Question About X-Rays

We're taking Casper for x-rays tomorrow to assess whether or not he has arthritis setting in.  It seems quite likely based on a lot of symptoms he's having, and been having for a long while thinking back now.

However, he also has issues with regurgitation of his food.  Not sure if we should be looking into this also at the same time.  Or, if that is more important right now to take care of.  A while back the vet did suggest trying to find out if there was some kind of blockage, but we felt that it wasn't happening frequently enough, let alone it always seems to happen at the same time of day; right after he would eat breakfast. This led us to believe it was related to him gobbling his food (which he does) or a gastric issue - not a blockage.  We changed his diet, and that seemed to work for a long while.  However, in the past weeks it's gotten more frequent and at other times of the day.  Yesterday, it appeared that he brought up a much larger quantity of food than I even had given him which was odd.  

I don't want to be taken advantage of by the vet's office.  I've never had to bring a pet in for any type of testing like this before.  This office's policy is to bring you a huge sheet of "recommended" treatments and procedures, explain them to you and allow you to tick off what you want and don't want, however, this only serves to overwhelm a person with choices instead of making you feel confident about what is happening.  Plus they of course tell you how important it all is anyway.

I would prefer the vet tell me exactly what MUST be done and stop giving me so many options, I don't want to feel like I need to pay for things which have no bearing on the problems at hand.  Like the other week they made me feel like testing our younger cat for Bartonella was very important.  She tested positive.  However, after I went to the CDC website, and found out that in most cases, the only time they worry about this virus is if you or a family member has a compromised immune system and further more, that in most cases the medication give to treat it in the cat, does not get rid of it.  So I feel like I wasted $65 more out of my pocket since we're healthy and we have nobody in our family with those serious health issues.  

Ok, sorry I digress.  I have a habit of writing too much.

For those who have cats that have arthritis, is there a specific type of x-ray which I should be looking for and nothing else?  Same for the digestive issue.  They already told me they start at $250 which seemed incredibly pricey, and I've already spent in the past month $500 on him for bloodwork/annual check up and another $200 for Cocoa to establish her with them, well visit/shots she needed, etc.  I'm in the hole $700 out of pocket already plus more and no pet insurance since we just literally got Cocoa and were shopping around for coverage for the two of them when this issue of arthritis cropped up - now I'll never get it for him I'm sure as most of them don't cover pre-existing conditions.

I do want to mention, that I like the vet himself, and the office is run very well.  They are an approved office by whatever that national association of vets is (in fact, only one of two locally).  I know he keeps on top of things, as we've had conversations about conferences and such he's been to.  We never have to wait for our appointments, it's close by, clean and all of the techs and staff are friendly and good with the animals.  It's 100% better than the previous place we went to, but I do still feel we could do better - there just doesn't seem to be a lot of choices nearby at all and we have nobody to ask since we are lacking for friends with furbabies in our area.

Laurie

I think it is always a good thing if your cat is vomiting frequently to do the xray. If he has blockage or cancer it will often not show up on a blood panel at all. 

I don't know much about arthritis so I'm not sure what to tell you.

But definitely do the xray. "My thread is Toby vomiting and losing weight, otherwise fine" and you will see from there how I went so many months before we got to the xray, augh. It is a worthy diagnostic tool and your own intuition about your cat is telling you to dig deeper. This is indeed a good next step. 

Thank you Barb.  I did read your thread earlier today before posting this. Very sorry for everything you and your kitty have been through.

I guess I'll break out the Care Credit card for this.  Thankfully I have it nearly paid off from purchasing my sunglasses lol.  Egads they were expensive!

When Casper vomits is it more like regurgitation very soon after he eats, and what comes up looks like what he just ate?

My Domino is a morning scarf-and-barf cat - he's O.K. at his other feedings but in the morning will gobble so fast he just throws right up. What works for him, in the morning, is feeding in stages. He gets 1/4 of a small can of pate type food, mashed flat into his bowl so he cannot gulp it down. I wait 10 or 15 minutes and repeat - another 1/4 of a can, mashed flat. Then 10 or 15 minutes after that, he gets 1/2 Tablespoon of dry. Rest of the day he can have 1/2 can plus 1/2 Tblsp dry all at once and he's fine. But the morning feed has to be broken into 3 portions. A nuisance, but better than cleaning up reguritated food.

