What is wrong with my sick 5 month kitty!?

[sick hank]

Hank is a 5 month old LDH kitten. We adopted him through our SPCA at a local pet store. At the time he was 8 weeks and vet records had shown he was up to date with vaccines and was healthy. Right away Hank and Oreo(our 1 yr old cat) got along well. Played well and seems to be friends.The issues started about 2 weeks after. he then begain to sleep alot, wasnt very active, He still ate and drank well. He then had a seizure(vet checked and said it was b/c of high fever) and had a fever, the vet did a thorough check and said everything seems fine but the fever. he was then given antibiotics and was recommened tests if he did not get better. He did.

About 1 month later he was acting the same with out the seizure. We took him back to the vet(a different vet). He got a shot for his fever, antibiotics again and immune booster. He seems to be recovering well but since the first sickness he hasnt been as active. he doesnt play often but isnt showing signs of a fever or sickness.

His eyes have irregular shaped pupils and little freckles at the bottom it appear to be on the very outside of the iris, the vet said there was nothing to be alarm about unless the freckles get bigger in size and no longer appear flat. There is no irritation either.

I went to the pet store where i got him, While speaking with the lady that gave me hank she mentioned his brothers are doing fine with no problems. The mother is still healthy. I have been in twice, she was very intelligent about cat illnesses and have looked into hanks brothers for me to see if they have gotten sick - which is a no. He was kept in doors and was only in a cat kennel when he got his vaccines so he hasnt been exposed to much. he was raise with his mother and brother in a family house.

3 days ago i notice diarrhea, so i kept a close eye on him, i followed him to the litter box and watched him vomit in there. after he vomited he took a nap and appear to be back to normalish. (has been normal for 2 days now with no more known vomiting and diarrhea.)

Today i cought him eating his litter(CLUMPING LITTER!!!). which i am guessing cannot be normal. i am switching to non clumping today!!

I have looked up many illnesses and am worried. I was told if it was HIP, if he was to be sick again his body would not be able to fight it off and would die. There are so many immune system issues out there for cats and each one has its own expensive test.

I plan on taking hank to the vet but i need to know what are the best tests to get for my issues. The vet recommened over 1500$ of tests and mentioned how all test could come back normal. i have already spend over 1000$ on trying to fine out what is wrong its frusterating!!! I dont want to loose this kitty, but i dont want to ruin christmas because i have no money. Luckily he is still eating and drinking normal.

ALSO his third eye has shown since we got him(no irritation)

SO...
Is it normal for a 5month old kitten to eat litter?
What tests should i get done at the vet to help with a diagnosis?
What illnesses would be involved?
Should i be worries about his eyes?
Is it normal for a kitten to not be playful?(he just sleeps! and lays around)
How do i get hank and oreo to be like there were when we first brought him home?

Has anyone else had issues like this?? what were the outcomes???


HELP!! anything is something!!!

[Winston]

Sorry I would be off to the vet right away and maybe consult a different one.

I would think if he is eating the clumping litter he probably has something going on with his tummy. With all the problems your having I would reccomend some blood work and urine work up at the very least. Did your vet reccomend something for the seizures? What work have they done so far?

There are some more real experienced folks on here that will probably be on sometime soon and I am positive they will be able to offer you some additional advice.

[chico2]

Whenever one of my cats seem ill,I think a blood-test and urine-test ,but with your little one ,I don't know.
I've heard of other kittens eating litter and that is definitely not good,it clumps in to cement in their little tummies so that could be the problem.
Our cat-gurus,SugarCatMom,or Growler will hopefully come on and help out. Good Luck!

[sick hank]

There was nothing done about the one seizure he had. the vet assumes it was due to a high fever. and hasnt had another since. BUt i havent seen him eat litter again but i guess it doesnt mean he isnt doing it. I have been following him to his litter box. he is still urinating and pooping(which appears normal- just little turds)

I am very worried, he still isnt moving much just to eat drink and potty.
He hasnt gotten any urine blood or stool testing done yet. just thorough exams. the last time he went in was to check up on him and get his 3rd vaccine the vet said he looks fine and should continue with the vaccine which was about a month ago.

So a blood and urine test are the best tests to get?
what kind of blood test?

Thank you so much for you help. it is greatly appreciated!!

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by sick hank

He hasnt gotten any urine blood or stool testing done yet.

This cat needs a complete blood work up and urinalysis. It is absolutely NOT normal for a 5 month old kitten to be lethargic. Eating cat litter is sometimes (not always) a sign of anemia.

Originally Posted by sick hank

the last time he went in was to check up on him and get his 3rd vaccine the vet said he looks fine and should continue with the vaccine which was about a month ago.

Your vet is negligent. Only healthy cats should be vaccinated. Says so right on the vaccine insert. Vaccinating a cat that isn't 100% healthy is at best a waste of money, at worst, taxes the immune system and makes the cat even sicker. Are there any holistic vets in your area that you can take Hank to?

