My 14 year old cat Chessy was diagnosed with kidney disease in August. Ever since, he has vomited a few times a week, usually clear/white foam, which is a symptom of the kidney disease. He also has frequent diarrhea. I've tried canned pumpkin and slippery elm bark, and sometimes the pumpkin helps a little. We've been doing subq fluids every other day and Pepcid AC twice a day. We also did a little Calcitriol twice a week but he's off that as of Friday, because he seemed to vomit the morning after more often than not. His kidney values have stayed pretty stable since August (he just had bloodwork done again Friday). His BUN is about 60 and his creatinine is about 3.0. Phosphorus and calcium normal.
He was also diagnosed with diabetes in February, but we tapered his insulin to his actual blood glucose levels by testing at home, and he has not needed any insulin since March, so he's not considered diabetic anymore.
I took him in for new bloodwork on Friday because last week he vomited more than usual, and instead of clear/white foam, it was bile, hairballs, and then undigested food. Although his kidney values were about the same, the new thing in his bloodwork was one of his liver values was much higher than normal. His ALT was 199, and it should be under 100. The vet said she can't do a definite diagnosis without a bunch of other tests, which we just went through with our other cat Mia. The vet's guess was that he might have lymphoma, based on his other tests and symptoms. She said we could start giving him a small dose of Prednisolone, 2.5mg daily. He hasn't vomited since. (If he does have lymphoma, I wouldn't want to put him through chemotherapy since he's 14 and has kidney disease also, so I just want him to feel better.)
His mood and behavior were normal until about an hour after his dose of Prednisolone tonight. He started growling and making strange loud noises for no reason. We were in the same room but not near him and not paying attention to him. Then he went upstairs and has been hiding under the bed. He came down once, walked over to my husband, who pet him lightly, and then he growled and went back upstairs under the bed. I've checked on him a few times and he looks ok. He might be sleeping now. I'm really upset because I've never seen him act like this. I read that Prednisolone can sometimes cause aggression and behavior changes. I texted my vet (she gets a lot of texts from me) about tapering his dose, and she said to try the same dose again tomorrow to make sure it's a pattern. I don't really agree with that...I think it's obviously due to the steroid.
My other cat Mia is currently getting 7.5mg Prednisolone twice daily for IBD, so 6 times more than him, and she weighs less, and she doesn't have any negative side effects, except maybe some lethargy.
I don't know what the best thing is...I need to follow what my vet says, but I'm afraid he will only get worse.
Has anyone experienced this before?
He was also diagnosed with diabetes in February, but we tapered his insulin to his actual blood glucose levels by testing at home, and he has not needed any insulin since March, so he's not considered diabetic anymore.
I took him in for new bloodwork on Friday because last week he vomited more than usual, and instead of clear/white foam, it was bile, hairballs, and then undigested food. Although his kidney values were about the same, the new thing in his bloodwork was one of his liver values was much higher than normal. His ALT was 199, and it should be under 100. The vet said she can't do a definite diagnosis without a bunch of other tests, which we just went through with our other cat Mia. The vet's guess was that he might have lymphoma, based on his other tests and symptoms. She said we could start giving him a small dose of Prednisolone, 2.5mg daily. He hasn't vomited since. (If he does have lymphoma, I wouldn't want to put him through chemotherapy since he's 14 and has kidney disease also, so I just want him to feel better.)
His mood and behavior were normal until about an hour after his dose of Prednisolone tonight. He started growling and making strange loud noises for no reason. We were in the same room but not near him and not paying attention to him. Then he went upstairs and has been hiding under the bed. He came down once, walked over to my husband, who pet him lightly, and then he growled and went back upstairs under the bed. I've checked on him a few times and he looks ok. He might be sleeping now. I'm really upset because I've never seen him act like this. I read that Prednisolone can sometimes cause aggression and behavior changes. I texted my vet (she gets a lot of texts from me) about tapering his dose, and she said to try the same dose again tomorrow to make sure it's a pattern. I don't really agree with that...I think it's obviously due to the steroid.
My other cat Mia is currently getting 7.5mg Prednisolone twice daily for IBD, so 6 times more than him, and she weighs less, and she doesn't have any negative side effects, except maybe some lethargy.
I don't know what the best thing is...I need to follow what my vet says, but I'm afraid he will only get worse.
Has anyone experienced this before?
