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Sick cat - can anyone offer advice please?

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ClareB - 21 Feb 2008 23:48 GMT
I've found this NG in the hope someone has come across this problem
and may be able to help.

Before I start I have to explain that the cat in question has had
medical treatment, including an hour in an oxygen tent and an
overnight stay in the vet clinic. she is now on steriod treament, but
the vet does not know what is wrong with her and has basically sent
her home to 'see what happens"

Tiddles is approx 2 years old and she adopted my SO on a building
site
and came home with him. Unfortunaely it has just started to manifest
that she has 'passengers' and is around halfway through a pregnancy.
On tuesday I saw her playing with something then eating it - she
catches at least one mouse a day and eats the lot - even the guts-
everything. she did'nt come in for supper and SO found her making
'funny noises' in the Garage. I looked at her and her face was
swollen
and she had brownish frothy mucous and very pale gums. She was also
hypothermic -her temperature was 36 and it should be around 38. Wed.
morning she was no better and I thought she may have been poisoned as
we are still finding rat poison in some of the outbuildings we
inherited ( we live in a rural property). The vet examined her and
said she did not have signs of rat poising as the warfarin would make
her bleed from the gums and eyes and she had no symptoms. He agreed
she was hypothermic and they kept her in the clinic overnight, with
60
minutes oxygen therapy and intravenous fluids. she perked up this
morning and this was when I was advised to bring her home - it was
that or do further tests, but he seemed to think it was best just to
'see what happens'. the kittens are still in there and are alive . he
thinks she has had an acute reaction to a substance but does'nt know
what.

We have just moved into the property and are in the process of
renovating a bathroom where we found a load of mouse droppings under
the old bath which attracted tiddles who was mooching around. I
mentioned this to the vet and asked if she could have injested
Tylenol
(paracetamol) by mistake -if there were some remnants of old pills on
the floor -he reckoned that if she had injested Tylenol she would be
dead by now as it is lethal in very small doses for cats,  so would
not even test for it -he said by the time the test came back, if it
was positive she would be dead anyway, if not I'd have wasted $150 on
the test..I have an issue with this vet -i really think he's out of
his depth and probably more used to dealing with cows and horses than
cats but he's the only one for miles.
So, she's back home, face still swollen and i'm trying to get her to
drink or eat but she'll only 'drink' mushed up tuna mixed with water.
It looks like she may be incontinent as she peed in the car on the
way
home which is not like her and she looks totally depressed. I've been
on the Net most of the afternoon researching, but like all medical
conditions, you can almsot 'think' yourself into any condition out
there. She's been sent home with  cortisone steroid medication
So-has anyone any advice or have seen this before??
Any tips for getting a very sick cat to drink??
If she had something really really serious would the kittens not have
been 'the first to go' ie she would have aborted them??
Thankyou, in anticipation

Clare
studio - 22 Feb 2008 10:59 GMT
I'm sure there are people here who know better than me,
so keep watching this thread.

Something made her sick, and you might never know what it was.

I'd just say to let kitty rest and provide fresh water at least twice
a day,
and follow the vets orders precisely.

At least she's eating, and that's a good sign.
You might try getting her some regular high grade cat food instead
of tuna made for humans. The cat food will have vitamins essential
for
good feline nutrition and may help her get better.

Cut her mouse diet back.
I don't think cats usually eat all the mouse parts like that unless
they're
really hungry.
I don't know for certain though, but I would think some of the mouse
'parts' could possibly have toxic effects if eaten on a daily basis.
ClareB - 23 Feb 2008 00:03 GMT
> I'm sure there are people here who know better than me,
> so keep watching this thread.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> I don't know for certain though, but I would think some of the mouse
> 'parts' could possibly have toxic effects if eaten on a daily basis.

