THIS CASE
WAS WRITTEN IN 2001 - 10 YEARS AGO
He was one cool cat with a complaint of not eating for the last two days. Six
months old, male black and white Persian cross. He was indifferent. I checked
his heart and lungs with a stethoscope and palpated his empty abdomen. Nothing
abnormal in these organs.
"He had been vaccinated earlier. Never been out of his apartment and never mix
with other cats, except the older cat at home," Ms Rohina said.
"What's wrong with him?"
I put the thermometer into his rectum
expecting the usual slow response. The cat was not happy with a thermometer
inside its rectum. He started to wag his tail up high. The temperature
reading shot up fast. Starting at 38.8C, it leapt to 39.5C and within a second, it
reached a maximum of 40.8C.
"This cat has a high fever," I said. "That was why he was not eating.
It could be a viral or bacterial infection. Was the older cat
sick?"
"The older cat vomited two days ago," said Ms Rohina. This could be a
contagious disease transmitted from the older cat.
"The older cat could be vomiting hair balls," Ms Rohina continued.
It was hard to determine the cause of the fever. The cats did not go out of the
apartment. They had good commercial cat feed.
The Persian Cross cat did have yellow stains on its white hairs at its belly and a few
matted hairs. What was the cause of these stains?
"He liked to lie down on the toilet floor as it is cooler," said Ms Rohina.
The toilet floor is definitely not a clean place for cats to lie down. He might have
picked up some infection or chemicals from the washing detergent there and could then
become infected.
Blood tests were not taken as the owner wanted the least expensive
treatment. I
gave anti-fever and antibiotic injections while the cat was distracted by the owner. He would have to take antibiotics at home. As there was no further visits for
the next 14 days, I presumed he must have had recovered.
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