sick cat with lump

Question
Hello, I have a 1.5 year old long haired female cat named Lola. When we
adopted her from the shelter as a kitten we knew she had herpes and it has
flared up at times to either cause a swollen, seeping eye or fever and fatigue.
Starting 3 nights ago she was up multiple times in the night throwing up her
food and a big hairball. She seemed okay the next morning but was throwing
up again mid afternoon with blood and hairball in the vomit. We took her to
the vet, determined she had a fever, had her x-rayed (to find no obstruction)
and took her home. Since then we have been following vet instructions: giving
her antacid pills once daily, lysine, tonic-lax (for hairball prevention) and a
medicine to coat her stomach every 8 hours. We returned with her to the vet
yesterday after a vomit free day where she had been eating to find she still
had a slight temperature (possibly due to the stress of the visit) but she
vomited several times again yesterday afternoon and evening and ate nothing
after 3:30. Today, she has been eagerly eating without vomiting but seems
afraid of us and sad and tired. I really don't want to put her through more
visits if not necessary. Unfortunately, her eye is now slightly swollen as of this
morning and we found a lump on her left side just in front of her back leg.
It's about the diameter of a golf ball but only sticks out about a cm. We are
very concerned for her health but are also concerned at the costs adding up
to treat her. Do you have any suggestions about what might be wrong with
her or what we can do for her? The vet tech said the next step would be to do
a barium X-ray and take fluid from the lump. We will be nearing a 1000$ bill
without answers and going into the vet terrifies her. It's torture to wait it out
but is that a better plan? It's difficult to know who to trust. Any advice would
be helpful.
Thanks so much,
Kelly

Answer
Kelley -

Sorry to hear that your kitty is not feeling well.  Herpes in cats can be a headache, but they usually do well after the initial bouts with the disease.  Giving her lysine is also a good thing, as research has shown that lysine can be effective when controlling herpes.  Because she continues to vomit, it is wise to take her back to her doctor to have her examined again to determine what is making her sick.  You might want to request that the doctor do bloodwork to check liver and kidney values.  It may also be prudent to have a barium done.  Barium is a thick liquid that coats the intestines and can  help to better visualize a foreign body; in my experience it has also helped to soothe unruly stomachs.

I know that it is stressful for her to make repeated visits to the doctor (it is for all of us!:) but it really is best for her for her to be seen by a vet to find out why she is so sick.  Unfortunately it does add up - talk to your doctor to determine the lest expensive thing to do first  - then go from there.

If you will be so kind - please follow up with me and let me know how she progresses.

Here's hoping all is well -

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM