Now My Blaze Is Having Problems:Update 2/5/12

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi everyone. Last night I noticed that Blaze was acting a bit strange. He seemed to have hiccups and when he did this his body would shake. Then later he just kept swallowing a lot. This progressed into what I'd call a gagging cough. He would sometimes cough up white foam. I thought he had hairballs so I gave him some hairball stuff for it but it didn't help him at all. He was able to eat but some one threw their food up during the night or early morning. He's swallowing a lot and doing the gagging cough today so I called my vet. She's booked but I did put in a voice mail to her to see if she could see me today before the 2:30pm appt. that I already have scheduled with another vet. Blaze is also not his frisky self but he's been purring a lot. Please send some prayers and positive thoughts his way. I sure hope that it's nothing serious. I was just at the vet last Sunday with Sky and he's doing great now. I just can't get a break. Thanks in advance.

[Catty1]

Oh dear - I do hope it is something simple with Blaze and that your vet can see him earlier!

I am glad to hear that Sky is doing well.

My one cat had two big vet visits within 3 months, so I can relate.

[phesina]

We are sending prayers and positive thoughts and healing energies for dear Blaze that there is nothing seriously wrong with him. Be well soon, sweet boy!

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Felicia's Mom]

Keeping you and Blaze in my prayers.

[chocolatepuppy]

Pawsitive thoughts and prayers for Blaze. I hope it's nothing serious.

[Karen]

You and Blaze will be in our prayers.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone. Well the vet I saw really didn't know how to treat him so he's still suffering with his gagging cough attacks. We were going to do an ultrasound on him but there was no one available to do one so he had x-rays taken instead. His x-rays looked normal except that he's swallowed a lot of air. His tummy is full of air which would also make him feel very uncomfortable. My regular vet is just too busy these days and she's the feline specialist. I'm supposed to talk to this vet in the morning and let her know if Blaze is still having problems. If so then I need to drop him off for further testing. My vet will be there and she said that she'd make the time to do the tests on him. I can tell it's going to be a sleepless night for me. Please continue sending prayers and positive vibes his way. Thanks.

[Catty1]

Positive thoughts to Blaze and to you! :love:

[Freedom]

Oh goodness! Prayers from RI for Blaze.

[chocolatepuppy]

Pawsitive thoughts and more prayers for Blaze.

[phesina]

Continuing prayers and good wishes for darling Blaze...

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone. Around 7pm he threw up some yellow liquid with a tiny amount of fur in it. It was too small to even call it a hairball though. I was hoping that he'd be better after this episode. He later ate some dinner which was some canned food mixed with some dry. He didn't finish it all but he ate most of it and he was later trying to swallow a lot again. Maybe he has a sore throat. I tried looking up symptoms of sore throats in cats and it did say gagging and swallowing frequently are some which is what he's been doing. It also said that drooling, gulping, and reluctance to eat are symptoms too and a sore throat is a sign of an URI. He doesn't seem to have an URI though. I'm getting so frustrated by not knowing what's wrong with him and I hate having to watch him do the gag cough.:(

[krazyaboutkatz]

Now Blaze won't eat dry or canned food.:( I feed both him and Alani in my hall bathroom and I shut the door while I feed my other four cats. During the last feeding he was gagging a lot and I decided to stay in the bathroom to see if he was even eating. He just looked at the dry food but he wouldn't eat. After I fed all of the cats, I went back in the bathroom and I offered him some canned food. He still wouldn't eat.:( Alani may have been eating most or all of his food without me knowing it. Blaze has also throw up more white foam. I've already sent my vet two e-mails and also a voice mail and I also sent the other vet a voice mail too. I plan on trying to call my vet at 7am tomorrow morning and if she's not available then I'm just going to drop Blaze off at the vets. He could just have a very bad sore throat or it could be something else. I hope I can get some sleep tonight. Please continue to send some good vibes his way.

[Barbara]

I can understand that you are very worried. With his symptoms I would wonder whether he ate something poisonous or something that he cannot get out.
I hope you find what's wrong- and there is no question: something is seriously wrong.
Hugs to you and the sick boy.

