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-   -   Injured 12 year old maine coon cat (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=78245)

Sibby August 13th, 2011 09:01 PM

Injured 12 year old maine coon cat
 
Hi everyone,

I'm pretty grateful there's a forum out there that can help with our pets. Certainly now.

Approximately 2-3 weeks ago my mother stepped on our 12 year old cat in the dark. She growled and hissed but my mom didn't think she hurt her too bad, until we started to see her limp not too long after that.
So we take her to the vets and he says that she has a sprain and obviously favouring her left hind leg, but no x-rays were needed.

He gave her morphine for the pain, which didn't seem to work. We also had her urine tested because we saw she was peeing a bit for, but not a chronic thing though. Just thought it was the heat.

The test showed she had a bit of blood in the urine and that it was concentrated. She was put on antibiotics. After the pills are done we'll have to do another urine test to see if it was an infection or something more serious.

In the last 4 days we've seen her limp more. We know she's in pain, but she'll let us touch the leg without nipping or hissing. But we've also noticed her leg become more lame. I can touch her injured leg and move it like a rag doll. When she walks she sometimes curls her paw inward, trips a little, and may even bend her paw back.

Today I caught her upstairs, which surprised me. She was also hiding and sleeping more today. probably reinjured herself again.

We're just concerned it may be more than just a bad sprain. What are our options now? What should we look out for with an injury like this?


Thank you all the help anyone can give us. More than appreciated.

14+kitties August 14th, 2011 01:29 PM

Get her back to the vet and demand xrays! At 12 her bones will be starting to turn pretty brittle.

Sibby August 14th, 2011 11:45 PM

I figured as much. Is it possible for her to have a fracture in her foot? Wouldn't she meow or make any sound if we touch her foot?

You are are right, we'll demand x-rays. Thank you for the advice.

ownedbycats August 15th, 2011 09:46 AM

Sibby, cats are very good at not letting you know they are in pain. They hide it as long as they can. It keeps them from looking weak and like prey in the wild, but can be a pain for owners because this trait makes catching problems early much more difficult.

Sibby August 15th, 2011 03:42 PM

We're taking her to get x-rays tomorrow morning. If she can't get into her litter box then her injuries are far worse than the doctor assumed.

Thank you for all the advice.

Sibby August 17th, 2011 05:34 PM

Well her leg and hip are healthy. Her spine is not. She has arthritis right at the beginning of her tail and at the end of her spine. There is deterioration and nerve damage, which is causing her to drag and bend her foot..

In addition to that, she has kidney insufficiency. But we caught it early. And her kidney enzymes are just above normal.

Makes you sick to your stomach when you see her limp.

Well the doctor put her on Cosequin and she'll have to go on Royal Canin reduced protein for her kidneys.

Is there anything else we can do to help our little fur ball out? What else is there to do?

sugarcatmom August 17th, 2011 09:08 PM

[QUOTE=Sibby;1021240]
Well the doctor put her on Cosequin[/quote]

Some other things you can do for arthritis: Adequan injections, acupuncture, weight reduction if necessary, heated pet beds, steps to help her get up and down from furniture, homeopathic remedies like Traumeel, Zeel, or arnica.

[QUOTE=Sibby;1021240]and she'll have to go on Royal Canin reduced protein for her kidneys.[/quote]

I strongly recommend not feeding this poor quality food. It's outdated and erroneous thinking that cats should be fed less protein when they have renal insufficiency (based on studies of rats from over 50 years ago). Unfortunately kidney diets are a huge money-maker for the prescription pet food industry (it's what started the whole veterinary "food as a drug" concept in the first place) and for vet clinics, so this ideology won't be going away anytime soon. What you want is [U]good quality[/U] animal protein (so no by-products and no plant protein) and lots of moisture (ie: no kibble). Dry food is particularly harmful to kidneys, amongst many other feline organs. What does your cat eat now?

