I have officially give up!

white cat lover · Jun 9, 2007

Damita is upstairs projectile vomiting, for the millionth time today!

I quit. I cannot find anything wrong with her. The vet doesn't think autoimmune issues(don't think he knows how to test for them, either). He would like me to test for food allergies & indoor allergies, but admits that there likely isn't a whole lot to do other than weekly shots for that & those do not guarantee any improvement.....should she even have allergies! Not to mention the cost of those tests(although, I'd do anything to have her not be sick for once in her life.) FIV/FeLV-. 7 years old. Spayed. UTD on shots. Had her since Feb. 2006. Ringworm 4x. Science Diet z/d & d/d didn't clear up her supposed food allergies. Raw diet in lamb, beef, & chicken still had the "food allergy" symptoms. Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea, that raised her urine pH off the charts. There a bunch of other things, you can search for my old threads if you'd like. There's a lot of them.

She's the most miserable tonight I've seen her in awhile. I thought she'd be better, she is done with her 30 days of ringworm meds.

I just HATE seeing her this utterly miserable. I syringe fed her as I do not think she's eaten all day.

Any more brilliant ideas?

sharky · Jun 9, 2007

Holistic type general allergy stuff... may some immune boosting things like l lysine??

white cat lover · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by sharky

Holistic type general allergy stuff... may some immune boosting things like l lysine??

Care to elaborate, or shall I simply PM you? Remember, I have no holisitc vet here.

sharky · Jun 9, 2007

Pm me and I will print off and look up and ask

..lol..

Gigi has severe issues that we are maintaining finally with some stuff

beandip · Jun 9, 2007

I was actually thinking the opposite

...like experimenting with steroids (oral prednisone). If it's an autoimmune issue that should help.

sharky · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by beandip

I was actually thinking the opposite

...like experimenting with steroids (oral prednisone). If it's an autoimmune issue that should help.

I just sent a Pm about pred

... i use it with the natural in a low low dose

white cat lover · Jun 9, 2007

Whatever you guys can come up with, she's due to get her urine pH checked soon, so I'll be at the vet armed with info!

beandip · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by sharky

I just sent a Pm about pred

... i use it with the natural in a low low dose

Ahh, cool.

We're finally approaching the low low range here.

I think that might be *one thing* that Damita hasn't been on yet?

white cat lover · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by beandip

Ahh, cool.

We're finally approaching the low low range here.

I think that might be *one thing* that Damita hasn't been on yet?

Oh I'm sure there's lotsa things she hasn't been on yet! Oh gosh, I hope there's lots of things she hasn't been on yet. Mostly, I've tried my own "home remedies" because the vet is out of ideas.

beandip · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Whatever you guys can come up with, she's due to get her urine pH checked soon, so I'll be at the vet armed with info!

Well I'm not experienced with the autoimmune stuff but I get the general impression that those things oftentimes aren't officially "tested" for (in animals anyway). I get the idea it's more of a trial/error process. The steroids (natural or not, either one) would suppress the immune system's reaction which could be causing Damita's grief.

white cat lover · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by beandip

Well I'm not experienced with the autoimmune stuff but I get the general impression that those things oftentimes aren't officially "tested" for (in animals anyway). I get the idea it's more of a trial/error process. The steroids (natural or not, either one) would suppress the immune system's reaction which could be causing Damita's grief.

OK. So what types of steroids are out there(Natural vs. "Un-natural")?

I know Twitch got a steroid injection years ago & that the big risk is diabetes w/ long term use, but that's about it!

beandip · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by white cat lover

OK. So what types of steroids are out there(Natural vs. "Un-natural")?

I know Twitch got a steroid injection years ago & that the big risk is diabetes w/ long term use, but that's about it!

I don't have experience with the natural type, that's Sharky's department.

The usual Rx is Prednisolone. Very inexpensive and a very small pill, i.e. easy to administer. Pills are good (vs. injections) as adjustment to the dose can be instant rather than a long acting shot that you can't undo. I'm unfamiliar with the usual dose for immune suppression. I think it is higher than the usual dose given for anti-inflammatory needs.

I would discourage using it for years and years but when there's no other alternative it can be a life saver.

kittymonsters · Jun 9, 2007

Did Damitia do ok on the Venison and green pea other than her urine pH?

Urine can be acidified very easily using a small, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp a day of Methionine. It works, we had a cat on it for 15 years. Just mix it into a little wet food. It is orderless and tasteless, and even my Zoe girl eats it. They also make chewable tablets, MethioTabs I think. They are huge, but MAN, the cats thing they are treats. I set them on the counter and they were trying to chew through the bag!

