There's something wrong with Sally

I am praying for Sally, but I would take her to another vet urgently.

Hi,
I have to agree with everyone...something is not going well, and this vet should be willing to respond to you (especially if your boyfriend tells them it's okay to discuss Sally with you) since you are seeing a problem and a problem that needs to be addressed. Her vomitting could be from several things, one of which is simply not tolerating the antibiotic's being given. Aspiration pnemonia can be from any number of things (including inhaling vomit)... please get her a second opinion, so her breathing, her temp etc. can be evaluated.

I'm so sorry, this must be incredibly stressful, and I hope Sally be okay.
Know that a lot of folks here care, post when you can as we'll all be waiting to hear how things are going,

Aspiration pneumonia can come from a wide variety of causes. It simply means that somehow your cat got fluid or semifluids into her lungs instead of in her esophagus where it belongs.
This could be from mistakenly inhaling fluids you tried to give her or liquid medications, from vomiting & mistakenly inhaling some of that or from having problems with swallowing such as megaesophagus (the tube going from the mouth to the stomach is too big or the muscles too weak & fluid can build up there, then it is easy to cough some down into the lungs).
The important things now are antibiotics to take care of any bacterial infections & then nursing care - keeping her warm, comfortable, well hydrated & some nutrition into her. If need be, ask the vet about giving her fluids under the skin at home (truly much easier to do than it sounds .
Good luck with her!
Deb E

Hissy,

I would say Sally is appx 8-9 months old now. I just got her in January from my landlord whose tenant left her alone in an apt for a week then threw her out in sub-zero temps. I haven't fed her anything myself because she eats on her own. I don't know anything about her life before she came here but I assume it was pretty bad judging by how scared she gets if I walk up to her too fast or when I raise my hand to pet her she shys away.



I fed Sally some warmed chicken broth and she has eaten some food and kept that down as well. She is still breathing strange, but nowhere near how she was yesterday morning. The medicine the vet gave her is about the size of an asprin. This morning I just stuck it in the corner of her mouth then waited for her to swallow it. After 3 tries, she did. Is there a less invasive way to get a cat to take a pill because I was afraid she would choke on it.


My boyfriend also got ahold of the vet and they said that the first 48 hours will be the worst and I should start to see some improvement by tomorrow. Her bloodwork is still not back but they are to call me or him the minute it comes in. If this doesn't tell anything I plan to make an appointment with another vet altogether.

Glad she's eating a little bit.

Abby -

I'm so very sorry about Sally, said a little prayer for her. Glad to hear that she was able to keep alittle food down. I don't have any advice for you, just hope she gets better really soon, I know how worried and sick you must be.

Sounds like the vet should have been more patient with you and explained things better. They also should have told you earlier that the first 48 hrs. were the worst, at least then you would have expected it.

Jill and Candy

I will say that while I am thankful for their help, I am not pleased with them at all at the vet office. I partly feel the only reason they are even accepting her into their office is because my boyfriend runs the service dept at a car dealership they all go to. (And they know he will get even with them)

I'm relieved that Sally is eating and am really, really grateful for all of everyone's concern, but right now, I don't honestly think she is going to come out of this. I'm sure its partly stress from this and other things that have me feeling so hopeless. I feel like I could be doing more for her or that I should have been able to prevent this from happening in the first place. Sorry, I'm not dealing well with this at all.

do try to hang in there. if you are strong for your kitty, she will be strong for you. i know that i worry ALL THE TIME and it is my boyfriend who has to calm me.

you are truly a good heart for taking her in. my kitties were abandoned as well, and i hand fed them... so i do know what it is like to have an overbearing bond with your babies.

hang in there... the beginning is always the hardest.

(((((((HUGS))))))) Please hang in there and don't give up yet . All you can do is giving her all your love and that is also part she needs from you right now . Cats can be very strong and when they have some one to love they try even harder to pull through . Let the medication do its part , love her and tell her you love her .

I will continue to pray for your baby

Sally and I had a long talk last nite and I think we have come to an agreement.

Bloodwork came back normal and she doesn't have anything that is contagious that Sam could get. I just spent half an hour on the phone with the vet that took care of Sally on Monday. I tried to give her her pill this morning and she fought it and ended up hooking her claw in that main blood vessel in my hand. She was wrapped in a towel and everything, but she got loose. The vet said to crush the pill in tuna juice and use a syringe to squirt it down her throat. Hopefully that will go better for her tomorrow. I think it was very traumatic for her and with her having breathing problems I do not want to get her upset. She was sitting on the other side of the bed from me giving me an awfully ticked off look. Now she is under the bed hissing at me everytime I talk to her so I decided it would be best to apologize a bit later.

I also asked about output since shes not giving up much of what she is eating in the litterbox and the vet said she is using all of her calories to breathe. She said if the antibiotics work she has a good chance of recovering, so I am holding on tight to that. She is just soooo skinny. I am going to try to get a picture of her on here soon.