Sibby August 19th, 2011 07:20 PM

My family objected to the food. Our vet knows we are against his kind of food. She's been on it once before for a different matter, and she became violently ill because of it.

However, I think having a lower phosphorous in her diet may help her kidneys. But I've only done basic research as of yet, not nearly enough.

We'll be looking into homopathic remedies. I'm not sure how safe or effective it will help Tobi if she has injections. The arthritis is bad at the base of her spine and tail. Poor thing is finding it difficult to walk.

Currently she's on Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul adult light, kibble and moist. She hasn't thrown up on it since we've put her on it about two years ago.


But in the last three days she's been throwing up. The vet believes it's due to the antibiotics she's on. Again, last time she was on antibiotics she got ill too. Her appetite is low and she isn't eating since she threw up her pill three nights ago.

Once she gets her appetite back, hopefully, we'll switch her to moist entirely.

sugarcatmom August 19th, 2011 09:15 PM

[QUOTE=Sibby;1021525]Her appetite is low and she isn't eating since she threw up her pill three nights ago.
[/QUOTE]

Are you saying that Tobi hasn't eaten in 3 or 4 days? If that's the case, this is a medical emergency and she needs to go to the vet immediately. Is she still on the antibiotics (which one?)? What was the reason for them? Cats are prone to digestive issues while taking antibiotics and if there isn't an obvious infection making them necessary, you should talk to the vet about discontinuing them. I'd also recommend some probiotics to help replenish the good intestinal bacteria that have probably been wiped out. But first it's extremely important that she eat or she's at risk of life-threatening liver damage. Offer her anything, not just cat food. Try plain chicken baby food, canned salmon, sardines, boiled chicken, cat treats, plain yogurt, whatever it takes to jumpstart her appetite. She may need an appetite stimulant from the vet if she doesn't eat enough on her own.

Sibby August 19th, 2011 09:47 PM

No, no! Just her appetite for the last few days has been low. She ate more today. Wolfed it down actually. We didn't give her the pills after she threw up because she's had problems like this before.
We've seen this in her before when she was put on antibiotics. Her appetite would slowly decrease then she'd vomit a week after starting the pills. She hasn't thrown up today.

The vet put her on Zeniquin on August 5th, because she had a bit of blood in her urine. He advised us to take her off of them anyways. And also not to switch her food to prevent further gut disrupt.

Thank you for the tips. We'll be picking up some canned salmon for her. Reduced or no salt would be preferred, correct?

Sibby August 26th, 2011 05:01 PM

I just wanted to run this by anyone here to see if I should more concerned than I am.

Since taking Tobi off her antibiotics she still hasn't been eating much. Early this week she didn't eat at all, then in the last few days she's been eating very little kibble and wet food. We've seen a little change from the amount she's been eating, but clearly she isn't back to normal.
We took her to the vet again and they gave her the equivalent of gravol to settle her stomach. The doctor said since she isn't throwing up the little amounts of food that she's eating then her lack of appetite was caused by the antibiotics, which we've seen before.
She's still limping around, getting up, drinking, purring, going the bathroom, and we haven't seen her energy levels drop at all. Since this fiasco started she's been sleeping more.

The vet said this may take a long time for her to get back to normal. I'm just concerned of her nutrition levels at this time. She only eats about less than a hand full of kibble and not even 1/4 a can of wet food. I think it's aversion to her food. She believes it made her sick and she doesn't want it.

What are your thoughts on this?

sugarcatmom August 26th, 2011 11:13 PM

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022341]
We took her to the vet again and they gave her the equivalent of gravol to settle her stomach. [/quote]

What exactly was she given?

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022341]The doctor said since she isn't throwing up the little amounts of food that she's eating then her lack of appetite was caused by the antibiotics, which we've seen before. [/quote]

Have you tried giving her some probiotics?

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022341]we haven't seen her energy levels drop at all. Since this fiasco started she's been sleeping more. [/quote]

If she's sleeping more, then her energy level HAS dropped.

