Hypercalcemia

My five year old cat Sunny was just diagnosed with hypercalcemia, (elevated calcium) on 2/5/11. We rushed Sunny to the emergency vet the night before for muscle fasciculations. Thank God, after multiple tests, cancer and renal failure were ruled out. He also tested negative for hyperparathyrodism. Now the vet is telling us that it is more likely that Sunny is suffering from hypercalcemia with no known cause. We were told to put him on WD diet to help manage his calcium and his weight, (He is 22 pounds). Has anyone ever experienced this with their cat before? And if so, what measures did you take to control their cal level? Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Read labels carefully, low calcuim food is what is needed as well as lots of water.

No experience with hypercalcaemia in cats but I am prone to it - cure for humans is to flush the system with salt and lots of water - the salt binds to the calcium and the water flushes it out. I am a label reader for people food because of this. A side note, it IS painful, so kitty will be uncomfortable while he loses the excess.

Welcome to TCS, mardmode! I'm very sorry that you and Sunny are going through this.

This condition is apparently not all that uncommon...if you want to do some reading, Google "ideopathic hypercalcemia" - you'll find lots. There is a dedicated site here http://felineihc.org/ (There's even a Facebook page - but, not being a FB user, I have no idea whether/not it's a trustworthy resource...for me, that's a "beware zone"!)

I'm no fan of the 'ask-the-expert' type sites, but I did notice something that perked my interest here

If your cat truely has idiopathic hypercalcemia there is another drug to consider. It is called Fosamax (alendronate) and a vet at Ohio State University came up with a protocol to use in these types of cases. It would be worth mentioning to your vet to see if it is something they have considered. It is only used once all other possible causes of hypercalcemia have been ruled out. http://www.justanswer.com/pet-cat/1v...rcalcemia.html

Click to expand...

I know that "standard" treatment involves dietary management plus steroids, and so it surprises me that your Vet is not moving past the diet management...if I were in your position, I think I'd first look for a cat-only clinic (or Veterinary College) in my area and seek out a second opinion including expanded treatment options.

Please keep us informed as you move forward. I'll be thinking of you both

Welcome to TCS . You have come to the right place for answers and advice. I have no experience with hypercalcemia in cats. But I wish you much luck in finding out how to treat. Just wanted to send for your cat

Thanks to all of you for responding to my post. Sunny is now on the WD Hills diet and he returns to the vet in 3 weeks to have his calcium checked again. The vet told us about a medication that he could start taking but she wants wait until she checks his cal level again.
Thanks again for help!
Mary