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Old July 15th, 2008, 09:48 PM
beanzingzoey beanzingzoey is offline
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need some help

this is my first time on this so i hope someone can help me out. my partners cat is sick and he has brought her to the vet already twice and she has what we were told seems like a URI. we have been giving her meds and have been force feeding her for a week because she continues to have a temperature and also seems to be dehydrated after close to 2 weeks. her stool is fine and her pee. the sad thing is both of us cannot afford to keep her at the vet for 900 dollars a night so in the morning i am going to bring her to the humane sociey which is where i got her 6 months ago to see if they can help me with maybe blood tests. she is also developing these hazy spots on her eyes and is very lethargic. until i can get her somewhere in the morning does anyone have a clue if this sounds wosre then a URI or anything else. it has been a daily battle and just doesnt seem like there has been any improvement. wouldnt a URI not get so bad with meds and be passing by now. she is even starting to pee where she is laying because of the lack of energy. any info would help. thanks in advanced

Last edited by beanzingzoey; July 15th, 2008 at 09:49 PM. Reason: mess up
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  #2  
Old July 15th, 2008, 10:04 PM
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krdahmer krdahmer is offline
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Your kitty has my ... and where are you... 900 a night seems really really ridiculous, I didn't pay that for mine to spend a whole week at the vets!

A second opinion might also be a good idea.
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Old July 15th, 2008, 10:12 PM
beanzingzoey beanzingzoey is offline
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thanks. i just want to figure out whats going on. and it seems like the humane society is my only option to not pay hundreds of dollars. even my vet said they wont accept payment plans even in emergency so unless you have the money your left with a possibly dying pet. but tomorrow i will do what i can for her. just feeling pretty helpless. we don't think when we get a pet about all the things that could go wrong and all the money you need. we just wanted to give her a good home. i am gonna do what i can with the finances i have in the morning. i just hope someone cares more about helping her then getting money.
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Old July 15th, 2008, 10:28 PM
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Sorry that you're going through this! What are the meds that your kitty is taking?
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Old July 15th, 2008, 10:47 PM
beanzingzoey beanzingzoey is offline
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they are at my partners home right now. one is a lysine paste. the other is pills taken once every three days. i've just been helping with the daily feedings and trying to keep lots of water in her. but she still feels hot and when i do that test where you twist the stretchy skin on her neck to see if it flaps back into place right away, it doesnt so that is apparently a sign of dehydration. she still poos ok and drinks a lot but like i said before she isn't focusing on things very well, her balance is off and thes hazy spots are starting to develop in both eyes. no looking good is all i can tell. i just figure if is was a URI she would be bouncing back by now with the meds
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Old July 16th, 2008, 06:56 AM
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Has there been any blood work done at all? The other pills once every three days, what are the name of those?

Are you watering down the canned food that you are feeding her to ensure she is getting enough water?

$900 is much too steep to be paying for vet care without any answers.

Do you have pictures you can post of the kitties eyes, maybe that would help any readers give you their thoughts.
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Old July 16th, 2008, 12:23 PM
beanzingzoey beanzingzoey is offline
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ok it's the next morning and i have just come back from a vet that was recommended to me by th humane society. they let you do payment plans so at least i can afford it that way. i have put her in for a night to hopefully help rehydrate her and to do all the bloodwork. so now i am just waiting the day to hear back from the vet to finally get a straight answer as to exactly whats ging on. she was getting lots of water both drinking on her own and from me and my partner giving her syringes full and from putting it in her food (wont eat on own though must be force fed.) she was givin all the meds for URIs like zithromax 1.3ml for 5 days, first visit, then mirtazapine 15mgs once every 3 days, subcutaneous fluids, and enisyl F pump 2ml every 12 hrs the second visit. but nothing is changing. and it seems like the more water we get in her it just makes her pee where ever she is. as far as the spots on her eyes i don't have pics but they are forming in both eyes around the base and looks like glass does when it has a warn look or scuffed or frosty. she just doesnt look like shes looking right at you anymore. still really lethargic and weak. soooo jsut waiting to see results now so we can decide the next course of action. UGH!!!
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Old July 16th, 2008, 12:33 PM
beanzingzoey beanzingzoey is offline
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so to keep her overnight , do and exam, complete blood work, sample collection, radiograph set up, radiograph split/2views, urinalysis, IV is $632.00. i think that is ok or as good as i can get here in toronto anyways. but thats just to see what the problem is. then if she needs more hospitalization and meds or whatever it'll keep climbing. geeeeze and this is my boyfriends cat!!! i have 2 of my own and a dog. well someones gotta do the dirty work. i just cant stand seeing her like that.
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Old July 16th, 2008, 01:14 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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well fist of all thank you so much for elping a distressed animal the price seems reasonable for all that work and you should get some answers from that

