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Cat help... Not pretty.

Oh, and his pupils are two different sizes because he was halfway under the bed :) He's not very camera-friendly.
 
My brother had a cat who was drooling, not eating/drinking, horrible smell from its mouth and it turned out that there was a chicken bone stuck between his upper teeth that was rotting. He had gotten out and was missing for weeks before they found him. Have you looked inside you baby's mouth to see if there are bad teeth or any damage to the upper palate?

I hope your kitty gets well soon.
 
CodeRed said:
We've tried everything to get him to eat. Wet food, dry food, moist food, warm food, and so on. Nothing. So far, he doesn't look like he's in critical danger. While he doesn't eat, everything else about him is normal. He purrs, he plays, he rubs, he loves. He's not just lying down, so I think for now he's good. He acts like he's hungry, but he just doesn't eat when given the opportunity. So he's hungry, and he still has his appetite, which I think is a +1. He IS going to the vet at 8 AM tomorrow, when it opens. So we're getting him in as soon as possible. He is in a bathroom with heat, water at all times, and food in case he decides to get hungry. I've been keeping his airways open by wiping him clean and keeping the room a bit more humid (with steam from hot water). We're trying our best.
Thanks for all of the quick info, I'll update with the info we get from the vet tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Well if he still has the energy to play, that's a good sign. Steam in the bathroom is good too, along with wiping. And great that you will get him to the vet. Keep us posted, OK?
 
idk about where you live but where I am there is an emergency vet that we've been to before that's open 24 hours. you can probably google if there's any near you. I am very sorry that your kitty is sick. I know what's that's like to have one of your babies be sick and i feel for you. I hope everything goes well and keep us all updated after your visit tomorrow. good luck.
 
Well, we went to our normal vet at 8:00 today, but for the first time they're closed on Saturdays =/ So they sent us to a vet in Goshen, but they were filled up for the day. So they sent us to another vet, which finally took us in. Turns out he has a virus (which is why he's all goopy), and he's got ulcers on his tongue (which is why he won't eat). He caught both because of his determination to find a way out of the house, when he isn't vaccinated for the outside illnesses. He should make a full recovery, just keep him cleaned up and full and away from the other cats, since it is spreadable. He's got a nice bathroom to himself now xD
Thanks for all of the help, everyone!! It made the night a bit easier, to have such good info waiting.
 
Great news!

I checked this thread first thing when I turned on the computer, hoping you had some good news!

Did the vet give you any meds for his tongue, or for anything else? And any advice on feeding him for the next several days - either type of food, or method of feeding while his tongue is healing?

Glad the prognosis is good!
 
They didn't give us any meds, but they did give him a shot to help him get better. I guess cats aren't fans of pills, lol. Who knew? (Need a sarcasm font) But anyways, basically they told us to try everything we could to get him to eat. Baby food, wet food, chicken broth, moist food, warm food, and so on. His tongue's hurting him so we're supposed to make sure it's soft, that's all. He should heal up in a couple of days, though :)
 
Did they give it a particular name? Normally the tongue ulcers are a hallmark of Calicivirus which is indeed highly contagious, but normally makes kitties feel like crud.

If he doesn't eat in another day or two, take him back in to get some syringe-feeding supplies. Hepatic lipidosis is a *real* concern, and sometimes it seems that cats that don't eat for a long time.... "forget" that they need to eat at all once they are technically well again otherwise.
 
SOunds like herpes infection... Just so you know, even if he WAS vaccinated he probably still would have got it. THe vaccine doesn't prevent them from getting it, just can reduce the severity of the illness. THe mouth ulcers are classic signs

Lucky for you Herpes caused URI's aren't typically life threatening in adult cats :) It's about the same as getting a cold.

I would highly recomend a lysine supplment for this little guy though. You mentioned that he wasn't very healthy to begin with, Lysine works as an immune booster and helps fight virus's like this one. It can both a preventative and a treatment. You can buy the human capsules at the health food store and just break them up and mix them in with food, it's pretty tasteless. Or you can buy the rediculously overpriced flavored stuff from the vet haha.

