FIP; which vet?; SCAT

Question
QUESTION: Jana,
I hope this isn't pushing my luck, asking more questions? But for the sake of kitty I'll risk it.

Would the side affects of FIP cause the rapid breathing or heart rate? And some of her other behaviour issues of anxiety and loose stool and large appetite as well as the problems with her coat?  (Let's forget the lowered WBC count for a moment.)

I asked that vet earlier by phone what the normal heart rate or breathing rate is.  She said my cat was so anxious when in her office she couldn't give me much info but I could check it on my own at home when she's more relaxed.

She said it should be 20 breaths in a minute.  (She says count the breaths in 15 sec and multiply times 4.)  
Even when kitty was fairly relaxed on my lap, it was always around 40 breaths in a minute.

There is an older vet in the area the locals call "Doctor Dolittle"... he seems kind but told me not to worry about her hair/coat issue.  Gave me some stuff to spray on and brush her daily.  He didn't think it was necessary to check her blood; he never suggested it and I didn't think to either. He said her health is fine.  She was soiling on the carpet then too and I asked him and he said she knows exactly what she's doing; it's her way of expressing her displeasure with something.

She wasn't havign problems back then consistently, but it's getting worse with daily soiling the carpet.

Someone said try this SCAT thing... which has a motion sensor on it and shoots out air under pressure to frighten the cat away from being in that area.  Its only the diningroom where she soils the carpet...and its only in the morning before I wake up.  The rest of the time she uses the liter box.

Now I don't know which vet to go to... the younger one or the doctor dolittle guy.  Do you have any thoughts?  I know you can't tell me what to do; but with what you know and if you were me? which one would you go to.  I don't want to tick off either of them .. there aren't many vets around here.  The Dr. Dolittle vet was on vacation this week and I have an appt. with him on the 15th.  I went to the other one b/c I simply got crazy and felt like I had to take kitty in NOW... if you know what I mean.  

Any further thoughts?  thanks so much.
Joy

ANSWER: Joy, I know this is confusing and especially when you hear conflicting things from different veterinarians. Did this Dr. Dolittle check her neck and feel her thyroid gland? I understand where he is coming from because my boss was like that too, but he would pull blood when he felt it was warranted. Sometimes blood work opens a can of worms that was best left un-opened.

I want you to read this article about HT and then you can decide if she exhibits any of these symptoms:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2130&aid=218
and this one:
http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/cat-hyper.htm

Not all cats have all the symptoms, but in every cat I ever saw come into our clinic with this condition over a 20 yr period, just about everyone of them had the unkempt coat and the voracious appetite and some weight loss. A lot of them were not using the litter box either.

The older vet is right- cats will stop using the box when something bothers them because that is one way they know you will pay attention to them (and help them is their way of thinking).

As  far as the SCAT thing goes, it will probably just make her move to another area to poop on the carpet. Most of those gadgets only make money for the inventors but they rarely work.
Another thing,just because one vet 'feels that her bone marrow is suppressed' doesn't make it so. There are so many other more common things to start with. Cats are pretty simple.

The next step here is to get her tested for it, have her thyroid gland palpated and go from there.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jana,
Thank you very much.  An online Vet  (Dr. Hines)  who gives consults for $20 said that a WBC count (as long as it isn't below 4,000) is not all that significant.  
Kitty's was 4,800.  I asked the doomsday vet at the time of the exam numerous times if stress over the long term could cause a lowered WBC count and she said, no--it would be high instead of low.  
However, Dr. Hines said low WBC count could be from stress.  For about a year this cat has been stressed (and so have I!) from the soiling on the carpet.  I've not treated her so well, nor have I treated her with much dignity, nor have I given her much individualized attention.  All that can equal stress.  (right?)
He did say, just like you did, to have the thyroid checked and I have an appointment with a different vet next week for that. He's new to the area.  I asked people in the bank when I went in and 2 people there say he's wonderful.  
Meanwhile, when I went into the other vet's office to make the appointment, I bought a bag of SCIENCE DIET catfood... SCIENCE DIET FOR SENSITVE STOMACH.  
I was thrilled that she liked it.  And for the past few days I've been very forgiving of her mistakes on the carpet and playing with her more and treating her with more love, dignity and respect.
She did not soil the carpet this morning!
Anyway, no matter how it all turns out, I wanted to let you know since YOU were the first one to hone right in on the thyroid possibility.  The younger female vet, as I have written before, never even checked it and I said I have only $200 and asked her to prioritize.

And I read the links you sent and it all has made great sense to me!  

You've been GREAT!!  
jOY

Answer
Sounds like you are both on the right track here Joy. I would keep doing what you are doing and do away with that Scat thing for sure.
Let me know what the thyroid results are when you find out.
Good for you for pursuing this and for getting her on SD sensitive stomach. It is a great food.
She may have been having issues all along with her gut.
Time will tell.