This might be a way to get her onto a food she doesn't chronically vomit, if the urine pH was the only problem.

I don't know if autoimmune is the right direction to be looking. It sound more like her immune system is in low gear as opposed to overdrive to me. I say this mostly because of the recurrent ringworm, a classic occurance in immunocompromised cats. . There are other things besides FeLV and FIV that will cause poor immune reaction. I wonder if she has a genetic defect that prohibits the production of a certain immunloglobulin, IgG, IgE, or IgA, specifically.

When I was in school, we had a man die of rabies at the University hospital. He and his neighbor were attacked and bitten by a stray cat that was clearly acting rabid. They were both given the immunoglobulin injections and then the rabies series. One man did fine, the other man developed rabies. Turns out he was deficient in IgA and thus was not able to amount an immune response to the treatment protocal to prevent the rabies from developing. It was a highly unsualy case, but real none the less.

Damitia simptoms sound more akin to this type of immune problem. If anyone could test for it, I am thinking it would be UC Davis. The tests would be very expensive I am guessing.

Another possibility to check out is getting a consult with Cornell. If you are interesed I can look up the information again. I think they charge like $35 to do a record review and consult with your vet to try and get a diagnosis. Since they are a teaching and referal institution they see many more of the rare cases.

I am hoping your sweet girl has stopped her projectile vomiting now. I feel horrible for her and for you. It is so stressful when they are that sick and we can't find the answers to help

sharky · Jun 9, 2007

kittymonsters;1824185 said:
Did Damitia do ok on the Venison and green pea other than her urine pH?

Urine can be acidified very easily using a small, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp a day of Methionine. It works, we had a cat on it for 15 years. Just mix it into a little wet food. It is orderless and tasteless, and even my Zoe girl eats it. They also make chewable tablets, MethioTabs I think. They are huge, but MAN, the cats thing they are treats. I set them on the counter and they were trying to chew through the bag!

This might be a way to get her onto a food she doesn't chronically vomit, if the urine pH was the only problem.

I don't know if autoimmune is the right direction to be looking. It sound more like her immune system is in low gear as opposed to overdrive to me. I say this mostly because of the recurrent ringworm, a classic occurance in immunocompromised cats. . There are other things besides FeLV and FIV that will cause poor immune reaction. I wonder if she has a genetic defect that prohibits the production of a certain immunloglobulin, IgG, IgE, or IgA, specifically.

I am deficiant in Igg Iga and a subclass

... It seems the vets dont know how to test ... I evan asked mine and she gave me the I need to look this up ...

kittymonsters · Jun 9, 2007

Originally Posted by sharky

I am deficiant in Igg Iga and a subclass

... It seems the vets dont know how to test ... I evan asked mine and she gave me the I need to look this up ...

Having read the rheumy thread in the cat lounge, I was wondering.

You and I have a lot in common.

white cat lover · Jun 10, 2007

See that's the thing! Damita did fine on the NB Venison & GP for awhile, but then started showing "allergy symptoms" again! Not to mention, she refuses the wet & I cannot find the dry anywhere.

I tried urine acidifiers for her, it didn't work. The vet & I had a hard time understanding her....her urine pH did not seem overly affected by what she eats, honestly. I think the lowest we actually got it to was between 8.0-8.5....which still isn't good enough for me. He told me to come back in 3 months, which would be this month.

ETA: She has symptoms that my grandma does.....gram's immune system is attacking her body.....so they've given her drugs to suppress her own immune system. I've thought about that for Damita....

jcat · Jun 10, 2007

Has Damita been checked for an anatomical problem? That's often a cause of projectile vomiting, and not always recognized.

white cat lover · Jun 10, 2007

She's had multiple complete physicals this year, I think we're up to 6 of them. The last was 3 months ago, so when I get her in this week, she'll get another physical exam. But, projectile vomiting is "the norm" for her.

jcat · Jun 10, 2007

Sorry, I'm not up to date on all your posts about Damita. Projectile vomiting is, IME, a physical/anatomical problem. Have you tried elevating her food dish (put a flat dish on a foot stool, or in a stand)? How about giving her dry food in a dog's treat ball, so that she can only eat at a slow pace? Or, when giving her canned food, spoon feeding her at a rate of about three teaspoons in a half hour? I know that all sounds crazy, but I've had luck with those strategies with two pets (a rat and a dog) who spewed their stomach contents for no discernible reason.

lukeblaise · Jun 10, 2007

Why hasn't anyone given any good advice yet?

What you need to do is find another vet!

Do this by yourself, or ask your vet for a referral.

And keep looking for a vet that can give you some answers. Forget about that holisitic stuff.

I have officially give up!

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