My friend Chalupa

[goholistic]

@GoHolistic I'm glad you still have your Sebastian. How is he doing these days?
Chalupa was once misdiagnosed with pancreatitis last summer. Tried to understand it then and it was very difficult. Turned out though I did know someone whose cat had pancreatitis. Their cat hAd it really bad and owner force fed her for two years. They did not know about appetite stimulants back then. She was actually one if the people who urged me to put Chalupa to sleep to avoid any suffering. she maybe felt bad for not letting her cat go sooner. When she told me about force feeding her cat when I Chalupa supposedly had pancreatitis, got really scared. had no idea then how much scarier things were about to get then.
What happens to Sebastian because of the pancreatitis? Is he on meds all the time?

I'm so sorry I didn't see this! The @mention link did not activate and I was never notified. Sebastian is doing pretty well. Knowing what aggravates his pancreatitis certainly helps. Of course, cancer can manifest as pancreatitis and pancreatitis can turn into cancer. This was always known and always in the back of my mind. He's due for a check-up. He is on a combination of traditional (Western) medicine, Chinese medicine, and holistic treatments. His latest regime is here. Feel free to PM me with any further questions if you don't want this thread to go off-topic. 

 

[chalupa]

Sorry @ GoHolistic don't know If I do the @ stuff right . Thank you for your reply. That's interesting about pancreatitis. Did not realize it could be a sign or symptom of cancer. Really didn't understand it. I will look at his treatment out of curiosity.
I remember at my first ER visit with Chalupa. Vet suspected pancreatitis and ran a test with a false positive result. At the time her symptoms were actually bring caused by a rupture in her intestine. They have her antibiotics among a few other drugs. The antibiotics is what stopped the sickness temporarily. She recommended to hospitalize her and run a ton of tests in addition . Started explaining pancreatitis and said, "first of all, pancreatitis, there is no cure for pancreatitis. " something like that. Have me a $2400.00 estimate to run tests and hospitalize her. Since she started with there is no cure I decided to do outpatient follow up treatment elsewhere, where the pancreatitis was proven negative and Ibd was diagnosed instead. It was really just the beginning of cancer I guess. It's all really scary.

 

[chalupa]

I adopted another cat. She is 8 years old, overweight, never had dental, at risk for diabetes and kidney disease. She is very playful but addicted to dry kibble and a picky eater. Think I named her Oona but not sure. Guess I was ready for a challenge. I just can't believe people can let go of their cats after so many years for really stupid reasons.

 

[goholistic]

Sorry @ GoHolistic don't know If I do the @ stuff right . Thank you for your reply. That's interesting about pancreatitis. Did not realize it could be a sign or symptom of cancer. Really didn't understand it. I will look at his treatment out of curiosity.
I remember at my first ER visit with Chalupa. Vet suspected pancreatitis and ran a test with a false positive result. At the time her symptoms were actually bring caused by a rupture in her intestine. They have her antibiotics among a few other drugs. The antibiotics is what stopped the sickness temporarily. She recommended to hospitalize her and run a ton of tests in addition . Started explaining pancreatitis and said, "first of all, pancreatitis, there is no cure for pancreatitis. " something like that. Have me a $2400.00 estimate to run tests and hospitalize her. Since she started with there is no cure I decided to do outpatient follow up treatment elsewhere, where the pancreatitis was proven negative and Ibd was diagnosed instead. It was really just the beginning of cancer I guess. It's all really scary.

Ah, yes. She is correct that there is no cure, per se. It may be controlled. There are a lot of factors that affect how successful (or unsuccessful) the condition is managed. It is scary and sometimes all these things kind of run together and it's really difficult to pinpoint the issue.

I adopted another cat. She is 8 years old, overweight, never had dental, at risk for diabetes and kidney disease. She is very playful but addicted to dry kibble and a picky eater. Think I named her Oona but not sure. Guess I was ready for a challenge. I just can't believe people can let go of their cats after so many years for really stupid reasons.

