Cat Puking and Diarrhea?

[artiemom]

Catwoman, thank you...

I did not want to come across so strong, but I really do feel so bad for Booty and what he has been through this weekend. 

I just look at my guy, and think of how I would feel; what I would do, if I was in your circumstances.. Each time I got a bad update about Booty, I went over to Artie and gave him a huge hug and kiss....

I just feel so involved...perhaps, I shouldn't; but I am really a very sensitive person..the longer I have my guy and the  more issues he has, the more I feel so involved with animals....

 

[missingone123]

I'm doing the best I can, guys. I'm sorry. I feel really awful that I did this to you guys. I'll be at school tomorrow, but I'll try to update before I leave and when I get home. I know I got you involved. I wasn't thinking that there was much to say today, and with everything else I had to do today, I didn't stop to think that you guys might be worried. I will try not to do it again. 

He's okay right now. I just rubbed a little bit of the pain meds on his gums to see if it would help him want to eat again. I'll try to update you later if something happens and before I go to school. Thank you for your support and concern and I'm really, really sorry.

 

[artiemom]

Thank You, Maddie........I really appreciate the note....((hugs))

 

[missingone123]

I just need you guys to know that I care more about this cat than anything in the world. If I had felt like he wasn't doing well, I would have dropped everything to be with him. I'm not ignoring him by any means and am continuing to do everything in my power to make sure he recovers. When he seems to be on a high note, though, I really do need to take care of my other responsibilities, including my other two cats. I wish I had the luxury of being able to come here and talk all day and really express how thankful I am for the TCS community, but it's a very busy time for me even without Booty's illness. Even so, like I said before, I promise you that he's my first priority and am not ignoring him. My family knows this as well, and we'll do everything we can for him. 

 

[missingone123]

I haven't been able to feed him as much today because he only wants to eat when he's eating on his own, but he wont eat on his own anymore since this morning and it's not enough for the day. I try to syringe feed him baby food, blended up tuna, blended wet food- he fights it all and wont swallow it. With the A/D food mixture I was doing yesterday and the day before, I'd slowly syringe it into his mouth and he would lap it up and swallow it eagerly without really fighting it. Now, he wont open his mouth and pulls away from me when I hold his scruff. Part of me is glad he has the energy to fight, but I know he needs to eat. I also lifted him up just now and noticed his belly felt wet, like he had peed on himself again. I think that could have been because of the bit of pain killers I gave him earlier, though.

Im trying to convince my mom to bring him in tomorrow to the vet. We're going to at least go buy more AD food.

 

[catwoman707]

That's probably a really good idea. Another perspective of how he is doing now is good, the a/d is good, and ask why she thinks he is wet, perhaps relief to let loose? I don't really know.

Also, if she does, have her point out his tummy to the vet, see if she can give it a good checking.

Follow ups shouldn't cost more either, I really doubt that it will cost another office visit.

 

[missingone123]

I'll call tomorrow after school to see if they have any openings and if they will charge for a follow up. I'm hesitant to hope that they wont since it's not the same doctor/vet, as the one I've been contacting is out of town for 10 days now, and I don't know how the new one will think, but I'll give it a shot. I don't think we can afford x-rays and blood work just yet, but once my mom gets her tax refund I think we know where the money is going , and I'd rather have some more advice and talk to the vet than just look at him at home and make guesses at what I should be doing for him.

I'm going to go to bed now. I'll check on him throughout the night again. I believe he's in my moms room right now, which is a change from previous nights where he usually stays in the bathroom. 

Ill update you in the morning. Thank you all once again.

 

[manyfelines]

How many days has your cat been ill?Do you have a Care Credit card? I hate syringe feeding because I think they might aspirate and get pneumonia. If

you have to you can put a towel around him so you can feed him. Please get him to the vet . Call the vet during your free period at school. Get your

mother to call the vet.

 

[missingone123]

Hes been to the vet. It's a very long story that's taken the course of 10 pages and many things have happened since the first post. I do put a towel around him the problem is he won't open his mouth anymore. I will check in with the vet tomorrow.

I'm lying in bed right now feeling very anxious and worried again. I feel like bootys condition is kidney disease, but he also shows a lot of symptoms of cystitis. They sound very similar in their symptoms but I know kidney disease is much more severe and serious. Does anyone have any tell tale signs of either that might say which it is until I can have the blood work done? I know nothing I personally can do here will say for sure, but I'll drive myself crazy thinking about this...

 

[samus]

When there's tell tale signs of kidney disease, it's usually because the cat is "crashing" and needs immediate intervention. (Vet care including IV fluids.) The other signs are more subtle: drinking and peeing more, lack of appetite, nausea, sometimes clear foamy vomit on an empty stomach....

Have you seen Tanya's CRF Site? http://felinecrf.org/

And catinfo.org has good info on cystitis: http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Both are a lot of information and kind of overwhelming. The only real way to know, though, is getting the tests done. If you can't do that, the best thing you can do is just make sure he keeps eating and drinking enough. He needs to be drinking even more than normal in any case because of the UTI issue, but you probably know that already.

