Expert: Ali - 9/27/2009

Question
Dear Ali,

I have a 14 year old female tabby and twice in the past two years I had to literally feed her from a spoon with chicken soup, then I followed with a food that was a pate and finally she came back around.  Both times she had difficulty swallowing  and was in respiratory distress with mouth opened.  This last time she became congested sounding and I actually gave her 1/4 its. of whisky in case of heart failure.  I have no money but this last time labor day weekend I tried to find a vet.  I took my food money $150.00 and then was told that she was critically ill and may need oxygen and they may charge me anywhere from $300.00 to $500.00. Needless to say I got my cat back and cried.  I also told them that I do not believe they even care about animals and I am willing to bet there was not real vet on. I got her through it but I needed a vet and I did find a reasonable one  He x-rayed her and showed me her enlarged heart and he also said that her trachea was moved.  This has happened to her before.  Do you think that somebody is hurting her?  Or, is she just on her way out and I'm doing kitty hospice. The other question is she has grey diarrhea and I noticed that she got it before she got sick, do you think her liver is failing ? I heard that in dogs grey stools is a sign of liver problems.  Sincerely J54

Answer
Jewell,

This is a rather difficult situation and I'm so sorry that you seem to be meeting the vets who can't fathom that people aren't made of money, especially in these economic times. I think that there may be a number of things happening here and this will be an extremely long answer if I  get into details with every single possibility. There are a few things that I'd advise against in order to get a better picture of what's truly going on with this kitty.

I wouldn't recommend allowing your kitty outside unsupervised anymore if you have been. It's quite possible you have a nasty neighbor who hates cats and is hurting this kitty instead of coming to speak to you about any issues they may be having with your kitty on their property. There are humane deterrents to deal with cats who relieve themselves in a garden or sandbox but some people just don't bother finding out what they are and they take matters into their own hands, often with horrible results for the cat and his/her caregiver.

If someone is hurting your cat through physically abusing her or giving her something moderately toxic to her then the smartest thing to do would be to keep this little girl inside unless you have her on a harness and leash and are able to sit with her. Unfortunately there seems to be a disturbing perception among far too many people that cats are vermin and should be victimized through horrible acts of cruelty such as poisoning or striking them. Another issue that many pet parents aren't aware of is the fact that in instances of domestic violence the abusive partner may hurt the abused partner's pets. Any person who will abuse an animal will not have any trouble hurting people regardless of what they say so if you are in this type of situation please contact me privately and I will do my best to find you some resources that can help you and your cat be safe.

The respiratory distress is really quite concerning because it can be a sign of so many medical problems that it wouldn't be practical for me to get into all of them here (and I'm not a vet so I'm sure there's much more I'm not aware of). It's not advisable to give whisky or any other type of alcohol to cats, especially those in distress with their respiratory efforts because alcohol is a central nervous system depressant which could actually increase the severity of your cat's distress. I would also strongly advise against administering any human OTC medications (tylenol is toxic to cats, 1 regular strength tablet has enough to kill an adult cat and this drug could cause significant respiratory distress among other symptoms) unless advised to by a qualified veterinarian. There is a significant chance that this kitty could have any number of issues ranging from asthma to dilated cardiomyopathy or heartworm disease (yes cats can get it too and it's just as dangerous so outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats should be given monthly preventative treatment as directed by a qualified veterinarian). The possibilities are way too complicated for me to begin discussing since I'm not a vet, however since finances are an issue in terms of your ability to provide ongoing vet care at this point I think that it's a good idea to seek help from various agencies and charities so that this little girl gets the diagnostic testing she needs as well as the treatments your vet recommmends to treat her health problems or keep her more comfortable until it's time for her to cross over to the Rainbow Bridge.

As for the possibility of liver failure grey diarrea isn't something that I know to be associated with this condition in cats. A relatively easy way to tell if your cat has liver failure is to have a look at her gums. If they're yellow, brown or orange this kitty is likely very sick with advanced liver failure and as far as I know there aren't a whole lot of treatment options for cats who are this sick and humane euthanasia would be best if her medical issues can't be treated without causing her too much stress. Euthanasia isn't necessary for all medical problems and each cat's health history and ailments are different so it's worth speaking with your vet once the tests have been done and a diagnosis has been made with regards to whether your cat can be made comfortable with ongoing hospice care at home until it's her time to leave this world or if she's suffering serious pain or discomfort (this is a situation that calls for euthanasia as it is a final loving act of mercy when an animal is seriously ill and has little or no quality of life).

Grey diarrea isn't something I've seen even in elderly cats who I've given hospice care to, my recommendation would be to head to the Ask A Vet portion of this site and ask Dr. Chambreau about this symptom and what it might mean, she's a holistic vet who will do phone and email consults throughout the US and since homeopathic remedies and natural treatments can sometimes be quite a bit easier on the wallet than steroids and other modern drugs I think it's worth pursuing. In the meantime a gentle, safe and effective way to deal with diarrea would be to feed your girl a tablespoon of yogurt in her canned food 3 times a day until her stool is of normal consistency. This works because the beneficial bacteria that may have been disrupted by something that your kitty is eating or coming into contact with are replaced with yogurt - I'd suggest sticking with plain yogurt since most cats aren't fond of the fruit flavored ones and they don't need fruit.

I've made a practice of keeping a binder with information about charities and organizations that might be willing to help you with the cost of vet care for this kitty or even be willing to completely cover the cost depending on your area and circumstances. If you'd like information about these organizations I'd be more than happy to provide whatever I have. All I ask of you is that you send me another email that gives me a general idea where you're writing from (Canadian province or US state is fine if you don't feel comfortable with specifics) so that I can give you as much information about the options available to you and I don't end up wasting my time or yours by sending information about every resource available in Canada or the US - after all you want to get useful information that applies to your situation and I'd like to be able to help as many pet parents as possible, this means that any time I can save formulating answers or providing information to pet parents allows me to help others in need of information or resources. If you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer I'd me more than happy to help if you contact me again. I wish you and your cat the best of luck and you're both in my thoughts.