Arthritis and X-ray - my old cat was limping. They did an X-ray of her front legs and the joint was all white and fuzzy looking. No wonder she was limping, her head would literally bob up and down with each step. She gets Cosequin, a glucosamine pill for cats, once a day, just open capsule and mix with her wet food. And my husband made three little stepping stools so she can get up on our bed, up on the sofa, and up on the bed in my study. She can get up and down stairs, and you should see her trot off down the hall at mealtimes, heading for the room I feed her in.

I hope you find out what is upsetting Casper and can get the vomiting etc resolved in an easy, simple way.

I went through something similar with Hoot. She was vomiting daily, seemed lethargic, wouldn't eat and had all kinds of things going on. She has a very bad health history as a kitten and many of her problems are the after effects of injuries she received at 6 weeks of age. She had 3 major surgeries before her 1st birthday. She is now 15, almost 16. I had all of the Xrays you've mentioned, Godzillions of blood tests and even took her to the vet school in Columbia. The total cost was pretty staggering just to find out she had a minor bladder infection. Right now I've got her on a hairball supplement from the vet which has greatly helped with the vomiting. She's also on a high calorie booster which I got from the vet. This is helping her maintain a decent weight. Her appetite is better and she's running all over the place This is probably not much help to you but I have had some of the same issues. Sending vibes

Thank you too Mike and Catapault.  It's so difficult trying to figure out what ails our pets, isn't it?

Catapault, we thought for sure for the longest time it was just a scarf and barf situation.  We changed his diet in the morning to wet which helped, and for a while now, mostly (I say mostly because there are time where it's not feasible) we give him his breakfast in portions to avoid him chugging the food.  I'll tell you though, kibble regurgitation is WAY easier to clean up than wet.  Ugh.  

However, the past weeks his pattern has changed and he brings it up randomly, much later in the day - hours later at times and sometime now after his dinner.  And, he isn't finishing the small amounts I give him in the morning usually.  This morning was very telling - I just went through an instance which I'm not pleased with.  Gave him about 1/4 can of Before the Grain Turkey which he has eaten several times before.  He did not finish it all in one pass.  Not even within 5 minutes he brought it up on the carpet.  Cleaned it up.  Saw him go for a drink of water.  Did NOT give him any more and within another few minutes, he brought up watery bile. That, was new.  Cleaned that up (at least that was on the tile).  Saw him drink more water as I was going back and forth to the kitchen for more paper towels, etc.  

As I was doing all that he finished what was remaining in the dish.  

Since we have the vet visit in a couple of hours, I'm not going to bother feeding the other 1/4 can at this point.  I think I'll give it to Cocoa, who is underweight and can use the extra calories.

This has happened several times this week.  That, is a LOT.  

We typically groom him now and then, he's shorthaired, but lately have been doing it more because Cocoa is longhaired and needs it nearly daily so that reminds us about him.  So we've been able to get more fur off of him.  Some of the food we feed him, which are all grain free, and limited ingredients are hairball formulas since Cocoa is with us, but these are not fed daily, and he has tolerated them as well as any other food.  We are sure it isn't the food itself, this was happening when we were feeding him only Blue Buffalo, which we've discontinued only because it was easier to switch over to what Cocoa was used to when we got her and he basically has been a non-picky eater all along and acclimates to new food easily.

So, in essence, it does appear that something else is going on and finding out what now is necessary.  Honestly, I'm not so very sure if it's even arthritis which is the issue causing him his symptoms now or, if possibly what's brewing elsewhere might be doing it.  I'd imagine if he had a blockage of some sort, and was in pain because of that, he would possibly exhibit behavioral changes which could mimic symptoms of other illnesses.

We'll know more later.  Not looking forward to it, but at least maybe we'll have more information.

