Good to see the site back, hello everyone. We guess Hima’s age to be 4-6 years old. I took Hima to her annual check-up last Monday. We couldn't go last year due to the pandemic. In June 2019 her creatinine was 1,37 mg/dl.
So now, at least two things going on. One is Hima had this wound/fungus on the same spot in June 2019. It disappeared on its own by time (or at least got better enough to not be visible from the fur.) I noticed a new thing there on December 2020. I try to keep it clean but she plays with it and to this date it's still there. The vet saw it only with scab and said "the best option it's fungus" and prescribed a fungus oinment.
Well the other problems are more worrisome, it's her bloodwork. Her ALT is 8 times higher than normal. And to my surprise and what freaks me out the most, her creatinine is also high. But BUN and phosphorus are normal. PLT is low.
A few things that may be related:
So now, at least two things going on. One is Hima had this wound/fungus on the same spot in June 2019. It disappeared on its own by time (or at least got better enough to not be visible from the fur.) I noticed a new thing there on December 2020. I try to keep it clean but she plays with it and to this date it's still there. The vet saw it only with scab and said "the best option it's fungus" and prescribed a fungus oinment.
Well the other problems are more worrisome, it's her bloodwork. Her ALT is 8 times higher than normal. And to my surprise and what freaks me out the most, her creatinine is also high. But BUN and phosphorus are normal. PLT is low.
A few things that may be related:
- The test was done to empty stomach as it was asked by the vet. Hima had a bit Acana dry food around 11pm on Sunday, the blood was taken at 09:45am. BUT, that Sunday I gave her a bit more than usual boiled turkey breast as treats. Other than that she had Gourmet Gold pate (like Fancy Feast), Miamor pate liver wet food, and Me-O liquid treat.
- Her dewormer was 2,5 weeks late as I waited for the clinic so they could give her a dewormer pill. So it's possible she had intestinal worms.
- She has gingivitis, bad breath, and been salivating more the past couple months. It gets better and worse some days depending on how hard what she ate was.
- She gets temporary tummy ache occasionally. Sits hunched for a bit, then goes back to normal.
- I normally give her a milk thistle supplement but she was off of it the last 2 weeks. I wanted to see the numbers without it.
- I don't see her bowel movements as she goes in the yard but she spends like 15 minutes outside in total so she can't have diarrhea. She's playful, acts normal, jumps normally, eats normally, shiny soft coat, no puking.
- Two weeks before the test she hunted a rat in the yard. She never eats them and didn't eat this either.
- Normally Hima doesn't drink any water. She eats 2 cans of wet food with added water. (But that may not be enough as she also eats dry food.) For the last maybe 2 months she drinks some water once a day or so. Not a major change, but a change.
- What do you think is going on here?
- I will ask for re-checking her BUN, creatinine, and ALT at the end of April. I will ask for a blood SDMA test and bile acid test too. Is there any other test I should ask for?
- The vet suggested ultrasound for the liver and kidneys. I can afford it cost-wise but going to the clinic is stressful enough for Hima, ultrasound will be x2 worse and it will be done by a stranger too. (Another vet comes to the clinic to get it done.) ALSO, the weather is getting warm here so there are more insects around. With a shaved belly she will be more exposed to all kinds of bites and allergens. Should I ask for repeat of the blood test first or go straight to ultrasound?
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