Cant figure out whats wrong with cat.

Asporadic

He was a wild cat/kitten when I got him, hes about 2-3 years old. Hes been a house cat since and never gets outside. He was always a bit grumpy and was always a bit of a loner compared to other cats and not very social. I guessed this was because he was "wild" deep down.

About 6 months ago I noticed he started spending a lot of time in bed and was getting grumpier then usual.

I took him to a vet and she said hes probably depressed cooped up in the house all day but I knew she was wrong and wasnt happy with that answer so we had another vet consultation and another inconclusive answer.

He kept getting worse and a month or two after that I noticed he stopped looking after himself, his coat has gone to hell, and his nails are getting bad since he stopped using his scratch post.

At this stage he was so "depressed" he would only eat his food if it was put at his feet. If you put it a few feet away he'd sit looking at it until you put it up to him.

I knew this wasnt depression so I took him to a 3rd vet and she said its his eyesight is the problem. I suspected all along his eyesight wasnt great, but she explained when she shines a light in his eyes they never contract. Cat eyes are supposed to be slits.... not saucers.

Great we've finally got to the bottom of this I thought. It was an eye infection all along. She gave me a dose of medication and told me he should be well on his way by the last tablet. In the first day or two there was definitely some results in his mood and in his eyes, but then after that nothing. He had the last tablet a few days ago and hes just as bad as ever.

I have an appointment booked for another vet for Monday morning. This is the fourth vet and to be honest Im out a fortune on all this I just cant afford to keep buying anti-biotics and paying for vet checkups. So I was hoping if anyone recognises these symptons they could maybe make suggestions so I can pass on to the vet. Im starting to think theres something "rare" or unusual wrong with him. Maybe something that vets wouldnt see very often and thats why its not been diagnosed.


In short:

Hes eating, hes not drinking so well
Hes constantly grumpy with us and the other cat
He spends his days hiding under the bed
Hes not looking after himself (fur, nails)
His eyes arent right
When he does come out he slowly skulks around the house for 10 minutes or so and then goes back upstairs
Hes always on the floor level, he wont jump up onto the bed the way he used to (Im guessing thats just because he cant see)
Its hard to tell because he moves around so slowly but I think his balance might be a little bit off

And when hes about 1 years old he took 2 fits/seizures. On both occasions it happened when I was playing with him and he was over exerting himself. He would fall onto the ground and start shaking uncontrollably. By the time Id get him to the vet he would be fine again. On both occasions the vet checked him, kept him over night and then said she couldnt find anything wrong. Obviously that was about 2 years ago but ya never know, maybe its somehow related.

Rommie

Have any of the vets done blood tests on him?

SillyMangoX

Where abouts are you located? If your vets are sure that it is a problem with his eyes, there is an eye specialist in limerick, Natasha Mitchell, maybe see if you could get a referral?

Pumpkinseeds

The poor little guy,I can understand your frustration at this point. I think you need to see a vet that specialises in cats. When it comes to cats not all vets are created equal, in my experience. I know there is a practice called The Cat Hosptial in Cork. If that's close to where you are it might be worth a try. Or maybe even email them and see if they could recommend a good cat vet in your area. I really hope it gets sorted out soon and that he's better soon.

mymo

Could he be in pain?
Neck, back or hips?
You say he skulks around on ground level, and moves slow, this makes me think pain, I think cats pupils get bigger when in pain too, but not sure.
Can he jump? Can he move fast?
Does he get grumpy if you rub him in certain places? Or pick him up?

Hope you get to the bottom of it. Poor kitty.

The Sweeper

Blood tests are a must. I'd wonder at a thyroid function problem , but it would be unusual in such a young cat. It really could be anything and without full blood work you've nowhere to start.

Themadhouse

Agree on the bloods. It a must, a starting point. If he had seizures it might have affected him somewhat too.
If you state the area you are in someone might be able to recommend a good vet.
We travel an hr to our because we trust him, he is in the kildare area and is very good at picking up on the less obvious stuff, saving one of our guys twice.

Asporadic

No hes never had blood tests. I'll push for that tomorrow. Is there different types of blood tests you can get or do I just tell the vet I want a regular old test? The last vet wanted me to get a brain scan (so as to eliminate a tumor) but for that type of scan I'd be looking at big $$$$ so Im kinda hoping to exhaust every other avenue first before we go down that route.

You know Mymo, I think you might be onto something. There was a teenage girl here a few weeks back (who didnt know he has having any issues) and was concerned that his back end (top of his back legs/spine- kinda area) was sensitive. She said he was lashing out when she touched him there. I brushed it off and told her he gets mad if you touch him anywhere. After I read your post I decided to check him again and sure enough he is actually quicker to lash out when you touch him there or touch his back legs in general. Hmmm maybe this is another peice to the puzzle.

To answer your other questions

Can he jump- Well he never comes off ground level anymore, but thinking back, the times I did lift him and put him on the bed/chairs he wouldnt be happy and would instantly jump down. When he would land it looked.... emmm Im not sure what word to use... lets just say it was painful to watch. He was landing awkward. I was told it was probably because he couldn't see the floor coming.

Can he move fast- Im not sure. He only moves around very carefully and slowly. Theres no rushing him whatsoever.

And he never liked been picked up, he would always whinge and make noise. Like I said he was always a bit of a grumpy cat. But now he'll hiss and attack me when I pick him up. Like I said yesterday, hes gotten ever so grumpy over the past few months. Just petting him (or even standing too close if hes having a particularly bad day) can get him riled up.


By the way: Im in Co Louth area. Any vet recommendations would be great.

