Went to a new vet for 2nd opinion--now I AM confused. Thoughts?

I took my 12 year old Wurp to our usual vet not long ago--thread on this here (and I hope I put this link in the right way!)  They told me he had not lost weight and couldn't find anything wrong. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/316451/aging-kitty-question

However, this past week he has vomited daily.  This really concerned me.  He puked all over our bed, all over the floor, what I call "used" cat food and (yes this is gross what I call it) hairball juice.  Only a small 1 1/2 inch hairball was found near the door.  He is stressed from Shortstack being introduced February 5th into the household, but he has some other issues, so another vet appointment made.

Well,  $172 later, I came out more confused and unhappy than before.  I saw my vet's counterpart, and he is an arrogant ass in my opinion, but everyone says he is really good and worth putting up with the attitude for the treatment he provides.  So I conceded, and took the available appointment with this vet.  My vet was booked until 3 weeks from now.

We got toenails clipped as usual, and then I pushed for a full panel bloodwork with thyroid test ($112 of the total just for the testing).  I think the prior visit they only ran a white count, or maybe a smaller, basic panel.  This vet came in and told me all is indeed well except for 2 things.  His eosinophils and neutrophils were *slightly* elevated--and he did not give me values or even a copy of the bloodwork.  He emphasized *slightly* and did not seem concerned.  He said his WBC were up slightly too, but he said that was very normal for a cat coming in to the vet, that stress raises their WBC??  Is this true?

He went on about the vomiting and really didn't tell me anything.  He said it could be stress, allergies, all the way up to cancer, that "cats are prone to intestinal cancers" .  He has YES INDEED lost a total of one pound since September 2015.  The other vet said he had NOT.  I looked at the chart--yes he lost a whole pound since September.  I told him I honestly believe it has been since Shortstack was introduced, and he said it very well could be stress causing all of this. 

Then he proceeded, in an almost scolding voice, to tell me that while they were drawing blood they found ONE flea on him.  One.  They were going to put some sort of concoction on the back of his neck and I had to jump in and stop them and tell them I treat monthly--all my cats--with Frontline.  I wanted no double dosing because they saw one flea.  I even wondered if he picked it up while we were there.   He went on to ask if I had seen anything look like tiny grains of rice---blah blah blah---and I said no, I've seen no tapeworm evidence, no any worm evidence, and asked if they wormed him last time because I had told them to.  I even got charged for it.  He said they did not.  So they used the back of the neck drop mess to deworm him. 

We had a long talk about his teeth.  He has a mouth sore, probably from bad teeth.  They are terrible.  My other vet said he did not want to risk sedating him, they do not have the gas that is safer.  No vet in our area apparently does this.  This vet would not give me any type of risks, and got really pissy sounding when I kept asking questions.  He kept repeating "It is up to you to determine the risk, not us".  I said, "well, you're the vet, not me , I have no info to even weigh against" to which he would tell me nothing other than they would give me an estimate.  $90 for cleaning plus $25 to include all multiple extractions.  That's a little too cheap to be reassuring for my cat to have multiple teeth extracted.

Parting advice was to wait two weeks to see if the dewormer helps, then come back if no better, and we will proceed with steroid shots/antibiotics.  He said the increased eosinophils and neutrophils usually indicate either parasites or fungal infections--is that true as well? 

I am SO upset.  Probably more from lack of information than anything.  He also kept stating it could be nothing, or it could be cancer--didn't tell me much else. 

How infuriating and unsettling for you!  I do agree that stress can really do a number on kitties.  What kind of de-stressing agents are  you using?  Feliway? Rescue Remedy?  Anything like that? 

Oh and a high WBC count indicates and infection of some kind somewhere in the body.

I'm using two Feliway multi cat diffusers, but haven't seen any effect on Wurp. I've tried rescue remedy both in water and as a rub, but his fur fell out. I'm worried about the WBC. I never knew stress would increase a WBC value, and I was in healthcare for a long time. I thought well, animals are different, so what do I know. It all was disturbing. Now I'm worried about his teeth, infection, and cancer! I am going to try to wait the 2 weeks, but if he continues, we will make the long drive to a specialty vet in Memphis. I live in rural West Tennessee, and unfortunately the vets here view small animals as low priority (not their moneymakers). Cost is also a big issue, since the Memphis specialty clinic office visit alone is $320, with no procedures!

Stephanie, do you know anything about the increased eosinophils or neutrophils? What could cause that?

