Sven's (our CRF kitty) latest Vet visit

We took Sven in yesterday because his appetite has just been "off", and he's been losing weight (obviously), and throwing up froth a couple of times a day, so I wanted him to get checked out to see if anything untoward might be going on. He has been on an "eat anything he'll eat" diet since his last visit since he's about 1/2 his normal size now, and, unfortunately, since we have one little piggy cat, what we're feeding everyone right now is high protein, low carb food...not the best for a CRF cat! OH, and I forgot to mention that we feed mainly DRY, because that's what they like. Talk about a double whammy for a CRF cat.

Well, Sven's BUN actually has decreased! It's down from 63 to 61, and his creatinine is still within normal levels. I was totally shocked, in a good way .

Now I KNOW that he needs to have something in his tummy at all times to keep from throwing up that frothy stuff, but when his appetite is "off", I can't get him to eat even treats, of which I keep a huge supply of different types, but all of them say they are 100% nutritionally complete. And this is another reason why we free feed, so he can snack whenever he wants. I'm just so happy that his BUN wasn't sky high!!

Anyway, the Vet said he actually looks great, except he has a slight ear infection, and had gained weight since his last visit. (we weigh him every couple weeks at home, and he's lost weight since Christmas, but apparently somewhere along the way he gained a few months ago and I forgot about it - I don't log it, our Wii keeps track of it, but only holds the info for 3 months). She gave him a big old vitamin shot with some metoclopramide in it, some ear ointment for the infection, and sent us on our way. Last night he ate like a champ! (maybe the ear infection was affecting his sinuses?)

So...another possible crisis averted, at least for awhile . When I weighed him on Saturday and he was down .4 lb from 2 weeks ago, I was freaking out!!

I have never heard of that being an issue, but knew about Dusty having had a severe one awhile back, when you thought you were going to lose her. Who else has one?

Yes, I wondered if perhaps an ear infection might, somehow, interfer with his sinuses, and thus, his ability to smell his food? I guess it's possible. The Vet didn't say, but I'm thinking it's possible, since he's been eating pretty well since he got his first dose of ear medicine. The bad news is, though, that even though he's eating several time a day again, he's still throwing up "froth". I've mentioned in previous posts that he doesn't tolerate many meds very well, including Pepcid AC. Most meds cause him to vomit, so I'm wondering if even his ear ointment (since it's an antibiotic) is causing him to vomit. Poor guy. But at least he's still eating

I can't believe you remember that conversation we had about Temptations! That was a long time ago! So glad Bear is all recovered now . Yes, Sven still likes his Temptations, although I'm having to juggle the flavors around. I've got 3 or 4 different flavor packages sitting on my desk right now, so if he doesn't want one, then I switch to another until I find one he'll be in the mood for at any particular time

Derma-Vet Ointment (nystatin-neomycin Sulfate-thiostrepton-triamcinolone acetonide)

Otto: I DO free feed their dry, but only in one bowl in the master bathroom, so I think he can get away from the smell by simply going into another room, can't he. And with the wet that I try to get him to eat, once he's done, then I split the leftovers into two bowls and let "the boys" polish it off.

Katkisses: I don't think he has any hairballs right now. it's actually cooler in our house now than in the summer. We keep it at 80 in the summer, and 70 in the winter. You're right that he does get mats...that's in the summertime. What a memory you've got! (Besides, some of the Temptations they all eat are the hairball ones, just in case, since they DO all groom themselves, but there's much less shedding going on right now than in the summer)

Sven is around 15 or 16. We don't know exactly how old he is, because we've only had him for the past 9 years, but the lady we adopted him from said he was 7 when we got him...however, the Vet said she didn't think he was quite that old! (and the lady we got him from didn't have ANY records...not sure he'd ever been to a Vet, because he immediately needed 4 teeth pulled!!) Anyway, we kept his original name, since he was very used to it. I always say he's "Sven from Sveden".