Sneakers is feeling better

[Emeraldgreen]

Ugh! Me again. Different cat this time.
Sneakers threw up last night. We didn't think much about it because this is not uncommon for her when she's gearing up for a hairball. It sometimes takes her 2-3 days until 'it' finally happens. There was some grass in the vomit so I also figured that had helped her throw up. The only difference was the smell, it was awful, kind of like it had come from her other end but didn't. (sorry to be so descriptive).
I had to leave for work at 9:30 this a.m. and just got home now (6:15) and my husband told me that I'd better check on her because she was laying in the shop on top of some boxes and was really out of it. I wish that he had called me and I would have left work and taken her to the vet while they were open.
She's able to walk around and stuff but she is very slow moving and she's kind of wincing her eyes as if she is in pain and making these sad little meows. I just offered her a few small pieces of deli ham, her all time favourite thing on the planet and she tried to eat it but couldn't.
What I'm worried about is that the pest control guy came yesterday and sprayed the outside of our house (around the concrete perimeter) for carpenter ants. He sprayed inside and outside in October and said he'd come back and spray again for free because he had done it so late in the year last year. I told him I didn't want him to spray inside the house again because of Tiger's condition and to be honest, I didn't want it either. The following morning after he sprayed last fall, I woke up and could barely move, every muscle hurt. I know it was the spray.
He sprayed at 2:00 (we weren't here) and when we got home around 6:00, we let Sneakers outside. I wasn't thinking straight! My concern is that she somehow walked in the sprayed area.
We were even wondering if the guy did spray because we couldn't see any residue from the spray and I knelt down to see if I could smell it (last time it had a pretty strong odour) but I couldn't smell anything. He did leave his card in the door so I know he was here but the thought did cross my mind that he might just say he sprayed but didn't to save himself some money. He wasn't overly thrilled when I called him last week and reminded him of his 'free offer'.
Anyway, I will monitor her and if she isn't any better by tomorrow, I guess I'll take her in to emergency. I'll take her tonight if I have to. I'm praying she'll be fine. In the meantime, does anyone know anything that I could give her that could help her feel better if she is being affected by the spray? I've washed her paws and we're not letting her outside for awhile.

[Catty1]

Can you call the emergency vet and ask about first aid in case this is insecticide poisoning?

All I can think of is water...and putting her in a room with the air filter going....

I hope she recovers soon!

[MoonandBean]

Hopefully she just ate something that made her sick and that's what you're smelling. Does she seem tender at all if you push her stomach? If so, I would take her in ASAP. I will pray for her too tonight ...let us know.

[Emeraldgreen]

Yes, she is very uncomfortable when I pick her up.
I just called my vet and they are on call tonight. I left my number and a detailed message. The outgoing recording says that they will call me back within the next 15 minutes.
I'm particularly worried because a few years ago Sneakers got deathly ill and the vets never could tell me what had happened to her. It started with vomitting and lethargy (just like this) and after a few days, I took her in to the vet when I got home from work on the third day and found her in a terrible state, realizing that this was not a hairball! By the time we got to the vet she was hypothermic and they had to put warmed fluids into her.
They ran every kind of test you can imagine, blood, urine, etc.. They kept her on fluids over night and the next day she was still doing terribly. They did xrays, and an ultrasound on her and thought they saw something in her bladder. They opened her up and did exploratory surgery and actually cut her bladder open and found absolutely nothing. They kept her on fluids and gave her an antibiotic drip, she was there for days and she finally started to get better. Thankfully, at the time, she was the one cat I had pet insurance for (I don't have this now) but PetCare refused to pay her almost 2,000 bill because the 3 vets that had worked on her couldn't diagnose what had happened and listed her condition as 'ideopathic Ileus'. One of the vets was really great and she talked with Petcare at length and somehow convinced them to pay my bill.
I'm scared this is happening to her again.
Or that her system may be fragile from what happened to her a few years ago and it might not take much to send her back into an illness like that.
The good news is that I have copies of all her records from those 4-5 days and it could be very useful for my new vet, especially if they are looking for a way to treat her, the name of the antibiotics are in her paperwork.
p.s. On a brighter note, Tiger ate his pill pockets again with his meds. I don't know if I'm being optomistic but he seems better.

