It's been a long couple of days with my baby Rambo, and a week without internet to get some advice and support from you all. Sorry this might be a bit long...
Last friday I posted on here about Rambo's eye swelling up. The vet thought he might have run into something and had a kitty equivalent of a black eye. Well the next day the other eye swelled up, so I just continued putting antibiotics in both eyes and the vet figured it must have actually been an eye infection. Well this Thursday I came home from work to find vomit all over the house. Rambo was lying listless on the floor and showed no interest in food. I called the vet and she recommended keeping an eye on him, separating him from the others and just making sure he kept up on fluids and to bring him in to the clinic in the morning. After that Rambo did try to eat a bit, so I decided to go to baseball and leave him alone in quiet to rest. When I got home he had vomited spit but was trying to eat but he was making these horrible grunting noises and wheezing when he did. I panicked and called the vet again and she agreed I should bring him in.
Well...it turns out that Rambo's symptoms (coughing that i thought was a hairball, eye swelling) may have been the initial symptoms of an atypical URI (he had no sneezing, stuffy noise or runny eyes). Instead what she found was that the back of Rambo's throat was swollen and covered with what looked like blisters. And the pain in his throat when swallowing triggered his gag reflex. She took an x-ray to rule out him swallowing anything and found that he had also inhaled some vomit and had some fluid in his lungs.
The vet had never seen that combination of symptoms and both her and I mis read the symptoms. I felt so guilty seeing him in the cage, and feeling so terrible. Rambo just came home this morning after two days at the vet, and while his throat is very sore he is able to eat "kitty glop" and keep it down.
I thought i would write this now, even after the fact to say a few things:
*this site plays a very important role in supporting each other through the tough times. I can't tell you how much I missed that during these last horrible days.
*virus in cats can show a mind-boggling array of symptoms....when in doubt call the vet. If your vet isn't receptive to 1am emergency phone calls and visits to alleviate your concerns...find another vet.
*you know your cat better then anyone...don't let anyone convince you that you are overreacting, being over protective or dumb (i had a few unsupportive co-workers)
So to everyone...thank you for your ongoing support and contribution to this site. I missed you all terrible and would appreciate on-going vibes as Rambo continues to battle this virus. Please hug your cats...(and your vet!!!!)
Last friday I posted on here about Rambo's eye swelling up. The vet thought he might have run into something and had a kitty equivalent of a black eye. Well the next day the other eye swelled up, so I just continued putting antibiotics in both eyes and the vet figured it must have actually been an eye infection. Well this Thursday I came home from work to find vomit all over the house. Rambo was lying listless on the floor and showed no interest in food. I called the vet and she recommended keeping an eye on him, separating him from the others and just making sure he kept up on fluids and to bring him in to the clinic in the morning. After that Rambo did try to eat a bit, so I decided to go to baseball and leave him alone in quiet to rest. When I got home he had vomited spit but was trying to eat but he was making these horrible grunting noises and wheezing when he did. I panicked and called the vet again and she agreed I should bring him in.
Well...it turns out that Rambo's symptoms (coughing that i thought was a hairball, eye swelling) may have been the initial symptoms of an atypical URI (he had no sneezing, stuffy noise or runny eyes). Instead what she found was that the back of Rambo's throat was swollen and covered with what looked like blisters. And the pain in his throat when swallowing triggered his gag reflex. She took an x-ray to rule out him swallowing anything and found that he had also inhaled some vomit and had some fluid in his lungs.
The vet had never seen that combination of symptoms and both her and I mis read the symptoms. I felt so guilty seeing him in the cage, and feeling so terrible. Rambo just came home this morning after two days at the vet, and while his throat is very sore he is able to eat "kitty glop" and keep it down.
I thought i would write this now, even after the fact to say a few things:
*this site plays a very important role in supporting each other through the tough times. I can't tell you how much I missed that during these last horrible days.
*virus in cats can show a mind-boggling array of symptoms....when in doubt call the vet. If your vet isn't receptive to 1am emergency phone calls and visits to alleviate your concerns...find another vet.
*you know your cat better then anyone...don't let anyone convince you that you are overreacting, being over protective or dumb (i had a few unsupportive co-workers)
So to everyone...thank you for your ongoing support and contribution to this site. I missed you all terrible and would appreciate on-going vibes as Rambo continues to battle this virus. Please hug your cats...(and your vet!!!!)
