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Hi - My 7 year old cat is very ill and my vet is currently stumped about what is going on. I'm looking for ideas and other opinions. Here's a description of what's happening and thanks for reading, its a little long.

Beginning in late December she started hiding in a closet - very unusual for her. After a trip to the vet we discovered she had dermatitis on her back, she got a shot of steroids and improved within days. A month later the same problem developed, and again treatment with steroids but with caution - we wanted to determine what was causing the allergic reaction and not continue with steroids.

As of early last week she was normal. Beginning Thursday I noticed some hiding/skiddishness, and by Friday she was hiding under the bed and would not come out - even to eat or drink. Back to the vet this Tuesday and they did more tests. All blood work was normal except for a slight decrease in monocytes (maybe from infection or steroid treatment?), slightly increased hematocrit, and low BUN (presumably from dehydration and anorexia). Urine sample showed some white blood cells. She was rehydrated with IV fluids and sent home with an antibiotic and prednisone.

But by Wed her condition deteriorated rapidly. She would not eat or drink, was hiding, and seemed not to recognize me. When I approached she would growl, groan, and hiss (she has NEVER done this before). When picked up she was totally limp, eyes lifeless, and they would roll up in her head. She would fall over occasionally when placed on her feet. We rushed back to the vet and she was admitted and rehydrated again. They did an x-ray to rule out obstruction and tumors and found nothing.

This morning she was slightly better - seemed to respond somewhat to the staff and urinated in the litter box. She is not falling over like she was, but was again dehydrated. Tomorrow they will be starting force feeding her if she does not eat. They ran a thyroid test and results will be in tomorrow, and are repeating the blood work just to be sure. But my vet just can't figure out what's going on and is looking for some sign of what's happening.

Does anyone out there have other ideas of things we should check, or what the reason may be? As you can imagine we are very upset and scared.

Thank you so much for reading all of this and for any ideas you may have.

Nikki

Bless your heart. This is one very sick kitty and I'm so very sorry!

>Hi - My 7 year old cat is very ill and my vet is currently stumped about what is going on. I'm looking for ideas and other opinions. Here's a description of what's happening and thanks for reading, its a little long.
>>
>>Beginning in late December she started hiding in a closet - very unusual for her. After a trip to the vet we discovered she had dermatitis on her back, she got a shot of steroids and improved within days. A month later the same problem developed, and again treatment with steroids but with caution - we wanted to determine what was causing the allergic reaction and not continue with steroids.
>>
>>As of early last week she was normal. Beginning Thursday I noticed some hiding/skiddishness, and by Friday she was hiding under the bed and would not come out - even to eat or drink. Back to the vet this Tuesday and they did more tests. All blood work was normal except for a slight decrease in monocytes (maybe from infection or steroid treatment?), slightly increased hematocrit, and low BUN (presumably from dehydration and anorexia). Urine sample showed some white blood cells. She was rehydrated with IV fluids and sent home with an antibiotic and prednisone.
>>
>>But by Wed her condition deteriorated rapidly. She would not eat or drink, was hiding, and seemed not to recognize me. When I approached she would growl, groan, and hiss (she has NEVER done this before). When picked up she was totally limp, eyes lifeless, and they would roll up in her head. She would fall over occasionally when placed on her feet. We rushed back to the vet and she was admitted and rehydrated again. They did an x-ray to rule out obstruction and tumors and found nothing.
>>
>>This morning she was slightly better - seemed to respond somewhat to the staff and urinated in the litter box. She is not falling over like she was, but was again dehydrated. Tomorrow they will be starting force feeding her if she does not eat. They ran a thyroid test and results will be in tomorrow, and are repeating the blood work just to be sure. But my vet just can't figure out what's going on and is looking for some sign of what's happening.
>>
>>Does anyone out there have other ideas of things we should check, or what the reason may be? As you can imagine we are very upset and scared.
>>
>>Thank you so much for reading all of this and for any ideas you may have.
>>
>>Nikki
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Hi There,

This sounds most like post seizure behavior to me. If your cat is having seizures, there are several possible causes. She could have epilepsy, something toxic in her system, some kind of brain swelling, or even a tumor. She may also be experiencing some compromised vision.

