Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

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Joe_Danger
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Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Everything was perfectly fine, the kitten was sorted out, all 4 cats happy and healthy.
but apparently today Mila suffered a heat stroke or so it seems, she started making a chewing motion and spitting out foam, usually she does this when she has hair stuck in her teeth but this time it wasn't that, we rushed her to the vet's, vet says she is running a fever of 40C and is life threatening.

Her bloodwork came back perfectly normal
and since she isn't one for hot weather and with our AC broken/barely functional she might have suffered a major major heat stroke, the vet can not guarantee she is going to be fine, they're doing everything they can, she is on IV fluids now.

Guys, Mila is only 7.5 years old
she is the best cat ever, she even started to tolerate the kitten more

this is more than I can handle
everything was so perfect this weekend and today and now this

sorry if I' a bother I needed to talk about this with people who understand.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by fjm »

My thoughts are with you - what a dreadful shock. She is in the best place and obviously getting the best possible care, I hope for better news soon.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Ruth B »

Oh no, I really hope she will get better and if it is a reaction to the heat (I don't cope well with heat myself, so I can sympathise) hopefully the vet can give you some tips to help keep her safe and well until the temperature drops off, or you can get your AC fixed. Heat stroke is serious but she is in the best place at the moment. My best wishes go to you and to her.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by booktigger »

Fingers crossed for her
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Mila was given IV fluids at the vets and is back home now but she is way too hyper and she won't settle down
The vet said she's apparently had this stroke for 72 hours according to the symptoms and was on death's door, they did bloodwork and it came back perfectly fine, so they ruled out an infection or poisoning.

Her heart may or may not have been damaged same goes for her lungs.
The vet can't guarantee she is going to pull through but he believes she will.

Problem is, now she won't settle down that she is home, goes from room to room, picks the dumbest, warmest places she normally sleeps in but she won't settle down.

We are trying to keep the house cool but it's not working
Tomorrow is going to be 41C
The AC service said they are booked, they were booked last week too
and that maybe just maybe they can fix it in 5-6 days which is more than she can handle

I wish she would just settle down tho :(
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

We couldn't possibly know Mila has had a heat stroke for 72 hours now when she was acting perfectly normal
Eating, fussing at the kitten, drinking water, being semi friendly with the kitten, purring, playing, everything, like she showed no signs whatsoever anything was wrong until just hours ago when she started chewing on nothing and throwing up foam.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by fjm »

I think I would confine her somewhere cool - perhaps a cat carrier with a fan over ice packs - while it is so hot until you are sure she has recovered, especially if there are no warning signs.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

At least Kala (Milla's daughter) and Spaska/Spase the kitten are getting along
IMG_3325.JPG
I have no idea if Mila is going to pull through tho
she seems fine but she seemed fine all day today and the two days before and apparently she's had this for 72 hours :( her breathing isn't the best tho
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Ruth B »

If she is drinking water then that is a good sign, she needs the fluids to cope with the heat. As mentioned, ice pack under a towel, even a damp towel put in the freezer and then wrapped in a dry towel for her to lie on. If there is a cooler room where you can put her with a fan on that might help her settle a bit.

Over here we can get gel filled cool pads that can help, something about the gel means that it gets cooler when pressure is put on it, it does heat up after a while but it really good to start with, I have one for when it gets hot for myself, and I know pet ones are easily available here, but I know that isn't always the case where you are. Final suggestion is to brush her with a damp brush to help cool her down, and in my opinion ears seem to be a good indication of how hot an animal is, if they feel hot to the touch then she is probably feeling the heat a bit too much.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thank you so much for the support and responses and sorry I came with such a negative post and right after everything went perfectly with the kitten. The cats have all been healthy and problem free for so long.

I've been brushing her with a damp cloth because she doesn't like anything else, the vet said to only do her head and paws but she doesn't like it when I get her paws wet.
sadly there is no cool place in the house, none at all and tomorrow is going to be hell literally, 41C
I have two fans blowing in her direction hope it won't get her sick since persians get colds very easily, gave all 4 cats cold chicken broth, Mila had to drink hers with a syringe, now of all times she refuses water/cold drinks when she loves that stuff normally.

