|
I know from experience they can get very expensive in a very short time, and in my case after quite horrendous vet's fees for inconclusive consultations, x-rays etc we ended up having him put down. He was getting on - not old - and was loved, and "part of the family" and all - but replacements are cheap and easy to obtain :-)
|
Thats the last thing we want to happen though :( he dosn't seem ill enough for that yet. We have spent £200 so far.
He is only six years old, the cat we had before that had to be put down after vet tests which came to over £400 :(
He is improving slowly too so I think all it is just a very bad case of feeline flu. I suppose my question was is there anything else we can try before taking him back to the vets?
|
Is he going to the toilet okay? Male cats with blockage can end up with kidney problems. The vet would have spotted this.
With your dad off work (hope he's okay and on the mend) can you perhaps qualify for using the pdsa vets?
Our female cat is about 14 now and seems healthy. But got stressed over the house sale with lots of strangers and resulted in cystitis. She was also being bullied by a few new cats in the area (and she rarely goes out)!
|
We can;t qualify for the PSDA as you have to be on housing benefits which are parents are not on even though they are not going to be able to pay the mortgage because its not rented property they don't qualify.
Also even if they did it it is obvious he has been operated on. He has been going to the toilet but very rarely as he is not eating anything.
He was purring before and he does want food now (last week he didn't even want it) but he can't smell it so he dosn't eat it.
Our other cat is 17 years old, and apart from dementia and signs of kidney problems (he drinks a lot) he is very healthy and playful but with his dementia I am not sure how long he can go on so its why I really don't want anything to happen to younger cat, the one this thread is about.
The vets basicaly said they don't klnow whats up with him as there is no temperature or blockage. The last few days he has had a nose bleed but that seems to have cleared. He is getting better he is a lot brighter now than he was a week ago but I am worried if he dosn't start eating or drinking or soon he will start to get organ failure.
|
>>He was purring before
Cats purr when they're in pain.
|
|
|
I didn't know the rules on PDSA. It was just a thought.
What's he drinking - I assume some milk and not just water. If he's purring I hope that's a good sign. When our male cat was ill I knew something was up straight away - he would not eat and used to eat lots. Even tried his favourites stuff and he'd not touch it.
Maybe he does have a cold? Have you tried olbas oil ;-) Or maybe it's just our cat that likes the smell of that and things like orange peel.
|
We did think of the PDSA at first which is how I know the rules so i was a good suggestion :). My reply came across as a little rude, I just find the entire benefits system a joke as it seems to penalise those that have worked all their lifes. My dad can't even get incapacity benefit because he gets a pension (a few hundered pounds). My grandma does qualify and did offer to pretend it was her cat but its not fair dragging an 80 year old woman to a vet pretending its her cat and I am sure they are wise to that trick as loads of people must try it on. We have all just helped out with the vets bill.
I am full of a cold atm the moment and as a consequence sprayed in ablas oil, he really really dosn't like the smell. The purr he was doing was a happy one it is hard to explain but he was smiling (the way cats do) just been to check on on him now and he is down in the dumps again.
He seems to want company all the time but then he was always a very friendly cat. What happened with your male cat?
We had a cat that died 6.5 years ago of feeline aids, with him we knew he was dying because he would just hide away and curl in a ball.
Edited by Rattle on 15/12/2009 at 23:56
|
he really really dosn't like the smell.
Our cat loves the smell for some bizarre reason. And likes oranges etc too.
I won't go into details of the male cat - he had a blockage in his urinary tract and even after an operation it was too late and he died of kidney failure :-( He was only under the weather as far as we could tell for less than a day. We buried him under his favourite spot in the garden where he spent a lot of time even when raining (it was sheltered). Should tell the new owners on Friday where the cats and other animals were buried!
Our female cat always wants company. She'll be stressed when we move out of the house this week!
Edited by rtj70 on 16/12/2009 at 00:32
|
My parents will have that problem too as there is a good chance they will have to sell up which is for the best anyway for all concerned but there are quite a few cats buried in the garden, two from the early 80's.
You could always not tell the new owners and wait for the headlines in the MEN "Home owner thought they had dug up a dead body, street closed off by police" :).
I have just spent some time on google and it seems he does have a cold but that can leave to complications. I will take him to the vets tomorrow, insist on more expensive tests but get them to give him his anti biotics (which he hasn;t touched) and go from there.
The problem with cats and any pets is they are wonderful but when they get ill the worry is just horrible. At least when I was ill with swine flu I knew I would get better and what was going on, but the poor cat must be quite confused now :(
|
I've only just seen this Rattle and can't help you really but I certainly know how you're feeling.
The same thing happened with Totty, who we lost earlier this year, but without the cold symptoms.
She lost weight and we noticed she wasn't eating much, and there followed so many visits to the vet over the next 2 weeks (which I took off work to look after her).
Despite tests and overnight stays to re-hydrate her, she still wouldn't eat. Like yours she wanted to, and purred, but just didn't eat.
The vet had no answers and couldn't find what was wrong and that still irks me today.
In the end she managed to get on my knee and go to sleep, purring, late one evening and we both knew the time was right and asked to vet to come out to our home and put her to sleep. It was £130 but worth every penny not to disturb her. She's buried in the field behind our garden with a butterfly bush planted to mark the spot. She loved chasing butterflies in that field!
We regret allowing her to go on that long when ther was no hope, but we're both angry that we wasn't told there was no hope until afterwards when they said they 'thought' it could be congenital heart disease.
