Unusual kitty condition (respiratory problems, vomiting and more)

Hello,

My wife and I have had our little boy Sammy for just over two years.
He was 9 months old when we adopted him, and we immediately had him
tested and vaccinated for FLV. We have kept him current on all of his
vaccinations since then.

Yesterday morning he began showing some very odd symptoms. He had
been fine all night (as usual, hyperactive, bouncing off the walls and
waking us up). In the morning he ate his first meal and immediately
vomited it up. We didn't think much of this, as he (like other cats)
sometimes eats too quickly. But he continued vomiting periodically
throughout the morning; eventually the vomit was nothing but frothly
saliva. He kept doing something with his tongue that looked similar
to licking his chops, and then would recoil in apparant nausea. He
refused food and water.

We made an emergency appointment with our vet. He took Sammy's blood
and X-rays of his stomach, kidneys and other organs (not lungs--more
on that later). The vet came back and said everything looked normal,
in fact he said it would be hard to imagine more normal-looking
results. He hooked Sammy up to an IV for awhile to rehydrate him and
provide him with enough nourishment to last several hours, after which
he expected Sammy would feel better.

We were sent home with a perscription of Reglan, which the doctor
explained would control Sammy's nausea. We also bought some special
food called "EN", which is supposed to be good for a cat experiencing
stomach trouble.

The night went on and our kitty showed no improvement. He refused to
eat and continued 'dry heaving' and foaming at the mouth. We bought
him back to the doctor today, and by the time we got to the office his
breathing had become labored. The vet took X-rays of Sammy's lung,
and showed us the results. There were black areas in both lungs that
the vet said were abnormal, and Sammy's bronchial tubes were clogged.
The vet wasn't sure what the black areas were. He said our only
choice was to leave him for the night, where they would put him on an
IV regimen of antibiotics and hydatation/nourishment.

We are frankly stunned. He went from normal yesterday morning to
gasping for breath today. And what started out looking like a gastro
problem has turned into a respiratory crisis. Has anyone seen
symptoms like this before? I'm looking for any info you can provide.

Thank you,
Jeremy and Cindy

On 09 Dec 2003 23:43:03 GMT, Cheryl
wrote:

Harper Lee wrote in
ws.com:

We are frankly stunned. He went from normal yesterday morning to
gasping for breath today. And what started out looking like a gastro
problem has turned into a respiratory crisis. Has anyone seen
symptoms like this before? I'm looking for any info you can provide.


I wonder if he aspirated some vomit or saliva into his lungs? I'm glad
he's at the vets, the best place for him. They'll fix him up, I'm sure!
Sending purrs and prayers for your lil sweetie to get well soon and that
they find out what the problem is.

I am the original poster, and I wanted to apologize for the silly name
and e-mail address shown. I was using that as an inside joke on some
other posts, and forgot to reconfigure my usenet client.

Cheryl, thanks for your prayers and purrs. I hadn't thought of the
possibility that he has aspirated some vomit or saliva.

I also want to add that he is our only cat, and is strictly indoors.
A lot of conditions I've read about seem to be mostly isolated to
multi-cat homes.

Jeremy and Cindy

On 09 Dec 2003 23:43:03 GMT, Cheryl
wrote:

Harper Lee wrote in
ws.com:

We are frankly stunned. He went from normal yesterday morning to
gasping for breath today. And what started out looking like a gastro
problem has turned into a respiratory crisis. Has anyone seen
symptoms like this before? I'm looking for any info you can provide.


I wonder if he aspirated some vomit or saliva into his lungs? I'm glad
he's at the vets, the best place for him. They'll fix him up, I'm sure!
Sending purrs and prayers for your lil sweetie to get well soon and that
they find out what the problem is.

I am the original poster, and I wanted to apologize for the silly name
and e-mail address shown. I was using that as an inside joke on some
other posts, and forgot to reconfigure my usenet client.

Cheryl, thanks for your prayers and purrs. I hadn't thought of the
possibility that he has aspirated some vomit or saliva.

I also want to add that he is our only cat, and is strictly indoors.
A lot of conditions I've read about seem to be mostly isolated to
multi-cat homes.

Jeremy and Cindy

Harper Lee wrote in
s.com:

We are frankly stunned. He went from normal yesterday morning to
gasping for breath today. And what started out looking like a gastro
problem has turned into a respiratory crisis. Has anyone seen
symptoms like this before? I'm looking for any info you can provide.