[ChrisH]

Oh, my goodness, what a worry. Poor Blaze and poor you. {{hugs}} Hope the vet can sort out what is wrong and treat toot-sweet. Prayers continuing.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone. I just spoke to my vet and I'm going to drop Blaze off asap. The little bit of food that he did eat last night was thrown up some time during the night and he continues to throw up white foam too. I'm extremely worried about him.:(

[smokey the elder]

Poor kitty! I hope he feels better soon.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I can understand that you are very worried. With his symptoms I would wonder whether he ate something poisonous or something that he cannot get out.
I hope you find what's wrong- and there is no question: something is seriously wrong.
Hugs to you and the sick boy.

Luckily there's nothing poisonous that he can get into but he could've swallowed part of a cat toy.:( My vet will call me later today and let me know what's going on. Depending on what they find, I'll hopefully be able to pick him up tonight. I'm expecting to receive a huge vet bill but Blaze is so worth it. I have to work today and we're going to be busy. I'll update again probably much later tonight. Thanks again for all of the prayers. Please keep them coming.

[phesina]

More prayers for dear Blaze. :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[katladyd]

Blaze will be in my thoughts and prayers today. It is so scary when they are not feeling well and you don't know what it is!:(

[pomtzu]

Poor Blaze - and Tracey too. It's so difficult to see our kids not feeling well, and just don't know what's wrong. Hopefully it's nothing serious, and the whitecoats get him back to his old self. Prayers going out to both of you.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone. My little redhead is now home.:) My vet called me at work around 11:30am and she diagnosed him with a laryngeal infection. I had a feeling that whatever was going on involved something with his throat. She said he was running a low grade fever and when she did bloodwork on him his white blood cell count was also elevated which indicates that an infection is going on.:( She had also done another x-ray for a progress check and an abdominal ultrasound to rule out any obstructions. Luckliy he didn't have any.:)

He's now on sub-q fluids every day for the next 7 days which I'll do at home along with Baytril injections for the next 6 days and Cerenia injections for the next 2 days. I can inject these into the port line while giving him 50ml of sub-q fluids daily. I start tomorrow morning and I hope that he'll be a good boy and cooperate. He also needs to stay in my hall bathroom by himself for the next two days so that I can monitor his intake and outake. So far he's doing well in there so I hope that he'll continue to be good in there too. He goes back for a recheck on Tues. Jan.31st at 8:30am.

I asked my vet how he could've gotten this kind of infection and she said that sometimes fleas carry it but she knows that none of my cats have fleas and I treat them with advantage once a month for them. She also said that sometimes stress can cause it because then his immune system would become weaker. I went to a cat show a few weeks ago and I still wonder if I may have brought something home with me.:( They tried to feed Blaze at the hospital but he wouldn't eat. When we got home I gave him some dry food and he ate all of it without any problems.:) He's still gagging sometimes though and I hope that this will go away in few days. I noticed that Alani was coughing a little bit so I have to keep an eye on him. My vet said that this kind of infection isn't contagious and I sure hope that this it true. My vet bill wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be but it was still a fairly good amount. Now I just want all of my cats to remain happy and healthy for a long time to come.:)

[mrspunkysmom]

Glad to hear he is doing better.

[Felicia's Mom]

Blaze, please be a good boy and do what you mommy wants. She just wants you to feel better.

[Cataholic]

WOWSERS! Never heard of all that! Get better, Blaze. :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone.:) He's still gagging sometimes but so far he hasn't thrown up any of his food or any more white foam. He also peed and pooped in the litter box. He didn't want to sit still this morning while I gave him his injections and sub-q fluids. It was very difficult and he even tried to growl at me.:( I managed to do it but I think tomorrow I'm just going to have to give him his injections under his skin to make sure he gets them. I can already tell that it's going to be quite a battle with him every morning. I need to grow some more arms. He also wants out of the bathroom and I can tell that his brother Alani misses him too.

[cassiesmom]

Thanks again everyone.:) He even tried to growl at me.:( ...I can tell that his brother Alani misses him too.


