Vibes needed for Naku

Happy New Year!

Naku is in much needed of some vibes this year

Starting on Christmas Day, we noticed that he started having diarrhea, but it wasn't too terribly bad, so we made sure he was drinking and eating his wet food until we could get him to the vet. Unfortunately, with the holidays and everything, we couldn't get him an appointment which was to be this week. So, he was doing fine, for the most part, his eating was starting to reduce some, but he was still eating and being his playful self.

New Year's morning I was startled in the middle of the night because he started hacking and I just assumed it was a hairball, so I scooted him off of the bed (thank goodness for hardwoods, figured I would take care of it in the AM, if he did have a hairball somewhere in the house). We woke up, and found 3 piles of vomit on the couch and the floor and they had blood in it. We decided we are not going to wait and mess around with bloody vomit and took him to the Animal ER New Year's morning.

An arm and a leg later, they told us they aren't entirely sure what is up, but that he did have a dilated colon. (Has anyone ever heard of this?) So they gave us 4 medicines to give him, which has been an adventure the past few days getting him to take them.

Now, we are back to square one because starting yesterday afternoon, he started vomiting again (no blood tho). It has been continuous and EVERYWHERE (poor guy). And now, as of this morning, I fed him his breakfast and he puked it up 10min later.

He has another appointment in about 45 minutes because the vet has his paperwork from the ER and they are kind of at a loss of what to do too. So, please send some vibes Naku's way as he REALLY needs them!!!

I will keep you guys updated --- but just to ask -- has anyone ever heard of experienced with their cat a dilated colon? or any similar issues?

Glad to hear that you are getting Naku to your vet on this. I've not seen this in cats, but I know people who have had the problem. The cause could be anything from bad food to colitis. My guess is that your vet will run tests to find out the cause of the dilated colon.

Sending vibes!

We are back from the vet!

So, it's kind of up in the air still with what is wrong with him. When they did the X-Rays at the hospital, everything came back ok. Our regular vet told us that one of the meds they gave him, she has seen cause nausea in cats, so she took him off of that. He is now on a new (alternative) medicine to the one she took him off to hopefully knockout the diahrheea and vomit issues. For now though, since he wasn't drinking and was vomiting so much, they gave him an IV drip and then gave him some anti-nausea medicine thru his IV drip, so hopefully through the next little while he clears up!

We have been back home and thankfully, no vomit! He has also checked out some of the food and took some nibbles, so this will be the real test I guess. We are just now back to the fighting with getting the liquid meds in him. 

If all of this fails, then the vet said we might check into his diet. He is mostly grain-free but we rotate in some Friskies (wet) alongside grain free wet to keep the costs down.. but he has been eating that for months now, so I can't imagine that being an issue.

Hmmm, don't you just hate it when you can't get a diagnosis?  Well, I suppose he could have eaten something that YOU didn't feed him, since it was the holidays and all.  that your little guy will feel better soon, and that you can get those meds down him

Poor baby! I will defiantly say a prayer for him. It can be so stress full trying to figure this stuff out. I would stick with the cleanest diet possible until he is better. It can make a big difference. I love the Natural Balance for that reason. My boy is on a limited ingredients diet & that's what I feed him. Mostly the turkey, or chicken.  In the dry, they have  limited ingredients in Chicken & Green Pea, & Duck & Green Pea. Good luck, hope he feels better soon! 

Hope Naku is feeling better tonight :cross: My Perla was very, very sick like that for a few day's - the vomiting everywhere and the diarrhea. Of course, this was over Christmas and she was in the hospital on an IV - she also had a very high fever. Some sort of virus.... she is finishing up her antibiotic's now ( Orbax) and feeling much better. No more vomiting or diarrhea..... Sometimes these viruses just have to run their course. It is possible that is was food related - Does the vet have you feeding Hill's I/D for a few day's until the diarrhea/vomiting clears totally? Very easy to digest and it really helped Perla those few day's after she got home from the hospital. Loads of vibes for Naku

My first immediate thought, was that maybe he ate a christmas tree needle or something crazy (even tho my boyfriend and I would vacuum all of the time) but they felt his abdomen and did x-rays and didn't find anything. So, that was a relief.

He typically would get wet food in the AM (grain free most days (weruva and soulistic mostly), friskies on some days to keep costs somewhat reasonable) and then Before Grain Chicken dry in the PM.. but with all of the vomiting and diarhea he had going on, he is on all wet to make sure he gets the moisture.

He is no longer responding to Friskies wet at all (that was what I gave him for a day or two recently bc we ran out of the grain free wet) so I gave him some of his grain free dry yesterday since he had an anti nausea medicine added into his IV DRIP and he gobbled it up.

