HELP PLEASE: fever reducer for cats?

mlbriggs wrote:
If he was "perky and happy" when you brought him home could there be
something in your house making him sick? This may be off the wall, but do
you have a carbon monoxide detector?

I thought about that as well - a poison. Have you had carpets cleaned
recently, switched cleaners or anything like that?

-L.

mlbriggs wrote:

If he was "perky and happy" when you brought him home could there be
something in your house making him sick? This may be off the wall, but do
you have a carbon monoxide detector?

Yes, we have one. He was perky and happy briefly but he wasn't really
perky and happy at the vet at all. I think his perkiness when he got
home was just relief to be out of that cage.

Candace

-L. wrote:

I thought about that as well - a poison. Have you had carpets cleaned
recently, switched cleaners or anything like that?

-L.

No...

-L. wrote:

Possibly/probably not - depends on what it is and what it did.
Intestines are often hard to get a good view, and if it's a thread, its
unlikely you see it unless it was really messing things up and the
intestine in front of it was bulging.

Why would he not have barfed at the vet in
the last week? Would the reglan IV have suppressed the urge?

Yes and No - more than likely he would have barfed. Do they know FOR
SURE he was eating? What worries me is if you got an unattentive tech
or assistant who isn't reporting food consumption correctly (assuming
he was free-fed and eating at night, or whatever). Not to add to your
stress, but it happens.

Some of the techs seem not as reliable but the one that was there this
a.m. and said he ate seems very responsible. I do know he ate for me a
few times when I was visiting; I would spoon feed him and he would eat
a teaspoonful or so and once he ate some of his dry food when I was
there.

If they were feeding him liquid food via tube and the blockage is only
partial and they had him doped up, he may not have barfed, though.

They didn't have him doped up at all other than reglan. He was never
on any sedation while there.

I certainly would ask the vet about the possibility of a thread or string
- if you can afford it, another x-ray with contrast is worth exploring
at this point, or an exploratory surgery of the abdomen. Also have
them check the *very* base of his tongue for a thread. I have seen a
case where two different vets missed it - and a specialist finaly
caught it - the cat had a thread in it's GI tract and the end had
caught on the base of the tongue and wrapped around - not tight enough
to kill the tongue, but it was there. The cat was majorly vomiting
colored mucus.

I will ask the vet tomorrow. Only once was the mucus yellow, the other
times it was clear. And now he isn't barfing mucus at all. He is just
barfing small amounts of clear froth every couple of hours...like a
teaspoon. He also feels much cooler, like his fever might have broke.
He is sleeping. The thing is, I've had cats who seemed in pain before
and you could tell by the awkward, uncomfortable positions in which
they would lay...he lays totally comfortably, even now, curled up
normally, sometimes with his head upside down. He doesn't seem in pai,
just nauseated at times. If he had a string wrapped around his
intestines for the past 11 days, wouldn't he be in severe pain?

I don't know Candace - he definitely has an infection of some sort and
the colored mucus indicates GI tract to me. I know you're freaking - I
would be too. At this point, though, I think it's worth exploring all
options you can afford.

keep us posted,
-L.

Okay...thanks.

Candace wrote:

He doesn't seem in pain,
just nauseated at times. If he had a string wrapped around his
intestines for the past 11 days, wouldn't he be in severe pain?

Hi Candace,

I feel so bad for you and Scottie.

I spent some time last night web-searching and looking through Cornell's
book, and the closest I could come to matching symptoms was a foreign
body in the intestine (if it is a string -- it could be bunched up
inside the intestines, not wrapped around them,) poison, or a tumor. Of
course there are probably many other things, this was with a 30 minute
search by a non-vet. The book did say that many times a foreign body in
the gi tract does not show up on regular x-ray because it could be a
similar thickness as the intestine. I know you've already talked on the
group about getting one done with contrast dye.

Many of the other GI things listed had diarrhea as a symptom, and your
cat seems to be constipated. My cat had pancreatitus, which is very
painful and I wondered about with your cat -- but diarrhea usually goes
along with that too. It seemed that everything coming out of both ends
of our cat was yellow.

I'm sure this is harrowing, but you're doing a great job with Scottie.
It must be a comfort to him (and his buddy) to be home.

Keep us posted,

Rhonda

"Candace" wrote
He also feels much cooler, like his fever might have broken.
He is sleeping. The thing is, I've had cats who seemed in pain before
and you could tell by the awkward, uncomfortable positions in which
they would lay...he lays totally comfortably, even now, curled up
normally, sometimes with his head upside down. He doesn't seem in pain,
just nauseated at times.

This sounds good, like he is improving. I sure hope so.

"Rhonda" wrote :

I'm sure this is harrowing, but you're doing a great job with Scottie.
It must be a comfort to him (and his buddy) to be home.


I think it would be a great idea to set up a fund to help Candace with
the vet bill, but I don't want to be the one to do it. I would sure
contribute,
though, if someone else set it up. Over 2K in a week is really brutal.

cybercat wrote:
"Rhonda" wrote :

I'm sure this is harrowing, but you're doing a great job with Scottie.
It must be a comfort to him (and his buddy) to be home.


