Sorry this will be long.
I have a persian cat named Muffins, she will be 10 years old on Saturday. From the time I brought her home from the breeder she has been of less than perfect health. She had a cold she could not seem to knock and was eventually diagnosed with herpes. She had issues with corneal sequestrums when she was younger but went a long time without any issues...last year she had another but with eyedrops we managed it. She's not an outgoing cat...she will usually stay upstairs when company comes and really only likes attention from me or my husband.
I noticed the first bit of strange behavior from her when I was about 7 months pregnant...she started staying put when people came by and if they approached her to pet she would smack at them. People found it sort of humorous that she would sit there on the table and stand her ground...and I would have to tell people...please don't antagonize her, she's an older cat so she's probably just gone a little grumpy. Then we had the baby and she's been an angel about him...she has only smacked at him a couple times and he's 14 months old.
Around his 1st birthday when he was starting to try and walk, she was acting somewhat funny...seeming like she could not get comfortable to lay down at night, and she was yelling a few times up in the bed and I had to run up and check on her. Took her in for bloodwork and it was fine. He gave her some antibiotics and a shot of steroids I believe because the steroids had always helped her to feel better in the past when her herpes was bothering her. She seemed to be ok after that for a little bit.
Sometime in late August I noticed that she was not eating her favorite treats, the Temptations. This cat is obsessed with Temptations. She would beg for them day and night. She has never been a big wet food fan, mostly licking it...she would eat dry food some but she ate a lot of treats. She loved drinking water out of my cup at night also, so much so that I could not keep her off me until I let her drink from my cup. At some point in August I switched to a water bottle because it was easier...and figured she drinks from her water bowl and she will be fine. So when I noticed the treat problem...she would pick them up in her mouth then drop them. I kept an eye on her and it continued...I also realized I have not seen her at the water bowl in a while either.
I took her back to the vet again for a dental...convinced that a 10 year old cat probably has some teeth issues. Here is where my issues started with the vet. I LOVE the regular vet I see...but during this ordeal I dealt with mainly techs and the other vet. The tech who took Muffins mentioned to me it looked like she had stomatitis...started talking to me about removing teeth and I gave permission. Said it looked like she had a sore in her mouth. When I picked her up that evening though they told me another story. Everything looks great we cleaned her teeth no removals. So I'm like...well she;s not eating. I took her home and they said keep an eye on her and let her recover from cleaning and see if she eats. No eating so we were back in a few days. She had lost weight and was down to under 6.5 pounds.
Saw the regular vet I see and he x rayed her and thought he saw some stomach inflammation...she got some subq fluids and he gave me the A/D food to help her gain weight...she ate a little there in the office so we thought ok try new food. Took her home. I'm a little shaky on dates because there were so many appointments but he may have mentioned cancer at this point. Basically...we got an ultrasound next. I had to wait until a Friday for the guy to come in who does ultrasounds. I was so worried. He did a full body and came out and told me that he saw nothing out of the ordinary! I left her for IV fluids and went home. When I picked her up I spoke to another tech who started going on about IBD. What? No doctor gave me this diagnosis but she told me to try the I/D food again and I started syringe feeding her at home. I had no clue and was given zero guidance so I was given the tiny 3cc syringes and was feeding her with those...she was getting about 30cc per day plus some pedialyte. Fluids continued twice a week for a couple weeks and I also did some subQ at home which she hated. She just came home every day looking stressed out and miserable. She DID eat a couple times on her own...some chicken but it would be one day then she would go back to not eating.
It reached a breaking point after the 4th IV fluids where I realized after reading online that I need to be feeding her a LOT more...and I just was not sure I believed the IBD diagnoses as Muffins has never had big issues with her bowels or vomiting. I was so mad at spending all this money and not even speaking with a vet...so I called and told them I will be treating her at home. The vet I don't usually deal with called and told me to text him if I had any issues or needed any questions answered. I started feeding her 25cc of food 4x a day with some water mixed in. She's not a fan of it but I have no choice.
She came up with a bad URI about a week later and I went to the vet and picked up antibiotics...her eye looked terrible and I asked about that and they gave me neopolydex. I asked them...I have read that steroids should not be used in herpes....and the front desk girl said...that's what we give my moms cat with herpes. The tech told me, this is what she's had in the past...its ok. So I gave to her for about a week. The eye did clear up and the URI faded. She's getting 2 doses of lysine daily in her food.
Her behavior has improved...she seems happier. Last week I got some of those new treats which are like a string and she got so excited playing with it that she started eating it...ate another whole one then actually ate a Temptation...it was huge! Then she stopped again. Sunday she drank water out of my cup but then the next day she wouldn't. She gets excited when I touch the food bag and sometimes sits and begs for treats but when I throw to her nothing.
