Need help. Any one know about cats?

[mocha200]

 

We have five cats. One of our cats have been sick a lot recently. He had limes last summer because of our stupid old vet told us to stop treating them for tics. Then about 2 weeks ago he could barely breath  and when he was breathing it was noisy and sounded funny. So we took him to the vet the next day and they said it was ether a bad cold or he may  have asthma ( which would explain why every time it gets hot he pants through his mouth.) The vet gave us medicine encase it was a bad cold but we had to stop giving it to him because it started to get old and weird looking. He was fine for about a week, but now the last few days he looks really tired and he doesn’t always open his eyes all the way. He is also getting skinny . We think he might be getting worms so we are going to have to buy some worm medicine.

ANY WAYS. I was wondering if any one knew what we should do, or knew of some GOOD cat websites that could help us out.

Thanks,

Mocha200

EDIT: here is our cat thats not doing well. His name is Emmett.

 

[Stickerbunny]

If he’s an outdoor cat, it’s possible he got into something or came into contact with an animal that made him sick – has the vet done bloodwork? Also, some vets (wrongly) tell cat owners to not treat their cat with heart worm prevention, has your kitty been on that? Weight loss, lethargy and difficulty breathing are all symptoms of heart worms advancing (I lost my last rescue dog to it, it was too late to treat when we got him).

[Lintini]

Did you call the vet and ask them about the meds they gave you? Probably stopping a treatment early wasn’t a good idea. I’ve never heard of meds changing colors though, I would have called them right away. I would think that if there was something wrong with it they would give you a fresh batch if you were still in the treatment phase.

Our 10 year old cat got really skinny out of no where it seemed, and it was because he was in kidney failure and is now passed.
My cat Frodo gets really skinny in the summer from worms, he won’t stop eating field mice and voles. Guh!!

I would call that vet back, something doesn’t seem right at all.

[mocha200]

He is indoor/outdoor. The medicine kind of separated, If you know what i mean. My mom didn’t call the vet for more because he seemed to be doing better and we are 2 1/2 hours away from them because we are at our other house. If it was my cat I would have called the vet and explained what happened and how he is acting and ask them if the thought we should bring him in. But my mom is the kind of person who will only take them to the vet if they cat be treated at home. I think he should be tested for worms and see what kinds of worms he might have or if he even has them.
Stickerbunny: Do you have a link to a website that talks about heart worms in cats?

[Lintini]

Right Mocha, I thought I remembered you lived far from the vets.
The only reason my mom knew which meds to get Frodo for his worms was because he threw them all up, along with a mouse that seemed to be swallowed whole…… It was SO nasty. I wish he would just stay indoors.

[mocha200]

It says that heart worms are not treatable! :0 Is that true!

[mocha200]

She just said ” I have heard that our county is very high inn heart worms but I haven’t heard of a cat having heart worms and I can’t aford to test for every thing.”

[Stickerbunny]

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/feline-heartworm.html
http://www.cat-world.com.au/heartworm-in-cats
http://www.purdue.edu/uns/html4ever/2004/040525.Thompson.feline.html

[Monkeybun]

Quite often medicine has to be shaken to remix. Doesn’t mean it got old…

Your kitty does need vet care, by the sound of it. Not getting him care is just cruel

[Lintini]

I am sorry Mocha Show your mom those websites and see what she thinks??

I know how it feels, my mom seems to be like your mom too when it comes to the vets. Our 15 year old cat Buttons had an abcess on her head and mom wanted to deal with it herself instead of getting the vet to drain it and put her on antibiotics. OF course if it was her HORSE then the vet would have been called out immediately. Luckily though mom did fix her up okay but I know how it is with parents that don’t see eye to eye with you.

[mocha200]

I might have made it sound worse then it was, this is my moms favorite cat, she will take him in if he needs to be. But she doesn’t want to rush to the vet every time he is tired and not as active.

I think it could be the heat. It has been in the 80’s and we don’t have air conditioning at our summer house ( were we are now) because now that it is night he is running around and stalking chipmunks.The vet said with asthma the heat could affect him more.

[Monkeybun]

Heat and asthma wouldn’t cause him to get skinny though. It’s likely worms, but a vet has to check.

[mocha200]

I told my mom that heart worms can cause asthma symptoms and some vets make that mistake. ( we never got him tested to see if he had asthma they just assumed) When she heard that she was like ” Really?” So i showed her the articles and she seems more convinced that it “could be” heart worms. she said if he gets worse she will call the vet.

[MayaConsuelo]

I agree he needs to go back to the vet, or a different vet. If the cat is panting and breathing rapidly it’s a bad sign. Even if the cat isn’t panting, but you can see his sides moving with each breath quickly, it means he’s laboring to breathe which is dangerous. Did the vet just listen to his lungs, or take an x-ray? He needs x-rays to check on his heart and lungs.

I took my 13-year-old cat to the vet with similar symptoms. Lethargy, weight loss, and rapid labored breathing… it was a congenital heart defect which led to congestive heart failure and she eventually died from the condition 6 months later. Some cats are prone to this (it’s the same with some people), I’m not saying that’s what your cat has, but rapid breathing is not a good sign. It’s also uncomfortable for them if they can’t breathe correctly… good luck with your kitty and I hope that it’s something that can be treated!

[mocha200]

He doesn’t have the breathing problem any more. When we went to the vet he gave him some medicine and a shot and his breathing problem went away. The only thing weird now is he seemed more tired then normal. I haven’t seen him today to see how he is doing.

[mocha200]

MayaConsuelo: I saw that congestive heart failure is more common in young male cats under the year of 5-6. and Emmett is about 3. I am hoping to talk to my mom in the car today on the way to town and try and convince her how serious this is. I will keep you updated.

[mocha200]

He is doing way better today. He is running around eating and drinking It was realy humid yesterday and we don’t have AC so i think thats why he wasn’t as active. Thanks for all your help though!

[Monkeybun]

Keep an eye on him still. Him getting skinny is worrying.

[PuddleJumper]

Sending healing vibes to Emmett! make sure he gets plenty of fresh cool water. Keep us updated on how hes doing

[mocha200]

I will

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