My poor Strider. He was back for 2 1/2 weeks when something funny happened. The other night I fed them, then went to bed. I saw Strider chipper and doing great, dragging a chicken frame into the corner to chow down. Good behavoir.
Sometime during the night I heard some kind of cat heaving, but in the morning, there was no mess anywhere, so it was a mystery. But as the morning wore on, I saw there was no Strider around. I started calling and looking for him, and finally a few hours later found him under our bed. His left side whiskers were bent back hard, so he must have been sleeping hard as well, I figured. I picked him up, and he was just “not himself”. He looked alright otherwise, but was acting sedate, wouldn’t purr, and seemed to be “burping” every once in awhile.
His eyes looked frightened, but his fur looked fine. He didn’t “look sick”. He came downstairs, hung out then in the sunshine streaming through the door windows in the kitchen. He then went upstairs and stayed on our bed late afternoon, and was still there when we went to bed around 10pm. I sat down and held him, and then he started hacking, and ran to the edge of the bed, just dry hacking. His behaviour was just so odd, but then he stopped, jumped off the bed and ran into the hall, that was the last I saw him for a long time. But he ran off “full of life”.
Well the next day I set to looking and looking for him and didn’t find him all day. I was expecting a dead cat if/when we’d find him. Things muddle a bit, and it was this day that was Friday I think. No Strider. Saturday, still no Strider anywhere. I had torn apart every possible place in the house, under beds, in closets, etc.
The only other place he could be was in the crawl space. It was impossible to see in there, as the insulation in the ceiling of the crawl space is all fallen down. It’s not a fun place to go into in any case. I often had gone down there, turned the light on, opened the door and called Strider over and over.
So Saturday, Frank finally went down there in the afternoon, and crawled around and saw him hiding in a far corner, and was able to frightenly chase him to where I could just barely get into the space and grab the cat.
He looked just the same, only more frightened. I was totally happy to see him warm and moving well. Status since then, he’s in the bathroom and hiding behind the toilet, won’t eat or drink. Lethargic, yet not. He doesn’t purr much, only once in awhile. He still has the “burp” thing, and dry heavy cough.
I thought perhaps a bone was stuck from his last meal, or that he’s sick from the food, but no other cat or pup got sick, same food source.
So then I’m thinking whatever it is it’s just HIM, and perhaps a gastrointestinal thing, a gas-x product may help … over gassyness would cause no eating or drinking to be desired, and moaping and sick burpyness. Well, he can’t go on like this for long, without fluids at least.
I took a secondary approach and started giving him yukky cat hairball treatment stuff, “just in case this is a really bad sudden hair ball attack entirely” but it doesn’t make sense, in my many years experience with cats, to have anything like this at all.
I gave Strider the Petromalt that I had lying around from a long ago purchase, I put it on my finger, opened his mouth and shoved it in. It stuck to the roof of his mouth, he didn’t like it, but it forced a swallowing action, and he swallowed it fine. So, perhaps nothing is stuck. He’s just so NOT STRIDER, it’s sad, I don’t know what else to do with him. Bringing him to the Vet isn’t possible.
So, if anyone reading this has any clue as to what’s up or how to help him, please leave comments.
I stroke his fur often, and really massage his sides. Whenever he has that burp thing, is sounds really wet. Whenever he has that coughy hacky thing, it sounds wet, nearly like hacking stuff up, but nothing comes out of his mouth. No throw up, nothing. He’s not pooping or peeing either, not eating of course, since Wednesday night, so I don’t know his bathroom habits on Thursday, Friday or Saturday before we found him in the crawlspace.
So my dear kitty just stays behind the toilet, miserable, but looking pretty. I’m puzzled, but glad he’s still here with me. 🙁
13 responses to “Strider is sick, but with what?”
So sorry for your kitty. 🙁 Any positive changes this morning?
Tamara,
Thank you for your sentiments. Today, all day, he’s the same. No real change, except perhaps he’s not “burping” “gag coughing” as often. And he’s not hiding behind the toilet anymore. He’s manage to figure out how to open the lower cabinet doors in the bathroom and is continually hiding in there.