Congrats! I chuckled at you wanting to take this girl in and give you a challenge. I'm the same way. When the shelter told me Caesar had stopped eating and things were not looking good, I said, "Pack 'em up. He's coming with me." I know they weren't lying because you could see his deteriorated state in the cage. I brought him home along with his previous housemate Sebastian. They gave me a "two for one" deal like they were some kind of grocery item.

 

[chalupa]

@ GoHolistic Glad I'm not the only one taking on these sad felines.
So how is Caesar now? I noticed his pic before at the bottom of one if your posts, he is CUTE like really cute, meant to mention that before.
This cat I just adopted had diarrhea and vomit on day one so don't know what I'm in for. My last cat Chalupa only had diarrhea once that I can remember the entire ten years I had her, even with lymphoma and all her meds. so this is going to be a new if it's how it's going to be. How to get an overweight kibble cat off only dry is hard but I managed with Chalupa. She was such a butthead though, with her it took years. This cat doesn't have that kind of time. If you have any ideas would really appreciate.
What were Sebastions first symptoms of pancreatitis?

 

[chalupa]

This new adopted cat is almost an opposite of Chalupa in a lot of ways. I did visit with her several times beforehand so I'm not shocked or anything. Just weird I liked her so much, they are all different in their own unique ways and it makes it more fun to get to know them. It is hard not to think of comparing to Chalupa. At the same time it's cool she's got her own cute funny ways. still really miss Chalupa and although I'm distracted she is still in my head all the time. Do love this new cat friend though too. Happy to give another feline a home.

 

[goholistic]

Caesar is doing great right now! The first four months were rough. He was regurgitating a lot from food anxiety and food intolerances (a kibble addict at the time). He was going outside the box on occasion. I flat out refused to return him to the shelter. That's just not my style. I was determined to help him. He was doing great for awhile and then had an issue in which we determined might be IBD. He's on a regime for that, as well as preventive care for cystitis, but overall he is doing really well. I love him, he absolutely adores me, and I'm very glad I gave him a chance. 

  As far as transitioning from kibble to canned, here's a really good TCS article on that: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade

Sebastian's first bout with pancreatitis was severe. I came home from work late to find vomit everywhere and he was vomiting bile mixed with blood all night. It certainly was not a subtle thing! You can read about this initial experience here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262314/sebastian-hospitalized-has-pancreatitis-seeking-input

I'm sure you'll be thinking about Chalupa a lot. You should tell the new kitty all about her.

 

[chalupa]

Thank you, I am going to look at those threads about Sebastion and transitioning from kibble. Just wanted to write that your experience with Caesar first four months makes me feel a little better about what's going on with this cat. With Chalupa my only major problem with her at first was separation anxiety and eating too fast.  I think this cat is constipated, sneezing runny, eyes, nose, not eating much, back and forth to litter. Feel bad for her, don't want to freak her out and take her to vet already, she's really nervous still.

Sebastion's symptoms when he had his first bout of pancreatitis does seem similar to Chalupa, no wonder they they thought she had pancreatitis. Worse than I thought.

Thank you, going to read.

Wish you and your feline family the best!

 

[goholistic]

 
Thank you, I am going to look at those threads about Sebastion and transitioning from kibble. Just wanted to write that your experience with Caesar first four months makes me feel a little better about what's going on with this cat. With Chalupa my only major problem with her at first was separation anxiety and eating too fast.  I think this cat is constipated, sneezing runny, eyes, nose, not eating much, back and forth to litter. Feel bad for her, don't want to freak her out and take her to vet already, she's really nervous still.

Sebastion's symptoms when he had his first bout of pancreatitis does seem similar to Chalupa, no wonder they they thought she had pancreatitis. Worse than I thought.

Thank you, going to read.

Wish you and your feline family the best!

Thanks - you too! It's not uncommon for shelter kitties to bring "stuff" home with them. We just have to push through and get it taken care of. I hope she settles in and feels better soon.