I don't know what to do...

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feheheheenay
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I don't know what to do...

Unread post by feheheheenay »

I know this is mostly a forum for mommies and whatnot but since this thread is for venting/advice...I made a post in the 'Introduce yourself' thread and I stated that I'm not a mom to any human children, but I do consider my 2 cats and my dog as my children.
One of my cats is very sick at the moment, we've taken him to the vet twice in the past 4 weeks, gotten multiple tests and all kinds of medication for him, and he's still getting worse.
He won't eat, drink water, and can barely walk anymore without flopping over at random times. He also doesn't purr anymore, which he used to do almost every time someone would pet him. The last visit, they gave us nausea pills and something to boost his appetite, neither of which seem to be working. I've been having to basically force-feed him water and pedia-lite(sp?) to make sure he stays hydrated and keeps getting some sort of nutrition. He used to be 20 pounds(he is a big cat) but he had lost a whole pound his first visit, and another whole pound the second visit, and I can tell he's lost more weight because he's getting visibly thinner.
I know this place isn't about cats or animals in general, but I could really use some support or maybe even advice on how to handle this or what to do to help him a little more until we get his blood results back. I hate seeing him so miserable and not being able to to anything.
I'm sorry this is so long, and if it's way too off topic even for this thread...I just need someone to talk to about it because it's killing me inside...
ellie-
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Re: I don't know what to do...

Unread post by ellie- »

I'm so sorry that your baby is sick! I don't know much about cats (I'm super allergic but still a cat-lover!)
Was it something that happend to him to make him sick or just random? Like I said I don't know much but maybe try giving him his favorite treats or wet food just to get him interested in food again?
And maybe make sure he always has a water bowl near by if he gets the urge to drink but so he doesn't need to walk/fall over to get to it.
Make a little place for him with comfy bedding, water, food and toilet near eachother if he is to weak to move around.

I feel so bad for your cat and you. Having a sick pet is never fun! <3
funckyerdoder
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Re: I don't know what to do...

Unread post by funckyerdoder »

I'm so sorry that he is not feeling well.
I absolutely understand you, I have two cats and both of them have a heart defect. The younger one seems to struggle more, and he has phases where he does not eat a lot and seems to be down.
Whenever this happens, I just pay him extra attention. Instead of having him on my lap and watching TV, I would lay with him on my bed and just talk to him.
It obviously does not help with whatever pain he has, but I feel like it makes him feel a little better. I would also go outside with him, because he wouldn't go outside by himself during those phases. So that's what I would do while waiting. Is that of any help?
I hope your baby gets better very soon and will go back to his old, purring self <3
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sponsoredmommy
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Re: I don't know what to do...

Unread post by sponsoredmommy »

Poor baby! I hope that he gets better! I too have a cat and would be so upset. I offer sympathy!


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MamaJoAnna
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Re: I don't know what to do...

Unread post by MamaJoAnna »

Have you considered a 2nd opinion? I ask only because of the story I'm about to tell...**warning, possibly a bit graphic near the end**

About 3 years ago, my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I were living together with a friend/roommate, and together the three of us had 5 animals - a Dachshund (friend's), and 4 cats (1 the friend's, 1 the BF/hubby's, and 2 mine, all of which we had before moving in together). ALL of the cats came down with some sort of upper respiratory infection, and while three of them were fine, one of them (one of my two) was absolutely miserable. The other three had sniffles and the occasional sneeze fit...Gizmo (the super sick one) was constantly snotty, sneezing, drank a lot of water, etc. etc. etc. We got them all treated and took special care with Gizmo to make sure he recovered as well, since he was the hardest hit for whatever reason.

Flash forward to summer 2012...I noticed Gizmo had a patch of skin/fur that was missing. I called my vet, and took him early in the morning to have the patch sewn back together. Two weeks later, another patch occurred. Same standard procedure, called the vet, the vet sewed him back up. Around my birthday in August, he had TWO patches come up at the same time, and we knew something really wrong was going on. I called the vet a THIRD time, the vet sewed him up a THIRD time, and I noticed some other odd symptoms as well. His ear fur was starting to flake off, he was sitting by water sources (bathtub, toilet, water bowls) a lot more, and was stealing food from the other cats - between 4 cats and 3 auto feeders, I was filling up the feeders probably every 2-3 days (which wasn't normal, even for two male fat cats and two small females). When I brought up these other symptoms to my vet, I shit you not, the vet said "let's just handle one thing at a time." I FLEW off the handle publicly in the vet's office, paid my bill, and took both my cats out of his system and told him I wouldn't be back, that he should be treating whatever odd symptoms he sees/asks me about instead of saying something like that.

September 2012, Gizmo was still getting patches terribly. My friend/roommate recommended her vet, who was a lot closer distance-wise but also more expensive. Hubby/BF and I took the plunge, and we were amazed at the difference of quality of work. This new vet took blood work, cultures, thoroughly checked him over, and called us 2 days later and said Gizmo had a staph infection and "some underlying skin condition she couldn't identify," so she wanted us to bring him back in. We started him on Convenia injections every 2-3 weeks and he got medication for the staph as well. Unfortunately, after 2 Convenia injections, we had an incident that still upsets me to this day...I went to pull him away from the food because New Vet had mentioned after 1 injection that he had dropped SIX pounds in 2 weeks...definitely not normal, especially for how much he was eating (remember he was stealing food from the others constantly - we even fed all four wet food, and had to feed Gizmo shut up in a separate room and wait for the other three to finish their wet food or he would take it from them).

Well, I went to pull him from stealing the food, and...his fur/skin literally ripped in my hand. It was almost like paper. I completely broke down, yelled for my BF/hubby and roommate, and the three of us rushed him to the vet for an emergency visit (this was at 10 at night too), and roommate spent time consoling me for how guilty I felt for the accident while BF/hubby and New Vet talked about the options...they called me into the room and told me they could patch him back up, but considering he had already been through it so many times and it wasn't helping, it was more than likely time to let him go because he was suffering so much.

I signed the paperwork (barely reading any of it) and New Vet put Gizmo to sleep that night. That's one of the hardest things I've ever done and I still tear up thinking about it. I still feel guilty to this day for what happened and for prolonging his suffering as long as I did.

Oh, and the former vet/first vet I went to? He mysteriously and suddenly "retired" after word got around about what happened to Gizmo. Funny how that works.

In all seriousness though, I hope your furbaby gets better soon. I really didn't want to put a damper on the whole situation, but a second opinion - if this one isn't working out - seems like it might be a good consideration. <3
RIP Dad - 09/30/2017 :angel:
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