Her breathing doesn't seem as rapid anymore, she went and ate some dry food on her own and sniffed the lil one in a friendly way.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by fjm »

I found dampening ears to be a good way of cooling cats and dogs - they don't like it much, but it does help. And ice in front of the fan cools the air - either a bucket, or frozen plastic bottles of water wrapped in a damp cloth: https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifes ... t-weather/
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thanks
I think we managed to maintain some kind of managable temperature today, she definitely doesn't seem to like getting her ears wet but if I do it just right she doesn't seem to mind.

So far she seems normal a bit more confused at times but so are the other two, the lil one doesn't care about nothin lol
She threw up a little at some point, but it was just undigested food, no white goop or nothing, not much a few kibbles like 5-6 kibbles and im sure she ate more than that since last night, they're not even chewed she probably just swallowed them whole

Had some cold chicken broth this morning and water, not on her own tho for some reason she refuses to hydrate herself now that she has to, but she drank everything with a syringe so it's fine.

She isn't out of the woods yet not even close
if there was organ failure/damage we won't know until a few days after the heatstroke, it's also hard to tell how well she is doing when even if the inside temperature is manageable now all three adult cats are slow and sluggish because of the hot weather outside anyways.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Ruth B »

Don't worry about the negative post, in a way it isn't negative, you love Milla and all the regulars here now how distressing it is when they aren't well (My own golden oldie Tiggy had to go to the vets a couple of weeks ago as she wasn't well, I really wasn't sure she would be coming home, but an antibiotic injection and some steroid tablets have worked wonders, looks like she will be on the steroids for the rest of her life, how ever long that may be), so we are more than happy to listen and give what ideas we can that might help.

My thought with grooming her with a damp brush (or cloth works fine if that is what she likes) is that, as far as I understand it, a cat grooms partly to spread saliva over their coat which then evaporates off which cools them down, as fjm says the ears are also one of the bodies radiators to get rid of heat (which is why some dessert animals have such big ears), so again dampening the ears will help draw heat out of her body. If she isn't drinking properly by herself then dampening her down manually will help her conserve what fluid she has rather than wasting it with trying to cool her coat down.

All fingers and paws are crossed here in hope that she will pull through with no lasting damage done internally, and feel free to talk all you need to, it sounds like you are on an emotional rollercoaster at the moment between Spaska/Spase and Milla.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Mollycat »

Boo used to lie on the dog's cooling mat, which you could make yourself with a plastic sheet and some wet towels.
Very shy Molly who was scared of everything accepted a gentle misting spray of catnip. Some cats will accept a very fine misting spray of water above them as it cools the air quite dramatically around them.
I agree with Ruth about the damping down of the coat to encourage evaporation cooling, I think it might also flatten the coat to eliminate the trapped air that acts as a warming layer.
If you don't have a thermometer at home the ears are a good gauge, if they are hot to the touch the cat is too hot.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thank you so much guys
I tried many things but Mila doesn't like lying down on these cooling things I've been making for her so for now damp cloth and this one box fan you put water in seem like the two most viable solutions. She doesn't seem like she has high temperature anymore but she is so spaced out and lethargic, she won't even even eat which worries me. I mean all 4 are lethargic even tho we managed to get the temperature inside the house to acceptable degrees.

Well maybe she isn't lethargic per se, because if you call her she immediately turns around, we were trimming/cutting Casper's fur now and he made a bit of a fuss and she is as protective of him as ever so she sat and watched, BUT, she is lethargic when a food bowl is placed in front of her...I'm not sure how to describe it.
Sometimes she just sits there and stares into nothing.

Eedit: put Casper's fur in a box so it doesn't scatter all over the house before throwing it out and this happened
IMG_3333.JPG
IMG_3341.JPG
At least she makes me smile even during this exceptionally stressful situation
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Update:
Here's what the vet said:
- She has normal temperature today, 38.5C which is normal for cats
- 15 days from now we can test for any organ damage, kidney, heart, lung issues
- The vet believes she is going to be fine, he wasn't so sure yesterday but now he thinks she is going to be just fine

That's all we know for now

I'm concerned she won't drink water or eat tho, she does seem to want to eat, she jumped on the table where we keep the adult cats' food now with ease but didn't eat much just kinda sniffed it.
I fear she might have developed kidney issues but let's hope not and nothing was damaged.
She is going to the vet tomorrow for a 3rd injection.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by fjm »

Definitely good news - still lots to worry about, of course, but it is very good that the vet's opinion is so positive. Have you offered her something more interesting than her usual food? Small portions, shallow dish, smelly and slightly warm (the last should not be a problem!) can all help to kick start the eating habit. I have had good results offering a tiny bit of chopped raw liver - think half a teaspoonful - to get them interested in food again when they have been unwell. Too much can be dangerous, but a little is beneficial.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

yeah she does seem interested, sniffs whatever we offer but won't eat it.

I bought goat's milk thinking the kitten might need it, could I offer that to her? I don't think it'll give her diarrhea right?
ATM we don't have wet food, haven't had it for about a week now because this year Mila started getting soft stools after eating ANY kind of wet food, so in order to avoid that I got her on nothing but dry food for a bit, she kept drinking lots of water until the heatstroke and all was well.

Now after the heatstroke, If we give her chicken broth in a syringe, she gulps it up no problem,but if you put it in front of her she won't drink it on her own and that's what scares me.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Well Mila is back to normal, right down to her screen climbing shananigans on the window screens.
Eats just fine and drinks on her own.

BUT, now Casper almost had a heatstroke too and the hosue isn't even that hot
Stopped it on time tho, his breathing was abnormally heavy and his gums and tonue pale which happens to him when he gets too dehydrated/hot, his temperature was 39.5, but it went down to 39.2C which is the high end of normal after some cooling down with fans, damp clothes and an 8th of a human pill we call Analgin here, it's what the vet said to give them if their temperature goes too high and it's an emergency.

So far so good, his breathing stablizied and he ate a bunch, Casper has always been bad about keeping himself hydrated.
Buying a bunch of wet food tomorrow, we normally always give them a mix of both dry and wet but the girls started having soft stools and what not from Felix and then from Whiskas and other brands too this year so we cut down on wet food significantly and they kept themselves hydrated by drinking more.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by fjm »

Thank heavens you know what to look for. Persians are at a higher risk, of course, but those sort of temperatures are dangerous for any cat, or human.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

yeah we normally get high temperatures here but our Air Conditioner is usually fully operational and now all AC services seem booked and what not.

- Casper is fine now, was doing great all night after his temperature went down to 38.4C
- The vet is giving him an IV now, for just in case
- She says his dad is also taking the heatwave very very poorly, they constantly have to keep him cooled down with damp cloths and even ice packs wrapped in towls/cloth
- Good thing last night we reacted swiftly and perfectly prevented what could have been a heatstoke so he just ended up having hypertension for a bit there

At least Mila and Spaska(the kitten) are getting along now too...for the most part
I think playing in Casper's fur helped the little one smell more like Casper and Mila is super close to both her kids still so that probably added a lot to her somewhat warming up to the kitten now.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

- Mila was given a clean bill of health by the vet just now, she has recovered 100%
- Casper is doing great but he refuses to drink water on his own (as per usual, nothing new about him) so keeping him hydrated is a tad tricky but he is doing great as well
- Damp clothes, swamp fans and that portable mini AC are keeping the cats cool for now

Hopefully we won't have any more bad episodes with any one of the four anymore, but you never know.
Fortunately over the years they've been mostly doing great and here's hoping for many more years of that but again, you never know.

Would giving Casper goat's milk if he likes it help with hydration?
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by fjm »

I would try diluting the milk with water, if he likes the taste. Dilute kitten milk works as well.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Well the only vet we found who has and sells Kitty milk here wouldn't sell it to us saying it's only for emergencies and the kitten doesn't need it anymore.
But if diluting the goat milk with water is going to help I'll give that a shot, thanks.

