Barely Eating -- Tests Normal -- Gingivitis

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summermh

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Back at the vet today, learned he's now dropped to 8 pounds. Another antibiotic 14-day injectable and now syringe feeding A/D for the next 3 days. He's going back on Wednesday to be sedated so they can lance and explore the neck area, as she's wondering if there's a foreign object lodged which is keeping the area from 100% healing. She seems to doubt all the weight loss is from the initial bite wounds and the continued infection, as while there's clearly still an issue there, he didn't even have a fever today. She x-rayed the neck area looking for a tumor, but nothing there. Mentioned lymphoma, but not sure yet how that gets diagnosed. No obvious tumors in the abdominal area. Electrolytes and phosphorous out of whack on blood panel today, and they were normal a month ago. His red blood count number is also down. Not in the dangerous realm, but lower than it was before. Something just isn't right. While he is there on Wednesday and under sedation, they will most likely proceed with a dental although she doesn't see any abscessed areas in the mouth. She also doesn't feel his mouth is in enough pain to cause this much of a drop in eating. She gave him the pill which increases appetite, and I could tell even on the way home he was all the sudden very hungry (lots of meowing which he never does in the car). He went straight to the food bowl and ate more than he has recently, but still very little compared to what he needs to be eating. So, I proceeded a little while later with the first syringe feeding. Yuck. He is not a fan. Anyway, although the news could obviously be bad, it truly is the not knowing which is worse. I'm constantly worried about what I can be doing to help him get better, so knowing what can actually be done, if anything, will be a relief. And of course, one day the inevitable will come, perhaps sooner rather than later... but we're never ready :-(
 

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Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that he has lost more weight. 
  It seems there is something definitely weird going on. At this point, it doesn't seem like all this is caused from gingivitis. Keep an eye on that red blood cell count. Anemia is not good. Did they give him fluids at the vet to help with his electrolytes? Poor boy. I wish there was something more I could say. It sounds like you are doing all you can, and keeping in contact with your vet.

I don't think any cat likes to be syringe-fed. When I had to syringe-feed my Sebastian, I always followed by praises with a high-pitched voice ("baby talk") and extra loving and pets. This seemed to help, as he never ran away afterwards.

Just thinking here...there's another member of TCS whose cat has (had) Feline Infectious Anemia (FIA), which can apparently be caused by bite wounds (see: http://www.petwave.com/Cats/Health/Feline-Infectious-Anemia.aspx). Something to look into, perhaps? Of course, it could just be a really bad infection. I'm not a vet, so I don't really know. 
  I'm just trying to help because I really want to see your boy turn the corner here! 


Please let us know how things turn out on Wednesday. Continued vibes....
 
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summermh

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Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that he has lost more weight. 
  It seems there is something definitely weird going on. At this point, it doesn't seem like all this is caused from gingivitis. Keep an eye on that red blood cell count. Anemia is not good. Did they give him fluids at the vet to help with his electrolytes? Poor boy. I wish there was something more I could say. It sounds like you are doing all you can, and keeping in contact with your vet.

I don't think any cat likes to be syringe-fed. When I had to syringe-feed my Sebastian, I always followed by praises with a high-pitched voice ("baby talk") and extra loving and pets. This seemed to help, as he never ran away afterwards.

Just thinking here...there's another member of TCS whose cat has (had) Feline Infectious Anemia (FIA), which can apparently be caused by bite wounds (see: http://www.petwave.com/Cats/Health/Feline-Infectious-Anemia.aspx). Something to look into, perhaps? Of course, it could just be a really bad infection. I'm not a vet, so I don't really know. 
  I'm just trying to help because I really want to see your boy turn the corner here! 


Please let us know how things turn out on Wednesday. Continued vibes....
Thank you for this! I read thru the article and couldn't find exactly how to diagnosis, as it seems the parasites only show up in bloodwork every so often, but I will mention it to them since the symptoms are quite similar . Now a new hurdle... soon after arriving home last night, he began walking very strangely, having to stop and lie down. They gave him a dose of Mirtazipine, and although they say they've never seen side effects like this, I'm reading lots of similar reports online. I'm taking him back in this morning so they can monitor him. Yes, they did give him rehydration fluids yesterday, but mentioned giving him fluids specific to the potassium/sodium issue, and they have to be very careful to offer the perfect balance. I believe that is supposed to happen tomorrow, but honestly we went thru so much material that I've lost track. I don't want him to linger on and put him thru too much, but not even knowing yet what could be wrong, I want to do everything possible to help him. He is 16 years old, but as they said at the vet's office they have treated cats who are 25 years old, so he COULD have more years in him. Oh, they also cultured the wound/infection site to see if he may have something resistant to standard antibiotics. I believe that test should be back on Thursday. Will keep you posted, thanks again!
 

