Several trips to vet......vet doesn't have diagnosis

My cat (male age 12) was starting to lose weight & not himself.

On 8/22 took him to vet where he was examined & the vet did an "Antech Canine Senior Comp" blood test. Nothing showed up. Except the white blood cells count was high........32,000 which vet says indicates an infection.

On 8/24 vet did FelV / FIV snap test (negative) and Urinalysis (chem strip). They gave subcutaneous fluids. He stayed at the vets overnight. Only slight improvement. On 8/29 he was given a shot.....Mirtazipine 15 mg & also Clavamox drops for me to use at home. Still not much improvement.

On 9/2 I brought him back to vet.....vet did an Antech Vet Screen & CBC. He received a Dex/Depo Injection. On 9/2 we did discuss the possibility of cancer.

Today 9/4 he is still not improving. He is under the bed. Yesterday I had him in a dog crate out on the deck & he seemed to enjoy that.

Would the white blood cell count of 32,000 indicate cancer? How is cancer in felines diagnosed?

Thanks in advance for any info or advice.

From my experience with Lazlo's cancer, I think the next step would be an ultrasound of the cat. Even that may not result in a diagnosis, though. Lymphoma is the most common form of cancer in cats, and if it doesn't form a mass somewhere, you can't see it.

I also think they can do x-rays to see if they can see anything, and then the ultrasound could be more targeted. Not sure about this though. But Lazlo was diagnosed first with an x-ray, which found a mass, then an ultrasound. The actual confirmatory diagnosis of cancer was done by an aspirate of the mass (which in Lazlo's case, is in his stomach).

Are you anywhere near Red Bank? They are THE BEST. If you can get there, you can try scheduling an appointment with a vet there. If your vet is able to get to a diagnosis of cancer (if that's what it is, and it isn't), then he can refer you directly to an oncologist at Red Bank. I THINK they have regular vets there though - I'm not sure.

http://www.rbvh.net/

They have three satellite offices. I'm sure the website lists them. Lazlo sees Dr. Clifford, an oncologist, at the Hillsoborough office and in Tinton Falls alternate Tuesdays.



Did he receive the depo injection because he's anemic in addition to the high white blood cell count?

For now, you may want to purchase some syringes, to help keep his weight up while you figure out what's going on and/or what you want to do.

If the mirtazipine (an antidepressant used as an appetite stimulant in cats) isn't helping, you might want to ask about a different app stimulant. Cypro is very typical (though we're using mirtazipine for Lazlo. He weighs a little under 11.5 pounds, and was at 10 pounds when we started chemo. He gets 1/4 of a 14mg pill every three days).

I should note that even though his regular vet has ultrasound, for the cancer screening, they used a 3rd party mobile unit with higher resolution imaging.

To give your kitty a fighting chance - whatever this is - it's imperative you feed your cat the amount of food they SHOULD be eating to maintain their ideal weight.

These are the syringes member Carolina recommended to me, and they are great. Much better than what the vet provides: http://www.amazon.com/Four-Paws-Easy.../dp/B0002AT7J8 Just chop off the end of the liquid feeder one.

Each syringe is 15 ml, which is 1/2 oz of food. (One 5.5 ounce can of food is 11 syringes). Lazlo eats on his own, but even with the anti-nausea med and the appetite stimulant, he doesn't eat enough to maintain his ideal weight. So I supplement what he eats with 3 syringe feedings a day, each time I give him 3 syringes. You don't try to squirt it down their throat. I give him about 1ml at a time (just a little), and I basically shoot it towards his cheek, and then he eats it.

He actually generally likes to be fed with the syringe. But if your cat still has fight and doesn't like it (although once you've fed a little - or even after the first or second time - they may figure it out and realize it makes them feel better), you can use a Klaw Kontrol bag to make it easier on you and reduce the stress to your kitty.

Any soft pate can be fed... but you can also talk to your vet about a/d (Hill's Pet prescription). It's for critical care, and designed to be syringe fed.

Maybe if you took him to another vet? Also have an ultrasound done on him

With the help of my daughter we are feeding Cruiser with a syringe. For the past 5 days he's been receiving about 1 1/4 oz of canned cat food via syringe....2 times per day..morning & night. I also use a syringe to get some water into him.

He was originally on Baytril 22 7 mg pills 1 per day. He also had 1/2 a Mirtazipine 15 mg pill.

Now he's on ClinDrops /clindamycin hydrochloride liquid 2 times a day.

I am going to call my vet tomorrow & ask about an X-ray or ultrasound. In the past, I have been to a vet in Glen Gardner NJ who has ultrasound so that might be an option.

OH! I don't know where you are in relation to Glen Gardner, but it's only an hour 20 or so from the main Red Bank Vet Hospital. They have a shuttle service to there from their satellites, and there's a satellite in Hillsoborough. Lazlo's oncologist practices every other Tuesday at the Hillsborough office. It's over an hour from us, but it looks like it's about 1/2 hour from Glen Gardner. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by BHNJ

With the help of my daughter we are feeding Cruiser with a syringe. For the past 5 days he's been receiving about 1 1/4 oz of canned cat food via syringe....2 times per day..morning & night. I also use a syringe to get some water into him.