Last trip to the vet which was a week (I took her in because she was having a problem pooping and threw up for the first time) ago she was down to 5lb 10 oz. . You can feel all her bones BUT she felt like she had gained a tiny bit of weight to me so that was a big blow. Vet is convinced cancer. Asked about quality of life. He said I could take her to a specialist but we both agreed that they would just do all the same tests which would mean more money and for what...a cancer diagnosis? I don't want to put her through chemo just for a few painful months. I brought her home with lots of tears and decided to keep trying with the food and if she threw up again maybe it was time to think about the worst. I had requested mirtazapine for her from the vet, because she hated cyproheptadine....and I think she's a little neurotic to begin with so the antidepressant might put her over the hump...and maybe this is all stress. The first night was rough, she did not look good. I was so worried. Then she bounced back and has seemed ok since.
I keep holding on to hope. The weight loss after feeding her more than I'm sure she used to eat...it was bad. I thought though...back last time they weighed her she was being pumped full of fluids and so that must have inflated her weight. It's possible her weight dropped below 5lb 10oz and she was in fact on a small rebound? I mentioned fatty liver disease to my vet cause I'm SURE she has it because she did not eat for longer than 48 hours when we were clueless what was going on. He said oh they would have seen it on ultrasound. I asked for blood tests...it showed elevated liver...on the borderline to ok...which to me says she did have FLD but maybe its getting better because of my feeding her. Her lipase was high but not her anylase.
Basically my plan is to keep feeding her and loving her and see what happens. I just added fortiflora to her diet and she gets supplements of nutrical as well. I guess she's eating about 150 kcal a day. She's soooooo skinny but she can jump in the bed on her own and go up and down stairs. The last couple nights she's been SO cuddly at night which is not that normal for her...she wants to be in my lap being petted.
I think my next step is to go to an actual pet dentist to have x rays done, as I'm not convinced there's nothing going on with her mouth. When I syringe feed her she grinds her teeth about half the time...which sounds awful. Her kidneys are fine. I wonder if its just the syringe feeding messing with her jaw or if this has been going on? I feel like we need more answers on the mouth. SHe has a small bump on the side of her throat which could be a lymph node...showing an infection...nothing funny on the bloodwork indicates an infection. Fecal was negative but we gave her a dewormer just in case.
So sorry that was very long...this has just been going on a while. Am I wrong to think that untreated lymphoma would have killed her by now?? Also how long would it take for a just under 6 pound cat to gain weight?
Her eye has a spot on it again and I'm just giving her the full dose of lysine...I'm hesitant to use the neopolydex drops on her. SIGH.
I have a persian cat named Muffins, she will be 10 years old on Saturday. From the time I brought her home from the breeder she has been of less than perfect health. She had a cold she could not seem to knock and was eventually diagnosed with herpes. She had issues with corneal sequestrums when she was younger but went a long time without any issues...last year she had another but with eyedrops we managed it. She's not an outgoing cat...she will usually stay upstairs when company comes and really only likes attention from me or my husband.
I noticed the first bit of strange behavior from her when I was about 7 months pregnant...she started staying put when people came by and if they approached her to pet she would smack at them. People found it sort of humorous that she would sit there on the table and stand her ground...and I would have to tell people...please don't antagonize her, she's an older cat so she's probably just gone a little grumpy. Then we had the baby and she's been an angel about him...she has only smacked at him a couple times and he's 14 months old.
Around his 1st birthday when he was starting to try and walk, she was acting somewhat funny...seeming like she could not get comfortable to lay down at night, and she was yelling a few times up in the bed and I had to run up and check on her. Took her in for bloodwork and it was fine. He gave her some antibiotics and a shot of steroids I believe because the steroids had always helped her to feel better in the past when her herpes was bothering her. She seemed to be ok after that for a little bit.
Sometime in late August I noticed that she was not eating her favorite treats, the Temptations. This cat is obsessed with Temptations. She would beg for them day and night. She has never been a big wet food fan, mostly licking it...she would eat dry food some but she ate a lot of treats. She loved drinking water out of my cup at night also, so much so that I could not keep her off me until I let her drink from my cup. At some point in August I switched to a water bottle because it was easier...and figured she drinks from her water bowl and she will be fine. So when I noticed the treat problem...she would pick them up in her mouth then drop them. I kept an eye on her and it continued...I also realized I have not seen her at the water bowl in a while either.
I took her back to the vet again for a dental...convinced that a 10 year old cat probably has some teeth issues. Here is where my issues started with the vet. I LOVE the regular vet I see...but during this ordeal I dealt with mainly techs and the other vet. The tech who took Muffins mentioned to me it looked like she had stomatitis...started talking to me about removing teeth and I gave permission. Said it looked like she had a sore in her mouth. When I picked her up that evening though they told me another story. Everything looks great we cleaned her teeth no removals. So I'm like...well she;s not eating. I took her home and they said keep an eye on her and let her recover from cleaning and see if she eats. No eating so we were back in a few days. She had lost weight and was down to under 6.5 pounds.
