Kitty has gurgling tummy

donutte · Nov 24, 2015

This is regarding my Sara. A little background info on her.

- 13-1/2 year old spayed female

- Being treated for hyper-t with 5mg methimazole bid for the last nine months

She actually had the gurgly noises REALLY bad before she started getting treated for the hyper-t So, as a result, I associated it with that. She's been acting weird the last week or so, not eating as much and the other day, not eating anything. She did "ask" for food yesterday during the day though, so we gave her some then. I just don't know what all these gurgly noises mean though.

I do have an appt with the vet in about three hours. Decided I don't want to chance anything with the holiday coming up. But curious if anyone else has had this happen to their kitties.

And when I say "gurgly sounds", it sounds like fireworks going off in tummy. Pop, pop, ZING! It can be heard across the room sometimes. Although, it's not as bad now as it was before the hyper-t treatment started.

stephenq · Nov 24, 2015

Donutte said:

Wow keep us updated please!

zed xyzed · Nov 24, 2015

poor little thing, I hope she gets better

donutte · Nov 24, 2015

You know, I took her in thinking I was paranoid after losing Lucky to renal failure earlier in the month. I am so glad I took her in.

The vet did a basic check. She has an infected tooth and an abscess on her anal gland! They did the urinalysis, and there was blood in it. Now there was the last time also, but no sign of infection then. But there was more this time. We decided to do a full blood panel as well as an x-ray. No stones in the bladder (so that is confirmed) but he sees two tiny little dots that he thinks may be stones in the ureter. It's being sent to a radiologist for analysis.

The foamy vomit she's had is a sign of stomach upset (and the gurgly tummy most likely, at least this time around). So, I have to give her Pepcid along with the antibiotic and the methimazole.

Looks like someone getting a lot of pill pocket treats the next couple of weeks.

And if anyone wants to take anything from this... if you think something is wrong but you think you might just be paranoid - TAKE THEM IN! Trust your gut! You're the parent of these critters and know how they are on a day to day basis, and know when something is off. I couldn't believe all the things they found. My head is still spinning. My poor little girl.

donutte · Nov 25, 2015

So... her T4 was a bit off the charts, considering she's on medication. T4 was over 11. He's upping the medication a bit. Thankfully she's taking her pills with the pill pockets, it was so difficult pilling Lucky so extremely thankful. While her kidney values were mostly good, her SDMA was a tad high (it was not before). So, once we're done with the antibiotics, he wants us to start her on a kidney diet. Fun fun. He wants to wait mainly because he doesn't want to be switching foods around while she already has an upset tummy.

I feel slightly like I'm putting my battle gear (that I just took off two weeks ago) back on.

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

Well, Sara goes back to the vet today. Thankfully just a schedule appointment to have her bloodwork checked again. And talk about why she has red pee. I know the answer to the other question I am going to ask but want an answer from my vet. How long do I have with early-stage CKD? I know it's a hit or miss type thing, it can be a year or many years. Also gonna ask about his thoughts on her being on methimazole vs getting i131. Not that I can afford i131 right now.

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

Lovely. There's several inches of icy-snow stuff on our back porch, and can't open the back door. So gonna have to walk the long way to my car over even more ice and snow. Just had visions of Led Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song" in my head for a moment, lol.

lisahe · Dec 29, 2015

Donutte said:
Well, Sara goes back to the vet today. Thankfully just a schedule appointment to have her bloodwork checked again. And talk about why she has red pee. I know the answer to the other question I am going to ask but want an answer from my vet. How long do I have with early-stage CKD? I know it's a hit or miss type thing, it can be a year or many years. Also gonna ask about his thoughts on her being on methimazole vs getting i131. Not that I can afford i131 right now.

Yes, what you wrote pretty much sums up what I've heard, both from a friend who's been through it all too many times and from members here. I'm sorry you have to go through this.

