help!

please help, i think my cat may be dying. He is only 7 months old, is very lethargic, cant meow and is coughing like he has a hair ball stuck, his purring is now a rumbling and i dont know what to do for him, no er vet can take him today. he was eating up until this morning and now he is turning down food. any suggestions????

Amber~

He needs to see a vet right away! Have you explained the severity of the situation to the vet over the phone? I am moving this to our Health forum for you.

Hi Amber

Has you kitty been to a vet recently? You say there is no ER vet that will take him- is it because of the holiday or that you might not have the money?

Ok, very gently open his mouth and see if he has an obstruction. Because he is so young, you need help with this, or you will get bit. Someone needs to hold him in a towel and try first just using a small flashlight to see if you can see anything? My guess would be kitty found string? or a rubber band lying on the floor.

Is kitty pawing his throat or making motions with his paws to the sides of his mouth? What color are his gums? Are they pink and happy or pale or grey?

If there is an obstruction that you can see, removing it by yourself is not advised because if you say, take your little finger and try to push it down- depending on what it is, you could effectively block off the cat's airway. SO DON'T DO THIS!!!! Don't remove it by trying to push it down. I am just trying to help you understand how severe this might be.

If you can see something and honestly this situation NEEDS a vet. The blockage has to come up and not down. It could be anything, a sewing needle, anything the kitty found on the floor to play with. Kitty could also have gotten into something like cleaning agents, found a pill on the floor that someone dropped.

This is again, something that a VET needs to address. This is the best I can do. Cats purr when they are in pain and the "rumble" that you talk about is also a pain sign. Your kitty sounds very ill and needs to see a VET. Please call a vet, or an animal shelter, call the poison control center, call someone who can address this problem in the here and now and not over the internet. Good luck I will be praying for your kitten.

i finally found a vet willing to take us this afternoon. so hopefully Merlin will get better.

i dont know what is the matter, his gums are pink and healthy looking, his stool is solid, everytime he eats he coughs and gags, and this morning turned down his food entirely which is very un-Merlin like.

He has dropped his weight adn is so skinny looking, its breaking my heart. Lethargic and plain miserable looking he is, well both of us today actually.

thanks so much and keep us in your thoughts i will post and let you know how Merlin and I fare at the vet.

Amber

That's great news, amber. Please let us know what happens.

Amber I am so relieved. It could be a worm infestation, but then again, it could be anything. I will pray it is a simple fix whatever it is! Good luck with Merlin!

Hope Merlin is okay!

Thanks so much for all your help yesterday.

Merlin and I visited the vet and found out he has a very serious cold, which i never even knew cats got colds. He is on antibiotics and shots to keep his fever down ( it ws 105 by the time we visited Dr Cash) He is eating, and loving all over me, so i think he is feeling so much better.

Thanks again to everyone!

Amber

I am so relieved it was just a cold! Hug Merlin for me when he gets feeling better.