My Old Lady...

Caked Karen

Hey guys,

just looking for some advise to see if anyone has come across this problem before

My cat Meryl is about 10/11 years old. It started off in Dec when she went off her food and around her mouth went a bit black but it looked that it was more saliva than infection. I was advised it was her teeth and these were done in January.
I took her off dried food then incase it was hurting her teeth/throat when she sallowed. Everything seemed okay for a few months and then the infections started again. It was only when she stopped eating you would know it was back. The is a smell comes from the her mouth and she stops cleaning herself which is very unsual for her. She was treated with antibiotics on all occasions and gradually the infection would clear up. However now the infections are happening more frequently and lasting longer. I have had her in vets 2 weeks in a row and more injections.

She appears in good enough form and does want to eat as she runs to her dish but then doesn't - i have tried all foods and she had abit of salmon - it looks like she is too sore to eat... I need to think about what would be the next step to take in diagnosing what it could be.....

someone mentioned it could be something maybe with her stomach, that her throat etc isnt actually that bad and the vet (who i have trusted will all my animals throughout the years) doesnt seem to able to pin point it. he is reluctant to put her under anesthetic to see whats going with her being an older cat aswell as she might not make it through the operation. it would be a last resort kinda thing so any advice appreciated as i really am at a loss at the moment

Thanks
Karen

Gremlin

Hi Karen,

Its always difficult when loved pets get to 'that age' when they seem to get sick a lot more frequently. Reading your post I was wondering if there was maybe something stuck in the back of her throat or maybe her epiglottis (sp?). Sadly the only way to find out is to have a camera down.

I hear what your saying redarging an anaesthetic, however you could look at it another way too. Whatever is the matter with Meryl is not likely to just go away, she *may* continue to get sicker. Although there is always a risk, modern anaesthetics have a positive outcome in most cases. Yes it is a risk, but at least IMHO it is one worth taking. What does your vet advise? I'd listen to what he/she has to say.

Hope it all works out well for you and Meryl.

fatmammycat

Karen, you need to get this checked out. And possibly with a different vet.
My cat Puddy is 20 and goes regularly ( about every 6-8 weeks) under anaesthetic to have her ears cleaned out ( she has chronic ear problems and they get infected and need to be cleaned the whole way down).
A good vet will weigh your animal and only keep her under until the problem is found. Whatever your cat has is recurring and the injection or antibiotics are only helping the infection, but not locating and sorting the cause of the problem. 10/11 is not old at all for cats. It is middle age at best.

anniehoo

The first thing that came into my head is Feline Calcivirus which can present with mouth lesions/ulcers. My next thought was renal problems. I know you're probably wondering how the 2 are related but ive seen a 10 year old cat recently put to sleep with renal failure that presented with reoccuring mouth ulcers and on a blood work up was found to have end stage renal failure.

Has your vet done any haematology or biochemistry analysis? If not this is what id be asking them to do if antibiotics arent effective anymore.

Caked Karen

thanks a million guys for all the responses.

i will definetely look at the blood work being done...i am due to bring her in on friday again. she is in such good form and rolling and chatting away but just is going to skinny due to lack of eating...

thanks for the info on the anaestethic fatmammyboy, the vet said he has no problem doing it and said it should be fine but there is always the risk..then again i guess there is as much of a risk with a kitten as there is with a 20 year old cat!

thats aswell re: renal failure. didnt think of that at all....

i am just trying to figure out do on the vet line or bring her to a specialist vet (who is serious expensive...not that that matters at all) but now at least i have a few things to bring up...

i cant even imagine if things go south

anniehoo

CakedKaren cats over the age of 7 should be annually blood checked anyway which alot of vets fail to do and from 10 years + they should also be checked for Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). Both Renal Failure and Hyperthyroidism are 2 of the top conditions in middle-old age felines. Both are impossible to diagnose without blood tests. T4 (thyroxine measurement) for Hyperthyroidism.Urea,creatinine and electrolytes (sodium.potassium,chloride) at a minimum for kidney function.

Owners should insist on it tbh as cat are notorious for not being diagnosed early as they generally dont present or show their symptoms until they're very advanced.

As a guide to cost, UCD Labs do a Feline Premium blood panel (which also includes kidney enzyme analysis for €61 or IDEXX (UK laboratory) do similar for around the same. It depends on which lab your vet uses either here or the UK. Obviously your vet will add more to this price for their time/consult etc.

Antibiotics clearly aren't working anymore so if it was me at a minimum id be asking for a routine blood screen to start. Good luck!

Oh...no need to be going the specialist route yet. Start with these basic blood tests and go from there.

Caked Karen

hey guys,

just said i would let you know that yesterday we had to put Merryl to sleep. I cant even believe it as went to the vets thinking "ok i know things arent good but we'll do more tests and figure out what is going on"

anyhoo, after tests and putting her under the vet got a proper look back her throat and she had all lumps all down her through which looked to have been growning. after a scan he also found 2 lumps on her stomach and i think intestine...she also had the Feline Calcivirus which anniehoo mentioned

Just didnt feel is was right for us to keep her going knowing things werent going to get any better. she had been a different cat the last few weeks and as much as we all want to be selfish. she was just the bomb and i dont really know to start with her not here now...my sister buried her under the tree she used to look out of from her house every day (she had a little cottage with a fire on every evening to herself for the last 2 years after being attacked by a dog) so she was happy i hope in her final years...

sorry i just wanted to say thanks to every one who responded...so much appreciated.

K

Taltos

Sorry to hear about your loss K.

fatmammycat

Sorry to hear of your loss Karen.