What could be wrong with Misty?

[tatsxxx11]

How is Misty!!

[Stenograsaurus]

I think Misty hates us right now. We have to give her three different medicines twice a day. Well, she hates the medicine. We are able to get the liquid antibiotic down and we've purchased a syringe for the nutri-cal so we can get that in her too but she will not take the uroeze pill. The first morning I put it in a piece of cheese and she ate it. I thought, good, that will work. When I tried to do the same thing that evening, she refused to eat it. The next day I got out the left over rigatonies. (she loves pasta and sauce) I put the pill in a piece of rigatoni. She ate it. Well, that evening when I tried the same thing, she refused to eat it!!! I said, you know, I can give my dogs pills twice a day for two weeks and use the cheese thing the whole time and they never catch on. I do it with my cat once and she's figured it out!!!! So I crushed the pill and rolled a piece of the meat and sauce over the crushed pill and worked it all in. I put it in front of her and she refused to eat it. I guess I have one smart cat here. I'm heading into town tomorrow so I'm going to buy some canned food and crush the pill and put it in that. Hopefully that will work.
Misty used to love to be picked up and held. Now every time I pick her up, she growls. I don't know if she's hurting or if she just thinks I'm taking her out to give her her medicine again. She was just laying on my lap purring but when I picked her up she growled. I just don't want her to be in pain. If she turns out to be diatetic, does anybody know roughly what the cost of their care would be?
Well, better go tackle the cat and give her her meds now. Thank you all for your kind words and support.

[michelene]

Pilling a cat is not easy. Sometimes it seems impossible. Even when Richard and work as a team, the pill doesn't always go down the cat's gullet. You have my sympathy on that. I would search Google about feline diabetes and look at the sites that end in .edu or .org to get an understanding of how it is usually treated. Then I would call a local veterinarian specializing in treating cats to ask about treatment and estimated cost.

[libracats]

Steno, my saving grace as far as pilling was the Pill Popper!! It is a wonderful invention. When I pill a disagreable cat I find that wrapping them in a towel and pilling them very quickly with a pill popper is very easy. I felt awfull at first restraining them like that but I found out in the long run that they are much less stressed when they are retrained than when you are fighting with them to get the pill down. I am praying for your kitty.

[Ila]

Hope Misty continues to do better with the meds. I know what it is like having a sick pet there just like kids you wish you could be them so you knew what they were feeling so you could help them.

[tatsxxx11]

Hi Steno...I'm not sure exactly what the diagnosis was??? Did the vet definitely diagnose diabetes or UTI??? Sounds like she is being treated for an infection I hope she's feeling better. Pilling can be so distressing for kitty and human! I agree, restraining Misty with a towel, holding her close to you and pilling with the pill popper, would probably be the easiest and least stressful approach. Not easy though, I know. Please give Misty kisses from me. Prayers and well wishes are being sent to you and precious Misty.

[Stenograsaurus]

Sandy, the Vet really didn't diagnose her. He said that she definitely had an infection but he wasn't sure where. He took a urine sample and said "when urine looks like this, it is not good." He said that her body isn't breaking down the urine. She has not been diagnosed as diabetic. He said that he would treat it as a UTI to see if that works. He wanted her to come back in two weeks ( one week from today) to see if there is any progress. If there is no progress, we have to explore other options. So far, there's been no progress.
The smell eminating from her body is now the same smell as her antibiotics. She's not eating her food. When I feed the cats in the morning, she'll sit in front of the food bowl and meow. She'll lick the food but she will not pick it up and eat it. So I started feeding her table scraps. She eats a little of that. I know it's not good for her, but at least she's getting some food in her.
I honestly don't know if she'll pull through this. I do tend to expect the worse though so hopefully I'm just thinking that way and she'll be fine. We'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for the prayers and support from everyone.

[zippy-kat]

I do hope she pulls through! Please give her a big hug and kiss from me. You guys are in my prayers!

[bubba sade's mom]

Steno:

I'm a little concerned that your vet may actually have really misdiagnosed Misty unintentionally!

Excessive water consumption, rapid weight loss, and enlarged kidneys with tenderness when picking her up could all be signs of renal failure (kidney disease).

We just lost our kitty Junior almost 2 weeks ago to feline CRF (chronic renal failure) and as his disease progressed he had the same symptoms...smelled peculiar, lost weight, excessive water consumption, lost appetite, and near the end he was tender and unhappy about being picked up. We were fortunate enough to catch the CRF early and managed his illness for about 1.5 years before he finally got visibly sick and succumbed.