Awwwww, Blaze! I hope you feel much better very soon! I don't think you will be by yourself much longer, sweet redhead boy. I lit a candle for you and your meowmie :)

[phesina]

Welcome home, Blaze! We're so glad the doctor figured out what's been going on and you are getting better. We all hope you are back to normal and out hanging out with your brother and pals shortly.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[chocolatepuppy]

Good to hear Blaze is home and doing better. I hope he gets 'all better' quickly!:)

[slick]

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l=eng&cid=15186510

Oh Blaze, I'm so happy that the whitecoats have found out the problem. Sore throat? That's bad enough for us feeble hoomans - I can only imagine how awful that is. Please sit still while your Meowmie give you the fluids. You will feel so much better and you will heel faster.

Still praying for you sweetie.
Slick and Merlin :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Awwwww, Blaze! I hope you feel much better very soon! I don't think you will be by yourself much longer, sweet redhead boy. I lit a candle for you and your meowmie :)


http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l=eng&cid=15186510

Oh Blaze, I'm so happy that the whitecoats have found out the problem. Sore throat? That's bad enough for us feeble hoomans - I can only imagine how awful that is. Please sit still while your Meowmie give you the fluids. You will feel so much better and you will heel faster.

Still praying for you sweetie.
Slick and Merlin :love:

Thanks so much for lighting candles for us.:) Thanks also to everyone else for all of the get well wishes.:) He's still in the bathroom. He only peed today in his litter box and he didn't finish all of his dry food which is unlike him. I think he slept a lot today and he looked very sleepy when I got home. I let Alani hang out with him for a bit while I fed my four other cats. Alani wanted out of the bathroom and Blaze was sitting in his comfy cat bed. I'm not sure about Baytril but I do know that some antibiotics tend to make animals sleep more and also make them lose their appetites. If everything continues to go well, Blaze will be let out of the bathroom tomorrow night.

[slick]

Just a caution here that antibiotics such as Baytril can also cause constipation so you may need to add some Lactulose in his food to ease the exiting of the extrement... (oh such a way of putting it :rolleyes:)

[krazyaboutkatz]

Just a caution here that antibiotics such as Baytril can also cause constipation so you may need to add some Lactulose in his food to ease the exiting of the extrement... (oh such a way of putting it :rolleyes:)

Thanks for letting me know. I usually have problems with diarrhea when I give my cats antibiotics. I usually don't feed Alani & Blaze very much canned food because this will give them loose stools. Maybe now I should give Blaze more canned food. The food he eats does have a lot of fiber in it and it's Chicken Soup For The Cat Lover's Soul Adult Light Formula.

[cassiesmom]

Yay, Blaze! It sounds like you are on the mend! Gentle *kiss* for you, sweet redhead kitty -- *kiss* for Alani, too :love:

[Randi]

Sorry for being late...

I'm glad you managed to get some medicine into him. Blaze, be a good boy and let your mommy give you what you need - you'll feel so much better, AND it sounds like you'll be out of the bathroom tomorrow. :) Isn't that wonderful! Hope you are back to normal soon, sweetie!

Fister and I sends purrs and kisses. :love: :love:

[JMCsGirl]

Glad Blaze is feeling better! It is so scary when we can't figure out what is wrong.

[Barbara]

A laryngeal infection! Never heard about that in cats but there is always a first time. I am so glad it is something that can be treated. I hope Blaze feels better soon as I am sure Alani will miss him.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks everyone.:) Well he's now out of the bathroom and is feeling so much better.:) He was giving me problems again this morning when I was medicating him and when I gave him sub-q fluids. I'm so glad that I don't have to do this much longer. Now I'm a little concerned about Alani because he's been having coughing attacks since Monday night.:( I thought he was trying to cough up a hairball so I gave him a lot of the hairball medicine but it didn't seem to help him. He's still eating well and acting normal. I e-mailed my vet about him and she told me to just watch him for now. I can also bring him in with Blaze on Tues. morning if he's still having problems. I sure hope that it's not anything related to Blaze's illness because if it is then it does sound like it's contagious. Please also send some prayers and positive thoughts Alani's way.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I can't wait until Tuesday for Alani to be seen. He's coughing more frequently and he didn't eat all of his dinner.:( I made an appt. for him tomorrow at 7:30am. I'm pretty sure that he has the same thing that Blaze has. I sure hope that none of my other cats will get this. Please keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming. Will this nightmare ever end.:(