I ran out this morning and grabbed some Weruva for both of them. We've tried the LID food but he wouldn't go near it.. I've found that neither of my cats will touch pate style food. So, that was a no go (I tried giving it to them over many days and no luck).

He was chowing down on his Weruva this morning so I'm hopeful! I asked both doctors if he should be eating anything particular and they just said wet. I am going to see how he does over the next day or two on strictly grain free stuff before I ask the vet for anything else.

I don't have any experience with cats and cat allergies, but he is also wearing a soft cone around his head, bc since the day we brought him home, he has been an over groomer. Now its to the point where he is getting bald spots on his legs (confirmed no fleas and he is on Revolution). From what I have read online, cat allergies wereall described as itchy skin .. but does anyone know if with food allergies it could affect their digestive tracks as well?

I am just curious if this could maybe be a factor that I should bring up to the vet since he is obviously going crazy with his grooming and now has intestional issues.

Thanks everyone for the advice, feedback, and vibes!!!

I also feed Weruva !! My cat's love it. I rotate a few different wet brand's of food. Anyway, now that I hear you say Naku over-grooms I think you might have an allergy issue going on. Food allergies can absolutely cause problems with digestion and the intestinal tract. I would also talk with you vet about this. Unfortunately, most vet's are not up on nutrition and allergies and often just prescribe the Hill's diet's (which I am not knocking - because they do work). Some vet's just don't really have much knowledge about feline nutrition and food allergies and will just treat the symptom's and recommend the hypo-allergenic diet. Over-grooming can also be stress related too. I would start to list everything Naku eats everyday - a journal. I had to start that with my cat's as I had three of my six get severe chin acne six month's ago. Eliminating all grain's has completely cured the problem KNOCK WOOD :lol3:..... I am also starting to incorporate some raw into my cat's diet. There are some really great commercially raw diets out there. I will see what I can find for you as far as other thread's/articles about allergies and over-grooming cat's. How long has Naku been over-grooming?

I will say - though - that it seems like Naku just got a virus of sort's - like my Perla. Since it came on so quickly. Let's just hope Naku will be better and NOT have food allergies :cross:..... But if that is the case, we have a lot of information here on site and many people dealing with food allergies. Keep us posted on how he is doing over the next few day's

We brought Naku home on November 1st and we've noticed it since we brought him home. When he was brought into the shelter (about 2 weeks prior), per the notes, he had ear mites really bad to the point where he was making himself bleed and he had feces in his fur. I assume since it sounded like he wasn't taken care of the absolute best before being brought to the shelter, that maybe he was just still having some itching from having ear mites for so long. Vet confirmed he no longer has ear mites and also treated him for a yeast infection in the ear. We just assumed it was maybe because of the issues he had going on.

But now, 2 months later, it is obviously excessive, especially now that he is getting bald spots. We have had Feliway plug-ins since a little while before he was brought home and that was what the vet recommended as well now that he is getting bald spots, but he just keeps itching and itching. We wipe him down with hypoallergenic wipes too but that doesn't really do anything.

I was reading online a little earlier and found this article: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/allergies.aspx and they hit the nail on the head with Naku.

Cats who have allergies to what they eat will commonly scratch at their heads and necks, as well as have gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea and vomiting.

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They also talked about snoring (which he does, very lightly). So, now that I am reading a bit more on cat allergies, I decided to switch their dry (slowly, of course) from Before Grain Chicken to Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea. I grabbed some of their small wet cans of the same flavor to see if maybe he will eat it this go around. I figure, even if he doesn't have the allergies, I will keep them on it since it has the limited ingredients and isn't much more expensive than Before Grain.

I think that is a good start (going to a limited ingredient diet) to try to figure out WHAT he might be allergic to. I really, really think that is the problem - food allergies for Naku. Natural Balance is a good choice to try :nod: At this point, don't mix in any other brand's. Just see how he does on the Natural Balance. Excellent article you found from the ASCPA on allergies! I am going to copy and keep that one in my file for other's . I thought Pipsqueak, Perla and Perkin's had food allergies (severe chin acne) BUT I am now thinking it was environmental because I am again feeding most of the brand's they were eating last summer. I completely changed cleaning products and now use Seventh Generation. I still don't know for sure - but I just had to try to eliminate one thing at a time and go from there. I REALLY hope :cross: that Naku can get some relief from these possible allergies either food or environmental. BUT I bet it is food....... If you want - you could post a thread in Nutrition explaining about Naku and his symptom's. You might get some great suggestions and find other's that are going through the same thing. Much luck, hun

Ack! I fed Naku the Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea lastnight and shortly after, he vomited (even tho he is on anti nausea meds, antibiotics) ... We tried again this morning, same flavor and he wouldn't touch it. At this point he is spitting up since I think he is on empty, but I'm going run out and see what I can grab.