Sniffing food and licking it a little and giving up is sometimes a sign of nausea. It can also be a sign of mouth pain. With my cat, one way I could tell she was nauseous was that if I held a bowl of food in her face she'd turn her head away to try not to smell it. Is he still drinking on his own?

I don't want to worry you more, but lack of interest in food plus nausea is sometimes the first signs of fatty liver. You never mentioned how big he was before, but if he was chubby he has even more chance of getting fatty liver because he has more fat his body could try to digest. That's another thing you'd need a blood test to be sure of though. Treatment involves aggressively feeding the cat, frequently with a feeding tube to make it easier to get more calories in at once. When my cat had it, the only treatment actually was leaving her at the vet overnight for them to feed her and get fluids into her (not sure if it was IV or subcutaneous) because she was dehydrated from not eating or drinking. Depending on severity some vets also prescribe stuff for the liver, but the most important part is calories, which you're already working on. (Getting a sick cat to eat is hard work!!)

Don't drive yourself too crazy trying to figure everything out on your own.

Also, don't worry too much about "ruining" a favorite food for him. Anything a cat eats when it's sick starts reminding them of being sick (like if you get food poisoning from something then you can't stand to even smell it for a while). It's really common to go on a merry go round of "what food will he eat today," when a cat's sick. When my cat started feeling better, she was totally fine with eating the food that I'd previously been syringe feeding her.

 

[missingone123]

Hes very small normally. 11 pounds. The vet I'm going to only has people there until 7:30, which means treatment stops there and he stays the night alone in a cage with nobody to watch him.

He also has been drinking water, probably more so than before but that's also a symptom of the cystitis, and both also include more frequent urination. Hes not peeing a lot at once I think, which means he must be absorbing all this water, though.

I'm trying to syringe feed him baby food, but he's not taking it. He pulls away and won't swallow it and refuses to open his mouth. He does sniff at the food and then turns away.

Thank you for the response.

 

[donutte]

Frequent drinking/peeing is also a sign of the kidney disease if he has that.

Lucky never opened his mouth for me with syringe feeding (hence the mess that was always made). I just had to squirt it into the side of his mouth, a very tiny bit at a time. He haaaaaated it. I hope you are able to at least get the a/d today but ideally actually get him in to see the vet.

And no one here feels you are neglecting your kitty. We all have non-cat things going on in our lives. I still had to work when Lucky was very sick. It sucked, but I had to do it.

 

[catwoman707]

But hasn't the drinking/peeing alot been very recent?

Kidney disease is progressive, not sudden. I would not be surprised if he has early kidney disease, as nearly all cats will at some point when they are older.

I have one cat who has CKD diagnosed and she is about 14, and doesn't drink or pee excessively, yet my almost 14 yr old drinks a ton and pees very large peeballs, and does not show any signs in her bloodwork of kidney disease yet.

So go figure.

Don't go getting yourself all worked up trying to figure all of this out, take it one day at a time, treating the urinary tract problem and worry about anything else later, I don't really think kidneys are his immediate problem.

You're doing an excellent job btw.

 

[donutte]

CKD is not sudden, but acute kidney disease IS sudden. That's what happened to my Lucky From the time he showed his first symptom, to the time he died, was less than three weeks. But, blood work doesn't necessarily show it until they lose 75% of kidney function anyway. SDMA will show at about 50% kidney function loss.

Not saying it is that, just saying it can happen though.

 

[catwoman707]

Thank you! I haven't experienced that one!

 

[missingone123]

He sounds very similar to Lucky, from what I've read here that youve said and what I've seen you say go other people.

No, the water is recent and he only gets like this when his UTI problems are acting up. Hes acting the same as he had in the past with a couple of very scary new symptoms(the breathing before, the loss of appetite, the peeing on himself, the eyes...)

 

[missingone123]

My mom is home now and I'm on my way back. She said he licked some food but stopped right away.

 

[missingone123]

I'm home. I've noticed that he's sitting up more, and doesn't just lay on his side. My mom found him looking out the window when she got home. He still looks very sick with watery eyes and walking slowly but not as staggered as before, but he doesn't seem to be getting to that point he was at a few days ago again. 

I called the vet and they dont have any appointments open today, but we can go pick up food. They also said that they would charge us another examination fee if they did look at him, which we can't afford again plus whatever medicine they might want to give him.

I found a vet that takes Care Credit and we might try to go to them, but probably not until my mom gets paid again. 

 

[missingone123]

He licked up some of the AD food. I think he's nauseous, and as soon as he eats it  upsets his tummy. He's interested in it, but soon he stops. I got a bigger syringe from the vet, though, so if I have to force feed him again it might be easier.

 

[jenny82]

 
He licked up some of the AD food. I think he's nauseous, and as soon as he eats it  upsets his tummy. He's interested in it, but soon he stops. I got a bigger syringe from the vet, though, so if I have to force feed him again it might be easier.

A bigger syringe should definitely help.  When I was syringe feeding Mia, I started with a small syringe but once I got a bigger one, it was much easier.  I hope it's easier for you too!