Vet recommendations

[evilaphrodesia]

My kitten is sick-- some specifics: he's been coughing and gagging and I was just feeling around his belly and gently touching it and he started making these weird breathing noises and gurgling sounds, still purring. It freaked me out. We think he's been eating things that he shouldn't be (like we believe he may have eaten some of the filter that

Comments

[enragedpetunia]

Poor kitty. I hate when my critters are sick

[evilaphrodesia]

Thank you for your insight. I am not familiar with that place, but will check it out. After I posted this he had another bout of hacking and gurgling, and his tongue was hanging out. I thought maybe hairball but it should have come up by now. He's being lethargic. Usually he's running around terrorizing the girls (our other two cats) with all his energy, but he's been very low-key this week.

He is strictly indoors. I went through his adoption paperwork and he did have a URI when he was brought into the SPCA back in March, and since then we've treated him for pink eye, twice.

I'm not exactly sure what the filter is made of but it has carbon in it and feels a bit like a scrubber sponge. I am sure we should get a stool sample to take in wherever we end up going. It does seem respiratory though. He's just not himself and we're very worried.

Thanks again for your help. You might not be a vet but being a vet tech I'm sure you see a lot of this type of thing. By the way, do you know if there's any way to tell if he has a fever?

[enragedpetunia]

Is his color okay? Does his tongue look normal color? What color are his gums? Both should be pink. If you are in doubt of himhaving any trouble breathing, he needs to see a vet ASAP. Any open mouthed breathing in a cat is not good.
You can take his temperature. Norma cat temp is around 100-102.5F. You can use a regular human oral digital thermometer. I use plain vaseline to lubricate it. Just go slow and don't rush it, he will relax his sphincter muscles eventually!
The phone number for Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center is 662-6660. They have a website as well.
Keep me updated, okay? My laptop is resting so I am using the computer of the downstairs folks but I will try to check at least once more tonight.

[enragedpetunia]

PS Sorry for any typos. Downstairs folks need a new keyboard!

[evilaphrodesia]

We are at OP now. He has a swollen lymphnode and they put him on oxygen. He's getting x-rayed now. He was open mouth breathing and they're concerned. Hopefully it'll turn out ok. Thanks for your help and for caring. He's our lil baby, turning 1 in a week, and he's gotta pull through! I'll let you know what happens. Prob tomorrow though cos it's already close to 2am!

[enragedpetunia]

OP has a great facility and they have excellent diagnostic equipment, plus a veterinary internist on staff if needed, so you are in good hands:)
The bunnies and I send many healing thoughts and hugs your way:)

[evilaphrodesia]

So basically they admitted him around 2am, had him on oxygen and were going to give him IV drugs and such. They think it could be any number of things, the worst being lung worm which is very dangerous. He's still there and we haven't heard anything yet today (good news I guess) so we'll see. It was the right thing to do, he may have died overnight if we didn't get him help. It got bad incredibly fast.
Thanks for all your help!

[enragedpetunia]

Lungworm is a bugger. I've seen it a few times in cats. The eggs can actually be shed in the feces (weird, huh) and we sometimes get lucky and see them on fecals before they show symptoms, so we can use a dewormer to take care of them.
I'm so glad you took him in:) If you would could you private message me is a few days if you want, to let me know how he is. Thanks.

[makeupyourown]

I hope your kitty is doing better! It is so incredibly stressful and upsetting when they are sick. Every time I have visited the vet in OP they have been super helpful and kind! Best of luck to you and your kitten.

[evilaphrodesia]

Thank you <3 Zombie, my kitten, has been in the hospital since the night I posted this (Saturday night.. technically Sunday morning) so it's a damn good thing we took him. His respiratory system was crashing and fast and if we hadn't taken him when we did, he would have more than likely died. It is very stressful but they have been WONDERFUL at OP.

He's been in an oxygen tank the whole time and they were finally able to wean him off it and he's in a normal cage as I type this, and if all goes well he can finally come home today. We're still not sure what the diagnosis is but I guess the steroids and antibiotics are starting to work (fingers crossed). We miss him so much-- we have two other cats but he brings life into this place with his constant prancing around and chattering.