Seeking Help

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TipBill

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Sep 8, 2014
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224
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DX FIBRO
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03/2014
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US
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I realize this isn't the forum for this subject but I was hoping to reach a wider audience than I normally could have on Facebook. I have a cat that is approaching 17 years of age. He has been vomiting non stop for several weeks. I took him to the vet and he did blood work on him and said he saw nothing to indicate that the cat was at death's door. He gave the cat a shot for the nausea and also gave him some IV fluids. He sent me home with an antibiotic in a pill form. Well if any of you have cats you know it's like trying to wrestle an alligator to get them to take their medicine. I tried crushing it into a fine powder and putting it in a bowl with a very small amount of tuna (in water). He ate around it. I'm sure he got some down but not enough. So I tried using a syringe and I literally had to pull his jaws open and shove it down his throat. Also the vet said he had two badly infected teeth that need to come out which is scheduled for Thursday. So I felt really bad pulling his jaws about because I know it must hurt him. I tried cat food for sensitive stomachs but he won't eat it. He once weighed 25 lbs and now he is down to 15.5 lbs. I really don't think that pulling the teeth will stop the vomiting but I guess I will try it and see. The last visit cost me $122.00 and the one to have his teeth pulled and clean will run me $150.00. I am not a rich lady, in fact I have no income at all. We live off of my husbands pension and Social Security. Christmas is right around the corner and I always like to give my daughter, son in law and especially my granddaughter a nice Christmas and I won't be able to do that if I have to keep pouring money into my cat. But I can't in good conscience put him to sleep if the vet says he is in good health. I feel like that would be putting me down because I had the flu.

So I guess the question is should I go ahead and put him down or keep trying to get him healthy.

Also as most of you know I have had a shoulder replacement and my right arm has severe arthritis in it so it is very difficult to get down on my hands and knees and scrub the carpet in an attempt to clean it up. Most of the time the stains don't come out completely. Probably nobody else would notice them but I do.

Anyway any comments and suggestions would be truly appreciated.

Hopefully this won't be taken down since it doesn't relate to fibromyalgia but I thought I would give it a try.
 
Oh dear Krista this is a hard one particularly because of your health...my story with my gorgeous boy cat was very similar!

He started being sick had all blood tests and a scan on his stomach....this all took 3 weeks for the results as initial investigations were not conclusive.

My cat also was large about 14lbs ( I think 25 lb sounds huge unless its a large breed like a ragdoll) and stopped eating too...has your kitty stopped eating or lost interest in food.

Has the vet checked to see if there is a blade of grass stuck i his throat as this is common and will cause sickness, wretching and infection.

I would see if the vet has a liquid antibiotic i know how smart cats are in eating around the pill even if crushed.....I eventually crushed the pill and put it in whipped double cream and shot it into my kittys mouth with a syringe so he could only lick and swallow to get rid of it!

Or try it crushed to powder and mixed in cream or something he loves before you give him any food in the morning so he is really hungry and feed it off your fingers.

I myself could not have him put down just yet. It maybe his teeth are painful and if infected the infection is going into his tummy or the taste or pain making him sick.

Why not have his teeth sorted ..ask hubby to help with cleaning up and administering the antibiotics or get liquid and persevere until the end of the course..then reassess with the vet.

Let us know...he is an old boy and my vet did tell me that being sick regularly in older cats is not a good sign.

Mine was the same age and went from good health to me having to put him to sleep within 3 weeks...I spent £ 900 in that 3 weeks trying to find out what was wrong and trying various treatments...in the end it was a rare blood condition and he had barely eaten in that 3 weeks despite me cooking every meat and fish to tempt him...... and getting up every 2 hours through the night to check on him and give him liquids on my finger tips and try him with a morsel of food.

I hope his sickness passes in the next week or so ...if it continues I am sure the vet will help you reassess and make a decision.
 
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I don't think it's a blade of grass because he never goes outside unless we brought it into the house on the bottoms of our shoes. I am at my wits end as to what to do for him. This is causing me an extreme amount of stress which isn't good for me and I just feel like putting him down and that being the end of it but I just can't bring myself to do it. I feel like I am thinking of what is in my best interest and not what is in his best interest. He is eating small amounts of food and water but then vomits it right back up. And he always does it on the carpet which is 20 years old and beginning to really show it's age. I am at a loss as to what to do for him. I hate to sound selfish but I have so much on my plate right now it is hard for me to deal with this.
 
