Munchie's Many Issues

Oh boy.  So today I was up at my dad's (retired vet) and was preparing some notes for the vet I work for on my Munchie boy.  He will be 7 years old on Feb 5th and he has 17 pages of medical history!   Among those when he was about 11 months old he was diagnosed with Bilateral Hip Dysplasia Severe in the left hip and mild in the right hip, then not even a week later both his patellas were grade 4 and he required surgery on them.  He has chronic upper respiratory infections 3-4 per year, has had 2 bouts with urinary crystals, and he has feline asthma.  He has been Leukemia/FIV tested twice.  Once as a kitten then once at about 2-3 years old due to all of his health issues.  I have been putting him on the back burner while dealing with DeeJay and Mini Dee's issues, but it's his turn now. 

So he is going to work with me on Tuesday and these are all the issues we are addressing:

1-  Chronic Respiratory Infection been going on for months.  Treated with 10 days or Amoxi, then 2 weeks od Doxycycline.  Takes Lysine 500mg twice ad ay.  Sneezes green snot, sometimes it is clear.  Reverse sneezes, and has machine gun sneezing (sneezes like 20-30 times in a row)  He sounds congested and raspy when he breathes

2-  Asthma, needs possibly inhaler increase or change and/or Depo Medrol shot he has been have 2-3 asthma attacks a week even on Flovent Inhaler twice a day

3-  Something for Arthritis in hips/knees (Probably going to do Adequan injections) going to ask if I can take them with me and do them at home as he poops, pees and vomits in the car EVERY time.

4-  Limping right front leg off and on but chronic

5-  Always acts like he hasn't had food for a week (on a reduced calorie diet) not losing weight, Thyroid problem?

6-  Needs his Vaccines but will probably wait until respiratory clears up

7-  Microchip Implant?  Not sure I am going to do this as the 1st one he had abscessed and popped out about 6 months later, so still debating on this

Can you tell he was a rescue from a Siamese Kitten Mill?  Anyone else dealt with any of these issues?  Have any tips? 

ETA:  Okay he has lost weight 1# in about 6 weeks is that an okay rate of loss or should he be losing more?  You can see pictures in this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/268764/eating-less-calories-gaining-weight

Wow I'm so sorry. You're dealing with so much. I wish you both the best.
Stephen

First of all, for the respiratory issue, ask the vet to do a culture & sensitivity test to determine what's causing the ongoing problem.  The culture will tell them if it's viral or bacterial.  The sensitivity will tell the vet which medication will most effectively cure it.  What you're going through with the respiratory issue is similar to what we went through with Daisy.  Finally found out it was a pseudomas infection and once we got her on the right med, cleared up.  Getting it cleared up will also most likely help the asthma problem.

For the arthritis, have you tried anything like Cosequin?  That might be worth a try.

stephanietx said:

 
First of all, for the respiratory issue, ask the vet to do a culture & sensitivity test to determine what's causing the ongoing problem.  The culture will tell them if it's viral or bacterial.  The sensitivity will tell the vet which medication will most effectively cure it.  What you're going through with the respiratory issue is similar to what we went through with Daisy.  Finally found out it was a pseudomas infection and once we got her on the right med, cleared up.  Getting it cleared up will also most likely help the asthma problem.

For the arthritis, have you tried anything like Cosequin?  That might be worth a try.

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That's what we are going to do, he has a c/s about once or twice a year depending on if the normal meds treat it or not.  He has had pseudamonas, mycoplasma, bordetella bronchiseptica, and chlamydia over the years.  He has been on Cosequin since first diagnosed when he was 11 months old.  I am going to add Zeel to his regimen as well (I give it to my cat DeeJay) it's homeopathic but helps a lot with arthritis.  I recently also started him on Fish Oil, but am probably going to switch to Krill Oil since he has such issues.  I have been reading about Hyaluronic Acid (sp?) that is supposed to really help with arthritis as well. 

Ugh! Munchie is at the vet with me today. They ran a full comprehensive blood panel and expected his wbc to be elevated, it was normal. He has also been limping on on of his front legs, the vet said it seems like one of his legs is bigger than the other.....so we are doing xrays to see whats up with that as well as xrays of his chest. I am trying not to think of the possibilities such as osteosarcoma or something like that with his leg. I will post an update after work.

Wow. I hope Munchie gets better soon.

