HELP!!! Elderly Cat in Crisis!!!

[ThornyRidge]

I have a 15 year old female cat who suddenly took a bad turn a few days ago.. took her to the vet and he said something about perotinitis/stomach infection??.. something to that sort.. anyway that night he gave her a heavy dose of antibiotics and steroid shot.. did a sub-q fluid shot and sent me on my way with large bottle of antibiotic (cant recall what it is.. orange and nasty smelling kept in fridge) he said 1 cc 2x day. This cat has always been on extremely small side and at her prime she weighed only 7-8 lbs.. she checked in now at 5.4 lbs. anyway she is having ok moments and then some not so good moments.. yesterday she was actually interested in food and licked all the gravy and juice off half a pack of nutro beef moist chunk food and then ate a few pieces of the meat. later in the night she licked gravy/juice off avoderm canned chicken meal.. I saw her drinking water good yesterday.. I have also been supplementing her with vitamins and calorie gel supplement I got from vet from another visit.. giving her a good dose of these a few times per day.. today when i got home from work I found her in the basement of my house (she traveled down 3 flights of stair from the upstairs where she primarily stays and woudn up back on heated concrete floor curled up by hot water tank where it is very warm. brought her up and she has not shown interest in food/water this evening. she licked about 4 licks of the juice off another pack of chicken moist food tonight and that was it.. I have given her medicine and supplement today also. the only thing that seemed to perk her up was when I sprinkled some strong catnip on a cardboard scratch pad and she went to it and kind of scratched her feet and then put her head down on it and rubbed a couple times..Idon't want to give up on her yet because of these fighting moments.. this sweety has been through 15 years of everything with me and she is so very special so I am trying everything I can to assist if she is still willing.. my concern is the food stuff.. any other suggestions on getting her roused enough to try and eat a bit and anything I can try.. babyfood? .. I also read something about some probiotics.. can get to a health food store tomorrow if that would be a good thing..

her sx came on pretty fast and there have been no changes in anything including diet at all.. she was having extremely loud gastric noises.. to point of me hearing them at night when she was across room sleeping.. she quickly then seemed to become lethargic and was not her self.. stopped coming when I called not greeting etc.. and then stopped eating and was sleeping alot.. then came vomiting mainly like a fluid (probably since not eating much) and vomited several times.. when she was at vet her temp was 104 but I do know she was very angry when being examined and fighting alot which can alter temps a bit.. vet pressed on stomach area and she actually spit up a clear with very little bit of yellow cast on the table..and her could hear and feel horrible gastric stuff.. and note that there is no poisons/plants or anything this cat got in to.. oh and her name is Violet.

 

[chicks4kids]

I am so sorry to hear about Violet. Did the vet take into consideration her age?? Maybe the antibiotics are too strong for her. I have no idea what you can do to help her either. Does the vet suggest coming back for a recheck?? Maybe just hold her and provide your body warmth. You could drip water into her mouth from a washrag to get some fluids into her.

I sure hope she gets to feeling better. That is a long time to be with a cat--I know myself, I had my Beansy for 17 years. Good luck in making her better I sure hope someone can give you some advice.

 

[mamaKate]

Plain yogurt is excellent for stomach problems and my cats love it. Be sure to ask the vet about giving it because of the antibiotic. Maybe several hours after the meds. It must be Dannon or other live culture yogurt. I know how you feel but whatever happens, know that you've done a good job for her to live this long.

Edit: Affection is the most healing thing you can do for a cat.

 

[thebritt]

What I've done when an old cat is having a bad spell is to feed cooked chicken breast with a little white rice mooshed in. They usually like it, and it's easily digestable.
That's the first thing that comes to mind. The other is to put a heating pad - on low - in a favorite spot. It helps with digestion and overall comfort. 104 is a little high, but not outragious for a cat, and could be a result of any infection. The antibiotics should help w/in a day or two. Hang in there. I had an old cat go through this type of thing a couple times, starting about the same age, and he lived to 22! Good luck, and here's to hoping Violet feels better soon!

for her, and

to you!

 

[Skyesrocket]

Awww..the poor ole gal. Call the vet in the morning and let them know about her lack of appetite. Also probiotics either the powder or the gel in the tube with vita B might help. You can get both at Tractor Supply. The yogurt that was suggested would help too, if you can get her to eat it. If not got with the tube of B and probios.
Hope she is feeling better soon.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Did he say Feline Infectious Peritonitis or FIP? If that's it-- it is not a stomach problem, it is a serious, deadly and contagious virus (to cats). The wet form causes a fluid filled abdomen--usually an yellowish orange color. I hope that is not it

 

[b.hromada]

I do hope your Violet will be o.k.

She is getting up there in age. I myself have an almost 18 y/o cat that I rescued, and he looks like he's been through the war. But he eats real well! You would think that the vet would have said if it was FIP like Chickerdoodle says?

I do hope you can help her get better. Just know that she knows how much you love her, and are doing all you can to help her with this infection.

 

[ThornyRidge]

He didn't say FIP, plus not sure how she would have contracted that.. all my cats are strictly indoor and have no other contact with outside and I don't have contact with any other kitties... anyway she is still hangin on.. licked gravy/juices off half a pack of moist food again last night before bed and i think drank a little water.. still giving her globs of her nutrigel and she is primarily hanging out under my bed currently.. have to shoo her out to give her stuff periodically... this is just so frustrating.. going to pet store today and health food store if they don't have supplements and stuff i need/want..

 

[heritagebirds]

My ten year old male kept getting sick, and I would have to give him antibiotics...he would get well for awhile and then get sick again. I found it was the food he was eating. I switched him to Science diet lite, as we had given that to a diabetic cat years ago. He is doing great now, and is very happy and healthy. Perhaps a change in diet? ETA: oh, maybe when she starts eating. My cat stops wanting to eat when he gets the wrong food.

Good luck.

 

[Frosty]

Violet NEEDS to eat... try everything and force feed (carefully) if you have to. If she doesn't eat, she can get a condition called 'fatty liver' (hepatic lipidosis) which is where her body will release fat stores because she isn't eating and it will overwhelm her liver. Things to try for a cat not eating: smelly food (tuna, etc...), sprinkle a little parmesan on her food, things like that. If you give her baby food (which is easier to syringe feed), make sure that there is NO onion in it, onions make cats and dogs anemic.

When you say drinking ok, is she drinking 'ok', or excessively? How is her pee output? What all tests did the vet do? I am asking this because at her age, renal failure is a possibility too.

Pull up a bit on her scruff, does it return fast or slowly? If she is dehydrated, it will affect her appetite. In that case, talk to your vet about doing subcutaneous fluids at home. It really isn't hard to do, and a lot of cats really don't mind. If you go with that, there are a lot of CRF sites such as Tanyas CRF site that are really helpful giving tips.