He was originally on Baytril 22 7 mg pills 1 per day. He also had 1/2 a Mirtazipine 15 mg pill.

Now he's on ClinDrops /clindamycin hydrochloride liquid 2 times a day.

Click to expand...

2 1/2 oz per day is not enough to maintain body weight. You will need to feed at least 5oz a day in order to keep him from continuing to lose.

I will up the amount of food I'm giving him via syringe to 2.5 oz twice a day.

I was putting the cat food directly into the syringe but now I'm putting it in a cereal bowl & adding water because without water it's difficult to get the cat food to go through the syringe.

I still am not sure what the high white blood cell count is indicating other than an infection.

I talked with the vet today & she brought up the topic..... that if there is no improvement within 2 or 3 days at the most we will need to consider euthanasia.

He is hiding under the bed. He doesn't like to be force fed. I can deal with that but is he uncomfortable......in pain ? Cats hide their pain.

There is no vomiting & no meowing as if he was uncomfortable.

I'm sorry, but I would consider taking him to another vet for a 2nd opinion. If he has cancer, antibiotics will not treat it.

Of course, many people with pets with terminal illness opt not to treat them, and I understand that. But if chemo is something you want to consider or is within your means, if it IS lymphoma (which accounts for the majority of the cancer in cats), if it is large cell, there is a 50% chance chemo would send the cancer into remission. If it is small cell, there is an almost 100% chance chemo would send it into remission. (Large cell is about 85% of lymphosarcoma in cats). There is a 15% chance your cat would not react well to the treatment.

We took Lazlo for his chemo treatment today at Red Bank. They do have a general animal practice there that does not require referral. I believe it is the same for the Hillsborough office.

I share the information only so you can make a more informed decision.

for you and your baby.

I'm so sorry you're going through this, BHNJ. Many get-well thoughts and prayers are headed your way. I wish I could offer you more.

AC

I am located in the Flemington area.

I have an appointment tomorrow with another vet & will get an ultrasound done there. Depending on what he finds I will decide what to do next.

I know Red Bank's reputation is outstanding.

I'm wondering LDG .... if my kitty has cancer & it can be treated do you know the average time the cancer stays in remission?

Auntie Crazy....thank you for your kind thoughts!!

I don't. I think it depends on a lot of things - the type of cancer, how advanced it is, where it is, that kind of thing. For Lazlo, the oncologist said 6 to 8 months. But they are so often wrong about these things, even for the many people that opt not to try to treat it. And, of course, we don't actually know that the treatment will send it into remission. We're just thankful he's tolerating it so well - he clearly feels much better than he has in months. If we're lucky enough that it does send it into remission, we'll let his holistic vet take it from there.

The other consideration, of course, is how well the pet tolerates the vet visits, not just the medication itself. If Lazlo were stressing, we wouldn't be doing this.

It just sounded like maybe your vet didn't give you enough information for you to make a decision. In the end, there are a lot of considerations. Ultimately, our kitty's hapiness is the most important, and that can be the most difficult. You and your baby are in my thoughts and prayers.

Well I went to the vet. We discussed the pros & cons of knowing if your cat has cancer. The vet's take on it was ...... well if you find out your cat has cancer what would you do with that information? Would you treat your kitty? Would you not treat? And the fact that it is very expensive to treat cancer.

The vet gave my kitty a thorough physical exam examining & feeling every part of my cat's abdomen & also the neck. He did find a lump in the neck. So my cat is staying there until the vet stops seeing patients & then he is going to remove the lump & run tests. He works long hours.

I will be nervously waiting for his call later this evening.

Oh wow, the nail biting time!

Yes, treatment is expensive. It also leaves you wondering if you're doing the right thing. I honestly don't know what we'd be doing if Lazlo hadn't responded the way he has.

It's just tough all the way around.

This is a link that may help you: Love and Cheese Danish

We did use an animal communicator to talk to Lazlo. It is someone we've worked with before, and her gift is real. It was gifted to us, something we're so thankful for. She's helped a number of members of TCS now, and her rates are quite reasonable. If you want to consider it, this is a link to her website: http://www.enlightenedanimals.com

Any word on how things went?

Just sending more hugs and prayers and vibes.

No......I was nervous....wanting the phone to ring & then again maybe not. But the vet did not call.

He did say that he would try to fit in Cruiser (he's black & white like the old police cars....hence his name) last evening when he was done seeing pets. But I guess it got too late. And really......I'd rather have the surgery done when the vet is rested!! During the day, I think he tries to fit in surgery in between blocks of time seeing pets. He has a long, long day.

I hope they fed him because I hadn't force fed when I took him to the vet for his 1:00 pm appointment......I was wanting them to show me again how to force feed because it is such a struggle with Cruiser.

I did tell the vet tech when she came to get him from the examining table that he needed to be force fed.