So worried - what could this be?

Well just as I thought things were finally on the up - so my beloved cat is
once again admitted to cat hospital.

Approximately 2 to 3 weeks ago she suddenly started vomitting one evening
and as it continued for several hours she had to be admitted to hospital.
Her back legs went very weak and she was generally very weak and unable to
stand. At the time they diagnosed her glands in her throat as swollen and a
lower than normal body temperature.

Overnight she stabilised assisted by a drip and antibiotics and within a
couple of days she was fully recovered.

Her blood tests were all ok - and the creatine and urea (for which she is
periodically tested) were the best results ever.

Tonight she vomitted twice within 30 mins - the first time bringing up
undigested food and the second time fluid only. I did not feel I could leave
things so took her straight to the vet. Upon examination her body temp. was
normal although she seemed to deteriorate before our eyes - just beoming
weaker and refusing to stand. He put her on the floor and she just rolled
onto her side.

The symptons are EXACTLY the same as before. Tonight he has said he will do
a full blood screening and test the electrolytes. She will be back onthe
drip and given more antbiotics.

I have asked him what this could be - as the first time was put down to a
bug of some sort. (She is a CRF cat but the CRF was discounted the first
time as being relevant).

Where do I go from here with this?

On both occasions I've been lucky enough to be home and get her promt
attention. I'm so worried this will happen when I'm at work.

He said it may be gastroenteritis or at this stage 'it could be anything'.

I'm so worried for her.

sarah

On 2005-02-04, sarah penned:

Tonight she vomitted twice within 30 mins - the first time bringing up
undigested food and the second time fluid only. I did not feel I could leave
things so took her straight to the vet. Upon examination her body temp. was
normal although she seemed to deteriorate before our eyes - just beoming
weaker and refusing to stand. He put her on the floor and she just rolled
onto her side.

I'm completely clueless, but is it possible she's having some sort of a
seizure?

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

Has your cat had her blood pressure checked? Hyperension is common in
cats with CRF and sometimes there are no symptoms, but when there are
they can mimic other illnesses. It would be worth checking out so you
can rule it in or out. http://www.lbah.com/Feline/hypertension.htm
Hypertension can also cause heart problems, which can sometimes have the
symptoms of hind leg weakness you describe. An ultrasound may help with
a diagnosis as well.


Megan



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"sarah" wrote in message
...
Well just as I thought things were finally on the up - so my beloved cat
is
once again admitted to cat hospital.

Tonight she vomitted twice within 30 mins - the first time bringing up
undigested food and the second time fluid only. I did not feel I could
leave
things so took her straight to the vet. Upon examination her body temp.
was
normal although she seemed to deteriorate before our eyes - just beoming
weaker and refusing to stand. He put her on the floor and she just rolled
onto her side.

I have asked him what this could be - as the first time was put down to a
bug of some sort. (She is a CRF cat but the CRF was discounted the first
time as being relevant).


I'm not sure what stage of CRF your cat is in, but I'll give my experience.
When my first cat was diadnosed with CRF she was considered late stage,
often her back legs would go weak and she'd tumble on her side and just lay
there. My vet recommended iron and potassium, this did seem to help as well
as an increase in fluids.

I hope your cat feels better when you bring her home.

Trish

"sarah" wrote in message
...
Well just as I thought things were finally on the up - so my beloved cat
is
once again admitted to cat hospital.

Approximately 2 to 3 weeks ago she suddenly started vomitting one evening
and as it continued for several hours she had to be admitted to hospital.
Her back legs went very weak and she was generally very weak and unable to
stand. At the time they diagnosed her glands in her throat as swollen and
a
lower than normal body temperature.

Overnight she stabilised assisted by a drip and antibiotics and within a
couple of days she was fully recovered.

Her blood tests were all ok - and the creatine and urea (for which she is
periodically tested) were the best results ever.

Tonight she vomitted twice within 30 mins - the first time bringing up
undigested food and the second time fluid only. I did not feel I could
leave
things so took her straight to the vet. Upon examination her body temp.
was
normal although she seemed to deteriorate before our eyes - just beoming
weaker and refusing to stand. He put her on the floor and she just rolled
onto her side.

The symptons are EXACTLY the same as before. Tonight he has said he will
do
a full blood screening and test the electrolytes. She will be back onthe
drip and given more antbiotics.

I have asked him what this could be - as the first time was put down to a
bug of some sort. (She is a CRF cat but the CRF was discounted the first
time as being relevant).

Where do I go from here with this?


Potassium supplementation - quick if not sooner! Speak to your vet
immediately about potassium supplementation *regardless* if she has normal
serum potassium levels. Most (90%) of the body stores of potassium are
contained in the cells (ICF) where it can't be measured. Thus, muscle
potassium levels can be very low despite her normal serum potassium levels.
IOW, a total body potassium deficit *can* develop well *before* she develops
hypokalemia.

Potassium depletion can produce similar symptoms to those she's displaying.
There's also a very high probably that her hindlimb muscle weakness may be a
symptom of hypokalemic myopathy.

As long as she's urinating normally (or increased), potassium
supplementation should not present any problems. Just be sure to monitor
her serum potassium levels. You're target serum potassium should be in the
upper half of the normal range. Do not use potassium chloride supplements
because they *contribute* to metabolic acidosis.

