while we were gone this weekend something happened to my cat Jake... I left him in the house like I always do while we are gone and I put out plenty of food, well while we were gone he got sick.. as I was looking him over I noticed that it looked like he had lost a tooth, and his mouth is sort of swollen. Well since then he has been just real lethargic and not moving around. He barely eats barely drinks and is steadily looseing weight.
I called the vet and I took him in and they did blood test to see if he had an infection and gave him the DOUBLE antibiotic shot like they did before, he said that he did in fact lost a tooth but that shouldn't cause him to be as lethargic as he is so he wants to find out what is causeing him to act this way, should have test results back by the end of the week.
Well he said until then try to get him to eat can food( JAKE REFUSES TO EAT CAN FOOD) Especially canned cat food....
He will eat the canned dog food! I know its not good for them but will it hurt him, I forgot to ask the vet,
He has lost some weight..but other than that he is just sickly looking I have been keeping him away from FIDS and DOGS, and other animals..
I was wondering would it hurt to try and give him like the pedialite?
Or any suggestions on what I might can give that is soft so he will eat?
My vet left town right after, and the other vet wasn't there either but I trust everyone here, and I was just wondering....

Dog food won't hurt him, it's just not the optimum diet for a cat, but if he won't eat anything else, it will do. I also often give meat baby food to my cats when they are sick. Again, it's not optimum nutrition, but if you're trying to get something down a sick cat, it will do. Sometimes when cats are sick, their sense of smell is impaired, so I will add a little hot water to canned food to make it softer and to enhance the smell.

My mom's a genius at doctoring sick kitties, and she's very big on scrambling eggs and making gravy for them. I agree also that if he will eat canned dog food, give it to him. It's most important right now that he eats SOMETHING. You might try canned salmon or tuna, too.

Sorry to hear about Jake!

I wouldn't use the pedialite - it's electrolites and stuff for people and I have no clue what kind of dosage would be safe for a cat, if any. I hate to say it, but you might want to consider syringing some water into him if he's getting dehydrated. Go to your pharmacy and ask for one of those syringes that they use to give kids their medicine. Get Jake all settled into your lap and gently squirt room temperature water into the back of his mouth in little tiny squirts... you don't want him to choke! Any food you can get into him is better than nothing - tuna fish out of the can is nice and smelly (and if you leave it with most of the water he'll get some moisture that way). Chicken breast without any major seasonings... bits of really lean hamberger drained well... any kind of protein he'll take in.

On a completely different note, is there any way he could have been ripping around and slipped somewhere? We had a spell that sounds a lot like that with one of our cats when he was doing his "midnight madness" session, slipped on a kid's book and slammed headfirst into the bottom stair. He concussed himself something vicious and had trouble standing straight for about half an hour. With the swelling AND the tooth out, is there any way he could have knocked it out instead of just losing it?

I'm sorry to hear about Jake! I don't have any advice for you, I'm sorry. I really hope he gets better soon!!

Dani

It's important to give your cat nutrition. Give him anything he will eat so he doesn't stop eating completely.I had a sick cat and the vet told me to give him a special food and don't give him tuna or the food he likes. He stopped eating and then he wouldn't eat anything and his kidneys shut down. If he will eat dog food -give that to him or his favorite foods to keep his strength up. (Maybe he swallowed something that he shouldn't have) Some cats have been known to swallow needles and thread or tin foil etc. I hope you find out the problem and he has a full recovery. I love cats and have always had a cat. My cat is 19 this year.I will pray your cat gets better. Hugs..................

