I've tried everything....

[luvmycat6204]

As some of you know, I have posted here several times as Rocky is a work in progress.  Over the past 4 months we have tried limited diets, novel diets, and he's now back to Hills I/D..  He has had chronic gas within minutes after eating.  I move his plate around so he doesn't gobble it down fast.  He gets 1/4 of a cup of wet food every four hours, no dry at all anymore.

Nothing is working.....   He has had these issues since he was a kitten and been back and forth to the vets with this and the vet cannot find anything obviously wrong.

My next suspicion is hairballs, so have been reading all over your sight on hairballs.

I am now growing grass, gave him pepcid tonight (1/4 of Pepcid AC - for the gas once a day - 30 minutes before a meal), put vaseline on his paw tonight (all 4 hours after his last meal for hairball treatment)  I am now adding Pumpkin and a smidge of Miralax into his food.  As well 1/4 of an egg yoke every day.  Fortunately he's not a picky eater.  I also read that by feeding him every 4 hours encourages his gastric system to experience feelings of hunger which causes activity in his gastric area to push out the hairballs thru gastric emptying.

I ordered Egg Yolk Lechiticin by Swanson and Slippery Elm Bark and those will arrive in a few days. 

His bowel movements are now twice a day and very productive, just not seeing alot of hair in it. 

He licks his lips alot and yawns constantly too which concerns me but his appetite is good.  He had had dry hacking coughing several times this week.  

He has a high activity level and I encourage hard play with him.  

He drinks alot of water (has two water bowls - one a water fountain) and he uses the litter box quite frequently.  Since I am home all day long, I make sure

I keep his litterbox ultra clean.

I just hate to see the rolling gas moving his tummy after he eats, but eventually it stops.  He does seem to have some reflux too.  Will try the home remedies first and then take him to the vets.  Trying to go holistic before introducing harsh medicine.

Thanks for reading

Debbie  

 

[willowlondon]

Hi Debbie- sorry to hear Rocky is unwell.  I am definitely no expert - I use TCS for help & advice.  However, I thought I would just mention that my cat Dennis had been unwell for a few weeks and a course of vet prescribed anti-biotics hadn't helped.  I started him on some L-Lysine supplements having read about it on here and across the net and they seem to be helping LOADS. So I really hope the supplements you have researched sort Rocky out!

 

[lisahe]

Debbie, I'm no expert, either, but one thing struck me. First, does Rocky actually cough out/up hairballs and, related, has the vet already looked into the cough? Chronic coughing like that make me wonder about asthma -- one of our cats had two or three minor coughing attacks after we adopted her but after I read up on coughing and asthma we switched the kitty litter and she hasn't coughed since.

 

[bonepicker]

W

As some of you know, I have posted here several times as Rocky is a work in progress.  Over the past 4 months we have tried limited diets, novel diets, and he's now back to Hills I/D..  He has had chronic gas within minutes after eating.  I move his plate around so he doesn't gobble it down fast.  He gets 1/4 of a cup of wet food every four hours, no dry at all anymore.

Nothing is working.....   He has had these issues since he was a kitten and been back and forth to the vets with this and the vet cannot find anything obviously wrong.

My next suspicion is hairballs, so have been reading all over your sight on hairballs.

I am now growing grass, gave him pepcid tonight (1/4 of Pepcid AC - for the gas once a day - 30 minutes before a meal), put vaseline on his paw tonight (all 4 hours after his last meal for hairball treatment)  I am now adding Pumpkin and a smidge of Miralax into his food.  As well 1/4 of an egg yoke every day.  Fortunately he's not a picky eater.  I also read that by feeding him every 4 hours encourages his gastric system to experience feelings of hunger which causes activity in his gastric area to push out the hairballs thru gastric emptying.

I ordered Egg Yolk Lechiticin by Swanson and Slippery Elm Bark and those will arrive in a few days. 

His bowel movements are now twice a day and very productive, just not seeing alot of hair in it. 

He licks his lips alot and yawns constantly too which concerns me but his appetite is good.  He had had dry hacking coughing several times this week.  

He has a high activity level and I encourage hard play with him.  

He drinks alot of water (has two water bowls - one a water fountain) and he uses the litter box quite frequently.  Since I am home all day long, I make sure
I keep his litterbox ultra clean.

I just hate to see the rolling gas moving his tummy after he eats, but eventually it stops.  He does seem to have some reflux too.  Will try the home remedies first and then take him to the vets.  Trying to go holistic before introducing harsh medicine.