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022341]I'm just concerned of her nutrition levels at this time. [/quote]

I would be too. She needs to get some food into her, even if that means syringe feeding her. Please read these links for more info on that and also some suggestions on how to get her eating more:

[url]http://www.assistfeed.com/MyCatWontEat.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.assistfeed.com/Enticing.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.assistfeed.com/feline_assisted_feeding.htm[/url]

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022341] I think it's aversion to her food. She believes it made her sick and she doesn't want it. [/QUOTE]

What else have you offered her to eat?

Sibby August 27th, 2011 10:26 AM

It was a shot to ease stomach upset. I can't remember the name of it.

We haven't given her probiotics yet, we're looking into it right now. When we noticed her limping, due to her spinal arthritis, she was sleeping more often. Which we thought would be normal for a cat if she's in pain.

The vet saw her again this morning because he was worried about her not eating. She was given an antibiotic injection because of her urinary infection (blood in urine). She was also given a stimulant pill.

Over the last week and a half we've offered her other food she's eaten in the past, even friskies to see if she'd eat anything. She usually doesn't eat wet food, but we had to start giving it to her because she's on Cosequin. We've kept her on the Chicken Soup dry food.

But in the past she has had problems from switching from one food to another. So we're keeping her on the food she was on before her health issues.

She ate a little bit of her wet food when we came home, but certainly not much. She's accustomed to eating about cup of dry food throughout the day.

Vet said that we shouldn't push her to eat, force feed or anything, to see if the pill will help her. We don't have much options. We have a $300+ bill, spent over $400 already. Our next options are to put her on IV fluids to perk her up, do another blood test to see if she has something else attacking her system or put her down. Which is the LAST option I'd choose.

sugarcatmom August 27th, 2011 10:47 AM

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022387]She was given an antibiotic injection because of her urinary infection (blood in urine). [/quote]

Blood in urine does not necessarily mean a urinary tract infection. Could be sterile cystitis, in which case the antibiotic would be at best, useless. The vet should have had a culture and sensitivity done on Tobi's urine sample to determine A) if bacteria are actually present and what type they are B) which antibiotic would be most effective against that particular strain of bacteria. By the way, you might want to check out this link explaining some of the risks of Convenia: [url]http://catinfo.org/?link=convenia[/url]
And this link has excellent info on urinary tract issues: [url]http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth[/url]

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022387]She was also given a stimulant pill. [/quote]

Which one?

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022387]Over the last week and a half we've offered her other food she's eaten in the past, even friskies to see if she'd eat anything. [/quote]

Have you offered her anything like canned salmon or tuna, sardines, baby food? Don't limit yourself to just cat food.

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022387]She usually doesn't eat wet food, but we had to start giving it to her because she's on Cosequin. We've kept her on the Chicken Soup dry food. [/quote]

Wet food is better for her than dry overall, but for now I think you have to feed her anything that she's willing to eat.

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022387]So we're keeping her on the food she was on before her health issues. [/quote]

If she's not eating it, then what's the point.

[QUOTE=Sibby;1022387]
Vet said that we shouldn't push her to eat, force feed or anything, to see if the pill will help her. [/quote]

If the pill hasn't worked by the end of the day, you may have to consider assisted feeding.

Good luck!

Sibby August 27th, 2011 07:11 PM

I've been fighting with the vet and tech's when it regards this assumed infection. I know first hand of what antibiotics can do to animals and humans, but he pressed my mother into it.

Yes, they used convenia. After reading your link, it makes me sick.

Tobi was put on Mirtazapine, and the vet said she should start to eat by tonight, early tomorrow.

We've given her Friskies, salmon (human variety), baby food, and she turns her nose up to it. We heated her cat food and she threw it up last week. She hasn't thrown up lately, but that may be due to her almost empty stomach. Even when we gave her other cat food she'd eat a good chunk of it, but the next day she wouldn't be interested.