I keep getting him out to look at him. Well, another thing is, he did *pee* so that’s one improvement, but he won’t eat or drink. He’ll waste away into nothing in time, if this goes on.
He’s just so fearful and not like himself, but LOOKS fine. It’s so weird. So very, weird. I miss my sweet baby. He is/was so very, very deep purry, and soft and lap cat and shoulder cat and just so everywhere and lovely pet. It’s so bizzare. It’s almost like he needs a shrink or something. \O/
Marysue,
What was the chicken frame? an actual chicken with bones? A frame for a chicken container? If either contained bones or wood, he sounds like he could have something stuck and blocking his intestines. This could be fatal, but if he’s eating perhaps he can get something to push it through. The real danger is if something punctured his stomach or intestines. You should watch him like you are doing, and continue to give him things to eat, preferably moist if he’s not drinking either. If you took him to a vet, they would xray him and if there was something stuck or punctured, they would want to do surgery. It is something that we had to work through when our cat, Ernie was sick, and the vet wanted to send him to a specialist. I hope Strider gets better.
Becky,
A chicken frame is part of a chicken with a little meat on it, like the breast or ribs or something, from a restaurant supplier.
We feed the cats raw. This is normal food for raw fed dogs and cats. Most chicken bones are soft and eatable for dogs and cats, as long as they are raw. They crunch, them all up before swallowing. It’s hard to explain, but it’s not REALLY like he could get something big or small stuck anywhere, as it’s not the same as a cooked bone.
Anyhow, we cannot afford to take him to the vet. We don’t have enough money for anything extra, or normal even. It’s crunch time, less work, and we are still working to get our business(es) rolling in the black. So, either Strider improves by God’s grace, or God gives me an answer which I can do something different to help, or he just goes on to be buried beside Cinnamon in the backyard.
I’m going to have to force fluids into him with a syringe, he won’t drink. Neither will he eat. He will eat and drink nothing. He will only lick his “lips” if I put water on them. He’s mostly just acting like he’s in shock over an alien encounter. I can’t describe it any better than that. He’s not my wonderful Strider anymore, that personality has been replaced with total “I just want to hide, and I don’t want to purr” and also “I do not want to rub your legs or climb on your back or sit on your shoulder” “I don’t want to roll over and beg you to rub my belly”
I do pet him and rub his sides and belly, he takes it, but doesn’t enjoy it. There is nothing odd feeling in his belly. He exibits no flinching on any of my examinations, he doesn’t seem to be hurting in any way, just the occasional burping, and the occasional coughing dry heavy hack. The last coughing symptom there, is like a hairball cough, but he’s bringing nothing up, just a wet sound at the end, and he “swallows hard” right then. Looking in his mouth, everything looks normal.
So that’s that.
Marysue,
I know you can’t afford to take him to the vet and I wouldn’t advise it anyway, since any diagnostic stuff they would do that shows something would involve expensive remedies and that was what happened with Ernie. We got the diagnostics, general ones, but for more invasive diagnostics involving surgery, it would have been beyond what we could pay. Anyway, my point is, that you shouldn’t even bother to get the diagnostics, because if they show nothing, you are ok anyway. If they show a problem, you would face expensive treatment. We used a syringe to feed and give water to Ernie too. It was not fun for either of us. If Strider just needs to get past this period of whatever is wrong with him, he is depending on you to keep him nourished. I’m sorry that you are having this issue, and right before the holidays. I remember we were feeding Precious that way back in 1998 when Daddy died. Precious was deathly ill with a bad cold she caught from Ernie. She wasted away to skin and bones and Rick ended up taking over the feedings and she was normal when I got home. I hope Strider pulls through this. Love, Becky
Marysue,
