Any vets around, worried!

[Clarich007]

Hi. My cat is 7, a former homeless street cat, positive for Calicivirus. Fully vaccinated, flea'd wormed and neutered. We have had him 5 years. He roams... a lot, 2 weeks ago we picked him up from one of his other homes.
I noticed his 3rd eyelids were showing, so took him to the vet within the hour.
She wormed him said possibly virus. Left it at that.
We kept him in and he developed diarrhoea. Back to another vet after 3 days, he gave a long lasting antibiotic and anti inflammatory, and said he had Haw's syndrome no particular treatment.
He gave us Hills digestive cat food. Back a week later for a check up and cat flu jab and flea spot on.
Since then he's developed cat flu symptoms. Constant sneezing, runny eyes and a sore crusted nose.
The thing I'm most worried about is the diarrhoea. It's constant, about 4 times so far today. I will ring the vet in the morning for advice. We are snowed in, but I could walk there. Are they likely to give me something to give that will help him
Thanks

How is the cat in himself? Is he generally bright or lethargic? Eating and drinking?

Thank you for your reply.
He's very lethargic, eating well, but it just runs through him.

I never see him drinking, but he has water down at all times

I think id call the vet as a starting point as id be worried about the lethargy and that everything is running through him. Does he seem to have a temperature? Start monitoring drinking from now, just be consistent with food until advised otherwise as that might upset his stomach more. I’m also not a lover of Hills.

I’d also definitely be thinking vet first thing in the morning too if possible…if you’re snowed in that might be a bit harder but call first!

Thank you pink.
I will definately ring at 8am..
All 3 vets took his temperature, it was normal each time.
I've never seen cat flu before, could diarrhoea be a symptom do you think?
Or could it be two problems that have occured coincidentally.?

I’d probably give them a ring in the morning but I’m sure he will be fine with time

Poor boy seems to have a few things going on but your best bet will be to have a vet get on top of the diarrhoea and then eliminate other symptoms to find out what the cause is. Keep him as clean and dry as possible tonight and record his symptoms so you’re ready for the vet in the morning, I’d also consider keeping a stool sample to one side in case they ask for it for testing. I think the main concern would be if he’s lost too much from having so much diarrhoea he may be admitted to spend some time on a drip. Is there a chance he licked some of the spot on flea treatment? Vets are usually pretty good at getting it away from where they can lick but thought it may be worth mentioning.

Collect poo samples (ideally 3 separate ones).

The diarrhoea could be the main issue; Haw’s is usually secondary to gastrointestinal inflammation; the flu symptoms can flare secondary to any other issue/stress. So the diarrhoea is probably what you want to focus on. Poo sample, maybe blood tests. Symptomatic/supportive care whilst you wait for results.

Thank you new user

I boiled chicken breast in plain water, gave him some 20 mins ago with the liquid. 5 mins later he used the litter tray again.
He's a bit feisty at the vets, so she wrapped him in a towel covered his head, so the flea spot on was between his shoulder blades.

Thank you for your advice Pink and Lemon violet.
I hope they do keep him in tomorrow to be honest, he seems a bit weak tonight.

I’d have done exactly that with the chicken and water, hopefully some nutrition will have got through despite the swift poo! I’d say it’s a good thing that he’s still managing to get to the litter tray before going. I thought it was as much with the flea treatment but worth mentioning it if only to rule it out. Please do update after speaking with the vets tomorrow, I definitely echo LemonViolet re poo samples, it’s grim to do and could be unnecessary but it may well speed up the diagnosis!

You will not believe it, but he broke out of his locked cat flap sometime during the night! He was in his basket when we went to bed, but this morning is nowhere in sight, and the cat flap is twisted. He's done this before. I've been in touch with all his other homes... At least 3, so hey are looking out for him.. My hisband did say though that about 11pm he was bouncing round like Tigger purring and rubbing his face on surfaces. Hopefully he felt better and the litter tray stayed clean. We shall see what transpires today 😻

Thank you all for your advice 😻

Little sod! How is he now? Much better I hope!

Hi Pink.Thanks for asking.
We located him this morning, brought him back , but to be honest he looks worse.
He was out for 3 nights this time in deep snow.He's that sort of cat..always missing sometimes for weeks..
I was shocked when we got him out of the cat carrier.His eyes are crusted with thick gunge right down to his mouth.I fed him, he seems hungry but within 5 minutes he has to run to the litter tray,. I went down every day to shout and hopefully feed him but he was nowhere in sight.It's about half a mile away from us.
We've had 5 full litter tray changes today ,since lunchtime.
We've got another appointment with the vet tomorrow morning.

Oh no :( sounds good that you’ve got him going to the vet tomorrow, hoping they can get him back on track x

Thank you Pinkstegosaurus

Little update Pink. Took him to the vet tbis morning, she was great very thorough, temperature listened to his heart etc. Long story short, he's definately got cat flu, so another longlasting antibiotic for underlying infection..
She's given me Pancur wormer, in case its a parasitic inection due to his roaming lifestyle.
Also a paste in a syringe to put in his food. Sohopefuy witbi a few days he will pick ul. If no better in a week, he will have bloods done to test for FIP and Leukaemia and feline aids.
I feel better that she is addressing it. Thanks for all your replies

Sounds good that he’s being treated so thoroughly, fingers crossed this makes a difference!

Thanks again Pink.

Little update.
Our cat continues to be ill, it's beeen 6 weeks now. Turns out he is infected with Clostridium Perfringens, a nasty infection. He's no better, still constant runs 6+ times per day. He's recovered from cat flu now, but I'm still worried about the symptoms. Next step is a biopsy, possible prescription diet food, scans etc. He's so miserable.

Sorry forgot to say, the vet said the toxins produced by this infection have the potential to cause kidney and liver changes, and he has lost 1kg in weight in 4 weeks. Does this sound correct. It sounds so doom and gloom. Thank you. I've never come across this in all my years as a cat owner.