Hi everyone,
I'd really appreciate some advice from those of you more knowledgeable in feline internal medicine or maybe who have had a cat with this problem.
My 12 yr old tabby has stopped eating/drinking and has chronic vomiting (bile) for no apparent reason (nothing on blood tests, xray, or ultrasound). He stopped eating/drinking on Friday and started vomiting up food --> eventually just bile at least 4 times a day. He's lost a good bit of weight.
We've taken him to the vet (three different vets actually) for subcue fluids twice and have started giving him meds for nausea/vomiting, stomach acid, and appetite stimulant. He still hasn't gotten his appetite back and even vomited once although the meds were given to him on schedule. He drools a lot when his meds start to wear off (the drooling STOPS after we give him the meds, so it's not the taste). We've been having to force feed him chicken baby food with a syringe this past week. He perks up after feeding then gets worse again - up and down like a rollercoaster. He's starting to lose his balance a little too. I don't know if it's from dehydration or some sort of toxin build up in his body... Or maybe he has a brain tumor, hell I don't know.
I live 2 hrs from Texas A&M. Should I take him there (get feline internal medicine appointment) on Monday if I can? Or should I just say goodbye? He is 12, but he's NEVER acted old or sick before. We've pretty much reached our budget on this, but A&M supposedly discounts for those who can't afford it because it's a teaching hospital. An endoscopy would probably be the next step. Or a CT scan.
We have not admitted him into a vet clinic yet for IV, feeding tube, etc because I do not want to leave him stressed, in a cold cage all alone. I'd rather he die at home tomorrow (without pain of course) than in a vet's office four days from now. Also, he's always been a very dignified cat and I couldn't imagine putting him through that, as silly as that may sound. I'm very reluctant to hand him over... do you guys think it's worth the risk? It's a tough situation. 3 vets so far say they don't know what's wrong with him. He gets better and gives me hope, then falls back into a drooling stupor hours later. It's not fair to him to keep him around if he's miserable, and I hate seeing him this way, but I've had him since I was 9 years old and I can't imagine just giving up on him... 🙁
Thank you to all who read this.
I'd really appreciate some advice from those of you more knowledgeable in feline internal medicine or maybe who have had a cat with this problem.
My 12 yr old tabby has stopped eating/drinking and has chronic vomiting (bile) for no apparent reason (nothing on blood tests, xray, or ultrasound). He stopped eating/drinking on Friday and started vomiting up food --> eventually just bile at least 4 times a day. He's lost a good bit of weight.
We've taken him to the vet (three different vets actually) for subcue fluids twice and have started giving him meds for nausea/vomiting, stomach acid, and appetite stimulant. He still hasn't gotten his appetite back and even vomited once although the meds were given to him on schedule. He drools a lot when his meds start to wear off (the drooling STOPS after we give him the meds, so it's not the taste). We've been having to force feed him chicken baby food with a syringe this past week. He perks up after feeding then gets worse again - up and down like a rollercoaster. He's starting to lose his balance a little too. I don't know if it's from dehydration or some sort of toxin build up in his body... Or maybe he has a brain tumor, hell I don't know.
I live 2 hrs from Texas A&M. Should I take him there (get feline internal medicine appointment) on Monday if I can? Or should I just say goodbye? He is 12, but he's NEVER acted old or sick before. We've pretty much reached our budget on this, but A&M supposedly discounts for those who can't afford it because it's a teaching hospital. An endoscopy would probably be the next step. Or a CT scan.
We have not admitted him into a vet clinic yet for IV, feeding tube, etc because I do not want to leave him stressed, in a cold cage all alone. I'd rather he die at home tomorrow (without pain of course) than in a vet's office four days from now. Also, he's always been a very dignified cat and I couldn't imagine putting him through that, as silly as that may sound. I'm very reluctant to hand him over... do you guys think it's worth the risk? It's a tough situation. 3 vets so far say they don't know what's wrong with him. He gets better and gives me hope, then falls back into a drooling stupor hours later. It's not fair to him to keep him around if he's miserable, and I hate seeing him this way, but I've had him since I was 9 years old and I can't imagine just giving up on him... 🙁
Thank you to all who read this.