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I'm so sorry to read your latest couple of posts and will be sending 
for you all until you find out what's happening with your guy.  It is awful when you don't know what's going on and then new things start to happen that make you worry even more.  Relief you are able to get him to the vet quickly and they can do more monitoring as well as waiting for test results to come back.

My girls lived to (just before) 18 and 22, and had full and happy lives until they crossed the RB. We all want the best for our cats and I am very busy hoping that your guy's health improves so you can all enjoy lots of fur pensioner years too.  Very glad your vet has a positive and thorough approach to pensioner cat care.  
 
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summermh

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I'm so sorry to read your latest couple of posts and will be sending 
for you all until you find out what's happening with your guy.  It is awful when you don't know what's going on and then new things start to happen that make you worry even more.  Relief you are able to get him to the vet quickly and they can do more monitoring as well as waiting for test results to come back.

My girls lived to (just before) 18 and 22, and had full and happy lives until they crossed the RB. We all want the best for our cats and I am very busy hoping that your guy's health improves so you can all enjoy lots of fur pensioner years too.  Very glad your vet has a positive and thorough approach to pensioner cat care.  
Thanks so much! Noticing your profile pic now, your fur baby looks just like the one I've been referencing here... my baby's name is Mr. Grey
  They agree he had a reaction to the Mirtazipine, and he is staying there overnight so they can monitor and continue to get to the bottom of things. And good news for me... they get to do the syringe feeding
They are going to run the blood test to check for parasites. What's another $90, ha! Especially when you factor in we just spent around $1400 for hematoma surgery on another cat! Needless to say, it's never a question of "if" we'll spend the money, as they are our babies too 
 

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 for Mr Grey, I'm always happy to hear of other grey kitties. 
  Hope he's settled at the vet and not too traumatized when he comes home.  I haven;t had to syringe feed but would be terrified, and hate the idea of doing something the cat is so distressed about so totally understand that bit of relief! 

Is Mr. Grey the middle cat in your avatar? 
 
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summermh

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 for Mr Grey, I'm always happy to hear of other grey kitties. 
  Hope he's settled at the vet and not too traumatized when he comes home.  I haven;t had to syringe feed but would be terrified, and hate the idea of doing something the cat is so distressed about so totally understand that bit of relief! 

Is Mr. Grey the middle cat in your avatar? 
Yes, that's him! 
 

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My young cat Loki is suffering with stomatitis.  He is only two and can't eat or drink.  He has gone from 17lbs to 8 lbs.  Vet. has removed teeth that were most infected and steroid shots, antibiotics, and pain medication.  This is extremely painful condition.

I am at a loss.  On a vet. consultation by phone yesterday, she said put him down humanely.   He is suffering terribly and the expense has been in the thousands.  At first he was diagnosed with mega colon.  This was incorrect.

Perhaps, your cat has stomatitis.  If anyone has any suggestions, please respond.

Blessings,

Mimi
 
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summermh

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My young cat Loki is suffering with stomatitis.  He is only two and can't eat or drink.  He has gone from 17lbs to 8 lbs.  Vet. has removed teeth that were most infected and steroid shots, antibiotics, and pain medication.  This is extremely painful condition.

I am at a loss.  On a vet. consultation by phone yesterday, she said put him down humanely.   He is suffering terribly and the expense has been in the thousands.  At first he was diagnosed with mega colon.  This was incorrect.

Perhaps, your cat has stomatitis.  If anyone has any suggestions, please respond.

Blessings,

Mimi
I'm so sorry to hear you're going thru this. Our vet has ruled out gingivitis as being the source of Mr. Grey's weight loss. I wish I had some suggestions for you. Perhaps start a new thread with stomatitis as the subject will get some replies. You could also search on the term to read thru what others may have experienced. I certainly hope Loki recovers, he is far too young to be going thru all this.
 

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Hi Just Mimi. I agree with Summer H.  It is worth searching for information threads using stomatitis as your search word (assuming you haven't done this yet), and also starting your own new thread asking for help.  My cat has had stomatitis but he was lucky and has not been troubled with it for over a year now - he has other health issues which are probably related but thankfully his mouth is in reasonable condition just now.  I am attaching quite a technical article link here but it is useful to read, and also to ask your vet about in terms of the new treatments that are being discussed.  It may be that there are other options for young Loki and if your vet doesn't want to look in to them then a vet with greater experience in this area of cat care should be looked for?

http://www.dentalvets.co.uk/docs/FCGS-VPJuly12 NJarticle.pdf

Good luck, and do try posting a new thread. There are sadly lots of people using this site whose cats have stomatitis.
 