When I went to pick up the blanket he vomited on lastnight, I moved their cat bed and found slightly bloody vomit. It wasn't dried up, but I definitely don't remember him puking around there unless he did while I was @ work. So, it seems we are back to square one.

He is also being much more stubborn with his medicine taking! Everyday he has to take the following:
A liquid (0.5ml)
2 pills (am and pm)
A treat medicine (3x per day)

He isn't even eating the treat ones! Does anyone have any tips? We've tried rolling it in butter, other treats, a teenie bit of lunch meat, pill pockets, and stuffing it towards to back of his mouth. If he senses its medicine, he won't touch it and when we stick it in his mouth, he holds it and then spits it out. The liquid, he will also make himself froth at the mouth.

Oh my!   So sorry the Natural Balance didn't work. Maybe just a very clean brand in only turkey,or chicken?  Maybe the green pea was to much fiber in his state. Thought it might do the opposite & help it bulk. As far as giving the pills, do you have a pill dispenser from your vet? (The long syringe thing)  That's the only way I can get pills into Angel. I'm so sorry he is still not feeling well. - Sending up another prayer & Good thoughts!

I have had a lot of success with feeding my cats chicken broth when they vomit. I hope Naku will get over it, they usually do. I've never had much success with anti-nausea meds or anything vets prescribe for nausea. The same thing typically happens to me. It works for one or two days then completely stops working. Do not buy chicken broth already packaged if you want to try it. Make sure you make it yourself and do not add anything to it. Just chicken and water.

The vet recommended adding chicken broth to the water to lure him in to drink at least. I used the low sodium store brand stuff, but he was not impressed (that was earlier this week…)

Update:

We ran out and grabbed 2 small cans of NB L.I.D. 1 Venison and 1 Salmon. I figured, I could always run out tomorrow for more, based on his response tonight. We fed him the Venison and he CHOWED down! NO vomit (yet)! Woohoo! We were also able to sneak in one of his meds into the food, and still no vomit, so it's looking better! Hopefully he stays well thru the night. Especially since he hasn't been able to keep food down for a little bit now.

Glad you found a couple of foods that seem to be working.  As far as the meds...are these going to be long term medications?  If so, think about getting them compounded.  I just learned that Walgreens can compound, and they told me that for $5/year, you can buy something that sounds like pet prescription drug insurance!  I'm just waiting for tomorrow to contact my Vet about getting a prescription for Pepcid AC for my Sven to get it compounded into a liquid that tastes like chicken, so I can just mix it into his food. 

If not long term, you might want to read all the tips on giving pills here in this thread:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/237863/ideas-for-hiding-pills

As far as the liquid goes, and the frothing at the mouth, it's a natural reaction if the liquid is "nasty" tasting.  BTW, what are the "treat medicines" that you are speaking of? 

mrsgreenjeens said:

Glad you found a couple of foods that seem to be working.  As far as the meds...are these going to be long term medications?  If so, think about getting them compounded.  I just learned that Walgreens can compound, and they told me that for $5/year, you can buy something that sounds like pet prescription drug insurance!  I'm just waiting for tomorrow to contact my Vet about getting a prescription for Pepcid AC for my Sven to get it compounded into a liquid that tastes like chicken, so I can just mix it into his food. 

If not long term, you might want to read all the tips on giving pills here in this thread:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/237863/ideas-for-hiding-pills

As far as the liquid goes, and the frothing at the mouth, it's a natural reaction if the liquid is "nasty" tasting.  BTW, what are the "treat medicines" that you are speaking of? 

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Thanks! They are only short term meds, but I will definitely keep that in mind, if either of them ever have to go on a long term medication. They have him on some meds that I guess are supposed to be like Pepcid AC. The 'treat like' medicine he has now, is Cisapride. They look just like treats and are tuna flavored. He used to munch them down at first, but then I think he figured out it was medicine. LOL

Yey!  So glad you found some food he will eat. Now maybe he will start to feel better with some food on his tummy! Hope it continues.

So glad he is back to eating!! Thanks for the vibes! It is quite interesting trying to find foods without chicken, but he is on a rotation of venison, beef, rabbit, lamb, and some occasional fish here and there. He seems to be back to being a happy camper!

We LOVE "happy camper" updates !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So happy to hear the good news. Keep us posted