Any Vets around (Not Horsey Related) but opinion needed urgently...

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WelshTilly

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As above got a 6 month old kitten not himself noticed he was quiet last night, this morning ate half his breakfast but still quiet and lethargic, noticed he is breathing faster and just generally not his normal self. Took to vets this evening and they check his lungs, heart, have difficulty hearing heart through left lung and his temperature is high.

Any how to cut a long story short they started preparing me for the worse FIP, Cancer, tumour etc and wanted him back tommorrow morn 8:30 to stick a needle in his lung and see if there was fluid and identify for a diagnosis along with xrays etc....

Anyhow i'm thinking this is a pretty invasive step for a young kitten rather than medicating with anti biotics and seeing whether there was any improvement and if not then doing further tests????...

Dont get me wrong i dont wish to undermine the vet in question just trying to understand it in my head and whether this would be standard.
 
Young animals tend to go down hill very very quickly. From your description, kitten is in respiratory distress and they want/need to gt to the bottom of it quickly. Putting on ABs is not good enough, they need to know WHY he is having difficulty breathing properly.
 
:(:( aw hun i am not a vet but i just wanted to send you and your little kitten some good vibes :) .. good luck and please update when you know more xxx
 
GlenRuby - Thanks for your comments i've managed to have a chat with a friend who is a vet and they so think think its a bit strange to leap in with being invasive without sending him home with some AB's tonight so they have suggested see how he is tommorrow and then take him down first thing and speak to the practise partner no harm in a second opinion. The initial vet who saw him was young and new to the practise so

Dont get me wrong im all for getting my Kitty the best treatment and want to ensure he makes a full recovery he is my baby, i just i feel it is a bit invasive and if he was in that much distress why didnt they admit him there and then.

Gracey - Thanks for your vibes!! They seem to be working!!

He has eaten his evening meal and drank lots of water he is actually seaming perkier and enjoying all the fuss now purring contently in front of the fire!! Typical siamese!! :D
 
he could be breathing fast coz he has a high temp and it's not uncommon to see young cats with a high temp, no obvious underlying cause and they respond v quickly to metacam/synulox normally. saying that, if he really does have muffled heart sounds then he could well have a pleural effusion which will need draining and it's not really that invasive to stick a little needle through the chest wall (not into the lung - that's not the idea - just through the wall into the space between lung and chest wall)
 
and it's not really that invasive to stick a little needle through the chest wall (not into the lung - that's not the idea - just through the wall into the space between lung and chest wall)
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Have you been on the receiving end of that? I have. Not funny. :(
 
Hi All

Update on baby Apples:

Not looking good vets suspect FIP, the poor baby, he went in and had the fluid drained this morning which has been sent off for analysis, he also has fluid in his lungs, they have returned him home until we get his results at 5:30 tommorrow im currently sat up giving him a cuddle and plenty of food and water. His brother keeps bringing him a toy mouse to try and encourage him to play but he's not interested, although he is looking perkier but then again you would having 100ml of fluid drained!!

Im completely devasted as you would imagine but will do the right thing and seeking advice from the people i know and a friend who's a vet the PTS option seems like the kindest for him. God knows how im going to bring myself to do it....

I am keeping my fingers crossed that if by any small chance it is a bad infection or Pnemonia then please let it be that and the lilun recover....

Thank you for those who posted.

K xxx
 
I truly hope that it's not FIP - we lost our dear little Herbie to that several years ago. Dreadful times. All things crossed that they've got it wrong....
Kind thoughts and good wishes.
 
Doris68 said:
I truly hope that it's not FIP - we lost our dear little Herbie to that several years ago. Dreadful times. All things crossed that they've got it wrong....
Kind thoughts and good wishes.
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Than you for your wishes, i truly hope it isnt either fingers crossed we will get some info on the fluid sent off for analysis however the vet seemed to fear the worse from the colour and appearance of the fluid alone...
 
Hi Gracey

Unfortunately it was bad news he had FIP and i chose to put Apples to sleep Friday night knowing he was still happy and content i couldnt bear for him to be in pain or deteriorate it was one of the hardest decisions i have ever had to make he was my baby and loved dearly but i couldnt watch him suffer.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=430586

I wanted to put some pictures up of him but i cant work out how any idea???

Kerry
 
:(:( oh i am so so sorry hun, the only *****ty thing about owning and loving animals is the end!!! huge hugs for you,.. (and no i am sorry i have noo idea how you put pictures up, i am impressed i get as far as replying in words ;) )

R.I.P. apples xxx
 
Cheers Gracey, yeah it is to be expected with owning animals but it never gets any damn easier!!

They fill your life with fun and happiness and when they are gone its like a huge void....at least i have Hops although its not the same as he is a daddys boy!! He is trying his best but he isnt as affectionate as Apples and therefore wants to play rough and tumble with his dad the whole time!!

Im working from home as feel guilty leaving him on his own ....
 
Do get his brother tested as well,there is a "snap test" for it. In future be very careful to buy only from a closed tested cat colony. FIV and FIP are extremely contagious from exchange of saliva and bodily fluids. When I used to breed British and Siamese showcats we had to do the blood test not more than 24 hours before taking a female to a stud cat. My cats lived in an Alcatraz type cattery,as running about free might have meant meeting feral farm cats and thus catching the dread disease. Tested positive cats should never be allowed free range to infect others with this killer disease.
 
EAST KENT said:
Do get his brother tested as well,there is a "snap test" for it. In future be very careful to buy only from a closed tested cat colony. FIV and FIP are extremely contagious from exchange of saliva and bodily fluids. When I used to breed British and Siamese showcats we had to do the blood test not more than 24 hours before taking a female to a stud cat. My cats lived in an Alcatraz type cattery,as running about free might have meant meeting feral farm cats and thus catching the dread disease. Tested positive cats should never be allowed free range to infect others with this killer disease.
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Hi East Kent - Thank your comments, i have been liasing with my breeder and vet and also Glasgow University who are at the forefront of research into FIP. The breeder i chose only has 2 queens and a stud who is not at public stud so a small coloney she is mortified as you can imagine and her seggregation was second to none having seen it first hand and also have several people who have had one of her kittens previously my In-laws being one of them she is a respected breeder. My understanding is that the problem with the blood test is it only shows whether the cat has been exposed to the Coronavirus at some point in there life and this isnt a definitive test as their Titre levels can be high one day and low the next, it also doesnt differentiate between the different strains of FCov, 40% of all cats will show positive for FCov.

It is also my understand that the Coronavirus is only spread via infected faeces and their is little danger from sharing feed / water bowls.

Anyhow it is a nasty disease and i thankfully get some comfort in the fact that Apples was not in pain when i PTS and i have donated his body to Glasgow University to use for research purposes to further analysis and diagnosis into the virus hopefully leading to treatment and a vaccine.
 
Your breeder sounds spot on; I believe it is spread far more easily than thought,which is why in my cattery the fences were double so nothing could get within spitting or spraying distance.A horrible disease,I do hope your remaining kitten stays fine and healthy.:)
 
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