I know you can’t afford to take him to the vet and I wouldn’t advise it anyway, since any diagnostic stuff they would do that shows something would involve expensive remedies and that was what happened with Ernie. We got the diagnostics, general ones, but for more invasive diagnostics involving surgery, it would have been beyond what we could pay. Anyway, my point is, that you shouldn’t even bother to get the diagnostics, because if they show nothing, you are ok anyway. If they show a problem, you would face expensive treatment. We used a syringe to feed and give water to Ernie too. It was not fun for either of us. If Strider just needs to get past this period of whatever is wrong with him, he is depending on you to keep him nourished. I’m sorry that you are having this issue, and right before the holidays. I remember we were feeding Precious that way back in 1998 when Daddy died. Precious was deathly ill with a bad cold she caught from Ernie. She wasted away to skin and bones and Rick ended up taking over the feedings and she was normal when I got home. I hope Strider pulls through this. Love, Becky
Marysue,
I know you can’t afford to take him to the vet and I wouldn’t advise it anyway, since any diagnostic stuff they would do that shows something would involve expensive remedies and that was what happened with Ernie. We got the diagnostics, general ones, but for more invasive diagnostics involving surgery, it would have been beyond what we could pay. Anyway, my point is, that you shouldn’t even bother to get the diagnostics, because if they show nothing, you are ok anyway. If they show a problem, you would face expensive treatment. We used a syringe to feed and give water to Ernie too. It was not fun for either of us. If Strider just needs to get past this period of whatever is wrong with him, he is depending on you to keep him nourished. I’m sorry that you are having this issue, and right before the holidays. I remember we were feeding Precious that way back in 1998 when Daddy died. Precious was deathly ill with a bad cold she caught from Ernie. She wasted away to skin and bones and Rick ended up taking over the feedings and she was normal when I got home. I hope Strider pulls through this. Love, Becky
Marysue,
Sorry about the repetitions. My computer was not fast enough and I clicked on post too many times. sorry…
Becky
Hi Marysue,
Just checking in to see how your kitty is doing… Still thinking/praying for you both. :-/
Oh, and I forgot, my parents have had a dog and a cat both who stopped eating and drinking for different reasons but no *apparent* causes. Both youngish in age. Turns out one had a thyroid problem and the other diabetes. They are “empty nesters” with me gone all these years so they had some extra funds to go to the vet. I know how hard it is…we wouldn’t be able to take one of our cats to the vet right now either should anything happen. :-/
Tamara, Thanks for asking and for the info about your parents animals.
UPDATE on Strider:
On Thursday, Dec 18, in the A.M. Strider moved himself to another spot in our bathroom cabinets, which made him more accessible by me. He didn’t have that intense “fear” look in his eyes anymore either.
He wanted me to pet him, though didn’t portray his usual outward “PET ME NOW” affectionate acting. He was more subtle.
But then he started to purr. MAJOR improvement there. Since then I can pet him and he’ll purr right away, or awhile into the petting session. He’s staying in the cabinet though. I heard him get out and use the box we have in the bathroom for him, in the middle of the night last night. He’s still not eating or drinking on his own, but I did get a few scraps of ground beef into his mouth and helped him to keep it in their long enough for him to swallow it. He’s just weird about it, it’s so odd. He didn’t throw it up either. He still “gag coughs” on occasion, but never “coughs anything up” at all.
I took him out of his cabinet this morning and placed him on the windowsill in the bathroom and stayed with him petting him, so he could get some sun, and get used to being out a bit. He let me do that, and seemed to enjoy it some, at least. I left him there, and withing two minutes he moved back into the cabinet again.
So, all in all, it’s still bad, but an improvement from the last post I made the other day.
Thanks again for asking!
Dear Marysue,
Although you have a cat with this problem, my dog has been acting like this for months. She even has the same gag/cough and doesn’t want to eat….anything except tantalizing warm, human food, and little at that. We decided after months and months of this that we had to do something about it. We have had x-rays to see if there is something lodged, blood tests and physical exams. After hundreds of dollars, it turns out she has a thyroid problem. She is not overweight like most thyroid dogs, but has completely lost her zest for life. Being that you can’t take your cat to the vet, try feeding him/her food with much less iodine as iodine makes the problem much worse. We are still going through the process of treating this problem and may find out more info. about others problems she is having. Will post any new info. Hope Strider is improving! ….all for now.
Thank you. Strider is all better now. He is thin, but gaining weight slowly, is eating. His personality is back to “normal” is super-duper-lovable self.
🙂