Problem With Waldo
16 Jan 2018, 2:00 am
Waldo has separation anxiety. He's had it for his entire life. He has had high pitched screaming when I'm not in the same room, grooms excessively, runs his scent on everything constantly and the worst is where he will throw up repeatedly until there is blood everywhere. The vet said it was anxiety and the capillaries in his throat are rupturing from hard vomiting. When the last one happens, I usually put him in his room for several hours to decompress, play music, spray some relaxing spray and keep everything quiet (meaning I go to my bedroom). After several hours, I let him out and he relaxes in the living room for several more hours then I try to feed him again and all of this has worked.
His symptoms are changing now and getting worse - for me. I work the weekends and this means I sleep Friday night into Saturday afternoon and then am up around Waldo for about 4 hrs before I go to work for 13 hours. I come home feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie time then I'm off to bed for about 6-7 hours, up for 4 hrs with Waldo, then back to work for 13 hours. When I come home on Monday, I'm exhausted so I feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie and then I'm off to bed for a few hours. Monday morning is when it starts..... Waldo gets himself all upset howling because I'm not out there and throws up all day. HOWEVER, now instead of him wanting food and throwing up like he always did, he is totally turning his back to me. He will actually come up to me and turn his back and refuses to eat. He also has diarrhea sometimes with blood. A nurse I work with also has a dog that has separation anxiety and has diarrhea with blood and the vet said it was anxiety. Tonight after vomiting, I put Waldo in his room like usual, but when I came back out he wouldn't come out of his bed like he usually does and looked listless. He normally will be running around and get on the table for brushing and he loves his laxative that I feed him. Tonight he wouldn't even get up on the table for brushing or laxative. I went to brush him in his bed and he came out finally and was very clingy. He finally came up on the table to get brushed and his laxative and eat just a little food.
PROBLEM: I was going to take Ma to the dentist and now had to tell her to cancel the appointment because I'm afraid if I leave tomorrow, Waldo will again not eat. I'm going out tomorrow to get a rotisserie chicken to see if he'll eat more. I don't know if this will help or just reinforce his behavior to not eat because he thinks he's being rewarded. I did read that cats will refuse to eat until they die. My whole life is being altered because now I won't even leave the house because I don't want to see him sick. I thought of possibly some medication, but that also requires taking him to the vet and Waldo gets so anxious about that that they have to give him morphine so he won't bite anyone and he only ends up growling the entire time, not eating, drinking or sleeping. The vet is too traumatic for him.
Is there anyone out there with a cat or dog who does this same thing? I need help.
_________________
Me grumpy?
I'm happiness challenged.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 83 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
Darn, I flunked.
16 Jan 2018, 2:21 am
His symptoms are changing now and getting worse - for me. I work the weekends and this means I sleep Friday night into Saturday afternoon and then am up around Waldo for about 4 hrs before I go to work for 13 hours. I come home feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie time then I'm off to bed for about 6-7 hours, up for 4 hrs with Waldo, then back to work for 13 hours. When I come home on Monday, I'm exhausted so I feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie and then I'm off to bed for a few hours. Monday morning is when it starts..... Waldo gets himself all upset howling because I'm not out there and throws up all day. HOWEVER, now instead of him wanting food and throwing up like he always did, he is totally turning his back to me. He will actually come up to me and turn his back and refuses to eat. He also has diarrhea sometimes with blood. A nurse I work with also has a dog that has separation anxiety and has diarrhea with blood and the vet said it was anxiety. Tonight after vomiting, I put Waldo in his room like usual, but when I came back out he wouldn't come out of his bed like he usually does and looked listless. He normally will be running around and get on the table for brushing and he loves his laxative that I feed him. Tonight he wouldn't even get up on the table for brushing or laxative. I went to brush him in his bed and he came out finally and was very clingy. He finally came up on the table to get brushed and his laxative and eat just a little food.
PROBLEM: I was going to take Ma to the dentist and now had to tell her to cancel the appointment because I'm afraid if I leave tomorrow, Waldo will again not eat. I'm going out tomorrow to get a rotisserie chicken to see if he'll eat more. I don't know if this will help or just reinforce his behavior to not eat because he thinks he's being rewarded. I did read that cats will refuse to eat until they die. My whole life is being altered because now I won't even leave the house because I don't want to see him sick. I thought of possibly some medication, but that also requires taking him to the vet and Waldo gets so anxious about that that they have to give him morphine so he won't bite anyone and he only ends up growling the entire time, not eating, drinking or sleeping. The vet is too traumatic for him.
Is there anyone out there with a cat or dog who does this same thing? I need help.
If you haven't already, I would get a second opinion from another vet. Also, has he been checked for hyperthyroidism, hypertension (not all vets check blood pressure in cats because they don't all have the machine to do it), and hyperaldosteronism?
