Mystery illness, Possibly Lymphoma, Not Eating

[RussellsMom]

Hi - I'm writing about a family member's cat who has suddenly become very ill. A few days ago, Danno overnight became very withdrawn - he's normally extremely sociable, sweet, and affectionate - and has become very lethargic. Oddly, he's eating very well, and when he does get up from his cat bed, he walks very slowly and tentatively, but with his tail up. His eyes are bright (though sad, in my opinion), and his nose is comfortably wet. He poops and pees normally - stool looks normal. He drinks and pees a lot (he always has), which worried me because I once had a cat with CKD, but his kidney values are normal.

We took him to the emergency vet, who suspected hyperthyroid, but all of his labs came back fine. He's had a heart murmur all his life; the vet also heard a gallop-like arrhythmia, which scared me. The vet wasn't too concerned about the heart, although they did recommend having an ECG done. The vet did press getting an abdominal ultrasound done to check for IBD; his biggest concern was that Danno has lost 4 pounds since August (from 17 to 13 lbs). Until a few days ago, when I intervened in his care, he has eaten very poor quality dry food his whole life and has constantly vomited up that bad food his whole life. It's also possible the members of the household he lives in have been underfeeding him.

I'm heartened that he's eating so well (I bring my high-quality food to him where he's lying and he gobbles it up with enthusiasm), and he has not vomited once since I've been giving him the new food. But he is markedly not himself and seems very unwell to me - sort of emaciated and slow. He's still hanging out with people, not hiding, but he's not interacting much, except when I bring him food and cuddle him, which is very unlike him. I'm scared of stressing him out with tests but of course want to do everything I can to figure out what's going on and help him recover. Does any one have any similar experiences or advice? Thank you so much.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How old is Danno? If he is an older cat, say maybe over 8, he might be experiencing arthritic issues. Although, younger cats have been known to have arthritis too.

My cat has arthritis, and her main issue is moving about slowly and not wanting to 'prowl' the house like she used to.

The easiest way to test for arthritis is to have a couple x-rays taken of his spine/legs which are the most common places for arthritis to set in. Oh, and yes, get the ECG done too. I'd say those two tests before moving on to an ultrasound., especially since you've stopped his vomiting, and possibly have slowed down his weight loss with the food he is now eating.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. There is more testing that can be done to check his thyroid. He sounds like a hyperthyroid cat with the gallop rhythm and weight loss. I would pursue more testing and definitely do the ultrasound. Something is obviously wrong. You need to continue testing to find out what it is.

 

[FeebysOwner]

To know whether or not further thyroid testing would be needed, it would help to know his T4 level. Do you know what it was?

 

[Furballsmom]

It's also possible the members of the household he lives in have been underfeeding him.

I have to say, a 17 lb cat doesn't necessarily sound underfed.

Is this an indoor/outdoor cat? Could he have ingested something he shouldn't have?

There is a test that's called free T4 which is an additional thyroid test. My angel Poppycat's T4 was high normal but the free T4 pinned his hyperthyroidism down.

 

[RussellsMom]

Hi all - Thank you very much for so many prompt and helpful replies - I'm very stressed and anxious about this little guy and it's so helpful to have this support. To answer various questions: his T4 was 2 (normal range per vet is 0.8-4, right?). I suspect that's not free T4 but just regular T4? I will absolutely ask the vet to do further tests.

Also, I worry he might have been being underfed in recent months because his people wanted him to lose weight when he weighed 17 lbs. 13 lbs is a good weight for a cat his size, but the rapidity of the weight loss is concerning - 4 lbs in about 5 months. This is just conjecture, but I have observed one of the members of the household being a bit obsessive about Danno's (and others') weight.

I hadn't considered arthritis, but the slow creeping might indicate that. He is still jumping up to the bathroom sink level (he likes to drink from the faucet there) - that's about 36" - and he's not hesitating or having difficulties with that. Also, would arthritis just kick in overnight like that? He was perfectly normal, zooming around and playful, the day before.

He is and always has been a strictly indoor cat. It is possible he ate something off the floor that he shouldn't have. In my own house, we police the floor like hawks, since our cat Russell eats anything and everything he can find off the floor. The household Danno lives in is less careful. I figure if he'd ingested broken glass, a dropped pill, or some household chemicals, he would be experiencing much more violent, outward symptoms (vomiting, crying, inappetance, etc.?). But I do worry about that possibility, especially because of the sudden onset. The vet didn't think this was the issue.

We have an appointment for him to see a cardiologist and I'll call to see if they can do some other tests then too. As everyone knows, it's hard to get appointments these days - the soonest we could get is 10 days from now. I'll be calling around to try to get him to be seen sooner.

 

[FeebysOwner]

A T4 of 2 would probably not normally warrant additional testing, but if you're willing to have additional testing done, go for it. It is more common for a cat with a T4 of 4 to be considered 'borderline', even though the range goes to 8.4 (which is more representative of what one might find in a growing kitten).

I am sure that I missed some things with my cat, but what lead me down the path to finding she had arthritis was a limp she 'suddenly' acquired. She was still jumping up on stuff at that time. But, that is just one example and all cats are different.

Maybe his changes are to do with the drastic diet they put him on? I somehow wonder if this is heart related, so glad you have him going to see a cardiologist!