Thanks for reading

Debbie  

why not just buy vets best hairball relief tabs from amazon, cats love taste and it contains slippery elm and psyllium to aid digestion and rid hairballs. It is better than starting laxatives which can become habit forming!

 

[cocheezie]

If he's drinking a lot of water, ask the vet to do a glucose level test.

 

[luvmycat6204]

Hello bonepicker~  I have already ordered "Vets Best Hairball" from Chewy.  Until I get these two products, I'm trying vaseline, pumpkin and a little egg for now. Thanks for your response

Hi willowlondon ~ Rocky does also sneeze frequently, so will start him back on L-Lysine. No, he has not coughed up any hairballs, it's just a dry hack.  He has had several. If this persists, then will take him to the vets.  He has checked out with good heart and lungs before in the past 3 months. You mentioned TCS, could you explain what TCS is ?? Thanks

LisaHE, what kind of litter did you switch to? Thank you for responding

Cocheezie ~ When I take Rocky in, I'll inquire about that test. Thank you

Debbie

 

[dragulescugirl]

I wouldn't recommend Vaseline as a treatment for oral ingestion. I've used it to help a constipated cat by inserting it anally with a q-tip (per vet's orders) but Vasaline and any petroleum jelly based product is potentially harmful to cats.

I also recommend slowly adding things to his diet changing it up ever few days. Otherwise you can get some nasty stomach problems. Introducing new items slowly also helps to gauge the success of each item.

Also in reading your past posts - I think you need to check for cancer, has this happened yet? My boy, Kinko, had none of the typical symptoms of cancer but they did a biopsy on his intestines and found it. Bloodwork, X-rays, his behavior did not indicate any problems but he had to have emergency surgery to remove a hairball block. They took a sample then and in a few days the results came back as cancer.

Not to scare you, but you should try and get it ruled out.

 

[luvmycat6204]

DragulescuGirl ~  As you know, all these tests are very expensive and I'm on disability and do not have access to funds in order to get these done.  With my former cat who had complications from hypercalcemia (cancer), I maxed out my CareCredit card.  That is why I am trying to do home remedies first to see if there is any improvement.  I have given up on trying different food groups, so now moving on to working on hairball remedies, hoping to find him relief. 

Why would you not recommend vaseline as I keep reading this is okay and petroleum is included in alot of hairball remedies?  Just trying to learn.

Cancer is frightening to me. I'm recovering from breast cancer, my cat passed away due to cancer and now I'm facing another cancer recurrence, all in the last 12 months. 

Thank you.

Debbie

 

[LTS3]

 
If he's drinking a lot of water, ask the vet to do a glucose level test.

 
Cocheezie ~ When I take Rocky in, I'll inquire about that test. Thank you

A one time blood glucose test won't tell much. Many cats get so stressed out from being at the vet's office that their blood glucose level will be elevated. A better test to ask for is the fructosamine test. It tells the average blood glucose levels over the past few weeks. Normal levels are roughly 60 to 150 mg/dl (3 to 11 mmol for those outside the US).

Drinking a lot of water and having a urine output to match are some symptoms of diabetes. This mostly affects senior age cats but juvenile diabetes can occur though is rare. When you clean the litter box, does the urine clumps smell sugary and are hard to scoop because they are sticky?

Constantly licking lips is a sign of nausea. Has the cat been tested for pancreatitis? That could cause nausea.

 

[luvmycat6204]

Hi LTS3 ~ I am familiar with the PLI and PLTI blood tests and thank you for the info on the diabetes testing. 

Rocky is growing and is not loosing weight.  My concern now is how to manage his GI issues from a more naturalistic basis before taking him in to the vets so I can say I did this and that and I have tried all home remedies. 

He has had soo many health issues and yet when I take him into the vets, my vet states he passes his physical exam.  Now, I do think all this has gone on too long and will give it one more effort before I beg a reduction in my vet fees in order to get help for Rocky.

Thank you LTS3 for your help

Debbie

 

[luvmycat6204]

I made an appointment for Rocky this week to see his vet for a workup.  Thanks to all of you for your help

Debbie

 

[lisahe]

 
LisaHE, what kind of litter did you switch to? Thank you for responding

Debbie, it's Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief, which is nearly dust-free. It's expensive but it's been totally worth it, particularly since we'd been using Fresh Step, which made my husband cough, too, and got dust everywhere.

I think Dr. Elsey has another kind that's cheaper but supposedly equally low in dust... we happened to have a bag of Respiratory Relief (long story) when Ireland was coughing and now I don't want to switch because Respiratory Relief really seems to work. If I had it to do all over again, I'd probably go for the other low-dust litter and then try RR if the other stuff didn't work. Good luck. I hope it helps with the coughing!