OMG, so got lamblasted today with his xrays.  SEVERE hip dysplasia in the one hip he has NO acetebulium or whatever it is, it's completely gone, so he needs to have FHO Surgery.  Then his front legs he has severe arthritis in one and since his hips are shot and his knees have arthritis he is over compensating on his only good leg.  Then his heart has ride sided enlargement and is 'squishy' looking, it's not the normal shape in the least bit.  He also has fluid around it.  NOT at ALL what I was expecting.  I am just floored by this.  His bloodwork was pretty good.  The vet told me he is in extreme pain with all of his joint issues and with his heart I really needed to consider his quality of life and hinted at euthanasia being the best option.  Um, Munchie is the happiest cat I own, he LOVES life, he eats like a pig, has to be fed separate from my other cats at feeding time so he doesn't force them out of the way of the food.  He purrs almost constantly.  His only quality of life issue right now is his breathing (asthma) and his respiratory infection.  He has never been a very active cat, he plays now and then but he is a pretty lazy boy, has always been that way.  We have done xrays on him over the years I can't remember when the last one was but NO signs of Heart issues.  It does run in his family though.  I lost his 1/2 brother to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy at 9 months old and his other 1/2 brother outgrew patent ductus arteriosis that he had as a kitten, with the help of NSAIDS (experimental of course but it worked).  I am waiting for my dad (retired vet) to get home so I can take Munchie up to him and get his opinion on his xrays.  I am just beyond floored by this news today. Munchie will be 7 years old on February 5th.  I haven't had a cat with a heart condition before so this is all new to me.  We can have an ultrasound done to determine exactly what is wrong, but not sure what that would do other than tell me exactly what is going on, the treatment will probably be the same no matter what.  So will post more after my dad has a chance to review his xrays and stuff and let you know what his opinion is. 

Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well - there are treatments for heart disease! jcat will hopefully chime in on that. :heart2:

As to the arthritis - there are pain meds! And the krill oil may help - it is helping our Flowerbelle, though she's facing nothing like your Munchie. :rub: But you might want to have a read through this thread - it's the combination of things that can help - they all work together, and the OP found an option that combined all of the glucosamine/chondroitin/msm/hyaluronic acid/cetyl myristoleate... http://www.thecatsite.com/t/265881/best-remedy-for-feline-arthritis

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I am a MUCH happier mama now.  I just took him up to see my dad.  He does not have a heart murmur or a rapid heart rate, so the heart is NOT causing any symptoms at the moment.  He thinks the fluid in the lungs is related to the Respiratory issue that has been going on for several months.  He does have severe arthritis in hips and one of his front legs.  He said there is a possibilty that the front leg could have cancer as there is new bone growth and the bone is larger than the other leg.  But that could also be due to arthritis.  He does need to have hip surgery but at this point it's not worth the risk on the heart for now.  So our plan of action is to put him on the Zeel (homeopathic remedy for arthritis), Tramadol, Buprenex for pain.  Also adding Krill Oil as right now he is just on Fish Oil.  I am going to research other remedies for arthritis as well.  Enalapril for his heart, and Ciprofloxacin for the infection.  I love the fact that my dad understands that funds are tight so wiil write me scripts for walmart';s $4 list LOL.  He wants to re-evaluate with more xrays in a few months to see how it's doing.  He said that I could get the ultrasound done ($300 with my discount) but all that's going to tell us is what it is in the heart that is wrong.  The treatment for heart conditions is pretty much all the same so that really doesn't matter all that much.    We are going to switch his steroid inhaler to the Beclomethasone ones as the one he's on now isn't working as well and he's already on a high dose of it.  So overall I think we have a good plan of attack.  I am much relieved.  He did say that if he isn't showing improvement in his limping etc in a few months that we should consider euthanasia.  But also to evaluate his quality of life as well. 

:heart2: :heart2: :heart2: Well, thank goodness for some happier news! he'll be with you for a LONG time, not months. :rub:

Sending some love to Munchie...

And kudos to you, it was almost mind boggling just reading all the ailments!

