I have written here before and have got such great advice, but I really need some advice about my 13 yr. kitty (and prayers). I'm just devastated...

We took her for blood tests last year because she was not using the litterbox and just not acting right...everything came back fine. So we just chalked it up to behavioral issues with new outside cats we had and maybe just a little spoiled.

Over the past month she has had chronic diarrhea and vomiting. The vomiting has been off and on and my vet pretty much said it was hairballs. (not) We noticed that she was even having diarrhea in spots in the house where it was soo unlike her. Her balance started getting wobbly...sometimes falling when she jumped on something or when she would shake her head, she'll get off balance. So just this last week, the vet did a geriatric screening on her. Amazingly enough, most everything came back okay (so he said). I have the results in front of me and I'm not pretending to be a vet, but I have been doing some research on the net. First of all, her thyroid level was 4.18, with normal being 1.0-4.0. The vet said he thinks the reason for the vomiting and diarrhea is because of that.

Now the worst part...I feel like SUCH a bad mommy....this brought me tears. She is down to 4.4 pounds. I about died when he said that, although he didn't seem too concerned. A year ago she was 7 pounds. I know this diarrhea and vomiting that has been going on is the culprit for this. She is simply getting no nutrition. She is very finicky...meows/howls all the time...typical symptoms of a cat with thyroid conditions. The vet gave us some Tapazole to put our cat on--didn't even mention the radioactive treatment to us. Unfortunately, we cannot do it anyway due to a pending adoption we have going on due to the $$$$. Just gave us the pills and said...you'll notice a difference soon.

Well it's been 3 days on the medication and she is still having the diarrhea, although not vomiting. That is mostly because he gave her some anti-vomit medicine to help her. He thinks the reason she is falling is because she is simply weak from having no food in her body.

I have seen NO change in her so far and in fact is acting worse. She is very distant with us...not doing her usual things like sleeping with us and laying on us...she acts dazed and very "sad". Walking around the house meowing and moping. BEGS for food. Eats and eat and eats. We are just beside ourselves with worry because we know she isn't good.

My question is ... even if the blood tests didn't show anything too abnormal, could there be something wrong they aren't seeing or do you think the reason she is acting this way is due to the medication?

We can't get the weight back on her if she has having this diarrhea. The vet said her weight would begin to come back after getting thyroid issues under control, but I just cannot find any resources on the net that would tell me how long it will be before she starts to feel better? That T4 number doesn't even sound particularly bad?? Does she even have problems??

Also, the only other thing is that "Neutrophils"/Neutrophilia was high. The vet didn't seem concerned. WBC and RBC...feline leukemia, came back fine.

Should I take her to another vet for a second opinion? She is clearly not herself. We live in a small town and this is the "town vet" and he doesn't like elderly cats very well and always reminding me that his cat charts don't even go past 12 years of age. *sigh* I really just think she is extremely weak from throwing up and diarrhea, but what is the cause of that?

I just need some advice...

Thank you for reading this far!


Kristi.

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