Very poorly cat

After some opinions really and if any vets on here all the better.

Would rather not have cat haters being negative please only relivent or informative posts

I have 2 cats, same age and litter, just over a year old. Since last weekend one of them started eating less and less (not usually a big eater anyways) and over the course of 6/7 days lost a load of weight became lethargic yesterday and just not herself at all.

I decided yeaterday to book in at the vets, took her last night and the vet wasnt his normal blause self, he is normally very matter of fact, doesnt reccomend useless jabs ect only nessesary ones.

Now he pointed out she didnt look too well at all, said she had a temp, and most likely a virus. Reccomemded and prescribed some meds and said if she not better then bring her back end of nextweek, but he also wrote on a piece of paper two illnesses and said to google them when i get home. I now think he done it like this so we can prepare ourselfs for if she dont get better.

He gave a jab and aome meds for us to give daily, and as if by magic we get home and she scoffs her dinner. Seems more alert ect. This morn she eats brekkie and takes med, but when i get in from work about midday she is very lathargic and walkin like an arthritic cat. She is eating but very little else.

On the paper he wrote feline hiv and feline immune peritonitus. Hiv is treatable to an extent but the latter is fatal.

Now we have no diagnosis but im fearing the worst. I want to give her a chance to build some strength and let the meds work but my other half wants her to go in again straight away, i just fear the vets will just say there is no hope and i will be coming home and telling her sister the bad news.

I am more attatched to nera than my gf is, she is a daddys girl through and through. Am i being cruel by giving her a couple more days to see a change or is the other half on the right tracks.

I just dont know im torn. Anyone experienced this condition in one of their cats.

Any help apreciated

i had a cat with HIV. he was a flat cat - not allowed outside due to reduced immune system, so he was the ideal pet when i lived in a flat with no garden..

Feline HIV = Cat AID's? Not taking the piss genuinely never knew it existed.

Years ago my Mothers cat had similar symptoms to what you describe. Turned out to be diabetic, had to have special food and be jabbed with Insulin every day. Lived a long and full life though albeit a rather expensive one. That was after a 2nd vets opinion the first vet they saw wanted to euthanize the cat after diagnosing something different.

I don't think you are being cruel trying to give her a chance, unless a fatal virus is confirmed (IMO) it's the right thing to do.

Both FIV and FIP are caused by viruses. The meds will help the cat feel better and increase appetite but don't actually treat the disease. The body fights that and it takes time to recover.

There isn't much you can do at the moment apart from wait.

If the cat looks like its in obvious extreme pain and discomfort or refuses all food and drink then go back early but otherwise just follow the vet's advice.

I'm not a vet though, biomedical scientist - we do diagnostic equipment for vets

Course you got to give it a chance no one wants to see an animal suffer... The worst thing about owning a cat , dog ,whatever....is when they get ill, it can be heartbreaking.

Thanks for the replies people. I was woke up by the other half this morning in tears, i fed her and she ate this morning butno change, i think we gona have to go to the vets today and see what they say. I would struggle if its the aids as i have another cat and they both go out.

Id change vets.

If there was something wrong with my dog and the vet give me 2 illnesses to go home and google he wouldnt get any of my money.

Get to a diffrent vet.

The viruses that cause both FIV and FIP have a fairly high instance in the general cat population and often cause few symptoms. This is particularly true of coronavirus that causes FIP. Normally they just have mild diarrhoea and then recover, some go on to develop FIP. You could test for both viruses (we do test kits) but knowing exactly what it is now

1. Wouldn't necessarily tell you the cause of the current problem

2. Wouldn't affect the outcome

Some vets wouldn't hesitate to do lots of extra testing and pass on the cost with an enormous markup, kerching. They could also spend ages explaining the diseases to you and charge you for the time

So I would say this one is a keeper

BTW, the jury is out whether FIV cats can go out. There are loads of FIV positive cats that have never been diagnosed and most lead pretty normal lives.

BTW, the jury is out whether FIV cats can go out. There are loads of FIV positive cats that have never been diagnosed and most lead pretty normal lives.

Mine lived a great life! Would never have known he had FIV. He even came outside with us and bathed in the sunshine. He was a very happy cat.

We wanted a cat but lived in a flat so wouldn't have been fair to have a healthy cat without easy outdoor access.. FIV cats make ideal Flat-Cats and the rescue charity we got ours from promoted them as ideal for flats whereas the RSPCA will simply put them to sleep...

The viruses that cause both FIV and FIP have a fairly high instance in the general cat population and often cause few symptoms. This is particularly true of coronavirus that causes FIP. Normally they just have mild diarrhoea and then recover, some go on to develop FIP. You could test for both viruses (we do test kits) but knowing exactly what it is now

1. Wouldn't necessarily tell you the cause of the current problem

2. Wouldn't affect the outcome

Some vets wouldn't hesitate to do lots of extra testing and pass on the cost with an enormous markup, kerching. They could also spend ages explaining the diseases to you and charge you for the time

So I would say this one is a keeper

Yet id rather pay my money and get the cat tested, get proper treatment for it.

Insted of worrying about if its going to live or die and the poor thing suffering.