Poor you and poor pussy cat too.

Tbh vomiting non stop for weeks doesn't sound like he is ok at all and the rapid weight loss must mean he is not getting nutrition either.

How does he seem in himself...is he happy and purring and responsive to affection in the normal way?

If you only have to wait until thursday for his teeth out and can get some antibiotics in him over the coming days by this time next week i think you will know what to do.

I can only go back to what my vet told me that cats are not usually sick repeatedly without there being quite a serious underlying cause....he is an old boy maybe its best all round as you are struggling so much to consider putting him to sleep if he doesn't start to improve soon.

In the UK we have a charitable vetinery service for people who are on a low income. Do you have anything like that as an alternative way to get him assessed again independently but without paying too much?

Do you have a room without carpet you could make a cosy bed for him for now so you can clean up the mess more easily.

I can imagine how much hard work this is for you...I have been there myself!
Let us know.
 
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How are you Krista an how is the cat...did he have his teeth out?
 
Hi Willow, yes he had his teeth pulled out not that it made much difference. He continues to vomit and lose weight. I tried to give him both the pill and liquid antibiotics after have his teeth pulled and IF I managed to get them down his throat he would simply vomit them back up. Also yesterday morning he was struggling to get up on his hind legs. He was in the kitchen which has a tile floor and my husband could hear a scratching sound so he looked over at the cat and he was trying to get up on his hind legs but couldn't do it. He managed to drag his was over to the carpet but again could not seem to get up. I went over, picked him up and set him on all four paws. He then proceeded to walk away as if nothing happened and I haven't seen him do it since. He is also pulling his fur out. He has a big patch on his side that you can see right down to the skin and several patches on his legs where he has chewed them raw. I am at my wit's end with him. I can't afford to keep spending money on him yet I can't seem to let him go when the vet states there is nothing wrong with him. Clearly there is.
 
Hi Krista...if your kitty cant get up off his back legs at times he could be very poorly indeed and getting so weak from malnutrition and chewing his fur until his skin is raw these are signs he is starting to suffer.

Like us a cat cannot survive with out good nutrition and there will be a reason why he is vomiting all the time even if the vet hasn't found it.

Will he eat chicken and fish (without bones of course)..these are easily digestible and usually cats will be tempted by yummy morsels.

The sad thing is as they age and get poorly it is not a case of cure but managing their condition until you can see their quality of life has declined too far

My vet said to me if a cat is eating and basically happy...purring walking ok no signs of distress then they still have an ok quality of life....but not eating much and vomiting daily, and the things you describe are signs he is not really enjoying very good quality of life.....but only you can see how severe his symptoms are and how much food and water he is taking etc and assess his daily QOL.

I hope i haven't over stepped the mark with advice...i totally understand your dilemma.....when i read about not getting up off his legs my tummy lurched.

Please let me know even though this is a fibro forum Take care of yourself too,x
 
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I had to put my cat down (same age). She wasn't eating the hard food.I bought some canned food but was eating funny, like sh was trying to get something to go down or back up. She was so skinny. When I took her to the vet he examined her and said she seems healthy, just keep giving her wet food. The vet tech asked that he look in her mouth again because she thought she saw something. She had a very large tumor at the back of her mouth. I went from yay she is ok to making the hardest decision I ever had to make. My husband got me the cat after I suffered a miscarriage. She was very special to me. I decided to have her put down. I was with her until she took her last breath. I chose to have her cremated and her ashes would be used to fertilize flowers and trees in a sanctuary for pets that have crossed the rainbow bridge. Think about the quality of life your cat will have. Will they be suffering? I know it is hard and my heart goes out to you. My vet took paw imprints in clay and put her name too. It sits on my coffee table and I think of her every day.
 
My cat was found to have a tumour too in his gullet/oesophagus area as well as a blood disorder....and his eating was also as you describe like he tried but couldn't get it down and was jerking his head about...then he stopped eating completely and was being sick a lot like your cat Krista...it breaks your heart... i stayed with my baby too as he was put to sleep in my arms and we brought him home and buried at the very top of the garden with his favourite bench placed over the top. The next year I had to have his brother put to sleep too. Quality of life is the top priority.
 
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