Question about FIP? Please help!

I have just found this forum (I'm a member of the Chins & Quills forum) to try and get some input about our cat.

He is normally a fine, healthy cat; very beautiful, easy-going and no problems up to now. He is almost 4 years old; neutered.

The last few weeks, we noticed that he would sometimes not use his sandbox, but pee on strange places. We always clean his sandbox, as he showed from early on that he prefers it that way.

This afternoon, about 5pm, we noticed that Patches was behaving strangely. He was straining on his sandbox, and then started vomiting. It was an angry sandy-green colour, almost like a paste, and smelled horrible. He vomited a few times more; every time getting thinner, but the smell is just terrible; like something is dead inside.

He strained several times more, but nothing happened. We thought he was constipated, and gave him some hairball remedy, as well as a small piece of glycerine suppository. It came out a short while later.

He kept straining, without success.

By 10 pm, we took him to an emergency vet. He has a fever, and the vet also found a huge mass in his abdomen. He talked a lot, and spoke about a myriad of tests to be done. He wouldn't answer my simple question of what can be done for the cat right now to make him more comfortable.

I told him to stop talking tests and big names and to just say what he thinks is wrong, and what the symptoms are. He found the cat is dehydrated (about 3%); his eyes are turning yellow (jaundice); there is the mass in the abdomen, he is vomiting due to an obstruction or something; and by then, Patches was also starting to just leak fluid from behind. It smells awful.

He is depressed - he crawls into his sandbox, something he has never done before. He also doesn't clean himself off, and he is a very proud and pretty kitty.

I just found this article on the forum, about FIP: http://www.thecatsite.com/health/fip.html

All the symptoms are there. The vet wants to run the tests the article speaks about.

We have just given Patches a 1/4 tablet the vet gave us, to help the vomiting, but it came back out, along with a lot of foul-smelling foam and slime. We put it back in, and will try to give him some water in a few minutes.

He didn't eat or drink anything for the last 8 or 9 hours. It is now 1.30am here near Toronto.

I love my cat dearly, but I can't stand his suffering. I would rather have him put down now, than force him to hang on for our sake.

My beautiful, proud cat was reduced to a stinking mass of dull fur in the space of a few hours. He looks at me for help, and I can't do anything for him. He hurts when we pick him up or try to hold him.

Input, please, anyone?

Sorry for the long message as a first introduction. I can hardly see the screen anymore; I'm crying so hard.

Meerkat

HI, Missycat
Thanks for your input. Yes I read about your cat, and my heart goes out to you.

Here is the latest update - and I have to say, I am so angry at the vet from last night! Back then I thought I was just upset about my cat, but he did mess up big time, according to a second opinion we just had. Also, he did nothing for Patches last night; didn't even listen to his heart. Only took temp, and felt the abdomen and checked the eyes and teeth. He wanted to run all those tests, but wouldn't relieve the cat's pain right then.

10 am:
We just took him to another vet, who was very kind and saw Patches
immediately. He said Patches is critical. It is definitely a blocked
bladder. The vet last night said it is for sure NOT the bladder! I am so upset. The vet last night did nothing, nothing at all to relieve the situation or give Patches anything to make him more comfortable. If I didn't insist three times that he gives us something for the pain at least, he wouldn't have done so.

This morning, the other vet said the blockage is so severe that by now, even running any of the expensive tests the other vet wanted to do, he can tell us the heart is compromised, the blood gases are upset, the potassium levels are sky-high and the toxins in the body must be extensive. He told us he will give Patches a chance by trying to unblock him. He will put him under anaesthetic - but that is dangerous in itself because of the fact that the cat's heart is compromised already - and try to put in a catheter to flush his bladder and unblock him.

He promised that if it takes half an hour or is difficult, he will go to euthanasia. I am waiting for his phone call now.

Meerkat

Thank you very much for the updates, and sharing your stories! Much appreciated to know that there are others who understand. Isn't the Internet wonderful?

The second vet called a while ago. He said it was easy to unblock, and then he put a catheter in to flush the bladder. It got blocked within minutes. They cleaned it and tried again. Same thing. It seems there are sandy crystals in the bladder, so much that it keeps blocking the catheter.

However, he feels that we should give Patches 24 hours to see how it is going. He is replacing fluids and also giving him antibiotics to curb any infection.

He said he got the papers from the vet from last night, and "they were definitely barking up the wrong tree."

I phoned the vet hospital where we were last night, insisted to speak to a manager or someone and got the head vet or something like that. A very kind lady. I explained very calmly to her that I wasn't happy with the fact that we had to wait 2 hours last night with a clearly very sick and moaning cat; and that the vet would stand with his hands to his sides half the time, then spent 5 minutes checking the cat and talking about lots of tests. I told her I had to ask three times that he give Patches something to relieve his pain. I also said he told us that it was definitely not the bladder, and yet this morning the other vet said Patches was by now critical and that he was able to unblock the bladder.

