sick cat

[toby99]

I have a beautiful Siamese cat age 13. She has had a cough for years (possibly due to a heart murmur) She is very vocal and meows all night 'chatting' to us, but tonight I have come home and she cannot meow only makes the slightest dull chirp. Her weight has dropped off her over night and she is weak and a bit wobbly on her feet. She looks ill. We have had to introduce a litter tray recently as she wouldn't go outside, but Siamese can be like that. Although, tonight, she has just 'wet' herself in her sleep when I was cuddling her. Can anyone offer any advice; I am really worried about her - thanks

[Silvercat]

My heart goes out to you and your cat..........

Im no expert but it does not sound good, she sounds as if she is possibly failing, 13 is quite a good age for a cat you know. Hopefully its just a passing virus or something.

My advice is get her to the vet as soon as possible, and get some proper advice. Give her loads of love and be strong enough to let her go if its time.

Maybe this will help you......


Poem For Cats

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is....forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am....forever and ever and ever.


Author Unknown

[toby99]

Thank you Silvercat - What a lovely poem. It would be so hard to let her go - she is a beautiful, gentle cat who is so involved in everything we do and a real part of the family. I am sitting up with her tonight - we have a bed made up on the sofa so i can keep an eye on her all night - can they really fail so quickly? all I have noticed is she has tried to get as close to the radiators as possible since yesterday, so she was obviously feeling cold. Thanks again for the lovely poem.

[persianlady]

I do not want to alarm you, and I am not a vet , but you must get your cat to a vet as soon as possible.I have had a lot of experience with my own cats over the years, and renal failure is very,very common in elderly cats. the symptoms you describe are exactly what I have witnessed with several of my own cats. Unfortunately with kidney disease, the symptoms dont usually show until the very late stages. I hope and pray that I am wrong, and am even debating as I typing this if I should even be telling you this. But you have asked the question, but if you love your pet you will want to get her some help asap. I know it is hard and frightening, but you do not want her to suffer any more or longer than necessary. She is obviously ill, and if I was in your position, I would take her to an emergency vet. If you phone your own vet now, if there is no one there they will probably have an emergency number on a recorded message that you can call. At least give them a call, and they would be able to advise you better than I can.
I hope it is not as serious as it sounds. Please let us know, what you decide to do, and the outcome. Meanwhile, I will be thinking about you, and I really hope that your pussy cat gets well again. Good Luck

[persianlady]

Silvercat.... what a beautiful poem. I have never come across that one before. I will certainly keep a copy of it. It is sad but at the same time comforting.

[toby99]

Thank persionlady - Don't worry about posting - it is what I was reluctatly thinking. She has a heart murmur which can apparently lead to kidney failure & I know siamese are more prone. It has just been so quick and her weight was lost overnight. I am seeing the vet in the morning. She did drink when I put her by her bowl jus now, which is a good sign and she is wrapped in blankets on my knee to keep her warm. I wont let her suffer; I adore her too much for that, but I am secretly praying it is an infection and a chill from this cold weather. I will let you know what they say. Thanks again

[slinkycat]

I think persianlady is quite right, get to a vet asap if thats at all possible, hope that the outcome is good, I know just how hard it is to see a much loved pet suffering, please keep us updated,all the best to you and your cat

[persianlady]

Toby99..... If you are sure that she is not in pain, I guess it is ok to wait until the morning. That is the awful thing with kidney disease (lets hope it is not as serious as that) Cats and indeed humans can get by on so litttle kidney function that it is often not until the final stages that you know anything is wrong. Cats are very good at not showing pain. The experts reckon it is instinctive, to ward off predators.
I can well remember being amazed at the dramatic almost overnight weight loss too. I am not a particularly religious person, but I always pray for my cats when they are ill. i will pray for yours tonight. What is her name if you dont mind me asking?

[toby99]

Persionlady - Our vets are not very good. They have a large team and all the latest equip etc, but I just don't think the care is there. I have decided to take her to someone else tomorrow. I don't think she is in pain (but like you say, they can hide it), she has a hot water bottle and has even purred a little. Thanks for your kind, supportive words; her name is Tilly.

I have noticed for a while now that he paws/claws seem to hurt her - i have cut her claws as they grow long- is this something you have come across? She won't let me touch them at the moment.

[persianlady]

The sore paws does not ring any bells with me. My cats have never let me anywhere near their paws. They always use the scratching post though so I do not have to worry about cutting their claws. Tilly is a nice name .I am wiiling her to get better. our female cat is called La La. She is an enormous grey persian who loves her food and does somersaults when she gets a sniff of Horlicks. It drives her wild for some reason. Give Tilly a hug from me.

[Chessie]

I'm afraid that I can't offer anything helpful, other than what has already been said, but I hope that Tilly has just caught a chill and makes a speedy recovery, Toby99. I know just how worried you must be, having cats myself, they are my life, and I lost an elderly girl to illness in November.

