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Need some help and advice ... Please
I'm hoping I can get some answers from some cat owners here in the group.
My son has a 4 year old cat and recently his health has been going downhill. He takes him to the Vet almost weekly because just recently he's stopped eating and he's been losing weight. This last time he took him to the Vet, the Vet kept him for 5 days and feed him intravenously. This last time (couple of weeks ago) the cat had jaundice and he still has it. He started to get a little better after coming home from the Vet for only a few days. Now he's back to not eating again. The cat was a VERY sweet and loving cat, always very affectionate. When I or my husband would go see my son, there would be the cat to greet us - he loved everyone. Now if anyone comes to my son's house the cat doesn't come out to greet anyone anymore. It's like as if he's hiding. I hate to say this, but I think the cat is suffering - I can't be sure because he can't tell us if it hurts or not! I just want to know if anyone here in the group had/has a cat that's had/has jaundice or liver problems - and what do you do to TRY to get him to eat? And what should he be eating? He has been feeding him Purina cat food for liver problems - he ate it for a little while, but now he's not eating it at all. He will take sips of milk once in a while, but we are not sure if he should be drinking milk with his condition. My son has tried everything, even tried feeding him with a syringe. I also want to say, my son told me the Vet said the next time he brings the cat in and everything is the same as it was - meaning if he's not eating again that the best thing to do is to put him to sleep. It is so heartbreaking - we don't know what to do. Does anyone know if a cat in this condition is suffering or not? I don't want him to suffer, or does my son, but we also can't bear having him put to sleep! Thanks Kat |
#2
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Need some help and advice ... Please
On Mon 12 Feb 2007 10:21:19p, Kat wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav : snip My son has tried everything, even tried feeding him with a syringe. I also want to say, my son told me the Vet said the next time he brings the cat in and everything is the same as it was - meaning if he's not eating again that the best thing to do is to put him to sleep. It is so heartbreaking - we don't know what to do. Does anyone know if a cat in this condition is suffering or not? snip Sorry to hear your son's cat is doing so poorly. What tests did the vet do? Not eating enough can cause liver damage - hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver. I had a cat that got it and it took a feeding tube directly into his stomach to cure it. However, HL is sometimes a secondary problem. With my cat it was IBD, Inflammatory bowel disease. He was about 9 years old when he got sick. He probably is suffering. Does he act hungry then turn his nose up at food? Liver disease often causes nausea. Did the vet check his teeth? My opinion is when it gets serious like this on such a young cat it's time to go to a specialist. Regular vets can sometimes really drop the ball on diagnosis, and it isn't their fault, they can't know everything. They can order tests each time the cat comes in, and all the while kitty is getting worse. A specialist, like an internist, can use their experience with sick cats to help find the problem rather than just treat the symptoms. -- Cheryl |
#3
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Need some help and advice ... Please
On Feb 12, 9:21 pm, Kat wrote:
I'm hoping I can get some answers from some cat owners here in the group. My son has a 4 year old cat and recently his health has been going downhill. He takes him to the Vet almost weekly because just recently he's stopped eating and he's been losing weight. This last time he took him to the Vet, the Vet kept him for 5 days and feed him intravenously. This last time (couple of weeks ago) the cat had jaundice and he still has it. He started to get a little better after coming home from the Vet for only a few days. Now he's back to not eating again. The cat was a VERY sweet and loving cat, always very affectionate. When I or my husband would go see my son, there would be the cat to greet us - he loved everyone. Now if anyone comes to my son's house the cat doesn't come out to greet anyone anymore. It's like as if he's hiding. I hate to say this, but I think the cat is suffering - I can't be sure because he can't tell us if it hurts or not! I just want to know if anyone here in the group had/has a cat that's had/has jaundice or liver problems - and what do you do to TRY to get him to eat? And what should he be eating? He has been feeding him Purina cat food for liver problems - he ate it for a little while, but now he's not eating it at all. He will take sips of milk once in a while, but we are not sure if he should be drinking milk with his condition. My son has tried everything, even tried feeding him with a syringe. I also want to say, my son told me the Vet said the next time he brings the cat in and everything is the same as it was - meaning if he's not eating again that the best thing to do is to put him to sleep. It is so heartbreaking - we don't know what to do. Does anyone know if a cat in this condition is suffering or not? I don't want him to suffer, or does my son, but we also can't bear having him put to sleep! Thanks Kat Putting a pet to sleep can be (beyond) devastating and it can take a very long time to emotionally adjust to the loss especially if you live alone and your pet is your only companion. I recommend that you immediately take your Son's cat to a vet who specializes only in cat health care. It is important that you get a second opinon from a cat specialist. Has an in depth physical which includes bloodwork, X-rays, ultrasound & stool sample etc. been done yet? The root cause of the symptoms needs to be pinpointed ASAP because the cat's health will quickly deteriorate if it is not eating. The cat is hiding because of it's primal instinct to protect itself from predators while it is in a weakened & vulnerable state of ill health. Please do not delay in taking this cat in. If you have a veterinary school in your town then their clinic would also be an excellent place to take your Son's cat. If money is an issue your Son may qualify for assistance. Mark |