Toby had a partial blockage, but he never got lethargic or anything, he just was losing weight very slowly, and vomiting. I think he was losing weight because he began to eat fewer of the foods that caused him to vomit, i.e. crunchies, chunky kinds of wet food. Over time I was feeding him stuff that was more like A/D. You might try buying a can of A/D at the vet and see if he keeps that down, as it is very soft like pudding and they usually give it to kittens or elderly cats that need a lot of perking up. Also maybe try giving him 1/2 pepsid (.5 mg), it may make him feel better regardless of what he has, bc the vomiting has to be burning his esophagus somewhat anyhow. 

I did the morning thing too, where I thought maybe he had acid reflux (even tho there is almost nothing on the internet about cats and GERD, which was a red flag to me). And the vet said senior cats- he is 12- might be more sensitive. The main vet told me to give him 1/2 pepsid twice daily, and another vet at the same practice told me to feed him milder foods in the morning, as he was eating and then throwing it up in the morning pretty quickly too, as you have said. This was all before his xray and surgery.

They also asked me if he was over grooming and/or grooming the other cats a lot, and I said yes he grooms them but there is not a huge lot of hair in his vomit. 

In terms of saving money at the vets, I would ask them to break down the xray cost- are they going to do a lot of xrays? $250 does sound like a lot. Does it include a fee for sedation? Are they putting an office visit charge on there every time?

If, god forbid, your kitty does have something show up on the xray, and you need to make a decision to go right to surgery or do an ultrasound, just make sure that if you decide to do an ultrasound, it is at the place where you will have a surgery done and whatever other treatment he may need. Because any baseline ultrasound needs to be at the same place where you may do a follow up one at a later date- otherwise there is no basis for comparison :-(. 

With our other cat Lulu we skipped the ultrasound and went right to surgery, I am not sure it was the right decision bc her mass was a large water filled cyst with a small mass attached. We got a partial refund, I have no idea what the cost would have been if we had done an ultrasound or guided ultrasound first.

Thanks again Barb.  All of that info will come in handy if I need it down the line.

We were at the vet this morning.  As it turned out, he did not push the x-rays.  He gave Casper another good check up, and when palpitating him literally everywhere, he didn't once show any signs of pain or discomfort whatsoever.  So, as far as the possible arthritis is concerned, he didn't feel it was an urgent situation to see how far along it may be.  He put him on a joint supplement which gets pumped into his food once a day (Welactin) and a Glucosamine oral gel to give him once a day also via a syringe.  There were also suggestions of getting a heat lamp for him to sit under and using warm compresses for 10 minutes a day on his hind area - but honestly, I don't see that particular thing happening.  How does one get a cat to sit still with a hot, wet compress on it's fur without it flying away? Seriously?

As for the vomiting, he still suspects it is food related at this point.  Or, stress might be causing it to happen more lately.  We did just add Cocoa to our household less than 2 months ago, and to be honest, there has been an increase in this happening since she arrived.

Anyway, since he knew I was against using the Hills food on principal, he suggested trying Instinct brand.  Also, giving Laxatone daily.  He does shed A LOT considering he's a short hair, although we don't see much hair come up in what he's bringing up at all.  Very rarely does he have hairballs, although there certainly might be one lingering in him.

Unfortunately, the pet store I went to today only had duck, chicken and beef left.  I didn't want to get the chicken since he was throwing up so much this week eating that and turkey.  In fact, this morning it happened twice. If he has an allergy to those, I'd like to try and find another food this week which he isn't used to eating.  I already know he does not care for duck - the one time I purchased it of another brand he turned up his nose at it.  So that left beef.  I can't say he was overwhelmed with it, lunch he kind of ate up the gravy, dinner ate only about 1/2 a portion.  There's another pet store nearby that carries it so I'll hit that one tomorrow to see if they have the rabbit or pork, or whatever else they have.  