it does sound like a lot more than a simple uri though

heres praying its something easily taken care of
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Old July 16th, 2008, 04:11 PM
beanzingzoey beanzingzoey is offline
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thanks for being so supportive evrybody. i just got a call from the vet and NOW they say they don't do payment plans and that i DO have to pay the lump sum. so i have just spent the last couple hours borrowing money. eeekkkk. so now they want to do more blood work to test for FELV and AIDS. so i pick her up in the morning and then don't get the results of what is wrong with her until a weeks time. well thats even if it is one of those things. if not then we have to do x rays. and then maybe more test. i just feel like screaming. it just seems like it's unending and that if you keep producing money they just keep producing more things you "need to do" and the story keeps changing. and the secretary is all "she looks good now hooked up to IV and maybe she has crystals in her pee or something. AAAAWWWWWWWWW i just need to take it a step at a time and do what i can i guess. i wont know any results til close to a week anyway so at least i'll have a little more money by then....
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Old July 16th, 2008, 04:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beanzingzoey View Post
then mirtazapine 15mgs once every 3 days,
Mirtazapine is a very effective appetite stimulant and anti-emetic. I'm a little concerned about that dose though. It's usually 1/4 of a 15mg pill every 3 days (and if there are kidney or liver problems, the dose should be even lower). Are you sure she's supposed to get a full 15mg? Side effects can include elevated body temperature, high heart rate and high blood pressure.
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Old July 18th, 2008, 09:18 PM
beanzingzoey beanzingzoey is offline
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Unhappy update not so good. any help appreciated

hey everyone. i got some results back and they dont look very good. i couldn't understand the vet very well because there was a bit of a communication barrier so someone is supposed to call me back. after the conversation i was told that she tested positive for herpes and corona virus. but by the sound of the vet nothing sounded fatal and they want me to get some eye drops and cyprohede?? or something like that. but when i looked up corona virus it says its fatal. i'm confused and am gonna have to call back when they reopen. now i am also worried about my cats being that they have been in contact with her a few times before she got sick. and they are eight and have always been real healthy but haven't had shots in years. i just figured my partners cat was healthy (which was in my own stupidity) and she had also had her first shot. hopefully they were around her in a non shedding time but i won't know unless they ever show symptoms of thier own i guess. i should def get them new shots now though. anyone have any info that might help me out a little. feeling sad but wanna do whats best for the little girl no matter what...
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  #13  
Old July 18th, 2008, 11:32 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beanzingzoey View Post
i was told that she tested positive for herpes and corona virus.
These are actually very common viruses in cats. The Feline Herpes Virus (FHV) is largely responsible for upper respiratory infections and can cause eye problems in affected cats (thus the eye drops prescribed by your vet). Once infected, a cat has the virus for life. That does not mean they are always sick, but it is important to minimize stress and keep the cat's immune system strong.

Testing positive for Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) isn't that unusual. Most of the time, there are few, if any, symptoms. The concern is that it can mutate into Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), which is fatal. Again, minimizing stress is key. Good litter box hygiene is also crucial to minimize transmission to other cats. There's some rather technical info here: http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proce...6573&O=Generic


Quote:
Originally Posted by beanzingzoey View Post
they want me to get some eye drops and cyprohede?? or something like that.
Cyproheptadine? That's an appetite stimulant. She's not still taking the mirtazapine then is she?

Quote:
Originally Posted by beanzingzoey View Post
i should def get them new shots now though.
Not necessarily: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...?P=A&A=234&S=2
Quote:
One of the concerns in developing a vaccine for FIP has always been that infection with this disease does not follow normal patterns. It has long been accepted that the initial exposure to the virus seldom, if ever, causes clinical disease, but rather serves to "sensitize" the animal, making it more vulnerable to active disease on subsequent exposure. Usual methods of vaccination, therefore, might serve to act as the initial, "sensitizing" exposure, rendering the vaccinated animal more vulnerable rather than protecting it from the disease. At high doses with one strain of the virus, Cornell's study would seem to bear this out.

Dr. Scott states that based on the limited efficacy and the potential to stimulate immune enhancement under certain conditions, the routine use of Primucell-FIP in low-risk populations of cats (i.e. household pets) cannot be recommended. He indicates that in high-risk populations, such as breeding catteries and multicat facilities, the veterinarian must assess the risk of FIP without vaccination compared to the risks and benefits of vaccination. Since we do not really know the dose-level of exposure in such an environment (we can only assume the existence of carrier cats and have no way of determining who they are), and since we do not routinely know which of the many different strains of the virus may be present in a given cat population, such an assessment of risk would appear to be a difficult, if not impossible, proposition at this time. Further, the appearance of antibody dependent enhancement cannot be ruled out in such environments.
I think a better idea is to make sure all the cats in your household are as strong and healthy as they can be, and the best way to do that is feed them a species-appropriate diet. Which means meat-based low-carb wet food. What are they eating now?
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