Of course this is anecdotal but our previous cat had mild kidney disease and her levels improved when I switched her to all wet foods with low-to-moderate phosphorous levels. The vet, who'd wanted to put her on prescription kidney food, was surprised but I wasn't! She also got subcutaneous fluids. (Brooksie also had mild thyroid disease but it was most likely IBD and lymphoma that got her; she was an elderly cat with a whole lot of ailments so it's hard to say why she responded to any dietary or other changes.) In any case, I used two sites that list phosphorous levels to find foods for Brooksie: Tanya's site and Catinfo.org. Also, you might ask your vet about cats with both hyperthyroid and kidney disease if the subject hasn't already come up: Tanya's site addresses that here. (There's more on this page but this summarizes what our vet told us for Brooksie.)

Has Sara's gurgling and bile vomiting stopped? I hope so. One of our cats gets both those symptoms if we don't feed her enough small meals or if we feed her foods with potato! It's amazing the things that can make a cat's digestive system go haywire.

Good luck with the appointment. I was just about to post when your post about the weather popped up. Have a safe drive!

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

LisaHE said:
Yes, what you wrote pretty much sums up what I've heard, both from a friend who's been through it all too many times and from members here. I'm sorry you have to go through this.

Of course this is anecdotal but our previous cat had mild kidney disease and her levels improved when I switched her to all wet foods with low-to-moderate phosphorous levels. The vet, who'd wanted to put her on prescription kidney food, was surprised but I wasn't! She also got subcutaneous fluids. (Brooksie also had mild thyroid disease but it was most likely IBD and lymphoma that got her; she was an elderly cat with a whole lot of ailments so it's hard to say why she responded to any dietary or other changes.) In any case, I used two sites that list phosphorous levels to find foods for Brooksie: Tanya's site and Catinfo.org. Also, you might ask your vet about cats with both hyperthyroid and kidney disease if the subject hasn't already come up: Tanya's site addresses that here. (There's more on this page but this summarizes what our vet told us for Brooksie.)

Has Sara's gurgling and bile vomiting stopped? I hope so. One of our cats gets both those symptoms if we don't feed her enough small meals or if we feed her foods with potato! It's amazing the things that can make a cat's digestive system go haywire.

Good luck with the appointment. I was just about to post when your post about the weather popped up. Have a safe drive!

Thank you, yes, Sara's gurgling tummy got back under control after we got her T4 back under control. She also has hyperthyroidism and her T4 had spiked, so guessing it's tied to that. The bile vomiting stopped after switching the time I give her the Pepcid (give it at night now). I've gone through CKD before, and acute on chronic. I want to avoid the latter if at all possible, which I lost my Lucky to last month. Not sure if it is possible or not though, as that seems even more hit or miss. I guess I'm hoping for a reassurance that I probably won't be able to get, but keep hoping I will anyway.

lisahe · Dec 29, 2015

Donutte said:
Thank you, yes, Sara's gurgling tummy got back under control after we got her T4 back under control. She also has hyperthyroidism and her T4 had spiked, so guessing it's tied to that. The bile vomiting stopped after switching the time I give her the Pepcid (give it at night now). I've gone through CKD before, and acute on chronic. I want to avoid the latter if at all possible, which I lost my Lucky to last month. Not sure if it is possible or not though, as that seems even more hit or miss. I guess I'm hoping for a reassurance that I probably won't be able to get, but keep hoping I will anyway.

I didn't realize you went through CKD with Lucky and so recently. I am so sorry you're getting hit by it again.

In terms of reassurance, I can offer one thing that our friend told us when Brooksie was first diagnosed: at least one of her cats lived for years (I don't remember how many but it was multiple years) with kidney disease after an early diagnosis. She was really into using fluids (her cat vet, who we now go to as well, apparently uses them a lot) and a careful diet, though I'm not sure if she used commercial foods, prescription foods, or both. Of course things are different for every cat, particularly given their food preferences, but I hope Sara responds well!

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

We managed to get out without me falling on my face! Little victories, I tell ya.

