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- Mar 19, 2014
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Hello all,
I have tried to have a look for similar threads but couldn't find one as it's hard to know what to search for! Apologies if one exists and I've missed it.
We have a 12.5 year old little rescue cat named Lyla. We adopted her from an overcrowded shelter 18 months ago and she had a terrible case of Calicivirus. I wrote about it here http://www.thecatsite.com/t/274933/treating-calicivirus-any-advice but since then, having been transitioned to a combination of Almo Nature Organic wet food, and Applaws and Orijen Regional Red kibbles, we have managed to keep her comfortable with visits to the vet every 6 weeks for cortisone shots. I hate to use these, as I know it acts as an immuno-suppressant in the long term, but it's the only thing that helps in the short term, and we are just trying to prioritise keeping her comfortable and pain free for as long as possible. We tried a course of Interferon treatment, which didn't work, and she had a lot of teeth extracted, but the anaesthetic was pretty hard on her, especially the intubation, and she was coughing until she made herself sick for weeks after the op, so we are keen to avoid further anaesthetic unless completely necessary to improve her quality of life. We've also tried 1-TDC esterified fatty acids complex supplements, Plaque Off powder, and everything else I've read about, from drops that go in her drinking water to Dermoscent Omega 6 oil topical treatments. I know that a complete mouth extraction would be another option, but to be completely honest I don't have 100% trust in the only dental specialist vet who is local to us (we live in Geneva, Switzerland) and as I said, the extractions were really hard on her so we would have to weigh up the pros and cons very carefully. At the moment, the cortisone is helping her live a normal and happy life, or so we thought...
Two weeks ago, she had a very strange episode in which out of nowhere, she just started howling and crying, really loudly, like she was in great pain. She didn't seem to recognise us, her pupils were really large, and so we just tried to sit near her (but not too near her) calmly while she was having this episode. After five minutes, the crying stopped, and she went back to her usual self, though she slept a bit more than usual that day. We were really worried and confused so took her in to the vet, who checked her over and took some bloods. He couldn't find anything in the physical examination, so said that it could possibly be a sign of hypertension, and told us to keep an eye on her, but said he thought it was likely to just be a bit of a senility issue, and said it was hard to say more without any further symptoms to work from. The bloods all came back "normal" and since she had returned to her usual self, we took her home and everything carried on as normal.
But she has just had another of these episodes this morning. I was in the room the whole time, so got to witness the whole thing. It came on pretty suddenly, and she just seems like she is in great discomfort. The yowling meow is different to anything we have ever heard from her before (though the same meow as the last episode). It's a really low, long meow, really mournful, and it was so hard to see her like that! Her usual meow is much higher pitched, much shorter, and much quieter. She didn't want to be touched, but since she didn't go and hide under the bed (like she used to when she had terrible stomatitis mouth pain) I took that as a sign to stay in the room with her but to keep my distance and give her space. I noticed that at one point she seemed to have a little bit of trouble with her back legs, although this could just have been because she was in pain and feeling generally uncoordinated. Just like last time, after a few minutes, it passed, and she straightaway went to her food bowls to devour some of her breakfast. This makes me think that the episode isn't related to her mouth, as she is usually much more nervous about eating when she has had mouth pain.
Sorry for the long post, but I guess my question is: has anyone had anything similar with their cats? I'm very confused because the bloodwork is apparently 'normal', she's eating fine, not vomiting, doesn't seem to be drinking or peeing more than usual (although I will start measuring how many ml she drinks from today). In the past, when she has had severe pain she has hidden away, but she's not hiding during these episodes. I think her sight and hearing are ok - I certainly haven't noticed any deterioration here. She does seem particularly hungry, and is finishing her portions quite quickly rather than grazing throughout the day like she usually does, but this is the only difference I can notice (the cortisone makes her want to eat a lot, so we have to weigh out her portions carefully to make sure we don't end up having to deal with diabetes on top of her stomatitis/calici issues). I wish the little ninja could talk and tell me what's going on! But if anyone has any advice, it would be most appreciated. I just want to make sure she's as comfortable as possible.
Many thanks in advance,
Jade
I have tried to have a look for similar threads but couldn't find one as it's hard to know what to search for! Apologies if one exists and I've missed it.
We have a 12.5 year old little rescue cat named Lyla. We adopted her from an overcrowded shelter 18 months ago and she had a terrible case of Calicivirus. I wrote about it here http://www.thecatsite.com/t/274933/treating-calicivirus-any-advice but since then, having been transitioned to a combination of Almo Nature Organic wet food, and Applaws and Orijen Regional Red kibbles, we have managed to keep her comfortable with visits to the vet every 6 weeks for cortisone shots. I hate to use these, as I know it acts as an immuno-suppressant in the long term, but it's the only thing that helps in the short term, and we are just trying to prioritise keeping her comfortable and pain free for as long as possible. We tried a course of Interferon treatment, which didn't work, and she had a lot of teeth extracted, but the anaesthetic was pretty hard on her, especially the intubation, and she was coughing until she made herself sick for weeks after the op, so we are keen to avoid further anaesthetic unless completely necessary to improve her quality of life. We've also tried 1-TDC esterified fatty acids complex supplements, Plaque Off powder, and everything else I've read about, from drops that go in her drinking water to Dermoscent Omega 6 oil topical treatments. I know that a complete mouth extraction would be another option, but to be completely honest I don't have 100% trust in the only dental specialist vet who is local to us (we live in Geneva, Switzerland) and as I said, the extractions were really hard on her so we would have to weigh up the pros and cons very carefully. At the moment, the cortisone is helping her live a normal and happy life, or so we thought...
Two weeks ago, she had a very strange episode in which out of nowhere, she just started howling and crying, really loudly, like she was in great pain. She didn't seem to recognise us, her pupils were really large, and so we just tried to sit near her (but not too near her) calmly while she was having this episode. After five minutes, the crying stopped, and she went back to her usual self, though she slept a bit more than usual that day. We were really worried and confused so took her in to the vet, who checked her over and took some bloods. He couldn't find anything in the physical examination, so said that it could possibly be a sign of hypertension, and told us to keep an eye on her, but said he thought it was likely to just be a bit of a senility issue, and said it was hard to say more without any further symptoms to work from. The bloods all came back "normal" and since she had returned to her usual self, we took her home and everything carried on as normal.
But she has just had another of these episodes this morning. I was in the room the whole time, so got to witness the whole thing. It came on pretty suddenly, and she just seems like she is in great discomfort. The yowling meow is different to anything we have ever heard from her before (though the same meow as the last episode). It's a really low, long meow, really mournful, and it was so hard to see her like that! Her usual meow is much higher pitched, much shorter, and much quieter. She didn't want to be touched, but since she didn't go and hide under the bed (like she used to when she had terrible stomatitis mouth pain) I took that as a sign to stay in the room with her but to keep my distance and give her space. I noticed that at one point she seemed to have a little bit of trouble with her back legs, although this could just have been because she was in pain and feeling generally uncoordinated. Just like last time, after a few minutes, it passed, and she straightaway went to her food bowls to devour some of her breakfast. This makes me think that the episode isn't related to her mouth, as she is usually much more nervous about eating when she has had mouth pain.
Sorry for the long post, but I guess my question is: has anyone had anything similar with their cats? I'm very confused because the bloodwork is apparently 'normal', she's eating fine, not vomiting, doesn't seem to be drinking or peeing more than usual (although I will start measuring how many ml she drinks from today). In the past, when she has had severe pain she has hidden away, but she's not hiding during these episodes. I think her sight and hearing are ok - I certainly haven't noticed any deterioration here. She does seem particularly hungry, and is finishing her portions quite quickly rather than grazing throughout the day like she usually does, but this is the only difference I can notice (the cortisone makes her want to eat a lot, so we have to weigh out her portions carefully to make sure we don't end up having to deal with diabetes on top of her stomatitis/calici issues). I wish the little ninja could talk and tell me what's going on! But if anyone has any advice, it would be most appreciated. I just want to make sure she's as comfortable as possible.
Many thanks in advance,
Jade