Update:

I took her in this morning, as she hadnt got better although now eating.

They have taken blood samples and running tests, sh is clear for FIV and leukemia. Her blood is slightly thicker than normal so they have kept her in re-hydrating her and to see the oucome of the rest of the blood tests.

Vet has confirmed she isnt in pain and the reason for her lethary and layin on the floor is her way of keeping her temp down most likely as its still high. She has no dhiorea either.

So now we wait.

Thanks again people for your input

Update:

I took her in this morning, as she hadnt got better although now eating.

They have taken blood samples and running tests, sh is clear for FIV and leukemia. Her blood is slightly thicker than normal so they have kept her in re-hydrating her and to see the oucome of the rest of the blood tests.

Vet has confirmed she isnt in pain and the reason for her lethary and layin on the floor is her way of keeping her temp down most likely as its still high. She has no dhiorea either.

So now we wait.

Thanks again people for your input

did they check the teeth? if my dog stopped eating its one of the things id check, bleeding/swollen gums/ cracked teeth etc

Update:

I took her in this morning, as she hadnt got better although now eating.

They have taken blood samples and running tests, sh is clear for FIV and leukemia. Her blood is slightly thicker than normal so they have kept her in re-hydrating her and to see the oucome of the rest of the blood tests.

Vet has confirmed she isnt in pain and the reason for her lethary and layin on the floor is her way of keeping her temp down most likely as its still high. She has no dhiorea either.

So now we wait.

Thanks again people for your input

 

did they check the teeth? if my dog stopped eating its one of the things id check, bleeding/swollen gums/ cracked teeth etc

This has just reminded me about one of our cats having similar symptoms. Turned out to be a build up of tartar on his molars and he'd ended up with a gum infection. He stopped eating and the weight started to drop off him, vet took 7 teeth out and he was back to normal in no time.

Hope yours pulls through, not nice when you know your pets are ill and they can't tell you what's up.

Fingers crossed she gets better

I checked the teeth and gums and so did the vet, when she stopped eqting much my other half said toothache straight away, i ruled that out by checking teeth and feeding her chicken instead of her food which she scoffed no probs.

I have just had a call from vets. Her protien levels are quite low but if FIP was a cause they wouod expect it to be very high so although not 100% yet its unlikely to be that.

However now she is in the vets overnight she wont eat there, i think she may be missing me (she is very attatched and never been away from the home overnight) so i have to go there in the morning with some of her food and to see if i can get her to eat.

Fingers crossed

My cat Phoebe was ill at about the same age because she didn't drink enough. It dehydrated her, left her bunged up and this had a knock on effect to her eating and lowering her energy levels.. once we knew this we encouraged her to drink from a running tap. As a novelty and made sure she did this every day. All it took was hydration and a big poo.

Hope your little one pulls through.

Nera doesnt drink an awful amount to be honest, both the cats get wet food and i have caught them drinking from a puddle outside a few times so i guessed they are like dogs and prefer natural water.

Did running the tap work

Update?

Yes I know lots of cats who love drinking from a slow running tap. Phoebe will run up the stairs in front of you if there is even a hint that your heading to the bathroom.

Well hopefullyfinal update now.

Just got in from the vets.

She spent a night in the cells but ate hardly anything as she wasnt too keen on the strange place noises and no me around. I went and saw her yesterday morning to cheer her up and get her to eat and was told she has returned to normal temp, she perked up when she saw me and the other half.

Called up after work yesterday and they were concerned that she is stressed and not eating, so they said she coupd come home. Got her back and she was nearly good as new, ate her dinner slept with us ect. I had to take her back today to have a jab and he said she dont need to come back i can medicate at home. He also said we were lucky as he really thought last friday she wouldnt make it the weekend.

So to conclude she had a nasty virus that they cant explain.

Now i just have to deal with the other cat constantly hissing at her and also me i guess because we both smell of the vets

Thanks for your help and support people

Nice one.

Good to hear a positive outcome and was just a virus. Before a few months ago we had two cats that we had since we first moved in together 7 years ago. The cat that came first in 2007 was a very healthy outgoing cat, always up to something or sleeping, never much inbetween. Then around 2-3 months ago my wife heard him meowing in pain outside on the pavement. He had lost the use of his back legs so we instantly thought been hit by a car.

But turned out he had a blood clot and no blood was pumping to his lower half, and we had to painfully watch him get weaker and weaker as we took him to the vets. I know a lot of people don't understand the attachment to cats but honestly having to see him in so much pain and lose his life was terrible. He was my cat too and not a day goes by when I expect to see him wondering along the garden fence. RIP Ernie.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/odloveless/ernie_zps2bfea37e.jpg

Sorry to hear about ernie. My others halfs mum lost her cat a few months ago due to a blood clot, he was an ill cat all his life really with kidney probs.

Ill be honest i was always a dog lover and only ended up with cats because my gf wanted me to have a pet, i was living on my own so i thought why not and i settled for black cats after finding out they are the least wanted colours. Best thing i did, they are proper charectors and im attatched indeed. And now my other half lives with me they are both attatched to me and give her a wide birth.

Here she is in her fav place, wrapped up on me in the dressing gown watching elementary