Expert: Ali - 11/29/2011

Question
*****Please be aware that I am NOT asking for vet advice here!!! I am merely asking what the best option would be as far as TAKING her to a vet. Im just looking for your opinion on the severity of this matter and If i should wait things out or take her straight away*******

Im currently fostering a 10-12 week old kitten. I found her when she was no more than 7 days old, and bottle fed her because the ASPCA took her mother away. Once she was eating solid food, I started looking for a home for her. unfortunately, no one was interested in a young kitten. I couldn't keep her because my landlord does not allow pets and the vet bills are a bit high for my budget. About a week ago, I surrendered her to my local no kill shelter. The owner assured me that she would keep feeding her the same food, and let her use the same litter that we provided. We donated a bunch of food and her toys to make the transition easier for her. The next day, I visited her I found out everything had been cold- turkey changed on her. New food, new litter, new cage and even new room mate. She was screaming and crying to come out and play, and I found out that although the dogs get walked, the kittens and cats never come out of there tiny cages. I couldn't stand to see her in such cruel conditions, so I volunteered to 'foster' her, in agreement that if she got sick, the shelter would pay for her vet bills. I realize now that I still got ripped off, because most foster mothers don't pay for food OR vet bills. The day after I took her from the shelter, I set all her things back to normal, and she settled back in (still in a bit of a shock from the shelter). That day, I noticed her sneezing a bit. I brushed it off cause she gets into everything and most likely got some dust in her nose. She also started scratching her ear (the left one) more than normal. She's got loads of wax in her ear, (nothing that looks like its blocking her hearing or anything) but I don't want to irritate her, so i leave it be. Yesterday, she was screaming really loud in a deep tone. I ignored it because she is ALWAYS screaming for my attention. But when she kept screaming , I knew something was wrong with the way she was meowing. I saw her in the litter box, hunched over with her tail flinging around in the air. She looked a bit constipated. Finally she started regurgitating and threw up twice into the litter. It was a yellow, chunky consistency and she threw up about the size of a half dollar. Ive never EVER seen her throw up so now im a bit worried for her. I do give her table scraps sometimes, but nothing horrid that she shouln't have. Im not sure if I should take her to the vet NOW or wait a few days to see if it clears up. (Maybe she just has an upset stomach?) She is still acting normal, jumping around and playing like she always does. This morning, I was told by a family member that she was heaving, but no vomit was coming out. Her stool has been a bit softer than usual for the past few days. Im keeping her well hydrated and feeding her normally. Though, she still eats and drinks, she seems to be leaving her food sooner to run and play. My main question is SHOULD i be worried? And should I take her to the vet NOW, or wait to see if it gets better. Normally she would be at the vet instantly, but I read online that cats are very picky eaters and often throw up. I just don't want to overreact for nothing, but I also don't want to deny her medical care..

THANK YOU,
Kellie

Answer
Kellie,

Based on what you've described I would say that this baby girl is sick. She sounds like she may be in some degree of pain. Sadly she may have picked something up at the shelter so I would suggest that she sees a vet ASAP. I'm not sure what exactly could be wrong but my guesses are that she could have ingested a foreign body which is causing an intestinal blockage (which would require life saving surgery) or that she could have a bladder infection or as I said before she may have picked up a nasty bug at the shelter, particularly if she had not received vaccines prior to being in that environment. Hopefully this information is helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact me again at any time, I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards