Robin very ill help

misterwhiskers said:

I guess I'll pass updates as needed.

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That's a very sweet picture! If he vomited dry food, I think your idea of taking most of it away is a good one... he is eating wet food, right? If only from the syringe and your hand? (I think some cats like being hand-fed when they're not feeling well: our previous cat ate off cutlery and from my hand when she was sick. She wouldn't even lick a spoon when she was healthy.)

We've had a vet tell us that purring can be a sign of all sorts of emotions.

Over all, it sounds like there are lots of good signs for you--in his eating and apparent comfort--but I would also be wondering about the questions you raise regarding the blood test and toxoplasmosis. I hope the vet can help you by answering that and suggesting what to do next.

Thinking of you!

Any news about Robin?

Hi Anne, thank you for asking! Robin is doing a lot better at the moment--he had lost a full pound in 4 days (!!) but his appetite has roared back to life--and has an appointment with an opthomologist specialist soon. Hopefully the specialist will be able to cure Robins constantly weepy eye, and offer an fact based explanation (not just a guess) why he fell seriously ill so quickly!!

At the moment his eye looks good, aside from weeping clear fluid. The steroids have completely fixed the inflammation in his eye, but I realize that without a proper long term cure this could reoccur, something I don't want as the steroids can mask infection, or cause glaucoma. My understanding from the specialists office is that the doctor believes flushing his tear duct may help as finally, the latest from the vets he has recently seen is they do think it is blocked (my belief for months, based on observation, and research, yet every vet discounted the possibility. [emoji]128545[/emoji])

Here he is snoozing again. He has become VERY much the lap cat again. Purrs at the slightest touch. For months I thought he was just becoming a grumpy old man and the whole time he was sick. I'm sick just thinking of that.

I'm so glad to hear he's eating so well and back to being a lap cat. I hope his eye improves and you're able to get that answer on why he got ill so fast!

good to hear he's eating again.  Hope you noted what @catwoman707said about putting him on pre & probiotics to counteract the Convenia which can kill of his intestinal flora and make digestion difficult or impossible.  I used 21st Centure Pre & Probiotic soft chews (from PetSmart),  They dissolve wel if you need to give with a syringe if they dont chew them.

Thank you! I received so much good help and encouragement here, and if I didn't respond quickly I apologize. But I am sooooo grateful to each one of you who helped!! [emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128591[/emoji][emoji]128077[/emoji] You are awesome!!! [emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thank you for the update. I'm so glad to hear he's doing better!

I agree, his behavior is a great indication of how he's feeling and not being grumpy is awesome! Well done, Robin! 

Let us know how he's doing. You're both in my thoughts. 

He's still doing ok! That eye had very little weepiness today. I might syringe him some water just to make sure it isn't just dehydration. If it's not, then that's a great sign. He still will see the specialist, though, because none of the vets had any idea what specifically caused his collapse, and I want to get to the bottom if that.

Thanks for the update! And good call on seeing a specialist and trying to get to the bottom of this. 

I just started following this, how is that gorgeous kitty!

You say the vet gave Robin an anti-nausea shot.  My guess is that it wore off a bit sooner than the vet expected, and this explains the nausea you reported.  If so, it means that the nausea is probably not something to worry about, except as it keeps Robin from gaining back the weight he's lost.

Margret

Here's an update: we saw the opthomologist today. She believes it's a herpes flareup, that his duct is not blocked, and that it's not probably toxoplasmosis because she said the prednisilone would not have likely resulted in a 100% removal of his uveitis alone (even with the Convenia). She said his ducts appear open at the surface.

So he is getting a real anti viral, he will be on it for 6 week, as well as am antibiotic eye ointment.

I don't understand why a local regular vet couldn't prescribe this anti viral. She said it's not dangerous but some cats get upset stomachs. Every vet said they thought he had herpes, so why did I have to travel 3 hours out of state to be told the same thing again by another vet? Why not just prescribe the anti viral (begins with an F) and if that did not work, THEN see a specialist? Who by the way was $50 less than the vet I saw in January who refused to give me a real antiviral saying they were too dangerous?

Today's vet said totally the opposite. If this does the trick, then that vet cost me 800 bucks and almost my cats life--for a rx that costs $11.31.

Thanks for the update!

Very frustrating but at least you have it now. Is it Famvir (Famciclovir)? These drugs can be very effective, so fingers crossed this will do the trick!

misterwhiskers said:

Here's an update: we saw the opthomologist today. She believes it's a herpes flareup, that his duct is not blocked, and that it's not probably toxoplasmosis because she said the prednisilone would not have likely resulted in a 100% removal of his uveitis alone (even with the Convenia). She said his ducts appear open at the surface.

So he is getting a real anti viral, he will be on it for 6 week, as well as am antibiotic eye ointment.