I said I wouldn't want anyone's cat to go through what Patches did, just because of an incompetent vet. That we took him there to get relief, not a list of possible procedures. I said we paid $50 for nothing. She agreed and promised to phone me back in a few hours.

Thanks for listening to my long moan!
Hopefully Patches will be ok. I just wonder what caused it in the first place, and hope we can stop it from happening ever again if he comes through it ok.

stupid vet from last night - hope they give him heck!
Meerkat

Just minutes ago, the other vet phoned. He said Patches woke up after the sedation of this morning, he pulled the catheder out by himself and drank some water on his own. He said Patches looks a whole lot better than this morning. He wants to keep him overnight to make sure Patches can urinate on his own, and that there are no more blockages. He will phone us again tomorrow morning at around 10am.

The vet told us we could pay him back over time, so that should be all right. He also did not do costly tests or anything unneccessary, it sounds like. He really cares for the animals; not like that twit of last night who told me (a) it was definitely not the bladder; (b) that Patches was dehydrated but I should not give him water and (c) to come back in 3 days if the matter wasn't resolved, so he could put on an IV!
My cat would have been dead, and died a horrible death by now if I took him at his word.

I'm so glad he is feeling better! Can't tell you how relieved I am. This morning was terrible; and I have never cried so hard in front of a perfect stranger in my life. Shame; wonder what they thought! But then, I'm sure they see that too often.

Thank you, everyone, for your input, for reading and for praying, thinking, sending kitty-licks and good vibes. I'm glad I found this forum last night, and will certainly stick around to help out someone else in my turn next time.

Will update you again tomorrow morning.
Meerkat

10 am here
Up and down on the emotional roller coaster.

The vet just phoned.
Patches was kept overnight. His temperature is sub-normal. He is too cold,
due to too much toxins that built up in his blood because the bladder was
not unblocked in time..
His bladder lost the ability to let him know he has to empty it. They have
to squeeze him every hour. It could come back over time, but the doctor said
the prognosis is not good. He would advise we put him out of his misery.

I have sent email to DH at work to find out when we can go say our final
goodbyes.
Meerkat

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I can't believe how sad I was over that cat. Every time I see his sandbox, or come to the top of the stairs where he would usually sprawl so you had to step over him, or find a pipe cleaner somewhere, I started bawling again.

We buried him tonight while the sun was setting, on a friend's farm. They have five cats themselves. They made a little corner available for Patches. It is a lovely spot, and I felt it was so fitting that the sun was setting in pure gold while we were covering his box.

One of their cats came wandering by and sat down looking at us. It was as if he was attending the funeral for one of his own.

While we were driving back home, there was this huge, very creamy moon in the sky. Like a gently smiling face or something.

Maybe you think I'm nuts, but these natural things always make an impression on me, and when I see them again in future, I remember the situation or the person with as much feeling as the first time.

Thank you again for your notes. I really appreciate them.
Meerkat

Thank you again, everyone, for your support. Much appreciated.

I'm following up with the vets and am busy getting things ready to lay a complaint about the vet. However, if anyone wants to share in that up-and-down, I'm willing to tell the story, but I suppose it should be continued as a different thread elsewhere.

Any suggestions as to where to take it, please? I am new at this forum after all, and don't want to mess up things. But this experience shows again how important the choice of a vet can be. I should have trusted my gut instinct; I didn't trust the vet from the moment we walked in with Patches, and said as much to my husband before he even touched the cat.

Meerkat

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Fly free, Patches; and watch over little Hannah
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(Notes: Dr V is the vet who tried to save my cat, twit-vet is the one who made the mistake (also male) and "she" is the head-vet or whatever her title is, at the Vet Hospital where we took Patches on Sunday night. She has a strange surname; I'm not sure if I have the spelling correct. The twit-vet's name I got from the container of tablets he finally gave me. DH = Dear Hubby, or something else, depending on mood. )

On Monday, after Patches was dropped off at Dr V's office and he said "let's give the cat a chance", I phoned the lady vet and told her I was not happy with twit-vet's performance. But at that stage, we still thought the cat would make it. She phoned again on Tuesday, just after Dr V called to say Patches had to be put down, and she was totally shocked to hear the news.