thanks for your reply. Tiddles is a very 'finicky' cat who will pass
over whiskas kitten food, fancy feast, the lot with an arrogant sniff
and look of disgust - then go bring a mouse back and munch it on the
front porch. she will, however eat canned tuna ( and also spagetti
bolognese when she's allowed) so i thought better something than
nothing. I've been to Walmart today and got her some canned food in
gravy which she likes - just licks the gravy off but my other two cats
will finish it off. I've got her a nice place away from the others in
the laundry room where its nice and warm and she has her seperate
litter tray so I can watch her 'movements' -so far she's peed which is
a good sign. she's perked up a bit today, is walking normally, normal
temperature and taking a bit more interest in life. hopefully this has
been a 'one off' and she's injested something nasty which is working
its way through. We're not out of the woods yet but I'm a bit more
optimistic than I was yesterday.

thankyou again for taking the time to reply - its much appreciated

Clare
S.O.S. - 23 Feb 2008 05:01 GMT
I recommend trying Purina Pro Selects cat food. My cat is finicky and eats
the Chicken & Brown Rice formula.

I recommend the same brand of canned.

It's expensive but worth it to preserve her health if she will eat it.

Most of all make sure she has her fluids.

S.O.S.

On Feb 22, 3:59 am, studio <tl...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I'm sure there are people here who know better than me,
> so keep watching this thread.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> I don't know for certain though, but I would think some of the mouse
> 'parts' could possibly have toxic effects if eaten on a daily basis.

thanks for your reply. Tiddles is a very 'finicky' cat who will pass
over whiskas kitten food, fancy feast, the lot with an arrogant sniff
and look of disgust - then go bring a mouse back and munch it on the
front porch. she will, however eat canned tuna ( and also spagetti
bolognese when she's allowed) so i thought better something than
nothing. I've been to Walmart today and got her some canned food in
gravy which she likes - just licks the gravy off but my other two cats
will finish it off. I've got her a nice place away from the others in
the laundry room where its nice and warm and she has her seperate
litter tray so I can watch her 'movements' -so far she's peed which is
a good sign. she's perked up a bit today, is walking normally, normal
temperature and taking a bit more interest in life. hopefully this has
been a 'one off' and she's injested something nasty which is working
its way through. We're not out of the woods yet but I'm a bit more
optimistic than I was yesterday.

thankyou again for taking the time to reply - its much appreciated

Clare
Spider - 22 Feb 2008 19:00 GMT
> I've found this NG in the hope someone has come across this problem
> and may be able to help.
[quoted text clipped - 58 lines]
>
> Clare

Hi Clare,

I'm afraid I can't be very helpful about the illness.  As Studio says, it's
a good sign that she's eating, but she should be having proper cat food,
rather than possibly-toxic mice or human-quality tuna.  When my Panther eats
a mouse, she always leaves a small internal sac (perhaps the gall bladder,
or something unpleasant) so, as Studio also says, she may be eating
something inappropriate on a daily basis.  However, if mice is what she's
always eaten, it's unlikely to be what's troubling her now.  Keep up with
the rest and liquid feed; in fact, as much fluid as she'll take, as this
will help cleanse her system.  Hopefully, she got rid of most of the toxin
when she vomited, but there's obviously something remaining in her system.
The danger is that it could affect her liver, but let's hope not.

It is essential now that she is kept away from your garage and outbuildings;
indeed, anywhere she might pick up poison.  You probably need to let her
into your kitchen, so don't leave cleaners or other chemicals around.  If
you're new to cats, you may not know that disinfectant is very dangerous to
them and, in a new property, you may be using lots of it.

Provided she doesn't abort her kittens, she may be going into labour soon.
Keep a close eye on her then, as many mother cats are very secretive when
they're kittening, and she may disappear.  If she does, you will not be able
to moniter her health or the birth of the kittens.  As she's a young and
probably inexperienced mum, she may have birthing problems - exacerbated by
her current illness.  You, or a vet, may need to intervene.  To prepare for
her kittening, make her a roomy, comfy bed now in a box with blankets, in a
warm slightly concealed place when she'll feel secure, but where you can
watch her.