 

[dragulescugirl]

 
DragulescuGirl ~  As you know, all these tests are very expensive and I'm on disability and do not have access to funds in order to get these done.  With my former cat who had complications from hypercalcemia (cancer), I maxed out my CareCredit card.  That is why I am trying to do home remedies first to see if there is any improvement.  I have given up on trying different food groups, so now moving on to working on hairball remedies, hoping to find him relief. 

Why would you not recommend vaseline as I keep reading this is okay and petroleum is included in alot of hairball remedies?  Just trying to learn.

Cancer is frightening to me. I'm recovering from breast cancer, my cat passed away due to cancer and now I'm facing another cancer recurrence, all in the last 12 months. 

Thank you.

Debbie

My understanding from my vet is that anything petroleum should be an "in a pinch" solution and straight up Vaseline is always a "no no" - I believe it causes them to not be able to absorb certain Vitamins. I've instead used fish oil (the OTC pills you can buy) and when Kinko was being fussy about his food tuna packed in oil. 

I'm in the same boat with maxed out cards and I understand - two weeks after my Kinko passed away my Sasha was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. But it sounds like Rocky may have IBD or Intestinal Lymphoma. Find out the costs and if your vet is willing to work out a payment plan (thankfully mine is which has been a life saver) but you need to rule it out as soon as possible. IBD can be lived with for quite awhile but will turn into cancer. Cancer - the earlier you find it the better chance of survival. 

IBD sounds more likely due to his age - but the gas, dark stools, and constipation lead me to believe things are not working as they should be internally. If he is passing stools the likelihood of it being a hairball is minimal. When we discovered the cancer in Kinko it was due to pancreatitis and a block in his system with an inability to pass a hairball. I was told if he's using the restroom normally than there is no block. 

 

[luvmycat6204]

Dragulescugirl ~  Thank you for your detailed posting.  Rocky occasionally has two healthy productive bowel movements a day. The black stools, I hadn't seen in awhile, but they were twisted and very hard which leads me to be he was passing a hairball.  It's been over a month now since I have seen one of those.  Today, already he has had two productive bowel movements, probably due to the pumpkin I am mixing into his food. 

My vet does not do scopes and would have to refer me out to a gastroenterologist and that is way out of my ball park to fund at this point. My vet does not work with payments. 

Still, I see whatever is going on with him is progressing and chronic and it's time to get to the bottom of it. 

Debbie

 

[luvmycat6204]

 LisaHE ~  Thanks for the name of the dust free litter.

Debbie

 

[luvmycat6204]

LisaHE ~ Would Fresh Step Crystals do the same thing?

Debbie

 

[lisahe]

 
LisaHE ~ Would Fresh Step Crystals do the same thing?

Debbie, they might -- crystals are definitely worth a try! (I suspect that if you're using a dusty, perfumy litter now, as we had been, you probably have the highest chance of success by changing litters.)

We used Fresh Step crystals with our previous cat (she didn't have asthma) and they don't have much dust. I don't know if you've ever used crystals but she liked them from the start and did well with them. (And you definitely know when they need to be changed!)

 

[LTS3]

I wonder if your vet can consult with another vet for ideas? VIN.com is a popular web stie for vets that has a message board. A vet school or large vet hospital may also be of help.

 

[bonepicker]

Try feeding carrageenan free grain free food. I have heard carrageenan has an inflammatory affect. Try nutro natural choice chunky chicken loaf or nature variety instinct or pride by instinct ( mine like rabbit in those two brands). My cat used to vomit and pass gas but not anymore. (I also wormed her and started using revolution flea and worm prevention). Worms cause gas, they can get them from fleas or catching a mouse.

 

[luvmycat6204]

Hi bonepicker and LTS3 ~  I have eliminated carrageenan from Rocky's diet completely for the reasons you mentioned.  I've also tried all the diets you recommended and nothing worked, so thinking this goes way beyond a food issue now.

The rescue person who I adopted Rocky from just picked him up and took him to her vet for a complete workup.  I suggested a PCR, x-rays, superchem blood work and Feluk/FIV test to start and then will go from there.  He vomited yesterday and that pushed me over the fence with worry.  I'm soo fortunate to have this person who has helped me soo much with Rocky and his littermate.  I have been reading the other post about senior cats with IBD and passed along the feline maldigestive profile blood test too.

I should hear something if not tonight by tomorrow as he will stay with them until tomorrow.

Wish us luck.  I'm going to miss him terribly tonight but I know he's in good hands.

Debbie