Soodle

I would recommend some blood tests, but depression is a possibility, my friends cat suffered from this and it was only while we were studying animal care at college that this was discovered.

Asporadic

There was a mixup with my appointment yesterday at the new vets so I ended up going back to my old vet today to get the the blood tests done. They came back inclonclusive And the vet commented that he has visibly lost weight since the last visit a few weeks ago.

I think things have taken a turn for the worst last night. Hes gotten very restless and spent hours last night just walking from room to room. He wouldnt relax at all. And of course, this is a huge contrast to his usual moping about under the bed all day.

This morning and tonight its the same thing. He wont settle at all. He urinated whilst walking about in the living room today. And once again, going to the vet he also urinated/defecated (although locked in a cat carrier getting shunted about in the back seat may have been the cause of that).

And lastly, I *think* he may have started twitching. Ive spotted him doing it a few times today. Now the twitching could well be innocent, (or even an after effect from having to be knocked out for the blood test) but at this stage Im taking every sneeze and cough as a sympton.



(Its hard to make out the report, looks like it was printed with a printer running out of ink. So ### denotes anything I cant interpret)

LaserCyte

RBC *7.02x10^12L 5.00-10.00
HCT *35.5% 30.0-45.0
HGB 14.8 g/DL 9.0-15.1
MCV *50.6fl 41.0-58.0
### *21.2pg 12.0-20.0 HIGH
MCHC --.--g/dl
### 22.3% 17.3-32.0 HIGH
%Retic *0.2%
Retic *17.1K
WBC 7.26x10^9/L
%NEU 62.5%
%LYM 13.7%
%MONO 17.6%
%EOS 5.5%
%BASO 0.6%
NEU 4.54x10^9L
LYM 1.00x10^9L
MONO 1.28x10^9L
EOS 0.40x10^9L
BASO 0.04x10^9L
PLT *579 K/ul
MPV *6.8 fL
PDW *26.7%
PCT *0.39


VetTest

GLU 7.01 mmol/L 4.11-8.84
BUN 8.9 mmol/L 5.7-12.9
CREA 106 umol/L 71-212
PHOS 1.42 mmol/L 1.00-2.42
CA 2.43 mmol/L 1.95-2.83
TP 72 g/L 57-89
ALB 37 g/L 22-40
GLOB 35 g/L 28-51
ALT 13 U/L 12-130
ALKP 35 U/L 14-111
TBIL 7umol/L 0-15
CHOL 4.08 mmol/L 1.68-5.81
AMYL 1090 U/L 500-1500

anniehoo

All of his blood results (basic panel above) are normal. Nothing is increased or decreased and all within normal range. The urinating while walking is standing out to me. Has your vet done a urinalysis? He might have urinary crystals that are causing him pain. This wouldnt be flagged on your blood results as the blockage could be in the bladder so wouldnt be flagged on your kidney enzymes (BUN and Creatinine). Liver (ALP, ALT) is also normal too. Theres no infection as your WBC (white blood cell count) is ok, he's not anaemic or dehydrated (normal PCV or HCT).

Next stop is to run a T4 (thyroid panel for hyperthyroidism), which can cause irritability and weight loss and a urinalysis. Did they palpate (feel) around his abdomen and hips?

Pumpkinseeds

Have any of the vets suggested any further investigations? I mean if they thought it was depression they could have recommended a pet behaviourist or such. I can't see how they could have made any kind of accurate diagnosis without doing blood tests. Seems ridiculous that they've only just done some. I'm no vet but it doesn't sound like depression. Whatever it is you need a definite diagnosis so you can try to ease things for him.

On a seperate note have you tried the Feliway diffuser? I find it fabulous with my guys. It's designed to relax stressed out cats and it won't do him any harm at all. Try vetuk and viovet both are cheaper than what it'd cost you in Ireland. I found the spray useless.

Asporadic

anniehoo wrote: »

All of his blood results (basic panel above) are normal. Nothing is increased or decreased and all within normal range. The urinating while walking is standing out to me. Has your vet done a urinalysis? He might have urinary crystals that are causing him pain. This wouldnt be flagged on your blood results as the blockage could be in the bladder so wouldnt be flagged on your kidney enzymes (BUN and Creatinine). Liver (ALP, ALT) is also normal too. Theres no infection as your WBC (white blood cell count) is ok, he's not anaemic or dehydrated (normal PCV or HCT).

Next stop is to run a T4 (thyroid panel for hyperthyroidism), which can cause irritability and weight loss and a urinalysis. Did they palpate (feel) around his abdomen and hips?

Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate any help I can get.

My vet never mentioned a T4 or a urinalysis at all. Maybe I'll call her up tomorrow and suggest it. Her only suggestions today was next step would be a brain scan to see is it a tumor.

I couldn't tell you if she did that palpate on his abdomen either. I dropped him off in his cage and she told me she'd put him to sleep, take his bloods and then call me whenever he woke up and was ready to go home. So I dont really know what was done and what wasnt. She only charged for bloods, and I get the impression she did the bloods and that was it.

Again thanks for the help. I really appreciate this.

Zonie1069

mymo wrote: »

Could he be in pain?
Neck, back or hips?
You say he skulks around on ground level, and moves slow, this makes me think pain, I think cats pupils get bigger when in pain too, but not sure.
Can he jump? Can he move fast?
Does he get grumpy if you rub him in certain places? Or pick him up?

Hope you get to the bottom of it. Poor kitty.

This could be a very good point, rub him slowly all over and see if there are any places he won't let you pet him. It could be arthritis? Or more serious it could be a stomach problem, my cat had similar symptoms recently and it turned out to be a stomach tumor. I hope he gets better, just give him A LOT of pets and let him know you care.