 

[RussellsMom]

Also forgot to add: Danno is around 11 years old.

 

[silent meowlook]

I think your money is best spent on an abdominal ultrasound at this point.

 

[iPappy]

The slow and tentative walking would make me suspect something arthritic or "out of whack", for lack of a better term, too. Definitely keep an eye on that thyroid though. I have a hyper thyroid cat and she lost weight rapidly and developed a heart murmur, but, she did not show any mobility issues (actually, she was hyper active and was jumping and climbing on everything.) When the thyroid issue was resolved, her murmur went away.
You said Danno is able to jump like usual. Can you watch him closely and see if you notice any hesitation before doing so? When he walks, is it like he's walking on eggshells? If you VERY gently massage his spine, shoulders, hips, etc. does he resist a certain area?

 

[IndyJones]

Something defenatly doesn't add up here, could you elaborate a bit more on this so called diet? Did they resrict his food or just switch to a diet food? How much was he getting on the diet vs how much does he get now? If it was signifigant it could definatly be classified as a "crash diet" very dangerous without the aid of a vet or nutritionalist.

 

[RussellsMom]

It's just a feeling I have that he might not have been being fed adequately, based on a few things:

1) His noticeable weight loss in recent months.
2) I've observed one of the members of the household underfeeding him - a few pieces of kibble at a time, I don't know how often. I'm not present in that home every day, and that person is not the most reliable narrator, so it's impossible for me to know how much he's been eating.
3) That person has recently been weight-obsessed and has been withholding food from herself.
4) Even if he is been being fed adequate amounts, the quality of the food has always been poor and he almost always throws up as soon as he eats, so I doubt he's been getting the full spectrum of nutrients.

For years, I've urged them to change his diet and have bought them many better quality foods to try, but they've never used them. Since he started exhibiting signs of lethargy and withdrawal starting Saturday (today is Wednesday), they've started feeding him and letting me feed him the better quality wet food. He eats it very eagerly and hasn't thrown up once.

That said, the household he lives in is quite a loving household. They all dote on and enjoy Danno and are very upset that he's exhibiting signs of illness. But I would say they aren't attuned to the details of cat care and safety (I'm constantly lecturing them about lilies, for example), and they are not knowledgeable about nutrition, feline or human. They're rather resistant to the idea of food for health.

 

[RussellsMom]

Also, just to add: the food thing might be a red herring and I absolutely don't want to miss any opportunity for looking into not-strictly-food-related medical issues. It's interesting that he's not throwing up the new food though.

 

[RussellsMom]

Danno's at the hospital now having an abdominal ultrasound. He ate only a few bites of food yesterday and this morning, and was turning his head away from his food bowl when I held it up to him. Also, to my alarm, he lay down to drink from his water bowl. He seems very weak, but alert and sweet. The vet said he was friendly during palpation until he got to his abdomen, when he growled (which is very unlike him), so they're doing the ultrasound to check for inflammation, nephritis, tumors, possibly pancreatitis. Please send him your best healing thoughts, and thank you all so much for your input, advice and support.

 

[iPappy]

Danno's at the hospital now having an abdominal ultrasound. He ate only a few bites of food yesterday and this morning, and was turning his head away from his food bowl when I held it up to him. Also, to my alarm, he lay down to drink from his water bowl. He seems very weak, but alert and sweet. The vet said he was friendly during palpation until he got to his abdomen, when he growled (which is very unlike him), so they're doing the ultrasound to check for inflammation, nephritis, tumors, possibly pancreatitis. Please send him your best healing thoughts, and thank you all so much for your input, advice and support.

The growling around his abdomen does point to something. I hope they have answers, and whatever those answers are, they are treatable and Danno will be back to his old, happy self in no time.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you! I also wanted to mention: the vet today said they'd made a clerical error on his chart on Monday when we first took him in: he weighs 15 lbs not 13, so he's only lost 2 pounds since August. That makes me feel better about the possibility that he was being underfed.

 

[iPappy]

RussellsMom I hope Danno is home, and feeling much better.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you, iPappy. Danno spent much of the day in the hospital. The ultrasound showed what the vet suspected might be lymphoma with possible spleen and liver involvement. Based on that, we had a fine needle biopsy done. Cytology should be ready early next week.

After eating so well through Wednesday, he was refusing all food on Thursday and early Friday. We were given mirtazipine and I was able to pill him easily when we got home (he's normally a very docile cat, and this sudden illness has made him very passive). Within an hour he was eating like a champ, drank a good amount of water, and walked around the house a little, making a pit stop to pee in his litter box. He's very spacy and altered, but he's not hiding and does respond to scritches and cuddles. I'm going to go back over there this afternoon to give him another pill and hopefully get him to eat.

Waiting is horrible. I'm glad we took action yesterday - I feel frantic when I can't take action when a loved one is ill - I know you can all relate. I don't want to get negative results, but I want him to get whatever treatments he can as soon as possible. I've been reading everything I can about feline lymphoma, especially the threads on this forum, which give me hope.

 

[stephanietx]

My heart goes out to you. We lost our kitty a couple of years ago to intestinal lymphoma. It's not a fun road to walk with your kitty. Praying for good news for you both.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you, stephanietx