Don't want to alarm you, but a blood screen would allow your vet to look at Misty's creatnine and BUN levels in her blood--two major signs of CRF. I pray for you & Misty that she turns out okay, but waiting 2 more weeks to find out could be serious for Misty.

Know that my sincerest thoughts and prayers are with you & Misty!

[tatsxxx11]

Absolutely right Bubba Sade's Mom! Please try and get a second opinion, and some MUCH NEEDED blood work done stat!!!! I think some of us mentioned that earlier, that a rountine blood chemistry and sugar would be critical in diagnosing Misty's illness. I can't understand why the vet did not do this? CRF can be controlled, and give you some additional quality time with Misty, IF, and I do say IF that is the case. But as has been said, I think if you can, you should get her checked again asap; by another vet if possible. Please give Misty hugs and kisses from us. My heart is breaking that this poor baby is not eating and feeling so poorly... Prayers for Misty and Misty's Mom....

And Bubba Sade's Mom...I am SO sorry you lost your furbaby Junior I lost my beloved Fritzy to CRF. It was so very hard and heartbreaking. Please accept my most sincere condolences on your loss. I know my sweet Fritzy is there at the RB Bridge, welcoming Misty to that beautiful place where pain is no more.

[Stenograsaurus]

I think you guys might be right. I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right here. I was reading the uroeze pills and it says on there do not administer to animals with kidney or liver disease. I thought, why is he administering these when he doesn't know if she has liver or kidney disease. That didn't make sence to me. I think I'm going to call my old Vet and tell them everything and make an appointment for there. I changed when we moved because the old place is an extra 20 minutes and this new place is only 20 minutes away. But , you know, it's worth the 40 minute drive (one way) to assure she goes to a competent vet.
I bought the pill popper. I am very impressed with this. The Vet's office said that she needed the Uroeze pills for her kidneys. She got two pills down and she has thrown up afterwards both times. I can tell when it's her now since she's the only one that gets table scraps. (That's all she'll eat) I think I'm going to stop giving her them also until I get to talk to the new/old Vets. I'll keep you posted.

[libracats]

PLEASE PLEASE KEEP US POSTED!!!

Steno, Please let me know how Misty is, I am thinking about her.

[Stenograsaurus]

Misty goes to the Vet's tonight at 7:00. I'll probably post tomorrow how she is doing. She no longer has an odor to her and I think she's gained a little weight. Hopefully that's a good sign. She's still not eating that well. I imagine she'll have to ease into eating again. Her stomach probably shrunk. (I wish I had that problem). I'm still feeding her table scraps, usually just chicken and pasta. That's her favorite. I think she's eating some of the cat food again also. It's hard to tell when you have more than one and you free feed them, but the food is disappearing faster than before. Either Misty is eating some also or Fawn loves this new food. Since it has chicken as its number one ingredient, Misty might eat it. I'll keep you posted.

[gini]

January is such a busy month for me I hadn't read this thread before today.

I will be thinking all good thoughts for Misty and her vet visit tonight.

You have been given excellent advice by everyone here, so I won't add to it........getting the second opinion is such a good idea.

When my cats have been ill, it breaks my heart, so I offer you understanding and hope that Misty is back on the right track and getting better.

[Stenograsaurus]

Well, I took Misty to the Vet's last night. Her kidneys are no longer enlarged. Her urine is clear. She gained two ounces. I said about the weight loss and her not eating. I said that I've been feeding her table scraps. He said that I need to force her to eat her food by not feeding her table scraps. I said, she can't eat her food. She just stares at it, meows, licks it but doesn't eat it. So he looked at her teeth. Voila, that's the culprit. She has gingivitis and periodonitis. Her teeth are so bad that she can't eat her hard cat food. She goes in next Thursday (Valentine's Day) to go under anesthesia and have her teeth cleaned. They're going to try to get her in earlier. I went home and checked Fawn's and his are fine. These cats have been on the same food for the past seven years. I thought hard food helped to clean their teeth. I can't believe how bad they were. I hurt just looking at them. Now I'm hoping she's strong enough to handle the anesthesia. If it's not one thing to worry about, it's another, huh? Well, thank you all for your concern and prayers. I'll need more prayer next Thursday.