I did have a bit of a conflict with the vet when I asked about the medication he put him on last week, when I tried explaining what we saw as a side effect of it.  There was a bit of a superior attitude he was giving off about it, as if I had no right to research on my own and advocate for my pet.  I didn't care for him thinking I was humanizing Casper by telling him that he appeared "confused' when on the  medication, when he indeed was not behaving normally.  However, once we got beyond that point, I appreciated his viewpoint of treating him more holistically, and not raping my pocketbook.  There is a cultural barrier between him and us, which might play into it so I'm trying not to be too judgemental.  Overall, I feel the outcome of the visit today was positive.  We left feeling comfortable with the course of treatment for now, understood what our options were if these procedures don't work and will be able to make good decisions in the future due to having spent a good amount of time consulting with the doctor today.

And, he really does like our cat a lot.  You can tell.  He spent the whole time holding and hugging him.  That says a lot to us about how he feels about his patients, even if he might not communicate entirely well to the humans all the time.

Glad to hear the vet visit went well. I don't have a whole lot to suggest except maybe try an electric heater instead of a heat lamp? I know Aria is glued to ours during the winter if there is no available lap. Also, she doesn't mind a warm compress. When Aria was having her diarrhea issues in December, I found that if I put a warm damp washcloth on her butt and didn't move it, she didn't mind it and even liked the heat of it. I found it the only way to clean her without causing her a lot of stress. Just leave it there for a while, wipe once, rinse and repeat. Your cat may enjoy the warm compresses as well.

A friend who's cat had arthritis suggested these; Snuggle Safe

http://www.healthypets.com/snugglesafe.html?gclid=CI-5rrqSmbUCFQqk4Aods14ASw

She also has a heating pad that is meant for dogs, to be used in crates.  Puts that into a towel and would leave it on the rug by her bedside that her cat used to like to lay on, when she got too tired to jump into the bed.

Be very very careful giving laxatone so often. Petroleum products interfere with nutrient absorption. It should be given on an empty stomach two hours before a meal. In addition, most laxatones contain corn syrup. Many cats have an intolerance for corn. Read the ingredients.

Laxatone and other petrolatum products made Mazy's regurgitation problems worse.

Also, the body develops a dependency for these products if given too frequently. I won't use them with my cats at all any more, after losing Tolly to a swift cancer, Tolly took massive doses of laxatone products all his life. I use egg yolk lecithin now, for hairball control.

Morning vomiting can be because there is too long a time between meals. Acid builds up in the stomach. My Mazy cat has this problem, she cannot go more than 8 hours without food. Like others have posted here, she gets a tiny pre-meal first, then two small meals a half hour apart, after that one, for breakfast. All her meals are given that way, actually.

Welactin is a fish oil supplement. It's okay, but I would suggest Krill oil instead, it is a great anti-inflammatory. Syringing a glucosamine into him every day sounds kind of stressful, there are products such as cosequin that you just sprinkle into the food.

As far as food...Merrick Before Grain is a good food, except it contains carrageenan. I have two cats with an intolerance to carrageenan. One regurgitates any food containing it, the other gets diarrhea. I recommend you gradually change Casper over to a grain free/fruit and veggie free canned food that does not contain carrageenan.

Hope he is feeling better soon.

Thank you Otto. Great advice.  Especially since he continues to bring up his food.  This morning again.  Ugh.  Poor thing.  At least his behavior is normal.  He's perky, and everything else is normal; using the litter box, drinking, being as playful as a 11-1/2 year old cat can be expected to be lol.  He is interested in his food, but having a tough time keeping it down.

I do remember being told by another vet about the acid buildup - and this always sticks in the back of my head.  I think it is no small coincidence that this happens nearly always in the morning.  We used to leave him out kibble overnight, but he was gaining weight, which we had to put a stop to.  Now, I'm wondering if we should start doing this again - perhaps set the timer on the feeder and just give him less food during the daytime to compensate.  My only concern about doing this is now we have 2 cats, and already we've caught Cocoa poaching in his food (and vice versa of course).  Of course, she isn't used to the sound of the feeder going off and for him it's a Pavlov's response at this point so chances are he'll be the one to find and eat it, not her.