If you can, I'd consider another vet. I really dislike the idea that a person who is doing everything they can to assure the health of their cat is treated as if they are a terrible pet owner. Unacceptable and these people don't deserve your money.

Increased eosinophils....something is irritating his intestines It could be parasites that do that. One of the things that a vet at the practice I use, was that a surprising number of municipal water systems have cysts for cryptosporidium!!!!!!!! She said that PetSmart veterinary keeps track of it because of their presence in so many places, they've amassed more data about the problem. I had no idea. And it was a little gross to realize.

Hook worm, etc should be eliminated with the de-wormer kitty got but I'm not sure it gets rid of the cryptosporidium or more ghastly, giardia. But a cat with giardia is...unmistakable. But losing weight and listlessness is among the symptoms. I don't think it comes without diarrhea though. 

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about those.  My girl had blood drawn yesterday and her WBC count was high, but the vet didn't say it was because of stress.  She said she's got an infection, which we've suspected for awhile now. 

Where are you?  I have family in Selmer, TN.

Thank you all. I have a tendency to be paranoid about my babies so I try to get an objective view!! Stephanie, I'm 30 minutes from Selmer, I'm in Bolivar. Small world! If you are familiar, Jackson is near--and where I work--but the vets there suck with cats. So Memphis is about my best alternative option I guess.

What a small world!  Memphis is a trek, but maybe you could find a good vet on the east side of Memphis.

I've looked at the specialty vet clinic in Memphis--it's in Cordova actually, but those are the ones that are $320 for standard visit.  They do have a veterinary dentist on staff though, their website says he is one of 45 worldwide I believe with his status level.  If it comes to dental work, if I can scrounge about $3k, that's where he will go.  I cannot bear the thought of someone just yanking out his teeth and stitching him up and sending him home.  It just brings me to tears.

It might be different if he was another pet (no, not really), but he is my baby.  He and I lived through, and came out of together, an abusive marriage years ago, and I am determined that he live out his remaining days as happy as I can make them.  He went through a lot--being shut in a room with another cat alone for months by my ex, with only food and water put in it (he was trying to destroy the house).  He was yelled at and traumatized, just like me, and I am dedicated to making his senior years golden.  He means the world to me, as cantankerous as he is at times.  Any other time I would have the money on hand to do all this vet work but my husband lost his job last year and we are still rebounding from that, and his new employment doesn't pay as much. 

If your kitty is strictly indoors then I seriously doubt that he has worms.  Usually worms cause diarrhea rather than vomiting.  If he is still eating normally then I doubt that it is a dental issue that is causing weight loss though I am sure that it is causing pain.

Have they also checked for hyperthyroid and diabetes?  If they have and he has neither then given his age I would lean towards IBD or small cell lymphoma.  It is very difficult to differentiate between the two even with a lot of expensive diagnostics.  Many vets will do a trial run of prednisolone as a diagnostic.  If kitty improves and begins gaining weight then it is probably IBD.

The slightly increased levels that showed up can mean an allergy which would go along with a food sensitivity which can cause IBD.  If they were only slightly elevated it could mean nothing or could be a side effect of the inflammation in the gut caused by IBD.

Thank you Denice. He is strictly indoors, but we have an indoor-outdoor cat as well. He eats normally, no diarrhea, but vomits. I dosed him with Pepcid yesterday (he's been prescribed it before) and there has been no vomiting since, so I may keep him on it for a few days to give him some relief. He does have multiple allergies. He in on Zyrtec 5mg/day for seasonal allergies right now. He has both environmental and food allergies. My big fear is the lymphoma.
And yes, he's had a full panel and thyroid checked twice since September--no glucose issues or thyroid issues, thank goodness

Stress can do a number on cats. Cats do not like change and changes like new pets and moving can be very traumatic to them. I have one of the most neurotic cats of all time. When I tried to move him into my new apartment he had several health issues. I know a lot of things can affect a cats tummy. Have you noticed any changes in his eating behavior? Does he eat too quickly with a new addition to the house? Maybe give him his own space and see if that calms him down? Also is he drinking regularly? Male cats are extremely prone to urinary tract issues and sometimes stop drinking water if they are upset or stressed and urinary tract stones and blockages can also cause vomiting.

I am convinced stress is a huge part. But he has his space--we have been site swapping for over two months now. The increased lab values are my big concern. He's never had UTI issues, but it will definitely be a question at my next visit. I had a dear baby years ago who did, it was awful.