Cat is very sick, how to proceed?

So my elder cat is not eating or drinking anything. When I try with a syringe he whips his head around so much most of it flings to the ground and by the time we are halfway done he has worked himself exhausted and starts panting I have a good idea how to do this after watching a couple youtube videos for reference. After several trips to the vet and blood work, ultrasound etc. I have nothing diagnostic except "abdominal fluid and swollen abdominal lining." They started him on prednisolone and an appetite inducer which means he now comes when he hears food...and then looks at his bowl and walks away.

At what point do I give in? He never shows any physical symptoms of anything except weight loss and dehydration. I can't even afford exploratory surgery for cancer, I am waiting on fluid lab results but nothing else has given me any useful info so I'm not too optimistic about this.

I am so sorry to hear. Hopefully the fluid results will give some answers. At what point should you give up, you asked? I would say when your pet seems to not have a decent quality of life. I would say the biggest things to watch is their behavior, and keep track of their food and water intake. How old is your kitty?

Jetta1400 said:

I am so sorry to hear. Hopefully the fluid results will give some answers. At what point should you give up, you asked? I would say when your pet seems to not have a decent quality of life. I would say the biggest things to watch is their behavior, and keep track of their food and water intake. How old is your kitty?

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He seems normal but lethargic, and eats and drinks extremely little. He is 9.5 years old. I just don't want him to literally starve to death. Will a cat do that or will they eat at least a minimum sustenance amount?

From my experience, my animals eventually began to eat very little, then eventually lost weight and just did not behave the same. Is your kitty indoors? I think 9 years for an indoor cat is not too old. Has there been any blood work? I don't want to alarm you, but sometimes a swollen liquid filled belly can be signs of FIP, which is brought on by the coronavirus (depending on how the cats body deals with it). My current kitty has tested positive for the coronavirus and there is a low percentage that the virus can mutate to FIP, which basically has no cure. Not all cats with the coronavirus develops FIP. It just depends on how their immune system handles it. That's why I'm asking if your baby has had blood work. If so and it was negative for the coronavirus, then I would just continue to monitor your kitty and see how he does. Sometimes extracting fluid can give an idea if FIP is suspected. In the meantime, you can try to offer your kitty stage 1 baby food (chicken). Or get the most apitizing cat food (friskier, fancy feast, etc) to see if your baby is willing to eat on his own. I had to hand feed my cat of 18 years because he had a horrible lump on his tongue and eventually lost so much weight that I had to put him down. Keep us posted on your baby. I know it's hard to take care of sick pets because they can't tell us what they are feeling.

The blood test came back normal except for low red blood cells which they said were from malnutrition/lack of eating. The vet mentioned possible peritonitis but from what research has indicated it is very hard to diagnose and is usually found via autopsy.

I'm so sorry you are going through this, I know how much it hurts us to see our loved ones decline like this for no known reason. The fear and the pain can be overwhelming. When the time comes you will know, the quality of life reduces to just existing, you will see it in his eyes. Don't give up hope, there are still miracles in this world, but if it doesn't happen, know you did what you could, and you did it out of love. Give him a kiss from me, I'll pray for you both to find strength. Take care of yourself.

That's good news. Just monitor your kitty and try to encourage him to eat. I think I read that boiled chicken broth is good too, of course with no salt or spices. Maybe that can help bring back some strength. Fingers crossed for you both. Keep us posted.

I suggest an anti nausea drug to go with the appetite stimulant would be something to ask the vet about.

im concerned about the abdominal fluids. if the fluids are not removed he may not eat as it is very uncomfortable. did they talk about ultrasound of the heart to rule out fluid around the heart? what about the lungs? any xrays? if there are heart issues he will conserve his energy to breathe and not eat. the panting is telling me this could be cardiac related. i would ask them about a water pill to remove the fluid otherwise the appetite and nausea meds may not make a difference. we need to figure out why the fluid is there to begin with. what color are the gums and tongue? you can ask about the above things but try babyfood and least amount of stress. cardiac issues often masked by other problems and sometimes vets dont pick right up on it. even if heart sounds normal via stethoscope that doesnt mean much. that fluid is concerning. would they try to remove it with a needle? I wonder how fast it comes back-even if they could look at the fluid under a microscope would help give us more pieces to the puzzle. I hope your kitty gets better soon and you guys can continue living a great life.

They simply said his vital organs look okay via the ultrasound and the only concerning things were the fluid and swollen lining. The only one time he was panting was after fighting the feeding of blended catfood.

well i dont know,,,did they discuss how to remove the fluid? whats that med used for water removal=lasix i think?

The fluid analysis should be back from the lab this week. Once it is known hopefully I can finally have a certain choice or path to go down.

Lab results are in. Vet said coronaviris/FIP is most likely culprit, but diagnosis would take another 3-5 business days. Only thing they could do is put a tube through his nostril to force-fed him to extend his life

:, (

I am so sorry. I am guessing you are going to wait until you have a firm a diagnosis as possible. A nasal tube is a very good short term solution.

Hugs.

FIP in a 9 yr old cat is extremely uncommon.

Just so you know, there is no test to confirm a diagnosis of FIP, and often times fluid in tummy will be considered likely for FIP, but is actually not.

I'm not telling you he doesn't, but saying it does get misdiagnosed.

What exactly did the lab test, tummy fluid?

What is the description of it, color, consistency, specific gravity, protein content, etc?

Testing the blood for the coronavirus titer is extremely common in a 9 yr old cat, since this virus reaches basically all cats during their lifetime at some point.

Usually more in kittens, which is one reason it's so unusual to find FIP in a 9 yr old, for the virus to hibernate for so many years like that?.....

Anyway, hope you can give specifics on their findings.

The one thing they said indicated FIP was protein something or another in the abdomen fluid. Extremely rare or not, something turned my precious into a shell of himself and sucked all of the life out of him in a short time.

He did recently receive a new playmate, so that might help explain things.

Catman Begins said:

The one thing they said indicated FIP was protein something or another in the abdomen fluid. Extremely rare or not, something turned my precious into a shell of himself and sucked all of the life out of him in a short time.

He did recently receive a new playmate, so that might help explain things.

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I did not know about a new playmate.

This may be the answer to why/how.

A) This is stressful for kitties

B) He may have passed coronavirus to your boy.

Nobody's fault of course, he's just as innocent as your boy is in this

I am sorry to hear that it may be FIP. Personally, i am one to not want to see my pets with tubes or anything else, but that is my personal choice. Listen to your heart as to what to do if the situation does not improve soon. I hope your baby gets better.