My 12-year-old cat, Aspen, has been suffering from chronic loose, drippy stools and diarrhea since Thanksgiving. $800 in bloodwork and treatment, an overnight trip during a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, and multiple trips to the vet seem not to be addressing the issue. He appeared to have an infection which he took a full two weeks of antibiotics for, and it didn't seem to clear it up or it's recurring. He's lost weight. I can guarantee he'll throw up at least once a week if not more, and his fecal drippings are constantly a problem on our carpet. His liver enzymes were elevated at last check and we were trying to bring them down. I can't keep affording to take him in for a blood panel every two or three weeks -- it's $150/pop. His kidneys aren't failing, but the issue seems to be either between kidney or liver.
He is currently on a no-grain dry food with intermittent wet foods. He is allergic to grain foods, so the one he's on seems to be helping with that. Raw food isn't really an option (our two other cats will go after it; he's a grazer, and they'll chow down as fast as possible), nor is constantly giving him wet food. We try to feed him separately in the bathroom, but he sees this as punishment. He drinks a lot of water, but then he has since he was a kitten.
SQ fluids have helped as a short-term procedure in the past, but he absolutely hates receiving them. I've done them at home, and it is always a fight. Our vets (emergency and regular) checked my technique to be sure I wasn't causing him harm and I practiced on oranges to try to have a clean injection technique, but he hisses, growls, and slinks away after he is done. Getting him to eat medicine even with pill pockets is extremely difficult; he chews around the covers, spits out the medicine. No use trying to hide it in wet food, dry food, pumpkin; he's far too smart for his own good.
This problem has been chronic for several months now and shows no signs of getting better. He goes up and down, some days good, other days bad.
I am honestly at my wits' end on what to do. He seems miserable a lot of the time and I constantly have to check him before letting him jump up onto me. My husband and I are expecting in October, so I can't get in contact with his stool (due to being pregnant) and he isn't thrilled with constantly wiping up after the cat. With the baby on the way, we'd like to get him healthier but I don't know that we can afford a vet visit every three weeks for yet more SQ fluids, medicines, or blood paneling, all of which haven't appeared to fix what his problems are.
Any ideas?
He is currently on a no-grain dry food with intermittent wet foods. He is allergic to grain foods, so the one he's on seems to be helping with that. Raw food isn't really an option (our two other cats will go after it; he's a grazer, and they'll chow down as fast as possible), nor is constantly giving him wet food. We try to feed him separately in the bathroom, but he sees this as punishment. He drinks a lot of water, but then he has since he was a kitten.
SQ fluids have helped as a short-term procedure in the past, but he absolutely hates receiving them. I've done them at home, and it is always a fight. Our vets (emergency and regular) checked my technique to be sure I wasn't causing him harm and I practiced on oranges to try to have a clean injection technique, but he hisses, growls, and slinks away after he is done. Getting him to eat medicine even with pill pockets is extremely difficult; he chews around the covers, spits out the medicine. No use trying to hide it in wet food, dry food, pumpkin; he's far too smart for his own good.
This problem has been chronic for several months now and shows no signs of getting better. He goes up and down, some days good, other days bad.
I am honestly at my wits' end on what to do. He seems miserable a lot of the time and I constantly have to check him before letting him jump up onto me. My husband and I are expecting in October, so I can't get in contact with his stool (due to being pregnant) and he isn't thrilled with constantly wiping up after the cat. With the baby on the way, we'd like to get him healthier but I don't know that we can afford a vet visit every three weeks for yet more SQ fluids, medicines, or blood paneling, all of which haven't appeared to fix what his problems are.
Any ideas?