lambs heart for anaemic cat-updated

Orla K

Last night I noticed the cat really wasn't right (eating the cat litter was a big clue) I ended up checking her gums which were nearly white! I'm bringing her to the vet tomorrow but for now I got her a lambs heart(only thing they had) but what I'm wondering is what is the best way to prepare it so it retains as much iron as possible or would it be possible to just cut it into managible chunks for her to chew?

Blueprint

Hmm, I don't know if it sounds like anemia, eating the cat litter is a sign of an upset stomach. My late cat did it when she was dying of kidney failure. I'd say it'd be best to just feed her normal food in small portions and bring her to the vet ASAP.

One thing, cats shouldn't fast for very long, as it can cause organ damage, so it's probably best to encourage her to eat a little bit unlike with a dog, who is usually fasted. A small bit of plain natural yogurt might help her too.

Graces7

Maybe mince it? Or blitz it. Or chop very small. She will either love it or refuse it.

fend

Feeding her it raw might put her off it. Try liver, as its a different texture. What about trying liver? fry it with something like onions or even rice until its almost at a caramel state...
Cool it before giving her some and see if she takes it? If she does, great, make a batch of it and leave it in a lunch box and feed her it at meal times.

Whispered

Orla, I don't mean to alarm you but as far as I am aware, white gums are a sign of a lack of oxegen. It was one of the first things my vet looked at when Harley was very sick. I wonder if you have an emergency number to call and get proper advice?

sweetnjuicy

Blue gums indicate a lack of O2, white indicate anemia or systemic shock.
Either way get the kitty to the vet asap.

Ado86

Feeding her a massive amount of meat if she is in kidney failure, of which anaemia is a sign of (with chronic renal failure), this will only make the problem worse by overloading the kidneys with protein with which it cannot cope with. A low protein diet until you get to the vet would be more advisable, and low salt also.

Orla K

Just to let people know she is going to the vets tomorrow, first thing if I have to bring her myself (even if it does envolve walking a mile and a half on slippy ground to just get there) or whenever my brother can give me a lift if he can.

I was going to try get some liver but it being sunday they didn't have much of anything in the place. A heart was the best I could do.

To let people know she would never get much of it, it's a small heart but she's also not very big herself. I got it to make her feel better until the vets tomorrow. The poor thing has no energy at all, she's sleeping alot more than normal and has just gotten slower. I haven't noticed any difference with her drinking or urinating and it's not the only thing that could be causing the anaemia:(.

I am worried about her but and she's been like this over christmas(I thought she was just getting fat and lazy) so she should be fine until tomorrow. I'm going to try her on a tiny bit of the heart now, hopfully it'll bring some life back into her even for a short while.

The Sweeper

General guide, if you're feeding organ meat, feed it raw.

Cooking liver with onions and rice is pointless. Rice is not cat food, and onions are extremely bad for cats. Cooking meat destroys the amino acids cats need from meat and which they only get if the meat is raw. (Catfood is supplemented with these amino acids, as they are lost in the cooking procedure for tinned food).

White gums are a very bad sign. Even if you can't physically get to the vet for 24 hours, call them, describe symptoms and request advice on what to do until you can get to the vet - they may tell you not to feed her anything at all, and you need to follow their lead on this.

Orla K

I brought her to the vet first thing, I had to walk down there, not many people about but I got stares at everybody going by:o

The vet thinks it's an infection (high temp and she REALLY did not like getting that taken) The vet also checked out her stomach which is swollen and it must be sore because she didn't like being poked there. She also asked about her poo which I had a feeling she would so when the cat did one before we left I had a good look at it (and she was eating a lot of the litter!) She is now on tablets and if it doesn't clear up she has to go back for an xray and blood test(could cost me up to €200:( but she's worth it). She also got 4 satchets of the royal canin sensitivity control.