[chocolatepuppy]

Oh no! Many prayers that Alani will soon be better also and for all your kitties, that they don't get sick. {Hugs} to you. You must be so worried.:(

[phesina]

Prayers and healing energies for Alani and Blaze and all your kitties.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Felicia's Mom]

All your kitties and you are in my prayers.

[Catty1]

Poor Alani! I hope it's something very treatable, and something that those two brother cats keep to themselves.

Hugs!

[krazyaboutkatz]

What a nightmare. Well I had a 7:30am appt. and at about 6:40am the veterinary hospital called to tell me that the vet I had an appt. with had called in sick. The lady said that I could be seen as an urgent care case and since I had an appt. I wouldn't be charged any extra. I went in and I had to wait a while. I wasn't seen until a little after 8am.
Alani's temp was normal and his lungs sounded clear but he did sound a bit congested. He did have a coughing attack in front of the vet so she was able to see what I was trying to describe to her. She looked up Blaze's records to see how my regular vet had treated Blaze. Alani is now on an oral liquid antibotic,doxycycline, 2 times a day for 14 days. He was given a vitamin B12 shot to help his appetite and he'll also get 50ml of sub-q fluids every day for about 1 week. I have plenty of fluids and needles already. Alani's appetite is much better and Blaze is back to his normal goofy self. I decided to keep them both in the bathroom for a few days. I sure hope that Alani's cough will go away in a few days and that none of my other cats will get this. Thanks again everyone.

[katladyd]

I'm hoping and praying that whatever-this-bug-is does not spread to the rest of your furbabies! I'm so happy that Blaze is on the mend and I hope that Alani is close behind him.:love:

[Karen]

Whew, at least you got some answers, and we hope they both are feeling better with no further spread or complications!

[Freedom]

I didn't get back to this thread for a few days.

So glad you found out what the issue is with Blaze, and now he is so much better. Isn't it such a relief when you see them start acting like themselves again? Even is it is a "goofy boy, lol.

Come on Alani, you too need to recover quickly.

Interesting that you had been to a cat show. I know at the show itself, we are always warned do NOT pet the cats, ask first, if you pet one, use the Purell before moving on, etc. That would be interesting if you brought something home from the show. Too bad there is no way to check if any of the cats there had this! Then you would know for sure. It's too bad, because I know attending the shows is so interesting and informative.

I'd like to ask: you said you have plenty of fluids and needles. Do you get them from your vet or another supply source? Not something I keep on hand! But with 15 pets of course I have quite the supply box as well.


Prayers for continued healing!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I didn't get back to this thread for a few days.

So glad you found out what the issue is with Blaze, and now he is so much better. Isn't it such a relief when you see them start acting like themselves again? Even is it is a "goofy boy, lol.

Come on Alani, you too need to recover quickly.

Interesting that you had been to a cat show. I know at the show itself, we are always warned do NOT pet the cats, ask first, if you pet one, use the Purell before moving on, etc. That would be interesting if you brought something home from the show. Too bad there is no way to check if any of the cats there had this! Then you would know for sure. It's too bad, because I know attending the shows is so interesting and informative.

I'd like to ask: you said you have plenty of fluids and needles. Do you get them from your vet or another supply source? Not something I keep on hand! But with 15 pets of course I have quite the supply box as well.


Prayers for continued healing!

At the cat show I did pet a Maine Coon cat briefly after I asked his owner if I could. I later saw a cat sneezing who was in one of the cages at one of the judging rings. I made sure to wash my hands very well when I got home before I touched any of my cats. I could've also brought something home with me after Sky's vet visit. It was very busy that day but most of the pets there were dogs. If something is air born there's not much you can do to prevent it though. I got the sub-q fluids and needles for them at the vet. They gave me more needles than I'll need. It's so much cheaper to do this at home if you can.

