I found an imbedded deer tick on my ten year old cat about 3 weeks ago. I freaked, carefully removed, but decided to not persue any treatment.
She started to become listless, not really eat, and went from a fat cat to very thin in 3 weeks. The vet couldn't see her over the holiday, but took her in Monday.
She's in total kidney failure. She's on IV fluids and antibiotics (Bactrim). Although I demanded a Lyme and coinfection test, they didn't run, but started abx right away. They say she shows signs of some type of infection. Even if she fights the infection, the kidney damage may be permanent - xrays show very tiny kidneys, which is what they see in MUCH OLDER cats.
I'm beside myself - I should have forced them to see her earlier.
Anyone heard of cats getting Lyme or other TBD? And what is the treatment protocol.
Posted by brodiemac (Member # 7232) on :
I've done some searching but found little of help. Everything I read says that the key to recovery is early antibiotic treatment - so your vet is right to get your pet straight on abx. I saw at least 4 weeks abx mentioned in one article. Some articles seem to suggest that if the abx work, the effects appear quickly.
Sorry to have to say this but they also seem to suggest that kidney damage can be permanent if treatment is not started early enough in the course of the disease. You just have to hope that the kidneys will heal to some degree after the infection is controlled.
I am a cat owner and lover and know just how you must be feeling - thinking of you.
Brodie
Posted by sofi (Member # 2346) on :
Our 9-year old Collie was bitten by a tick in August 1996. Some months later he couldn�t walk well. He got 2 week doksicycline and got better(we should have given much much longer abx treatment. Later his kidneys failed and finally he got paralyzed. He died in February 1997.
Now we hav a chihuahua and when she was bitten by a tick we treated her immediately with homeopathic Ledum 1M (1 pill every 15 minutes during an hour = 4 altogether. The following 3 days we gave her 1 pill 3x/day). She didn�t get Lyme, maybe she wouldn�t have got it anyway - who knows. Maybe it would be worth trying for your cat - won�t do any harm anyway.
One veterinarian said that he has treated all animals successfully with homeopathic Ledum. Unfortunately it doesn�t seem to work that well with all LB people.
Posted by Laurie (Member # 159) on :
Yes - I have heard of cats getting Lyme, but very few and far between (wish we knew what immunities they have that WE don't have), so I don't know the treatment protocol. Don't beat yourself up for not pursuing immediate treatment. My cats have been bitten so many times I can't count, even though I use the flea and tick treatments.
Cats are low on the food chain and can hide illness extremely well and for a good long time. All cats who live to the age of 10 or 12 have some kidney damage by that time. Frequently, if they don't have heart problems or cancer, it's kidney failure that old cats die of. (Spoken by a veteran old cat "owner" though I think it's they who own us, actually.) With subcutaneous fluid treatments - a kind of cat dialysis - cats who are in frank kidney failure can actually live quite a while longer. You just have to know your cat well enough to decide if your cat is happy and would want this. Could be she will recover from whatever infection she has - kidney, tick-borne or other - and keep going. They are remarkable animals. Keep us posted if you will.
Posted by robi (Member # 5547) on :
Update? Eating lots and runnng around I hope. Lets us know....... Hugs, robi
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
So sorry to hear your news, Julie.
This same thing happened to my cat, who was about 8 years old.
We live in the mountains in endemic area of California -- all of us exposed constantly to ticks.
My cat went off food, got really thin, began drooling, drool took on a pinkish tinge. Took him in to the vet. He was in complete kidney failure. Vet said only answer was a human equivalent of dialysis. Had to put him to sleep. Very sad.
I hope your kitty is not too late to save.
Michelle
Posted by surg (Member # 6937) on :
For what it's worth my vet told us that cats don't get lyme disease like dogs do. A cat breeder told me that most things cats get sick from are genetic predispostions to that certain disease or infection. Most of her cats get something at 7 years or 10 years and if they live past that then 15 years. I am sure it's not your fault. Kidney problems in a 10 year old cat are very common. I'm sorry for you and I'll be sending good thoughts today.