Good luck, and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and my thoughts are with you. xx

[toby99]

Thanks to you all - you really are all lovely people!

i'm taking her to the vet this morning - she isn't any better, but she hasn't got any worse either, and she managed to eat at little tuna earlier. Will let you know what he says. x

[pastafreak]

Good luck to you,toby-and even more so to Tilly. My own Moggy,Cleo(a young 5+) is ill with terminal cancer...I know only too well how you feel.

[bensmum]

I do hope that all was okay with your cat. It's so hard when they have been part of your life for such a long time and we hate to see them suffer. I lost one of my older cats exactly 1 year ago to illness and went thorough a lot of soul searching there. You are obviously a very caring owner and love your cat so I wish you both well.

[Pippa68]

Renal failure has caught all my cats in the past ~ the most recent was Sonny, who lived to the ripe old age of 17 (approximately as he was a stray).

It can happen so quickly...Sonny was taken to the vet the day after becoming poorly and was euthanised. My previous cat lasted 4 days before passing, but I now wish I had taken him to be put down as I feel it would have been kinder.

I hope your cat does get better, but if the worst happens...remember Rainbow Bridge xxx

[shivvy]

I hope everything is ok with little Tilly. My heart really does go out to you.
If you do have to make the dreadful decision about whether to put her to sleep or not, it might help to think of something I was told when I had to have my lovely dog euthanised. "It is better to do it a day early than one second too late." I know that it made the decision slightly easier for me.
If you feel like it, let us know how things are going.
Take care.

[toby99]

Thank you all for your kind words. She is still weak, wobbly and wants to sit quietly today, but no worse. I took her to the new vets and they were lovely, spent ages with her. They are unsure what the matter is. They couldn�t actually confirm the heart murmur which was diagnosed by the previous vets. They said she does not have a temperature and her kidneys do not appear to be enlarged; they are at a bit of a loss really. She is very dehydrated and they wanted to put her on a drip over night, but she would pine terribly on her own in a unfamiliar building and I think it would do her more harm than good, so I have brought her home and am trying to syringe feed her re-hydration mixture. We are going back in the morning for blood tests, as they are starting to think she could have diabetes (as her kidneys don't appear infected) and she may have gone into some kind of diabetic state last night. I am not one for subjecting her to unnecessary tests, but if it is diabetes it could be controlled and give her some more years. She has had steroid injections and antibiotics so fingers crossed. She is such a lovely, kindhearted cat, but if it is her time to go I will let her go peacefully and not let her have any other tests or procedures. Thanks again to you all x

[bensmum]

I was pleased to hear that the vet does not think the problem is due to renal failure. As you say - if it is diabetes it can indeed be controlled. Good luck with the tests - will be thinking of you.
XX

[persianlady]

Toby99.... i have been waiting all day for news of Tilly. It is good news that they dont seem to suspect that anything is wrong with her kidneys. If it is diabetes then I have heard that it is far easier to manage diabetes in cats than humans, but others may have different opinions. The wobbliness you mention can indeed be symptomatic of dehydration.It is a pity that you could not let her stay to be drip fed the fluids as they will get into her system much quicker than by mouth. And thus would start to feel better much sooner. If when you take her to the vet again tomorrow, she is still dehydrated, then if you can bear to do it , then let them put her on a drip. If she is as poorly as you say she is, she will not care where she is, and will just sleep the time away. It is hard I know, we cat lovers tend to think of them as our babies and we even think of them as having human emotions etc . But they dont. If she is not getting enough fluids by mouth then please be strong and let them give her a drip. And remember that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.
It is good news to hear that the vets who are treating her are nice. It makes such a difference to your peace of mind. The vets I use are great. I cant fault them. They make a lot of money out of my three, what with boosters, worming etc besides the cost of treatments for illness, but they are worth every penny. I pay �35 a month insurance for them so except for �40 excess I dont have to wiorry about the cost of them getting ill, injured etc. It is worth it for the peace of mind.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and Tilly, please keep us updated. Lots of us are with you in spirit, you are not alone.

[jules77]

As you say diabetes can be controlled, she is not particularly that old for a cat, mine was 20 plus, and my dads is almost that age. So you could have her for many more years to come, dont give up hope yet.

You are in for a sleepless night, as you must keep trying to syringe some fluids in her, little and often, be careful of putting too much in as you dont want it to go into her lungs and choke her. I know how you feel about not wanting her to stay in the vets, particularly overnight on her own. But having been in a similar position with one of my dogs many years ago, I did let them put mine on a drip the following day, and I collected her at teatime. It made such a difference to her, she was almost as good as new, whereas the previous night she was on deaths door.

[Kleiber]

Toby, there's nothing I can add to all the kind comments the others have posted - just to wish you and your little cat well. I do hope it's something the vet can treat. Good luck. K xxx