Current cat illness

Our question this week was:

Hello Dr. Debra.

My cat “Pumpkin” just had a visit to the vet. He has had very bad diarrhea. He may have gotten into some very colorful tissue paper that had dye on it. His diarrhea was brightly colored in blues, greens etc. I did bring him to the vet and he gave him an exam and took some x-rays. He is now on metronidazole – Suspension 1-ml every 12 hours until gone. While there he also had his annual physical (was due 1/2007).

He was given his leukemia shot and Drontal for deworming. He also received some fluids because he is a little dehydrated. It has been 24 hours and his diarrhea has stopped but he is not eating and is very lethargic. Is this normal? I am not used to seeing Pumpkin this way and wanted to check to see if you thought he was OK. Please advise ASAP.

The vet is now closed until Monday and I do not want to wait that long until they return to see if he needs more attention.

Thank you,

S. I.

Answer

Hi S. – Thanks for your email. To give you a quick answer, no, it is not normal for Pumpkin to not want to eat and act lethargic.

I’d recommend that you take Pumpkin to your local veterinary emergency clinic if your regular vet is closed. In the mean time, you can try to encourage him to eat by offering canned food, offering tuna or chicken, tuna juice or heating up some canned food.

I’m not sure why he is not eating but it could be because the underlying problem is still present.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra

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