Theo not eating since Sunday night, emergency vet said possible infection

[lbeachmike]

Our cat Theo has gotten very sick very suddenly - we thought it was his IBD having an outbreak. Saturday morning he ate a meal and all was fine - after that, everything has been frequent water or nothing BMs, and he would not eat other than a smaller meal Monday night. He's been given Cerenia and Zofran.

Last night his mouth started foaming and we took him to the emergency vet. They ran bloodwork and said that it is suggestive of infection. They prescribed Azithromycin, but we can't give it without food. We are also not entirely certain if it will get him on the right track. They also gave him a shot for pain and prescribed another antibiotic to act as an anti-inflammatory of the intestines.

When we put his favorite foods in front him, he looks like he wants to eat, but then he starts making weird movements with his tongue and mouth and won't eat.

It seems there is injectable antibiotic that can be tried at our vet's office, but I don't know how long it takes to act - nor if it will be effective in resolving whatever is going on. We need him to eat or obviously this doesn't have a good outcome.

Any thoughts/guidance/ideas?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

There is an injectable antibiotic, but it might not work for what is wrong with him. And it stays in the system for a very long time, so if he has a reaction to it, you've got a bigger problem. But they should be able to do IV antibiotics, which can be shut off at any time if there is an issue. I would call your Vet and tell them what is going on and also tell them you have already been to the Emergency Vet and what they did and told you.

Did the Emergency Vet actually give him both Cerenia and Zofran? Both of those are anti-nausea drugs, but it sounds like he is still nauseated. Can you assist feed him using a needleless syringe? Your Vet should be able to prescribe a recovery food which is very smooth and works well for assist feeding. Has he vomited at all?

 

[lbeachmike]

Hi GreenJ - It looks like I saw this a bit late unfortunately. I took our regular vet, and he did get a shot of Convenia. Though some follow-up from the emergency vet seemed to be in agreement with what you were saying - that the Convenia may not be effective against whatever the infection is in his body. Unfortunately our usual more experienced doc is away, and the vets that are covering are less experienced.

He also prescribed Elura as an appetite stimulant to replace the martazapine, which didn't seem to do the trick. Since Theo is home, he was finally willing to eat more liver treats. He refused his usual rabbit/lamb wet foods, but was okay with eating some of a new rabbit wet food we tried. He did not want to eat it from the bowl, but would eat from the can. It almost seems like he has made associations with all of things he was eating/eating from when he got sick.

Re: recovery food - this is difficult due to his diet limitations because of the IBD. But fortunately were able to get him to eat a little, and perhaps this will improve.

The counts on his bloodwork that were high, were three different white cell counts. I see neutrophils and lymphocytes. Not sure which the other was. I'm still unclear if this is definitive for infection, or simply suggestive and could also be other things like inflammation. I'm not sure if you have further insight on this.

 

[fionasmom]

Elura is the appetite stimulant often prescribed for older cats (and dogs under a different name) who might have kidney issues. My experience with it is that it does not give immediate results, although you said that mirtazapine did not help.

 

[lbeachmike]

Elura is the appetite stimulant often prescribed for older cats (and dogs under a different name) who might have kidney issues. My experience with it is that it does not give immediate results, although you said that mirtazapine did not help.

The vet prescribed Elura today because Mirtazapine wasn't doing the trick. It seems like either the Elura helped, or Theo perhaps improved slightly today. Difficult to assess. Yesterday he was entirely refusing food. Today he is very interested in food, though most of the time has been coming to the food and then not eating. It was with the change to a new can of something new that he finally ate some food, or with lamb liver treats. Even with his favorite treats, still eating very scarcely. He would normally jump up and molest me for liver treats.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

try spreading his food out on a plate and putting it in a different location to see if that helps. The Vet is the best at interpreting blood work. Hoping the Convenia works

Keep us posted.

 

[lbeachmike]

Well, as with most things, we got different vet opinions - so we are doing a virtual vet visit tonight for further insight.

We have changed the feeding location. That did seem to potentially help. We've been using different plate strategies. He is currently fine with eating liver treats off a plate, but not rabbit ... he has always had sort of bizarre OCD quirks : )

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

he has always had sort of bizarre OCD quirks : )

He's a cat. No need to say more

 

[lbeachmike]

He's a cat. No need to say more

Lol. I think he is one of the absolutely quirkiest. Wish we had captured more of his quirks on video while he was healthy. We have no assurance we can get him back to good health I had been feeling optimistic, but he just came into the kitchen for a snack time with his brother Buddy the diabetic ... but he would not eat anything this time.

 

[Furballsmom]

not even off of your finger or a spoon? or even the floor?

 

[lbeachmike]

not even off of your finger or a spoon? or even the floor?

Unfortunately no. We will try again later.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Did he finally eat anything? What do they think is wrong other than a possible infection?

 

[lbeachmike]

It looks like this was simply an extreme IBD flare up. We've never experienced this with him before (only one or two minor flare-ups since his 2015 diagnosis.) Going forward, we may increase his prednisolone dosage from 4 days/week to 5; and we will be much more on the lookout for early warning from extra-smelly-poops or anything else out of the ordinary.

A few observations re: his resumption of eating -

1. It looks like he no longer wanted to eat his previous food, and from his previous bowl - it seems he associated them with getting him sick - changing to a different brand of food helped a lot, and initially him eating from the can and then from a different bowl

2. The Elura appears to have helped much more than the Martazapine and turned him into a ravenous monster last night. Of course this could have just been a correlation, since there were so many variables and it may simply have been that he turned the corner and had an empty belly, really loved his new food, benefited from the other meds we were giving

I think the infection was a false conclusion and the elevated white cells were more likely due to the intestinal inflammation. I think we spent enormously more on vet services than were likely needed, but it was impossible to be sure what was going on, and what direction things were headed and we tried to err on the side of caution.

 

[lbeachmike]

Oh, and thanks so much to all of you for the level of care and concern, the following up, and the insight and suggestions provided. We really appreciate you!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

So glad he's back to eating. I'd rather err on the side of caution and spend the money than lose one of my furbabies