I have a 10 yr old cat that is very sick, I've been sick too, so I don't have the money to take her to the vet. She started out with a high fever/vomiting. That was over in two days & she started drinking a little water again. She worked her mouth like it was burned. I cked & couldn't see anything wrong. I can't get her to eat & she wants to hide & be still all the time. I'm very afraid that she is going to die. She has never had robust health. I found her when she was about 6months old, almost starved to death. I've kept a close eye on her ever since. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm really desperate! Thank you in advance.

-- tresa lee lamb (tresalamb@hotmail.com), July 05, 2001

Answers

Does she hover over her food or water dish, looking like she's considering the idea but can't quite face it? This would be a sign of nausea. Is she peeing in inappropriate areas? IF the answer to these qestions is yeas, she could be going into renal (kidney) failure. Expensive, and ususally, ultimately, fatal. If she's just acting "burned" and sick, she may have gotten into something (like nettles or some chemical). Get a tube of high calorie vitamin supplement (a few bucks at the grocery store, pet store, or Wally World) and either get her to eat a tsp or so a day, or even squoosh it into her mouth if she won't eat, as long as she is swallowing normally. If she is having trouble swallowing, try to rub a little bit on her tongue every few hours. This will at least sustain her metabolism and keep her fom suffering from wasting and deficiencies until you can figure out what's wrong.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), July 05, 2001.

I have a old cat who got so sick I thought she was dying, she wouldnt eat either so I fed her 1st stage baby food [meat]in a kids syringe, she would drink water though. and after three days she got better. Found out she has a thyroid problem so she takes pills now.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), July 05, 2001.

Also, make sure your cat gets a lot of fluids in her to keep her from dehydrating. Water, Pedialyte or anything else with electrolytes in it is good. A cat breeder I know feeds yogurt (with active cultures) to any cat of his that's been sick to get the bacteria in their stomachs working again and to increase their appetite. Good luck!

-- Gail (Quadrupets@aol.com), July 05, 2001.

I always use the nutrition paste with a sick cat. Some cats will lick it off their front paw when you smear it on it. This is easier than force feeding it. My heart is with you and I will pray for you.

-- Delilah (llark@ideafamilies.org), July 05, 2001.

make sure she is eating. when a cat doesn't eat for a few days they can develop a condition called hepatic lipadosis. force feed her if necessary. dianne

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), July 06, 2001.

I have had excellent luck with force feeding sick cats Dannon plain yogurt, about 7-8 ccs at a time with a small syringe with the needle off, of course! Settles their stomachs and helps the appetite, also, the nutritionl paste works well until they start eating on their own, purchase this from a pet supply store or from your vet.

It is important that you force feed at least 4-5 times a day until recovery occurs, or they die for sure left to their own choices.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), July 07, 2001.

TRESA CATS OF THIS AGE WILL SOMETIMES START TO SHOW SIGNS OF KIDNEY FAILURE. SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS MAY BE VOMITING/DIARRHEA AND HIGH FEVER. DID YOU TAKE THE CAT'S TEMPERATURE? NORMAL IS 100-102 DEGREES F. A HIGH FEVER COULD AS WELL INDICATE A MAJOR INFECTION GOING ON. IS SHE INDOORS ALL THE TIME OR IS SHE ALLOWED TO GO OUTSIDE AND POSSIBLY BE IN CONTACT WITH OTHER CATS? FELINE LEUKEMIA, FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (FIV - "FELINE AIDS" IF YOU WILL) AS WELL AS FELINE INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS ARE ALL HIGHLY TRANSMISSABLE FROM CAT TO CAT AS WELL AS SOMETIMES BEING TRANSFERRED FROM MOTHER TO KITTENS. I DON'T MEAN TO SCARE YOU, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT YOUR CAT MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED EARLY IN LIFE AND MAYBE THAT'S WHY SHE IS MORE SUSEPTABLE TO SICKNESS. BURNING TYPE SENSATION AND INABILITY TO EAT MAY BE LINKED TO FELINE CALICI VIRUS. I'M GIVING YOU THESE NAMES SO THAT YOU CAN DO A LITTLE SURFING FOR YOUR CAT. IN THE MEANTIME, TRY KEEPING HER HYDRATED WITH GATORADE/PEDIALYTE SOLUTIONS AND YOU CAN FORCE FEED MEAT TYPE BABY FOODS WITH A SYRINGE. BE AWARE THAT IF CATS CANNOT SMELL, SOMETIMES THEY WILL NOT EAT. HOPEFULLY SHE'S JUST HAD AN IRRITATING HAIRBALL AND SHE WILL RESUME HER NORMAL ACTIVITIES SOON. SURF THOSE AREAS I HAVE GIVEN YOU IF YOU NEED TO. RIGHT NOW SUPPORTIVE CARE IS THE BEST YOU CAN GIVE. GOOD LUCK. CT

-- ct (dragginbottomfarm@hotmail.com), July 10, 2001.

If you don't have a bottle of injectable penicllin on hand you can buy some at your local farm supply store. I think every homesteader should keep some for such animals. Anytime I have a sick animal I give it a shot. As my vet says, it can't do anything but good. I've saved a number of animals this way. You can't always know what's wrong with the animal and you can't always get it to the vet in time. Good luck!

-- Lois in KS (loiskimb@hotmail.com), July 11, 2001.