advice needed please

My non DB cat Shelby who is 14, did not eat this morning and seemed lethargic and just layed in the garden, her breathing seemed quite fast, so I took her to the vets, so far, she has had blood tests for kidneys which came back really good, her liver test was a bit higher than normal, but the vet said that could be because she hasnt eaten, she has had a chest xray and also the stomach which has shown nothing, they have tested for overactive thyroid but they have to send that of for results, they want to keep her in over night which means we have to pick her up and take her to the overnight clinic, I asked why they are keeping her in and they said they will do blood tests like red and white blood cell counts etc, my question is do they actually need her there all night or can they just take the blood they need and let her come home? I might be an over anxious fur mum but I don't want her to stay there all night if she doesn't have to>

She is on fluids at the vets they said they offered her food but she did not eat.

 

What is her glucose?
Did they test for ketones (fast breathing is one way the body tries to compensate for the acidosis created by high ketones)

If she is in DKA, a hospital is the best place for her as giving insulin during DKA changes the electrolytes (minerals) drastically and you must monitor for and treat the changes if the electrolytes go too high or low.

 

they did test her glucose but said it was only slightly raised which they would expect through stress

 

shes not diebetic this is my other cat that's at the vets

 

does she hunt lizards?
Sometimes those can make cats pretty sick and feel bad.

 

Fast breathing also is a way to deal with low blood oxygen (hypoxia). This can happen from heart or lung problems.

 

ive never seen a lizard, so don't think so. they have xrayed her chest lungs etc but did not find anything

 

If she's on fluids maybe a bit longer might help her?

Did they test her for ketones?

.

 

Hi all just wanted to give you an update on Shelby, she stayed in the overnight vets and has had every test known to man, thankfully all that was found was slightly raised white blood cells which is an infection!!! she was so bad and stressed during the night they could not examine her as she was growling and hissing and would not let them near her, we picked her up at 8.30am and took her back to our local vets, which was very unfair on her and us as she thought she was coming home !!!!! I am now waiting 5 hours later for her to be assessed to come home, but she is now eating a little, is on antibiotics for the infection, very traumatised and I cant wait to go and get her, and bring her home for some love, food and no doubt catch up on some sleep!!!! I just wish they would hurry up and do what they need to do so I can go and get her!! Thanks for your thoughts yesterday really appreciated

 

Hi Lorraine.

Thanks for letting us know how Shelby's doing and that the vetty beans have found out what's up. Fingers and paws crossed that she'll be feeling much better very soon.

You remind me of myself - I really hate it when any of my cats have had to stay at the vets without me. I'm all jittery inside till I get them back home safe again.
.

 

Kitty prison is just no fun for me or the cat. I too am always so relieved when my baby doesn't have to be there any more. You both will be sooo happy when you can be at home together.

 

Hi Lorraine,

Is she home? Is she home??

.

 

Poor Shelby! I hope she feels better very soon!!

 

I started to write this about an hour ago but got distracted! Shelby is home Yahhhhh, poor little fur baby, she has eaten and spent from the time she came home this afternoon in the garden, I followed her around the garden like a mad anxious mum offering her food and talking to her, but she just wanted to be left alone, and I cant blame her, she had a really rough time, the vet showed me his arms where she had savaged him! She has had a good sleep and came to the kitchen for food, and I could see in her eyes she forgave me and was starting to get back to normal. She allowed us to take her bandage of her leg no trouble bless her, so a good cuddle tonight in bed and a good nights sleep and she will hopefully feel better tomorrow.

So the moral of the £500 vets bill is they didn't find anything which is fantastic news, the only thing that came back was her thyroid level was within the normal range but high normal, and the vet said the are starting to realise that in older cats the higher normal range is to high, so they are doing more tests on her blood for thyroid function, and they will let me know in around 5 days.
But it would make sense as she has lost 2 kilos in weight and is much grumpier, also this would cause the rapid breathing, I put the weight loss down to the change in diet she also had when I was treating Molly for the DB.

I will let you all know the test results, thanks for your thoughts and support, think I need a holiday myself to get over it lol xx
she has had a good MOT and she seems to be in great health for a 14 year old cat, so that's a good thing to know maybe I can relax a bit for a while.

 

Yippee. So glad to hear that the kitty prison door has been popped open. Enjoy your snuggles with Shelby.

 

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

OK. Now I can read the rest of your post.

 

Read it.

Poor Shelby! She has had a time of it. I'm so glad she's home and that she has started to forgive you.

Are they doing a full thyroid panel, Lorraine?

Hope you have a lovely evening snuggling up together.

(((Lorraine and Shelby)))


Mogs
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Thanks lovely fur baby mums!! I cant remember what the vet called the thyroid test, but yes im sure by what he said ,they are doing a full thyroid panel, it was typical I only had 30 minutes to get to the vets speak to the vet, pay and collect her and get back, and make myself look presentable lol before I could have had guests arriving to check in ( as we have a guest house ) so was all a bit of a rush!! and I didn't want her there a minute longer than she had to. I will make sure I find out more when they ring with the results.

 

BTW, congrats to Molly on getting to the Falls.

 

Thanks Mollys doing great 3 months OTJ, long may it continue, Shelbys back to her normal self hooray!! still waiting for thyroid results but shes happy again

 

Love success stories!

 

Hi all, update on Shelby, got the Thyroid results back, and she does have an overactive thyroid, picked up her meds and starting them tonight, I am hoping this will be quite straight forward, is there anything else I need to do or be aware of with this condition?

 

Be aware that hyperthyroidism may compensate for renal insufficiency. When you slow down the thyroid to normal levels, you may start seeing renal problems - excessive dilute urination, a smell of urine on the breath if severe problems, upset stomach with vomiting.

 

That is very useful to know, BJ. When I joined Tanya's group they told me it was important to watch out for signs of hypothyroidism but that particular discussion thread did not expand on interplay between the two conditions.

Saoirse's thyroid levels are currently low and she has clinical signs that could be indicative of hypothyroidism. (Specialist thinks it's due to a knock-on effect on the endocrine system from the pancreas issues.) If Saoirse's thyroid levels were to improve towards, say, the middle of the reference range might that have a beneficial effect on her kidneys?

 

Thanks BJM, her tests showed very good kidneys and liver for an older cat, but I will keep a watch out for any signs of renal problems

 

Speeding up the thyroid pushes more blood through the kidneys, so more could be filtered out. If she's been showing signs of renal insufficiency, thyroid supplementation in the context of low thyroid levels could help with that.

 

That is a revelation, BJ. Saoirse has been Dx'd with early stage II renal insufficiency and also has low thyroid levels. I'm going to ask the vet for a full thyroid panel along with the other tests next week (getting a blood draw next Tuesday). As you probably read on this thread, she does have clinical signs that could point to hypothyroidsim / ESS.