Tiberius is sick :(

kristenann

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Hello everyone, I just want to preface this with a thank you to the wonderful supportive community you all provide. In the beginning of December I adopted my first kitty a beautiful cuddly 6-7 year old Ragdoll mix I named Tiberius.

Our entire time together has been really overwhelming, I love this cat and now I'm terrified I'm going to lose him. Awhile back I posted a thread about his nipping, so I'm sorry if this is redundant, but I feel so guilty for being upset because now I see it in a whole new light. When I first adopted him I was assured he was a healthy cat aside from possibly having ringworm. Within a week I took him to a vet who used a black light and confirmed the diagnosis. I've now learned this isn't even an acceptable means of diagnosis. He weighed 10.4lbs at the time. I began using topical ointment and lime sulfur.

Fast forward about a month and his lesions had healed but he was still losing fur so I took him to another vet as I wasn't thrilled with the attention we received at the first one. The new vet performs a ringworm culture and tells me to watch him closely for he was too skinny with poor muscle mass. He did appear to be gaining weight though so we decided to watch it. His ringworm culture came back negative. He weighed 10.8lbs at the time. We also wormed him as a precaution since he had fleas when I got him.

3 weeks after this appointment, which was last Thursday we went back to the vet. He began to have an increasing amount of diarrhea and vomiting and I found lesions on his body. He has also been steadily developing a pot belly. The vet ran a full blood panel and urinalysis which came back clean he had a normal temperature. She prescribed Prednisone and Album along with a special food. He weighed 9.8lbs.

Since then Tiberius has grown increasingly lethargic and his belly has gotten really distended. The vomiting has stopped but he continues to have diarrhea. I'm going to call tomorrow about trying a different food which she mentioned may help and some fecal testing.

I read over the files they gave me and his records indicate he weighed 12.4lbs in November. I feel like he should weigh at least 15lbs, he's a big guy.

At first, given his clean blood work she was thinking IBD however with his lack of response to treatment it's looking like cancer. I'm so upset and sad for my poor baby. I'm so worried he's in pain, does the steroid help with pain?

Sorry this is so long, I just really needed to get it all out. We could really use some advice and good thoughts.
 
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zed xyzed

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Oh no, I hope it is not cancer. Sending your Tiberius healing vibes  
BTW being a Star Trek fan I love his name 
 

donutte

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I'm hoping someone comes along with some experience here. Have they given any reason for the distended belly (fluid, etc)? Or is that part of the testing coming up tomorrow?
 

jenny82

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I hope it's not cancer too. Steroids could help with pain...they decrease inflammation which often causes pain.
 
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kristenann

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Thanks everyone. His belly is really squishy, it feels like fluids to me but I don't really know. Haha that actually cracked me up @Zed Xyzed I had no idea I named my cat after Star Trek! I was actually inspired by the Roman Tiberius. I asked my bf if he knew we named the cat after Star Trek and he started laughing and told me he knew all along.

Here's a photo I took this morning. I really hope it's not cancer but it's not looking good. We have an appointment today at 3:20pm so wish us luck.
:(


 

gizmocat

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If there is no lump, chances are that it isn't cancer. How are his bowel movements? If they are stinking diarrhea, he might have the same virus my Louie Bear had when I got him (coronavirus).  Louie Bear is taking a  supplement called Florintero which helps his gut a lot. The coronavirus could have killed him when he was a kitten, but he passed the danger point.

Coronaviris DOES NOT show up on a standard blood test. I had to pay extra for a special test, which showed that he had it.

If your Tiberius has coronavirus, it is not curable, but it can be controlled. If you can get the Florintero, it might help. I hope that this helps.
 

LotsOfFur

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Sending positive thoughts and vibes for Tiberius
:vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 

pushylady

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I'm thinking of you and Tiberius and hoping the vet visit this afternoon gives you some answers. At least if you know what it is, you can decide on a course of action. :vibes:
 

catwoman707

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I do not think it's cancer either, if it were me the next thing I would do is have the vet draw some fluid from his tummy and see what it looks like, what it's contents are, etc.

This can tell so much and possibly help get a diagnosis.

Squishy belly always sends my head in to thinking FIP.

Let's hope not. How is his behavior? Sleeping alot, eat and drink fine? Disinterested at all?

