Sick cat, baffled vet, need help

[japple]

My brother's cat, a domestic long-haired calico, is approx. 8 yrs. old. She stopped eating last week about Weds., I think, and had episodes of vomiting. Since she is an indoor/outdoor cat, my brother doesn't know if she has diarrhea, too. He took her to the vet on Saturday, and the vet did complete blood work battery on her "for every known cat disease." The vet is baffled. She said the cat is thin from not eating and her energy is low, but she was responsive to the staff, enjoyed being petted. The vomiting has stopped and she willingly drinks water. The vet sent Callie home today with some sort of prescription catfood. My brother and his wife are having to mix it with water and feed it to her through a syringe. There are lots of stay cats in their neighborhood and I don't know that she is current on her vaccinations. The vet bill was $200.00 and they have trouble making ends meet as it is. I'm afraid they will be reluctant to take Callie back to the vet because they can't afford it.

I have wracked my brain trying to come up with an answer. I thought it sounded like FIP, but the vet said that wasn't it. She didn't think Callie had been poisoned. I hope some of the cat people in this group can give me some ideas.

Thank you.

[NV Whino]

1. Check to see if anyone in your neighborhood is poisoning

rodents. She could have gotten a poisoned rodent.

Keep her hydrated... and $200 is standard for tests at the vet these days. Cats are getting as expensive as kids to raise.

[peacebuzzard]

I do not know that much about cats...

I was given my first kitty as a "throw away" by my neighbor this past winter but she stays indoors all the time. I would say it would be impossible to know exactly what was going on w/ her if she has access to the outside neighborhood. Two hundred bucks is a lot of money and only makes me appreciate my old country vet more. He charges very nominally and lets his clients make payments over time if it is a large bill. He is the only reason how I can afford all my animals (a total of 6 domestic critters).

Any chance they can keep Callie indoors w/ a litter box in order to avoid the outside variables?

[peacebuzzard]

2. whoops!! duped...

Picture of my kitty when I first brought her home--she has put on lots of pounds since this was taken

[BrklynLiberal]

3. What a sweetie.

[bluethruandthru]

4. Was she tested for diabetes?

I had an adopted cat that seemed fine until he stopped eating and hid under the bed. He was vomiting but would still try to drink water. Took him to the vet and nothing showed up on Xray or standard tests. They started him on a fluid IV and were prepping him for surgery when he died. The vet said he was baffled and asked if he could do an autopsy. He found the cat's pancreas was very diseased. The vet suspected he had been diabetic with no treatment.

[japple]

5. Don't know if she checked for diabetes, but will check. The cat

will only eat Meow Mix, so it could very well be diet-related. Thanks for the suggestion.

[egadsbrain]

6. Did the vet check under her tongue?

Or consider a "foreign body?" Some cats will eat stringey things and if it gets caught around the tongue can be very serious. The string can make the intestines bunch up and deteriorate causing an infection and loss of appetite. Or many things can be ingested and cause a blockage in the digestive tract. You can check under the tongue yourself CAREFULLY if she'll let you, but the vet still has to follow up. They can pass a foreign object, but I'd still want the vet to check.