Sick Cat

BrianL

Doom Buggy Driver
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
So, my cat hasn't been feeling too well - just a little lethargic and not eating great. I had her in to the vet for her shots and mentioned that she was a little off - thought it might be allergies. She was given a steroid in addition to the usual vaccines. I've had her back in since and had many tests run - all bloodwork etc. looks good. She has also been given some oral antibiotics, but when those were hard to give, they gave her a shot. Her teeth were inspected and they look fine.

At this point I am thinking that all of the medicine just has her stomach a bit off. She was given an anti-nausea shot, and seemed a bit better about a day after that, but she has backslid. I have oral anti-nausea, but like the antibiotic, she doesn't take it well. She is still eating, but not that much and seems a bit picky about it. Anyone have any thoughts?The vet believes she is fine - that antibiotic shot should last about 10 days total, so maybe it will pass as that wears off. I just really want to make sure she is doing okay.
 
It’s so hard when our animals can’t tell us what’s wrong! It seems to me that she’s probably just under the weather and it’s not anything serious since her blood work is ok.

Can you try to feed her something more “interesting”? Maybe super stinky wet food or baby food. It more important to keep her hydrated than anything.
 
I'm so sorry, I am beside myself when my pets would struggle:(

So many things that can maybe be eliminated.

Maybe give your place a thorough cleaning, I think some summer bugs can make pets sick like millipedes which are out now and my cats used to go after them all the time.

Anything new anywhere? Is this an outdoor pet that could get into something at a neighbors place or grass treatment?

Any chance medicine landed on the floor, this is the number one for children at grandparents so I can't imagine pets can't get into medicine?

Hope things improve soon, it's very upsetting
 


Gee Brian, sorry to hear about your cat. I agree with robinb about the hydration. If the vet says she's ok then that's about all you can do. I wouldn't be worried about the appetite unless it goes on for several days. Also age is a factor, our cat that lived to 18 started skimping or skipping eating, but she lived a long time after that. Hope she's better soon!
 
Thanks, everyone. For some additional detail, she is 10 years old, so not young but not too old either, and an indoor only cat. This started a few weeks ago, but the eating thing only really started after the vet visits when she got the first type of antibiotics. I did switch to a different flavor of dry food and tried a can of tuna and a few other different packets of things. She hadn't been super interested. She will eat treats, but sometimes leaves them for a while - she does come by and crunch some dry food ocassionally, but generally not much, excepting this past Saturday after her return from the vet when they had sedated her to check her teeth.

I do have anti-nausea medicine that I can give orally by syringe, but man, that is tough and I don't want to traumatize her any further. She was NOT happy about three vet visits so close together!
 
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I do have anti-nausea medicine that I can give orally by syringe, but man, that is tough and I don't want to traumatize any furhter.
Will she eat it if you put the meds in some tuna?

I agree that it's so hard when they are feeling off and can't explain!
 


I agree with you that it is probably the meds. I'm surprised your vet would give her vaccines when she is not feeling well. Ours will not until they feeling 100%. That could be contributing, but my 1st thought was the antibiotics.
 
Did they do x-rays? Did she seem uncomfortable when the vet palpated her abdomen during the exam? Try warming wet food in the microwave for a few seconds and/or offer things like skinless chicken breast (you can just grab one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens at the grocery store) and chicken baby food (make sure no onion in the ingredients). Is she pooping normally? Drinking normally? Yes, the antibiotics can affect appetite but I would stay on top of this and have her seen again if she doesn’t perk up soon or if she declines at all. Even if this is due to the antibiotics, she may need some subQ fluids for hydration if she’s not eating/drinking adequately. Take her for a second opinion if your first vet isn't taking you seriously and isn’t getting to the bottom of it.
 
Rereading your post, I see this was going on prior to the meds. I think you need to press your vet for answers or seek a second opinion.
 
Will she eat it if you put the meds in some tuna?

I agree that it's so hard when they are feeling off and can't explain!

I tried it with some different wet food, but she didn't go for it. She knows it's in there.

I agree with you that it is probably the meds. I'm surprised your vet would give her vaccines when she is not feeling well. Ours will not until they feeling 100%. That could be contributing, but my 1st thought was the antibiotics.

So initially, while she wasn't feeling that well, she also wasn't as sick as now. She really had just been a bit lazy and had some wattery eye discharge, which is why we thought it was allergies. The significantly decreased appetite came afterward. It is possible that once all of this medication works through her system, she will be better.

Did they do x-rays? Did she seem uncomfortable when the vet palpated her abdomen during the exam? Try warming wet food in the microwave for a few seconds and/or offer things like skinless chicken breast (you can just grab one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens at the grocery store) and chicken baby food (make sure no onion in the ingredients). Is she pooping normally? Drinking normally? Yes, the antibiotics can affect appetite but I would stay on top of this and have her seen again if she doesn’t perk up soon or if she declines at all. Even if this is due to the antibiotics, she may need some subQ fluids for hydration if she’s not eating/drinking adequately. Take her for a second opinion if your first vet isn't taking you seriously and isn’t getting to the bottom of it.

