Hi Y'all,
It's been quite awhile since I've popped on here, but you guys are the ones I think of first when something goes wrong. I guess I'm that friend who only calls when they want to cry about something, and I'm sorry for that.
I should have just titled this post "My Worst Nightmare Has Come True," because Sophie-Ann, who is now 3 1/2, very probably has some form of cancer. I took her to the vet in March for a check-up, vaccines, and antibiotics because she had a URI, and the vet noted that she'd lost about a pound since her previous visit just over a year before (from 10 lbs 8 oz to 9 lbs 6 oz). I had changed her food up a little since her previous check-up, because she was starting to get a bit chunky, and she's been getting more exercise, which seemed like a perfectly reasonable explanation. The vet also said that her weight was now nearly-perfect, and her physical exam was stellar... healthy coat, teeth and gums, good heart sounds, clear lung sounds, no masses evident from palpation. However, I just had one of those intuitive bad feelings and decided to have blood work done.
Long story short, her Calcium came back elevated (12.9 - high end of normal is 11.8). We waited a few weeks and did a recheck - finding confirmed. Vet recommended ionized Calcium test at that point, which we did, and it supported the finding.
The next step was x-ray to see if she had a mass. The vet was optimistic that she might be "one of those cats" with idiopathic hypercalcemia, rare though that might be - she's young, otherwise healthy, energetic and playful, no changes in appetite, well-hydrated, no signs in her physical exam, etc etc. I'll admit, that assessment lulled me into a false sense of security, so I didn't call to set the X-ray appointment right away.
Last night, I noticed that when I gave her some treats, she sort of choked on them. She started to chew them, did a partial swallow, then spit them back out. When I gave her some different, less hard treats a bit later, she ate them with no trouble, however, and she did eat all her evening wet food.
When I got up today, I decided on a whim to give her more crunchy treats and see how she handled it. Same as last night, maybe a little worse... she started eating, then spit out the whole mouthful, heavily-coated in saliva, and abandoned the whole snack. I got her some wet food, and she barely touched it, despite it being her absolute favorite flavor.
I rushed to the vet with her in a panic. Physical exam was still fine, her teeth and gums are in exceptionally good shape, and a manual check of her tongue and upper/visible throat was normal. X-rays of her entire body showed no abnormalities in her esophagus or any of her organs. However, she'd lost another 3 1/2 ounces of weight since her previous visit just about 3-4 weeks ago. Because there was no visible blockage, the vet gave her a shot of Cerenia for nausea, plus an appetite stim and some Pepcid. She also gave me a few cans of Science Diet A/D and some syringes, so I could keep her fed if it came to it. The next step is a referral to an internist for an ultrasound, or possibly a scope considering this new development with her throat/eating.
Since we got home about 5 hours ago, she's eaten a total of a half a can of the A/D, so she's definitely got her appetite. However, she still can't handle solid/dry food or treats... she'll come running excitedly if I offer them, get one or two pieces into her mouth, and then gag/spit them back out. She's otherwise acting totally normal (playful, alert, normal drinking/litterbox usage), but I've noticed that when she grooms, she makes a funny noise in the back of her throat periodically.
I wish I could say I was numb, but I'm nowhere near that. I am in AGONY. This little baby came along at the worst point of my life - when I'd just lost the job that had been my whole life, and everything was uncertain and terrifying - and she gave me something to get out of bed for, and something to make me smile. I love all my cats, and losing any of them, especially at a young age, would break my heart... but Sophie is special. I've never loved anyone or anything like I love this little cat. And very soon, I could lose her. I can't even look at her without breaking down.
I guess, aside from getting all this off my chest, I would like to hear from anyone who has been through this. I feel like my brain has shut down, and all that's left is pure unthinking emotion. I've been trying to search the web for info about her throat symptoms, but I haven't found a single post/story/example about eating symptoms quite like this. Is there anything in particular I should be thinking about right now? Anything I should be asking the vet about? Any supplements or foods or anything that you've had particular luck with, that I should look into? How do you monitor food/water intake and litterbox usage effectively when you have multiple cats? I segregated her in the bedroom (in part to monitor her, and in part to ensure that the other cats, with whom she still has a shaky relationship sometimes, didn't get a whiff of her post-vet scent and start picking on her), but Jack cried pitifully to come in and be with her, and I didn't have the heart to keep him out as well.
Sophie and I could really use your vibes right now, TCS.
