Hey guys, I know I’ve been a bit MIA lately.. let’s just say things have been hectic.
I need to know if anyone has any experience with this condition in their cats. Gabby, my brother’s cat we rescued 4 years ago, is very sick right now and they don’t really know what’s wrong.
(She’s about 4 1/2 years old)
This all started about a week ago last Friday. My dad noticed Gabby hadn’t really eaten her food for a couple days that weekend. I said she was maybe a little stressed with all the chaos going on, keep an eye on it but we thought she was ok. Then, on Wednesday, my dad said she really wasn’t eating a thing at all (he was filling her food bowls a certain way and nothing was touched) and she seemed like she wasn’t feeling well, lethargic and she didn’t want to play with the laser light (her favorite) and she had peed on the carpet a couple times. (not like her). My brother went home to West Palm that day from being up here in Orlando, and said right away something was wrong. He called me and said she wouldn’t touch her food and coughed up bile a few times on the floor. I was doing reading thinking could she have swallowed something? Something in her mouth that hurts? We all decided they should take her to the ER vet. So, they did that and they gave her fluids and her vitals were fine and that was about all they could do at that moment without doing blood work. So, the next day they took her to our
regular vet. He ran a full CBC and full body X-ray on her, which showed nothing. Everything was completely normal. He didn’t know what to make of it. She was given medications and more fluids and they took her home that night (Thurs) He said to see how she did that night with eating and to recheck the next morning. The next step was an invasive test called a Barium Swallow test, (I think to check for any foreign objects) and after that, surgery.
Well she didn’t do any better and they went back Friday and the vet decided to just do emergency exploratory surgery. He didn’t think she could even handle that swallow test and get the contrast through her system to see anything. The surgery went fine, again, everything was normal. He said there was a little blockage in her large intestine, but nothing she couldn’t have passed normally. He looked at all her organs and everything was fine. He was then concerned about a possibility of her having pancreatitis. It was a tad puffy but the color and overall appearance was ok. He sent off the blood culture for the test but it takes a few days. But for now she is being treated with the medications she would have if she had it. (Getting intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics after the surgery and a medicine to settle her stomach)
Saturday, they visited Gabby at the vets and she was excited to see them. The Dr. was going to offer her food that night and see how it went. He went in this morning (Sunday) and she didn’t touch her food at all and coughed up bile a couple times (that was the first time in 48 hrs though since the surgery). He said it was as if she was repulsed by her food, she even covered it with her blanket. He said she wasn’t depressed at all, she was happy to see him, greeted him at the cage and was rolling over, but when he tried to get her to eat she growled as if to say No Way and she also is doing this thing when food is in front of her, she sticks out her tongue. He is completely baffled as to why she won’t eat, this is now almost day 9 she has gone without eating any food at all, besides what she gets in her IV. Especially since he’s already treating this as pancreatitis, why isn’t she starting to eat? He said the next step if she doesn’t eat by tomorrow is a tube through the back of her nose down her throat or a feeding tube. This breaks my heart.
He said this comes on very sudden and they really don’t know what causes it. He said most cases they get better with the medication and treatment and it could be a one time occurance. Also, she’s had no fever, either.
Does anyone have any more input for me? Any other ideas or thoughts? Or if your cat has had this condition? Any ideas on how to get her to eat? I said maybe that my brother should bring in her regular food and bowl. My mom said maybe she doesn’t like the food at the vets? She is a finicky eater actually, while my cats go crazy for
canned food, she kind of takes a bite and walks away. She’s perfectly fine with her Wellness dry food and her treats. Also, I thought she might be more inclined to eat if they were there with her, ya know?
Any input is greatly appreciated. I hope this post made sense at almost 5 am! Please keep Gabby in your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks.
I just hope we know what's wrong soon, too. 
Thanks Jenn, that's what I was thinking, too. She might be more apt to eat at home, especially since she is a finicky to begin with. Also probably not eating combined with the fact she had the major surgery ontop of already not feeling well, too, I think.