I wonder if he aspirated some vomit or saliva into his lungs? I'm glad
he's at the vets, the best place for him. They'll fix him up, I'm sure!
Sending purrs and prayers for your lil sweetie to get well soon and that
they find out what the problem is.

--
Cheryl

Harper Lee wrote in
s.com:

We are frankly stunned. He went from normal yesterday morning to
gasping for breath today. And what started out looking like a gastro
problem has turned into a respiratory crisis. Has anyone seen
symptoms like this before? I'm looking for any info you can provide.


I wonder if he aspirated some vomit or saliva into his lungs? I'm glad
he's at the vets, the best place for him. They'll fix him up, I'm sure!
Sending purrs and prayers for your lil sweetie to get well soon and that
they find out what the problem is.

--
Cheryl

Jeremy Smith wrote in
s.com:

Cheryl, thanks for your prayers and purrs. I hadn't thought of the
possibility that he has aspirated some vomit or saliva.

As an afterthought, I wonder if he aspirated the reglan? It was the oral
liquid version, right? I had to give my cat that for severe nausea like
you described and had great success with it. But if he was gagging when
you gave it to him, I wonder if some went down the wrong way? Also,
metaclopramide (reglan) is available in an injectable form that you give
subQ. I had never done that before in my life but with a very nauseaus
kitty it was necessary to get the med into his system (and make sure it
STAYED there) and subQ was the best way - plus, it works faster, and for
longer. I totally freaked having to give my cat needles but he means a lot
to me as I'm sure Sammy does to you. Hang in there and let us know how he
is when you find out?

--
Cheryl

Jeremy Smith wrote in
s.com:

Cheryl, thanks for your prayers and purrs. I hadn't thought of the
possibility that he has aspirated some vomit or saliva.

As an afterthought, I wonder if he aspirated the reglan? It was the oral
liquid version, right? I had to give my cat that for severe nausea like
you described and had great success with it. But if he was gagging when
you gave it to him, I wonder if some went down the wrong way? Also,
metaclopramide (reglan) is available in an injectable form that you give
subQ. I had never done that before in my life but with a very nauseaus
kitty it was necessary to get the med into his system (and make sure it
STAYED there) and subQ was the best way - plus, it works faster, and for
longer. I totally freaked having to give my cat needles but he means a lot
to me as I'm sure Sammy does to you. Hang in there and let us know how he
is when you find out?

--
Cheryl

On 10 Dec 2003 00:05:51 GMT, Cheryl
wrote:

Jeremy Smith wrote in
ws.com:

Cheryl, thanks for your prayers and purrs. I hadn't thought of the
possibility that he has aspirated some vomit or saliva.

It was the oral liquid version, right?

Actually, no. The reglan was in pill form. We had to forcibly open
his mouth and pop in the pill. He didn't like it at all; he was
gagging and frothing the whole time. On the other hand, I'm sure it
was less traumatic than the injections you described.

I totally freaked having to give my cat needles but he means a lot
to me as I'm sure Sammy does to you. Hang in there and let us know how he
is when you find out?

I will. Thanks for your support.

Jeremy

On 10 Dec 2003 00:05:51 GMT, Cheryl
wrote:

Jeremy Smith wrote in
ws.com:

Cheryl, thanks for your prayers and purrs. I hadn't thought of the
possibility that he has aspirated some vomit or saliva.

It was the oral liquid version, right?

Actually, no. The reglan was in pill form. We had to forcibly open
his mouth and pop in the pill. He didn't like it at all; he was
gagging and frothing the whole time. On the other hand, I'm sure it
was less traumatic than the injections you described.

I totally freaked having to give my cat needles but he means a lot
to me as I'm sure Sammy does to you. Hang in there and let us know how he
is when you find out?

I will. Thanks for your support.

Jeremy

On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 23:19:25 +0000, Harper Lee wrote:

We are frankly stunned. He went from normal yesterday morning to
gasping for breath today. And what started out looking like a gastro
problem has turned into a respiratory crisis. Has anyone seen
symptoms like this before? I'm looking for any info you can provide.

You mentioned he was licking his chops. Perhaps he got into or sat in
something that is causing this? This is a longshot, but if the doctor can
do some sort of toxicology screen, that *might* help with an answer.

Here's praying your cat gets better.

--
Dennis Carr - | I may be out of my mind,
http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way.
------------------------------------+-------------------------------