Anyway, the vet is only recommending the Laxatone this week.  Not permanently.  I believe this is just in case there is a hairball.  It did come with instructions on it, so we're aware how to dispense.  We have given him Petramalt in the past, and he's tolerated it well.  In fact, now that I think about it, the short time period we administered it, I seem to remember that he did not bring his food up that week at all.  I could be wrong though.  It was many months ago, if not more.  Time flies!

I'm wondering tho, is using just egg yolk worthwhile?  The vet had recommended feeding our other cat one or two a week to help her gain some weight but would this work for hairballs as well?

The joint supplement was also just a small tube to test out. We have another follow up next weekend, so I'll mention the type which gets sprinkled on top of the food to him as an option.  I'll also look for the krill on my own.  I tried putting that oil in his food last night and he wasn't so thrilled with it, although our other cat trotted over and happily snacked on it lol. I think he's just being picky right now.  Maybe if it were on food he really enjoyed it would be a different story.  He did not exactly chow down on the Instinct beef at all.  Ate only about half of what I gave him if that.

Originally, he was eating various Blue Buffalo grain free varieties but we switched over to Before the Grain, Natural Balance Ultra, and Chicken Soup brands when Cocoa came to us, since those were what she was eating at her foster home, and we were more concerned about keeping things stable for her.  He's always been really good about switching foods, and had no problem making the change.  His kibble brands have been grain free for eons too.  At least a couple of years now and we try to avoid all kinds of seafood.  Maybe I feed him that once or twice a month, if that.

If you (or anyone else) has a list of carrageenan free foods to recommend that would be great.  From what I understand, Instinct is, but when I went over, they had limited flavors yesterday.  I also tried him on Merrick's Paw Lickin Chicken, which he loved, but I hear that the calorie count on that is very low and, not sure about the carrageenan in that either.  

Raw, is becoming more and more appealing although doing it myself not feasible due to time constraints.  However, one of the pet stores nearby carries a couple of the frozen raw brand and that would a good option I'd think.  At least I'd be guaranteed there is literally nothing in them.  

Well you'll get a lot of help in the raw forum if you decide to go raw, or even partial raw. That's what has made the difference for my Mazy cat. She still struggles with occasional regurgitation, but there's been huge improvement since putting her on partial raw.

Not egg yolk, egg yolk lecithin, for hairballs. I learned about it here in TCS, and there are quite a few of us using it now, with good success. A friend of mine (in real life) is also very happy with it. There are two brands to choose from Nature's Plus and Swanson

I don't recommend feeding any dry, and don't think leaving dry out overnight is a good idea. Feed a late night snack, right before you go to bed. Prepare a small meal in advance and put it in the fridge for the morning, and as soon as you get out of bed, take it out, warm it up (place dish in another dish of hot water, or add a little warm water to it) and give him that small pre-meal. Wait a half hour, then feed both cats their regular meals. If you want to sleep in, get up, give Casper his pre-meal, then go back to bed.

This is how I feed Mazy cat and it is working well for her. The other cats know that Mazy gets that first meal of the morning that they don't get and they don't even come into the kitchen while she's eating it. She also gets a pre-meal before the other two meals, same thing, the other cats know this is how it is done. When my little Ootay was alive, her last couple of years, she couldn't go more than 3 or 4 hours without food. I used to get up at 3 a.m. every night and give her a meal, right in my bed, where she was sleeping. The other cats knew this was not for them and they never even opened their eyes. Cats love routine and can learn any, even if it doens't involve them.

Mazy still needs a dose of pepcid ac (1/4 10 mg tablet) now and then. When I see signs of her feeling 'urpy', I give her one, in the hope that will prevent a regurgitation episode. Most of the time it does prevent it, though of course sometimes she doens't show any indication she's not feeling good until the meal comes up. And man, you're right about canned or raw being regurgitated making a lot bigger mess than dry, LOL.

Anyway it does sound like you are really on top of things.

