Sick one year old cat

katbaloo · Mar 22, 2016

My one year old male cat, Bobcat suddenly got sick about 8 weeks ago. I took him to the vet, He had a fever of almost 105. they gave him an injection of antibiotics. A week later I took him back because he wasn't getting better. They did blood work, he was a little anemic. I am giving him liqui-tinic daily. They gave me a prescription for an appetite stimulant to give him every third day. Several days later his left eye became very bloodshot and milky in color. I took him back to the vet, they diagnosed him with glaucoma. After 7 weeks of this, I took him back last week because he doesn't seem to be getting better. His eye was better, and his temperature was a high normal, 102.8. We increased his appetite stimulant to every other day.

He won't eat. If I put his food in front of him, he will lick it. So every 30-45 minutes I put his food in front of him. He has stopped eating his dry food all together (was his favorite). The only thing he seems to like are his treats. He has lost .9 lbs in the 7 weeks.

I'm so lost, no one can seem to help him. I've tried canned tuna, chicken breasts, I have even tried putting his food in a processor to make it more fine.. Can anyone help me. Thank you in advance!

cocobutterfly · Mar 22, 2016

So sorry to hear about your little guy! Makes me so sad. Your vet can't figure out what's wrong with him? What part of the country do you live in? Are there any cat specific vets/clinics in your area? I don't know if this will help, but there's an app called Kuddly and you can get connected to cat specific vets all over the country. You can do a filtered search by area, ratings, etc. It seems there are many qualified vets on there who are willing to consult by Skype/email/phone for a nominal fee. Might be worth a try if you're not getting the help and advice that you need from your local vets. We wish your bobcat the speediest recovery!

Columbine · Mar 22, 2016

Go back to your vet and ask for some Hills a/d (or, failing that, Royal Canin Recovery). Both are highly palatable, energy dense foods designed specifically for sick cats. They're also suitable for syringe feeding when thinned down a little - something that might well be necessary for Bobcat until he starts feeling better.

I'd also want to seek a second opinion from a different vet - urgently. It doesn't sound like you're making much progress with your current vet. The continued fever is worrying (and 7 weeks is a LONG time), and I can't see how glaucoma could be causing these other symptoms. Given the timescale with little appetite, I'd be concerned about hepatic lipidosis setting in too.

Mega :vibes:

for your boy.

jennyr · Mar 22, 2016

You don't mention it, but has any vet really examined his mouth? It is just a hunch but his symptoms seem to me to be consistent with a bad mouth/tooth/gum infection.That would account for hte fever, the reluctance to eat and even possibly his eye problem if the infection spread up into his head. My brother's cat had similar symptoms and once she hasd some teeth out and the infection treated, she has been a different cat.

margd · Mar 22, 2016

I want to second everyone's advice to see another vet. It doesn't sound like your current vet is helping that much.

At this point, you really do need to get Bobcat eating. If your vet won't prescribe the Rx food that Columbine mentioned, try buying some chicken or turkey baby food (no garlic or onion) and seeing if he'll eat that. If he won't eat it out of his bowl, try feeding it to him by hand. If he still won't eat it, you might have to feed it to him with a syringe. The vet can give you one, but if not, the nearest pharmacy should have them as well. This is only until you can get him eating a nutritionally complete diet but he does need to eat something as soon as possible. You don't want him developing hepatic lipidosis.

If you warm the food up, it might entice him to eat. The increased aroma sometimes gets cats to start eating when they wouldn't otherwise. You can also try putting it near his head when he's asleep. Sometimes cats will start eating automatically when they first wake up.

Other foods that sometimes tempt cats to eat are:

scrambled eggs

ham

You can also put toppers on his food, like bonita flakes or grated cheese.

Please do consult another vet, even if you do get him to eat.

jennyr · Mar 22, 2016

However tempting the food, he won't eat if he can't smell it. And if he has an infection and a fever, especially if it is in his mouth, then he can't smell.

margd · Mar 22, 2016

JennyR said:
However tempting the food, he won't eat if he can't smell it. And if he has an infection and a fever, especially if it is in his mouth, then he can't smell.

catwoman707 · Mar 22, 2016

Katbaloo said:
My one year old male cat, Bobcat suddenly got sick about 8 weeks ago. I took him to the vet, He had a fever of almost 105. they gave him an injection of antibiotics. A week later I took him back because he wasn't getting better. They did blood work, he was a little anemic. I am giving him liqui-tinic daily. They gave me a prescription for an appetite stimulant to give him every third day. Several days later his left eye became very bloodshot and milky in color. I took him back to the vet, they diagnosed him with glaucoma. After 7 weeks of this, I took him back last week because he doesn't seem to be getting better. His eye was better, and his temperature was a high normal, 102.8. We increased his appetite stimulant to every other day.

He won't eat. If I put his food in front of him, he will lick it. So every 30-45 minutes I put his food in front of him. He has stopped eating his dry food all together (was his favorite). The only thing he seems to like are his treats. He has lost .9 lbs in the 7 weeks.

I'm so lost, no one can seem to help him. I've tried canned tuna, chicken breasts, I have even tried putting his food in a processor to make it more fine.. Can anyone help me. Thank you in advance!

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this with your boy.

Gosh, times like this I wish I hadn't seen this thread, uggg.....I sure hate to be the bearer of awful news, but it sounds to me like it may be FIP.

Obviously your vet has no experience with FIP or she would have mentioned it before now.

Fever of an unknown cause in a 1 year old kitty is the first red flag. 1 year olds just don't get sick like that.

Second red flag is how the fever did not respond to the antibiotic.

Then his eye change, FIP attacks various areas of the cat, and eye changes are not unusual to see.

Dry form of FIP is what I suspect. I can't tell you how that hurts my heart to say.

PLEASE let me be wrong......

lillypie · Mar 22, 2016

What on earth is FIP?

catwoman707 · Mar 22, 2016

Oh boy......

Well, FIP stands for feline infectious peritonitis.

It is mysterious, it is not contagious, it comes from a common cold virus that most cats just get through in a couple days if you even see any signs, nearly all cats have been exposed to this virus, and occasionally a cat is not able to recover from this small virus, and it hides in their systems, mutating in to FIP, which is not treatable, and 100% deadly.

katbaloo · Mar 24, 2016

Bob passed away yesterday. The emergency vet wasn't sure of the cause, but she said heroic efforts were needed and probably wouldn't have saved him. My heart is in pieces

jennyr · Mar 24, 2016

I am so sorry to hear this sad news. You were obviously doing all you could, but sometimes just nothing works and nature takes its course. I do agree with catwoman707 that it may have been FIP. I didn't like to suggest it until other things had been ruled out. It is always fatal, so there is nothing you could have done. In accordance with TCS practice, I will now close this thread out of respect for Bob and I hope you will feel able to open a tribute thread for him i the Crossing the Bridge forum, where others can also pay their respects. RIP Bob.

Sick one year old cat

katbaloo

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cocobutterfly

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Columbine

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jennyr

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margd

Chula and Paul's roommate

jennyr

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margd

Chula and Paul's roommate

catwoman707

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lillypie

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catwoman707

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katbaloo

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jennyr

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