Did they ALSO tell you that this isn't curable?? that chances are he'll likely get it again and can infect other cats in the house? Another very good reason for the lysine supplement not only for him but for all the kittys :)

Glad he's doing better.
 
Did the vet run a blood test for feline leukemia and FIV? If not, I would highly recommend that be done as a classic sign of FIV ("kitty aids") is oral ulcers. Also, his not being an overly healthy cat all along is an indication of perhaps an underlying cause such as either of those viruses which suppress the immune system making his susceptible to everything else out there.
 
The vet told us that as soon as he's looking better, take him in to get him checked out for Leukemia, but she didn't say anything about FIV. His brother got "kitty aids" about a year ago (my friend's cat), so I suppose it's definitely possible. We'll bring it up when we go in for the Leukemia tests.
Calicivirus does sound like what she called it, which is why we've quarantined him off in a (larger) bathroom. The vet did tell us that if he hasn't eaten by Monday, bring him in for force feeding. However, he's shown some interest (a bit of licking, nibbling) in the gravy that comes along with some wet cat food, so we'll be trying that and chicken broth over the next two days. He's never been a bit fan of fishy tasting cat foods, but we'll try a bit of that, too.
 
That would be so sad!

Back in the '80s, we had quite a few outdoor cats, and some of them did get those diseases. It was awful, although I had one cat live with feline AIDS for many, many years, in relative good health. But since around 1990, our cats have all been indoor only (or out on the screened lanai). It is so nice not to have to deal with something that horrible!

But if your cat does have it, you will want to know, since your other cats could catch it. Did he get tested?
 
Sorry - looks like you posted while I was writing! (gotta type faster, lol!)

Try the blender trick with the food - if it is liquefied, it won't hurt his tongue as much. And it will be more nutritious than just the broth or gravy.
 
If he is your only cat, FIV isn't such a crisis. My vet says that FIV is transmissible from cat to cat in normal household interactions, which is why if you have other cats it would be more worrisome. But according to reliable websites and my vet, many cats with FIV can live long high quality lives. They may not live to be 20 but it's not necessarily instantly fatal.

To the vet techs: FIV "looks" really like HIV in the scientific literature. Do vets treat FIV with HIV drugs? I know the HIV drugs are made in liquid forms so the dose can be adjusted to body weight for babies and young children, so the problem of getting the correct mg/kg could be solved, but I don't know if HIV drugs work, or if veterinarians are doing it.
 
See, the thing is is that we have two other cats.
I'm not going to jump the gun and say he's got FIV, though. So far he's just got a viral infection and some ulcers on his tongue, his first for both. When I said he wasn't a very healthy cat, I meant that he's always been small, not a good groomer, lazy, and he had a bad limp for about a year. He also was once a stray cat, so he has absolutely no idea how to use a litterbox... I didn't mean that he's always getting sick, so I'm sorry if people interpreted it as that.
When his brother got FIV, it was noticed because he started having seizures, which so far hasn't happened to my cat. By many peoples standards, he's actually a very healthy cat! I'm glad for everyone's concern, but for the time being I'll treat this as the vet tells us it is, and not get too panicky over nothing. He'll be isolated until he's better anyways, and we can ask the vet about it then.
 
I wasn't trying to jump the gun, but to give you info that it isn't a death sentence for all cats. I agree with you not to panic, follow the vet's instructions & see what happens. (((CodeRed & Shaddow))) Update us when you know more, OK?
 
Sounds like a good plan!

Glad you have some professional help that you can trust, too. Even if we had a full time cat vet answering the thread, it can't compare to having a trusted and competent vet seeing the cat in the flesh to be your best guide in knowing the best plan of action.

Good luck!
 
I know this post is 4 pages in and I cant say ive read much besides the possibility of FIV.
But not too long ago I had a cat with the same symptoms and unfortunately first he had a cancerous tumor growing in his mouth, and then upon further inspection we found out he had leukemia :-/

I hope it is nothing too serious with your feline, i wish you the best!

Josh
 
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