Cat Chat Feline Forum

It's only been since last night but it's so out of character that I'm worried. Tilly always meets me at night ready for her tea. Last night she came down the stairs, had a look at me, wasn't interested in her food, used her tray and then went back upstairs and hid under the bed. She stayed there all night despite me trying to coax her out (though just by talking to her as she has found a spot that's really difficult to access).

In a morning Tilly usually comes to wake me up, playful and ready for breakfast. This morning she came into the bathroom but she was quiet and her tail was down. She came downstairs with me but wasn't interested in food and after a couple of minutes went back to her hiding place.

I'm seriously worried. What should I do? I don't want to upset her further by taking her to the vets unless it's really necessary. Does anyone have any advice or similar experience?

I would give it a couple of days to see how she is. She may just be feeling under the weather like us humans do at times. It is a worry I know.

Thanks, that's kind of what I thought but I wanted re-assurance. She's such a huge part of my life and I'm used to her being really sociable and playful.

I disagree and would take her to the vets today. It sounds like she may have an infection of some kind.

Cats can go downhill very quickly and it's better to take her in today than over the weekend when you'll have to pay emergency rates. Also, a cat can't go very long without eating without damaging the liver.

Hi I agree and would take her to vets asap. Your cat is telling you something is wrong, even if it is minor you will have done the right thing. My cats hate the vets but it would be the first port of call just in case

If she requires an antibiotic, make sure it's in tablet form, not a long-lasting injection which can have very serious side effects.

I tend to give my gang a day - if they're still off-colour the next day I whip 'em down the vets.

Crewella wrote:I tend to give my gang a day - if they're still off-colour the next day I whip 'em down the vets.

Me too if the cat just seemed a bit off, unless of course the cat was in distress or showed obvious signs.

Janey wrote:

Crewella wrote:I tend to give my gang a day - if they're still off-colour the next day I whip 'em down the vets.

Me too if the cat just seemed a bit off, unless of course the cat was in distress or showed obvious signs.

Absolutely - if there's something definitely wrong then of course I wouldn't wait. It's also wise to consider the weekend, as Marla says - I'm lucky in that my vet surgery is open 7 days a week.

Well she's been downstairs and eaten something, and used her tray, so even though she's now gone back into hiding I think I'm going to give her a day or so to come round. I feel less worried now that she's eaten and used the loo.

Thanks everyone for your comments. As a new member I'm finding this very re-assuring to know that there are people out there that I can voice my concerns too.

Hi just reading through and noticed post about antibiotics injection, my cats have had a couple of these what's the problem with them? Thanks

jillyvillyvoo, if your cat needs antibiotics and you're able to pill them, then there's no need to risk a long-lasting antibiotic which stays in the cat system and could cause a very serious - even fatal - reaction.

Here are two sites which explain the potential issues:

http://catinfo.org/?link=convenia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.facebook.com/Convenia-adver ... 391502152/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Morty_1 wrote:Well she's been downstairs and eaten something, and used her tray, so even though she's now gone back into hiding I think I'm going to give her a day or so to come round. I feel less worried now that she's eaten and used the loo.

Thanks everyone for your comments. As a new member I'm finding this very re-assuring to know that there are people out there that I can voice my concerns too.

That's good news, hopefully she will back to norm by tomorrow.

Just to add to the comments on Convenia antibiotic injections, there have been times where I have been very grateful that they are available - for ferals, for example, where there's little chance of managing to get a course of pills 'down the hatch'. There's always a chance that a cat could react badly to any antibiotic, but when giving them orally you can stop the course straightaway. The problem with Convenia is that the whole course is given in one injection, and once that has been given you can't stop or reverse it.

My vets always ask if I want Convenia, but would prefer me to administer antibiotics orally if possible, which I do as I agree with them.

If your cat has had these injections and not reacted, chances are she'd be fine anyway.

I've had convenia used on several of my cats over the years with nothing but good results. And if your cat is difficult to pill, it's a Godsend. I wouldn't hesitate to let a vet use it again.

If your cat's not pulling round by tomorrow, definitely take her to the vet on Monday. She really doesn't sound at all well.

Thanks to all for anti biotic info, never knew that. My vet always gave me pills which u will know not all cats like receiving! However now I uNderstand why last time I went cat was given injection. It was a wee stray, fiv boy who's future was uncertain (uuntil muggins here decided to keep him) so I wandered why my cats never got. I'm assuming this means from now on if he needs antibiotic it will be safe for him?

jillyvillyvoo, how lovely that you adopted an FIV+ cat! Regarding Convenia, a cat's health condition would be different each time, so I don't know if you could assume that if they had Convenia once and were OK then they will be fine another time. All of our cats are happy to take antibiotic tablets out of my hand, but if they wouldn't I would just hide it in a bit of chicken or steak.

Morty_1, how is Tilly today?

If a cat has had no reaction to an antibiotic shot once then there's certainly a good chance that they will be fine, but as Marla says there are no guarantees.

I was wondering how Tilly was doing too?

I do hope Tilly is alright. We are all desperate to know.

Hope tilly has been to vet and is feeling better? Hope to hear something soon x

Thanks for all the concern. Tilly is booked into the vets today so I will post again when I know more. She has been eating wet food but nowhere near as much as usual, and is now sleeping in a box upstairs (her chosen spot for now) so at least she's not hiding anymore. She also ventured outside yesterday but only for a couple of minutes, and that may have been because the grandchildren were round. Hopefully the vet will be able to tell what's wrong today.

Just got back from the vets. Tilly had a rather nasty cat bite to her tail. I couldn't see it because she was carefully keeping it hidden but spotted it just as I was putting her in the basket to take her to the vets. Anyway she is running a high temperature so has had an anti-inflammatory injection and I have a course of anti-biotics (pills, thanks folks) to give her.

She has taken the first one and has already ventured out into the garden, and had something to eat, so things are definitely on the up.

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and helpful advice.

So pleased to hear they've found why she's feeling so rough. Hope the AB's work quickly, and that the wound heals up nicely. Good luck with the pilling!

Glad to hear that Tilly seems brighter in herself generally and hopefully the meds will sort any infection that may be there. Sending fuses from us xx

I'm glad you got to the .... erm ..... bottom of it, and hope she's feeling better soon.

Poor Tilly. I was going to say our girl Molly was acting very similarly and I took her to the vet and she had a high temp and suspected infection. Poor Tilly getting a bite, do you have an idea which local cat could have done it?

Hope she's feeling better.