Sick five year old boy.

Hello there. I'm new here, and I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just jump right in. I have a five year old cat named Thomas. I have had Thomas since he was eight weeks old (I knew the mother), and aside from a urinary tract infection four years back, he's always been incredibly healthy and strong. About a month or so ago, he started getting sick; he stopped eating, stopped drinking, stopped moving. I've taken him to the vet several times, and the first time I was given a couple different medications, plus an antibiotic. After two weeks of that, he was just as bad, if not worse. He never responded to the medication, and is continuously dropping weight. Nine pounds now, down from 18. He's lost so much of his muscle mass (cannot jump on the furniture anymore), and has a hard time staying on his feet for too long. And about roughly 90% of the day, he stays in one spot under my bed. I took him back to the vet, and now they want to do an ultrasound and an x-ray to check for cancers. I'm completely devastated over this...but what's most puzzling for me, is every website I've read through, I haven't seen anything on cancers in young cats. I'm sorry this is so long, but basically I'm looking for advice, and maybe come across somebody who is going/went through what I am now. Please help. Thank you.

 

This is sad to hear that your pet is sick and not well. You have to care him well as you have to consult a doctor if possible. There are various other firms which provide helps and provide various services for pet care. You can take help from them

 

Was he ever screened for FIP, FIV for FeLV? You didn't mention what meds or what the vets found out so far. Cats with these viruses can become seriously ill at a young age.

 

faeriedust1127- Yes. He was tested for everything; although he was vaccinated for FeLV when he was a kitten. It turns out, it was gastrointestinal lymphoma. He was officially diagnosed on October 12th and on the 15th, that following Monday, I had him put down. I can't remember the name of his medications, although, I know one was an appetite stimulant, another was NutriCal (came in a tube), and a steroid. The NutriCal wasn't so much a medication, as it was just a dietary supplement. Anyhow, on top of the all of the that, he was getting his water and food via syringe as well. That lasted maybe two weeks. After he was diagnosed, the next step was to do a biopsy to see what stage the cancer was in, but the Sunday night following his diagnosis, he just took a turn for the worse. He was unable to use all four of his legs (prior to that, it was just his two hind legs), and he was just in so much pain. I think his bones were just too brittle. Before that night, he never seemed like he was in pain. Anyway, sorry to go on and on. This all went pretty quickly and the doctor said that had I not brought him in to have him put to sleep, he would most likely have passed within one or two days anyway...although I'm not sure if that was said to make me feel a little better about my decision.

If anybody reading this has the same problems as my Thomas, I wish you all the luck in the world. This whole situation was unbelievely hard.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss. RIP Thomas.

My Pumpkin was diagnosed with cancer years ago due to the fact that she lost much weight within a very short period of time. She had muscle atrophy as well and eventually she lost interest in eating/life. The vet told us that she definitely has cancer and putting her down was one of the hardest things we had to do. My heart goes out to you.

 

Thank you for your kind words. As well, I'm sorry about your loss. You're right, it's never easy to have to do something like that...and cancer seems to just come so fast (and almost always take your baby with it). This probably was the hardest decision I've ever made...I was in it for the long haul with Thomas. That poor cat has seen me through some ugly days, lol. I miss him dearly...as I'm sure you miss your kitty. While I'm deeply apologetic for your loss, it's comforting to know I'm not a crazy cat lady.

 

How many types of diseases are there that possible occasionally in our pets and what are the precautions we should need to follow? Can any of our friend tell us?

 

Our pets are like our children so we spent alot of time, love, and vet care on them. Nope, we are definitely not crazy cat ladies. :mrgreen:

Pam, top 10 cat health problems:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/pet-health/common-cat-health-problems.aspx

Most common cat diseases:

http://animal.discovery.com/healthy-pets/cat-health-101/most-common-cat-diseases.html

 

So very sorry about the loss of you fur baby... never easy to see our friends not being well...
Vene sorry you lost Pumpkin!!! hugs!!!