Please make *absolutely* sure your vets includes a potassium supplement with
her fluid therapy! Many cats have *died* of complete muscle paralysis
because the diuresis produced by fluid therapy lowered already critically
depleted body potassium stores.

If you live within range of a veterinary university hospital or top-shelf
private veterinary hospital such as the Animal Medical Center in NYC, have
your cat's urinary excretion of potassium assessed.

Potassium depletion and metabolic acidosis often go hand in hand in cats
with CRF and lead to a self=perpetuating, vicious cycle; potassium depletion
induces metabolic acidosis in cats, and metabolic acidosis in turn further
increases potassium losses - which further increases metabolic acidosis..
Chronic metabolic acidosis promotes anorexia, nausea, vomiting, lethargy,
weakness, muscle wasting, and weight loss -- the *identical* symptoms you
cat is displaying.

Metabolic acidosis is *often* overlooked and underdiagnosed because if the
blood collection tube isn't filled to the *very top* the vacuum or air above
the blood in the tube can draw CO2 out of the serum and *falsely* lower the
CO2 concentration. These are lessons I learned the *hard* way.

If my suspicions are correct, with a little bit of luck, both her metabolic
acidosis and potassium depletion can be easily treated simultaneously with
just potassium citrate. We got lucky a few times with potassium citrate
because the doses needed to correct potassium depletion in the cats didn't
exceed the dose the cats needed to correct their acidosis. Otherwise,
there's a serious risk of *overalkalization* if the correct potassium
dose is more than the citrate dose needed to correct the cat's acidosis.

One last suggestion: Its very importnt you speak to your vet about a taurine
supplement because potassium depletion and metabolic acidosis can produce
*fatal* decreases in serum taurine concentrations in cats.

Best of luck.

Phil.


On both occasions I've been lucky enough to be home and get her promt
attention. I'm so worried this will happen when I'm at work.

He said it may be gastroenteritis or at this stage 'it could be anything'.

I'm so worried for her.

sarah

Sarah -

I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. I hope she will be better
quickly.

-Enid
Lapkitty and Snowflake's mom

Thanks for all the replies. I have just rung the surgery for an update and
was told she is a bit brighter but not yet eating. I'm just waiting for the
vet to phone me to discuss the results of the blood (and any other) tests
tey have done.

Thanks for you comprehensive reply Phil.

I will certainly ask the vet about potassium.

regards

sarah

Well an update but not really....

I went to see my cat this morning in hospital. She really is much brighter
and was purring and a lot happier. She still has not eaten but I think it
may have been due to them giving her food she does not eat usually so that
will be remedied shortly.

Her blood tests are a bit of a mystery. They have tested her creatine and
urea and the results continue to amaze me in terms of how good they are. The
urea is normal and the creatine is down to 232 which is the lowest I've ever
known.

However - last night upon being admitted her glucose was 17% (normal being
about 6%). Today it was retested and showed normal - although she had not
eaten anything.

I have asked about diabetes in case it is that - but they are not sure yet
although tending to think it will not be diabetes. The vet said diagnosing
diabetes in cats is not always straightforward.

(Is it possible to have a CRF diabetic cat?)

I have asked about the potassium deficiency - apparently all her tests were
normal for that and I don't feel I can argue with the vet over it. He did
concede however, that if a diagnosis cannot be made then he will consider
the potassium supplement.

I'm not happy with NO diagnosis - if it comes to that. This is the second
time in less than 3 weeks. It's costing me nearly £200 a time - and whilst
money is absolutely secondary to my cats health and well being - it is also
becoming another worry as her insurance expires in May.

If these 'episodes' continue then whilst her quality of life is excellent
between times - I'm starting to wonder if the prospect of constant and
sudden hospitalisation is actually detrimental to her quality of life.

They are keeping her in for today and all being well she might be home again
tomorrow.

sarah

Have just spoken to the vet. Unfortunately still no diagnosis.They have
retested the blood sugar and it is normal so she does not have diabetes.

They have also done her blood pressure - and depite it being a stressful
procedure for a cat - it came back as the 'low end of normal'.

It is possible her ong term medication (2.5mg) Fortekor is affecting her
aqdversly so the dose is being halved and she will be put onto a potassium
supplement to cover the possiblility of a a deficiency there.

He still has not ruled out a gastric problem like gastroenteritis and will
continue the antibiotics just in case.

She has started eating again so that's an excellent sign.

She is staying in again overnight tonight and, God willing, will be back
home tomorrow morning.

sarah

On Sat 05 Feb 2005 08:41:00a, sarah wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
):

I went to see my cat this morning in hospital. She really is
much brighter and was purring and a lot happier. She still has
not eaten but I think it may have been due to them giving her
food she does not eat usually so that will be remedied shortly.

I don't know much about CRF or diabetes, but I hope they get to the
bottom of it. I just wanted to say that its hard for them to eat when
they're at the vet and in a cage, plus not feeling well. So don't
automatically worry if she doesn't eat when you bring up her regular
food. The vet will probably monitor her hydration and give fluids if
necessary and that'll help while she's not eating.

--
Cheryl