We have a small female cat, age 11 years. Of late she has developed random vomiting (usually in the night/early morning) along with 'number twos' in various locations throughout the house.

After a visit to the vets and a change in diet, a small but brief improvement was found, followed by a return to the same pattern of behaviour.

Last night, things took a turn for the worse after not eating much at all for the past 48 hrs. Prior to this she would always be crying out for food, but as soon as anything was put down for her she would just stare at it, hardly even attempt to eat, and this pattern persists. She lay on the bottom of the bed last night, totally listless with no energy and to be honest we thought she wasn't going to make it through the night.

First thing this morning we took her to the vets again. She was prescribed Zantac Syrup, to be given twice daily. She also had two jabs (booster and one to tackle potential bowel problems). When she walks it's like she has little sense of balance. The vet said she was dehydrated, but doesn't want to drink water very much. We wonder if she could have a bladder infection?

Have managed to get her to accept some small bits of cooked chicken, but half of the time she'll just let the morsel drop from her mouth as if she can't be bothered.

She has lost so much weight, you can feel her bones.

What else can we do to help her?

Did the vet thoroughly check her mouth and teeth? Sounds very minor but a sore mouth can sometimes present similar symptoms. Also, a water fountain might encourage drinking, as for the eating, keep persevering with anything especially if she is still showing an interest.
x

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Has your vet suggested blood tests,stool samples ect.This has been going on for a few months now,according to an earlier thread.
Cat regular vomiting and projectile diahorrea - advice needed please
If your vet is not doing tests to find out what is causing your cats vomiting ect I would suggest that it is time for a second opinion.Hope you manage to find out what is causing your cat to be so unwell.

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Well, you need to get a firm diagnosis here. It sounds as though the vet is treating this as a GI issue but these symptoms could be due to any number of things. Yes, the balance problem could be due to dehydration ( though I wouldn't have expected it to be this severe after two days without food ) but it can be a sign of anaemia, infection or more serious things as well. You need to syringe feed some water if she's reluctant to drink independently.

I would have some full bloodwork run including a T4 for thyroid problems. Hopefully this will help pinpoint the cause.

Not seen the earlier thread though it did sound as if this has been going on for a while.

ETA Yes, just read it-had forgotten it was so long ago- found I'd actually replied then!

Hiya

I hope your cat is a little better today?

I agree about a second opinion. Perhaps see another vet in the practice for a different viewpoint.

How are you cooking the chicken? I used to poach chicken in water, and use the cooled water as a drink too, to encourage my cat to drink. Also, the vet might suggest other food and methods like syringe drinking and feeding.

Keep us posted

^^This. To be honest, I cannot believe that apparently very little, if anything, has been done pro-actively in the past few months to help your poor little cat.

You say she has lost so much weight, which by the way would be no surprise if she eats very little and vomits the food back up. Not sure how many nutrients she gets in her but cannot be that much.

Not sure whether homecooked chicken is the way forward in terms of food. I would go back to the vet and perhaps get a fresh pair of eyes to look at things with a new vet and I would also try her on some hills i/d, which is calorific and palatable food for cats that need to put on weight (actually am surprised the vet didn't suggest this if the weight loss is as severe as you seem to suggest it is). But really, any dietary changes at the moment take second place to finding out what really is going on.


PS: With booster, you mean a general sort of pick-me up, not a booster vaccination I hope.

Hi thanks for your replies

She has been taken back to the vet this morning, apparently conditioned worsened she is jaundiced and bowels lumpy (I am relaying this info so not sure exactly what is meant by lumpy - presume the vet had a feel).

We syringed-fed her some water during yesterday evening.

At a little after midnight she jumped on the bed (must have been an effort to jump) and proceeded with a 'shotgun' style diarrhea spray on the duvet. Not sure how she managed to produce that considering she's eaten very little.

The chicken we managed to feed her last night was simply oven-roasted.

The vet's opinion is that she has little time left. A second opinion might be a good idea, but surely any vet worth their salt would have suggested blood tests etc to begin with?

Will post another update later when we know more.

Sorry to hear she is no better.

I agree, the vet should be running some more tests (blood and faecal) at the very least.

However much time she has left, I hope she is as comfortable as can be

Take care

The jaundice points to liver involvement-with incontrolled bowel inflammation ( hence the term lumpy which means intestines are thickened ) it's not uncommon for spread to the liver. Yes, liver problems can cause balance problems as well. Now it sounds like you're dealing with cholangiohepatitis/triaditis. Your poor cat.

A second opinion is a must here as this can be treated. Just because she's very poorly at present doesnt' mean this is not treatable and with steroids/antibiotics there's a good chance of recovery. Given this gloomy dismissal by this vet my advice would be to go elsewhere NOW. Frankly it should not have been permitted to get to this stage.

Alternatively insist that this is treated proactively straight away and if he's reluctant just go elsewhere.