2 y.o. staggering, won't eat or drink

spiritedstef

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All day yesterday Morgan was lethargic and didn't want to eat. This morning at wet food time, she came out to eat, took a couple of bites, and just stared at the food. She did the same thing with the water, and I went to call the vet. Before I could get the phone, she started staggering and swaying, with loss of muscle control. Naturally I rushed her to the vet, where we decided to treat her for toxoplasmosis, hoping that's what it actually is. They gave her some fluids subcutaneously and sent her home with clindamycin. She is in some sort of stupor and her breathing is very labored. She doesn't want to swallow and food or water, let alone medicine. She also won't walk more than a couple of steps. I have another call in to the vets' office, and I'm waiting for a return call. Meanwhile, I was wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this and been diagnosed with anything like toxo or FIP? I feel like the vet is competent but stumped, and if she's not being treated for the true cause she won't make it through the night. Any thoughts? Thanks! Stef
 
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spiritedstef

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I haven't used any cleaning solutions, pesticides, anything, (all of our kitties are indoor only) and I have no plants in the house. She hasn't had access to any medications or anything I can think of that would be harmful, so we've ruled that out. Thank you for the suggestion, as that was my first thought too.

No, she won't use the litterbox at all. Of course, she's pretty dehydrated and hasn't eaten, so I guess there's not much to come out. I haven't seen her use it for a couple of days.

She has a fever of 103.8, and she is panting, like her breathing is difficult. She acts like she's in a lot of pain.
 

tangerine

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can you pick her up... lots of pain?? is she hiding... ?
could it be blockage?
 

april31

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WHy didnt the vet keep her? Really though this could be anything. If u dont get a call back i would take her back or go to a different vet this baby might not make it through the night.
 
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spiritedstef

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I can pick her up because she's so listless. I can tell she's in great discomfort. She's not hiding because wherever I set her, she stays. She doesn't want to walk anywhere. Vet still hasn't called back - I'm started to get a bit upset with them. Her eyes just have this vacant look in them. It's pretty scary.
 

enuja

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Yes, go to an emergency vet that is open 24 hrs and can watch the cat all the time.

I still have no idea why one of mine died; she suddenly got very sick, I took her to the vet, they sent me home, since they were going home, with her stabalized and strict instructions to get her to an emergency vet if she got any worse. I didn't catch that she'd gotten worse until she was dying in my arms. My vet had done some blood work on her, and suspected she'd found some poision somewhere in my apartment. I did a phenomenal cleaning job, but still, to this day, I have no idea what she got into.

Her illness was much more sudden than the one you are describing, so I'm not trying to say that your cat got into poision, simply that, for humans and animals, there are some illness that need the emergency room instead of a primary care office.
 

gardenandcats

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I do hope your cat gets well quickly. Its so scarey when our cats get ill. And doubly so when they aren't sure what the problem is.
 
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spiritedstef

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Update on Morgan:
I called the vet's office again and said I needed to talk to someone immediately. They got the vet on the phone that saw her earlier, who said she probably needs to be seen again. I told them she should be hospitalized. When I got there, her temp was down, and they gave her some more fluids. Vet said he didn't think it was necessary for her to stay since she seemed a little more alert and her temp was down, but to bring her back in tomorrow morning for a chest x-ray. I asked about doing it today and he said he didn't want to stress her anymore because he didn't think he would find anything, as her chest sounded ok at the time. He gave us some valium for her seizures and said she'd be fine to go home. Since she did seem a little better, I brought her home. An hour later I had fed my son and done a couple of things around the house, then went back to check on her. She's barely breathing right now, and has vomited up all of the fluids and what little food I was able to feed her through a syringe. Her shallow breathing is very labored. Called the vet's office and a 24 hour emergency clinic, both of whom said at this point she won't respond to treatment and to try to make her as comfortable as possible. I haven't given up on her, I'm staying in the extra bedroom with her tonight to watch over her. Unfortunately, the hospital is over an hour away, and I think the stress from the car ride would push her over the edge, and if she's going to pass, I want it to be here with us instead of some cold cage all alone in a noisy animal hospital.


I don't think this is toxo. All of this has happened within 2 days. The vomit is very snotty, and her breathing is sounding "wet." My bet is FIP, and at this point, 12 other cats have been exposed without us knowing she was sick. She never interacted with the others much, but on occasion they did share food and water bowls. I've disinfected everything, but it's after the fact now.

It's going to be a long night, thank you all for your thoughts during this difficult time.
 

taterbug

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Poor baby.....and bless your heart for being there for her. I will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.
 

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I'm so sorry she's so sick. In my experience FIP has a constant high temperature that nothing can bring down. Also, FIP is a mutation of the infectious Coronavirus. If that is it, they probably were all exposed to the Coronavirus, but only a small percentage go on to have the virus mutate and cause FIP. So FIP is not contagious in the way that you are thinking, at least.

I'm praying she makes it through the night.
 
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spiritedstef

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My poor baby Morgan passed away this morning after a long fight all last night for each breath she took. She made it through so I rushed her to the vet as soon as they opened. On the way there she vomited again and her chest was barely rising. She was so sick. I ran her into the office and said get her some oxygen NOW! Fortunately they knew the situation and could see just how sick she was. The xrays showed she had less than 10% lung capacity remaining, as overnight a rapidly progressing pneumonia had set in. After 4 hours in an oxygen tent with steroids and fluids, the darling had another seizure, which was too much for her weak body to handle. At 11 this morning the vet called and said she wasn't going to pull through and that she won't make it until I get there (it's a 1/2 hour drive). He said we can let her suffer another ten minutes until she passes on her own or go on and end the suffering now, but that there's no chance of recovery. I told him to go ahead, that I didn't want her to suffer any longer. I had to drive her little body 2 1/2 hours away to a vet lab so they can figure out what caused her sudden illness so the other fur babies don't get sick too.

As a side note, the lab was so smelly, like death. When I asked about getting her ashes back after she is cremated (we wanted to hold some sort of ceremony to honor her, which we still will), he said the EPA won't let any pets go back out. His words were, "The EPA is pretty strict about that because there's no telling what types of bacteria and viruses they might be exposed to here in the lab. The only bodies allowed to leave are food animals, like cows, sheep, and horses." I said, "So you can't send the animals out so people can hold a funeral for them, but you can send the same bacteria-and-virus exposed animals back out for people to eat? This is one of the many reasons I'm vegetarian!!" Of course, I'm blubbering the whole time because I had just lost Morgie, so he must've thought I was a real idiot.

This has all happened so suddenly. Three days ago she was playing and seemed perfectly fine, and now she's gone. I guess people who have never been close to a pet think it's ridiculous to grieve, but it's a necessary step, I guess. Thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes.
 

cinder

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Sorry stef, I hope the rest of your cats will not be affected. Morgan is playing again somewhere, just like she was 3 days ago.
 

oneteapot

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Sorry to hear about Morgan. We all love our little fur babies and worry over them. My thought are with you .
I am still worried about Chipper. She still can't walk. But she is looking well otherwise. In fact, to look at her when she is laying down, you wouldn't know that any thing was wrong.
She still has the vet perplexed. She manages to get where she wants to be but it hurts me to see her that way. I take her back to the vet again on Monday.
oneteapot
 

kluchetta

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I'm so sorry. Words don't really help much, I know, especially when it goes so quickly. I'll hold you in my thoughts and prayers.
 
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