Here are some threads where carrageenan free foods are discussed and listed

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/246168/the-truth-about-carrageenan/60

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/246168/the-truth-about-carrageenan/30

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240335/canned-food-without-carrageenan-or-guar-gum

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/251402/by-nature-organics-no-carrageenan

Thanks again!

BTW, there is no sleeping in for me lol.  I'm one of those people that when they are up, they are up.  Sadly.  Once I start moving, it wakes me up completely.  *sighs*

But, we could work out a better feeding schedule because my BF is a night owl.

And, as for the wet mess?  All I can say is I'm sure glad I purchased the old vintage Oriental area rugs from the prior homeowner.  They are in bad shape in some spots, but covered the wood flooring and gave the downstairs a certain "charm".  I only paid $100 for both of them so I don't stress too much when he misses the tile or wood floor; which thankfully we haven't refinished since moving in yet.  At this rate - I may never 

The vet had me also give Toby laxatone after his lymphatic mass was discovered on the xray and before he had all his various surgery, treatment etc.  and he was on it pretty much daily. It helped to clear up the impacted stool from the partial blockage (it was like a garden hose with a crimp in it). You will see an improvement with laxatone no matter what, because it just slides everything out. As the other poster said, it does also create malabsorption. But you should see the vomiting stop. 

My vet did not push xrays either, in fact on the second or third visit it was me who brought up xrays (because posters on this site vigorously recommended them, I owe much to them) and the vet said we already did xrays. I was surprised and thought maybe I missed something. After another visit or so during which there was limited improvement, I checked my paperwork and altho I had an exam form which seemed to suggest everything had been covered, my bill did not list an xray. I called the vet's office and said we never did an xray and he needs one. Then when we came in the vet said "so it's time for an xray" as if she had never said we did one already. By then I was thinking what does it matter who is right, what is the recourse, my cat is sick and we have wasted time and nothing will fix that. 

With food allergies, you commonly see cats itching around the neck and ears until their fur is gone, or base of the tail; that is how allergies manifest in animals. If it is a food intolerance, you will see diarrhea more than vomiting, but also vomiting. 

All the things you are doing may help his symptoms but just know that frequent vomiting is not a natural state for a cat (other than the normal infrequent hairball hork lol). Keep a very close eye on his weight and since you have brought him in several times, ask them if his weight has changed. And ask them the charge for an xray for the vomiting. It really should not be more than $100. Arthritis, they may be wanting to do more positions(?)

The problem with lymphoma is that it is incredibly hard to diagnose in cats unless there is a very obvious mass, where the cat is sick all the while that mass is growing but it hasn't been detected bc there are so few symptoms and the kitty acts normally other than horking, losing weight, maybe sleeping a bit more, maybe not. So doing an xray ends up being a preventive measure, a step that occurs after many other things have been ruled out over a long period of time while you are trying a and b and c, all of which sound very reasonable. This can also be the case with inflammatory bowel disease, unless it manifests with severe diarrhea (and it doesn't always do that) it can just seem like you have a sensitive cat. Also know that inflammatory bowel disease and small cell lymphoma are not all that far apart on the kitty illness spectrum and are often treated with the same meds ( a form of oral chemo) depending on the shape of the kitty and the vet treating the kitty. My boy has large cell lymphoma which is different, but often cats present the same way for any or all of the above. And as a parent, you go through this labyrinth, trying one thing and then another, until one day you say there is something really wrong and why didn't I do more already. 

How old is your kitty again? I know he is senior bc you mentioned arthritis, I am just wondering. If your kitty has eaten x or y foods for many years without any problem and then lately this is not happening, I would do the xray. 

Casper is nearly 12 Barb.  

His bowel movements have been fine, no problems there.  No excessive itching or missing fur anywhere either.

When he came to us, a little over 2 years ago he was eating Friskies and Purina if I remember correctly.  We put him on Blue Buffalo grain free kibble.  After a few months I found this site and added the BF wet for breakfast.  His vomiting got somewhat better at that point, decreasing in the amount per month it was happening.  I also was using Orijens for a while but it became hard to find, so we went back to the Blue Buffalo kibble.