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So, here's what we learned. One kidney is doing more work than the other, based on the ultrasound view of the difference in size. For that reason, we're switching to the Royal Canin's Renal Support. He also has a 1.5cm mass on his adrenal gland. Extremely rare in cats. The specialist they contacted was very surprised, but said he would treat the same way as dogs... with surgery. In talking with our vet, we just don't see the value in this for a 16-year old cat. Yes, it could be a successful surgery, but it's also a very invasive one and has a high rate of complications. It has not metastasized that they can see (and they looked at all his organs on the ultrasound). They also said it's possible it's been there for years not causing any problems at all. However, it's also possible it's the reason he's not feeling well, and it could spread at any time. They could do a needle biopsy, but even with that, if the surgery isn't what we feel is the best option, what good would it really do to perform this test. He is home now, and they regulated his electrolytes with fluids. They also gave him a B12 injection and recommended I give one every week. Also recommended a potassium supplement every day since that's the mineral which was down. They didn't mention the test result on the feline infectious anemia, and I forgot to ask. Perhaps it wasn't back yet, or it was negative so didn't think to mention it.

I am certainly open to any opinions, suggestions, advice. Even after the last few days in the "hospital," he's definitely not the same cat he was before the bite/infection. As our vet said, sometimes things can be brewing, and it takes an "event" like that to tip the scales. As we all know, cats are master adapters until they just can't do it anymore. I'll never be ready to lose him, but certainly don't want to put him thru any more than he deserves 
 
 

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   Difficult news, I'm so sorry.  I think I would share your reservations about very invasive surgery, particularly with high rates of complications.  Perhaps seeing how he is with the B12 and potassium supplement will help you decide what you all want.  Hopefully he will pick up a little bit once he has these as well so you can enjoy him feeling a bit brighter for a while.  Easy to forget checking all results when you're getting information and taking it all in. I always seem to forget the first thing I was going to ask then have to phone up as soon as I get home.

I hope he's settled in now he's back home, and you are able to pamper him lots. 
 
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Update! Mr. Grey is doing so well!! He's now acting just like he was before the infamous cat bite... and EATING :-)  In addition, the "infectious anemia" culture came back POSITIVE today. So, we're going to start the Potassium supplement first, and, if he still seems well, we'll start the 3-week round of antibiotic to treat the anemia later this week. Thanks for all the advice, suggestions, and well wishes!! I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have him cuddling all night on the bed again... I've missed my boy :-)
 

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That is great news that he is his acting and eating normal again! 
So at this point, he's getting B12 and the potassium supplement?

Wow, I am a little surprised that the FIA test came back positive. When I had suggested it, I was truly taking a shot in the dark! Well, I guess it's better that you know so that it can be treated appropriately. 

For your future reference and research, here are the two threads about another cat on TCS that was diagnosed with FIA:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262816/new-and-need-advice

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263769/bubba-has-had-a-relapse
 

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Excellent to hear your boy is doing well, eating AND joining you on your bed for night time cuddles.  
 Hope the treatments go well and he stays strong.

 
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That is great news that he is his acting and eating normal again!  :clap: So at this point, he's getting B12 and the potassium supplement?

Wow, I am a little surprised that the FIA test came back positive. When I had suggested it, I was truly taking a shot in the dark! Well, I guess it's better that you know so that it can be treated appropriately. 

For your future reference and research, here are the two threads about another cat on TCS that was diagnosed with FIA:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262816/new-and-need-advice

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263769/bubba-has-had-a-relapse
He hasn't started either the potassium or the B12 yet, just picked those up today since they had to be specially ordered :-) I think the vet was surprised too about the anemia, as the only reason they tested for it is because I insisted! He said it's possible he's just a carrier, and it hasn't caused any symptoms, but we're going to treat regardless, of course. Thanks for those links!
 

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He hasn't started either the potassium or the B12 yet, just picked those up today since they had to be specially ordered :-) I think the vet was surprised too about the anemia, as the only reason they tested for it is because I insisted! He said it's possible he's just a carrier, and it hasn't caused any symptoms, but we're going to treat regardless, of course. Thanks for those links!
Keep us posted on his progress! Many vibes for your boy! 
 
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Keep us posted on his progress! Many vibes for your boy!  :vibes:
Thanks so much! My stubborn boy will NOT take his potassium supplement... tried clam juice and his favorite canned food. Hoping there's another way to get it down... ugh!
 
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