In the meantime, how is Hank's appetite? What is he eating these days?

[sick hank]

he is eating well both hard(stuff we bought at the vet) and soft food(Friskies) also drinking water and cat milk.

When the vet checked him he was at the point where he was the best since the first sickness, but not completely over what he may have had/have but atleast active.

I am not sure if there are any holistic vets, i googled it and there was no results. SO i am assuming there isnt.

What are the basic blood tests that would show a result from the symptoms he is experiencing. I dont exactly have much money and its so close to christmas, i already have alot of debt on the credit cards from my other cat( who is 1yr old now) we picked him up at a ladies house who had like 500 cats so we felt obligated to help at least one of them. He ended up having many problems(bacterial) but is completely heathy now. Which is the reason why this time we decided to go to a pet store.

My husband is getting very upset with me because i am worried about my furbaby, (had a huge fight tonight) he doesnt want to take him to the vet, he expects the next bill to be 1500$ as the first vet(Emergency pet hospital) quoted for these test. The new vet didnt recommend any further test yet but i was not there but my husband was.. he may have lied. but at the last appt he seems thorough with the check before giving the shot i was there for that appt. He seemed like he knew alot but greed can talk its self through anything.

I plan on taking him on Monday without my husband knowledge. and am trying to spend as little as i can but enough to narrow down why hanky is like this. But i am willing to take on a second job if i have to.

I was researching about anemia and he shows some signs but he also shows some signs of having HIP and diabetes.

I switched his litter early to non-clumping but he is still trying to eat it, what is worse for him to try and eat clumping or non-clumping? And when i caught him i squirted him with water and he stopped, should i be doing that? or could it cause another illness?

I just dont want the guilt of waking up in the morning and see him struggling in pain or worse dead. I love cats and would do anything for them and usually my hubby would too.

**AND he was on clindamycin drops each time he was sick the first time was 8 days and the last time (1 month ago) he was on it for 14 days.
And each time he goes to the bathroom there is a very little amount. like the size of a quarter. NOt sure if this is relevant.

And another strange thing is when we brought him home he had a very little meow and now i havent heard him meow since(like 3 months) i read about laryngitis would that cause any of the symptoms he is experiencing?

[sick hank]

tonight i have noticed also that he keeps licking and biting at where his tail meets his butt. And when he sits certain ways he bouces back up and repositions until he is comfortable i am beginning to think that he may have Feline urinary tract infection. that would also make sense as to why he is still eating and drinking and why when he uses the litter box the urine is such a small amount.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by sick hank

tonight i have noticed also that he keeps licking and biting at where his tail meets his butt. And when he sits certain ways he bouces back up and repositions until he is comfortable i am beginning to think that he may have Feline urinary tract infection. that would also make sense as to why he is still eating and drinking and why when he uses the litter box the urine is such a small amount.

The peeing small amounts is definitely a key symptom. He really needs to have a urinalysis done, with the urine acquired by cystocentisis (a very fine needle is inserted into the bladder to get an uncontaminated sample - it doesn't hurt). This should be sent off to another lab for a culture and sensitivity to determine if there actually is any bacteria, and what antibiotics would be most effective against them (takes about 72 hrs to get the results). This costs more and you may have to tell the vet to do it, since most just do an in-house urinalysis and then prescribe whatever is handy (or worse, give a shot of Convenia). The urinalysis should have some key info though, like the urine ph, the specific gravity (how concentrated it is), and whether there are crystals present.

It would be rather unusual for a young cat like Hank to have a true urinary tract infection though. It's more likely to be inflammation, say from cystitis. Stress can be a factor, but diet also plays a role. What is the food from the vet that you feed him? Would be a good idea to switch him to all wet food if you can. Some info on why here: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

You could also request to have some blood work done, starting with a CBC (complete blood count), which checks the number of red and white blood cells. May not be entirely necessary if this turns out to be a bladder/urinary tract issue, but the vet (a different one, if possible) can help you decide.

Good luck! I hope Hank is better soon.

[chico2]

Thank's SCM I knew I could trust you to help

[sick hank]

so we took him into the vet again today, he did a very thorough exam. His temp is fine hes gained weight. Eyes, mouth, and all seems normal. His palpation of the liver kidneys and all were normal, and of course while there the cat was active. he said blood tests and a urine test would be the way to go.

But recommended we waited a few days since we just stopped giving him this immune booster yesterday(hank HATES it, i have to feed it to him through a syringe and he fights like hell) then recommended if symptoms persist to come back for blood and urine test as you suggested.

He also mention that there is no inflammation of the genitals and the penis and so UTI is out of the question but not bladded crystals. I will keep you updated on how he is doing thanks so much for the support and answers. Your heaven sent