My cat has a persistent fever and third eyelids. What should I do?

Fevers in cats are really frustrating. They can have many causes, and sometimes we can’t find any cause at all (Fever of Unknown Origin - FUO). Sometimes IV fluids can help with the fever, and sometimes it will go away in a few days with or without treatment. As long as he is comfortable and eating, I wouldn’t be so concerned. It sounds like your vet has a good plan for treatment.

Hello. I think the Azithromycin was a good next choice for an antibiotic. Clyde's bloodwork is not indicative of anything significant, although one of his kidney parameters is elevated. Blood markers for chronic infection/inflammation are in the high normal range, too, but we would expect this with a chronic fever. If he does not respond to this go round of antibiotics, a disease panel may be necessary, but make sure your vet also sends off some blood smears to see if any blood parasites can be identified. I would also like to have the urine analyzed as well. I hope Clyde is feeling better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I understand you are concerned about FIP. The reality is, if you don't have money for a veterinary visit (and in many cases even if you did), FIP is typically fatal and untreatable. The best thing you can do is separate your sick cat from your healthy one and see how things transpire over the course of the next few days. Typically, cats with FIP, regardless of the form, will be inappetant and not wanting to eat anything at all. The worst form of it will cause massive fluid buiid up in the chest / abdomen and result in difficulty breathing. The other form typically produce clinical signs that are both ophthalmic and/or neurologic, plus several other non specific clinical signs (a couple of which include what you are descrbing). Overall, FIP would not be near the top of my list. I would definitely make sure all three cats have been tested for leukemia and AIDS however in order to rule both of these life-threatening conditions. While not as rapidly fatal as FIP, both conditions can carry poor long term prognosis. It sounds like the one cat with a fever and swollen belly might benefit from pain management and a recheck for the presence of worms. While dietary indiscretion could be an issue, it is not likely to cause a fever unless an infectious organism was present in the food. Hope this is more helpful than my previous response.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ghost. There are severe abnormalities on the attached blood panel. I agree with the veterinarian that this would not be compatible with life. The blood work needs to be repeated as soon as possible. Recurrent fevers are not normal and I suspect the blood work will still reveal changes. Additional testing may be necessary to reach a diagnosis. Based on this information treatment should be started as soon as possible. Good luck!

Ongoing chronic viral infections seldom present with a fever unless there is an additional infection due to poor immune system. Fever is an early response by the body to fight off a new infection - if this fails such as with FIP/FELV/FIV and the immune system fails to clear the infection long term there will not be a fever as a result of these infections. I strongly recommend testing given the ongoing, vague signs of debility which is common with all of these diseases

The temperature itself isn’t an emergency, but it is definitely a fever. If he goes outdoors I would start feeling all over for an abscess from a fight. I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon, but as long as there are no other clinical signs such as difficulty breathing etc then I think having him seen by your veterinarian tomorrow is appropriate. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

I am very concerned about your cat. Did your veterinarian give you a reason for the fever? Also do you know what the shot was? My concern is with a younger cat and a fever that there is always the possibility of a cat with FIP (Feline Infectious Peritionitis). There is no real test for this and is more a diagnosis of exclusion. I would discuss this with your veterinarian tomorrow to see if with what is going on with your cat this may be a possibility. It sounds like if this were the case he could have the dry form. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2134&aid=212 Thank you for using PetCoach.