How come other summers have been hot too and this never happened before? I remember in 2019 coming home late from hanging out with friends pretty much every day (2020 i was keeping myself isolated due to COVID but with two pfizers in me now I should be good to go back out there in a couple weeks) and everyone would be just fine.
Maybe the cats are getting older but Casper and Kala are only 5.5 (they were born December 9th 2015) and Mila is 7, she was born March 2014 not sure which march tho.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Ruth B »

This is pure speculation, but it could be possibly that Milla and Caspar picked up a mild infection from the kitten that sent their temperatures higher than normal. Then on top of that you had the heat wave so they couldn't get their body temperature down as it should have done after fighting off the infection. Also feeling under the weather with the infection may mean they didn't feel like drinking and then they get in a vicious cycle where they don't drink so can't cool down and then are too hot so don't feel up to drinking. Just a thought as to why it might have happened as it did, if it had just been Milla then i would have just said a case of heat stroke but with Caspar suffering as well it made me wonder if there was another contributing factor. Hopefully now everyone has a chance to recover.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thanks for the quick reply, I suspected an infection from the kitten too but the vet shut that down immediately because she said the kitten is completely healthy. She said Casper's dad has had the same issues, it's a good thing we prevented a full on heatstroke in Casper. They've been cooling his dad down with clothes and what not this summer as well.

As for drinking, he's always had issues with drinking water and wet cat food which he sometimes loves and sometimes doesn't care about usually keeps him hydrated. I tried giving him diluted goat's milk and since it was something new to him he drank from it a good bit, but that was it he doesn't seem interested anymore, at least he put some water/liquids in him for the night tho. He eats dry food perfectly normally tho.

Couldn't find any wet food in the stores near me, but I ordered some from some online stores we have here so it should arrive tomorrow, hopefully it will keep Casper from going dehydrated even tho my cats are all weird about wet food. They only eat it when it's freshly opened and that's it, you can't put it in the fridge and except them to eat it cold, room temp or heat up, nope it's either fresh out of the pouch or can or it's a no go lol

I even tried giving Casper running water which usually grabs the attention of cats who refuse water in bowls, plaets and such but nope, he does not care, at least he got some diluted goat's milk in him tho.
The girls went absolutely CRAZY over the diluted milk, all three of them jesus, hope they don't get the runs.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Mollycat »

I give flavoured water for difficult cats who really must drink. Molly has the water from a tin of tuna in spring water (not brine obviously) half and half with tap water. My old cat couldn't resist water that had vegetables cooked in it, peas especially. Big Cat Rescue in Florida give their residents bloodsicles - a frozen lollipop made with, yeah that, and some raw food in it I think. Ice cubes can be fun to play with and lick. A big deep glass bowl full of water with something shiny or moving in the bottom can be irresistible to play with.

For cats who do tolerate milk (personally I've never known one that likes it but gets ill with it, mine either won't have it or have no problems with it) then ice cream, yoghurt, anything they like, in reasonable amounts of course, to get fluids into them.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by booktigger »

I know the vet dismissed an infection as the kitten was healthy, but you said you stopped wet food as the girls had the runs, that could have actually been their body dealing with something, rather than a reaction to the wet food, and the lack of wet food combined with the heat could have led to them reacting more than in previous years.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Joe_Danger »

I stopped wet food a week before the kitten got here
They started getting the runs from Felix wet food first, which they used to eat just fine until recently.

Seems Casper is back to drinking water now, the weather is great today and not overly hot so all 4 cats behave normally.
I'm not too happy with Mila's water intake and peeing frequency to be honest, there's a chance she might have damaged her kidneys during her heatstroke but we won't know until some 15 days from now or so, maybe she is just compensating for being dehydrated from the heatstroke and for being on dry food for 3 weeks now.

For now, all 4 are doing amazingly well, hope to God we don't deal with heatstrokes or anything bad any time soon.
Also they all seem to have warmed up to Spaska, the kitten (I know the name sounds weird to English speaking folk but it's an old timy Slavic name and kind of a funny name to be given in this day and age I guess). Maybe her playing in Casper's fur sealed the deal so now she smells like Casper, tho I've been swapping smells between the four however long she's been here but nothing worked.

Hoping this is the end of the drama and no health issues arise any time soon for any of them.
Thanks a ton for all the support y'all, it helped a great deal.
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Re: Just when everything seems fine something terrible happens :( Mila might die

Post by Kay »

I think Spaska is a fine name for a cat - Barbara Woodhouse, Jackson Galaxy's very very different forerunner :D - used to say cats respond best to names with an 's' sound, so Spaska is doubly good
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