So... Hope has been sick for a while...

I haven't really posted about this... Don't know why but... Anyways, here is what is going on:

In February Hope had an episode of diarrhea that lasted on and off for a few weeks. At the time I thought it was due to a tiny bit of dry food I had fed her - I am talking about 1/8 of a cup, once.
Coincidentally, that was also the only period I fed cheap wet food filled with by-products and things she never ate before, and also a bigger variety... I am not sure what was the cause of that diarrhea, but I don't think it was the dry.

Anyways, she was treated with Metronidazole and Amforol, and put back on ZiwiPeak Venison and fish and, and got healthy again. (From that time on I learned a BIG lesson - do NOT save $$$ on food... And will never ever feed junk-filled food again... High quality food with good ingredients might be more expensive, but sure saves a lot in vet bills and trouble)

Mid/end of March, I added one Freeze dried Salmon treat a day, since she was already eating fish on her Venison and fish canned food.

April First she hid under my bed and didn't get out for the next 8 days. No appetite, but I was able to make her eat (proplan fish flavors)... Just weird... Not lethargic though, no fever... That was the scariest 8 days I have ever been through. She only got out to go to the litter box, nothing else.

My vet was out of town, so she started her treatment on April 5th - same thing, Metronidazole and Amforol... This time she was put on Royal Canin Venison and Green Pea (prescription).

Five days on the treatment and nothing... Her poop had a lot of mucous, she had bad diarrhea... She did come out of hiding though... No playing...
The vet decided to double the time for the treatment and make it 10 days.

10 days later, and she still had diarrhea... She still was hiding a little... Her energy is back, but because she hid for so long, she gets tired easily, so if we play, she doesn't run as much, or jump as much...
No playing chase... No jumping on the bed...

So, Saturday I took her to a second opinion, as my first vet is stuck on only wanting to send her to a biopsy - meanwhile, he does not think it is necessary to have a blood test, fecal, and x-ray before doing that to rule out other problems. He wants because he wants to do the biopsy.

I understand that the only way to diagnose IBD is with a biopsy... I also understand that it is a VERY expensive procedure, and I rather do elimination tests to get to that conclusion than do a biopsy to tell me that her bowels are inflamed - that I already know.
What I want to know, is if she has other problems going on... That is my question.

We had to go back today, as she needed more specialized tests - to be discussed with the cytologist vet who worked today, then there were the x-rays and that blood tests that were also not done in the in-house lab, and she needed to be fasting for those.

Ok, so....

They did diagnose her with a possible IBD.
Fecal Float, x-ray and GHP 16/ w CBC all normal.
Both Fecal Float and Smear test negative for parasite

They gave her a convenia shot.
They put her on Prednisone Syrup 1mg for 20 days
They also put her on a Hills W/D, or recommended adding a fiber supplement to her food (which is what I chose - I will transition her to Natural Balance for cost reason)

And they also diagnosed her with a 2/6 heart murmur. I am flabbergasted how her first vet never heard this on her heart. I am actually pretty pissed off... Just to make sure I had a second vet on the practice listen to her heart, and sure enough.
For now there is no problem, no medication, nothing to do... Her x-rays do not show any signs of enlarged heart or heart disease. They are recommending an ultrasound though...

Anyways....

Here we are...... hoping my Hope gets better soon!
Sorry for the long post!

Bless her heart, poor Hope seems like shes gone through it rough these last few weeks for her to be better soon and to you

Originally Posted by mews2much

I hope she feels better.
My Meeko has a heart murmur.
Hers is 2/3 and was a 2 when she was a kitten.
My Coco has one now to go along with all her other problems.
Have you ever tried Duck and Green Peas?
Cleo was but on that because they said she has IBS and it has helped.

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She is now on Duck and Green Pea, but prescription from Royal Canin... Very $$$, and she doesn't really care for it. I do have a major problem though: Bugsy is allergic to chicken, and he snicks into her plate and now HE has diarrhea too
So I need to transition her back to NB Venison and Green Pea, and pray for that to work out
Duck and Green pea is helping her but they said the main concern is 1 protein, 1 starch, and add a fiber supplement; so venison should be ok. I am hoping she is not intolerant to it - she got sick on it, but I am fairly sure it was the salmon.

Jacky: Did you do a biopsy for Cleo? Also you say Cleo was on NB Venison and Pea? What is she on now?

Lots of for you and Hope!

Wow what an ordeal with your Hope!! Good job you got a 2nd opinion. I hope she feels better and back to normal soon! (Bugsy too!)

Sending lots of get well soon vibes

Ah, man. You can't seem to catch a break!!! for Hope!!

