Vet cannot give me answers :/

It started on March 24th when I noticed that my Noah's left eye was infected. At first I thought it was no biggie and thought I would try home remedies and give him a bendryl to see if it would help clear it up. 

However, later that day I noticed he did not eat nor did he get up much, he slept most of the day. Later that night he slept that whole night which is totally totally unusual because that is when he is most active. When finally seeing him walk I noticed he was walking around very slowly as if he was sore. 

So the next day I made an appointment to take him to the vet and found out that he had an ulcer in his eye. The vet said it looked like something punctured his eye. I let her know that he is an inside cat and only goes to the backyard, our yard is cat proof. The vet also assumed a stray cat might have found a way into the yard and they both got into a fight.

I was given antibiotics and left home. The very next day Noah had thrown up several times during the night. It was a very yellow liquid that had a pretty strong smell.  Later in the day he still hadl not eaten and threw up again and was just drooling. I decided to call his vet again and he was brought in for blood work which came out normal. 

As of now it has been about 4 days counting the 24th that Noah has not eaten. He spends most of his days in dark quiet areas. He looks extremely depressed. His eye now looks extremely red even after I have been giving him his medicine. While at the vet he also got a shot for nausea. 

He is still walking weird and the vet was not able to give me any answers as to his behavior. The only thing she sees wrong with him is his eye. She has no idea as to why he is throwing up, not eating and walking as he is. 

I would love to hear all your ideas as to what anyone believes is wrong with my poor noah or if anyone has ever dealt with someone like this. I am beginning to worry  

Noah is about 15 pounds and will be 2 in May 

he eats blue buffalo kibble 

and wet canned friskies

The walking funny almost sounds like something is wrong with his inner ear. there could be an infection inside the ear making him sick.

It would make sense that he is also trying to keep to him self because he is a cat that loves to be around us. He hates being by himself. 

Would the antibiotics he is taking now help with the infection? 

First, if Noah has not eaten anything in 4 days you MUST start force feeding him. Cats cannot go this long without eating as they are extremely prone to developing a condition called Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver disease.)

Get a few syringes from your vet or a pharmacy. For the immediate time, Chicken or Turkey baby food that does not contain garlic or onion (I prefer Gerber brand) will suffice. He will need minimum of 3 jars daily (divided into several small meals throughout the day.)

As for what could be wrong...it could be viral. I would be suspicious of Calicivirus.

Did the vet take any x-rays to check for a foreign body that could cause Noah's nausea and vomiting??

Your vet very likely have him an injection of Cerenia. This is only good for about 24 hours, so is no longer in his system. Did you notice ANY difference in his nausea and vomiting the first 24 hours after the shot?

I am honestly not very impressed by the vet you saw. I would suggest seeing a different vet if at all possible.

Is there any chance Noah could have ingested something toxic?

What are the realistic chances that a stray cat came into your backyard? Has this happened before?

CatPack said:

I am honestly not very impressed by the vet you saw. I would suggest seeing a different vet if at all possible.

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Seek out a second, third, fourth, etc opinion from other vets until your cats is given the treatment he needs for his eye and his inappetance. For the ulcerated eye, try a veterinary opthamologist. Try this directory: http://acvo.org/new/public/locate.shtml UC Davis Veterinary School has an opthamology service if you are close to there: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/small_animal/ophthalmology/

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=veterinary+ophthalmologist+central+california

CatPack said:

Get a few syringes from your vet or a pharmacy. For the immediate time, Chicken or Turkey baby food that does not contain garlic or onion (I prefer Gerber brand) will suffice. He will need minimum of 3 jars daily (divided into several small meals throughout the day.)
 

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An oral needle-less syringe You'll find this in the OTC medicine aisle along with pill sorter boxes, pill cutters, special baby dosing spoons, etc. Pet stores also have feeding syringes you can buy.

These are the safe baby foods you can temporarily feed to a cat: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/225595/anyone-else-have-an-only-gravy-licker/60#post_3749885

You can also take regular pate canned food and add water to it until it turns pretty soupy and then syringe feed that.

I looked through everything and may have missed this, but did the vet run any tests like blood work or urinalysis??

Yes he got blood work and everything came out normal.

I am confident my vet is a good vet but I will think about going to another one just to be safe.

I'm on my way to buy some baby food and I already have syringes. I'm also going to go ahead and buy some pedialyte.

I live in the Central Valley and am no where near Davis unfortunately

Noah does fit some of the symptoms from the virus you mentioned but the eye discharge was a result of a wound so not the virus. But I am considering he might have it.