It might be helpful to check her blood glucose to see if it decreases during this behavior. This may indicate seizure activity. Also, an ultrasound might be helpful to rule out the possibility of some kind of tumor in the belly, and a chest x-ray to rule out the possibility of a mass in the chest, with a echo following, if necessary. Also possibly a crypto titer, which is a fungus that can affect the brain. I would suggest skull films, but this would require anesthesia which would be too risky at this time.

I can imagine how scary all this has been for you. I'm sending Glow and will be keeping your baby in my thoughts and prayers.

Please keep us updated, we really care.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Bless you while you go thru this struggle to get answers.

I didn't see ultrasound mentioned in your list of tests. PHKitKat mentioned it. My cat has a brain swelling/tumor that doesn't show up in blood-work, urine, or in X-Rays. There are items only an ultrasound or MRI can show... I am not suggesting your cat has the same problems my cat does, but want to point out that there are further tests and not everything shows in the simplest and most common initial tests (blood, urine, X-Ray).

Here is a link to the Cornell consultation line that I have used before and found EXCELLENT. Usually you call them and speak to a specialist in a field on a diagnosis that is tricky and you need more info on. For instance, one of my cats had a rarer form of cancer and I spoke for over an hour to a Oncologist that specialized only in cat cancer. I actually had to hang up on him. The relatively low call-in fee is more than worth the expertise.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/camuti.htm
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Thank you so much everyone for your replies. I don't have much good news to share, but I wanted to let you know what was happening since you took the time to write.

Thursday she was better - started drinking and eating a little, but had diarrhea. She was responding to the staff, purring and seemed to be more "with it". Our vet anticipated that she would come Friday for observation over the weekend.

Today things were downhill again. She threw up overnight and was again dehydrated (that has happened every day). Her weight dropped again by .25 pounds. She lost about .5 in Jan, the same in Feb, .4 at our last visit, and about a quarter of a pound each day since admission on Tuesday. She was an overweight kitty to begin with, but obviously this is not a good sign. They are considering her not to be in stable condition due to these developments.

I was out of town today stuck in a snow storm, so my husband went over to see her. I attempted to talk to the vet about everything, but was just too emotional, and my husband just didn't ask all the questions I would have, but of course he was very upset too. Our girl purred a little when she saw him but just say on his lap with her legs all splayed out - she did this when I took her to the vet on Mon. He said her eyes still didn't seem right and she definitely wasn't herself.

The vet had 4 options:
1. Referral to Cornell, etc.
2. Barium swallow test
3. Ultrasound
4. Exploratory surgery

We went with the barium today because she can do that in-house - the ultrasound will have to happen at another vet. The x-rays so far don't show anything definitive. She has a full belly (not good since it doesn't appear to be emptying I guess), and a "spot" between her stomach and intestines that may indicate pancreatitis? My husband didn't explain this well to me.

Our vet took her home with her for the weekend to keep an eye on her and keep her hydrated. We will decide on Monday how to proceed, which I think may be the ultrasound unless something changes. I don't think we can afford the Cornell-type route, which pains me so much to say, but its the truth. I love her so much, but I just don't think we can do it. I am going to call the phone number that someone posted for them - thank you.

I will let you all know what happens.

My heart goes out to you. It sounds like an ultrasound is a very good next step to see what is going on in the stomach/intestine area.

You may want to hold calling the Cornell hotline. I'd posted the number but meant to also let you know that this type service works better when you have a diagnosis or are pretty sure what the diagnosis is... It may work best for you to wait for the results of the ultrasound to see if it helps diagnose before you call so you can lay out all the tests you've had done and the results and they can help brainstorm further... The ultrasound may well point to an answer as it sounds like the vet thinks something is going on in the stomach region?
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Here's a blunt question, but when it the last time she pooped? I had a cat near death's door, vomiting, not keeping food down, etc., losing weight, and it wound up being a blockage (dry stool) that took the vet a longer than one would expect time to figure out. We thought we were going to lose him and she gave him an enema. The ultrasound will hopefully point to whatever the problem is, but also ask yourself when the last time she pooped was... Dry stool/hairballs can cause blockage... It may not be this simple, but something worth asking... Again, the ultrasound will hopefully show more of what is going on w/the stomach...
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey