Artie very sick after biopsy / Update!

He'll probably always have good days and less good days with his food intake. As long as it averages out ok there's no need to worry. I know it's hard, but try to chill a bit. It really seems like the worst is over now ( :cross: ). Have a little faith in him

Try crunching up some of the NV kibble and put it on top of the canned and slightly mix it in. That may trick him to eat.

Hi People!

Another update and lots more questions and concerns....sigh

Artie was doing so great on his food intake! I say was because over the past week, it has changed drastically.

TheIMVet wanted to cut back on his meds because he was gaining weigh while eating a combination of rabbit and pork...Pride Rockstar Rabbit and NV LTD ingredient Dry Rabbit. 

Two weeks ago, He discontinued the Cerenia and Zofran, no issues!! 

A week ago he stopped the Reglan. He started getting constipated, so of course he would not eat. I

resolved the constipation, however he is still not eating.

He has lost almost all the weight he has gained.

sigh....

This has been happening since Sunday. He was up to 3 small cans of food per day with a good amount of dry.

Now I am lucky if I can get over a can in him. He is refusing his dry. He is also sleeping a lot. 

He is a very fussy eater, used to a rotation of food. His normal span for a new food is 2 weeks. It is over 2 weeks, so I am surprised he lasted this long with the rabbit. 

He was also swallowing a lot.

I did call the IMVet on Wednesday. She thought his lack of appetite was related to constipation. It has not changed. 

I am about to call her again today.

I broke out the kitty finish today-Solid Gold sardines and tuna.. He ate half a can at one sitting!! I am wondering if he is getting into his fussy phase???? Artie is stubborn enough to starve himself before he eats a food he does not want

He has not vomited in 6 weeks--that is a good thing! He was vomiting every day.

He has an appointment to see the IMVet in 2 weeks. 

He is also fighting me very fiercely with his medications. I think I may have scratched his eye, with my cuff of my sleeve! It has been tearing ever since. There is no redness to it, But it does weep.. No colored discharge. 

That was Wednesday. Yesterday, it was sunny and I noticed him winking it a lot. Just that one eye. You can see the tear stain on the side of his nose- and he was shaking his head a lot; the tears went flying. 

It was still tearing during the night. I have to give him his meds soon, so I will take a better look at it. I do have an appointment with a Vet at the regular office, for this afternoon. They said I can cancel it if he seems better..

Issue is, it is his eye and if there is a corneal abrasion, they do not want to wait too long...and the week end is upcoming. It would have to be at an emergency vet. In addition, I feel guilty for doing this to him...

Sigh, I feel like a novice with all of this--which I am...

My last cat was diabetic and I was able to understand that better than all of this. And she was fussy with food, but the shots were easy enough. She never had any other issues though...

Getting really stressed about all of this. 

If anyone can offer any advice I will take it.. I am at my wits end. I also had a lot of stress this week, so my mind is absolutely frazzled. I cannot think straight at this point.

Thank any and all who read this and/or respond....

It sounds like he is having a motility issue which can be caused by the thickened intestines from IBD.  Reglan works by increasing muscle contractions in the upper digestive system which helps with the stomach empting and keeping things moving on through. 

Unfortunately diet alone does not always completely resolve IBD and it does tend to flare, subside and then flare again.  I know a lot of people including vets think that diet change alone will resolve IBD but it doesn't always.  I can verify that from personal experience.  I am a veteran of 6 years of vet hopping and diet change just trying to get an IBD diagnoses.

Denice,

Thank you so much!! You know exactly how I feel!!

What do you suggest? I left a voice mail for the IMVet before 8:30 this morning. 

I was specific in my message..I said what I had posted here. 

Do you think he needs to be on Cerenia long term?

I know the Reglan cannot be taken long term.

Would a probiotic help, just in your opinion?

Or slippery elm bark?

I was wondering.. Not that I would automatically dose him with the Cerenia without consulting with the Vet first. 

What do you think could help with a motility issue? I am pretty certain he does have that...

I honestly don't think the Cerenia works on the motility, since it's an anti-emetic.  But there ARE other motility drugs out there, mainly used by kitties with megacolon.  Not sure if you really want to go there yet .

