Update on Chestnut (anemia and seziure)

I just got back in from the vet. Chestnut is riddled with parasites. He actually threw up a worm in the vets office. We are hoping that the parasites are what is causing his anemia. I have to bring him back in 3 weeks for more blood work and to re-check him for the parasites. Vet said heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s probably had them a while, the poor little guy! Right now I have to restrict his food intake because he as thrown up 3 times since 6am.

I'm so happy that his anemia could be something as simple as treating his paracites! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

As for the seizure… well weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re hoping that doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t happen again and we have no idea why it happened.

The vet wants him off wet food, and compeltly on dry, he doesn't think wet is good for cats (I know the majority opinion here). When I go back in 3 weeks I will be bringing info with me and see what he says then.

Sending lots of vibes for Chestnut! I hope everything turns out okay!

THANK YOU!! We always appreciate the wonderful vibes from TCS!

I am soooooo glad it's turned out just to be the parasites, and that he's getting the medical attention he needs!

Just a quick FYI - he needs to be back at the vet in 3 weeks not just for more bloodwork, but to treat the parasites again. The lifecycle of worms is such that the poison they administer to kill them only kills the adults - and it takes 2 - 3 weeks for the eggs to mature, so the medication must be administered again (some vets use 2 weeks as the guide, some vets use 3 weeks as the guide).

Also, to help prevent reinfestation, there are some steps you can take. Scoop the litterbox both morning and evening during this time. Completely empty it and bleach the box once a week and fill it with new litter. Our kitties had very hard to treat round worm, and they were administered Drontal at first. That didn't work. Then we went with Panacur - and in the end, I think we used a combination of Panacur and Strongid (?) At the time, we had several foster kitties coming through - but it took us a year to rid our gang of internal parasites. With just one kitty, especially if the parasites respond to the meds, it should be just this course of meds - but the extra steps with keeping the box really clean and bleaching the box will definitely help ensure success.

I think even if your vet doesn't ask you to bring in a stool sample six weeks from now, it might be a good idea - just to make sure.

Chestnut is very lucky to have found you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laurie

They did tell me about the litter box thing today. We have been cleaning it 1 to 2 x a day anyway.

I cleaned it out when I dropped him back off at home after the vet's office, and plan on a full water/bleach/new litter change tonight.

Acutally, how often are you supposed to do that, on a normal basis, not under these circumstances. We've been using clumping litter, but I was thinking of changeing. Maybe I should start a new thread...

We use clumping litter. We tried the natural litters, like Swheat Scoop and The World's Best Litter, but we live in a very rural area, and they attracted ants!

We scoop every day, and bleach our boxes once a month.

Laurie