He did do x-rays at the secondary exam and when she went in to have her teeth cleaned (which he didn't actually do because of the sickness). On teh second x-ray she had no ffod on her stomach, thoguh she did have to not eat starting the evening before. She seems like she is not drinking that much, but she is also peeing normally I think. It may just be that I am really on top of keeping her bowl filled and clean right now. There is also poop, but not a lot - but I am cleaning the litter box like a hawk too - I am working from home and doting a bit for sure! Litter box use isn't too concerning as of yet as it is happening.

I like this idea of baby food - never thought about that!
 
Rereading your post, I see this was going on prior to the meds. I think you need to press your vet for answers or seek a second opinion.

No, it really wasn't - it was different prior to the meds. The appetite thing didn't really start until after. Also, my vet is very on top of this - he wants to see her in two weeks to follow-up. He called with the full blood workup yesterday (it was sent out Friday) and has emailed me those results too.
 
Others have covered most of my thoughts. I think I would just let her be for a bit and see how she does. FWIW my small dog is sort of under the weather, too. Kept us awake whining, but sleeping now. He got into some rabbit poop and I think it made him feel unwell. He never learns, though - I guess it tastes too good in the moment! 🤢

Anyways, sending good thoughts and prayers for your kitty! 🙏🏻 🐾
 
Others have covered most of my thoughts. I think I would just let her be for a bit and see how she does. FWIW my small dog is sort of under the weather, too. Kept us awake whining, but sleeping now. He got into some rabbit poop and I think it made him feel unwell. He never learns, though - I guess it tastes too good in the moment! 🤢

Anyways, sending good thoughts and prayers for your kitty! 🙏🏻 🐾

Well, who can resist rabbit poop? 🙂 I do hope your pup feels better.

Yes, this is the tactic for now - just kind of let her be for a bit and monitor. I am keeping a bit of a journal so I know what she's doing. The vet said they can shut down when they are poked too much and she is NOT a good car rider or vet go-er. She's a tortie, so she can be very feisty!
 
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But he sedated her Saturday?

I do agree it’s important to keep her hydrated.

It was Friday. The plan was to do a dental cleaning because we had done an in-house bloodwork panel and it looked okay. He gave her a little more steroid and the oral antibiotice - assumption that she would get better quickly with that. When that didn't happen, he used the dental opportunity to really check her teeth (I've been putting off a dental for a while now). They looked good though, but the x-rays were concerning so he wanted to send out the full, comprehensive blood panel. It checks for everything! That came back normal though, but she had been given shots of antibiotic, steroid, and anti-nausea as well on Friday. The anti-Nausea probably had her feeling better on Saturday and most of Sunday, but it only lasts a day or so, so she backslid. The frontrunner right now is that it is nausea related - the cause may be those 10 day antibiotics she got (the shot is called a "convenience" or "long acting" and costs ten times what oral antibiotics cost, but with a cat that is difficult it's a good option). We may just need this to pass.
 
No, it really wasn't - it was different prior to the meds. The appetite thing didn't really start until after. Also, my vet is very on top of this - he wants to see her in two weeks to follow-up. He called with the full blood workup yesterday (it was sent out Friday) and has emailed me those results too.
Okay, good. I’m glad to hear your vet is on top of it. I witnessed too many doctors, for both animals and people, shrug off concerns that they should be listening to.

You’d mentioned that she wasn’t eating great before she was first seen by the vet, which is what made me think this had been ongoing for some time. If you’ve seen a significant change in her appetite starting when the antibiotics were given then I agree that’s probably a contributing factor.

I would assume your vet checked her thyroid but that’s another thing that comes to mind. The test for that is separate from the main blood panels they run, so it’s sometimes overlooked. It would appear as T3, T4 on the results. If you aren’t sure if her thyroid was checked, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Personally, after 3-ish days of not eating or drinking well I would take her in and request subQ fluids even if I had to frame it as “do it for my own peace of mind, please.”
 
Time to get a second opinion, even if it’s just a different vet in the same practice. Cats are masters at hiding pain.

Our calico got lethargic and stopped eating around 14 or 15. We couldn’t find anything wrong. First vet said gums were mildly red but not bad enough to cause the issues. Took her back for a look from the other vet in the practice. I asked what I always do. If this was your family pet what would you do. He said he’d go on a hunch and pull some teeth. We did and after that she didn’t stop eating for weeks. We got 5 lovely bonus years with her.

Best of luck!
 
Okay, good. I’m glad to hear your vet is on top of it. I witnessed too many doctors, for both animals and people, shrug off concerns that they should be listening to.

You’d mentioned that she wasn’t eating great before she was first seen by the vet, which is what made me think this had been ongoing for some time. If you’ve seen a significant change in her appetite starting when the antibiotics were given then I agree that’s probably a contributing factor.

I would assume your vet checked her thyroid but that’s another thing that comes to mind. The test for that is separate from the main blood panels they run, so it’s sometimes overlooked. It would appear as T3, T4 on the results. If you aren’t sure if her thyroid was checked, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Personally, after 3-ish days of not eating or drinking well I would take her in and request subQ fluids even if I had to frame it as “do it for my own peace of mind, please.”
Yes to all of that. The fluids kept our 12 year old tabby going while we figured out the best route with her hyperthyroid. Even the vet thought we were going to lose her but she rebounded with the right dose of meds and is doing great.

Definitely check the thyroid. It has gotten so much more common of late.
 

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