16 Jan 2018, 2:47 am
His symptoms are changing now and getting worse - for me. I work the weekends and this means I sleep Friday night into Saturday afternoon and then am up around Waldo for about 4 hrs before I go to work for 13 hours. I come home feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie time then I'm off to bed for about 6-7 hours, up for 4 hrs with Waldo, then back to work for 13 hours. When I come home on Monday, I'm exhausted so I feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie and then I'm off to bed for a few hours. Monday morning is when it starts..... Waldo gets himself all upset howling because I'm not out there and throws up all day. HOWEVER, now instead of him wanting food and throwing up like he always did, he is totally turning his back to me. He will actually come up to me and turn his back and refuses to eat. He also has diarrhea sometimes with blood. A nurse I work with also has a dog that has separation anxiety and has diarrhea with blood and the vet said it was anxiety. Tonight after vomiting, I put Waldo in his room like usual, but when I came back out he wouldn't come out of his bed like he usually does and looked listless. He normally will be running around and get on the table for brushing and he loves his laxative that I feed him. Tonight he wouldn't even get up on the table for brushing or laxative. I went to brush him in his bed and he came out finally and was very clingy. He finally came up on the table to get brushed and his laxative and eat just a little food.
PROBLEM: I was going to take Ma to the dentist and now had to tell her to cancel the appointment because I'm afraid if I leave tomorrow, Waldo will again not eat. I'm going out tomorrow to get a rotisserie chicken to see if he'll eat more. I don't know if this will help or just reinforce his behavior to not eat because he thinks he's being rewarded. I did read that cats will refuse to eat until they die. My whole life is being altered because now I won't even leave the house because I don't want to see him sick. I thought of possibly some medication, but that also requires taking him to the vet and Waldo gets so anxious about that that they have to give him morphine so he won't bite anyone and he only ends up growling the entire time, not eating, drinking or sleeping. The vet is too traumatic for him.
Is there anyone out there with a cat or dog who does this same thing? I need help.
If you haven't already, I would get a second opinion from another vet. Also, has he been checked for hyperthyroidism, hypertension (not all vets check blood pressure in cats because they don't all have the machine to do it), and hyperaldosteronism?
Thank you for answering.
The first time he vomited blood, I took him to the animal hospital and they performed xrays and blood tests and everything came back ok. It cost me $1000 and put Waldo through hell for 24 hours being in a cage growling,not eating or drinking and they couldn't get a urine sample because he wouldn't go.When i went to see him, the people at the hospital were afraid to touch him because he probably would have attacked them.I brought him home and took him to the vet where they gave him morphine without telling me and he couldn't even walk when he got home. I let them know that i was upset and they said they refused to take him again unless they could give him the morphine. I now try to treat him at home and he has done well except for this.I can't take him to the vet.
I had looked into a vet that does home visits and that will probably be my next option.I had also thought about a cat behavior person, but Waldo is 14 and I don't know if that would be of benefit to him. I had thought of getting another cat so he might be less lonely, but Waldo never got along with other cats when he was in a foster home. He just wants me here 24/7.
_________________
Me grumpy?
I'm happiness challenged.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 83 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
Darn, I flunked.
16 Jan 2018, 1:27 pm
Woke up today and the only thing Waldo would eat is greenies. I even opened up at least 4 different cans of fancy feast and he wouldn't eat any of them. So I went off into the frozen tundra for a rotisserie chicken and some chicken breast with broth. Waldo ended up eating the chicken. Thank God. That was the last resort. If he turned down rotisserie chicken, then he was really sick. I'll see how he does today.
_________________
Me grumpy?
I'm happiness challenged.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 83 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
Darn, I flunked.
16 Jan 2018, 1:40 pm
Have you tried baby food on him? You'll need to check the ingredients, onions are dangerous (you know that, it's just that under stress we all forget stuff).
I don't know if cats can get anything like a Mallory-Weiss tear but it occurred to me as a possibility... sorry, that's not comforting. Except that they heal.
Also, I don't know if this is still done, but there was a vet near me who would have a pharmacy compound psych meds into a cream that you could rub on a kitty's ears. A colleague of mine had this done for her cat, with problems similar to Waldo, and it worked. It worked transdermally and, if the kitty washed his ears, everything in the cream was safe for him to swallow, and then he got an oral dose. (I forget what the med was. Been racking my brain and it's not coming to me. Vet will know.)
Sorry this is happening. I had a special needs cat for 15 years, with different issues, and I loved her so much that when she died I wanted to follow her, for months. So I do understand.
_________________
"I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people," said the man. "You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides."
-- Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
16 Jan 2018, 2:03 pm
Thank you all for answering cause as you know, Waldo is my baby and anything that goes wrong with him is very upsetting. At times, it pisses me off how much I have had to change my life for him, but i would be lost if anything happened to him. I know something will at some point, but I'm just not ready for it to be now - even if i have to start cooking chicken from scratch, making my own chicken broth or feeding him a rotisserie chicken every week.
_________________
Me grumpy?
I'm happiness challenged.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 83 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
Darn, I flunked.
16 Jan 2018, 2:26 pm
I don't know if cats can get anything like a Mallory-Weiss tear but it occurred to me as a possibility... sorry, that's not comforting. Except that they heal.
Also, I don't know if this is still done, but there was a vet near me who would have a pharmacy compound psych meds into a cream that you could rub on a kitty's ears. A colleague of mine had this done for her cat, with problems similar to Waldo, and it worked. It worked transdermally and, if the kitty washed his ears, everything in the cream was safe for him to swallow, and then he got an oral dose. (I forget what the med was. Been racking my brain and it's not coming to me. Vet will know.)
Sorry this is happening. I had a special needs cat for 15 years, with different issues, and I loved her so much that when she died I wanted to follow her, for months. So I do understand.
Sorry to hear about your kitty, Miss E. I don't know how I'll make it when Waldo isn't here. I don't want to think about it. I think he had a hard life before i got him and now I'm all he has. I want him to have a good rest of his life even if that means forgoing my own activities. You sound like you were a good cat mom. Your kitty was blessed to have you
_________________
Me grumpy?
I'm happiness challenged.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 83 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
Darn, I flunked.
16 Jan 2018, 2:35 pm
Thank you - but I was the blessed one 
She was a red tabby Japanese bobtail (did you know: red girl cats are just as rare as girl Aspies 
) and she was as sweet as could be. Funny, too, she'd clown around when playing, and she ran like a little bunny rabbit.
And she knew the medicine helped her - never fought me, took it sweet as could be, even fussed at me to remind me, if I was late getting it together for her.
They're really something. I hope you and Waldo get through this soon, and OK, and that you have a lot of time with him still.
_________________
"I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people," said the man. "You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides."
-- Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
17 Jan 2018, 11:35 pm
His symptoms are changing now and getting worse - for me. I work the weekends and this means I sleep Friday night into Saturday afternoon and then am up around Waldo for about 4 hrs before I go to work for 13 hours. I come home feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie time then I'm off to bed for about 6-7 hours, up for 4 hrs with Waldo, then back to work for 13 hours. When I come home on Monday, I'm exhausted so I feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie and then I'm off to bed for a few hours. Monday morning is when it starts..... Waldo gets himself all upset howling because I'm not out there and throws up all day. HOWEVER, now instead of him wanting food and throwing up like he always did, he is totally turning his back to me. He will actually come up to me and turn his back and refuses to eat. He also has diarrhea sometimes with blood. A nurse I work with also has a dog that has separation anxiety and has diarrhea with blood and the vet said it was anxiety. Tonight after vomiting, I put Waldo in his room like usual, but when I came back out he wouldn't come out of his bed like he usually does and looked listless. He normally will be running around and get on the table for brushing and he loves his laxative that I feed him. Tonight he wouldn't even get up on the table for brushing or laxative. I went to brush him in his bed and he came out finally and was very clingy. He finally came up on the table to get brushed and his laxative and eat just a little food.
PROBLEM: I was going to take Ma to the dentist and now had to tell her to cancel the appointment because I'm afraid if I leave tomorrow, Waldo will again not eat. I'm going out tomorrow to get a rotisserie chicken to see if he'll eat more. I don't know if this will help or just reinforce his behavior to not eat because he thinks he's being rewarded. I did read that cats will refuse to eat until they die. My whole life is being altered because now I won't even leave the house because I don't want to see him sick. I thought of possibly some medication, but that also requires taking him to the vet and Waldo gets so anxious about that that they have to give him morphine so he won't bite anyone and he only ends up growling the entire time, not eating, drinking or sleeping. The vet is too traumatic for him.
Is there anyone out there with a cat or dog who does this same thing? I need help.
If you haven't already, I would get a second opinion from another vet. Also, has he been checked for hyperthyroidism, hypertension (not all vets check blood pressure in cats because they don't all have the machine to do it), and hyperaldosteronism?
Thank you for answering.
The first time he vomited blood, I took him to the animal hospital and they performed xrays and blood tests and everything came back ok. It cost me $1000 and put Waldo through hell for 24 hours being in a cage growling,not eating or drinking and they couldn't get a urine sample because he wouldn't go.When i went to see him, the people at the hospital were afraid to touch him because he probably would have attacked them.I brought him home and took him to the vet where they gave him morphine without telling me and he couldn't even walk when he got home. I let them know that i was upset and they said they refused to take him again unless they could give him the morphine. I now try to treat him at home and he has done well except for this.I can't take him to the vet.
