Henry May Have Kidney Disease

[thevegancuddler]

 
 The question is what made him stop eating in the first place?

It wasn't the hepatic lipidosis as that doesn't develop until the cat has stopped eating for some period of time.

How are his bowel movements? Is he having any?  You mention he is spending a lot of time in the litter box. I would have the vet palpate his belly as they can feel constipation. If he is severely constipated he is not going to be able to eat and is going to throw up.

I would check for constipation first.  A second thing to try is treat this like inflammatory bowel disease and try giving prednisolone. If he has inflammation in his stomach the food is going to come back up.

A problem with raw food is that it does get contaminated with all sorts of bacteria. He could have a bacterial infection in his GI tract causing abdominal pain and vomiting. I don't know why people think raw meat is safe.  If I were to go out and kill a chicken and feed it directly to my cat, than it would probably be safe.  Range free chicken would also be relatively safe. Any chicken kept in confinement and processed is probably not safe for anyone without cooking.  Are you familiar with how factory farms work?

Maybe the food has nothing to do with it, maybe it does.  If he does have a bacterial infection in the GI tract he will need antibiotics, and prednisolone will make him worse.

What were the results of his bloodwork?  Is he negative for kidney disease?

Pushing food is not going to change the fact that something made him stop eating. The only way he is going to get better is if you find out what is preventing him from eating.

For the 10 weeks he was on raw, you did supplement with taurine, correct?

I did all the supplementing, yes. I'm a vegan, so I know how factory farming works, but I was told that cats have a greater tolerance to whatever might be in raw meat, as they are designed to eat it, whereas we are not. I had Clavimox, but frankly, I wasn't giving it to him because the vet didn't even mention the possibility of a bacterial infection; we kind of threw it at the problem in the hopes of getting lucky because it was cheap. And now I'm being told to stop Clavimox anyway, because it can make him nauseous.

I did raise enough funds to be able to insert the feeding tube, but I'm going to talk to my vet when he gets in in about 3.5 hours to see whether or not it might even be a good idea to insert it. Henry has continued to dry heave and vomit even without food in his system, so I dunno what's up with that.

As I said before, I'm hoping to just stabilize the immediate problem, which is the HL, as he will definitely die if I don't. If he has something else like cancer or liver disease, that can be uncovered over the next few weeks as I raise money for his care. I'm so broke right now that it's hard to get all of the money together for him, but I finally have enough for the tube, thanks to donations. The vet wants an ultrasound next, so that'll be the next thing I save for.

 

[denice]

I know you don't know what is going on with your kitty but when Patches would have IBD flares he would do the dry heaving and completely quit eating.  He would vomit a little bile and the last 2 or 3 years that he was having flares they would be a rusty red color, I assume from blood.  He was put on a couple of medications along with the feeding tube.  He started out with much smaller feedings than the 60 ml diluted feedings.  He was hospitalized but the vet told me that he was worked up to that amount.  There were a few feedings at the beginning at home that I cut short because he started gagging.

I'm not trying to make you decide one way or the other and your kitties situation may be completely different.  I just wanted to let you know that it is possible to get things like this under control and be able to feed.  You and your vet need to make the decision though.

 

[thevegancuddler]

 
I know you don't know what is going on with your kitty but when Patches would have IBD flares he would do the dry heaving and completely quit eating.  He would vomit a little bile and the last 2 or 3 years that he was having flares they would be a rusty red color, I assume from blood.  He was put on a couple of medications along with the feeding tube.  He started out with much smaller feedings than the 60 ml diluted feedings.  He was hospitalized but the vet told me that he was worked up to that amount.  There were a few feedings at the beginning at home that I cut short because he started gagging.

I'm not trying to make you decide one way or the other and your kitties situation may be completely different.  I just wanted to let you know that it is possible to get things like this under control and be able to feed.  You and your vet need to make the decision though.

This makes me feel better, thank you. It's so hard for me to stop fighting when I know it could be something like this, you know? How was Patches diagnosed? Did they just give him IBD medicines and hoped it would work? Henry has been vomiting bile as well. No blood though.

 

[denice]

Have you had a chance to talk to the vet yet?  IBD is actually a diagnoses of elimination.  Often everything on blood work will be fine.

 

[thevegancuddler]

Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you know that I did take Henry to the vet again tonight, and we made the decision to let him go. Even over the course of the few days since I had started this thread, he was getting so much worse. It was his time. When I am able (maybe tomorrow?), I'll be posting a little tribute to him in the Rainbow Bridge section. Thanks again for all of your support.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm so sorry for your loss, but it sounds like it was the best thing for him.  Now he is free from any suffering he might have had

Rest in Peace,

Henry

, you beautiful boy.

 

[barbh]

So sorry for your loss of Henry It is a difficult decision to make, even when we know that it is the best for them. Give your other fur kids some hugs and remember that you did everything you could for Henry, including helping him to move peaceably on with the greatest act of love that you could show him.

 

[denice]

I am so sorry and you did everything that you could.  You put a lot of work into the syringe feeding and gave him a chance.  You also gave him a loving home for the end of his life rather than his ending up in a shelter.

 

[ldg]

Oh no, I am SO SO SO SO sorry. It's always especially hard when their time with us was so short. But at least he had a wonderful mom and lots of love. I know that's of little consolation right now, but it matters. :heart2:

:grphug2: :grphug2: :grphug2: :grphug2: :grphug2:

I think you will find this post helpful RIGHT NOW. :heart2: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/237066/when-the-moment-comes

 

[jcat]

I'm very sorry for your loss and would like to extend the sympathies of the entire TCS team. RIP, Henry.

 

[peaches08]

I'm so sorry about Henry. I'm glad that he had a loving home; I'm sure he did too.

 

[jcat]

For those of you who wish to give your condolences, there's a tribute to Henry in Crossing the Bridge: Henry, My Sweet Baby

This thread will now be locked.