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Need some help and advice ... Please
"Kat" wrote in message ... I'm hoping I can get some answers from some cat owners here in the group. My son has a 4 year old cat and recently his health has been going downhill. He takes him to the Vet almost weekly because just recently he's stopped eating and he's been losing weight. This last time he took him to the Vet, the Vet kept him for 5 days and feed him intravenously. This last time (couple of weeks ago) the cat had jaundice and he still has it. He started to get a little better after coming home from the Vet for only a few days. Now he's back to not eating again. The cat was a VERY sweet and loving cat, always very affectionate. When I or my husband would go see my son, there would be the cat to greet us - he loved everyone. Now if anyone comes to my son's house the cat doesn't come out to greet anyone anymore. It's like as if he's hiding. I hate to say this, but I think the cat is suffering - I can't be sure because he can't tell us if it hurts or not! I just want to know if anyone here in the group had/has a cat that's had/has jaundice or liver problems - and what do you do to TRY to get him to eat? And what should he be eating? He has been feeding him Purina cat food for liver problems - he ate it for a little while, but now he's not eating it at all. He will take sips of milk once in a while, but we are not sure if he should be drinking milk with his condition. My son has tried everything, even tried feeding him with a syringe. I also want to say, my son told me the Vet said the next time he brings the cat in and everything is the same as it was - meaning if he's not eating again that the best thing to do is to put him to sleep. The vet is an asshole. He wants to put the cat to sleep because he's too incompetent to figure out what's wrong too and ignorant to figure out how to treat it. Since the cat responded to nutritional therapy, he probably needs aggressive nutritional therapy via a feeding tube for a few weeks to a few months. Its not as bad as it sounds- cats adapt quite well to PEG tubes. It is so heartbreaking - we don't know what to do. Does anyone know if a cat in this condition is suffering or not? I don't want him to suffer, or does my son, but we also can't bear having him put to sleep! Tell your son to take the cat to another vet ASAP- preferably an ACVIM Diplomate in small animal internal medicine. Go here to search for a specialist in your area. http://www.acvim.org/Specialist/Search.aspx Don't let the vet talk your son into killing the cat before you get a second opinion. Keep the faith. Phil |
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Need some help and advice ... Please
On 13 Feb, 09:28, "Phil P." wrote:
"Kat" wrote in message ... I'm hoping I can get some answers from some cat owners here in the group. My son has a 4 year old cat and recently his health has been going downhill. He takes him to the Vet almost weekly because just recently he's stopped eating and he's been losing weight. This last time he took him to the Vet, the Vet kept him for 5 days and feed him intravenously. This last time (couple of weeks ago) the cat had jaundice and he still has it. He started to get a little better after coming home from the Vet for only a few days. Now he's back to not eating again. The cat was a VERY sweet and loving cat, always very affectionate. When I or my husband would go see my son, there would be the cat to greet us - he loved everyone. Now if anyone comes to my son's house the cat doesn't come out to greet anyone anymore. It's like as if he's hiding. I hate to say this, but I think the cat is suffering - I can't be sure because he can't tell us if it hurts or not! I just want to know if anyone here in the group had/has a cat that's had/has jaundice or liver problems - and what do you do to TRY to get him to eat? And what should he be eating? He has been feeding him Purina cat food for liver problems - he ate it for a little while, but now he's not eating it at all. He will take sips of milk once in a while, but we are not sure if he should be drinking milk with his condition. My son has tried everything, even tried feeding him with a syringe. I also want to say, my son told me the Vet said the next time he brings the cat in and everything is the same as it was - meaning if he's not eating again that the best thing to do is to put him to sleep. The vet is an asshole. He wants to put the cat to sleep because he's too incompetent to figure out what's wrong too and ignorant to figure out how to treat it. Since the cat responded to nutritional therapy, he probably needs aggressive nutritional therapy via a feeding tube for a few weeks to a few months. Its not as bad as it sounds- cats adapt quite well to PEG tubes. It is so heartbreaking - we don't know what to do. Does anyone know if a cat in this condition is suffering or not? I don't want him to suffer, or does my son, but we also can't bear having him put to sleep! Tell your son to take the cat to another vet ASAP- preferably an ACVIM Diplomate in small animal internal medicine. Go here to search for a specialist in your area.http://www.acvim.org/Specialist/Search.aspx Don't let the vet talk your son into killing the cat before you get a second opinion. Keep the faith. Phil- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - i agree, always get a second opinion before makign any big decisions like this. what was the diagnosis? is it definitely liver disease? is there possibly a tumour or similar growth in the cats stomach or similar. How much weight has the cat lost? is he drinking still? i dont; get the impression that your son's vet has tried particularly hard to sort this out and investigate it fully, you could always find another vet to get another opinion on it, that is what I woudl do. and yes sounds like the cat is suffering just from it's obvious change in behaviour patterns and the fact it is shying away form people when it was previosuly quite an extrovert bookie |
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Need some help and advice ... Please
Thank you all for replying.
