The Orchid Source - Orchid Forum

My kitty has gone to the vet this morning for "observation" because she hasn't really eaten in 2 days. We think she has a hairball stuck inside her because she's vomitted all over our bed and bedroom six times. I'm really worried because she has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the vet thinks it might not be a hairball, but her heart. She's started hiding in the closet and she keeps shaking her head like there is something wrong.

I'm really worried about her. I'd like it if she could come home tonight because being at the vet usually makes her lose weight and she's already lost at least a pound since Sunday. I can feel it when I pet her.

HUGE cat lover, here. I will keep my fingers crossed for Libby that she gets to come home today, happy and healthy!

Hopefully, labs will be drawn to rule out anything going on with her kidneys and they'll give her fluids. Some labs are affected by dehydration and look worse than they really are, so they may check them again. They may even want you to give her fluids at home (probably not because of her heart) or at least bring her in for them 2-3 times a week for a while. And - they have to be careful with fluids BECAUSE of her heart. It is really an art.

Fingers crossed. I've had to do this several times in the past. They just feel so much better after just fluids alone. I hope it isn't her heart. But they have stuff for that, too.

Here's Hope that Libby gets well.

Petro-Malt was always a standard around the house when I was felined.

Sorry to hear this news.

They should x ray and/or ultrasound to rule out a foreign body obstruction. The symptoms you mention would be a top candidate in the differential diagnosis.

We have to always pick up the house of small tempting bits (rubberbands, twist ties etc...) as Savannah's as a breed are fond of eating strange things and getting them stuck in their GI tracts.

One other thing, if she is shaking her head - they should gas her (knock her out) and do an exam of the oral cavity. Moose had a feline eosinophilic growth (non cancerous by nature) removed from his mouth not long after we got him. He is fine now.

Best of luck to you both.

I can understand and feel your concern. When I was a kid, we had a house full of cats and I've experienced my fair share of emergency vet visits. 'Sending my best wishes for a positive outcome and a speedy recovery!

Excellent points, John (in Texas). You are the forum Cat Man, you know.

another huge cat lover, here. sending healing vibes libby's way. i hope she's ok.

ellen fl

Libby has come home for the night. The vet doesn't know why she's vomitting as she does not display all the symptoms for an intestinal blockage and there is no pain in her abdomen. The vet also doesn't know why her ears are itchy as the ears very clean and contain little wax, but the head shaking is because Libby's ears itch. I don't really understand this, but I'm going to put the drops in her ears and hope that it helps. The vet says she has an upper respiratory infection and has given us an antihistamine. Since Libby is still drinking and keeping water down, we were allowed to bring her home and monitor her.

Thank you all, but I guess the non-conclusion for today is that we still don't know what is wrong with her, but the vet told me to put 1/3 a tube of laxatone into her just in case there was a humongous hairball. Apparently, it won't hurt.

One third of a tube!!! Geezzz. She will have diarrhea for several days after that. Just watch her closely.

Libby's symptoms are similar to the ones that Colorina had a month ago when she had a stroke ( I didn't want to talk about this, so that is why I didn't write anything here ).
She vomited for two days, drooled a lot and shook her head, pawing her ears often. Of course, she got to the point that she howled very loudly and began turning blue. So I took her to my Vet immediately ( he lives only a block from my house ) and after working with her for an hour, he told me she had had a stroke or heart attack. Her Glucose was over 300mg,the temperature was 4 deegrees lower than normal, her liver enzymes were high, too and her Blood Urea Nitrogen ( BUN ) was also high, so it seemed she was shutting down!
He kept her in oxygen all night because she was gasping for air, and the following morning she was better. I took her home and she slowly recovered to her usual whinny self. She is till a little wobbly sometimes as when people have strokes but OK for now.

Irma, how can you tell she was turning blue? Nose, ears, paws, tongue?

Tongue. And she was limp and cold. I thought she was dead!

Sending healing vibes to Ms. Libby. Is she an elderly cat or a youngster? Some vets are better with cats than others. If that vet
can't get an answer to her problems, find another who will. Is there
a vet clinic attached to a university in your area?

Take TX John's advice...he's a cat man and has a medical background
to boot. AND KEEP US POSTED!

Libby is an elderly cat. She turns 15 this year. We take her to an all-cat clinic, so the vet specializes in cats. One the various possibilities that could be causing the vomitting is post-nasal drip. I've never heard of a cat vomitting because of post-nasal drip before, but we're treating the respiratory infection, so if it is post-nasal drip, then I guess we're dealing with it.

Colorina is 21! She's living her bonus years now

I hope your Libby gets well soon!

If she does have post nasal drip as you and/or they speculate, the drainage, or part of it, could make its way to her lungs, causing the respiratory infection. And increased drainage and or pressure could affect her ears as well.

I'm assuming they looked or swabbed for ear mites?

Yup, they checked her ears and she has perfectly clean ears. No wax, even!

We made it through a whole night without vomit and she had 2 pieces of hard kibble this morning, so I'm hopeful.

Keep hopeful and keep us posted. Two of my cats are 15 and it's
not really elderly for well-kept cats to live a nice looooooong life...
like Colorina.

Angela your cats seem old because they're cussed.

Sending a spoonful of catnip Libby's way to make the medicine go down.

You do own hawking gauntlets don't you Spencer???

I think Libby's respiratory infection prevents her from smelling the catnip. I offered her some and she ignored it.

However, I think we now have a case of cat to human virus transmission because both kids have come down with chest colds.

Libby is doing better as long as we don't give her antihistamine. If we give her antihistamine, she eats but then she pukes all over our bed.

You know, they've actually been talking about cross contamination between people and pets for a while now. HOPE it's not some kind of swine flu.

My cats are not cussed...they're just independent...so there!

So how is Libby doing these days?

She appears to have gotten over her cold. She started eating and stopped shaking her head like a crazy thing. We've decided the vet was correct and she was vomitting because of being sick as no hairball ever showed up.

Thanks for asking, Rich.

Glad that Libby is feeling better. They do get colds and I believe cross species infection does happen.

Many years ago, my Mother and I "rescued" a couple of leftover Christmas puppies from a Mom and Pop pet shop. The owner said they were going to be sent to the pound since he didn't get them sold. So of course, even though we already had 2 large dogs, we bought them both for a deal (buy one, get the other free). They were about 16 weeks old and within a day or two of arriving, they both came down with a serious flu bug....exploding out both ends! While they were being treated, both my Mother and I came down with the same symptoms. God!...that was horrible. All 4 of us felt like we were dying! It was January, the puppies were pretty big and not housebroken yet......and to avoid having to shovel up enormous amounts of "poop stew" off the mudroom floor in the morning, we had to get up every 2 hours all through the night to take them outside, in the freezing cold, snow and high winds. I've never felt so wretched in my life and the two girls were so much work to keep up with.

Thankfully, we all got over our illness and the puppies were quickly housebroken. I still shudder when I think about that week when we were all so sick.