Sick kitty - worried and scared.

[icarus]

Sick kitty – worried and scared.

Monte had diarrhea so bad Wednesday he missed the kitty box. There may have been blood in his stool, I'm not sure. At the same time he had really bad hairballs, like nothing he's ever had before (and of course, most of his food came up with them). Several times in one day.

Yesterday it looked like he was getting better, that the diarrhea was clearing up, but I'm worried about an intestinal block. Normally he hits the cat box right after he eats, but he hasn't gone to the bathroom since yesterday afternoon. The kitty litter was moved around since yesterday, so he tried.

Advice? Help?



FYI, I'm broke. We just took him to the vet last week, WG was in a car accident, the school hasn't given me the student aid for the last three months and they're already charging me for next quarter so when it comes through there won't be anything left. And the vet doesn't bill.

Comments

[kiffany.livejournal.com]

I'd say take him to the vet in this situation (and if the vet is closed, maybe call the after-hours number and ask them if your situation is urgent enough to warrant after-hours attention). It's always better to be safe than sorry, yeah? Good luck!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Did I mention we're broke? We just took him to the vet last week, WG was in a car accident, and my school still hasn't paid me the student aid for the last three months so I have make $50 last until October.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Vet NOW! It could be nothing but a stomach bug or it could a number of very bad things. The fact that he has tried to potty but not been able to is worrisome as well as the blood in the stool. Was there blood in the hairballs?

Hope for the tummy bug.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I'm going to call them today, but I'm broke. The school hasn't given me the student aid for the last three months. I have $50 until October. No shit. And the vet only does same day payment.

I can't take him to the vet.

PANICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Any other vets that you can talk to about payments? Sometimes they will work things out. Call him and tell him your situation. See what he says.

It might be that he just ate something that made him sick and it's no big deal. Or it could be something like an impacted hairball or he ate string. You just don't know until a vet looks at him.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Given the hairballs he had (like he vaccuumed the floor and all the dustbunnies under the bed, really) my money is on impacted hairball that he's trying to pass. I was concerned but not worried until the cat box was clear this morning. I was giving him (not that he appreciated it) some extra water when he had the diarrhea, but if nothing's getting through... we'll see what they recommend.

Icarus

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Check your yahoo email

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Okay. I was away from the computer until just now.

Icarus

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

I'm leaving for home. I'll be back in 12 hours. Let me know.

[slb44.livejournal.com]

There has to be a vet in town who will bill you. Especially if you explain.

Meanwhile, you might want to try some hairball medication. It sounds like he might just be fighting a mass.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm gonna call and see what our vet can do. I can't get to any other vets today as WG has the car.

It's 7am here, so they're closed at the moment, but I'm thinking that he probably is trying to pass a hairball. I've never seen him with hairballs this bad.

Icarus

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

Um, can you go to an animal shelter? I know out here the ones tend to have vet clinics attached to them, and they're cheaper, and probably sympathetic about situations like yours. There have GOT to be a few vets around who would rather see late payment and an animal not in pain/ill than vets who just want payment upfront. Seriously... not all pet owners are well-off, and hello, ethics? (The argument about animal welfare seems pisys if you're saying you won't treat unless you're given money.)

I'd totally offer to chip in, but I'm having money issues at the moment, too.

Another possibility?: the internets. Are there any local communities on here, or cat communities, or animal welfare communities which might be able to offer names of cheap/sympathetic vets? (I'd steer clear of places like stupidpetowners, though, because to a large percentage of the population there, "good pet owners" don't have issues like money problems. Which is bullshit, but just warning.)

*huge hugs*

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

WG has the car (and works in a job where he's not reachable by phone or email), so I can't get him to the other vets/shelters. If that's our only option it would have to wait until tomorrow. I'm going to call our vet today and see if they have any advice for us. I'll explain the situation.

*sigh* I should have worked this summer instead of taking classes.

Icarus

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

You weren't to know this was going to happen. And seriously, animal-related emergencies always seem to happen at the worst time possible. (Trust me on this!!!)

I'm sending out good thoughts and hoping you find a sympathetic vet. Seriously, d00d. *more hugs*

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Just got off the phone. My vet is useless.

Icarus

[aphephobia.livejournal.com]

*huge hugs* I'm so sorry- that sucks. :(

[libitina]

It is possibly not life threatening - if the cat has had a massive hairball, then he might not have been eating or drinking as much. Diarrhea is often caused by dehydrations.

On the other hand - blood? Often caused by much badness.

Good luck.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I'm calling our vet when they open. Which should be soon.

