Bugsy- Day 120, purring for tootsie poopie!

You read it right! Today marks 120 days that we are fighting Bugsy's diarrhea... Can you believe it? 120 days! Whew! That is a lot of soft poop right there! But there are some good news, and I am here to ask you to send some good, special, extra strong vibes his way these next couple of days guys, because he will need all the vibes he can get!
For the last week his vet has had him take this thing called DiaGel, a natural gel for diarrhea. He was going to start a new steroid treatment last week, Kody's mom told us about DiaGel, and I discussed with the vet... He said it was good for accute diarrhea and he was almost sure it wouldn't work for Bugsy , but nonetheless it was worth trying it because if it did work, it would spare him from steroids... DiaGel is usually used in a single dose (and it is very expensive too, $12 a dose!), and sometimes it is used for up to 5 days... The vet decided to do a 7-day course with him, twice a day. Well, lo and behold, it worked! For the last 4-5 days or so, has had formed poop! Formed poop guys! After 4 months of daily diarrhea! Wow!!!
The thing is, his last dose was yesterday, and nobody knows what is going to happen now that he is off of it... He really needs to hold his own without Diagel so he doesn't need the steroids... Please, please friends, pray hard for him! Pray really hard for tootsie poopie from now on!
On another note, he is also off of his Stomatitis medication until March when he will have another liver panel to check if his ALT levels have returned to normal. His gums are starting to get bad, so a dental might be in order soon... I don't want that After March he will go back into the medication and we will run another test after a little while to see if that medication affects my liver too - if it does (the vet doubts it, but I want to be on the safe side), I might talk to the dentist about surgery... We will see... I hope that is not the case... The treatment has been wonderful for him and surgery doesn't work for a lot of cases of LPS stomatitis, it is really a hit or miss situation...
Anyways friends , I will leave you here so you can start sending him vibes! Please pray for tootsie poopsie!
I cleaned the box this morning and his poop was puuurrrrfect! yey!

Yay Bugsy!

What medication do you use for his stomatitis? Merlin is getting really bad again and so far nothing the vet has tried has worked well or for very long.

lots of for Bugsy

Bugsy is such a beautiful cat! I hope that he can finally go to the litterbox, without having diarrhea ever again!

You know I am absolutely praying for tootsie poopie!

That's great news, Carolina! Will be praying for formed poopies!

Sending vibes for Bugsy and Carolina!

Lots of vibes for tootsie roll poopies!!!

Sending those vibes!

Originally Posted by GoldyCat

Yay Bugsy!

Thank you

What medication do you use for his stomatitis? Merlin is getting really bad again and so far nothing the vet has tried has worked well or for very long.

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Bugsy takes a proprietary medication developed by Dr. Bob Wiggs; considered by many the father of veterinary dentistry, and a giant on the field, until his untimely passing in late 09... His legacy remains, and I can not recommend this place enough... It has truly been a wonderful experience, and I am confident Bugsy is in the BEST hands in the country to treat his condition. It has been amazing for him, really...
I got to them by researching in another forum, and in there I read that once you cross those doors, you are family... Absolutely true. The level of care and compassion for our babies is unsurpassed, let alone the level of knowledge.
This is the only place I am aware that has developed a treatment for stomatitis that is capable of putting the cats in remission for life, while in treatment, MANY times avoiding full mouth extractions (the great, great majority of times)
I will never look for another dentist while living in Dallas...
And if I move out of the state, I will continue the treatment, no matter where I end up - that is how impressed I am with them. There is the place where I met Kelly , by the way... They do treat cats out of state, but you need to fly in for the initial treatment, as he needs a specialized dental and an assessment - it is not only medicine. From then on, meds and follow up with your vet will do it. Medicine can be shipped to you, no problem. It costs me $36 a month. I was giving it liquid then started giving it in capsules - SO much easier!! The capsules are a #3... no big deal for Bugsy...
Anyways, if you want their info, I can give it to you... I recommend them from the bottom of my heart, they are amazing. I put a link for Dr. Wiggs bio - that was his clinic and he developed the treatment - it has been used for over 20 years, and to give you an idea,Bugsy is patient six thousand, nine hundred something....

Originally Posted by Calvin&I

lots of for Bugsy

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Thank you!!

Originally Posted by My4LLMA

Bugsy is such a beautiful cat! I hope that he can finally go to the litterbox, without having diarrhea ever again!

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Thank you! From your lips to God's ears!