The point to keeping her on her normal food is due to past issues with switching other foods immediately. She usually gets sick if we don't slowly introduce new foods to her.

When we tried to encourage her to eat, or assist her in eating by spoon, she wouldn't look at the food after. Would refuse to go near it, as if it was poison.

Sugar, I agree with assisted eating. Vet said not to, but I'm doubting his judgement now.

growler~GateKeeper August 27th, 2011 11:45 PM

Have you tried cooked chicken? Most cats will eat that when they refuse other things. Try some PureBites or Halo Liv A Littles treats on top of the cat food, a tiny pinch of catnip or a bit of parmesan cheese.

Sibby August 29th, 2011 10:13 AM

Growler, we tried cooked chicken, which she goes crazy for, but she wouldn't eat it. But she would nibble on the skin.

We tried a very small amount of Cat Sure, a liquid supplement, to boost her up on the minerals, calories and nutrients she has lost, but alas, she threw that up within 5 minutes of administrating it to her.

So I'm looking into syringe feeding. What Sugar gave me has been valuable, but I'm new to this process and I want to know I'm doing this right. Are there any other links to good sites that show how to properly syringe feed a cat? Should we use the food she was eating prior to losing her appetite, or do we need a special kind of food and syringe to feed her with?


Thank you for all of your help.

growler~GateKeeper August 29th, 2011 11:48 PM

From the same site scm gave you above there is this [url]http://www.assistfeed.com/FeedingTechniques.htm[/url]

Also:
[url]http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm#syringe_feeding[/url]
[url]http://www.holisticat.com/ffeed.html[/url]

The canned food needs to be very smooth and easy to pass through the syringe tip, often the food needs to be put through a blender to ensure there is nothing to clog the end. :goodvibes:

Sibby September 9th, 2011 06:02 PM

Well I'm back, and I wish I wasn't other than to say thank you all for the help.

Tobi still isn't eating on her own. We're still syringe feeding her, sometimes she'll eat from a spoon. She's still sleeping most of the day. She'll get up on her own, with a lot of stumbling due to the nerve damage, to go the bathroom and get water. We noticed she went the bathroom on the edge of her box she always sleeps in. When my mom helped her get into her kitty litter about an hour ago, she didn't hear Tobi go the bathroom, it just came right out of her.

My mom was worried so she phoned the vet. The nurse said that it isn't a good sign, and that she may be losing her bodily function. They recommended another antibiotic. Tobi was fine eating before she went on the first one, then she lost her appetite, same thing happened with the second antibiotic about 2-weeks ago.

She has difficulty walking because of the spinal arthritis and the nerve damage, which cut off most of the nerves in her leg hind leg. I can understand why she couldn't get to the bathroom in time. We often help her to it. I understand why she's had diarrhea for a while and messed herself, and recently stopped going a few days ago (being constipation).

But I don't know what our options are right now. Everyone is talking about putting her down, and I can't give up on her. But I don't know what to do. Is it the insufficiency that is making her go the bathroom anywhere besides her littler box? Is she not eating on her own because of the antibiotics that are still in her system? Am I fighting a losing battle?


p.s. she has also gotten very bony in the last month, which I understand because she doesn't move around a lot and she wasn't eating a lot since she threw up a while back. We should be worried about this, correct?

Myka September 9th, 2011 06:40 PM

Why the heck are they suggesting another antibiotic? To treat for what exactly? It sounds like your vet is doing a lot of guessing. Any chance you could take Tobi to a different vet for a second opinion? A vet should be able to give you more information and guidance than it sounds like you are getting.

Sibby September 9th, 2011 08:10 PM

That's what I've been bloody saying. No, I've been yelling that to everyone, since talking calmly won't get my message across.

He originally thought she had a UTI, with no culture test whatsoever. I'll be talking to the vet tomorrow. If he says the same thing as what the nurse said then I'll be taking her to her old vet, who works in the same clinic, and see what can be done. Or take her to another one in town.