It's been quite awhile since I've popped on here, but you guys are the ones I think of first when something goes wrong. I guess I'm that friend who only calls when they want to cry about something, and I'm sorry for that.
I should have just titled this post "My Worst Nightmare Has Come True," because Sophie-Ann, who is now 3 1/2, very probably has some form of cancer. I took her to the vet in March for a check-up, vaccines, and antibiotics because she had a URI, and the vet noted that she'd lost about a pound since her previous visit just over a year before (from 10 lbs 8 oz to 9 lbs 6 oz). I had changed her food up a little since her previous check-up, because she was starting to get a bit chunky, and she's been getting more exercise, which seemed like a perfectly reasonable explanation. The vet also said that her weight was now nearly-perfect, and her physical exam was stellar... healthy coat, teeth and gums, good heart sounds, clear lung sounds, no masses evident from palpation. However, I just had one of those intuitive bad feelings and decided to have blood work done.
Long story short, her Calcium came back elevated (12.9 - high end of normal is 11.8). We waited a few weeks and did a recheck - finding confirmed. Vet recommended ionized Calcium test at that point, which we did, and it supported the finding.
The next step was x-ray to see if she had a mass. The vet was optimistic that she might be "one of those cats" with idiopathic hypercalcemia, rare though that might be - she's young, otherwise healthy, energetic and playful, no changes in appetite, well-hydrated, no signs in her physical exam, etc etc. I'll admit, that assessment lulled me into a false sense of security, so I didn't call to set the X-ray appointment right away.
Last night, I noticed that when I gave her some treats, she sort of choked on them. She started to chew them, did a partial swallow, then spit them back out. When I gave her some different, less hard treats a bit later, she ate them with no trouble, however, and she did eat all her evening wet food.
When I got up today, I decided on a whim to give her more crunchy treats and see how she handled it. Same as last night, maybe a little worse... she started eating, then spit out the whole mouthful, heavily-coated in saliva, and abandoned the whole snack. I got her some wet food, and she barely touched it, despite it being her absolute favorite flavor.
I rushed to the vet with her in a panic. Physical exam was still fine, her teeth and gums are in exceptionally good shape, and a manual check of her tongue and upper/visible throat was normal. X-rays of her entire body showed no abnormalities in her esophagus or any of her organs. However, she'd lost another 3 1/2 ounces of weight since her previous visit just about 3-4 weeks ago. Because there was no visible blockage, the vet gave her a shot of Cerenia for nausea, plus an appetite stim and some Pepcid. She also gave me a few cans of Science Diet A/D and some syringes, so I could keep her fed if it came to it. The next step is a referral to an internist for an ultrasound, or possibly a scope considering this new development with her throat/eating.
Since we got home about 5 hours ago, she's eaten a total of a half a can of the A/D, so she's definitely got her appetite. However, she still can't handle solid/dry food or treats... she'll come running excitedly if I offer them, get one or two pieces into her mouth, and then gag/spit them back out. She's otherwise acting totally normal (playful, alert, normal drinking/litterbox usage), but I've noticed that when she grooms, she makes a funny noise in the back of her throat periodically.
I wish I could say I was numb, but I'm nowhere near that. I am in AGONY. This little baby came along at the worst point of my life - when I'd just lost the job that had been my whole life, and everything was uncertain and terrifying - and she gave me something to get out of bed for, and something to make me smile. I love all my cats, and losing any of them, especially at a young age, would break my heart... but Sophie is special. I've never loved anyone or anything like I love this little cat. And very soon, I could lose her. I can't even look at her without breaking down.
I guess, aside from getting all this off my chest, I would like to hear from anyone who has been through this. I feel like my brain has shut down, and all that's left is pure unthinking emotion. I've been trying to search the web for info about her throat symptoms, but I haven't found a single post/story/example about eating symptoms quite like this. Is there anything in particular I should be thinking about right now? Anything I should be asking the vet about? Any supplements or foods or anything that you've had particular luck with, that I should look into? How do you monitor food/water intake and litterbox usage effectively when you have multiple cats? I segregated her in the bedroom (in part to monitor her, and in part to ensure that the other cats, with whom she still has a shaky relationship sometimes, didn't get a whiff of her post-vet scent and start picking on her), but Jack cried pitifully to come in and be with her, and I didn't have the heart to keep him out as well.
Sophie and I could really use your vibes right now, TCS.
for Sophie and you.