Saw the regular vet I see and he x rayed her and thought he saw some stomach inflammation...she got some subq fluids and he gave me the A/D food to help her gain weight...she ate a little there in the office so we thought ok try new food. Took her home. I'm a little shaky on dates because there were so many appointments but he may have mentioned cancer at this point. Basically...we got an ultrasound next. I had to wait until a Friday for the guy to come in who does ultrasounds. I was so worried. He did a full body and came out and told me that he saw nothing out of the ordinary! I left her for IV fluids and went home. When I picked her up I spoke to another tech who started going on about IBD. What? No doctor gave me this diagnosis but she told me to try the I/D food again and I started syringe feeding her at home. I had no clue and was given zero guidance so I was given the tiny 3cc syringes and was feeding her with those...she was getting about 30cc per day plus some pedialyte. Fluids continued twice a week for a couple weeks and I also did some subQ at home which she hated. She just came home every day looking stressed out and miserable. She DID eat a couple times on her own...some chicken but it would be one day then she would go back to not eating.
It reached a breaking point after the 4th IV fluids where I realized after reading online that I need to be feeding her a LOT more...and I just was not sure I believed the IBD diagnoses as Muffins has never had big issues with her bowels or vomiting. I was so mad at spending all this money and not even speaking with a vet...so I called and told them I will be treating her at home. The vet I don't usually deal with called and told me to text him if I had any issues or needed any questions answered. I started feeding her 25cc of food 4x a day with some water mixed in. She's not a fan of it but I have no choice.
She came up with a bad URI about a week later and I went to the vet and picked up antibiotics...her eye looked terrible and I asked about that and they gave me neopolydex. I asked them...I have read that steroids should not be used in herpes....and the front desk girl said...that's what we give my moms cat with herpes. The tech told me, this is what she's had in the past...its ok. So I gave to her for about a week. The eye did clear up and the URI faded. She's getting 2 doses of lysine daily in her food.
Her behavior has improved...she seems happier. Last week I got some of those new treats which are like a string and she got so excited playing with it that she started eating it...ate another whole one then actually ate a Temptation...it was huge! Then she stopped again. Sunday she drank water out of my cup but then the next day she wouldn't. She gets excited when I touch the food bag and sometimes sits and begs for treats but when I throw to her nothing.
Last trip to the vet which was a week (I took her in because she was having a problem pooping and threw up for the first time) ago she was down to 5lb 10 oz. . You can feel all her bones BUT she felt like she had gained a tiny bit of weight to me so that was a big blow. Vet is convinced cancer. Asked about quality of life. He said I could take her to a specialist but we both agreed that they would just do all the same tests which would mean more money and for what...a cancer diagnosis? I don't want to put her through chemo just for a few painful months. I brought her home with lots of tears and decided to keep trying with the food and if she threw up again maybe it was time to think about the worst. I had requested mirtazapine for her from the vet, because she hated cyproheptadine....and I think she's a little neurotic to begin with so the antidepressant might put her over the hump...and maybe this is all stress. The first night was rough, she did not look good. I was so worried. Then she bounced back and has seemed ok since.
I keep holding on to hope. The weight loss after feeding her more than I'm sure she used to eat...it was bad. I thought though...back last time they weighed her she was being pumped full of fluids and so that must have inflated her weight. It's possible her weight dropped below 5lb 10oz and she was in fact on a small rebound? I mentioned fatty liver disease to my vet cause I'm SURE she has it because she did not eat for longer than 48 hours when we were clueless what was going on. He said oh they would have seen it on ultrasound. I asked for blood tests...it showed elevated liver...on the borderline to ok...which to me says she did have FLD but maybe its getting better because of my feeding her. Her lipase was high but not her anylase.
Basically my plan is to keep feeding her and loving her and see what happens. I just added fortiflora to her diet and she gets supplements of nutrical as well. I guess she's eating about 150 kcal a day. She's soooooo skinny but she can jump in the bed on her own and go up and down stairs. The last couple nights she's been SO cuddly at night which is not that normal for her...she wants to be in my lap being petted.
I think my next step is to go to an actual pet dentist to have x rays done, as I'm not convinced there's nothing going on with her mouth. When I syringe feed her she grinds her teeth about half the time...which sounds awful. Her kidneys are fine. I wonder if its just the syringe feeding messing with her jaw or if this has been going on? I feel like we need more answers on the mouth. SHe has a small bump on the side of her throat which could be a lymph node...showing an infection...nothing funny on the bloodwork indicates an infection. Fecal was negative but we gave her a dewormer just in case.
So sorry that was very long...this has just been going on a while. Am I wrong to think that untreated lymphoma would have killed her by now?? Also how long would it take for a just under 6 pound cat to gain weight?
Her eye has a spot on it again and I'm just giving her the full dose of lysine...I'm hesitant to use the neopolydex drops on her. SIGH.