Beauty's not very well

[dandysmom]

Any news yet, RCR?

[meep]

Sorry to hear about Beauty RCR My thoughts and healing vibes are with you, I do hope the vet has good news and she gets all better quickly.

[Phoenix]

The update is, the vet thinks it's constipation, prescribed her katalax (we don't think it is, she's had constipation before and she hasn't been acting like that! We didn't see the vet we usually see when we take Beauty in, he was a different vet) and for some reason she started being as sick as the proverbial dog It was too late at night for us to phone the vet back, so we had to leave it and so far, Beauty's appetite has picked up a little, no vomiting as far as we know, she went outside a couple of times today and she's seemed a little brighter. Still no luck with picking her up or stroking her for longer than a few seconds.

EDIT: It wasn't looking hopeful yesterday, she was really very poorly! When we took her to the vets the vet discovered another lump in her stomach/abdomen area. If it isn't constipation then God knows what it is because we don't! We don't think it's Beauty being constipated because Beauty has been leaving rather large smelly presents in the bath, they look perfectly normal (apart from her accident in the carrier on the way home from the vets on Saturday)

Sorry about the long post

[yola]

Is her poo runny? I ask because I had read up on constipation in babies when my little son was tiny and if they (animals or people) are severely constipated then the poo finds a way out and can at times turn almost liquid.

Sorry to be so graphic but I think you need to keep going back until you have an answer you are satisfied with. If you think your pet's health is being compromised by a vet who is either not bothered or not correctly identifying the issues then you owe it to Beauty to investigate fully what the problem is.

You say she has an abdominal lump? What did the vet propose about this? Does he think it's compacted fecal matter or does he suspect another blockage or a tumour? Did they give you any indication?

Was Beauty sick last night then? Did you call the vet today about it to check what it might be? Sorry for the 100 questions but you really need to be questioning your vet carefully about all of this to arm yourself with as much information as possible!

[Natalie]

Sorry to hear Beauty is still very much up and down with her health at the moment.

I agree with Yola. Sometimes cats and indeed humans have very runny loose stools when you are constipated. It's called overflow.

Cat's with CRF do get constipated and it can make them very poorly. Is she drinking much?

Hope things are resolved for Beauty and for you very soon ((HUGS))

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by yola

Is her poo runny? I ask because I had read up on constipation in babies when my little son was tiny and if they (animals or people) are severely constipated then the poo finds a way out and can at times turn almost liquid.

Sorry to be so graphic but I think you need to keep going back until you have an answer you are satisfied with. If you think your pet's health is being compromised by a vet who is either not bothered or not correctly identifying the issues then you owe it to Beauty to investigate fully what the problem is.

You say she has an abdominal lump? What did the vet propose about this? Does he think it's compacted fecal matter or does he suspect another blockage or a tumour? Did they give you any indication?

Was Beauty sick last night then? Did you call the vet today about it to check what it might be? Sorry for the 100 questions but you really need to be questioning your vet carefully about all of this to arm yourself with as much information as possible!

She was sick all yesterday evening, hence my absence (clearing up Beauty's sick) I'll be phoning the vet up if Beauty gets worse again tomorrow, like I said she has improved a bit since last night. The vet is convinced it's constipation, but I don't think so because if it is, why was the katalax making her that sick?

Her poos in the bath were perfectly normal, no harder or softer than they normally are. There was only the incident on the way home from the vets on Saturday that was abnormal.

[Elaine]

I agree with what Yola has said and asked.

When you say in the original post that you had to help her indoors, what exactly do you mean by that? Was she having trouble walking?
It may well be that due to the CRF she now has muscle wastage and or a potasium deficiency.
With regards to the vomitting, I have told you before about the excess tummmy acid build up which makes them sick and not want to eat, its a catch 22 and you must try to combat the tummy acidity in order to help get her eating again, once she begins to eat she will feel better.
How do her paws feel? Do they feel cold and clammy? If so, that combined with her hiding herself away, not eating etc may even indicate anemia. Again this is something that must be treated.
Did you ever read the links i sent you? Ask your vet as many questions as possible. RCR you really have to get clued up about her illness in order to be able to help her. Many vets will not offer all the help and support you and Beauty need if you do not make the point of becoming more knowledgable and informed yourself.
Now i really dont mean that to sound harsh but we have spoken about this many times now.
It is by no means an easy ride, having a CRF cat and it is an emotional roller coaster but when you first posted she was in early stage CRF then a few weeks back you pm'd me her kidney values which indicated mid stage CRF and your vet has offered you nothing but prescription food for her. Your vet should, I feel, have given you all the options of meds etc in order for you to decide the right course of action for her.
Each CRF cat is entirely different, some do well on prescription food alone while others need meds to keep them stable as well as the love of a good owner.

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Elaine

I agree with what Yola has said and asked.

When you say in the original post that you had to help her indoors, what exactly do you mean by that? Was she having trouble walking?
It may well be that due to the CRF she now has muscle wastage and or a potasium deficiency.
With regards to the vomitting, I have told you before about the excess tummmy acid build up which makes them sick and not want to eat, its a catch 22 and you must try to combat the tummy acidity in order to help get her eating again, once she begins to eat she will feel better.
How do her paws feel? Do they feel cold and clammy? If so, that combined with her hiding herself away, not eating etc may even indicate anemia. Again this is something that must be treated.
Did you ever read the links i sent you? Ask your vet as many questions as possible. RCR you really have to get clued up about her illness in order to be able to help her. Many vets will not offer all the help and support you and Beauty need if you do not make the point of becoming more knowledgable and informed yourself.
Now i really dont mean that to sound harsh but we have spoken about this many times now.
It is by no means an easy ride, having a CRF cat and it is an emotional roller coaster but when you first posted she was in early stage CRF then a few weeks back you pm'd me her kidney values which indicated mid stage CRF and your vet has offered you nothing but prescription food for her. Your vet should, I feel, have given you all the options of meds etc in order for you to decide the right course of action for her.
Each CRF cat is entirely different, some do well on prescription food alone while others need meds to keep them stable as well as the love of a good owner.

What I mean was, there's a small step going inside and Beauty was having a little trouble getting up that (possibly her arthritis) Up until Saturday Beauty was doing fine on her prescription food. She's had a urine sample taken, but the vet we saw yesterday won't do anything more until he's got her results on Friday. I'll be phoning up tomorrow to try to get Beauty in before Friday to see the vet who usually sees her to get a second opinion.

[Elaine]

I personally feel you need a new vet all together as neither of them seem to be doing very much for Beauty.

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Elaine

I personally feel you need a new vet all together as neither of them seem to be doing very much for Beauty.

The only other vets here is apparently even worse for misdiagnosing! I'll see what they have got to say tomorrow when I phone up to try to get her in. I can't really do much at the moment, the vets will both be closed apart from emergencies.