Cat Health Symptoms

Cat Health Problem?

On 6-1-08 my cat started showing odd signs. My usually hyper cat was just acting lazy. I thought nothing of it because well its a cat, but this morning on 6-2-08 my cat was listliss and just laying down mowing. About an hour later she started to bleed from her rectum. I took her to the vet and the vet has been pumping her with steroids, vitamin k, and fluids. The vet has also ran blood tests, coagulant tests, running a cathetar and using a heating pad. The vet is clueless about her condition because she hasn't thrown up, there is just blood from the rectum but not her stool and all the tests have come back fine. I am a medical assistant, but this is so overwhelming. I love my cat more than anything and I just wanted some tips, advice or even support would be great. I also should mention she was diagnosed with feline leukemia, but none of her symptoms are related to that. We have also checked for poisons around the house, but it is hard when it is a cat. PLEASE HELP I BEG YOU. Actually, my vet said that he was clueless. I have run up a pretty hefty bill and they are running every test. Kidney disease came back negative.

Public Comments

1. it sounds like the start of kidney disease my cat has it also with the right care your cat may live
2. The only person that can help you is your vet, please talk to them. This may well be related to her feline leukaemia because, unfortunately being positive increases their chances of developing cancer, including lymphoma. You vet is not clueless because she's not throwing up, diagnosis is a process and they're working through that process while trying to save your cat at the same time. Hats off to them, your cat is in the best possible place. Hope they find the cause and that it can be rectified.
3. Hi When was the last time your cat pooped? . You mentiuon nothing of losing weight appetite dehydration ect. Without symptoms as I know you would have described, constipation/blockage is the only thing I can think of What are the steroids being given for? Steroids are the number2 reason cats get diabetes behind dry food. If they are necessary then it is understandable. I hope your cat is well soon
4. The bleeding is the reason for giving the Vitamin K. Your vet has probably run a coagulation test on the cat, and found that the cat is not coagulating properly. This can be from ingestion of mouse or rat baits that use anticoagulants as poison. As a medical assistant, how many times have you heard doctors run batteries of tests because they don't know what is going on with the patient? It is the same with animals. In order to find out what is wrong, diagnostics must be run. Many times the tests do not find the cause, but they DO rule out what it isn't. And yes, it is expensive. And the fact that your cat has FELV (Feline Leukemia), you need to be prepared for chronic illnesses until the cat dies. FELV is a progressive disease, and while the symptoms don't seem like they are associated, it is possible they are.
5. i would seriously consider seeing another vet... maybe not because the vet cant work out what it is, but sometimes another vet may have seen the problem before... the minute my vet admitted to being clueless i would be off to another for a second opinion...
6. Keep in mind that a FeLV positive cat will be more affected by any kind of illness, as their immune system just can't fight things off. It doesn't sound like poisoning in the normal sense, as that would turn up in the kidney function. But is it possible that she's gotten into rat/mouse poison, or eaten a poisoned mouse? Rodent poisons often contain warfarin (not spelled right, sorry) which causes the blood to stop clotting. If the vet's stumped then it's time to have a consultation with someone else. Is there a vet school near by? Most of the big vet colleges have an excellent staff who sees the unusual problems, and can possibly point you in the right direction. Good luck - this is very frustrating I am sure.