Cat Chat Feline Forum

My two year old cat has been bunged up for a couple of days now. She sounds snuffly, is snotty and has runny eyes. She has not eaten in two days, although is drinking and passing water. She is not cleaning herself and is just sleeping on our bed all day. She is a quiet cat usually anyway, but has been very quiet and is not eating her favourite treats.

She went to the vets under 2 weeks ago for her vaccinations. The vet said she is very small (2.5kg) and so I am very worried about her not eating. Her symptoms seem like cat flu, but I read there is no real treatment for this. What is the best thing to do?

Would really appreciate any advice.

Hi, I would nip her along to the vets tomorrow if I were you. She may be feeling pretty off it if she’s not eating and no energy, so it’s best to let a vet check her out. If she was eating I would probably give it a day or so but she can’t be feeling very well if not. In September my cat had her vaccinations and was really poorly straight after and wasn’t eating and the when I took her to the vet she said I’m not surprised she has a fever so will be feeling quite poorly. I’m not saying that’s it’s the vaccinations with your girl as it was two weeks ago but your vet may be able to give her an antibiotic if need be, especially with Christmas coming up you don’t want to be worrying over the holidays. I do hope she’s much better soon.

I have checked at my local vets and they open at 8 in the morning so going to ring first thing and see if they can see her. Just need to get through the trauma of getting her in the cat box first- she hates it at the best of times!

Thanks for your advice.

I think a quick trip to the vets is definitely in order, hopefully it is just a bit of a winter bug she picked up not actual cat flu. I will mention that while cat flu is a nasty disease, like human flu it does not necessarily mean it will be fatal with modern treatments cats can be nursed through it.

One of the cats we had when i was a child caught it and literally went out to die one night. We had just spent a lot on vets bills as he had recently adopted us and my Mother had the attitude that he was not going to be allowed to die after all that. She nursed him through it and was up every two hours through the night to give him a dose of rehydration fluid (water, a bit of sugar and a pinch of salt) as the vet said that the flu doesn't normally kill them, dehydration does. Now a days he would just have spent time at the vets on a drip.

As for getting her in the carrier, if she goes in easily, you know she is ill, if she does put up a fight then she is just feeling a bit under the weather. Hope the vet can get her sorted out quickly for you.

Let's hope it's just a winter bug, definitely visit the vets.

4 of our cats had cat flu when I was younger, and they were all fine.

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear your cat is poorly.
It's definitely better to get her to the vet, just to be on the safe side, but usually with cat flu it's just rest and soft foods that will be gentle on their tums. Most cat food is a bit rubbish-filled, so plain white fish or chicken is usually a good idea.

They will generally get better by themselves, given time, so try not to worry too much. Bubbles had cat flu four times in six months before we adopted him (he was at a foster home for a cat charity and I don't think they took proper precautions. It was two months after we chose to adopt him before we could bring him home). He had a nose whistle when he slept for the rest of his life but otherwise he was fine.

Thought I would give you an update. I took Bronte to the vets yesterday morning and they kept her in to do tests. Initially they thought it might be leukemia or cat aids which shook me up quite a bit! They ran some tests and thankfully it wasn't either of those things, but a viral infection. They kept her in on fluids for the day and gave her antibiotics then sent her home in the evening. She was a lot brighter last night, she let me fuss her and was washing herself. She even had a couple of treats which was a big improvement!

We took her back to the vets this morning where she was checked again and given a 10 day antibiotic injection and some high calorie food to try at home. Have managed to get her to have some cat milk as she doesn't seem keen on solids. Going to try her with the vet food as a paste to see if she'll have that.

Thanks for all of your help and well wishes, it's greatly appreciated.

Hi, thanks for updating as I was wondering how you got on at the vets. Really pleased that you took her and got some medication as it sounded like our Tasha was and it’s best to get it checked out. Our vets gave her similar to your cat (although it was the vaccinations) to rule out anything else. We also got some high calorie food but she wouldn’t eat. Although after a few days she had a little bit of her favourite Gourmet sachets and pates. I hope that Bronte is much better soon, give her a gentle fuss from me.

Glad she's feeling better.

Have you tried Whiskas Creamy Soups if she's not keen on solids? They are quite runny and my cats love them.

Pleased to hear Bronte is on the mend. Have you tried her with Hills persciption (from the vets)? We call it baby food. If our Purdy is out of sorts she loves to be spoon fed this mushy food. It is highly nutritous, you can see the weight go on her and she loves the attention of being spoon fed (by her daddy - not me )

Hope Bronte continues to improve.

Thanks for the advice ladies! She doesn't seem keen on the high calorie food, though we will keep trying.

Bought everything paste like I could find in the pet shop! She has licked up some of a Gourmet Gold soup, didn't see Whiskas so will try and get some of those today. My friend's mum has given me some Lick e Lix milky paste sachets to try her with as well.

Just hoping I can get some weight on her! She is sleeping mostly, though that's not unusual for Bronte. She has been a lot more fussy and has been cleaning herself which is a big improvement. Just need to get the eating sorted now.