Yes, we are going to get a second opinion. I really didn't explain everything, so here it goes. He has had several blood tests - for a couple of weeks they were showing kidney problems, so the Vet put him on the Purina kidney function food. He then quit eating the food, so they decided to put him on the soft food. He did eat that, but not for long. Just last week his blood test came back normal! How could that be? I just don't understand because it's VERY clear to us this animal IS sick! I'm not quite sure how much weight he's lost, but he's lost A LOT! I think he's only gained a pound since he's been back from the Vets, but I'm thinking he should have gained more weight than a pound. He's also been not drinking as much. I think it was last week my son told me that the cat was throwing up - sorry for the description, but he said first it was food and then it was like white foam. I thought the *hiding* bit was an animal instinct as well. My son does have another cat (his wife's cat) so I was thinking maybe he was hiding from the other cat as well as from people. I just think it's odd when he doesn't come out anymore and see me like he used to do. It's so heartbreaking - I would come in the door and say "Where's my sassy cat?" and he'd be right there when he'd hear my voice, but not anymore :-( I don't recall my son telling me about any x-rays being taken, so I will look into it. Is Jaundice something cats usually never get over? The vet told my son sometimes they get over it and sometimes they don't. I will say though, this is breaking my son's heart, he told me the other day that he's never getting another pet because it's breaking his heart too much. |
#7
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UPDATE : Need some help and advice ... Please
Kat wrote:
I'm hoping I can get some answers from some cat owners here in the group. My son has a 4 year old cat and recently his health has been going downhill. He takes him to the Vet almost weekly because just recently he's stopped eating and he's been losing weight. This last time he took him to the Vet, the Vet kept him for 5 days and feed him intravenously. This last time (couple of weeks ago) the cat had jaundice and he still has it. He started to get a little better after coming home from the Vet for only a few days. Now he's back to not eating again. The cat was a VERY sweet and loving cat, always very affectionate. When I or my husband would go see my son, there would be the cat to greet us - he loved everyone. Now if anyone comes to my son's house the cat doesn't come out to greet anyone anymore. It's like as if he's hiding. I hate to say this, but I think the cat is suffering - I can't be sure because he can't tell us if it hurts or not! I just want to know if anyone here in the group had/has a cat that's had/has jaundice or liver problems - and what do you do to TRY to get him to eat? And what should he be eating? He has been feeding him Purina cat food for liver problems - he ate it for a little while, but now he's not eating it at all. He will take sips of milk once in a while, but we are not sure if he should be drinking milk with his condition. My son has tried everything, even tried feeding him with a syringe. I also want to say, my son told me the Vet said the next time he brings the cat in and everything is the same as it was - meaning if he's not eating again that the best thing to do is to put him to sleep. It is so heartbreaking - we don't know what to do. Does anyone know if a cat in this condition is suffering or not? I don't want him to suffer, or does my son, but we also can't bear having him put to sleep! Thanks Kat I'm thankful my son stuck it out and decided not to have his cat put to sleep! Actually, his cat is doing much better after about a month of him going downhill. He nursed him back to health. I think he has pulled out of it, slowly but surely! I really and truly thought the fur ball wasn't going to make it. The vet wanted to put him to sleep, but my son said "No". He had to feed him with a syringe, but it was well worth it! Now the fur ball is sitting in the window looking out every day, like he used to do. He's also not hiding under the chair like he was this past month. Thanks for listening Kat |
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