Archie and Tex have food intolerances, too. It has taken several months on Taste of the Wild and only certain wet foods for Arch's gut to calm down. My current vet doesn't believe in things like long-term, low dose antibiotics. She said it causes its own set of problems and permanently alters the intestinal flora and not in a good way.

The biopsy is a BIG DEAL. I wouldn't do it. It is invasive and potentially dangerous. I had two vets discuss it with me and both said - not a good idea if we can treat medically and with diet under the assumption that all the given symptoms POINT to IBD.

Originally Posted by mews2much

No we did not do a biopsy but it was talked about if this did not work.
When she was first put on Duck she would still get sick the first 2 weeks.
They have suggested Rabbit to me also and Chicken since Cleo is ok with Chciken and Turkey baby food.
Many sphynx get IBS.
Cleo is on N/B Duck and Green Pea right now.
We
Coco was tested when she was 10 for IBS and she has it.
She was on metronidazole.
To bad your other cat gets sick from the chicken.

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What is funny about Bugsy, is that he is ok with Turkey, but not with Duck... Nice! He is on a fish diet, Hope can not eat fish; she should be on duck, and he can't eat Duck Just my Luck!
Luckily she only eats wet, so I don't need to control the dry food bowl - she hates it.
I will change her to venison and see what happens... I am also adding this fiber supplement now, it is essentially Metamucil, but it just tastes better, both kitties like the taste... The vet wanted her on Hills W/D for the fiber content, but it wouldn't work because of Bugsy, and because of the cost... So He said to add a fiber capsule to it.
Jacky: I don't remember you posting about this... Did this problem come all of the sudden? I am so confused... This started so suddenly for Hope...
Bugsy always had it, from day 1... But not Hope...
Did Cleo always had a problem too? Or it started later, when she was already with you for a while?

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

Lots of for you and Hope!

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Thank you

Originally Posted by DarkMavis

Wow what an ordeal with your Hope!! Good job you got a 2nd opinion. I hope she feels better and back to normal soon! (Bugsy too!)

Sending lots of get well soon vibes

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Thank you

Originally Posted by AddieBee

Ah, man. You can't seem to catch a break!!! for Hope!!

Archie and Tex have food intolerances, too. It has taken several months on Taste of the Wild and only certain wet foods for Arch's gut to calm down. My current vet doesn't believe in things like long-term, low dose antibiotics. She said it causes its own set of problems and permanently alters the intestinal flora and not in a good way.

The biopsy is a BIG DEAL. I wouldn't do it. It is invasive and potentially dangerous. I had two vets discuss it with me and both said - not a good idea if we can treat medically and with diet under the assumption that all the given symptoms POINT to IBD.

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Addie, I agree with you and your vets... reason why I went to my other vet...
I was more concerned, to tell you the truth, with the other things she could have, and wanted to rule that out. When Metronidazole and Amforol didn't work as it should have, that concerned me and my thought was that I had to make sure nothing else was going on. Because really, if it is IBD, she will have for life and we will deal with it with diet and if she has a flare up, we can deal with drugs. But he did not believe that - all he believed was a biopsy.
At least now, after the tests, I know that nothing else is going on, and that she most likely has IBD and that is what we will deal with it.
It was a relief for me to see all her numbers fall into a normal range on the blood test... To know that the x-rays showed no tumors, no blockage... That her fecal was normal...
Now I know that her history/symptoms point to IBD, and that is probably right.
I did not need a biopsy for that...

Now on the brighter side, things with the other kitties are great... Lucky had a great recovery, lost a bit of weight - 0.6lb since she had her teeth done, but it is ok, she could afford to lose that. She is again eating normally, and well and happy - her mouth is 100%!

Bugsy is also doing fantastic on his Stomatitis, and his medicine does wonders for his IBD, so it is a win win situation

So the only one here on the mends is miss Hope

I tell you something though...................................... Thank GOD for insurance!

Originally Posted by mews2much

Cleo would always get hives before this started then she started having dia with blood and throwing up.
We tried a few meds.
I went to sphynx people for help because many sphynx get ibs.

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Got it - Thanks Jacky!

I am sorrry to hear about Hope. I have had no experience with this, but I hope she perks up and improves.

It is so hard when our kids are not well...

Many to you and Hope.

Hope,

and some for you too Carolina, to hold up under all the stress

How is the health of Hope right now my friend?..

. .... .. for her!..