[Catty1]

Prayers for Sneakers and for Tiger.

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks.
The vet called back and said that if it is a case of poisoning from pesticide that it's too late to administer anything like charcoal and that the main thing she needs now is fluids. She told me to give her water by syringe into her mouth, just a bit at a time, every half hour or so. (about 20 mls before we go to bed). If she manages to keep it down then I'm supposed to offer some food tomorrow, either bland chicken or chicken baby food. If she does start throwing up, she wants me to bring her in and they will put her on fluids.
I'll post an update tomorrow.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear about Sneakers. I sure hope that it's nothing serious and that she'll be able to keep fluids down and will be able to start eating on her own again. I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers.

[Catty1]

Poor Sneakers...I hope it is NOT pesticide...

I hope the water goes down ok...HUGS to you and to Sneakers!

[Medusa]

Oh goodness, I'm sorry to hear about Sneakers. Optimism is a good thing so we'll stay w/that and pray that all will be well w/Sneakers and Tiger. Hang in there and know that the PT prayer squad is on it!

[jenluckenbach]

Prayers for Sneakers.

[Freedom]

Prayers for you and Sneakers, that all this will pass and she feels fine quickly.

At least Tiger is cooperating! Hugs to you.

[kb2yjx]

I really hope your Sneakers will be OK!!! Usually, when the pests people spray around a house, they recommended no human OR animal going in the area that was sprayed for 24-48 hours....Sounds like you did the right thing by getting her to the vet!!! PRAYERS and HUGS for you, too!!!

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks everybody for the posts and prayers. It's so helpful to be able to post a thread about one of my cats when I'm feeling scared. It's so great to get some feedback and of course, the amazing support!

I really hope your Sneakers will be OK!!! Usually, when the pests people spray around a house, they recommended no human OR animal going in the area that was sprayed for 24-48 hours....Sounds like you did the right thing by getting her to the vet!!! PRAYERS and HUGS for you, too!!!

The pest guy told us last fall when he sprayed inside and outside that we could all come back inside the house within a few hours. This time around he just sprayed the outside perimeter of the house and it had been 4 hours since the spray when she went out. I agree with you though, it should be at least 24 hours. I should not have let her out, that is for sure. She won't be going out for awhile, maybe a week or so.
We haven't yet taken her to the vet but got some good advice on the phone from her and if needed, we'll definitely take her in.

I syringed water into her every 20 minutes for a few hours last night and this morning she looked a bit better. I offered her a small amount of baby food that I had previously purchased for Tiger and she ate a bit of it so I think we're on the mend.

I'm looking forward to the future, when we've moved to a more affordable place, we're going to get everybody in for complete check ups and blood panels. I think Sneakers is a little bit fragile and I'd like to know more about how she is doing physically since 2004 when she almost died from the mystery illness.

Thanks again everybody.

[MoonandBean]

So glad to hear things may be looking up! I was going to suggest the "pushing water" into her last night but didn't want to say anything that may have harmed her instead of helping. Glad to hear you did it on your own and it was the right thing to do

It's amazing how much you're willing to do for your animals, despite being in a tough situation yourself. I think there's a special place in heaven for you

[jennielynn1970]

Oh my gosh... I hope she will be ok. I'd be scared as well. I know when I have the Ehrlich guy here, he basically sprays and dusts the basement and not upstairs because the kitties are up here. I don't allow anyone in the basement any longer. Sometimes they are sneaky and run over my foot to get down there, but I run down and chase them back upstairs.

Big hugs going out to Sneakers.. I hope she is on the mend and feeling better soon.