To answer your question about strays getting in we know one did get in once. See when we rescued Noah he was a very small kitten and I think him growing up with my dog and him being so young and never being around cats he never developed "cat skills" he can't pounce or "hunt" or climb as well as a previous cat I had before and I believe that's what helps keep him in the backyard since he doesn't know how to even attempt to get out. But other more knowledgable cats I'm sure will struggle to get in and out but they will if they try hard enough.

I, too, think he may have an inner ear infection. That would cause nausea and lack of balance. What he threw up was just bile - nothing to worry about except he's doing it and not eating. Please contact your vet tomorrow and stress these issues instead of the eye problem. I think he probably needs to be on antibiotics for a week at least. If your vet has nothing to contribute, please do seek out another vet. Your kitty needs professional help.

PS If you can feed him with a syringe, that might help the nausea. That sounds counter intuitive, but the food will soak up the bile, which is making him more nauseated. It will probably stop the vomiting, too.

You definitely need to get some calories into him and get his blood sugar up.  Baby food gives protein but I've found that getting kitten replacer milk such as KMR is a good way to get vitamins and minerals etc. in also.  This is very important because going even a few days without eating can cause  a cat's liver to fail.   This article includes the signs of that to watch out for.  Since his blood work came out normal at the vet, he probably doesnt have it yet but he will if he continues not eating.  http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/cat...iver-disease-cats-not-eating-can-quickly-kill

If you are considering a second opinion, I would suggest you try to find an AAHA hospital near you.  They often have a cat specialist on staff, and because of the requirement for continued education to maintain their accreditation, often they have more generalized knowledge than a vet who is just busy keeping up his or her own practice.  Here is a link where you can search using your zip code to see if there is an AAHA hospital in your area.

https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/about_aaha/hospital_search/default.aspx

Has he ever had eye issues before? Did the vet put a dye into his eye?

I'm wondering about the puncture, I'm wondering if it's possible it's from the inside out, not the other way around.

What is the antibiotic? Is it possible he is having a reaction to it? Were you advised to give it with food and or flush it down after giving it to him with a little water (needle less syringe)?

Any chance this could be herpes related? My cats symptoms were a little similar, but not quite. The specialist thinks it's herpes, though another vet thought toxoplasmosis .

Bottom line is I fought to get the best care for him. If you can afford another vet, esp a opthomologist, I really recommend it; the specialist I just saw was cheaper than one of the regular vets.

No idea where Central Valley is exactly in CA but a Google search turns up these vet clinics with opthamology services: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=veterinary+ophthalmologist+central+valley+california

The ACVO lists these vets: http://member.acvo.org/search_results?country=us&region=&state=CA&city=&map=1&list=1

I hope  a vet will be able to figure out your cat's issues and treat it

I live near the Fresno area and am currently at other vet office. I will tell the vet all your guys suggestions! Thank you so much for your replies

Gabby, the vet at Henderson Vet Clinic in Porterville is amazing. Very knowlegable and very reasonable. Its worth the drive from Visalia for me.

I wonder if he's gotten something in his eye? I hope he won't need it removed but you'll need to get his strength built up. He needs to eat for sure. Much good advice given already.

Thank you everyone for your concerns. I usually take my pets to the vet in kingsburg but as I wasn't getting answers I ended up taking him to the Hanford hospital. Noah stayed there for the night. He was immediately hooked up to IVs. He again got blood work done, urinalysis, and x rays and some things looked a bit off but there is still nothing that can give the doctors any real answers. I was told by the doctor that he began eating on his own last night and looks a bit more alert. The doctor believes he is fighting a virus but did mention to me that Noah has a slight heart murmur and is experiencing pain when he presses on his kidneys.

I still can't really believe that they don't know what is wrong with my poor Noah. Sometimes I think if Noah is just depressed??

the pain when pressing on the kidneys is concerning along with the heart murmur. I wonder if the infection from his eye has spread?

I know my reply is very late but the doctors concluded that it was a stomach virus. After 800 dollars later and two in night hospital stays Noah is back to his normal self. I really wish the vets could give me more answers than this but both vets I took him too were stumped as his blood work was okay. 

The hospital in which he stayed at has a cat specialist nurse and she was also stumped and also agreed that is was a bad virus that was making him so weak. 

Thank you everyone for your concerns. 

I'm so glad Noah is back to himself again. The vets did all they could do - treat the symptoms, and it worked. I'm very happy for you.