Well, my Kora is having issues.
About a year ago, I noticed my 5 year old tortie, Kora, looked skinnier then usual and was throwing up and having diarrhea almost every day. I ended up taking her to the vet, did the usual exam, bloodwork and Xrays over a period of a month. The only thing that was out of the norm, was that Kora had a larger then normal amount of white blood cells. Which, I was told, may be due to some kind of infection somewhere. But she had no idea where. After a few weeks of, I think it was, B12 shots or something similar, the vet had come to the conclusion that Kora had IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
We tried a lot of different dry and wet foods, which did very little. Kora won''t eat any of the green pea type, dry foods. I had been feeding her Iams dry and Friskies wet for years. I then began giving Kora Prednisone, which after a few months was switched to Prednisilone. One tablet a day, every day.
There was little to no change in the way Kora acted or ate. But when I would visit the vet, her weight would stay relatively the same. Which the vet said wasn't as bad as it could be. At least she was maintaining her weight.
So we just went with the Prednisilone and took it as it came.
However, the other day, I got out of the shower in the morning, and it's nothing new for Kora to sit on the edge of the tub while I'm taking a shower, but this time, when I got out, she just plopped down on the bathmat at my feet. She has NEVER done that before. Probably usually because my other cat, Bugsy, loves to come rub on my wet legs when I get out. =)
On top of what Kora did, she just looked weak. So I made an appt. for the vet that afternoon.
Turns out Kora had lost 9oz's since the last appointment, which was 2 or 3 weeks earlier. Also while feeling her belly, the vet said one of her kidneys felt enlarged, so we decided to do bloodwork again.
Skipping ahead 2 days for the results, almost everything came out normal but she said Kora's red blood cell count was extremely low. Apparently 24% is the minimum for red blood cell count and Kora's was only 17%. So the word Anemic came out.
The next part is the part I was praying all day to not hear.....that it more then likely, could be cancer. But an ultrasound is the only way to be sure. She had mentioned something about possible gastro intestinal issues, but I'll be honest, when I heard the C word, I went numb.
So now, I have to call the vet back on Monday, up Kora's Pred to 2 pills a day and figure out what to do.
Kora's brother, which I'm almost certain, was from a different litter, died from Lymphoma before he was 2 years old. (God Bless You Roscoe!)
I guess I wanted to come here and see what kind of experience other people may have had with IBD or an enlarged kidney.
I'm so devastated. This animal has helped me through more then most people I have around me.
The vet seems somewhat against doing the ultrasound. I just don't know what to do. I'm feeling like I need the ultrasound to make absolutely sure this isn't something else. I feel Kora deserves every detail to be proven before any snap judgements are made. I don't want her to suffer in any way and I was assured that at the moment, she isn't in pain.
If anyone has some extra for my little
, I could really use some right now.
thank you and God Bless.
About a year ago, I noticed my 5 year old tortie, Kora, looked skinnier then usual and was throwing up and having diarrhea almost every day. I ended up taking her to the vet, did the usual exam, bloodwork and Xrays over a period of a month. The only thing that was out of the norm, was that Kora had a larger then normal amount of white blood cells. Which, I was told, may be due to some kind of infection somewhere. But she had no idea where. After a few weeks of, I think it was, B12 shots or something similar, the vet had come to the conclusion that Kora had IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
We tried a lot of different dry and wet foods, which did very little. Kora won''t eat any of the green pea type, dry foods. I had been feeding her Iams dry and Friskies wet for years. I then began giving Kora Prednisone, which after a few months was switched to Prednisilone. One tablet a day, every day.
There was little to no change in the way Kora acted or ate. But when I would visit the vet, her weight would stay relatively the same. Which the vet said wasn't as bad as it could be. At least she was maintaining her weight.
So we just went with the Prednisilone and took it as it came.
However, the other day, I got out of the shower in the morning, and it's nothing new for Kora to sit on the edge of the tub while I'm taking a shower, but this time, when I got out, she just plopped down on the bathmat at my feet. She has NEVER done that before. Probably usually because my other cat, Bugsy, loves to come rub on my wet legs when I get out. =)
On top of what Kora did, she just looked weak. So I made an appt. for the vet that afternoon.
Turns out Kora had lost 9oz's since the last appointment, which was 2 or 3 weeks earlier. Also while feeling her belly, the vet said one of her kidneys felt enlarged, so we decided to do bloodwork again.
Skipping ahead 2 days for the results, almost everything came out normal but she said Kora's red blood cell count was extremely low. Apparently 24% is the minimum for red blood cell count and Kora's was only 17%. So the word Anemic came out.
The next part is the part I was praying all day to not hear.....that it more then likely, could be cancer. But an ultrasound is the only way to be sure. She had mentioned something about possible gastro intestinal issues, but I'll be honest, when I heard the C word, I went numb.
So now, I have to call the vet back on Monday, up Kora's Pred to 2 pills a day and figure out what to do.
Kora's brother, which I'm almost certain, was from a different litter, died from Lymphoma before he was 2 years old. (God Bless You Roscoe!)
I guess I wanted to come here and see what kind of experience other people may have had with IBD or an enlarged kidney.
I'm so devastated. This animal has helped me through more then most people I have around me.
The vet seems somewhat against doing the ultrasound. I just don't know what to do. I'm feeling like I need the ultrasound to make absolutely sure this isn't something else. I feel Kora deserves every detail to be proven before any snap judgements are made. I don't want her to suffer in any way and I was assured that at the moment, she isn't in pain.
If anyone has some extra for my little
thank you and God Bless.