As far as food goes, I see Artie is a beef lover by re-reading you entire thread.  My girl is a beef lover too.  BUT, I also see you are TRYING to keep it to just 2 proteins.  IF, that is not possible, but you want to stay away from chicken, which is a major allergen to many cats, I might suggest Wellness Core Beef, Venison and Lamb combo (my beef eater loves it - on and off ) and also Merrick's Surf and Turf. (both of these foods are on the "approved IBD list" **   The first day I introduced the Surf and Turf to my VERY picky girl, she ate 2.2 oz in one sitting.  She normally eats about .5 oz per meal!  I was over the moon!  And she, like Artie, would truly starve herself rather than eat something that doesn't suite her highness

But also, there are still lots of foods containing rabbit out there to try, they just aren't single protein, that I can find.  I and Love and You, Hounds and Gatos, Addiction, and of course, there are raw choices, which ARE novel proteins

**http://www.ibdkitties.net/wetfood.html

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
I honestly don't think the Cerenia works on the motility, since it's an anti-emetic.  But there ARE other motility drugs out there, mainly used by kitties with megacolon.  Not sure if you really want to go there yet

.

As far as food goes, I see Artie is a beef lover by re-reading you entire thread.  My girl is a beef lover too.  BUT, I also see you are TRYING to keep it to just 2 proteins.  IF, that is not possible, but you want to stay away from chicken, which is a major allergen to many cats, I might suggest Wellness Core Beef, Venison and Lamb combo (my beef eater loves it - on and off

) and also Merrick's Surf and Turf. (both of these foods are on the "approved IBD list" **   The first day I introduced the Surf and Turf to my VERY picky girl, she ate 2.2 oz in one sitting.  She normally eats about .5 oz per meal!  I was over the moon!  And she, like Artie, would truly starve herself rather than eat something that doesn't suite her highness

But also, there are still lots of foods containing rabbit out there to try, they just aren't single protein, that I can find.  I and Love and You, Hounds and Gatos, Addiction, and of course, there are raw choices, which ARE novel proteins

**http://www.ibdkitties.net/wetfood.html

Click to expand...

Oh, I have tried those brands in the past!

all of them!!

I have Hound and Gatos in the drawer....I have tried Addiction in the past. I even have Soulistic lamb and Wereuva Lamb and duck...I have the Meadow brand with the buffalo.. I have tried venison, I even tried kangaroo years ago. even mussels..I have tried venison....Have some of these in the kitchen, just sitting on the shelf.

I have not tried raw...I am not the type to do so...sorry....ARtie free feeds, so I could not keep it out for him. He has many small meals a day..

Thanks for trying...I am at my wits end with him..

BTW, since avoiding chicken, he has not vomited!!  That is a good thing to know..

Where is he at with the steroid and is it  prednisolone? 

Artie is taking 0.5 cc of it once a day. yes it is the 'l' one pednisolone....

about 1 cc pf pepcid per day..(if I can get it all in him, and if he does not spit it out)..

Left a messaege for the specialist. I will re-call tomorrow. She is working Saturday.

Artie, the little devil, ate an entire small can of sardines with tuna today!! It is Solid Gold Cat food....brat...

He is still avoiding the rabbit....

such a brat....

Artie may be one of those kitties that wants variety.  I think all kitties will refuse food that they don't want until they make themselves sick, very sick.

Patches takes 2 1/2 milligrams of Prednisolone daily.  He was on 10 mg a day when he started on it and was very sick.  He was then on 5 mg a day.  He now takes 2 1/2 milligrams a day.  You will have to ask your vet what your kitties dosage is in milligrams.  There is no set conversion from cc's to mgs because it's the cc's is volume and the milligrams is a measure of mass.   They can be converted but you  have to know the density of the liquid.

Yes that is what I was trying to convey to the specialist.!! Thank you! 

I think she is the type that wants to try things out her way before she admits defeat..in other words. "by the book"

but maybe not completely. 

She returned my phone call tonight.

Artie is going back on the reglan for a while longer. I am to call her in a week. She also prescribed a probiotic..It begins with a Pro...(?) 

I will pick them up tomorrow...

He is really holding out for different food. He is not going to get it tonight. I will stay with the rabbit for another day or 2....(fingers crossed, I hope).....

Artiemom said:

 

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
I honestly don't think the Cerenia works on the motility, since it's an anti-emetic.  But there ARE other motility drugs out there, mainly used by kitties with megacolon.  Not sure if you really want to go there yet

.