Thanks again everyone.:) Poor Blaze is feeling great and he really wants out of the bathroom. I told him that Alani would be very lonely in there by himself and he'd be crying and getting stressed out without his brother. Alani still has his horrible cough.:( I hope to be able to let them both out by late Sat. or some time on Sun. Blaze's treatment will be over on Sunday but Alani has to take his medicine 2 times a day for 14 days total. My other 4 cats are really enjoying being able to come and go from my bedroom as they please. When Alani & Blaze are out, I have to keep my bedroom door shut so they won't get into things in my bedroom. I've especially noticed that both Pearl & Ziggy are really enjoying being "redhead free" because these boys love to try to play with them and they just won't have anything to do with them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I let both boys out of the bathroom today and they were so excited.:) They were running around sniffing everything and also trying to rub up against my other four cats who didn't like this too much. Blaze started chirping in delight and he's totally back to normal now. Alani is doing much better and I haven't heard him coughing at all today. He may still be a little bit congested though. Blaze is finished with his medicince and sub-q fluids but Alani still has a while to go with his medicine and I hope to be able to continue giving him sub-q fluids until Wed. Now Sky, Blaze, and Alani still need to go back to see my vet for a recheck. So far my four other cats are doing well and I hope that I'll finally have healthy cats for a long time to come. Thanks again everyone for all of the prayers and positive thoughts.:)

[chocolatepuppy]

Yay! Here's hoping for no more sickness for a long, long time!:D

[ChrisH]

Wonderful to hear all it well. :) Prayers that it remains ever so.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone.:) A little while ago I just heard Alani coughing again and he still sounds a bit congested too.:( He's still on his medicine for a while yet. I was able to consolidate Blaze's & Sky's recheck appointments so they'll both be seen this Sun. at 2pm. Alani won't be seen again until the following Sun. at 2pm. I sure hope he'll be recovered complelely by then.

[cassiesmom]

Please get well soon, three precious kitty guys!

[cassiesmom]

Krazyaboutkatz, how are your kitty guys?

[krazyaboutkatz]

Krazyaboutkatz, how are your kitty guys?

Alani & Blaze are doing great and they've been running around playing, wrestling, and bouncing off the walls again.:D Sky is doing okay but he still sneezes and coughs sometimes. His eyes will also sometimes have some white or yellow goopy stuff in the corners. I'm glad that he and Blaze are going in for rechecks this Sunday. Sky is still on his allergy pills but this may not be enough for him. I'll update more after the vet visit.

[Pinot's Mom]

I hope everyone gets the all clear soon! It's such a worry when they're not their best. Update after Sunday - kisses to all of the kitties!:love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

I hope everyone gets the all clear soon! It's such a worry when they're not their best. Update after Sunday - kisses to all of the kitties!:love:

Thanks Maggie.:) Well Blaze is 100% back to normal.:D Sky is probably about 80% my vet told me. His right eye is still getting goopy stuff in it so he's back on Tobramycin drops in both eyes twice a day for the next 14 days. He'll also continue to take his antihistamine pill but I'm going to try him on only 1/2 a pill daily instread of 1/2 morning and night. On Fri. night a little after 11pm, Sky had a coughing fit that lasted between 20-30 minutes.:eek: It scared me so much that I called my vet's office and I spoke to a vet tech about it. I was able to calm him down and I was told to monitor him. He hasn't had an episode since. Now my vet wants me to write down every time Sky coughs so we can monitor this condition and treat it accordingly. I know that my allergies have also been bad lately so I can kind of relate to poor Sky. Alani continues to do well and he goes back for a recheck this Sunday at 2pm. He's still on his medicine until Wed. night. He did have a coughing attack today but it sounded like he was trying to cough up a hairball. I gave him some hairball medicine and this helped a lot. Thanks again for all of your prayers and positive thoughts.:)