She phoned me every day so far, and yesterday spent more than 45 minutes with me on the phone. Finally she admitted that the original vet is a new graduate. I asked why he was alone in an emergency clininc. She said if we were in a small town, and there was a new graduate vet, we wouldn't have had the luxury of a second opinion anyway. I said but the point is, this is NOT a small town, it is a huge city of 375 000 people, (near Toronto, with 5 million people) and they are a big hospital with many vets and assistants; why didn't he just pick up the phone and get a second opinion? Silence.

She wanted to pin the cat's death on me because we were not willing to just fork over $700 for the tests. I said I didn't trust the vet from the first moment, and I said as much to DH before we went in. I didn't want to leave my cat there. So I asked her, if she was the vet on duty and I brought my cat in with these symptoms (urinating outside box, straining without product, vomiting, collapsing hind legs) what would she have done first? Silence again from her. I repeated my question, and then said these are the symptoms as I presented them to the vet that night; if she were there, what
would be her diagnosis? Silence again. So I said, "Thank you very much. Your silence is answer enough."

This twit never tried to take a urine sample, never touched the penis, and kept insisting it was not the bladder.

She wanted to know if it was a cultural thing. The twit-vet was wearing a turban; I am not even sure what he is and it didn't matter. I said to her I just wanted help for my cat and I didn't care who could give it to him. When I then suggested it was a cultural thing from his side, because he spoke right through me and over my head and didn't reply to my questions, but just did his own thing; she bristled and said his wife is a dentist; she is sure he doesn't subscribe to that women as subservients idea. I said well, she asked me about culture, so I had a right to ask the same of her. That calmed her right down.

I did not attack her, or yell at her, or cry (this time!) or anything. I just told her I am getting the paperwork ready to send to the Head clinic of Vets in Ontario, who handles complaints. She wanted to know what I wanted. I said I don't want him to practice on his own until he retrained or got more experience. She agreed, and said that if I complain to the Clinic, she is sure that is what they would insist on too. I told her I don't want him to be out of a job, or have him fired; I just don't want him to ever do this to a cat again. She also kept asking what she could do to "make this all go away."

I got the chart twit-vet wrote via the second vet; they had it faxed to them when they got Patches, and they made me a photocopy. This twit never weighed the cat; yet he put a weight down; never asked the history, yet he wrote that it was a stray we got from the humane society??? We got him from a pet shop as a kitten, for crying out loud! I was so angry when I read that. The vet hospital (24 hour emergency hospital) cared for Patches from the first injection; they should have his whole history there. The guy was reading it wrong or didn't read it or had cats mixed up, for sure.

Anyway, I won't go into every thing we discussed, but when I said to this Head Vet yesterday that I would at least expect them to refund the money we paid, she immediately agreed. Then she asked if I could come see her in person. Why, I don't know. DH says maybe to offer a bribe or something that I don't take this further. I told her I already spoke to many other people via email and phone, explaining what happened, and they all agree I have a case and that the vet was at fault. He shouldn't have let us leave that night without at least insisting on something - IV or blood test or whatever, or then telling us that we are removing the cat at own risk. The fact that he insisted it was not the bladder, is a clear case of misdiagnosis.

I have go see her today (Friday afternoon) at 1pm; will take the bus down there. With all the paperwork under the arm. But it is raining hard here; maybe I'll reschedule for Tuesday. Don't fancy sitting in the rain for 20 minutes, waiting for a bus.

And yes, I still miss my cat tremendously. Last night we were watching TV and I got up from the bed; automatically looking to where he would have been, and there was just an empty spot.

Thanks for reading - I just hope this never happens to any pet of mine again. I feel so guilty!

Meerkat

HI, everyone, and happy Thanksgiving to those in Canada! We had a lazy day today.

I never did go to see that lady vet on Friday, due to the weather. She was going to reschedule anyway. I'm going to see her on Tuesday evening at 6pm.

On Saturday my husband phoned around to find out about kittens up for adoption. It turned out that one Humane Society had an open house, because they have so many kittens that they just had to try and find homes for some of them. I said ok, but because Patches was a tuxedo, I would prefer a Siamese or ginger cat, if possible, and not a male again. Famous last words!

Long story short, we deliberated for a while - I was so worried about bringing a cat home for my sake and not for the sake of the cat, but it seems our new baby, named Chatter, is very happy and already made this his home. He is black with gorgeous golden eyes, and about 4 1/2 months old. He was neutered on Friday.

Those who would like to see pictures - I've uploaded about 20 of Chatter. On the same link, you will find a picture of Patches, as well as some of our hedgehogs. I think the female hedgie is pregnant!
http://meerkat.pointclark.net/Spiess...PetsIndex.html

So although there is still a lot of sadness about Patches, it is going better. Thank you again, everyone, for sharing your stories, for messages, and for input. I'll keep you posted about what the vet has to say tomorrow.

Meerkat