I woke up Thursday morning to a huge mess in Raiden's litter box -- that I had just completely cleaned out the day before. Urine, poop and vomit all over the box and floor. He was lethargic and had a strange cry going on. I thought something had to be wrong because as soon as my hubby gets out of bed, Raiden starts crying. I rushed him to the vet and they drew blood, did a urine analysis, took an x-ray and could not find anything wrong with him. I'd pulled a spider web off his cheek and wondered if maybe a spider had bitten him. I try to keep his enclosure free of them, but the spiders work diligently overnight.

The only two things that were off were his glucose level was 159 and his white blood count was just slightly elevated. They did a complete exam on him and didn't find anything but a possible swollen lymph node, which didn't turn anything up on the X-ray. They gave him subq fluids and a shot for nausea and we came home.

Raiden appeared to feel better in the evening, eating a little food and taking treats from his daddy. I'd had eye surgery that afternoon and I was not feeling well at all. Yesterday, Raiden would not eat -- not even treats. He started using his scratching post and wanted to lick on a plastic bag, purring loudly. I tried to give him some food by hand -- he wanted none of it. His poop was very soft (tried to get it from the litter box without damaging the sample, but not sure I succeeded).

This morning, he still won't eat, so back to the vet we go. I'm wondering if this is a dental problem. He has a cleaning scheduled for August 7 but the tarter buildup is pretty bad at this point. Hopefully, they will keep him and do it on Monday (even though they give a 20% discount in August). It's apparent Raiden is not feeling very well. He hasn't even asked to go outside (which is a good thing because I can't see well enough to take him out). Just wish this all hadn't come on my plate at one time.

So sorry to hear you and Raiden are under the weather Sherry! The vet keeping him for the rest of the weekend might not be a bad idea. That should give them time to get a handle on his problem and you time to get some rest. Feel better you two! Keep us updated.

Oh it's just horrible when your fur babies are ill. Hopefully this is something minor and he will be his usual self in a day or two. I hope you are feeling better soon also? x

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Thanks, Melissa and Jill. I took a stool sample with me and they found coccidia. Adult cats don't normally get this, but it's contracted through other cats' feces and with our walks in our yard and cats visiting our yard, that's probably how he got it. His gums are inflamed as well, probably the reason he not wanting to eat. But, I have liquid medication to give him (I had them give him the first dose), they gave me high-calorie cat food and said he won't require a lot of it (we did a syringe feeding earlier). Thankfully, the meds are for once every 12 hours and the other one once every 24 hours. He handles the syringe pretty good, but the meds will take several tries to get it all in him. Hopefully, hubby will help hold him down. He tries to wrestle away from me doing it alone. They gave him more subq fluids so he doesn't become hydrated over the weekend and I'm to call them Monday and let them know how he's doing. Dr. Moore said she thought he would rather be at home with us than in the hospital there and they will not do the dental cleaning until he is feeling much better.

Raiden and I came home and took a nice long nap. Hopefully, he won't ask for a walk later on. My eye is doing better, but it's still difficult to see with just one good eye. If he can give me a few more days of no walking, that would be great. He's been a quiet little mouse with a very hoarse, weak cry, which I'm loving ... but it's not Raiden!!! I definitely want the old Raiden back.

Oh poor Raiden and you! Just shows you how easy it is to pick up infections. Vets giving you medicines for cats just makes my heart sink as you know what you are in for. Glad you have your husband to help you! It sounds like you have a lot on your plate at the moment. I hope life and health settles down for both of you soon. x

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

It sounds like between the parasite and his gums, you are on the right track to helping him feel,better. One thing I thought of when you mentioned the spiderweb: my mom's cat ate a huge spider and it did make him very ill. He was vomiting and very grumpy and lethargic. The vet did xrays, fluids, etc. it took him about a week of feeling bad before he was himself again. Keep us posted and take care!

Poor Raiden, and poor you! Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery to you both. xx

Thanks everyone. I think the spider web threw us off. It was on the side of his face. I don't think he ate it, but he walked through it and I thought the spider may have bitten him. But, now we have a diagnosis. Not getting a lot of food down his throat, but did get one of the meds down okay last night. But he needs both meds this morning. This morning,he was crying for food, but walked over to his bowl and turned around, so will be syringe feeding him that and since he doesn't take much at one sitting, will try for a schedule to make sure he gets something down him. It would be so much easier with two good eyes! Hubby played golf yesterday and will play golf today, so he won't be much help at all. Then he works all week! It's be me and Raiden duking it out in the bathroom.

Raiden has finally decided he doesn't like me squirting food in his mouth, so he has started eating out of his bowl and came to me for some soft treats. Getting the meds down him is easier than feeding him (and less messy), so I hope he'll continue to eat from his bowl.

Owch! Ok, just read through this and read about coccidia. At least it sounds like it is pretty straight-forward to treat, so that is fairly good news. I hope he recovers quickly, 10 days of treatment I guess, providing all goes well?

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The little monsters 3

Raiden is feeling a lot better and seems to be ready to go back outside for his walks. One of the meds he takes for 7 days and the other for 9 days. I'll be so glad when it's over. He's eating fine but his poop is soft and he cries when he's going! I know this hasn't been fun for him, but he's acting a lot more normal and is insisting on his belly rubs again.

Good to hear Raiden is doing better. I hope you are feeling better too.

Sounds like he's on the mend poor guy (and poor mom!).

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

He wanted to go for his morning walk, so we did that and he was thrilled to be outside again. He had spent a lot of time in his enclosure because he didn't feel like going for a walk. I had to walk gingerly to make sure I didn't fall into a hole somewhere. I had some scar tissue removed from the cornea on my left eye and there is an opaque lens on the eye to aid in the healing and I can't see through it. The doctor will remove the lens on Thursday and I should be fine. I was happy Raiden didn't want to walk for a few days because I was in a lot of discomfort! But, we are both on the mend now -- him more than me! LOL