Quote Originally Posted by jazzcat View Post
Back from the vet. It looks like there is something going on in his mouth but it was too hard for the vet to get a good look. She could see red gums and a little pool of blood in the back but couldn't tell if it was a tooth or an ulcer problem. Since Ripley is almost 17 with a heart murmur and kidney failure going under for a dental is too risky so she gave him an antibiotic injection to see if it would help. In the meantime I am to keep up the fluids over the weekend and keep trying to get him to eat. He will slowly eat some of the can kitten food mixed with water so at least he wants to try to eat now.

The vet said from his looks and behavior it looks like the last stages of kidney failure but the blood work doesn't support that so she's hopeful we can get his mouth healed and get him feeling better. If he'll just eat and drink I think he'll get better quickly.
Poor old boy...Well, it sounds like from a lab work standpoint, he's not in too bad a shape. But his symptoms are telling a different story. I think the antibiotics are a good idea. Hopefully, whatever is going on in his mouth will be helped by them. I know it can be tough to treat these kitties with kidney failure, because they often have accompanying heart issues. Our Billy also had a heart murmur, which limited what we could do to treat him sometimes, too.

In the meantime, the best thing you can do is to continue with the fluids, and keep trying to get him to eat. Have you tried giving Ripley canned tuna? Billy would often eat that when he wouldn't eat anything else. Also, you might try warming his food a bit...Our vet told us that often these kitties prefer their food warmed as it enhances the smell of it and makes them more interested in eating it, and he was right. This worked quite well for Billy, particularly at the end when we had trouble getting him interested in eating anything. Just be careful not to get his food too warm.

Hopefully, if the main reason that he's not eating is what is going on with his mouth (which makes sense), the meds will help, and he'll eat more, soon.

Hang in there...Hugs and prayers!!

Judy