almost diarrhea. Now, unless she is hiding it, there is none.

It is hard to say when this began, but it got bad when I was gone to school and mom was in the hospital for 3 days (even though she had food and water.)
Now what?
 

If a cat loses a lot of weight very quickly that is a very bad sign. they can get a illness called fatty liver disease that can be fatal if not treated. Is the cat eating at all? when is the last time she eat? 

http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/digestive/c_ct_hepatic_lipidosis 

Your cat sounds very sick, I can't imagine why a vet would say she is healthy. Where do you live?  it sounds like you need to find a better vet. I am hoping that someone can recommend a good one close to you.

It is important that your kitty eats!!

Hi Zed, hope this works as not sure how to reply here yet.

Mom had the ER vet do a ton of tests before I got home so she knows what all was done. What I do recall is that they tested and said liver is fine. 
I got her to eat yesterday a little, about 30 hours ago. 

We live in Vancouver, WA. 

I will have a happy nose if no cat as I am very allergic, but mom will be very depressed if cat dies, so I gotta see what else we can do. 
Mom is at her dialysis right now and she is very tired, so taking the cat with her caregiver to a vet is quite an ordeal, regardless the cost.

David

I pulled her out from under the sofa. She tried to go back under so I am holding her. At least she is alive. 

Davey said:

 
I pulled her out from under the sofa. She tried to go back under so I am holding her. At least she is alive. 

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This is serious, and she is not being correctly diagnosed.  It could be kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, any number of things but your mom's cat doesn't deserve this, and doesn't need to die from this, in discomfort and unhappy.

Since mom doesn't have the resources, can you take over some of the care, and get the cat back to a vet?  If not, if no one can provide necessary care, then euthanasia is a more humane option then continuing on like this.

Can any of this help?
[article="32915"]No Money For Vet Care How To Find Help And Save Your Cats Life  [/article]

Kidney disease was the first thing that came to my mind. I had a really fat cat that lost a lot of weight really quickly also (he was my first kidney cat) and well, it wasn't a good thing. The drinking a lot / peeing a lot is pretty classic symptoms of kidney disease, as is a lack of appetite. Did you say she was eating a lot, or no?

Do you know if the vet ran any blood work to check kidney function or T4 levels, or did a urinalysis?

Handsome Kitty said:

 
Can any of this help?
[article="32915"]No Money For Vet Care How To Find Help And Save Your Cats Life  [/article]

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Yes it can help, but it takes work on your part (except for care credit).  If it is kidney disease, sub Q fluids is a cheap and fairly easy way of keeping the cat comfortable and happy, sometimes for quite some time.

Mom said she has paperwork from Banfield (yeah she went to the vets at a pet store) and I said to her I want to look at it. Right now she has the cat on her so she does not want to get up. (I pulled her out from under the sofa again tonight, and brought her a can of cat food which she ate all very fast, and then she drank the can full of water fast.) I know, I looked online about her symptoms and it came up more likely kidney failure. It would be ironic. She seems to be mildly hard of hearing (like me), has allergies (like me), and now if kidney failure, like mom. Only, they do not give cats dialysis. I took a photo last night of her lapping water. Not sure if I can post here but I will give it a shot. 

Yikes!  She needs to go to another vet asap.  That cat is in terrible shape.

This was exactly one year ago photo as obese cat who was very active and using the litterbox.

Yeah, and mom said the Banfield vet told her "oh your cat is so healthy! Most we see here are sick."
This confuses me. They have a record of her from a year ago, and she is not the same at all, half the weight. She lost it fast not slowly over the year, just two months ago when mom came back from 3 days in the hospital she was refusing food. 
 

She is dying in front of you.  Take her to another vet asap or it will be too late.  I would bring the photos and records for reference.

Well that is just it, we have to find a good one. Seeing 3 vets so far and they do tests of some kind and say she is fine...now mom said "I think she's okay." Um, no. 
I know in my town all the human doctors seem to suck, the lawyers suck, the judges and cops are corrupt, etc etc....so if 3 of the vets suck, will we find a good one in time? 
Cannot afford to pay multiple doctors for same result. I told mom stop going to Banfield, they clearly are inept. 

Davey said:

 
Well that is just it, we have to find a good one. Seeing 3 vets so far and they do tests of some kind and say she is fine...now mom said "I think she's okay." Um, no. 
I know in my town all the human doctors seem to suck, the lawyers suck, the judges and cops are corrupt, etc etc....so if 3 of the vets suck, will we find a good one in time? 
Cannot afford to pay multiple doctors for same result. I told mom stop going to Banfield, they clearly are inept. 

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Do you happen to have the blood work from any of these visits that you could post here? Obviously can't diagnose but can definitely get an idea if something is wrong regarding certain things. Or at least point you in a good direction to ask questions of the vet.

I hope to post exactly that...as soon as mom is free to grab it from her purse! LOL
The cat is still being good, staying in her arms. So either later tonight or tomorrow I will post it here. 

Keep us updated!  That poor cat looks terrible.

Donutte said:

 
Do you happen to have the blood work from any of these visits that you could post here? Obviously can't diagnose but can definitely get an idea if something is wrong regarding certain things. Or at least point you in a good direction to ask questions of the vet.

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Mom said she has been to see a vet three times, but the ER did not give papers. She knows they check liver though. I told her to call and get names of tests.
For the last time at Banfield, Dec 17th, did:
Blood cell count
Fecal sample, examined for things like worms
Thyroid,

Urinalysis
Snap test,
and
Internal organ screening.

Since mom bought a wellness plan cost was just under $100. (Mom gets $90 foodstamps a month, so even less food this month for her)

they focused more on her having some fleas. Well, the expensive medication did not stop the fleas yet. But that is not why mom took her in, she took her in because of not urinating much. 
Not sure how good mom explained things, or how well they listened. They said she looks healthy. 

 

If she can ask for these ones specifically:

Creatinine level

BUN/Urea

SDMA (if they did this one)

Phosphorus

USG (from urinalysis)

These will be indicators of kidney function.

I've never heard good thigns about Banfield Can your Mom call the vet ER and ask for a copy of your cat's medical records? The records are yours and you are allowed to have a copy of them.

Definiltey take your cat to another vet and havea ll the bloodwork and tests repeated. I would aslo include a fructosamine to test for diabetes or not and ask (demand if needed) that the vet check the cat's teeth (not that it may help since many vets don't know how to do an oral exam). Are you in the US? You can find an AAHA accredited vet hospital here: https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/about_aaha/hospital_search/ See thsi for help with vet bills: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/no-money-for-vet-care-how-to-find-help-and-save-your-cats-life

Whatever medical conditon your cat has is most likely very treatable at home. The initial expenses may be high because you would have to buy necessary supplies but costs generally go down after that. There are various ways to save money on medical supplies depending on what condition the cat has. If caring for the cat is simply not possible because of finances, the kindest thing would be to euthanize so the cat is no longer suffering and in pain.