[Craftlady]

Thanks again everyone. Around 7pm he threw up some yellow liquid with a tiny amount of fur in it. It was too small to even call it a hairball though. I was hoping that he'd be better after this episode. He later ate some dinner which was some canned food mixed with some dry. He didn't finish it all but he ate most of it and he was later trying to swallow a lot again. Maybe he has a sore throat. I tried looking up symptoms of sore throats in cats and it did say gagging and swallowing frequently are some which is what he's been doing. It also said that drooling, gulping, and reluctance to eat are symptoms too and a sore throat is a sign of an URI. He doesn't seem to have an URI though. I'm getting so frustrated by not knowing what's wrong with him and I hate having to watch him do the gag cough.:(

So sorry Blaze is having all these problems. Have you tried Pepcid? Works wonders on Snoopy with his IBS and occasional acid reflux. It does help the gagging reflex and settles down the stomach. I give Snoopy at full 10 milgram tablet 2x a day when he has a break out.

For a cat: A common dosage is 1/4 of a 10mg tablet every other day, or every day if necessary. I'd ask vet if you could give it 2x a day.

[krazyaboutkatz]

So sorry Blaze is having all these problems. Have you tried Pepcid? Works wonders on Snoopy with his IBS and occasional acid reflux. It does help the gagging reflex and settles down the stomach. I give Snoopy at full 10 milgram tablet 2x a day when he has a break out.

For a cat: A common dosage is 1/4 of a 10mg tablet every other day, or every day if necessary. I'd ask vet if you could give it 2x a day.

I know all about using pepcid because my Storm gets 1/2 of a pill every night. Blaze and Alani had a laryngeal infection so they both had to be put on antibiotics. Now I think that I may be getting sick. My throat is scratchy and I just don't feel all that great.:( I'll probaby wake up tomorrow morning with a sore throat which will then turn into a cold. I've been lucky in that I haven't been sick in a long time. I'm hoping that it's only allergies.

[mrspunkysmom]

Hope they continue to improve. Hope you feel better too.

[Craftlady]

Keeping good thoughts and prayers for Blaze.

[Killearn Kitties]

I'm sorry to read that you have been having all these problems Tracey. I hope all goes well for Sky and Blaze tomorrow, and I hope that you are OK too!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hope they continue to improve. Hope you feel better too.
Thanks. Blaze and Alani are doing great but Sky's right eye is still goopy and a bit red looking and he still sneezes and has coughing attacks sometimes. I'm trying to get over a bad cold. I'm beginning to feel a little better but now I keep getting coughing attacks.:( I hope that the rest of the year goes better than the first 2 months.

Keeping good thoughts and prayers for Blaze.
Thanks he's now doing great.:)

I'm sorry to read that you have been having all these problems Tracey. I hope all goes well for Sky and Blaze tomorrow, and I hope that you are OK too!
Thanks.:) Sky and Blaze went in for rechecks last Sunday and Blaze is 100% better. Sky is only about 80% better. He's now on more eye drops but his right eye is still not doing too well.:( I take Alani in for a recheck tomorrow and I'm sure that he'll check out fine too. I'll be talking to my vet about Sky though. I hope he can finally get through this allergy problem soon. I also hope that I'll recover from my cold quickly too.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Everything went well with Alani's recheck today and my vet decided not to even charge me.:) Maybe because I'm now sick and also because she knows that I've been spending a lot of money on my 3 sick cats. I also found out that now if I bring in more than one cat at a time for a routine vet visit, that the second cat will cost less. Now I've decided to bring Storm, Pearl, and Ziggy in together in March for their annual checkups because this way I'll save at least $48.00.:) If I bring in one cat it costs me $69.00 just for the visit but each additional animal would then cost me only $45.00. Office visit rechecks are also only $45.00. I'm sure that this sounds very expensive to most of you but prices in CA are very high.

[chocolatepuppy]

Good to hear Alani is doing well!:) My vets have given me quite a few breaks when I had a few sick furkids.;) Good to hear you have a vet that will 'help' you out.