I also bought a bag of the wood pellet litter, which I had to carry home along with my bag and the cat carrier, it took me ages to get anywhere but we stopped off at my grannies and I had tea and toast and the cat got some of her satchet given to her on a gold rimmed china saucer:o

Hopefully she'll be feeling better soon.

andreac

Oh thats good to hear, hopefully she'll be on the mend soon for you. The things we do for our pets.:)

Orla K

She wasn't getting much better so I brought her back to the vet.

She had passed the litter but her stomach was still swollen the vet said it was gas, no litter left.
She was also still pale and dehydrated.
The vet was thinking it was FeLV or FIV but she had been tested for those coming into the shelter and she's fully vacenated and an indoor only cat(or at least I try to have her indoor only)

So now she's staying in the vets overnight on a drip and getting antibiotics. There going to ring me in the morning to tell me how she's getting on.

He did tell me was it was but it was a word I didn't know so don't remember it, all I know is that it started with a 'h' and ended with a 's'. He didn't think it was that serious and seemed relieved when I told him she was tested for the other things.

Orla K

My cat has been anaemic for the past week, I brought her to the vet, she didn't get better, I brought her back, they took her in for a few days to go on a drip. She was eating fine but her anaemia wasn't getting better. So then they thought it best to test her for FIV and Felv they rang me asking for my consent to do the blood test. I was waiting 50 minutes from the time they rang me to the time they rang back and I couldn't stop crying inbetween. She was tested for both at the animal shelter I got her(last summer), she has had her injections and I try to keep her as an indoor only cat(mainly because of her three legs) I couldn't stop thinking about the times where she came into contact with other cats, like that stray one that climbed into the window(more than once too) or the time someone found a kitten and I minded it until it got a home.

Thankfully she has neither, she may have feline infectious anaemia but they told me I can bring her home today because she's eating fine and there's not much else they can do. She's going to get so many cuddles and treats when she gets home.

The Sweeper

Hey Orla, glad to hear it's not FeLV or FIV. Have they given you any guidelines for how they're going to treat the anaemia? They usually give a cat with infectious anaemia a dose of antibiotics to clear up the bacterial infection that causes the anaemia. Did they mention anything about that, or have they just sent you home to wait it out and see if she shakes it off herself?

/edit: sorry just realised you said she may have it, not that she definitely has it.

Orla K

The Sweeper wrote: »

Hey Orla, glad to hear it's not FeLV or FIV. Have they given you any guidelines for how they're going to treat the anaemia? They usually give a cat with infectious anaemia a dose of antibiotics to clear up the bacterial infection that causes the anaemia. Did they mention anything about that, or have they just sent you home to wait it out and see if she shakes it off herself?

Well her stay in the vet cleared up the thing in her stomach, she's on tablets for the next while to clear the anaemia. At the moment her red and white blood cells are very low so she doesn't have much of an immune system but I try to keep her as an indoor only cat anyway. She's going back to the vets on Friday to see are they getting better.

She looks much better now too, in my grannys words her coat is like velvet and it was like an old mans beard before. She's going to get more lambs heart now and I think I might get her some cat milk too (only a little drop a day, make sure she's getting fluids, she was dehydrated going in)


About the if she does/doesn't have it, the test for it is very expensive and can be hit or miss if they get it right or not, alot of false negitives. They would also have to send the sample off so it's even more likely that it would be a miss if she does have it. But through process of illimation they strongly believe that's what she has.

The Sweeper

Good that she's getting better!

On the hearts - see if she'll eat cheap beef too, like rump or round or shin. Cut it into narrow strips, like you're going to stir fry it. The more range of meat she'll eat, the easier it is on your pocket because you just buy whatever's on special.

Did the vet say anything about your other guy - the big scruffy boy you took in? Is he still with you? Does he need testing for the same bacteria if he is?

Orla K

The Sweeper wrote: »

Good that she's getting better!

On the hearts - see if she'll eat cheap beef too, like rump or round or shin. Cut it into narrow strips, like you're going to stir fry it. The more range of meat she'll eat, the easier it is on your pocket because you just buy whatever's on special.

Did the vet say anything about your other guy - the big scruffy boy you took in? Is he still with you? Does he need testing for the same bacteria if he is?

