Help with a dehydrated kitty.

I have a one year old male that has been sick for the past few months. My sister took him to the vet in April. He had been showing signs of dehydration, sleeping constantly, he had gotten really thin as well. The vet kept him over night and did a lot of tests. The vet sent her home with prednisone and vitamins for Mr. Kitty's liver. The vet said if we gave him all of it, he would be okay. He had been doing just fine until recently.

I came home from work on Friday to find Mr. Kitty outside. I opened the door for him to walk inside and he was walking very wobbly. I also noticed that it didn't look like he had been grooming himself. I brought him in gave him a bath. He was infested with fleas. His eyes also had little yellow rings around them. I immediately restarted him on the vitamins and prednisone, also trying to get some water in him. He will not drink water on his own, i've been using a syringe to squirt it in his mouth. He also cannot run around very much, he gets very tired. He will walk a few steps then have to lay down.

He has a vet appointment scheduled for next week. We've been monitoring his food intake and water. He will eat a little but will not drink any water. He has been urinating and it smells potent.

Is there anything I can do to help him drink more fluids? I hate seeing him so uncomfortable. Please help.

it sounds like he needs to go to the vet ASAP. I know that you have an apointment for next week, but when a cat isn't drinking it's a big big problem.

The syringe is a good idea, try to get as many in as you can at a time, and do it every hour or so. The smelly urine makese sense, it would be more concentrated if he didn't have enough water. I would try getting some tuna in water, and draining the water into a dish for him. Perhaps the extra flavouring might help too.
The rings around his eyes really worry me though, please see if there's some way to move his apointment up.

That's the best I can do for you. There are other people on the board that are a lot more help though, they're more experienced and I'm sure they'll answer back as soon as they find this thread.
Good luck, I hope he's feeling better soon,
Jess

Yeah, we are definately going to try to get him into a vet as soon as possible.

I made some beef broth, but he just kind of looked at it uninterested. I have been squirting water in his mouth about 4 times an hour.

The rings around his eyes sound like liver problems, possibly. I've been trying to read as much about it as I can.

Thank you for your help!

He may also be anemic from the fleas. Needs a vet asap.

Hi Chelsea,

I agree...your vet can get him rehydrated with some sub-q fluids, and if indicated, teach you how to do the same.

One way for a bit of extra fluids today, make the food he's eating (assuming canned) very moist, by mixing warm water with it, or the beef broth you made. If you are comfortable doing so, consider carefully giving him little bits of canned food by hand (I make teeny "meatballs") to get some nourishment into him today,also you can try baby food (check label, should be plain meat, no onion..gerber second stage beef or turkey etc. works), and if you have or can get (any local petco or petsmart should have this or something similar) try some Nutrical - a high calorie paste that would get some extra calories into him today.

The jaundice in the eyes would indicate his liver is involved...have you read the article here on Hepatic Lipidosis? If not, it's under the site's list of health articles, and is well worth reading.

Please keep us updated, I know it sounds like a lot is going on, but I am rooting for him!

Pinch the skin at the back of the neck- if it stays in a fold- theres dehydration- a cat can only lose 12 percent water content before it endangers his life. Dehydration is an insidious killer.. You may haved to give fluids orally every hour- even through the night to keep dehydration at bay.Subcutaneous fluids may also have to be administered . Also, is your cat anemic? Fleas can suck a cat almost dry- check the gums ,. Are they pale? If so, try giving pureed beef liver- just a tablespoon or so- every hour.