Poorly jaspercat

[evilind]

Hello. I have a 19 year old cat called Jasper.He's lost the plot a little and looks quite frayed round the edges but is generally quite healthy.This morning he came home and is not well. His cheeks are very swollen,seems to have a bit of trouble with his balance and I am sure that he cannot focus properly. He is not eating andonly had a couple of laps of his milk. He normally eats like a pig!I wondered if anyone out there has any veterinary experience and could perhaps advise me this evening as I am quite worried about him.Dont want him to be suffering too much until I can get him to the vets tomorrow. Or perhaps maybe know of some websites I could look at. Please anybody. Sorry if this is not the correct forum but dont know what else to do or to ask. Thanks.

[Raistlin]

Is it possible that he's eaten something that he's alergic to, or perhaps he's been bitten or been in a fight?

Are there any signs of injury or does he seem sleepy / drowsy at all?

I would keep an eye on him and, if he seems to be getting worse, give the vet a call tonight (to be honest, if you're that worried about him then that may be an idea anyway). Otherwise just try to keep him warm and calm.

I'm not a vet BTW, this is just what I would do if he were my cat.

I hope he turns out ok, keep us posted won't you.

[TheBlueRaja]

It could be just an ear infection, in humans that can cause dizzyness and nausia because the ear is directly linked to blanace, i can only imagine what that would do to a cat.

This is by no means a professional opinion though.

The vet is the best bet - good luck with the little guy though.

[paulyoung666]

if the poor thing is as bad as seems from your post , then you need to be looking for an emergency number for a local vet , ok so it may cost a lot of money but it has to be better than letting the poor thing suffer , 19 years is well old for a cat , having said that i hope it gets better

[evilind]

He is very sleepy and normally very affectionate, headbutting you and all over you and th like. Tonight he is trying but obviously not well and is not his usual self at all. I think I will see how he is for the next couple of hours and if no improvement then call an emmergency vet as one of the members suggested. To tell you the truth I am a little scared of what they may say as he is part of our family but best to do whatever for him in the end. Thankyou to all for your kind concerns.

[AndrewJ]

he could be having a bad bout of artheritis, spelt wrong I know peeps, with being out in cold his joints could be sore.

I know we have had a 13yr old cat, and are feeding a local stray which is about 16yrs old. Often he sleeps near the kitcken vent to keep warm....my job to clear filter of all the fur.

Edit: And good luck , i know i would spend my last penny on my animals I love them that much.

[gooner4life]

Get him to an emergency vet please, it could be an ear infection or a sore tooth but it could be something worse god willing its not.

just dont let him suffer unnecesserily, if its his tooth, which is likely due to the swelling and his age then the vet will pull it out, he is old and cats teeth decay just like ours.

[Bex]

i agree with what the others say. it is vital to get hold of an emergency vet. it is better to be safe than sorry. you say that he is like a member of the family, and i know, i wouldn't leave an member of my family feeling that poorly and so obviously unwell.
cat's can't communicate with us in words how they are feeling but they do communicate with theirs actions. if your cat seems out of sorts get him straight to a vet.

let us know how it goes

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by evilind

He is very sleepy and normally very affectionate, headbutting you and all over you and th like. Tonight he is trying but obviously not well and is not his usual self at all. I think I will see how he is for the next couple of hours and if no improvement then call an emmergency vet as one of the members suggested. To tell you the truth I am a little scared of what they may say as he is part of our family but best to do whatever for him in the end. Thankyou to all for your kind concerns.

My previous cat was about 13 years old and went missing for the night, which was very unusual for him. He came home and just lay in front of the fire and didn't want to bother with anyone.

He tried to go outside to use the loo, and couldn't walk straight and was wobbling all about. We were very reluctant to take him to the vet because he had FIV and the vet had wanted to put him to sleep about 5 years earlier, we decided he needed the vet and prepared ourself for the worst. He was laying in front of the fire and didn't want to move or bother with anyone, his heart was beating fast and he was taking very deep breaths. My girlfriend got the yellow pages to look for the vets number and right on que he was sick all over the floor, within 2 minutes he was up but still wobbling and went outside. He just about managed to jump up on my old trailer outside and within 5 minutes was eating some food off me.

I'm not sure what it was, he didn't seem to bring up any fur when he was sick so probably not fur-ball. I am sure it must of been something he had eaten, but he did recover from it.

I came home from work one day and he had died peacefully sleeping in the grass, he used to lie in the grass at the top of my driveway about an hour before I got home from work, and would come to meet me. It's very sad but I can only think positive because all the cats I have had here have been abandoned/strays and they have had a much better life than if I hadn't taken them in. The current one is spoilt rotten, he's a stray and also went missing for a couple of days but returned minus his tail, well 3/4 of his tail was missing fur and skin, it was just cartlidge and blood....YUK

I would get him along to the vets and not worry about the bill myself, the current one cost me 180 last time....I must be soft spending that on a stray cat!

Hope he gets well.

[AndrewJ]

I agree there, cats are unusual creatures but sometimes its something of nothing, and the lack of communication means we because they are loved ones, fear the worse, perhaps though call out the emergency vet, cant be that expensive a life for some paper and metal.

ya know i think if you put a pic of him up im sure the board would do a get well for him thing lol.

I had one put to sleep just before Christmas, she was 13 and her kidneys had failed, the vet said it would be cruel to keep her alive, we took the decision to have her put to sleep because she couldn't breath, hold her water plus she wasn't eating, when the vet got the needle out Thunder just laid on her side and relaxed, she looked at me and the missus as if to say thank you, she never moved when the vet put the needle in then her head rested on my hand, the vet put his stethascope to her chest for 2 minutes and said she's gone. You have to do whats best for them.

[evilind]

Thanks to all who replied to my original post. Thankfully it looks like Jasper has just used up another one of his 9 lives. I'm sure he can't have many left! It turned out (as the vet said next day) that it looked like another cat had hold of him and he had had a serious reaction to perhaps a puncture wound beneath his fur that we could not see. He is well on the way back to recovery, shouting his orders out and scoffing his food down like we are going to take it off him!Thanks again to all. You all made me feel so much better that night. Thankyou.

[TheBlueRaja]

YAY, great news, chuck him an extra treat for me will you.

great news, indeed, good for you, Jasper

[Raistlin]

Fantastic news, glad he's back on his paws again and that there's been a happy end to this tail