My big boy is sick

I have a 21 pound, 12 year old cat. I had written about him here back in March when he had an upper respritory infection. After using Clavamox and then Baytril he got better until recently. I could hear the congestion again and he started to consume alot of water. Everytime I would go into the bathroom he would jump in the tub and meow at me to turn the water on. He would then gulp a ton of water.

I brought him to the vet on Friday. After he listened to Milo's chest he said he didn't like the sound of it and told me to immediatly bring him to the emergency clinic in the next town so they could do x-rays and run blood tests. They put him on an IV last night and took x-rays. They said his lungs had fluid in them were very congested. This morning they said he sounded better but the x-rays looked the same. They are now bringing in someone on Monday to run an ultrasound to see if he may have cysts or tumors.

I was so upset this morning when I went to feed the cats...brought out 5 bowls and only used 4. I miss by big baby. He must be so lonely.

 

Oh Wtpooh. I'm so sorry about your big boy Milo. You must be so worried about him and he must miss you so much too. I am glad though that he is in good hands at the vets. I sure hope everything will be okay. Your poor kitty. Are you at least allowed to visit him? I hope you are. Please keep us posted and let us know how he's doing and what the test results were.

 

Poor kid. I have a Milo too. He's a 4 yr old grey tabby. I hope he recovers soon and that it's nothing more than an URI.

 

Poor Milo. It sounds like your vet is very caring and thorough so Milo's in good hands.

 

poor Milo...please let us know when you know what's wrong with him.

You must miss him a lot

 

I'm sorry about your poor Milo. I hope everythings okay....will keep him in my thoughts. Be sure and keep us posted.

 

I just got back from picking up Milo. They showed me his xrays and you could clearly see a mass in his lungs. I have to give him clavomox and terbutaline twice a day. In a week I will bring him back for more xrays. If the mass is smaller then it could just be serious congestion of the lungs. If there is no change it could be cancerous but the only way for them to find out is to get a sample of it and test it. That alone could be a dangerous procedure.

Luckily Milo doesn't seem to be in any discomfort at all. The antibiotics they gave him over the weekend helped him breathe easier and he is eating, drinking, and in everyway still acting the same.

Just an FYI for a good reason to keep a savings for pet emergencys. The total cost was $1200.

Thank you all for your concern. I will update you next week after the new xrays.

 

Poor Milo. He's lucky to have someone like you who is so caring. It must be some relief to know that he doesn't appear to be in discomfort.

 

I am soo sorry to hear about Milo..I know how awful it can be waiting on test results, and then the overwhelming relief if it turns out to be something treatable..I don't know if this is a good time, but one kitty owner to the next, I need to ask..you mentioned Baytril..Thomas has an upper respitory infection, and it's a pretty bad one. I'm giving Amixcillin 2x a day and Baytril once a day..well, this has been 3 days now, and he doesn't seem to be getting better..I was wondering. how long was it before you noticed Milo getting better? also, did you do anything to help Milo feel any better, ya know, besides the usual love and support. My heart does go out to you, when I have to leave Tommy at the vet, I find myself walking around the house aimlessly like I'm missing something, and then I can't do anything productive till I get him back. I'm hoping the best for you guys!

 

It is a bit odd to have a cat on Baytril and Amoxicillin. Between those two, they should take care of just about anything.

My household was struck by URI not long ago. I finally ended up giving my girls Baytril. It was probably 2-3 days before they started getting better. The one who was really sick took closer to 4 or 5. I kept them in a small room and ran a humidifier for them. If you don't have a humidifier you can steam up the bathroom. It loosens the congestion.

Also you might want to give your kitty some yogurt while he is on the anitbiotics. With 2 really strong anitbiotics his good bacteria is going to be killed too. The yogurt will help replace the good bacteria so he doesn't get another infection.

Oops I forgot to add that your kitty should be taking asprin. It really makes a big difference. Cats should get 1 81 mg childrens tablet every 3 days. I got the chewable kind. If the cat is bad about pills, you can disolve it in water and use a syringe to give it. If your vet didn't prescribe asprin call and ask about it. Maybe he/she had a reason not to prescribe it.