I don't understand why a local regular vet couldn't prescribe this anti viral. She said it's not dangerous but some cats get upset stomachs. Every vet said they thought he had herpes, so why did I have to travel 3 hours out of state to be told the same thing again by another vet? Why not just prescribe the anti viral (begins with an F) and if that did not work, THEN see a specialist? Who by the way was $50 less than the vet I saw in January who refused to give me a real antiviral saying they were too dangerous?

Today's vet said totally the opposite. If this does the trick, then that vet cost me 800 bucks and almost my cats life--for a rx that costs $11.31.

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That would be a good question to put to the local regular vet!!!

misterwhiskers said:

Here's an update: we saw the opthomologist today. She believes it's a herpes flareup, that his duct is not blocked, and that it's not probably toxoplasmosis because she said the prednisilone would not have likely resulted in a 100% removal of his uveitis alone (even with the Convenia). She said his ducts appear open at the surface.

So he is getting a real anti viral, he will be on it for 6 week, as well as am antibiotic eye ointment.

I don't understand why a local regular vet couldn't prescribe this anti viral. She said it's not dangerous but some cats get upset stomachs. Every vet said they thought he had herpes, so why did I have to travel 3 hours out of state to be told the same thing again by another vet? Why not just prescribe the anti viral (begins with an F) and if that did not work, THEN see a specialist? Who by the way was $50 less than the vet I saw in January who refused to give me a real antiviral saying they were too dangerous?

Today's vet said totally the opposite. If this does the trick, then that vet cost me 800 bucks and almost my cats life--for a rx that costs $11.31.

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Let us know how Robin is doing. He is a very handsome boy

Zed Xyzed said:

Let us know how Robin is doing. He is a very handsome boy

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Hi Zed Xyzed,Thank you!

He is doing the same. The ointment has kept his eyes from getting worse but the right eye still drips profusely. He starts the famciclovir in a few days, when I can pick it up.

For those who need to use it for their cats, Walmart quoted a price of less than $15; all the other pharmacies even ones like CVS and Rite Aid quoted prices of over $50.

I can't wait to try it. He sees the specialist in another month; she will know by then if it works.

Latest update: the ointment seems to have helped any conjunctivitis; the inside corners of his eye have a nice white look (versus pink or the inner membrane showing). He's on 1/4 of a 125 mg famciclovir twice a day to start. He just started it a few days ago.

Thing is, his eyes are tearing quite badly still, maybe even worse. I just wiped at his eye and two huge tears fell on my hand, and a bit of Kleenex came away sopping wet.

I understand herpes lives in nerves. Could this be nerve damage?

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Sending you     For Robin. I only have experience with the herpes virus flare up in one cats eye. And they put her on Tobramycin drops for 2 weeks. Its now been 3 weeks and she is back to squinting her eye again-so back to the vets next week=I am going to ask about toxo thingy=thank you for the information about these pesky things. Maybe the eye is weeping to flush it out? Did the vet say anything about side effects?? Sorry he is still struggling..

foxxycat said:

Sending you     For Robin. I only have experience with the herpes virus flare up in one cats eye. And they put her on Tobramycin drops for 2 weeks. Its now been 3 weeks and she is back to squinting her eye again-so back to the vets next week=I am going to ask about toxo thingy=thank you for the information about these pesky things. Maybe the eye is weeping to flush it out? Did the vet say anything about side effects?? Sorry he is still struggling..

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I sure hope your cat doesn't have toxoplasmosis ! The specialist who saw Robin said that bc his uveitis cleared up on the prednisilone acetate drops that it likely isn't toxoplasmosis, as to see that kind of relief is only seen if a cat with toxo receives long term proper antibiotics (and he had only received a single shot of Convenia).

I also wondered if his eye was flushing something out. But since herpes lives along the nerve pathways (think shingles), I also wonder if there could be some kind of neuropathy going on, like if the nerves to his tear glands might be harboring herpes or possibly damaged by it. The specialist said on the surface that his tear duct looked open, but that goes against the drainage test the non specialist did, which showed that the tear duct on that side did not drain. Overall the specialist thinks it's inflammation blocking the tear duct not something internal. But she did not look in his nose which perplexed me, as I have ALWAYS heard what sounds like snoring in the right side of his nose, which might be causing some of this. But I'm also going to ask about neuropathy and if that's possible (there's no literature on it), see if neurontin might help, since cats can take it.

Ill have to look up Tobramycin. Has your vet ever brought up famciclovir to you?

Can corn gluten make herpes worse? Robin's eye was so much better. He had run out of his favorite kibble--ONE hairball--and was extremely whiny about the grain free dry and even grain free canned, so I gave in n bought more ONE. His eye now has full sized tears again! I'm so frustrated!! On the famciclovir, the eye was only damp, but then again, he hadn't eaten corn or corn gluten in over a week. I do wonder if the corn could be implicated...? Online research isn't helping, but I feel removing that brand kibble is worth it--and wonder if antihistamine would help.