Poor kitty, just leave her be for awhile and let her decompress. Take care of that puncture wound! It will probably bruise, but at least get antibiotic on it to stop any bacterial infection (especially from an ill cat)

I wish we all could help, but now it is up to Sally and the meds to work. Don't stick your head under the bed to talk to her. Play some classical music softly in the room she is in, andkeep the room dark and quiet. If you have a large cardboard box, take it and flip it on its side and put some soft bedding in it, drape it with a dark blanket and leave it near the bed, so she can have a cave to rest in. Keep the light out as much as you can and just let her gather her reserves to see if she can kick this-

My thoughts are with you.

I am pulling for Sally too!

They used to have something called Nutri-Cal that is a highly palatable and high caloric supplement that comes in a tube - do they still make that? It would get some energy/calories into her.

Originally Posted by Talon

I am pulling for Sally too!

They used to have something called Nutri-Cal that is a highly palatable and high caloric supplement that comes in a tube - do they still make that? It would get some energy/calories into her.

Click to expand...

Yes, they do still make this, it can be found in online stores, and I think Petco carries it. Another idea - A/D is a for-temporary use . high calorie, easy to eat (it's like a thick, meaty pudding) prescription canned food you can get from your vet. Most cats like it very much.

Re pilling your gal, a quick, less of a struggle way is to use a rubber-tipped pill gun (fun to co-ordinate, but basically wrap her if you have to, or just quickly scruff her, pop the rubber tip, loaded with the pill, into the corner of her mouth by pressing the tip against the back edge of her lips until she opens her mouth, depress the plunger and release her from the scruff. With practice, you can get a pill in this way in under a minute, so minimal fuss and struggling).

best wishes for her to have a quick recovery,

I've only just seen this thread, how is Sally doing? Jeeps and I have our fingers/paws crossed, I hope she's feeling better.

I will look into this food. I have to go to town later so I will stop by the pet store and see what they have as well.

My hand is already bruising and has a good sized bump where her claw went in (about 50 cent size) I washed it and put Bactine on it then Neosporin and bandaid. She moved from under the bed and into the cat carrier. I draped a towel over it and took the door off so she can get in and out. There is already a blanket in there so she seems comfy. It is sitting in my closet so its nice warm quiet and dark there. Sam came up to check it out and she whapped him a good one for invading her space...one of these days he will learn Its hard for her to find a quiet space, especially today because I have my two kids plus my nephew and neice. I ordered the kids to not run and make alot of noise..so far so good

Poor little Sally! I am crossing my fingers for her and praying she'll get through all that, either you'll do! Please, let us know how is everything going with your kitty! Let us know if there is anything we could help you with!!!!!

Poor little babe. I do hope she pulls through Abby. Am praying for her and you.

Abby -

You're doing all you can for Sally. She was very sick, and she won't get better overnight. I know it's very hard for both of you, but just give the meds a chance and keep her where she is, if you can keep her in a separate room away from everything that would be great.

I wonder, if she's eating something, would you be able to crush and grind the pill and put it in her food? When I had to pill my cat, it was a dismal failure. I called the vet and asked if I could crush the pill and put it in her food (even with a URI and conjunctivitis she was eating like a piggy) and she said yes. It was much easier for me, I took the chicken's way out. Maybe Sally would eat some meat-based baby food? (Only meat, water, cornstarch for ingredients), it's supposed to be easier on the stomach, and it smells good.

I said a prayer for Sally so she just has to get better!

Jill and Candy

P.S. And I think you should think about getting your hand looked at. An infection could spread quickly, that's the last thing you need right now.

Sally seems to be perking up some today. She has been moving around more and while her breathing is still short, she's not breathing as fast as she was..Hopefully she is slowing down because she is able to take deeper breaths of air in.

The pill in tuna juice went over like a lead balloon too. I have a new scratch to add to my collection on my hands. I wrapped her up in a towel tighter than I did yesterday got her to open and popped the pill down her throat first try this time. I'm getting pretty good at this now that there is only two pills left.

We are leaving to go to Tennessee tomorrow morning and will be back late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. My boyfriend has a race there(fingers crossed that he finishes decently--and doesn't run over anyone like last race ). My mom is coming over to check in on my babies and feed them and play and all that. I think Sally is on the way up now and I feel comfortable leaving her overnight since my mom will be checking in 3-4 times a day. My boyfriend assured me that if anything goes wrong with her while we are gone that we will come back ASAP. I pray that won't be necessary. My mom also said if she thinks Sally is doing worse that she will take her back to the vet herself. Again, I hope that will not be necessary.

Have a good weekend everyone and I will update you when I get back!

oh, and Sally hasn't thrown up anymore either!!