I don't know what to do 😔

[JustEatDust]

I have a 9 year old cat who has never needed vet treatment before, so I stupidly did not consider pet insurance.

She stopped eating and drinking last week and really wasn't herself so I took her to the vets.

They said she has lost 1kg in weight and was dehydrated, that if I couldn't get her fluids up quickly she would need to be admitted for IV fluids.

They mentioned blood tests as physically they couldnt find anything wrong, but as I said I didn't have £300 for the blood test the vet said she would treat her symptomatically.

So she gave her an antisickness injection and sent me home with antibiotics.

I've been feeding her as many cat soups as she would eat along with tuna juice and cat yoghurts. She appeared to be getting her appetite back and was a bit more alert.

However this morning she has gone back to having no appetite and hiding away.

I just don't know what to do because I don't have the money to get her treatment. I asked about payment plans and no where local offers them.

I asked what would happen if I can't pay for treatment and they said they would refer me to a charity. But the charity only helps only you are in receipt of benefits which I'm not.

I just don't know what to do. I've had her since she was a kitten and she is very much part or her life. I have already spent £200 on the first vet visit.

I now have pet insurance but you can't claim within the first 14 days or if you know about the illness before then.

😔😔😔

I will try that thank you. I bought her favourite go kat biscuits I think they are called with meaty chunks. She keeps snacking on them but seems to be drinking a lot tonight.

I'll see if I can get what you have recommended for delivery tomorrow.

ProKolin really is great for runny poo - there's a cat and a dog version but cats can have both - the only difference is flavour really. You can inject it into their mouths but I find wiping it on their paws helps as their instinct is to wash it off.

FortiFlora is good for balancing gut bacteria - a bit like Yakult or whatever for people.

Sound similar symptoms to when my cat had Kidney failure, sorry.
You def need to find out what is actually wrong.

I have ordered the cat version off amazon to.arrive tomorrow.

I'm sorry to hear your cat was unwell. Can I ask if they got worse over the period of a week?

She's just had some more biscuits and had a little stress.

I've also done a full litter change as she had another runny one. They smell so vile.

@JustEatDust , has your DCat been wormed?

Yes she was wormed about 2 weeks ago.

Does she go outdoors? Could she have eaten a poisoned rat or mouse? So sorry you are going through this.

The smell is horrendous when they have the runs. Hopefully the ProKolin helps firm things up for her.

Our kitten had similar symptoms a few months ago - he barely ate for five days and all his poo was liquid. I have no idea what it was but it resolved itself eventually!

She has had bloods taken which should come back later or in the morning.

She is still dehydrated and had lots of air in her belly.

She now also has a temperature.

They have given an antibiotic injection and an antiinflammatory injection.

At what cost?

£235 so far. It wasn't full bloods, but if full bloods needed they will charge me the different which is about another 170 or so.

How did you pay?

I paid by card. I've borrowed money and had some generously given to me.

I also have a £75 voucher coming in the post from the RSPCA which will hopefully arrive soon.

Goodness that’s quite an update! You did say that charities had said no

and who gave you money in the end?!

The RSPCA took a while to come back to me. Luckily I'm in the catchment area.

Really hoping she doesn't need lots of treatment though as then I'll be stuff.

Is it definitely air in her belly and not fluid? Because when you said that, I'm afraid my first thought was FIP.

What's FIP? She said it was definitely air and lots have been coming out when she goes to the toilet.

FIP is a condition called Feline Infectious Peritonitis (or feline coronavirus). It's very rare and mostly affects younger cats but one of the main symptoms is a swollen belly that's filled with fluid - but if hers is definitely air then it's very, very unlikely to be that.

Get an interest free credit card and pay on instalments. I’m not advocating debt but credit cards are great for emergencies like this.

Btw my cat wasn’t eating properly for a couple of weeks I was so worried. They tried a few things and then gave her antibiotics and she was ok. She later had teeth out as she had tooth issues so it was likely that.

hope she’s better soon x

I got her blood test results yesterday evening and her white blood cells show an infection but her liver and kidneys are fine.

Off to collect more antibiotics this morning and some prebiotic paste.

Really hoping this gets rid of the infection.