As far as food goes, I see Artie is a beef lover by re-reading you entire thread.  My girl is a beef lover too.  BUT, I also see you are TRYING to keep it to just 2 proteins.  IF, that is not possible, but you want to stay away from chicken, which is a major allergen to many cats, I might suggest Wellness Core Beef, Venison and Lamb combo (my beef eater loves it - on and off

) and also Merrick's Surf and Turf. (both of these foods are on the "approved IBD list" **   The first day I introduced the Surf and Turf to my VERY picky girl, she ate 2.2 oz in one sitting.  She normally eats about .5 oz per meal!  I was over the moon!  And she, like Artie, would truly starve herself rather than eat something that doesn't suite her highness

But also, there are still lots of foods containing rabbit out there to try, they just aren't single protein, that I can find.  I and Love and You, Hounds and Gatos, Addiction, and of course, there are raw choices, which ARE novel proteins

**http://www.ibdkitties.net/wetfood.html

Click to expand...

Oh, I have tried those brands in the past!

all of them!!

I have Hound and Gatos in the drawer....I have tried Addiction in the past. I even have Soulistic lamb and Wereuva Lamb and duck...I have the Meadow brand with the buffalo.. I have tried venison, I even tried kangaroo years ago. even mussels..I have tried venison....Have some of these in the kitchen, just sitting on the shelf.

I have not tried raw...I am not the type to do so...sorry....ARtie free feeds, so I could not keep it out for him. He has many small meals a day..

Thanks for trying...I am at my wits end with him..

BTW, since avoiding chicken, he has not vomited!!  That is a good thing to know..

Click to expand...

Just wanted to  mention also that my little miss picky will absolutely LOVE something one day, then refuse it the next.  What I do then is set it on the back burner for just a few days, then bring it out again, and she will LOVE it again   (so fickle)  It's like a whole new yummy food to her.  I just know I cannot overload her with it.

Also, on the raw, they make freeze dried, which is actually what I use (now) and so it's like kibble.  I use it for my middle of the night feedings with my girl.  She's a kidney cat and needs to eat every few hours or throws up that frothy stuff, so I keep a small bag of freeze dried raw in a basket on my headboard.  When she wakes me up, I give her a couple of pieces and she's good to go for another couple of hours.  As long as Artie drinks water to make up for it, that should work.  For rabbit, you probably would have to get the DOG variety vs cat, but in Stella and Chewy's they add taurine, so it's ok to use, especially since it's not his main source of food. 

It has been such a week for me and Artie. I was very stressed due to some things which happened. None of them my fault, but very stressful to deal with. Hopefully the major one is now a thing of the past. 

Yesterday I took Artie to the reg Vet because his eye was still tearing. 

She put a tint in his eye and found an abrasion vs a tiny ulcer starting!!!

What else is going to happen to this cat????

He now has to have meds in his eye 3 times a day!! 

I know I absolutely cannot handle the eye ointment. She gave him some drops in place.  Surprisingly, He is very good at taking them! so far, at least...

The Vet went on to explain that he probably has herpes!!!!!!!!   I am going to pull my hair out!! 

She said that 80-90% of cats currently have the herpes virus in them.

His eye has to be re-checked in 10 days. We agreed the IMVet can do that when we visit her. 

So Artie has early kidney disease, iFLUTD, bad teeth, stress, IBD a heart murmur and now herpes!!!  an I missing something???  All of this in 3 years!!! Boy, did I adopt a sick cat! I have only had him for 3 years!! I still think he started getting sick and that is why he was given up. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe it was the sad story they told the foster mom.. or maybe it was from all the stress he had by having 4 homes in 3 months before settling in with me. I know stress can do so many things to the body.

HIs medication list keeps getting longer and longer... Now to go out and get him some l-lysine!

The specialist returned my call last night. She re-prescribed the Reglan, for at least a week, if not  longer. She also suggested trying a probiotic, call Probiable. I have to pick those up tomorrow. I was exhausted today and too much traffic up in that area. 

As far as his food: Artie is a little brat!!! As soon as we got home from the Vet, he went right over to the Pride rabbit and ate!!!! He ate more of it later. He even ate an entire can during the night!! He also ate 1/3 of a large can of it this morning!!! I think he just some more of it! He is a spoiled brat!!!!

I do not know if it is helping, but someone told me to add some slippery elm bark to his food. I have been doing so since Friday night. 

thanks again, I will keep you posted...

I am glad that he is in a loving home where he is getting all the care he needs.

It could well be that someone gave him up because the these medical issues were beginning.  Unfortunately not everyone has the financial means even with going into debt to pay the vet bills that go with multiple health issues.