I wish I could shed more light on her illness, but I've been fortunate
enough to have avoided cat-and-toxin accidents.   I most truly wish you all
the best with her care and recovery.  Do, please, let us know how she gets
on.

Spider
ClareB - 23 Feb 2008 00:14 GMT
> > I've found this NG in the hope someone has come across this problem
> > and may be able to help.
[quoted text clipped - 97 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

thanks for your reply -i've posted an update on tiddles so hopefully
she is improving without permanent damage. She has been mooching
around the cupboards to-day looking for a 'nest' i think- I'm not a
newbie to cats -have kept them as pets for a long time, but only seen
one Queen give birth, but know enough to think she is probably
'looking around' for a suitable place so will have to keep my eye on
her. This is the first case of this type i've seen - but all other
cats i've had have usually just killed mice and left them, or bitten
thier heads off then presented them to me as 'gifts' - maybe she has
eaten one that was already sick or had been poisoned by someone, who
knows?
She was very very thin when SO brought her home - she had been
abandonded by some 'nice' folks who had moved house and left her
locked in a garage - my SO went to do some work for the new owners who
had'nt yet moved in and found her, he fed her a few days until he
found out she was a stray then one night she jumped in his truck
herself and sat on the front seat with her 'superior' attitude - like
'take me home then' lol! for a stray she is very finicky about food,
but probably has not had much cat food before she came to us - she
really does prefere  scraps from the table, but will eat dried kitten
food- I'm not going to give her any dried food just yet though as
she's still not drinking enough water. She quite likes Whiskas cat
milk mixed with water so I'm trying her with that at the moment.

thanks again for your help and hopefully I will be able to post some
good news after the wk end

Clare
22brix - 23 Feb 2008 01:43 GMT
On Feb 22, 12:00 pm, "Spider" <Spi...@nospam.com> wrote:
> "ClareB" <clarezincan...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 107 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

thanks for your reply -i've posted an update on tiddles so hopefully
she is improving without permanent damage. She has been mooching
around the cupboards to-day looking for a 'nest' i think- I'm not a
newbie to cats -have kept them as pets for a long time, but only seen
one Queen give birth, but know enough to think she is probably
'looking around' for a suitable place so will have to keep my eye on
her. This is the first case of this type i've seen - but all other
cats i've had have usually just killed mice and left them, or bitten
thier heads off then presented them to me as 'gifts' - maybe she has
eaten one that was already sick or had been poisoned by someone, who
knows?
She was very very thin when SO brought her home - she had been
abandonded by some 'nice' folks who had moved house and left her
locked in a garage - my SO went to do some work for the new owners who
had'nt yet moved in and found her, he fed her a few days until he
found out she was a stray then one night she jumped in his truck
herself and sat on the front seat with her 'superior' attitude - like
'take me home then' lol! for a stray she is very finicky about food,
but probably has not had much cat food before she came to us - she
really does prefere  scraps from the table, but will eat dried kitten
food- I'm not going to give her any dried food just yet though as
she's still not drinking enough water. She quite likes Whiskas cat
milk mixed with water so I'm trying her with that at the moment.

thanks again for your help and hopefully I will be able to post some
good news after the wk end

Clare

Hi Clare,

I've not had any experience with cat poisonings but I thought this link was
kind of interesting.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/rat_poison.html

It is possible if your cat ate a poisoned mouse that some of the poison
could be transferred to the cat.  I don't know if it would be enough to kill
the cat but I certainly would want to talk to a different vet.

Also, Cornell University has a program where they offer a phone vet
consultation service.  There is a fee (less than $100) but you actually do
get consultation from a vet.  Although I've never used it for myself I've
heard good things about it.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/camuti.htm

Aside from the possible poisoning, it might be worthwhile to feed your kitty
some high quality kitten food.  Pregnancy and providing milk for kittens can
be very hard on a cat and she will need all the calories that she can get.

Good luck with your kitty (soon to be several!) and thanks for giving her a
loving home.

Bonnie

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