He was having regurgitation issues the entire time, but not as bad as when it was just on kibble alone.  He has a tendency to eat to fast for sure and bring it back up right away.  The wet food slowed him down which is why I believe it stopped happening as much.

We started feeding him Before the Grain, Natural Balance and Chicken Soup in the morning, 2 months ago to keep meals consistent for our new kitty.  He had no change in the amount of regurgitation when we switched.  It is only in the past couple of weeks that he has suddenly started bringing it up so frequently, much more than ever before.

He has lost weight.  The first time we brought him in to see the vet, 2 weeks ago he weight 15-1/2 pounds.  This past Saturday he lost 4 ounces.  I'm very concerned about his not eating.  He is NOT interested in the Instinct we purchased, pretty much turning his nose up at it.  I put down some of the Before the Grain about an hour ago - maybe 2 tablespoons, which I know he likes, because I need to get him to eat something, and he barely touched that also.  

We haven't even been able to get the Laxatone into him yet.  

So, it doesn't seem like allergies to me at all.  And, blood work was perfect, vital signs are good too.  I am beginning to think that x-ray is necessary at this point because nothing pointing to why he would continue to have this problem.

Not eating is definitely a sign of time for an xray, or even an ultrasound. I haven't had any diagnostics done on Mazy cat (other than her annual blood work and UA) because she has an excellent appetite and never loses any weight (I weight them weekly)

So yes, I would get the x rays done. What a lucky boy he is to be with you, now that he is having these problems. When I used to use laxatone remedies I had to just shove it down their throats pretty much. I'd put them in a holding position (kneel on floor, cat between your knees facing out) with the blob of laxatone on my finger, open the mouth and swipe the stuff in. They hated it, (but learned to accept it), and I hated doing it.

Casper

Yea he isn't thrilled with it either.  Yesterday I put some on his paw.  He ran off, flicking it all over the floor, but got some in him.

Tonight, my BF held him down as you described.  Managed to get most of it into him.  He looked like he had a melted chocolate bar all over his face haha.

I managed to get him to eat some more by giving him little amounts spaced an hour apart. At least it's some amount of nourishment.

Something did happen which made me remember an occurrence which might have some bearing on all of this  Right before we adopted Cocoa, Casper suddenly had a cut on the top of his head. We had no idea where it came from.  Our home is rather cat-safe, and he doesn't hide under things where he might scrape himself.  Not like he would claw himself where it is either, even if he was scratching himself and it's unlikely he'd dig that deep anyway.  It was raw, you could actually see the skin, and some fur was missing, and it was painful to the touch to him.  It took a good week or two to heal up but, it wasn't infected.  We had cleaned it up and that was that.

However, tonight, I was petting him. I had totally forgotten about that and when I was stroking on top of his head, he flinched, and balled up.  The fur still felt odd, or maybe it was scar tissue I felt.  So, it obviously is still bothering him.  I don't know if this has anything to do with all else going on with him, but if he's been in pain for the last couple of months from this, then I really should mention this to the doctor, and have him take a look at it to make sure it does not have anything to do with well, whatever.  I mean, it is within the realm of possibility if he's been in pain all this time, that he could be throwing up because of that.  And interestingly, the timing matches.

I'm sure if I mention this to my BF he'll think I'm nuts.  But, truly, I'm right more times than I'm wrong.  I'm off from work tomorrow in the morning at the least (my hot water heater died this weekend, plumber comes to install a new one), so I may just blow the whole day off.  If I do, I'm going to see if I can get into the vet and get the x-rays, and discuss this last piece of info with him too.

I managed to get him to eat some more by giving him little amounts spaced an hour apart. At least it's some amount of nourishment.

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Good-o that you got some food into him. Every little bit counts, but yeah, the lack of appetite is very worrying. Definitely mention the head wound. Always, go with your gut on these things. Nothing is too trivial to be investigated.


Remember that the laxatone should not be given at meal times. It blocks nutrient absorption.

more for your Casper boy.