Originally Posted by BlueRexBear

You know I am absolutely praying for tootsie poopie!

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Ohhhhhh yeah! My vibes going your way too! please keep me updated!!

Originally Posted by stephanietx

That's great news, Carolina! Will be praying for formed poopies!

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Thanks!!

Originally Posted by motoko9

Sending vibes for Bugsy and Carolina!

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Thank you!!

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Lots of vibes for tootsie roll poopies!!!

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Thanks!!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Sending those vibes!

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Thanks!!!

I am keeping Bugsy in my prayers. What a long ordeal...hopefully it is coming to a happy end!

Oh Carolina, how exciting - and nerve wracking! To FINALLY have gotten there!!!!!!!!

Of course, mega !!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations and that Bugsy's poop stays purrfect.

Go Bugsy!!!!!! Sending lots of and for nice solid poopsies!!!!!

I hold my breath every time I clean the litter box... As you can imagine, I am a bit nervous after 4 months of diarrhea... His last dose of DiaGel was Wednesday Morning. So far I think he is doing fine and holding his own, YEY! His poop is definitely formed, in one piece, in a shape of a rope. It is a bit soft, not solid tootsie roll-like, but it never was (got close during DiaGel, but not 100%) - that is not normal Bugsy poop.
In any other time during this four months, he was having liquid diarrhea - at best cow piles. Whenever he went out of a medication, by the second day he would have explosive watery diarrhea. Definitely not the case this time. We do have formed poop here, just not what we have for the other cats, who have tootsie roll like... But then again, Bugsy never had that... So.... I think he is a OK now I am still afraid of calling victory, but I think DiaGel worked! AMAZING stuff!

Oh Carolina what FABULOUS news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sending good poopie vibes to my little man.

Originally Posted by LDG

Oh Carolina what FABULOUS news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Oh Laurie, I just can't tell you... I can't tell you how many days I cried not knowing what was going to happen to my baby, what was going on, and when this was going to end... When his liver numbers got higher everything got really scary all of the sudden... All those medications he was taking were starting to take a toll on his little body
I can tell you that I am a "bit" obsessed with the litterbox right now - I think I have never cleaned it so often in my entire life! The reason is that my vet and I are working very closely on his issue - we have calls every 2-3 days to see if he will need to move into something else, or if he is ok to stay off medication for good. My next call with the vet is tomorrow, and I am looking forward to give him the good news!
I tell you, this is an amazing vet! It makes a World of difference to have a vet who will listen to my suggestions (such as DiaGel, who was suggested by TCS's Kody's mom), do his research and work with me... Who will have our babies' best interest at heart instead of $$$ - He calls me at least 2x a week to check on Bugsy and discuss his treatment and doesn't charge me a penny for it... When you are going through something chronic like this, trusting your vet is just the most comforting feeling you can possibly have... Truly priceless! I hope now Bugsy holds his own, and his liver numbers go down... We will check next month... Until then he will be spoiled rotten!

Originally Posted by Bellaandme

I'm sending good poopie vibes to my little man.

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Thank you hun

I am so happy to read this!!!! I really do pray that this continues.... I may have to order a Diagel, just to have on hand, in case it is ever needed---. When you ordered it, did it have an expiration date far enough off to make it worth it to just have 1 on hand?

I know my vet has a $20.00 "dispensing fee" so no matter if you get a prescription that would only be a few dollars at, say, Foster & Smith, it is $20.00 plus the actual cost of the meds at the vet. But, I can't complain, because he always calls me back immediately, even if he is not on the clinic's schedule for that day, and doesn't ever charge me for all the time on the phone, and the clinic will fax in a prescription for mail order with no hesitation.

Originally Posted by Kody's Mom

I am so happy to read this!!!! I really do pray that this continues.... I may have to order a Diagel, just to have on hand, in case it is ever needed---. When you ordered it, did it have an expiration date far enough off to make it worth it to just have 1 on hand?

I know my vet has a $20.00 "dispensing fee" so no matter if you get a prescription that would only be a few dollars at, say, Foster & Smith, it is $20.00 plus the actual cost of the meds at the vet. But, I can't complain, because he always calls me back immediately, even if he is not on the clinic's schedule for that day, and doesn't ever charge me for all the time on the phone, and the clinic will fax in a prescription for mail order with no hesitation.

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On the site it says it has a 4-year shelf life... Definitely worthy having some in hands... My vet was able to get it for me and sell for $12.50. KV Vet supplies sells for $12 free shipping... I got them on back order though