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Question

I have a 2 year old cat. Caught and ate a bird on friday, ran around and chased birds on Saturday, Saturday night threw up four times and now just lays around does not eat or drink. Went to the bathroom this morning a little diarahea. What could be the problem.

Submitted: 650 days ago.
Category: Cat
Value: $9
Status: CLOSED
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Age: 2; Female; Breed: orange tabby

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Accepted Answer

Hi there and thanks for your question. I always get concerned when a cat does not want to eat and drink - this always means that they are not well.

There are a few possible reasons for what could be going on. There is a good possibility that this is related to eating the bird. First of all, it is possible that she just has some stomach upset because of taking something new into her system. If this is the case, then if we can get her to eat again then she should do ok. You can try encouraging her to eat by heating up some canned food and placing small amounts in her mouth. Often the increased odour and the taste of the canned food will stimulate an appetite.

However, if she still doesn't want that then there are a few more serious possibilities. It is possible that she has an obstruction or even an intestinal perforation from the bones in the bird. Or, she may have a condition called pancreatitis in which the pancreas gets inflamed because of her eating something unusual.

It is also possible that she has some infection somewhere causing a fever which could be suppressing her appetite. Perhaps she has a hidden wound somewhere from her fight with the bird.

The other possibilty is that this is not even related to the bird. She could potentially have a kidney or liver problem from eating something else that was toxic.

Cats really can't go long without eating before their liver gets affected. So, if she does not want to eat the canned food, she really should see the vet. The vet will do a good exam and take her temperature and may do some bloodwork to look for infection, kidney problems, etc.

I hope she does oK!

Hmmm...Alex sure is an interesting case. When the ACTH stim test was done was Alex on the prednisone then? The textbooks tell us to take them off of pred for 48 hours before doing the test, but personally I believe that they should be off for a week otherwise we can sometimes get false results.

With atypical addison's he would still have low ACTH stim results. So, I would only consider this if he had his stim test while he still had pred in his system.

I'm not sure what to make of the increase in white cells. White cells increase as a response to inflammation. It is reasonable to think that there could be an infection somewhere and to put him on Antibiotics. Unfortunately another possible cause for white cells to increase is cancer. I'm wondering if your vet has suggested an ultrasound or even an MRI to look for the possibility of cancer somewhere.

You may want to ask your vet if they would consider referring you and Alex to an internal medicine specialist if there is one in your area. There should be an office in most major cities, or in a vet teaching university if you are near one.

I hope this information helps! If you have more questions regarding this problem, just hit reply. Or, if my answer is sufficient, then please hit accept. Thanks!

Dr. Marie.

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Expert: Dr. Marie
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 2/11/2008

Veterinarian

Compassionate licensed veterinarian with >20 years experience with cats, dogs and pocket pets

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