Icarus

[luthien.livejournal.com]

I had a cat with a blockage that bad once. I was desperately afraid we were going to lose her. What did the vet do? Just kept pouring paraffin into her and eventually it dislodged... the most stubborn hairball ever. Yes, the explosion, when it happened, was disgusting and yellow, but fortunately it happened outside - and even more fortunately our cat was back to normal in next to no time.

If you can get your cat to the vet, the solution may be something as simple and relatively inexpensive as a massive dose of paraffin. I hope it all comes good as quickly and easily as possible, both for his sake and for yours.

[katuah]

if it is a hairball or other form of severe constipation, what our vet said to give was mineral oil. apparently (and probably like the aforementioned paraffin) it won't break down in their digestive tract, so it passes into the colon quickly and "lubricates" the passage of other substances. it worked for our hairballed kitty.

cats can survive a lot. is he drinking water? if he's drinking, he can get by for a fair while without eating. this could give you time to find a vet who will take payments or a group that has pro bono vet services. (if he's not drinking and hasn't since yesterday, that's really bad - you need to get him somewhere ASAP. i'm hoping that's not the case.)

sorry i this approaches TMI, but: bloody stool in cats, much like in humans, is far more troublesome when it is darker, drier, or "inside" the poop, than if it is bright red and on the outside. the latter is more likely an indicator of a lining tear from trying to push too much, whereas the former is an indiction of other more serious internal issues.

anyway, i understand being upset about this. i'm sending some good energy that way. maybe he will pass a big mother of a hairball shortly and all will be well again.

[celyste.livejournal.com]

agreements with katuah. drinking and urinating? good signs. red blood, ok; dark as in black blood, not so good. mineral oil or hairball tonic in massive amounts (like 6" of it) will help with the passing.

also, if the cat had diarhhea for any length of time, and hasn't really felt like eating, he may not have anything left to pass. Playing inthe litter box might just be 'stretch' factor (like if you've gone so much you just think you should go again).

I'd scruff him and try to squeeze his tummy. small hard things are ok, big or long hard things probably will necessitate a trip to vet if they don't move on their own within 3-4 hours.

It might be something cheap like an enema or oral oil. I think the worst I ever saw while I worked at the clinic was 3-400$, which was xrays, fluids, full surgery and massive antibiotics. Granted, that was about 4 years ago now.

I admit, I'm surprised at your vet. I've never met one that wouldn't set up a payment plan for big ticket stuff. Especially if you've been to them before and always paid it all off. Is there not another one nearby?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

also, if the cat had diarhhea for any length of time, and hasn't really felt like eating, he may not have anything left to pass.

The hairballs Wednesday caused him to throw up pretty much everything, and one (this is way too much information) was as long as his leg. Really bad hairballs, worst I've seen.

He's been hungrier than normal as of last night and today, probably because he'd thrown up everything and he lost the rest to diarrhea. He's also been drinking plenty of water, a little more than usual. It may I'm worrying too soon.

red blood, ok; dark as in black blood, not so good.

It was a small amount of red blood, small enough I wasn't sure if it was blood.

I'd scruff him and try to squeeze his tummy. small hard things are ok, big or long hard things probably will necessitate a trip to vet if they don't move on their own within 3-4 hours.

Ah, good. Thank you. That's the sort of thing I wanted to know. I'm one of the few allowed to touch his belly.

I'll pick up some Mineral Oil, too, see if that helps.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Huh. He has one very empty tummy.

I'll check again later because maybe I'm doing this wrong, but I didn't feel much in the way of lumps. Maybe he cleaned himself out with the diarrhea and hairballs the last two days. Unlike my past kitties he seems to lose entire meals with his hairballs. There may be nothing in there to come out.

Icarus

[celyste.livejournal.com]

In that case, as long as he's eating and drinking, I'd try to relax. Vomitting (not hairballs but true vomitting) would be a bad sign.

One cat I had would mess up the box three times a day. Another one would bother it every couple days (had the bladder of a camel!)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

He has a bladder the size of a pea, I think. Usually after each meal he makes a beeline for the kitty box. Then he streaks out of the bathroom as playful as all hell.

He's peeing (yay!) but there are no lincoln logs in the box yet. That may take a day or two.

Icarus

[alyndra]

It sounds as though he's probably just empty at the moment -- it generally takes a few days for things to go through the system, and the point of severe diahrea like that is to get everything out and start over.

It can be nervewracking, but I probably wouldn't assume there's a problem until two or three days go by and there's still nothing.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That matches up with his suddenly eating more, too.

Also, he looked sick and miserable Wednesday night, perked up yesterday, and his behavior is normal right now.

Icarus