Kate in Arabia Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I looked a bit for the social groups.. is there still a pet owners group? We have a Persian kitty who is a rescued cat, we've had her for a few years and she is really sweet. Earlier in the week she started behaving really oddly, urinating in various corners of the house (just a few drops); we'd see her squat, dd would take her to the box and she would stay there a bit but then came right back and found another corner. So I kind of raised my eyebrows at that, but otherwise she seemed fine. Well the next day she stopped eating. Completely. Drinking a lot, but no eating at all. And stopped using the litter box. Again, I waited a couple of days. Today she ate literally a bite of food (nowhere near her normal amount), but still no urine (and none that I could find in a corner). And she has this really weird, smelly, bloody-looking mucous on her chin that I personally think is from her licking somewhere. And when I say "somewhere" I am confident it is not her backside, because that is easy to get a gander at and is clean. Did I mention this mucous smells really bad? I cleaned it earlier, but later today I found her and it was dirty again. So I called the vet, it's the weekend here, and she said to bring her and be at the office the moment it opens on Saturday, so I have to wait another full day. She (the vet) made it sound urgent but not dire, kwim? Does this sound like a UTI? The mucous part has me concerned it could be something more. Any suggestions for things I should do until she's able to get in to be seen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Does the vet know about the bloody musous? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 Yes, I told her about that and I felt some urgency in her voice/tone/words about getting kitty in ASAP.. the office is in another emirate, so there is a longish drive and I called too late to be seen today.. tomorrow is the first day of the weekend and their office is closed.. so Saturday morning is the earliest. The cat doesn't "act ill", meaning she still is hanging around with us as normal (not off hiding) and isn't acting strange other than her eating and bathroom issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 It really sounds like a UTI. If so, she's definitely not feeling well but it's not life threatening. But it's very worrisome to me that you haven't seen her urinate in the last day or so. Did the vet understand that? The inability to urinate is usually referred to as being blocked and it's considered a life-threatening condition that needs to be treated as an emergency. It occurs when a stone or crystal gets lodged in the ureters or urethra. It happens mostly in male cats, but it's not unheard of in females. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 I did tell the vet, but to be honest I don't know that she is available outside her office hours... and there is no animal hospital here, I had a hard enough time finding a vet that I was comfortable with (the only one I had heard of in my emirate was not of the same mindset as me vis a vis pets... maybe he was more accustomed to livestock/working animals?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoot Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 The inability to urinate is usually referred to as being blocked and it's considered a life-threatening condition that needs to be treated as an emergency. It occurs when a stone or crystal gets lodged in the ureters or urethra. It happens mostly in male cats, but it's not unheard of in females. A urinary blockage was my first thought, too. That is a VERY serious situation if she is absolutely not passing any urine at all. Hoping your girl is doing better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Thanks for everyone's replies. Yesterday the blood/mucus was worse and kitty was quite listless, and this morning she was actually dripping blood on the floor :(. Once the vet looked at her she said right away that the main problem was a gum/mouth infection. All the blood and mucus/pus was from her gums. I had not heard of this before with cats, I had heard of teeth care with dogs, but the vet said this was not an unusual issue for cats either. When I asked how it happens (like, from an injury or something else?) she said there are several factors involved, including genetic predisposition and environment. It's particularly an issue in our climate, which is conducive to bacterial growth. So she needs a major clean up, but was too weak for them to be able to put her under to treat her mouth so they are keeping her overnight. Today they have her on an iv drip, cleaned her mouth superficially and put ointment; tomorrow they will clean her teeth and mouth. She also is running tests on her urine to make sure there is no infection there -- because she was likely swallowing some blood and pus, it could have had further effects internally. However the vet was positive overall. Poor kitty was looking so weak and frail in the office, really not her usual self. The vet called me a couple hours later with an update, saying that she was looking much more comfortable so I'm hopeful the problems will be fixed once her mouth is cleared up. Thanks again to everyone who posted... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Just saw your post. Glad to hear your sweet kitty is getting treatment. I hate seeing an animal suffering. I just wish they could tell us what is wrong, it would be SO much easier! Keep us posted! Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Thanks for the update! I'm glad your kitty is going to get fixed up. Your vet is correct that teeth/gum issues are common in cats. It's interesting to me that the environment there makes those problems even more prevalent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted November 25, 2012 Author Share Posted November 25, 2012 Well, not to drag this thread out more, but the vet called again today. Kitty is looking a bit better, but still isn't eating. The vet cleaned her mouth and teeth, and her teeth are all fine; so she then asked whether I had put out any type of poison in the house (like for rats or mice). I really don't like using poison, so I haven't (and actually the one time we had mice our cat took care of them (and that was more than a year ago)). There has been trouble in one of the neighborhoods here where someone put poison outside for rats, and then cats (some feral, some pets) had gotten hold of the poisoned rats.. not really an issue for us since our cat is indoor-only and hasn't come into contact with rodents in a long time. The vet is still optimistic, but perhaps more cautiously so. Kitty will have to stay there for a few more days until her strength and appetite hopefully improve. Now I'm searching the internet and see that more serious diseases can cause bleeding gums... if her teeth aren't a problem, does this necessarily mean that something deeper is going on that could result in the gums bleeding? The vet did a urine test and it was clear. Could she still be so skittish or stressed that she wouldn't eat there? She had gone a couple of days here without eating, but then was at least eating a bite or two (even though it must have hurt her :( ) I'm wracking my brain trying to think whether there was anything poisonous that somehow kitty could have gotten into, although the vet assured me that most cats would not get into household chemicals or the like unless they were masked in some way to be appetizing (like putting poison in a piece of cheese for a mouse, or of course a poisoned mouse itself). I was relieved yesterday, now I'm more puzzled/concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Check her liver. When we moved once my older kitty stopped eating for a couple of days and went into acute liver failure. Apparently it's a serious problem that can happen when cats don't eat for a day or two. I worry that your kitty didn't eat for a few days prior to the vet, and then a couple days at the vet. We caught it and my kitty is doing ok now, but is on a special diet for the rest of her life - wet Science Diet KD (because she's old and lost most of her teeth, otherwise there is a dry food for maintaining liver functions). In$allah everything will be ok. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I can't think of anything that would cause bleeding gums other than teeth/mouth issues? Hopefully the vet has done a CBC? Not eating for a few days can indeed trigger feline hepatic lipidosis (aka fatty liver disease) in cats. But it's reversible when caught early, and I would hope your vet would be keeping it in mind since it's not uncommon at all. And yes, cats are territorial and being taken out of their territory can be incredibly stressful for them and make them not eat. But in your cat's case I think it's really important for her to be at the vet's so she can figure out what's going on. If she has hepatic lipidosis it's more of a side-effect of whatever caused her appetite loss in the first place than a main problem in itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted November 25, 2012 Author Share Posted November 25, 2012 Thanks again for your comments.. I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings. Before going to the vet I sat down and wrote out a short diary for her of exactly what was happening each day leading up to our bringing the cat in, so the vet knows exactly what day she stopped eating and what all was happening. I did have the brief discussion with her when we first got there that while I love my cat, I am not in a position to devote an endless amount of money towards medical bills. Her initial response was "don't you want her to get well?" :glare: Obviously I do, but I'm not in a "money-is-no-object" situation. So she gave me a ballpark figure of cost of initial treatment, and said she would let me know before she did any additional tests that would quickly raise the bill. I mention this because I feel confident she would tell me if she was going to run more tests (like a blood test), and so far she hasn't. Maybe if there isn't much improvement by tomorrow that will be a next step. But I need to listen to my mind as well as my heart in this, kwim? Very hard, I hope tomorrow kitty shows marked improvement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Oh, I understand. As much as any of us love our pets, we all have to consider our finances. FWIW, keeping in mind that all veterinary care is rather expensive, blood work is IMO the best "bang for your buck." It can answer so many questions, or at the very least rule out a lot of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Hang in there - I do understand your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 A final update :( Unfortunately our kitty died last night, the vet called this morning. She just never seemed to regain her strength. They did run some further tests that came back clear. I was suspecting, and the vet was also, that the infection was going on longer but we didn't see the symptoms (if there were any). She talked a bit more about the increasing awareness of mouth health in cats, and suggested that a longer infection like that could have weakened her heart.. they quickly cleared the infection, but the cat just never got her energy back, she was never able to eat on her own (the vet was hand feeding her). I'm sad... but in a small way relieved that I didn't have to make the decision to stop trying, kwim? sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Here's a picture of our cat in healthier times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 :grouphug: I'm so sorry, Kate. I was praying that she would get better. :( Thank you for posting the picture. She was a beautiful cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I'm so sorry for your loss. :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 sorry double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I'm so sorry. She was a beautiful cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoot Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I'm so sorry for your loss. She was gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I'm so sorry for your loss. She was a gorgeous kitty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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