The lambs heart I got was €1 it'll probably last the week and the butcher even cut it up in little bits that she can handle. I'm going to go into him when the heart has run out and see what else he has.

As for the other guy (I've nicknamed him the big guy, my father calls him the wild one because he's afraid of my father and just go's running and acts feral) his 'proper' name is Mistachio he's still about the vet didn't say anything about him but more than likely he doesn't have, hasn't showed even one symtom and from my own internet reading it's unlikely that he will get it. For an infectious thing it's not very infectious, can only be passed on through blood I think, it's not nearly as infectious as FIV or Felv.

lily4

Hope your cat makes a full recovery

Orla K

I had to bring her back today to see how she was getting on.

During the week she was a little constipated, I was giving her wet food and getting as much fluid into her as I could, she was taking her tablets reluctently.

When I brought her back it was fluid that was swelling her up, they ended up doing a few more tests on her and they couldn't find anything causing the fluid build up.

The only test they couldn't do and that they sent off for was for feline infectious peritonitis and there's no cure for that.

She is now curled up beside me and all doped up(she was knocked out to scan her belly and drain it)

The Sweeper

Orla, I hope it's not FIP. If it is, there is indeed no cure and depending on whether it's wet FIP or dry FIP, she'll have days or weeks to live and will need to be PTS in good time, while she's still comfortable, and after you've had a chance to say goodbye to her.

It's very difficult - I lost a cat to FIP 10 years ago. Feline infectious peritonitis is apparently a mutation of the coronavirus, and basically there's little or nothing you could have done to prevent her getting it. Most cats who get the coronavirus will never suffer ill effects - you have to be doubly unlucky, first to get the virus, and then for it to mutate.

Here's hoping it's not FIP, but come back and let us know if it is.

The Sweeper

Bumping this - Orla K, any update on your cat?

Orla K

I lost my username when boards was hacked.

She's not much better, I kept on ringing the vets to find out the test results of the FIP and the place they had sent the sample to never sent them the results.

I was all set(well as much as I could be) to have her put down. Her stomach had swelled up again and it was causing her discomfort and looked awful. She was still purring away, still had an apitite(although her normal greedyness was lessened) and she could still run/hop down the hall (always to be fed). I just couldn't watch her like that.

I didn't mention to the vet about having her put down, I don't think I could have said much. But, the vet thought something was odd and she ended up having two vets take care of her(one was the owner too) She got her stomach drained again and they found a tumor partilly blocking a vain/artiary at her liver. Which is the reason for the anaemia and lack of every other nutirant.

Now I have a choice to make, go with surgery and maybe remove the tumor or let her live for a week or so and put her down (the tumor grew alot from the first time they checked for it to now)

I still owe the vet money and the surgery could cost about €200 but I think I would regret if I didn't try to save her even though it could cost me €80 and they can't do a thing, I think she deservers it

I'm now going to get up and have a shower and then it's to the vet to talk to him.

mymo

I'm sorry to hear this, had been wondering how the cat was doing.
Only you can make that decision, I know how hard it is, and I'm sure your vet will give you the best advice. If they think its worth the op then I'm sure they'll let you work out a way to pay.
I will be thinking of you and your cat, all the best.x

morgana

Fingers crossed the can have surgery and it works and kitty gets another lease of life. She is clearly a fighter hanging on as she did.

Blueprint

Sorry to hear she's so bad, I'm sure that whatever you decided will be in her best interests....

Orla K

Just to update, she went through the surgery but they couldn't do anything to help her, they closed her up again and sent her home, with some tablets to keep her feeling alright. She's no problem eating at the moment except when I give her the wrong food. All she has left now is time, I'm going to put her down before she starts feeling bad, at the moment she's happily sleeping off the bit of cat milk she got.

As for the other one, he's sick now:(. Nothing too bad, I just noticed afew days ago that his eye's were weeping green stuff and before that, he woke up most mornings coughing and tuesday he got sick. He got an injection from the vet but he's still playing but not eating his dry food as much, probably can't smell it, he's not gone off food anyway.