Bear this story in mind Rattle but in the meantime I can only say that a hot water bottle or a wheatbag laid against her will make her feel happier as she'll feel cold with not eating. Also I find that boiled white fish is the best thing to tempt them with and will be easier to digest as well.
Lots of love always helps too:)
Let us know how she gets on.
Pat
|
There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog (or cat) to tear.
Rudyard Kipling.
|
Hi Rats,
Seek out a proper vet. I did having sacked the one that wanted to do nothing but tests on cats and dogs and they readily admitted that lots of tests for all manner of ailments would prove inconclusive!! I now have a vet with a brain. Practical, down to earth and honest. Maybe rural may be the way to look for such a beast. Sorry, can't be more helpful.
Best regards,
Martin
|
|
Do not give hm milk,it is bad for adult cats and will promote phlegm if he has a cold.It is probably not feline flu as this is usually fatal.Don't give him dry food either,if he has any digestive problems his system will not handle it well should he eat any.Have you tried tuna?Cats usually go mad for it,mine know if I am opening a tin even when they are at the other end of the garden.Chicken breast is another feline favourite,also if you roast a chicken collect the juices,put them in the fridge and,when set,remove the fat and you will be left with a nutritious jelly,easy to eat.When roasting beef collect the blood before cooking and the juices after,mix together and you have another meaty liquid that cats love to lap up.
|
Perro, you're as big a softie as I am:)
I bet you used to wear kaftans and a leather jacket with bells on the zip too!!
Pat
|
>>> bet you used to wear kaftans and a leather jacket with bells on the zip too!! <<<
I couldn't afford a Kaftan Patricia, my crowd were more Army surplus Greatcoat + some Mustard coloured needle cord let into the bottoms of my Levi's to flare them :-D
How's about this Cat then ~ www.flickr.com/photos/43576259@N04/
I found it laying in the Cornish sunshine this morn - notice the light Jade eyes!
|
She's lovely and she's smiling if you look closely:)
I think I would be too in her position!.
I once got lectured by a particularly sniffy policeman in Oakham, for riding an Aerial Leader in a kaftan. He said it wasn't suitable attire, I just think Rutland wasn't ready for me!
Pat
|
>>> got lectured by a particularly sniffy policeman in Oakham, for riding an Aerial Leader in a kaftan <<<
S'funny, I used to ride (read fall off) a Lambretta in the Flower Power days - suitably? attired in bright blue shiny PVC coat with black corduroy 'Donovan' hat :-)
|
Ah! you mean an Ariel Leader :) An Aerial is an Antenna (ho,ho,ho!)
www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20Directories/Ariel%20B...m
|
That's the one Perro:)
............and I've always been so proud of the fact I could spell Aerial correctly too:)
Pat
|
|
My cat exactly the same pda she was a stray, that took me on , she would run up the lane to meet me any time of the day i came home,i still miss her and have said i wont have another cat after a lifetime of cats near me,i regrett not letting her go sooner, i tried mine on absolutely everything available and i really came to the conclusion in the end that she had been poisened
|
Dogs and cats have remarkable digestive systems. They can eat the contents of a month old dustbin, or scavenge the corpse of a long dead animal.
However, they are almost completely intolerant of man made chemicals. One of the common forms of poisening for a dog or cat, is to drink water from a puddle (completely natural thing for a dog or cat to do) that has been contaminated with Anti freeze.
|
|
I assume some milk and not just water>>
Despite the general belief, milk is NOT a suitable drink for cats. As with dogs, water is perfectly adequate.
This link will confirm the fact:
www.buzzle.com/articles/should-cats-drink-milk.html
|
I think it's the lactose that cats cannot tolerate. Ours likes goats milk and only drinks left overs in cereal bowls.
All I was thinking was Rattle's cat has to be getting more than just water to keep it healthy. Some good suggestions above.
The main food our cat has is in gravy - she has few teeth these days due to tooth decay.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
>>..but replacements are cheap and easy to obtain :-)>>
That comes across, unfortunately, as rather callous.
|
He has had all the tests for poisening but there is oil always spilt from the diesel tank next door so we asked him to do tests for that.
He has drunk a lot of water today and he did lick some salmon my mums thinks he ate a bit of it but I am not so sure. He is now begging go to out but we are not letting him as he is far too weak he knows where the litter is.
His cold seems to have cleared up a little bit too, he just keeps sneazing now.
I am still worried about him but he does seem to be getting a little brigter but he is far from right.
|
Most sick cats/dogs will eat scrambled eggs. Very easily eaten. Cats might like some sardines mashing up with it.
|
Cats might like some sardines mashing up with it.
Dogs wont complain about that either. Fish is good for them.
|
Dogs wont complain about that either. Fish is good for them.
Indeed. My point was that the fish makes it more tempting for a cat.
|
|
|
|
I think the problem is because he is still blocked up he can't smell the food, so he dosn't know what it is, its not so much that he cannot physicaly eat. We have tried sardines but he won't touch them. I just hope he can clear it up soon so he can hopefully eat again.
I wonder if cats can eat warm scrambled eggs? If its warm it might give of us a stronger smell thus he might want it then.
|
As long as he is drinking, to keep hydrated, dont worry about food too much.
|
snip
Maybe posted in jest, but not here.
Edited by Pugugly on 16/12/2009 at 13:26
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