I had looked into a vet that does home visits and that will probably be my next option.I had also thought about a cat behavior person, but Waldo is 14 and I don't know if that would be of benefit to him. I had thought of getting another cat so he might be less lonely, but Waldo never got along with other cats when he was in a foster home. He just wants me here 24/7.
If you could afford a home vet, it might be worth it for them to come and draw some blood to test for those things I mentioned.
17 Jan 2018, 11:43 pm
His symptoms are changing now and getting worse - for me. I work the weekends and this means I sleep Friday night into Saturday afternoon and then am up around Waldo for about 4 hrs before I go to work for 13 hours. I come home feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie time then I'm off to bed for about 6-7 hours, up for 4 hrs with Waldo, then back to work for 13 hours. When I come home on Monday, I'm exhausted so I feed Waldo, do huggie and smoochie and then I'm off to bed for a few hours. Monday morning is when it starts..... Waldo gets himself all upset howling because I'm not out there and throws up all day. HOWEVER, now instead of him wanting food and throwing up like he always did, he is totally turning his back to me. He will actually come up to me and turn his back and refuses to eat. He also has diarrhea sometimes with blood. A nurse I work with also has a dog that has separation anxiety and has diarrhea with blood and the vet said it was anxiety. Tonight after vomiting, I put Waldo in his room like usual, but when I came back out he wouldn't come out of his bed like he usually does and looked listless. He normally will be running around and get on the table for brushing and he loves his laxative that I feed him. Tonight he wouldn't even get up on the table for brushing or laxative. I went to brush him in his bed and he came out finally and was very clingy. He finally came up on the table to get brushed and his laxative and eat just a little food.
PROBLEM: I was going to take Ma to the dentist and now had to tell her to cancel the appointment because I'm afraid if I leave tomorrow, Waldo will again not eat. I'm going out tomorrow to get a rotisserie chicken to see if he'll eat more. I don't know if this will help or just reinforce his behavior to not eat because he thinks he's being rewarded. I did read that cats will refuse to eat until they die. My whole life is being altered because now I won't even leave the house because I don't want to see him sick. I thought of possibly some medication, but that also requires taking him to the vet and Waldo gets so anxious about that that they have to give him morphine so he won't bite anyone and he only ends up growling the entire time, not eating, drinking or sleeping. The vet is too traumatic for him.
Is there anyone out there with a cat or dog who does this same thing? I need help.
If you haven't already, I would get a second opinion from another vet. Also, has he been checked for hyperthyroidism, hypertension (not all vets check blood pressure in cats because they don't all have the machine to do it), and hyperaldosteronism?
Thank you for answering.
The first time he vomited blood, I took him to the animal hospital and they performed xrays and blood tests and everything came back ok. It cost me $1000 and put Waldo through hell for 24 hours being in a cage growling,not eating or drinking and they couldn't get a urine sample because he wouldn't go.When i went to see him, the people at the hospital were afraid to touch him because he probably would have attacked them.I brought him home and took him to the vet where they gave him morphine without telling me and he couldn't even walk when he got home. I let them know that i was upset and they said they refused to take him again unless they could give him the morphine. I now try to treat him at home and he has done well except for this.I can't take him to the vet.
I had looked into a vet that does home visits and that will probably be my next option.I had also thought about a cat behavior person, but Waldo is 14 and I don't know if that would be of benefit to him. I had thought of getting another cat so he might be less lonely, but Waldo never got along with other cats when he was in a foster home. He just wants me here 24/7.
If you could afford a home vet, it might be worth it for them to come and draw some blood to test for those things I mentioned.
Hey, Miss C. Actually, Waldo is eating like a trooper again - probably because I'm home. I was also able to get him to eat a little of his regular Fancy Feast. I'll see what happens this next week when I have to take Ma to the dentist. I also have my book club next Thursday. Waldo won't be happy next week.
_________________
Me grumpy?
I'm happiness challenged.
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 83 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
Darn, I flunked.
18 Jan 2018, 12:13 am
I forgot to ask. How did they conclude the vomiting blood was just stress? Did they do an endoscopy?
Also, if separation anxiety is a component to this, (though I've never heard of a cat getting so upset over their owner leaving for a few hours), there is a chance you could desensitize him to.
Go outside where he can see you for a few minutes every day and progressively get farther and farther away. Then graduate to leaving in the car for just a few minutes every day. 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and so on.
I socialized a semi feral kitten last year and I did it by getting a little closer to him each time I fed him. The down side is, now he will not eat unless someone is standing next to him but he's socialized.
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