Thank you for asking Rigel!
She is finally doing well! It's been a few days of solid poop - it took a looooooong time but we got there!
I tried to transition her to Venison, but as soon a she touched the mix of 1/4 venison to 3/4 duck, she started with violent diarrhea, so that obviously was a no go... Unfortunately Duck didn't work for us for several reasons:
1- Bugsy was allergic to it, so now I had 2 cats with diarrhea, instead of one
2- She HATED it, so eventually she stopped eating... She decided to do so when I went out of town for my interview, which really worried me especially with this upcoming trip.

I tried everything to make her eat even giving her Nutri-cal, which made her hungry, but not for that food...
So to not upset her stomach and give her the nutrition she needs, my only choice was to feed her Z/D (Hills prescription)

She LOVES IT!!
She only eats the canned and at almost $60 a case, that stuff is NOT cheap, but boy, what a difference! She is doing so well on it! She is jumping, running around, just the happy old Trouble maker she always was! She is finally waking me up again on my bed, which is a sign she is back and feeling well.

I never liked Hills, but so far she has licked her plate clean every time and has had no reactions to it at all. Let's just hope she continues to like the food for a while now - she is a complicated little kitty that one!
I am just relived she is better before my trip - I got really worried for a bit there when she was not eating, and how was I going to leave her behind. Thank goodness it was just the case of finding a food that she likes!
Thanks for asking and sorry for the long post

Hi Carolina,

I'm just catching up with all this. I'm glad to hear she's eating. Finding food that appeals to a finicky cat that's ALSO food that's halfway decent for them can be nothing short of a miracle. I hope your worries are over!

Glad to hear your girl is doing well on the Z/D. I was going to recommend trying rabbit - this still might be a good option for you if the Z/D becomes too expensive or if she starts to develop any issues with it.

My boy, Nelson, has IBD that was cured with a raw rabbit diet, but rabbit (even not in raw form) has been shown to benefit IBD kitties. Worth a shot if you find yourself needing to try something else.

Regarding her murmur: Any further news? Does she stress out at the vet's office? Or, was she more stressed than usual during these visits? I hope that this is just a physiological murmur, that just occurs when her heart rate is increased. Only an echocardiogram will completely tell you what's going on there, another major expense! You could try having a proBNP done. It's a simple blood draw that's significantly cheaper than an echo, and if the results come back high, it would prompt further testing but if they were normal it would rule out certain heart disease. There's some helpful info about IDEXX CardioPet ProBNP here. Something to consider chatting with the vet about if that murmur is worrying you. When my Nelson was diagnosed with HCM, I had the proBNP done first and the results were spot on.

More vibes for Hope!

Originally Posted by BrookeSphynx

Glad to hear your girl is doing well on the Z/D. I was going to recommend trying rabbit - this still might be a good option for you if the Z/D becomes too expensive or if she starts to develop any issues with it.

My boy, Nelson, has IBD that was cured with a raw rabbit diet, but rabbit (even not in raw form) has been shown to benefit IBD kitties. Worth a shot if you find yourself needing to try something else.

Regarding her murmur: Any further news? Does she stress out at the vet's office? Or, was she more stressed than usual during these visits? I hope that this is just a physiological murmur, that just occurs when her heart rate is increased. Only an echocardiogram will completely tell you what's going on there, another major expense! You could try having a proBNP done. It's a simple blood draw that's significantly cheaper than an echo, and if the results come back high, it would prompt further testing but if they were normal it would rule out certain heart disease. There's some helpful info about IDEXX CardioPet ProBNP here. Something to consider chatting with the vet about if that murmur is worrying you. When my Nelson was diagnosed with HCM, I had the proBNP done first and the results were spot on.

More vibes for Hope!

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HI Brooke -

The murmur is really not a concern right now - they took a few chest x-rays in different angles, and she shows no signs of heart disease. Of course that is not the best diagnosis tool, but since she is not showing any symptoms, they told me not to worry unless she slows down some, becomes lethargic, or something happens out of the ordinary (besides he IBD). The girl is electric, a trouble maker... Later on they do want her to have an ultrasound or something like that - I have it on her files. But not for now...

Glad Hope is doing better. Sounds like it took a while. My Speedboat had been diagnosed with a heart murmur about four years ago. According to what my vet said, it never progressed and had nothing to do with his death in January. Also, Carolina, congrats on your new job.

My vet recommended against the biopsy - whether its IBD or just food intolerance issues, you still have to find a food they can eat so we just did feeding trials - Bumpers main intolerance is fish foods, but he is usually ok if they are not the main ingredient.

As far as heart murmurs, they are often missed unfortunately and when they are kittens, vets often don't worry about them because some heal with time. Quincy's is a grade 2 as well, and apart from occasionally panting when he plays too hard and we have to watch him for it, there are no real issues - but I was less than impressed that it wasn't diagnosed at neutering, just weeks before my vet diagnosed it