TL;DR -
My plea for your experiences is this:
What were your cat's side effects on prednisolone? Do you think the power of the medication should overwrite "Ew I'm not eating THAT again!" mentality? Or nausea?
Can a cat be nauseous without vomiting?
Have you had a cat get an endoscopy to "get it over with" to see if she has lymphoma or try other tactics? And what would those tactics even be?
Slightly expanded -
Meph has been on 5mg prednisolone for 3.5wks now for suspected IBD. Overall her mood has vastly improved; no more hiding, she's playing a bit more and venturing out of the bedroom again. She's even being affectionate!
BUT! Her appetite continues to be poor. In fact she lost another 0.5lb (from 8.5lb to 8lb, down 1lb since New Years). I'm trying to figure out what foods she'll eat, as she's being quite picky at the moment, but the vet said the pred would increase her appetite and as such most cats gain weight. That hasn't happened. In fact, the vet doesn't want to continue her on the pred as "it isn't working" and strongly recommends I get an endoscopy as he thinks it may be lymphoma. I give her about 5oz of wet food daily (duck or seafood varieties) and 1 to 1.5oz of dry (duck/pea) but she won't eat all of it. I just started tracking her calories and she's getting maaaaybe 100kcal/daily. Methinks she should get at least 160kcal to maintain 8lbs (the vet said she was 'slightly chubby' at 8.5 so I guess 8lbs is good?) Just bought some stella & chewy today to give that a shot. I've been giving her pumpkin (now on day 4) because she was constipated a week ago but she's getting diarrhea now, could it be the pumpkin or trying different foods?
This is the 2nd I've taken her too. He's going off of one visit and her records. I don't know if I'm being unreasonable, but I would have liked another evaluation (maybe more updated blood work?) - but she's feeling so much better I'd hate to take her to the vet unnecessarily. I was in shock from talking to the vet (via phone) about his concern it could be lymphoma, so I forgot to say that even though she's not vomiting, she's licking her lips a lot and goes to the food then turns away (signs of nausea?). I've heard of B12 shots and sub q's, but I don't even know how to ask the vet as he told me "I don't want to give her any medication and waste time, because too much time wasted is really bad." I've got a list of specialists to call on Monday for quotes.
Had my first panic attack in 3yrs today.... EAT MEPH, PLZ EAT!!!!
My plea for your experiences is this:
What were your cat's side effects on prednisolone? Do you think the power of the medication should overwrite "Ew I'm not eating THAT again!" mentality? Or nausea?
Can a cat be nauseous without vomiting?
Have you had a cat get an endoscopy to "get it over with" to see if she has lymphoma or try other tactics? And what would those tactics even be?
Slightly expanded -
Meph has been on 5mg prednisolone for 3.5wks now for suspected IBD. Overall her mood has vastly improved; no more hiding, she's playing a bit more and venturing out of the bedroom again. She's even being affectionate!
BUT! Her appetite continues to be poor. In fact she lost another 0.5lb (from 8.5lb to 8lb, down 1lb since New Years). I'm trying to figure out what foods she'll eat, as she's being quite picky at the moment, but the vet said the pred would increase her appetite and as such most cats gain weight. That hasn't happened. In fact, the vet doesn't want to continue her on the pred as "it isn't working" and strongly recommends I get an endoscopy as he thinks it may be lymphoma. I give her about 5oz of wet food daily (duck or seafood varieties) and 1 to 1.5oz of dry (duck/pea) but she won't eat all of it. I just started tracking her calories and she's getting maaaaybe 100kcal/daily. Methinks she should get at least 160kcal to maintain 8lbs (the vet said she was 'slightly chubby' at 8.5 so I guess 8lbs is good?) Just bought some stella & chewy today to give that a shot. I've been giving her pumpkin (now on day 4) because she was constipated a week ago but she's getting diarrhea now, could it be the pumpkin or trying different foods?
This is the 2nd I've taken her too. He's going off of one visit and her records. I don't know if I'm being unreasonable, but I would have liked another evaluation (maybe more updated blood work?) - but she's feeling so much better I'd hate to take her to the vet unnecessarily. I was in shock from talking to the vet (via phone) about his concern it could be lymphoma, so I forgot to say that even though she's not vomiting, she's licking her lips a lot and goes to the food then turns away (signs of nausea?). I've heard of B12 shots and sub q's, but I don't even know how to ask the vet as he told me "I don't want to give her any medication and waste time, because too much time wasted is really bad." I've got a list of specialists to call on Monday for quotes.
Had my first panic attack in 3yrs today.... EAT MEPH, PLZ EAT!!!!