I really don't know, my sister in law was looking in on himwhile we were gone and she said that she noticed it on Saturday that he had gotten sick. I asked her if he had acted like some thing hurt him and she said no, well when we got home he was just laying around looking kind of weird, and not being hisself.. I didn't notice if he had ran into anything or hurt hisself on anything. I mean its a possibility but I don't know.. There wasn't no chemicles out that he could have gotten into.Jake in notorius for getting into trouble whether it is out side or in side.. two months ago I had to take him in because he thought it was fun to fight with a HUGE DOG that was running around in the neighborhood...and the dog nearly took his tail off...
But like I said as far as i know he didn't have an accident in the house.. I know it wasn't the fids because I ahd them in my bedroom with the door closed..
I'll try the hot water and can puppy food I have and see if he will eat.. and waite patently for the test results to come in...

Since the vet confirmed that a tooth was lost, did they confirm whether or not a part of the root was left behind?? This could be very important to get removed and cat teeth have tiny little roots. Do they have a dental x-ray at your vet's office? The swelling has me concerned. Were his teeth/gums in bad shape before this happened?? Hopefully the blood test will shed some light as well. Also, did his vet mention that Jake may be in pain or offer any pain meds? If his mouth hurts bad enough, he may not want to eat.

As far as canned food, does your vet's office carry either Hill's a/d or Royal Canin Recovery canned foods? These are foods formulated for both cats and dogs that are sick or in recovery. Let your vet know that Jake won't eat other canned cat foods and ask if this is an option as these foods are highly palatable. Be careful with forcing water, you do not want him to aspirate. You can check for dehydration by grabbing the scruff of the neck and letting go. If the skin snaps back into place, he's fine, if it stays pinched or very slowly returns back into place, then he is very dehydrated and giving water won't quite cut it at that point, he would need subcutaneous fluids at the vet. You can try adding water to the food to get him to drink more.

I will call this morning and ask about all that you mentioned.On a good note he seems to be feeling better this morning, he is getting up moving around and he doesn't act like he is in any pain. I mean he isn't growling and trying to bite us when we check on him. His teeth and gums were in great shape before this happened! He started sneezing this morning so I am hoping he just has a cold or something..

Well I wanted to let every one know Jake is feeling a little better.. he is eating some and is moving around more!!Hoping it was nothing more than a cold.. Should be getting the results in by Friday, called the vets office today and asked about the food part, he said just anything soft that he will attempt to eat will be fine..and said that when he xrayed his mouth, he didn't leave a root on the tooth he lost. He is still sorta week but he is getting stronger.. The vet said also short of looseing some weight and looking "puny" I can't remember the what he called it, jake was in good health! But we got to see what is making him sick and we won't know that till the results are in, which should be friday!

Sometimes you never find out what made them sick! It's too bad cats can't talk.

LOL Try owning a siamese.... I groom one and he makes many questionable comments about my breeding while he's in the bathtub.

The salmon and tuna is a good idea---and hoping it is nothing but from losing the tooth and that Jake will recover soon and be back to himself....

Jake went outside this morning and came back in when it started to rain. He is eating a little more but looks kind of weird ya know..
I read a post on here about Feline Renal Failure and that scares me, to think this is a possibility.. I am so paronoid when it comes to my animals and FIDs and two years ago i ahd to put to sleep my dog shadow, because of renal failure and it did me in it was a long long time before I could get another pet!! Jake chose to come live with us he was the first after shadow and I sometimes think to myself that shadow sent Jake to me so I wouldn't be lonely, now the thought of looseing him is breaking my heart..
But I am keeping faith that it is nothing more than a cold that has him down and out..

Its possible the damaged tooth that he lost may have been a contributing factor. Depending on which tooth, it can impact appetite, upset the sinuses (if an upper tooth) and the swelling can lead to infection. Add to that, you were gone for a few days and it through off his schedule a bit. Cats can be funny about food when they are in pain, have teeth problems and even sinus irritation. Trying to figure out exactly what they will eat can be tough too. I have a very finicky eater in my household & she will hold out for whatever she thinks is better.

You might consider adding Vitamin C (Ester C) to his food for a few days as it will help his immune system & the inflammation calm down a bit.

There is a formula for electrolyte replacement in cats & dogs called CeraVet (Rice based powder).

I'm glad to hear he is doing better.