If she’s starting to eat a little bit of something that’s good, I’m sure her appetite will improve in a few days, little and often if she’s not very hungry usually helps. Sleeping is good too will help her get better, and yep having a wash another good sign
PS Have you tried Gourmet pates? they’re usually popular and nice and soft, worth a try if not.

Hi there, K, love your cat's name - my Emily (cat in my avatar) says hi to Bronte

I'm glad Bronte's on the mend; at the risk of TMI, if she's still bunged up, she won't be able to smell her food as usual, and if she enjoys fish, something strong-smelling like tuna or fish from the chippy or even (as another forum member found) haddock fish fingers, de-crumbed, can attract a cat with a listless appetite.

Do hope she starts eating properly soon, give her a love from me x

Hello K
If she likes fish and is having difficulty smelling her food you might try tinned sardines or pilchards, or perhaps smoked mackerel to tempt her. Every cat I've had has loved all of those, and the tomato sauce from the canned varieties - I'm not sure if it's good for them, but when you're trying to tempt them I don't think a little of it will do any harm.

I hope she soon improves - keep posting.

I can second Lilith's advice regarding Haddock - many years ago I tempted my old cat Sally to start eating again with Haddock when she was ill.

That's great news! I'm so glad she seems to be on the mend!

I agree with the advice to give her fish. A high calorie food might be too much for her right now, so something plain and soft will be much better for her.

Good luck and merry Christmas!

She is still not eating. Tried fresh tuna, fresh turkey, the high calorie food and lick e lix. The only way we can get her to have anything is to physically put it in her mouth. We are going to keep doing that until she will voluntarily eat anything. At the moment she just gags when you put food in front of her, think maybe it's a soar throat.

She's still mainly just sleeping and haven't seen her wash in the last day. Just keep cleaning up her eyes and letting her sleep.

Poor lass, she's not doing too well, by the sound.

Are the mainstream shops open tomorrow? You can get this from Holland and Barrett -

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/p ... e-60028392

If not, hopefully amazon can do it next day and I've found it to be a lifesaver, literally. It looks like golden syrup and you wipe a bit round their lips so they have to lick it off. Also a formerly healthy cat isn't going to die from starvation after a day or two off their grub, but it's a relief not to have to keep worrying about how to tempt them. There's also a powder called 'Critical Care' that you can mix into their drinking water - you can use this stuff for everything from snakes to dogs; Amazon do this too.

Also, might be a good idea to phone the vet tomorrow and take her in if needs be. They might have supplements similar to the above that you can give her to tide her over. Is she drinking?

All the very very best with her, good luck

She hasn't eaten properly since Monday, only what we've force fed and a couple of treats. Thanks for the suggestions, will try and get that from holland and Barrett tomorrow as I was popping up to the shops anyway. The stuff for the water sounds good as well, as she is drinking. Will try anything at this point!

Vets don't open til Tuesday so going to try everything we can until then and will try and get her back in Tuesday.

Aww poor love she must still be feeling off it. I agree I’d give your vet a ring tomorrow if she’s still no better. We had to keep taking Tasha in to the vets to check her temperature and that she wasn’t getting dehydrated. She didn’t eat much at all for a week, it was only towards the end of the week she started to eat small amounts really, once her temperature was going down etc, but she did drink which I think is the main thing for so long. Sending her lots of get well wishes xx

Hi sorry to read that Bronte's been poorly over the festive break. Hope she's a tad better & you get her to the vet for a checkup. If only they could talk our language. One feels helpless when they're poorly. Fusses & ear rubs for Bronte. Vivian

Took Bronte back yesterday and they put her on a different antibiotic and gave us some eye drops. Have been finger feeding her every hour at home and today she is back in the vets for the whole day so they can try and build her up. Temperature is normal now and urine is fine, but she's anaemic.

She's coming home tonight and then probably in for the day again tomorrow.

Thank you for all of your help. I've bought the critical care and nurish-um so am giving that at home. Will keep you posted.

Glad to hear that she seems to be improving slowly though, and the vet is taking care of her. Hopefully she will start to pick up more each day and be back to her normal self very soon. Sending speedy get well wishes to the poor girl xx

Hi, so glad to be of help and hope she continues to improve, bless her, all the best

Fusses, ear rubs & +Ve thoughts to Bronte. Hope she's feeling better real soon. Vivian

Just a bit more of an update. Bronte has had 2 more days in the vets and they think there is another underlying problem as she has high calcium in her blood, as well as high globins and being anaemic. They have done x rays and an ultrasound and cannot see any masses, they are now doing various blood tests as it could be a number of things such as blood cancer, parathyroid, FIP or just high for reasons they can't find out. There were a few others but I can't remember all the names.

She was home last night and was eating on her own for the first time since this all started. She had fresh chicken, tuna and dreamies! She seems a lot brighter but the main concern now is what is underlying it all. Think it's going to take a while longer- the vet says it's a very strange case.

Poor Bronte and poor you, not knowing what is wrong is always a big worry, at least it sounds like there was an infection making her feel unwell and that is starting to clear up. Hopefully the vet can start by eliminating some of the causes and gradually work out what is wrong with her.

Good luck with the bloods