Vibes for Sam' bloods please

Not sure if his background is on here. He was a stray we took in last year, supposedly a 7mo female, but really an 11/12yo boy with suspected thyroid and heart murmur. His last bloods were borderline for thyroid, but that could have been suppressed by his bad mouth, and his ALT was high, which hopefully was caused by his bad mouth, so a month after his dental, hopefully his ALT has gone down, but we are expecting his T4 to be higher, I would be surprised if he doesn't have a thyroid problem. I am just hoping that they dont show a high ALT and T4. He hates blood being taken, and it takes 3 people to get anything out of him!! So a condition requiring regular bloods isn't going to be fun - he also hates meds, so if he does have a thyroid prob, I am going to have fun. The bloods have to go to the lab, so probably wont get any results till Mon (that's how Mol's worked, although with the other lab they used, I did get the odd one back on a SAt).

God bless you for taking care of another little one. Praying and good for Sam and that his ALT and T4 are not high.

Thanks - the vet checked his mouth first, and even a month after his dental, his gums are still very red, so she is fairly sure he has the calici virus, but we can't do anythign about treatment till the bloods come back - if his liver values are still high, it means he can't have MEtacam and I dont quite know what we will do if they are. He can eat though, although only certain foods, but he can manage dry. One thing I do know is that he is lucky the person who found him rang us, as I know my local RSPCA test any cat with mouth issues for calici and pts immediately.

He has put on 100g in teh past month, so not great, and swaying towards a thyroid issue. He was very sweet in the vets, wanting hugs all the time.

I suppose Calici is another mark against him finding another home though, and I must do some research as he has been mixing with the other cats.

Prayers and vibe for you two tomorrow

I`d be really interested to hear the outcome as Sam sounds quite similar to what Maisie is dealing with. She very hard to pill as well, so I sympathise.

Thanks - I didn't sleep well last night, and on edge already today, think i better take some choc to work with me!! When i got Molly's back last week, she rang in the middle of the afternoon, between surgery and apps. I might have to take the stray up tonight, so might ask if she will wait till I go up, an extra wait, but then I dont have to stay at work if it isn't great news.

Any news on Sam?

Thanks for asking. Sam's bloods are back, his thyroid levels are the same, so still borderline, so he needs monitoring for hyper-t symptoms, his liver values are better, but still something going on, and there are signs of inflammation, which isn't surprising due to his mouth. As his liver is still iffy, we are going to just monitor his eating, and if he shows signs of being in pain with his gums, then give him Metacam/Antirobe, as both can make the liver worse. There is also the heart murmur as well. So due to multiple health issues which will need monitoring and maybe treatment in the future, we aren't actively rehoming him, although if someone rings me wanting an older cat with health issues, I will tell them about him (although i can't home a healthy 10yo, so an 11yo with health issues might not stand much of a chance), so for the time being, he is a long term foster.

I would talk to the vet about whether it would be worthwhile to treat the thyroid issue. Even though the values are borderline, it sounds like he is having symptoms. The normal ranges aren't exact, and as the CRF groups often say, it's important to treat the cat, not the numbers. Since the values border on high and symptoms are present, a trial of medication may be worth a shot.

I hope Sam will be OK too.

(Great name, btw)

BTW, if you decide to order the denamarin after talking it over with your vet, my suggestion would be to order it from PetMeds b/c it's cheaper than ordering directly from your vet.

http://www.1800petmeds.com/Denamarin-prod11008.html

for Sam's health

Thanks for all the vibes, I did debate asking the vet about treating him regardless, but I think I need to do some more research on symptoms first. We did discuss liver supplements, but the vet finds that most of the time animals wont take them, so she doesn't prescribe them anymore. His ALT has come down a lot, so it isn't as worrying as before - it has come from 204 to 130 in a month.

That`s good that his alt has come down I will be keeping my fingers crossed for him

Thats good news, more Prayers and coming Sams way.

I haven't posted but have been following Sam's progress. Booktigger you are amazing for caring for this poor older guy.

I am really glad to read today his ALT decreased so much in a month. that is fantastic.

Continued for Sam and for you!

for you and for Sam.

Thank you for being there for Sam.

Prayers and Vibes for Sam.

Thanks everyone - in a way I am glad he has health issues, as it means he can stay with me, without me officially having to adopt him (although he will still get treated by me, without it going through the rescue). He is such a cuddlebug, it is exactly what I need with the heartache this year.