Cat very poorly. Please hold my hand!

[brainache78]

So my cat is an escape artist. He has gone missing 3 times in the 10 years I have had him, the most recent being a whole year missing. He came back about 6 months ago (he is chipped and someone finally scanned him!)

Anyway, over the last few weeks he has lost a lot of weight and has developed an abscess on his gum. I took him to the vet, who checked him over and said she thought he might have an over-active thyroid and wanted to do a blood test before booking him in for the op on his abscess.

It turns out that his thyroid is fine - and there's no kidney disease, but he has only half the red blood cell count he should have and they think he may have full-blown FIV or leukaemia. They are running more tests today and I should know later on what the prognosis is.

He is just a black and white moggy, but we love him. My DS adores him and often FaceTimes from his Dad's house just to see the cat.

I feel a little lost and upset.

Has anyone got any nice stories of cats recovering or surviving a long time with this sort of problem?

DS is playing on his x-box now with the cat curled up on his knee purring. They are each other's biggest fans.

Not the and thing but I've had one cat critically ill for a week with pancreatitis and her sister has very bad heart disease and a very poor prognosis. So I know some of how it feels and it's awful. Have hold.

I haven't got any experience of f.i.v. or leukaemia, I just wanted to send you all lots of hugs and hope that your much loved kitty will be okay

Thank you, you lovely pair.
I'm just slightly heartbroken - in a way I can't really express to anyone without seeming a little unhinged!

Oh it is awful, handhold - good luck for results later. I think most people on this board would understand how you feel x

Did they mention anything about blood transfusions?

He's not just a black and white moggy, he's a much loved part of your family. I completely understand how you and your family are feeling, I would be the same if it happened to mine. Let us know how you get on with the test results

I'm afraid my cat had leukaemia and didn't make it. Much like you describe, she was my daughter's best friend, they were inseperable. The vet kept our puss in for a night, on a drip and various medications. We got her home and thought she was doing much better until she collapsed at home 2 days later. Puss was put to sleep, nothing could be done as she was elderly.
Sorry to bring bad news but wanted to post to say prepare your child for the worst. Our puss lasted only 10 days from diagnosis. We miss her still, 3 years later. Hope your story has a better ending than ours.

Eddie how old was your cat? What were the symptoms? You always miss them and remember their little furry ways

Lobster, my puss was 14 and a bit. Had her from 13 weeks. First symptom was rapid weight loss. We picked her up one day and realised she was a bag of bones. Took her to the vet, who like us thought thyroid or CKD. Those tests came back clear but her red cell count was very low. She was scanned and re- tested. A lesion was seen on her liver but wasn't considered to be the problem as her blood analysis showed her red cell were not the right size/maturity or quantity.
She was given various meds and a fluid drip which perked her up no end, we got her home and she was running about as normal. All fine for 2 days. On the third day, she didn't want her breakfast, vomited and collapsed. We rushed her over to the vet who told us there was no hope as her blood cells were even lower so her body had given up producing them. We had to let her go and it broke our hearts.
My other cat just 2 days later was in for routine jabs and a mammary tumour was found. Thankfully, her surgery was successful and she's still here....albeit with failing kidneys but she's ok on renal food and just celebrated her 18th birthday!

Happy 18th to her :))

Any news on cat, OP?

I'm so sorry to hear that, Eddie.
It's horrible, isn't it?

So, at the moment he's ok-ish. His mouth is still sore because they can't treat it because he wouldn't be able to cope.

He is getting skinny too.

He is eating fine, weirdly. As much of a furry garbage disposal as he ever was, but he's still wasting away.

The vet says it isn't leukaemia (relief!) but is unsure of what's causing him to be so ill. She has put him on a different antibiotic in case there is a different underlying infection somewhere. He is going for a scan.

So a little more hopeful than it was, but we still have a poorly cat and not knowing why is awful.

Have they tested for diabetes? Because this is exactly ho w my cat presented. He had an abscess and then an inflammation of his lung membrane due to complications. He WS very lucky to pull through.
Then about a month later, starts losing weight, eating loads and loads. Vet thought it was thyroid but it was diabetes- probably brought on by the stress!
He's now absolutely fine and has twice daily injections. I am still a nervous wreck!

Has his heat been checked. Fatty has lost a huge amount of weight due to her heart disease.

Keep us updated OP, paws crossed for a swift recovery