I think it would be a great idea to set up a fund to help Candace with
the vet bill, but I don't want to be the one to do it. I would sure
contribute,
though, if someone else set it up. Over 2K in a week is really brutal.

That's very kind of you, really, but I just wouldn't feel right. We
have 2 incomes and credit cards so we can do it...it's just the point
of worrying how long to go with no end in sight. Thank you, I
appreciate the offer.

Candace

Rhonda wrote:

I spent some time last night web-searching and looking through Cornell's
book, and the closest I could come to matching symptoms was a foreign
body in the intestine (if it is a string -- it could be bunched up
inside the intestines, not wrapped around them,) poison, or a tumor. Of
course there are probably many other things, this was with a 30 minute
search by a non-vet. The book did say that many times a foreign body in
the gi tract does not show up on regular x-ray because it could be a
similar thickness as the intestine. I know you've already talked on the
group about getting one done with contrast dye.

Many of the other GI things listed had diarrhea as a symptom, and your
cat seems to be constipated. My cat had pancreatitus, which is very
painful and I wondered about with your cat -- but diarrhea usually goes
along with that too. It seemed that everything coming out of both ends
of our cat was yellow.

Thank you for looking, Rhonda. Poison doesn't make sense to me becaue
he first got ill on a Wed. nite and never barfed until Fri. nite and
then never barfed for a week at the vet. I hope it's not a tumor,
that's my major fear, cancer. It seemed to come on so quick, though.
I've had cats with cancer and it was gradual and then they'd feel okay
for awhile and then get sick again. I hope it's not a string, too, but
I'll ask the vet. Scottie is not notoriously a string swallower but I
know that if they get it in their mouths, their reflex causes them to
continue to swallow. Could he possibly have had a huge "normal,
healthy poo" as the vet said? They gave him 10cc of lactulose, that's
all, and then it was normal. The vet said all along that he wasn't
constipated as he kept feeling him and said his feces didn't feel hard
at all, it was like he was choosing to not go. Wouldn't you think--if
it was a string wrapped around his intestines--that he'd seem to be in
pain. I was present several times when the vet, last Thurs. being the
last time, when the vet did a physical exam on Scottie--you know, where
they poke and prod them pretty hard with their hands. Scottie never
flinched or showed any sign of pain. I would think it would be painful
to have your intestines all sliced up. I don't know, I'm hardly an
expert...Doesn't it seem, too, that the bopwel movement would be
abnormal, like diarrhea, instead of solid if it was coming thru a
mangled intestine?

I wonder if most vets are equipped to do a contrast study or if I would
have to take him elsewhere?

Candace

Candace wrote:
Thank you for looking, Rhonda. Poison doesn't make sense to me becaue
he first got ill on a Wed. nite and never barfed until Fri. nite and
then never barfed for a week at the vet.

Doesn't really follow poisoning then.

I hope it's not a tumor,
that's my major fear, cancer. It seemed to come on so quick, though.
I've had cats with cancer and it was gradual and then they'd feel okay
for awhile and then get sick again. I hope it's not a string, too, but
I'll ask the vet. Scottie is not notoriously a string swallower but I
know that if they get it in their mouths, their reflex causes them to
continue to swallow. Could he possibly have had a huge "normal,
healthy poo" as the vet said?

Yes - if the food was in the small intestine by the time the string was
ingested, it could still be normal afterward.

They gave him 10cc of lactulose, that's
all, and then it was normal. The vet said all along that he wasn't
constipated as he kept feeling him and said his feces didn't feel hard
at all, it was like he was choosing to not go.

There's really no way of knowing for sure unless he reached up into the
colon (rectally) and felt the poop - sometimes you can't feel it by
palpitating. Has he pooped since? (Sorry if some of these questions
have been covered - I have little time online right now.)

Wouldn't you think--if
it was a string wrapped around his intestines--that he'd seem to be in
pain. I was present several times when the vet, last Thurs. being the
last time, when the vet did a physical exam on Scottie--you know, where
they poke and prod them pretty hard with their hands. Scottie never
flinched or showed any sign of pain. I would think it would be painful
to have your intestines all sliced up. I don't know, I'm hardly an
expert...Doesn't it seem, too, that the bopwel movement would be
abnormal, like diarrhea, instead of solid if it was coming thru a
mangled intestine?

You are right in that he probably wouldn't tolerate being prodded, and
he'd probably be more sick. he may r may not have diarrhea. It could
be a small loop of thread or something that's snagged a small portion
of the intestine, or snagged on a hairball and stuck. Soft blockages
don't show on x-ray and they can cause infection if they sit too long.


I wonder if most vets are equipped to do a contrast study or if I would
have to take him elsewhere?

They should be able to do it there at your vet. They should take
X-rays over time - IIRC we took them every 20 minutes for the course of
3-4 hours or something like that.

-L.