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The litter tray

Can I get a hand hold please?

15 replies

Mitzimaybe · 20/03/2018 17:21

My little girl Rini is poorly. She coughed up a fur ball Saturday lunchtime and hasn't eaten since nor used her litter tray. She had enough energy to get herself upstairs and sleep on our bed but wouldn't move from there. Prior to the fur ball she was her normal self chasing round the house with her brother etc.

Took her to the vet yesterday morning and they kept her in for fluids (she was dehydrated and had lost 300g from last time she was weighed, which is quite a lot when she's only about 3.5kg to start with.) Vet thought she could feel a lump in her tummy. Temperature slightly high. Blood tests showed signs of infection / inflammation but nothing else to worry about. Put her on antibiotics for the infection. X ray showed what looked like compacted faeces in the lower intestine but again nothing else to worry about.

So now she's fully hydrated and still refusing food. They've tempted her with sardines, (I was suprised - bones???) tuna, white fish, Waitrose cat food (!) and she's not having any of it. She hyper-salivates when they try to feed her. This morning they gave her some sort of appetite stimulant. Lunchtime they gave her anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory drugs. Now they've given her diazepam (also supposed to stimulate the appetite and presumably (?) lower stress levels.

Next step will be to insert a feeding tube into her stomach but the vet said it can't be done via the nose (like in humans) because the nose is too small, so they would have to insert the tube through a cut in her neck into the oesophagus.

I don't really understand how something seemingly so minor (furball) has escalated into something so major. The vet said that trauma can put cats off eating and then it's very difficult to get them to start again.

To make matters worse, we are supposed to be going abroad tomorrow with my MIL coming round once a day to feed the cats & clean the litter tray. She agreed because we promised it wouldn't be difficult. Even if Rini starts eating and comes home, she'll need to be looked after for a few days, fed separately from her brother, and probably need pills. I can't ask MIL to do that. I think we need to stay at home but my DH hasn't had a holiday for ages and this is something he really wants to do. It's too late to get a refund and I've checked the travel insurance and it doesn't cover cancellation due to pet illness. He said he doesn't want to go on his own so if I don't go, he won't go.

The vet said it might be possible to leave Rini there while we're away. At least then I'd know she was in good hands and would be monitored and get treated if something was wrong, even if it bankrupts me. (I don't have pet insurance - gambled and lost this one.)

Sorry for waffling on - I'm worried! Have any of you had cats refusing food and what happened? Did they recover?

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Rudgie47 · 20/03/2018 17:28

Hi, Cats go off their food really easily I've found and can go downhill quite fast. If you still want to go on your holiday then I'd leave her with the vets, at least you know shes been looked after properly.
I wouldnt be happy asking MIl either or a friend its too much for people to care for an ill cat. I hope she gets better soon.

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Mitzimaybe · 20/03/2018 17:38

Thanks so much for your comment. I don't want to go on the trip away but I don't want to let my DH down.

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Mitzimaybe · 20/03/2018 17:39

Oh and she's only two years old.

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Want2beme · 20/03/2018 17:47

Mitzimaybe sorry for your trouble. Will you be away for long? Leave Rini at the vet, if they're happy for you to do that, then she can be monitored. Your MIL won't cope, especially if she's not actually staying at your house. I had to leave my old cat at the vet once, when he was very poorly, when I had to go away. It was only for one night, but I was happier leaving him there than at home. It sounds like she's on the mend nowFlowers

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Toddlerteaplease · 20/03/2018 18:00

Check your insurance. Mine covers for cancelled holidays. One of my girls had a feeding tube when she had pancreatitis. But she did f need it for long. Will they let you take her home to see if she'll eat? Neither of mine will eat at the vets. But will have their heads in the bowl the minute they get back.

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Toddlerteaplease · 20/03/2018 18:01

Definitely see if the vets will have her a bit longer. Or a cattery

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Toddlerteaplease · 20/03/2018 18:04

I mean check your cats insurance.

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Mitzimaybe · 20/03/2018 18:07

@Want2beme We won't be away for long, less than a week. She's not on the mend as yet.

@Toddlerteaplease Is it your pet insurance that covers cancelled holidays? I don't have pet insurance. I have holiday insurance but I've checked the policy and pet illness isn't covered as a cancellation reason.

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Want2beme · 20/03/2018 18:35

Sorry Mitzimaybe, I got the wrong end of the stick. Hope she gets better very soon. They're such a worry.

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Mitzimaybe · 20/03/2018 18:56

The vet has just rung; she's eaten a tiny bit, hurrah! Progress. We'll visit her tomorrow morning before going away and hope she will have eaten a bit more by then.

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Rudgie47 · 20/03/2018 19:11

Glad things are looking a bit brigher.
Could you MIL take your place on the holiday instead? and you go later on in the year with your DH?

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Weedsnseeds1 · 20/03/2018 20:01

Old girl had abdominal surgery for a stuck fur ball when she was about 12.
Like yours, refused to eat afterwards, was on a drip. She was eventually sent home to "see if she improves" ( subtext "to die").
As soon as I got her home she bounced athletically out of the carrier and raced into the kitchen to yell at her food bowl.
I hope you get a suitably happy result.

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Toddlerteaplease · 20/03/2018 21:11

Yes. I'm pretty sure my pet insurance does cover cancelled holidays. IIRC. My cats have run up vets bills of 11k in one year. It's well worth the money!

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Mitzimaybe · 26/03/2018 12:03

Sorry I couldn't update sooner - Mumsnet wouldn't work on my phone abroad, just kept giving an error message.

Rini ate a bit more overnight Tuesday/Wednesday so we felt happier to go away. She hadn't done a poo and we were worried she might have a blockage so we left her at the vets just in case, but they called MIL the next day to say she was fine to go home. She is very well and you wouldn't know anything had been wrong except for the bald patches where they shaved her to take blood / put her on fluids etc.

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Toddlerteaplease · 26/03/2018 14:47

That's great news. They just like to stress us out.

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