She sleeps a lot. She always has, but now even more so. It's a given since she has spinal arthritis and her body has gone through the ringer lately.

She's still herself, but a little more quiet and less feisty. But she doesn't look like she's on her death bed! But others think she is. What is with this industry?!

chico2 September 10th, 2011 08:42 AM

Sibby,I think many vets give antibiotics"hoping"it's going to do good,often without a real diagnosis.
What I have read from your post,she does not have any infections,why antibiotics.??
If she's arthritic should she not be getting pain-killers instead???
I sincerely hope something can be done to make your poor kitty feel better:pray:

Sibby September 10th, 2011 11:02 AM

She has kidney insufficiency. I don't know what kind of pain killers she can be on. We have her on Cosequin, but that takes weeks for it to do anything.

sugarcatmom September 10th, 2011 01:06 PM

[QUOTE=Sibby;1023632]She has kidney insufficiency. I don't know what kind of pain killers she can be on. We have her on Cosequin, but that takes weeks for it to do anything.[/QUOTE]

Buprenex can be used with CRI, as can a Fentanyl pain patch if the pain is severe.

Sibby September 10th, 2011 06:51 PM

Buprenex is stronger than morphine, correct? We've tried morphine before and it did nothing for her, the poor thing.

She's sleeping for most of the day, and we're worried about that. We feed her by hand -syringe, spoon etc.-, and help her if she needs it to the bathroom and water.

I can't help but assume she's sleeping more due to the pain. The doc mentioned Metacam, but won't put her on it because it can hurt the kidneys. But he didn't mention anything else besides Cosequin. I'll be phoning him tomorrow to see what we can give her. She looks miserable.

I'm also worried about how thin she's gotten in the last month and a half. I can feel her spine. We started noticing it when she wasn't eating a lot awhile back.

Question: How can you tell if food is in her lungs? I'm just being over cautious, but I'd like to know. And how can we tell if she is giving up, or her kidneys are getting worse? If she is, is there anything we can do?

Thank you for all the help.

Myka September 10th, 2011 07:21 PM

Please take her to a different vet. Maybe try her "old" vet? Why did you switch?

pattymac September 11th, 2011 06:22 PM

Have you considered acupuncture for her arthritis and nerve problems? I had acupuncture done for my first Manx, with his breed they can sometimes develop bowel issues when they get older and he would get constipated. It really helped with getting things functioning again.

Sibby September 11th, 2011 08:42 PM

Myka, her old vet is only part-time at the clinic and full-time at another, so we had to switch to the full-time doc. We'll be taking her to see her old vet, or a new one, either tomorrow or on Tuesday, whenever people are available.

I'm looking into acupuncture for Tobi in the area. She hasn't had a bowel movement in more than a week.

She's starting to throw up again... exactly around the same 2-week mark after antibiotic treatment. She's still eating bits and pieces of wet food, but mostly syringe fed.

Mom thinks the food got into her lungs. What are the signs? She's mostly lying down all the time, so it's plausible. BUT I think it's the antibiotics bothering her stomach again.

So onto the vets again. :shrug:

Myka September 12th, 2011 10:48 AM

Oh my....no bowel movements in a week is reeeeeeeeally not good! Please let us know what the "old" vet says. It really sounds like her current vet has only made her problems worse. :shrug:

Good luck!

Sibby September 12th, 2011 04:29 PM

We've just come back, and they believe she may have cancer. And I seem to agree with them, as hard it is to write this.

She hasn't improved, only gotten worse. She's lost 5 lbs. within the month, and clearly in pain. She won't eat on her own and syringe feeding certainly isn't helping. She will barely go near her food.

The clinic said that they can do ultrasounds, scopes, blood tests and biopsies, but that will be past $1,500. We can't afford anything. They suspect it's either stomach or intestinal cancer.

I feel absolutely sick and I can't see things objectively right now. If you think something is wrong with this diagnosis then please tell me.


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