First thing they did was take her blood pressure, and it was perfectly normal. I love hearing the words "perfectly normal" in regards to Sara, I'm not sure I've heard them at all before today. She weighs 7 lbs!! This is my kitty that earlier in the year (in February) had been down to 4 lbs 4 oz. Her T4 was 21 and she actually loses her appetite when her T4 gets really high. So yeah, 7 lbs is a pretty big victory. I don't think she's ever weighed this much in her life! They did the blood work for her T4 and kidney values. Should have those results tomorrow morning.

We talked about her diet, trying to get her to eat more than 50% k/d. Otherwise it's ineffective even to a little extent (except to make her gain weight apparently). It's kinda hard because we not only have multiple cats, but two of the other are 7.5 month old kittens. So, they should not have anything even remotely like a kidney diet at this point. If they were older adults, then he said it probably wouldn't make a difference (obviously couldn't do prescription then though). So, we're trying to figure out the best thing to do. May have to play around with what we feed them, and will probably have to have multiple cat foods available to all of them. And then just really push the kidney diet with her. My kittens LOVE the k/d (they lick up the remnants after she's done) so I always have to put them in another room while she's eating. They go bonkers.

My vet is also very much into using fluids, and was with Lucky. Sara's not quite at the point that she really needs it yet. We may end up putting her on phos binders if we can't get her to eat enough kidney diet vs non-kidney diet, but for now she's good without fluids.

As far as the blood in her pee, we've ruled out almost everything, and she does not seem to be bothered by it. Any diet that would help with it would not be good for the kidney disease. So, we're taking the route now of we'll worry about it if it starts to bother her.

So, not a bad vet visit. Not by far. I did tell them how much it's been great seeing them all, but I hope not to see them nearly as much next year. I have been there just way too much this year.

zed xyzed · Dec 29, 2015

Glad to here she is better, fingers crossed for the test results.

stephenq · Dec 29, 2015

Donutte said:
So, not a bad vet visit. Not by far. I did tell them how much it's been great seeing them all, but I hope not to see them nearly as much next year. I have been there just way too much this year.

Vibes for you all!

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

Thank you. It's been a rough last few months between losing Lucky and Sara having all these issues. I'm just thankful Sara seems to be back to normal for now, aside from needing to eat a kidney diet and take pills. I can deal with that. After what Lucky went through, yeah, definitely can deal with this.

kittens mom · Dec 29, 2015

It's obvious the universe needs a good talking to. Grabbing a 2x4. I had no idea you were going through all this and right after Lucky.

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
It's obvious the universe needs a good talking to. Grabbing a 2x4. I had no idea you were going through all this and right after Lucky.

It's at least better than it was just two weeks after he died. I felt like a horrible mama because her T4 spiked, right before Thanksgiving, probably due in part to me being forgetful with her meds while Lucky was sick and after he died. She had to go a couple weeks after that because she was throwing up a couple mornings in a row, found out the extra hyper-t meds now made her hypo-t, and we confirmed she definitely had chronic kidney disease (Lucky had that but it was the acute part that got him). Today was the third visit in about a month. Hopefully the T4 is back to normal. Need to make a better effort to give Sara the kidney-friendly food, which is pretty difficult with multiple cats. She wants to eat their food too! Been trying to figure out the balancing act all afternoon and my head is spinning right now.

kittens mom · Dec 29, 2015

Donutte said:
It's at least better than it was just two weeks after he died. I felt like a horrible mama because her T4 spiked, right before Thanksgiving, probably due in part to me being forgetful with her meds while Lucky was sick and after he died. She had to go a couple weeks after that because she was throwing up a couple mornings in a row, found out the extra hyper-t meds now made her hypo-t, and we confirmed she definitely had chronic kidney disease (Lucky had that but it was the acute part that got him). Today was the third visit in about a month. Hopefully the T4 is back to normal. Need to make a better effort to give Sara the kidney-friendly food, which is pretty difficult with multiple cats. She wants to eat their food too! Been trying to figure out the balancing act all afternoon and my head is spinning right now.