 

Back in May he was on the Clavamox for about a week with no noticable difference. The vet then changed him to the Baytril. I noticed a difference within a day or two so it's hard to tell if it was because of the Baytril or the Clavamox that he had for a full week before. I did bring him into the bathroom with the shower running hot water to produce steam. He wasn't too happy sitting in there though.

Today, unfortunatly, Milo is not acting himself. He ate breakfast no problem but I just got home from work and he is laying inside of a play tube that I have for my kitten. That is where he was when I left this morning. He is almost always found laying in the same spot on one of our couch's. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the fact that he was probably inside of a cage/carrier for 4 days when he was at the vet and just feels more comfortable laying inside this confined tube?

I can hear the congestion as he breathes. It's not labored breathing though. Can anyone tell me if there are any other warning signs to look out for, as to when he may be in serious trouble of not being able to breath, besides the obvious.

Thank you Fleafly for the advise on the yogurt and aspirin. I will call the vet and ask about the aspirin.[/quote]

 

I am so sorry your sweetie is ill

I hope he gets well soon :cry:

 

Hey everyone! Reading these posts has definitely been very enlightening. I didn't know there was soo much extra I could do for my baby. btw, I'm going back to the vet tom. and I'll definitely be asking about the aspirin also. wtpooh- I am right there with you..I'll still waiting to see some improvement in Tommy. do you think Milo has been running a fever? that might be a reason why he didn't move around much.. everyday I know our kitties are gonna get better. do you have just one cat?

I have 3 (Tommy, Jody, and Wolverine) and yesterday I noticed the other two sneezing also. YIKES!! I never even considered it being contagious. anyways, now all 3 are getting the amoxicillin and I hoping desparately that I'm treating it in enough time so it doesn't progess. I can't imagine dealing with all 3 of them at once what I'm going through with Tommy.
Unforunately, our family vet is retiring this week. Such a shame..he's been soo good to me an my cats. He knows how expensive these ordeals can be, so he doesn't charge me for the office visits and the extra medication.

 

Hi. Since you'll have to be looking for a new vet, you may want to ask the new vet office what pet insurance they accept. I would look into getting pet insurance for all three of your kitties. It really helps people out a lot.

 

Chessmind-Could you please tell me more about pet insurance.

In answer to Blaklilac's question...I have 5 cats. Cubby-14 Milo-12 Yoda-12 Wrigley-4 and Kyttyn-just turned one in May. Here is a link to see pictures:

http://hometown.aol.com/wtpooh3171/index.html


Pet insurance sounds like something I should look into. This forum is the first I had ever even heard of it.

Today Milo seems better. I just got home from work and was happy to see him laying back on the couch. His cogestion doesn't sound as bad as yesterday either. I think he may have just wanted to be by himself on his first day home after 4 days at the vet.
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Glad to hear that Milo is back and feeling better. Your pics of the cats are beautiful and so is your home. I especially like the pic of the missing eyelash/eyebrow. How cute!
Any additonal info on pet insurance would be great. I'm contemplating on getting one for my 4 little ones.

 

Oh my Goodness!! they are sooo adorable! I luv the computer one! Also, I am soo glad to hear milo seems to be getting better...do you think the infection could spread to your other cats, though? just wondering if you've given it any thought.

 

The vet didn't say anything about Milo being contagious. This been ongoing since March and none of the others have been sick at all (knocking on wood).

vene-

She still hasn't found that eyebrow...lol. That picture was taken months ago and another white one never grew in..too funny!

 

This is the insurance company I was looking at:

Pet Care

There are lots more out there too.

 

Hi. Regarding pet insurance, you have to call your vet and ask them what pet insurance they accept. Not all vets accept all pet insurance. They may also be able to tell you which pet insurance they think is the best. They will also often have the application forms right there at their office. If you don't have time to stop by your vet's office you can just give them a call.

p.s. As for the cost of pet insurance it depends on how much you want covered for your fur animal. So, if you get only a little coverage (i.e. one exam per year, shots, spay/neuter) you will pay less money per month. However if you want a lot of coverage (i.e. all the above plus emergency care/surgeries and so on) you will pay more per month. This is actaully better to have. It's not very expensive to have your fur animal fully covered.