General advice for caring for anemic/listless cat

[WibblesMum]

Hi all.

What more can I do in terms of caring for one of my cats that is anemic, listless (doesn't have strength to stand up), and incontinent/leaking urine (vet thinks this is because of his current weakened state though could also be neurological).

He is currently on antibiotics, getting subcutaneous fluids twice daily. I'm keeping him warm and dry (puppy pads or the absorbent pad from nappies under his bottom) and bathing his back half. He is still eating some food, but am also syringe feeding him Hills A/D as needed to keep his energy up. He also has Cerebellar Hypoplasia which is a neurological condition, affecting his balance/coordination, that he was born with.

I'm wondering if there is more I can do for him. Am trying to track down somewhere that sells Nutri-cal locally (my vet didn't have any in, not having much luck elsewhere either). I'm in New Zealand and there don't seem to be any other high calorie nutritional pet food supplements available.

He was already in an underweight/weakened state due to having a couple of bouts of cat flu recently. Have added further detail about that below. Just wondering if there is more I can do that will help him recover. He means the world to me, he's my precious little boy.


Extra detail:
He had cat flu & conjunctivitis in beginning of April, then cat flu & an inflamed eye in May, lost his appetite completely, was syringe feeding him. Just as he was recovering from the cat flu and starting to get his appetite back, he started getting weaker, was beginning to leak urine and was trying to eat the litter, and lick the concrete when I took him outside for some fresh air/sunshine.

Took him to the vet, he had blood and urine tests. His kidneys & liver are fine, and no sign of urinary infection, however he is anemic. Further testing on the blood sample showed his white blood cell count was low, which the vet was particularly worried about. He got given fluids, vitamin shot, started on antibiotics. While at the vet clinic during the day, he ate some food but then vomited. They gave him medication to stop him throwing up, but he didn't want to eat anything after that, she said his temperature also dropped. He got more fluids. I was able to pick him up and take him home for the night, as i didn't want him to be at the vet alone all night.

The vet said she wasn't sure he would even last the night in his condition, but he did seem better at home. I was able to entice him to eat little bits frequently, and syringed him water (he didn't want to drink). Kept him warm with extra blankets, dry with puppy pee pads & cut up nappies, heater on etc...He slept on my bed, like he always does, though I had some plastic sheeting and towel underneath his blanket, every time I checked on him I was worried that he would either have passed away, or had gotten worse, but he made it through the night, even seemed slightly more brighter eyed.

Saw the vet again today. His temperature was good, he got more fluids, and I have some at home to give him twice a day also. He got another anti-nausea shot, plus a flea treatment (they'd found flea dirt on him, but no fleas, I hadn't noticed fleas or any signs of them on him or my other cat Molly, or around the house). I've got him back at home now. He was a bit unsettled, and didn't seem interested in eating much so have syringe fed him some Hills A/D. I washed his back half and gently towel dried him and he has been more settled since then, having a good sleep now. I think he was uncomfortable as he's still leaking urine. Am using cut up nappies under his bottom, they seem to do a better job than the pee pads in terms of soaking up the urine so that he's not lying in a wet patch like with the puppy pee pads.

[critters]

Yes, blue pads of any sort, human or critter, seem to have the intention of protecting bedding rather than skin. Diapers are MUCH better. Have you looked into expressing?

[WibblesMum]

Yes, blue pads of any sort, human or critter, seem to have the intention of protecting bedding rather than skin. Diapers are MUCH better. Have you looked into expressing?

Yes, the diapers are much better, he's much more comfortable lying on those as they keep him dry. Going to get some more today, I don't really care about the bedding so much as I can always wash that.

I have watched all the videos on expressing and have had a bit of a go, with mixed results. Can sometimes get a bit more out of him but never a steady stream, so not sure how much good it's doing. I also don't want to be adding extra stress to him right at the moment when he's so weak. We go back to see the vet tomorrow, so will ask her then if she thinks expressing might help him and if she can show me first hand.

He made it through another night, I feel more hopeful that he'll pull through. Looking into making him a walking frame as he's loss so much body condition, he'll need to build up his muscles again slowly I'd imagine.