You are anything but a horrible mama. Can you make a diet change for all the cats that would be better for Sara ?

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
You are anything but a horrible mama. Can you make a diet change for all the cats that would be better for Sara ?

That's what I'm looking to do right now. Currently, this is what they have:

- free feed Science Diet for seniors (dry)

- free feed Science Diet for indoor kittens (dry)

The dry is really the main part of what they eat. It isn't ideal for kidney cats at all, but they'll also have fits if I take it away. I have two 13 year olds that enjoy being able to eat when they want, as well as a 3 year old that eats more at night. The dry is good in the phosphorus part though, so I'll be keeping it. I'll be switching out the dry kitten food for dry adult food at some point. And yes, Sara eats the dry kitten food sometimes.

This is the canned food they get, which is more of a treat:

- Two cans of Friskies split amongst the five of them, six days a week

- One can of Fancy Feast each, one day a week

The best thing I can think to do is swap out the Friskies for something else, for all of them. The phosphorus in that is 1.7%. In the prescription diet, it's 0.4%. I have to be careful though because she needs something that is more low-phosphorus, but the kittens need higher phosphorus until they're done growing. My "short-term goal" wet food is one that is at 1% phosphorus, and my "long-term goal" wet food is one that is 0.6-0.7% phosphorus. And affordable, forgot that part. I'm not gonna bother switching out the Fancy Feast, it's just one day a week.

In addition to the food they get as a group, Sara will be getting fed her prescription diet at times that are different from the group feeding time. My original goal was to fill her up on that, and then she wouldn't want as much of the other stuff. Well, she's just eating it more in ADDITION to it, hence her weighing in at 7lbs today. I'm more than happy for her to have extra padding though at this point. She can keep gaining as far as I'm concerned.

kittens mom · Dec 29, 2015

Donutte said:
That's what I'm looking to do right now. Currently, this is what they have:

- free feed Science Diet for seniors (dry)

- free feed Science Diet for indoor kittens (dry)

The dry is really the main part of what they eat. It isn't ideal for kidney cats at all, but they'll also have fits if I take it away. I have two 13 year olds that enjoy being able to eat when they want, as well as a 3 year old that eats more at night. The dry is good in the phosphorus part though, so I'll be keeping it. I'll be switching out the dry kitten food for dry adult food at some point. And yes, Sara eats the dry kitten food sometimes.

This is the canned food they get, which is more of a treat:

- Two cans of Friskies split amongst the five of them, six days a week

- One can of Fancy Feast each, one day a week

The best thing I can think to do is swap out the Friskies for something else, for all of them. The phosphorus in that is 1.7%. In the prescription diet, it's 0.4%. I have to be careful though because she needs something that is more low-phosphorus, but the kittens need higher phosphorus until they're done growing. My "short-term goal" wet food is one that is at 1% phosphorus, and my "long-term goal" wet food is one that is 0.6-0.7% phosphorus. And affordable, forgot that part. I'm not gonna bother switching out the Fancy Feast, it's just one day a week.

In addition to the food they get as a group, Sara will be getting fed her prescription diet at times that are different from the group feeding time. My original goal was to fill her up on that, and then she wouldn't want as much of the other stuff. Well, she's just eating it more in ADDITION to it, hence her weighing in at 7lbs today. I'm more than happy for her to have extra padding though at this point. She can keep gaining as far as I'm concerned.

Sounds like you have a plan that should work for you.

donutte · Dec 29, 2015

Kittens Mom said:
Sounds like you have a plan that should work for you.

Yeah, not ideal, but really no such thing here. Five cats, different ends of the age / health spectrums. Now I just need to figure out WHAT I will end up choosing.

Kitty has gurgling tummy

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Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

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Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

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Kittens life was lost to a negligent veterinarian.

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