@Artiemom -- i'm sorry to read that your artie has the eye issue to treat now too. but that's great that your boy doesn't mind the eye drops.

i wanted to reply too, to let you know (if you didn't already) that with l-lysine pills there's an ingredient you don't want to be in them -- can't remember the name of that ingredient now. my snick was taking l-lysine every day while she was on prednisone a ways back. i'm very lucky that my girl doesn't mind being pilled in the least. now, liquid meds are a completely different story. snick absolutely hates liquid meds, so i've always made sure the vet is giving us the pill form of any med snick needs.

Jen, thanks!!  I am going to look at a shop called, "The Vitamin Shoppe". I will look for the purest, simplest formula I can find. As you know, Artie hates any medication of any kind. Pills he spits out, even in an empty gel cap. Liquids he spits out, or fights me so much he kind of chokes on it...

Denice, I do not have the financial means to afford all of this. Now, not having insurance is going to really hit. I am on a limited income. I just cannot see an animal suffer, or be sick. 

I do know his last owner was really upset at giving him up.. so who knows.

There has to be a reason for me to have been have him. 

ok tried posting and it disappered..

Jen, thanks for the information. I plan to buy the l-lysine at a shop called "The Vitamin Shoppe", or at Rite-Aid (GNC version). I will look for the purest form of it.

Denice, thank you for the compliment, but I am on a limited income. Not having insurance is really going to break me...

I cannot see an animal suffer or be sick, especially one that I love. There has to be  reason why Artie, with all his ailments,  was sent to me.  

Yes, the slippery elm bark most definitely helps. Another one of nature's miracles. If you may encounter financial difficulty, these folks may be able to help.

Artiemom said:

 
It has been such a week for me and Artie. I was very stressed due to some things which happened. None of them my fault, but very stressful to deal with. Hopefully the major one is now a thing of the past. 

Yesterday I took Artie to the reg Vet because his eye was still tearing. 

She put a tint in his eye and found an abrasion vs a tiny ulcer starting!!!

What else is going to happen to this cat????

He now has to have meds in his eye 3 times a day!! 

I know I absolutely cannot handle the eye ointment. She gave him some drops in place.  Surprisingly, He is very good at taking them! so far, at least...

The Vet went on to explain that he probably has herpes!!!!!!!!   I am going to pull my hair out!! 

She said that 80-90% of cats currently have the herpes virus in them.

His eye has to be re-checked in 10 days. We agreed the IMVet can do that when we visit her. 

So Artie has early kidney disease, iFLUTD, bad teeth, stress, IBD a heart murmur and now herpes!!!  an I missing something???  All of this in 3 years!!! Boy, did I adopt a sick cat! I have only had him for 3 years!! I still think he started getting sick and that is why he was given up. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe it was the sad story they told the foster mom.. or maybe it was from all the stress he had by having 4 homes in 3 months before settling in with me. I know stress can do so many things to the body.

HIs medication list keeps getting longer and longer... Now to go out and get him some l-lysine!

The specialist returned my call last night. She re-prescribed the Reglan, for at least a week, if not  longer. She also suggested trying a probiotic, call Probiable. I have to pick those up tomorrow. I was exhausted today and too much traffic up in that area. 

As far as his food: Artie is a little brat!!! As soon as we got home from the Vet, he went right over to the Pride rabbit and ate!!!! He ate more of it later. He even ate an entire can during the night!! He also ate 1/3 of a large can of it this morning!!! I think he just some more of it! He is a spoiled brat!!!!

I do not know if it is helping, but someone told me to add some slippery elm bark to his food. I have been doing so since Friday night. 

thanks again, I will keep you posted...

Click to expand...

I was wondering if you found the slippery elm bark at The Vitamin Shoppe and is it in a powder form? Do you just give it to him in his canned food? I have not been able to find if yet and would like to give it a try on Peaches. Lately she has been throwing up hairballs every morning. I already tried giving her pepcid but because I was putting it her food she stopped eating canned food for a while.

I buy mine on iherb.com . I ONLY buy organic powder and I would suggest that to anyone because of the Ditch elm disease from several years ago.

He won't eat it in his food so I mix:

1/4 tsp organic slipper elm bark powder
1/4 tsp digestive enzymes
1 capsule probiotic
1 capsule egg yolk lethicin
1/2 capsule S. Boulardii probiotic (optional)
1.0ml Omega 3 pet oil
10cc water

And make that it in a slurry, draw up in to a syringe, let sit 5 minutes and slowly syringe it in his mouth. Wait 30 minutes and give him his evening meal.

Morning and evening he gets 1 Vet's Best hairball remedy tablet broken in to pieces and he LOVES it.

I also give him a small meal again around 11.00pm-midnight followed by 1/4 Pepcid AC (must be original strength)