My kitty was a year old in May. Brief history on him: He has Herpes, which is a virus that affects his respiratory track and makes one eye water. He has only had one outbreak of this when he was about 2 months old. He had liver and kidney damage from that stupid food I gave him, but he recovered from that. He had possible heartworms as his blood showed he had been in contact with them, but didn't show he actually had them at that time. The other day he ate about 4" of my pajama string as I found when it came back up. Since then he has been trying to upchuck and has a deep sound. I took him to the vet yesterday and they think it is a hairball. He was doing it every hour or two. He was breathing fast too. This morning his breathing has become somewhat labored and is trying to upchuck every 15 min. or so. I am giving him hairball treatment and am waiting for the vet to call me back. Do any of you think you know what is wrong while I am waiting for the vet? Thank you.
2007-07-21 03:04:47 · 9 answers · asked by Stephanie F 7 in Pets ➔ Cats
His herpes is not contagious to people or other animals, only other cats.
I am worried while I wait and pray that one of you may know what is wrong.
Thank you in advance for any kind answers you give.
2007-07-21 03:06:09 · update #1
He did throw it up and the vet felt him and didn't find any obstructions just by feeling. Nothing comes up when he tries to vomit.
2007-07-21 03:13:37 · update #2
Thank you everyone for your concern and your support and your answers. I just got back from the vet. He would only let them do one x-ray. (He is a fighter) and it showed his intestines all bunched up in the back and not out where they are suppose to do. She said surgery for him on Monday. She thinks he has a foreign body in his intestines. She said he should be fine until then. If he gets worse before then, I should bring him to the ER vets. I don't know where I will come up with the money as my job is a contract job and they have not found a place for me to work 3 days last week and no places next week thus far. I do get paid less than half my salary on those days, so pray for Brady and me. I pray I get the money some how. Thanks everyone.
2007-07-21 05:21:35 · update #3
My kitty eats anything he can get his mouth on. He will even chew on the bottom of the chairs in the dining room. I have to turn the kleenex boxes upside down and shut the bathroom doors or he will eat the toilet paper. He will even try to tear the carpet fibers out of my rugs. He should have been a dog.
2007-07-21 13:10:55 · update #4
Are you certain that all of the string came back out? I would suspect that your cat might still have something stuck inside of him. Your cat needs an ultrasound to be certain there is no obstruction.
If your cat likes to eat string, you have to rub every string in your house (that cannot be put away) with soap.
As for the herpes virus, it is very common in cats. The better his immune system, and lower his stress, the less his eyes will water. Feed him the best food you can, reduce stress in his environment, and add 250mg of l-lysine amino acid (look for capsules from a drug store or health food store) to his wet food every day, 500 mg if he is stick or stressed. This will all help.
Please let us know what the vet says. Good luck.
2007-07-21 03:59:17 · answer #1 · answered by Pam and Corey 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If he's continually trying to vomit, there's still a reason for it and he either ate something he shouldn't (don't let string or rubber bands anywhere near around this cat) or he's got a hairball that hasn't passed.
Keep a close eye on him, get a second vet opinion if possible. Hair won't show up on an x-ray but obstructions in the intestines will. He's not normal right now so there is still something wrong. If his breathing gets any worse, he needs to go in, it'd be what I consider an emergency.
The herpes is normal for a lot of cats, you can add 250mg of powdered lysine to his food and that can help a lot. We use that for our FIV cat when his eyes start acting up. I crush a pill of it and the powder doesnt have a taste. 250-500 mg a day is a cat dose. Don't use the gel caps, they taste awful, and don't try to put it down as a pill form for him, the pills are too big.
2007-07-21 10:30:25 · answer #2 · answered by Elaine M 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would try to get your cat to an emergency vet clinic asap. If there is string in his digestive track I am not sure you would be able to feel it.. The concern I have is that if he is trying to vomit every 15 minutes, I am not sure if he will want to drink water and since cats don't have sweat glands, I would be afraid of him overheated. Cats also can get dehydrated very fast. It sounds like he needs medical attention right away. One other point I would like to make is that I would be afraid that if there is string in his digestive track, I would be concern of the possibility that it could go into his intestines and cause an obstruction be wrapping itself the intestines that would could cause a blockage. One last possibility is that a piece of string is caught in his throat causing him to try and get rid of it by trying to upchuck it.. Good luck and get him medical attention asap, it is better to be safe the sorry.
2007-07-21 10:41:33 · answer #3 · answered by Janice B 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If the vets did not ultrasound and x-ray, it is hard to tell what is wrong. Just like us humans, medicine is sometimes a guess. If he was my kitty, I would find an emergency vet to take him right away. Every 15 minutes upchuck is serious.
2007-07-21 10:10:50 · answer #4 · answered by Mindful 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If this were MY kitty, I wouldn't wait around for the vet to call back. I'd get him to an EMERGENCY vet clinic NOW! Tell them about him eating that string. Sounds to me like there's still part of that string caught or wrapped around (possibly his windpipe), and he can't get it out. This could be VERY dangerous--even deadly. DON'T WAIT! Best of luck to both you and the kitty.
2007-07-21 11:21:17 · answer #5 · answered by sharon w 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like the string is caught in his gut. It would be considered an obstruction. Tell the vet about the string. Normally he would throw it up or poo it out. Since he can't throw up it sounds definately like the string is the culprit. Good luck.
2007-07-21 10:11:23 · answer #6 · answered by Zoozy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like the string is caught inside the poor baby. I went through that last year with one of my cats. You need to go to an emergency vet ASAP. Your cat has youth on his side. My boy recovered, yours can too, but you need to get help. I am praying for you both.
2007-07-21 10:20:11 · answer #7 · answered by beatlegirl 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
R-I-G-H-T N-O-W!!! This is a veterinary emergency. Call your vet or call another vet. Your kitten needs an x-ray. Ingested string, yarn, etc can cause intestinal blockage. It can twist up inside the intestine, get stuck passing through the very small GI system, twist the organs shut, cause perforation and/or necrosis and absolutely result in death. Do not take no for an answer. Demand an imaging study stat. Your kitten is in another life-threatening situation. Please, please don't sit around. Please.
2007-07-21 10:36:53 · answer #8 · answered by Mercy 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a hairball, but make sure he drinks plenty of water. Good luck!
2007-07-21 10:14:16 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