Just thought I'd mention bromelain and coconut oil are known anti-inflammatories. The coconut oil addresses many different issues, too.

http://coconutoil.com/

Jamie had HCM, which was first spotted through a blood test (the Cardiopet proBNP Test). He got ultrasounds a couple of times, basically to track how much worse his condition was getting, but that really didn't change the treatment; bouts of congestive heart failure did. He started out just getting an ACE inhibitor, but after his first battle with CHF roughly a year after he was diagnosed a beta blocker, diuretic and a tiny bit of aspirin were added. He had major problems with the diuretics (different brands of pills and injections) that were tried, so he ended up just getting them at the first sign of CHF. He would stop eating when he had to take them, and also had to be given potassium supplements.

Mega for Munchie!

What a host of problems. Poor you and poor kitty having to deal with this. I have some experiences with some of these issues, but not all of them.

I find it so ironic that my cat named "Murchie" (similar name to Munchie) has almost the same kinds of chronic upper respiratory symptoms as your kitty has. We call him a "snuffler".

Major reason for chronic upper respiratory is thought to be this (http://www.icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/chronic-nasal-discharge-snuffles-cat). Murchie has had this his entire life and this is likely what goes on. When he gets a flareup, I turn to antibiotics as in this case the issues are often due to bacterial infection due to the extensive internal damage in the nasal passages etc.

"Post-viral or idiopathic rhinitis – Acute upper respiratory infections with FCV or FHV are common in cats, especially young cats. The severity of these infections varies greatly between cats, but in some cases (especially with FHV infection) the viral infection may do permanent damage to the delicate mucosal lining of the nasal cavities and can also damage the underlying bone. This may result in permanent changes that leave the nasal cavity susceptible to long-term recurrent secondary infection with bacteria. This is termed post-viral rhinitis (nasal inflammation), and this is thought to be one of the common causes of chronic rhinitis in cats. In severe cases, the bacterial infection can spread to the underlying bone and cause an osteomyelitis (infection within the bone). The sinuses in the bones around the nose can also be affected in chronic rhinitis, so the term rhino-sinusitis is sometimes used. How many cases of non-specific or idiopathic rhinitis are due to post-viral changes are not known, but it is suspected that this may account for a substantial proportion."

Thank you guys for all the input and support.   My head is still spinning trying to take it all in.  I mean really spinning.  I just feel so bad.  I don't know how but the animals who need the most help tend to find me.  I have so many with issues even if I think they are normal, issues are popping up.  I am really nervous as my other cat Tiggles, her mom died during a spay due to the cardiomyopathy so now I'm freaking that she might have it too.  Munchie is not happy with me, I had to chase him down this morning to get him to eat breakfast which NEVER happens he is usually underfoot screaming for his food.  I think he thought he was going back to the vet again.  He was at the vet so much when he was younger for complications with his patella surgery that he literally freaks when he has to go.  I am researching supplements and other things to add to his ever growing regimen.  Right now he is on 4 pills and 1 liquid.  He is not a happy camper about that. 

cprcheetah said:

 
Thank you guys for all the input and support.   My head is still spinning trying to take it all in.  I mean really spinning.  I just feel so bad. 

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I was going to ask how you are holding up, but I sort of have the question answered here. You must feel overwhelmed.

Scarlett 001 said:

 
I was going to ask how you are holding up, but I sort of have the question answered here. You must feel overwhelmed.

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Very overwhelmed.  I was thankful for a very busy day at work today which helped keep my mind off of it.  My blood pressure is up today (am on meds for it) but I have a high blood pressure headache at the moment.  Probably just stress of thinking about all of his issues.   The vet at work today was a little bit more understanding towards my views and towards my decision to treat my cat and make him comfortable.  We are adding a Diuretic to his regimen.  So I'm going to have to watch his potassium levels. 

It is good to be forced to think about other things. I think that a lot of us on here have to be careful about overloading our minds to the point where we won't be able to function as well for our kitties. I have learned how to do my very best for them, but to forgive myself when I am not perfect in everything that I do. As long as I am responsible and loving during all of this chaos, I can expect no more of myself. Gosh, I am sounding like a self-help book here!!  

Just wanted to say that I have been following this thread from my phone the past several days. I don't really have anything to add, but am sending mega vibes your way for poor Munchie. 

And, of course, lots of support for your continued patience and strength to get through all this. It's a lot to deal with. 

I am so sorry to hear about Munchie, I am not able to offer any advice but wanted to offer my support. I know you have a lot on your plate right now but I do hope you are taking care of yourself while caring for Munchie.