None of the usual "sick" signs, but something is still not right.

[tbcookie]

In my post from last weekend concerning my fears of possible aspiration pneumonia, I detailed General's recent episode of soft stools and occassional mucus and diarrhea. I was worried because General seemed to have inhaled some of his liquid meds, and because I had started to notice some mild behaviour/personality changes that seemed to conincide with this. Both the receptionist and the vet seemed unconcerned about the possibility of aspiration pneumonia, and said I'd know it if he had it (noisy breathing and such).

So, what I'm wondering is if anyone can make some suggestions about what might be going on here and other things I should be aware of, because General seems, to those other than me, to be just fine.


General is showing these, what I would consider "healthy" signs...

-eating (normally, though I will note a slightly reduced interest in crunchies, but he is still eagerly anticipating his wet food in the evenings)
-drinking
-peeing (usually twice a day)
-pooping (usually once a day, no diarrhea, mucus, or blood)
-purring
-cuddling
-grooming himself
-jumping up on his seat by the window or my lap
-running around the house like a nut in the early hours (like right now!)
-using his scratch pad

So, what do I consider to be the "something's off" signs?

-more tail twitching and slapping than usual
-irritability
-occassional "don't pet me" signs, such as gentle biting or kicking, irritated (but seemingly not pained) vocalizations, and he hissed at his string the other day and at me last night
-occassional slightly watery eyes
-almost none of his usually enthusiastic head butting
-a different look in his eyes: he's usually wide-eyed and relaxed or playful, but he has a more serious, tense/tired look... more of a flat stare.

I do plan on taking him to the vet, though I'm not sure what the vet hours are like considering the holiday. These symptoms don't sound like "emergency" symptoms to me, but correct me if I'm wrong.

When I last spoke to the vet on Thursday, I did express that I felt General was not his usual self -- irratable and just "off." When I asked about lingering effects of the meds, she told me the Metronidazole he had been taking until Tuesday morning should be completely out of his system by the end of the weekend, but to call if I still had concerns. So, of course, I will.

But does anyone have ideas about things I should pay more attention to? Things to ask the vet? Ideas about what could be going on? I'm stumped!

I appreciate any suggestions.

[hazelrunpack]

Go with your gut. If he's not right by next week, get that appt on Tues and ask for some blood work. I don't know enough about cats to venture a guess about what's going on, but if it were one of the dogs, I'd be taking them in, if only for the flat stare, tense/tired look. You can tell a lot by the tension around the eyes and mouth in dogs.

Our vets used to sort of chuckle when I'd call about one of the dogs not being 'right'--but we'd take them in, anyway. After finding, at one time or another, the beginnings of leptospirosis, a couple cases of anaplasmosis and two hypothyroidisms, etc etc, the clinic no longer questions it. As they say, if you're that much in tune with your animals and you see something 'off', then it's time to get them checked. You know your pet better than anyone else. So go with your gut. Sometimes it can be a lifesaver, but even if it just gives you some peace of mind, it's worth the trip.

it's just the aftereffects of the metronidazole, which can be a bit 'mood changing' we've noticed. that by Tuesday he'll be back to normal!

[tbcookie]

I'm supposed to be going away for a few days next week -- Tuesday to Thursday -- and I'm convinced that something's not right with General, so I thought I'd try getting an appointment with the vet for today, so that he could at least have a check up to address any immediate concerns and, were there any bloodwork to be done, I'd have the results Monday before I had to leave. That way, if there were anything more serious, I could cancel my plans and stay home with General.

Unfortuately, my vet's office is completely booked today. I managed to get an appointment for Monday morning, which is good. I'll be glad to have the vet at least take a look at him. The downside is having to wait until Tuesday for any test results. Sigh...

I have NO problem, of course, cancelling my plans to be with my General Bear. But I'm also trying hard to separate my anxiety over what could be wrong from the signs that General is putting out there about how he is actually feeling.

It's funny... I can manage stress in so many other areas of my life, but when it comes to my little guy, I'm just a head case. :sad:

[Lukka'sma]

Originally Posted by tbcookie

It's funny... I can manage stress in so many other areas of my life, but when it comes to my little guy, I'm just a head case. :sad:

Well isn't that the truth!!! I find I do the same thing and expect things to go wrong. Terrible feeling. I hope you get some answers from the vet that will put your mind at ease and General resumes acting like his normal self

[chico2]

tbcookie,we know our animals and if something seems off,it usually is.
With General(love the name)it could be the meds,but a blood-test never hurts,to rule out HyperT and other things.

[tbcookie]

Thanks! I completely agree. Now I'm wishing away the weekend and waiting for Monday to come!

[tbcookie]

UPDATE -- We just got back from the vet, and she said that based on the physical exam, everything looks and feels good, so there's nothing urgent that we need to be concerned about. (Which, I suppose, means that for now at least, I can stop hovering over him and watching him breathe and obsessing over every swish of his tail.)



She said that as the metronidazole seems to have a positive effect on General's stools, this is an indication that there was defeinitely some sort of bacterial imbalance going on in General's gut.

We're doing bloodwork and a urinalysis just to check for anything else going on and to compare to the bloodwork he had done last year in which everything was a-ok, with the exception of a slightly elevated amylase level. This, she said, would again point to issues in the gut, but to note that the level was only slightly evelvated, and that we would see how that compares to the new results tomorrow.

In addition to the slight behaviour change/irritability, I mentioned to her that I noticed him swallowing a bit more than usual, and he did it a few times while we were there. She mentioned that with cats, even if they may not be vomiting, the swallowing can be a sign that they are feeling nauseous. While this can be caused by any number of things, one thing that does occur in senior cats is ulcers. She said that the symptoms of ulcers in cats can be treated using over the counter Pecid AC, and that if we do that and find the suspected nausea and symptomatic excessive swallowing stops, then we can look at the best way to fight the bacteria that has been shown to cause ulcers in the first place. Unfortunately for poor General Bear, that may include a combination of metronidizole (sigh...) and... I think she said amoxicillin. But we'll see how things go.

So, that said, everything, at least in the immediate future, looks good for General's health. Yay!

I'll get the results of the bloodwork and urinalysis tomorrow.