Not sure what's going on!

4furbabies

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Hi all. I have 2 year old male neutered tabby, Henry. Last week we noticed he was extremely lethargic and not really eating. We took him to his regular vet on Friday. They did trays and did blood tests but there was nothing to be found aside from an enlarged liver, they didn't seem like there was a problem there. We were told to take him to another vet so they could keep him over night and give him fluids. The second vet was wonderful. Henry is kind of a jerk. He got a reputation that night and continued to get aggressive. They took his temperature every 4 hours and said he had a fever but most likely cause he was stressed. They couldn't find anything wrong with him either. He's home now and still isn't eating or drinking. We were sent home with an antibiotic(clavamox) but he is over taking it. When I do get it in him, he spits it up. It's the liquid form. I've also been giving him water with a syringe but he's getting wise to that as well. Also his fur looks 'spikey'. I'm sure how else to describe it, but it doesn't like flat. Ill try posting a picture. He has a vet appt in the morning, but any advice would be greatly appreciated! Oh there are three other cats in the house, but they are all healthy and doing fine, just curious what's wrong with bubba.
 

red top rescue

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Two things come to mind.  One is that the liquid Clavamox from the vet is terrible tasting (I taste anything I'm going to give my cats, it doesn't help not to know!).  Get the Clavamox pills from the vet instead, dissolve one in just a few drops of water (like in a baby food jar) for a few minutes, add a little goat milk or half and half and feed to him.  Most cats will drink it as is.  Others are no problem with a syringe.  It tastes just fine, hardly any taste at all. 

Second, that fur sticking out like that reminds me of an abscess before it has swollen enough to break through.  Any chance he may have been bitten?  Is it just in that place?  Is it tender or hot?  If it IS an abscess, the Clavamox will take care of it and he should be feeling better in a few days.  It may or may not rupture, but the swelling will go away and he will feel better in about 48 hours.
 
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4furbabies

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Thank you red top. I will try that with the clavamox. As for the fur, it does it all over his body. I looked for bites or scratches but there wasn't anything. He is indoor only but has a catio and he his king of the house. The kittens only 'attack' him when he's walking away are just his tail and then they run away quickly.
 
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4furbabies

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Hi forgot to mention, he hesitates to jump up or down, even in small distances. I feel like he might be constipated.I tried to find the side effects of clavamox but couldn't find anything definite.
 

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if he is constipated it would make him not want to eat. when was the last BM? you can give him plain canned pumpkin-try It on your finger and see if he will lick it off. or put a pea sized dot on finger and gently smear it in the side of his mouth almost getting it on the roof of his mouth. you only need a few dabs to get results. other cats don't mind it mixed in their wet food. I suggest start with a very small amount pea sized at first as some cats are super picky about new smells.

the antibiotics can be hard on a kitties belly. make sure he eats a bit first-try baby food meat no onion/garlic. the gerber or beechnut meat ones are good. chicken or turkey are my cats favorites=see if he will lick it off-have him eat this first then give antibiotics.
 
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4furbabies

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Thank you copycat. I'm running out to get some pumpkin now. His last BM was, as far as I know, a few days ago. We just got back from his vet appt and she said there was nothing she could do without an ultra sound. She gave us a script for A/D and he ate some of that, more than he's eaten in the last couple days. I called about the ultra sound and he's only there 2 days a week and it'll be around $600 at the least.
 
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4furbabies

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Haha that was supposed to be foxxycat not copycat. Thank you auto correct...
 

foxxycat

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no problem. Sometimes the ultrasound is inconclusive. I have an older cat who has to have pumpkin daily otherwise she gets sooo bound up. We did the ultrasound and they found absolutely nothing wrong=I had them do her heart too because of her age and she had very slight wall thickening of a chamber but nothing to worry about. Sometimes all the tests in the world don't tell crap. literally.

Let me reread your story=been reading so many I don't want to get any mixed up but sometimes constipation is from the diet. I tried to get mine on wet food. forget it. they lick the gravy and leave the meat. so I add water and mash it well with a fork. at least she is getting the required daily water but still why cant they just eat what we need them to eat??!!
 

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I hope you manage to find out what's going on for Henry, and also persuade him to take those meds.

With the coat, it could be down to his feeling 'off colour' and perhaps not grooming himself as well as usual.  One of my older cats' coats used to get that way sometimes if she wasn't grooming and avoided me when I had the brush in hand - her fur would get quite waxy too.   You could try gently wiping with a slightly damp microfibre cloth as it wouldn't stress out like a bath but would lift excess oils out of his fur.  Also, if a cat's health isn't 100% sometimes their coat condition does suffer.  A vet might know if this is an indicator for specific things.
 
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