Weight loss should not be happening.
 

mazie

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Maybe I missed this, but what does his blood work show if he had one ? Good looking boy by the way.
 
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kristenann

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@Zed Xyzed  That was really the funniest thing I read all day, I really had no idea! Thank you, I agree, he is a beautiful boy.

@gizmocat  One side of his abdomen is definitely more distended than the other, so I don't know if that constitutes a lump? I don't want to press on his belly in case it hurts him. He does have stinky diarrhea. You are really lucky your cat got better! I'm so happy for you. If I understand correctly I thought corona virus was what is responsible for FIP? I'll mention it to the vet today though, I'm willing to try anything that could help. Thank you, I think so too.

@LotsofFur  Thank you! We really need them:/

@pushylady  Thank you, yes I will feel much better knowing what is wrong. The not knowing what to expect is really hard, I feel like I'm in a daze.

@catwoman707  I'm worried about FIP too, I think you may be right. His belly wasn't as large when we were there on Thursday so I think that guided her thinking. I sincerely hope it's not FIP though, that's basically the worst thing ever!

I'll see about drawing some fluid out. Since he's been on the steroids he's been very hungry and is constantly asking for more food. He drinks fine too. Prior to Thursday he seemed to be eating and drinking okay, although I admittedly didn't keep track. I let him free feed dry food and he would finish most of his wet food. He has been really sleepy, he use to follow me around the house and now he only does sometimes and with much less enthusiasm. He hasn't climbed on anything aside  from the couch for days even to get away from the vacuum which is really out of character. He's been laying on the ground on his side a lot. I made him a bed on the floor but he seems to like the ground better. He just seems uncomfortable standing and will sit or lay down most of the time. 

@mazie  I had blood work done on Thursday, I don't have the exact numbers but the vet said everything looked good and was within the normal ranges. Thank you, he's a cutie all right.
 

catwoman707

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That's scary..........that he is not climbing away from the vacuum monster, he's got something going on, of course anything is better then FIP.......

Laying that way takes pressure off of him from the weight of his belly. 

FIP or not, that fluid can be drawn out and give him a good deal of relief. Temporarily if FIP, but regardless it helps alot.

I can't help but shake my head, I sure hope it's not that........haven't you both been through enough?!
 
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kristenann

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It's (probably) not FIP!!

She attempted to draw fluid out of his tumtum in 4 different places and drew up very little. She said the fluid was not unusual and did not appear to be FIP related. She did however say that is was very strange that he had only 1 major type of bacteria in his gut. He weighed 11lbs today which is a huge gain since Thursday and because she could not draw up much fluid it could be belly fat. She said his lethargy could be due to the medications he's on. 

She gave us a new kind of food to try, a probiotic, and instructions to lower his dose of prednisone. After he finishes this antibiotic, which should be only in a couple days, she has another one picked out to try. I feel so grateful, she gave me a discount on the exam although it still ran me $100. Haha it's sadly ironic but I somehow thought adopting an adult cat, who was already neutered, and vaccinated would be affordable. 

I asked if she thought he was in pain and she didn't think so. So we're in limbo now I suppose. I hope this works. 
 

gizmocat

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The Florentero will probably do him a lot of good as it has for my Louie Bear. It replenishes the gut bacteria.

It sounds very much as if he has what Louie Bear had...a distended, squashy belly, lots of gas and horrible diarrhea.

It can't hurt to try this if you can get it, and I'm glad that it's not FIP...but it could still be 'something'.

http://www.candioli-vet.it/index.php/en/piccoli-animali-/feeds/item/5-florentero
 
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kristenann

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I know I'm so thrilled it's not FIP! Before they drew they fluid they were basically trying to prepare me for it. I actually burst out crying at the vets office, I think they probably think I'm a loon but they're so sweet they handle it well.

Additionally I think I forgot to mention that she felt around his belly a good deal and she was unable to locate any tumors. She warned me that he could still have some deep inside but I feel better knowing there's nothing obvious.

They prescribed him pro viable but I'm guessing it works about the same way. He does have the worst gas! @gizmocat I how he recovers as well a your Louie that gives me hope. Yes I'm sure he definitely has something going on, I'm just hoping it's something he can live with.

I also wish I knew what was causing the lesions. He doesn't have any claws (I adopted him this way) so I'm doubtful it's scratching but I suppose it could be?
 
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