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a 15 year old cat who is sick

Sent to Cat Experts August 10 12:38 PM

MY cat is hospitalized for an unknown gastrointestinal illness since Sunday night. His fever has gone down. He is still on IV fluids. He was being treated with 3 antibiotics, I believe he is finished with them now, as his fever has been normal for 24 hours. Howeer, he refuses to eat or drink. What can I expect in terms of recovery?

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status:  Closed   Value: $10
Answer
August 10 3:14 PM (2 hours and 36 minutes and 21 seconds later)
         
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It's really hard to say at this age. Many times, vets will use the sub-q fluids to flush the kidneys and this will give the pets a better shot.

At this age, thyroid disease, renal failure and liver failure are all concerns.

Since he is not eating or drinking, I would be very concerned.

Any time that a cat won't eat for more than 48 hours, you are in serious trouble. Their liver can fail and then the cat can die. It is called hepatic lipidosis where the liver thinks it is being starved and starts "grabbing" fat cells...and actually ends up killing the liver.

I suggest that you see the vet first thing tomorrow for a full exam and possibly bloodwork to find out what's going on.

It's great that he has finished the antibiotics and that his fever has been reduced. But now you need to work on the problem of him not eating. You might want to talk with the vet about using some neutrical or another viatmin source during this time.

Let me know if you still have questions.

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Tammy F. -- Cat Care Expert -- 99% Positive Feedback on 812 Cat Accepts
15+ years-Cat care, Veterinary shelter medicine/infectious disease, feral colony mgmt, cat rescue
Reply
August 11 1:53 PM (22 hours and 38 minutes and 8 seconds later)
         
thank, Tammy. He is hospitalized and still not eating or drinking. He is on IV antibiotics and they just added dextrose. They want me to take him to another hospital on Friday for an ultrasound of his abdomen. He has had bloodwork and his bun and creatine are near normal, but he has bands in his WBCs. The WBC is 14,000 (down from 23,000).

deborah
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
August 11 1:57 PM (4 minutes and 28 seconds later)
         
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I am glad to hear that he's at the vet. At this age, there are so many things that can go wrong.

It makes me so happy to see a pet owner who is so concerned with their pet's wellbeing!

Keep your chin (and your hopes!) up. Let us know if you still have questions.

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Tammy F. -- Cat Care Expert -- 99% Positive Feedback on 812 Cat Accepts
15+ years-Cat care, Veterinary shelter medicine/infectious disease, feral colony mgmt, cat rescue
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