- Joined
- Dec 18, 2015
- Messages
- 17
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Hello all. Sorry, this is probably going to get a little long. In December Caleb (who will be 9 next month) was eating more, peeing more, energetic, and I thought breathing heavier. I had noticed when playing with something above he would open his mouth as if to bite and sometimes open mouth breathe for a few seconds. I took him to the vet thinking it was his thyroid. Bloodwork showed low thyroid(.5), elevated ALT, and normal but dilute urine. Vet said early kidney disease.
Recently he has been sitting/sleeping in the loaf poition more and just not looking right. In a week he had 3 hairball episodes...or so I thought. I stumbled across a video showing a cat having an asthma attack and it looked just like what I thought was just his unproductive hairball attacks. I took him back to the vet and she said his lungs sounded good, but his nose/throat was a bit noisy. They did xrays, which came back all good. His new bloodwork showed normal thyroid(1) and ALT levels, but elevated eosinophils(1520). It also showed a jump in creatinine(2.0). Since he has a history of red ears, watery eyes, and food sensitivities, she suggested trying 5mg of Zyrtec a day. It has been 4 days and I was hoping it was helping. This morning he had another asthma like attack and as I write this with him in my lap, for a minute he was acting like he was trying to swallow down vomit.
So with what sounded like clear lungs and clear xray, could he still have asthma? Could it account for the increase in loafing and laying flat on his stomach?
I worry about his heart, but I just spent $600 on the vet the other day and with other vet bills and recent decreases in income, I will have to work to save up the $500 for the once a month ultrsounds they do.
I have also recently noticed an increase in his facial twitches. The vet had no idea what to make of them. They use to only happen once in a while, but now they happen multiple times a day.
The vet mentioned polyps, but said the procedure to look for them would be tricky and hard.
He is eating fine and playing. I have a tendency to become paranoid and research things like crazy online, which is not always good. So I was hoping someone might have similar stories so I know in what direction to look. I have been a ball of nerves and want him to feel better.
Recently he has been sitting/sleeping in the loaf poition more and just not looking right. In a week he had 3 hairball episodes...or so I thought. I stumbled across a video showing a cat having an asthma attack and it looked just like what I thought was just his unproductive hairball attacks. I took him back to the vet and she said his lungs sounded good, but his nose/throat was a bit noisy. They did xrays, which came back all good. His new bloodwork showed normal thyroid(1) and ALT levels, but elevated eosinophils(1520). It also showed a jump in creatinine(2.0). Since he has a history of red ears, watery eyes, and food sensitivities, she suggested trying 5mg of Zyrtec a day. It has been 4 days and I was hoping it was helping. This morning he had another asthma like attack and as I write this with him in my lap, for a minute he was acting like he was trying to swallow down vomit.
So with what sounded like clear lungs and clear xray, could he still have asthma? Could it account for the increase in loafing and laying flat on his stomach?
I worry about his heart, but I just spent $600 on the vet the other day and with other vet bills and recent decreases in income, I will have to work to save up the $500 for the once a month ultrsounds they do.
I have also recently noticed an increase in his facial twitches. The vet had no idea what to make of them. They use to only happen once in a while, but now they happen multiple times a day.
The vet mentioned polyps, but said the procedure to look for them would be tricky and hard.
He is eating fine and playing. I have a tendency to become paranoid and research things like crazy online, which is not always good. So I was hoping someone might have similar stories so I know in what direction to look. I have been a ball of nerves and want him to feel better.
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