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- May 31, 2022
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Just wanted to give an update to my last post, in case this helps anyone in the future. I spoke with our regular vet and she said that even though kidney levels are down, he still is considered to have CKD since he previously had levels at "beginning stages". It's a lot of overwhelming stuff, especially with what we have been through with losing 3 other cats since 2020. Anyway, we decided to proceed with the prednisolone for a month since his kidney values were within normal range at his last lab. He will go in at the beginning of March for a check up/blood tests to make sure he is doing ok. Assuming his values haven't changed drastically, I think the plan after that is to taper off the steroid to the lowest dose possible.
Because of the concern with CKD cats and steroids, she told me to keep an eye out for big pees, etc. This is concerning to me because he has been on Prozac for about a year and a half due to spraying issues (trying Prozac was my very, very last resort). I have been nervous to take him off of it before because I was losing my mind having spraying everywhere (I grew up in a hoarder house with a ton of cat pee everywhere and I am not inclined to re-live any part of that as an adult), but our doctor said it would be a good idea to try to ween him off and I agreed. Mostly, the reason I want to ween him off is because I can't get an accurate "reading" on how often or how much he is actually peeing when he is on the Prozac. For whatever reason, Prozac makes our cats (we have had 3 on it before and currently 2 are on it) pee less often, but obviously the output is more since they are peeing less often. I have asked the doctor about this before and she sort of just shrugged and said "We don't really know how it works." This has happened with all 3 of our cats that we had on Prozac. So, we are weening both of our current cats off of it slowly. So far, we have not had any spraying issues.
I'm sure it is due to the steroids, but he has been eating the Purina EN wet food daily and with no complaints. This is shocking because he has NEVER wanted to eat the same food day in and day out since we got him two years ago. I've spent hundreds (maybe even thousands) of dollars trying to find foods he would eat regularly and just when I thought we had gotten somewhere, that's when he stopped wanting to eat any of the foods in his rotation. He still has zero interest in any of the foods he was previously eating. He has gained some weight, which is great. I have been giving him a B-12 supplement with his daily meds and also a probiotic. We have had zero vomiting and zero diarrhea. I have attempted giving him omegas in his food and also psyllium husk. He will eat the psyllium husk mixed in, but he does not like the omega oils. So, I've just been skipping those. The psyllium husk has been added because I'm worried about the "low fiber" in the Purina EN food. I've also been mixing in a very small amount of phosphorus binder as our vet was concerned about the phosphorus in the EN food (although, both flavors are lower than some others - 1.06% and 1.01% on a DMB. I got these numbers directly from Purina). I am a little concerned about trying them because our vet had never heard of phosphorous binders and therefore doesn't really know much about it, but she said that "it wouldn't be a bad idea" to try it. Her lack of knowledge, yet her suggestion to try it anyway, is what concerns me. His phosphorus levels were within the normal range at his last lab test. Since we will be testing his kidney values at the beginning of March, I guess I feel ok about trying the phosphorous binder out for now. I can always stop or reduce the dosing. But I'm also a little paranoid about causing constipation (also a reason for the psyllium husk). If anyone has any thoughts on this, I am open to hearing!
I guess my plan is to keep him on the Purina EN as long as he will continue to eat it/he seems to be doing ok. I don't know what was causing the IBD (although it could still be small cell lymphoma) if it was a food thing. I'm wondering if it was the gums that were in the foods because a lot of the foods he was eating before this were either in pouches (tiny tasters, various BFFs, Tiki Cat) or had a lot of gravy (fancy feast grilled and gravy lovers) and my understanding is those can have a lot of thickeners/gums in them. Although, I don't know much about that stuff.
Anyway, just wanted to give an update that he seems to be doing well for now, although a bit sleepy on the steroids. I'm happy to hear any thoughts/opinions/advice if you have them.
Because of the concern with CKD cats and steroids, she told me to keep an eye out for big pees, etc. This is concerning to me because he has been on Prozac for about a year and a half due to spraying issues (trying Prozac was my very, very last resort). I have been nervous to take him off of it before because I was losing my mind having spraying everywhere (I grew up in a hoarder house with a ton of cat pee everywhere and I am not inclined to re-live any part of that as an adult), but our doctor said it would be a good idea to try to ween him off and I agreed. Mostly, the reason I want to ween him off is because I can't get an accurate "reading" on how often or how much he is actually peeing when he is on the Prozac. For whatever reason, Prozac makes our cats (we have had 3 on it before and currently 2 are on it) pee less often, but obviously the output is more since they are peeing less often. I have asked the doctor about this before and she sort of just shrugged and said "We don't really know how it works." This has happened with all 3 of our cats that we had on Prozac. So, we are weening both of our current cats off of it slowly. So far, we have not had any spraying issues.
I'm sure it is due to the steroids, but he has been eating the Purina EN wet food daily and with no complaints. This is shocking because he has NEVER wanted to eat the same food day in and day out since we got him two years ago. I've spent hundreds (maybe even thousands) of dollars trying to find foods he would eat regularly and just when I thought we had gotten somewhere, that's when he stopped wanting to eat any of the foods in his rotation. He still has zero interest in any of the foods he was previously eating. He has gained some weight, which is great. I have been giving him a B-12 supplement with his daily meds and also a probiotic. We have had zero vomiting and zero diarrhea. I have attempted giving him omegas in his food and also psyllium husk. He will eat the psyllium husk mixed in, but he does not like the omega oils. So, I've just been skipping those. The psyllium husk has been added because I'm worried about the "low fiber" in the Purina EN food. I've also been mixing in a very small amount of phosphorus binder as our vet was concerned about the phosphorus in the EN food (although, both flavors are lower than some others - 1.06% and 1.01% on a DMB. I got these numbers directly from Purina). I am a little concerned about trying them because our vet had never heard of phosphorous binders and therefore doesn't really know much about it, but she said that "it wouldn't be a bad idea" to try it. Her lack of knowledge, yet her suggestion to try it anyway, is what concerns me. His phosphorus levels were within the normal range at his last lab test. Since we will be testing his kidney values at the beginning of March, I guess I feel ok about trying the phosphorous binder out for now. I can always stop or reduce the dosing. But I'm also a little paranoid about causing constipation (also a reason for the psyllium husk). If anyone has any thoughts on this, I am open to hearing!
I guess my plan is to keep him on the Purina EN as long as he will continue to eat it/he seems to be doing ok. I don't know what was causing the IBD (although it could still be small cell lymphoma) if it was a food thing. I'm wondering if it was the gums that were in the foods because a lot of the foods he was eating before this were either in pouches (tiny tasters, various BFFs, Tiki Cat) or had a lot of gravy (fancy feast grilled and gravy lovers) and my understanding is those can have a lot of thickeners/gums in them. Although, I don't know much about that stuff.
Anyway, just wanted to give an update that he seems to be doing well for now, although a bit sleepy on the steroids. I'm happy to hear any thoughts/opinions/advice if you have them.