Mystery illness, Possibly Lymphoma, Not Eating

[iPappy]

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.

I am so sorry to hear the possible diagnosis. The waiting is, indeed, horrible.
It helps me while I wait to focus on their symptoms and how they're acting in general. That frantic feeling is not a stranger to me, I always say when one of them is sick the rest of my life is put on hold because that is the ONLY thing that matters.
There are several members here who have cats with this type of lymphoma, and many of them do incredibly well. I had a cat that was diagnosed with IBD, and knowing what I know now I would guess he had some form of intestinal lymphoma (but I don't know for sure, and I am not a vet.) He lived to be over 15.
to you and Danno.

 

[RussellsMom]

Quick recap from another thread: a family member's 11-12 year old cat went from 100% to close to 0% overnight about a week ago. He was eating well until Wednesday, when he stopped eating altogether. He's also very altered in his usually bright and extremely friendly personality: very withdrawn (but not hiding), weak back legs (though still slowly getting to his cat box), and not interactive. Yesterday he had an abdominal ultrasound that showed possible lymphoma with possible spleen and liver involvement: cytology from fine needle biopsy will arrive in a few days hopefully. After yesterday's vet visit, I gave him mitrazipine; the vet gave him cerenia injection; and after those two things he ate so well - voraciously really. Today, even after a mitrazipine dose and cerenia pill at home, he won't eat anything. Please, anyone, please advise me on how to stimulate his appetite. I'm scared.

 

[RussellsMom]

Also, we have some buprenorphine syringes - should I give him some?

 

[fionasmom]

Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!
The suggestions here may or may not be helpful under the circumstances, but some of them might tempt his appetite. Is the bupe his prescription which was given to him by your vet?

 

[RussellsMom]

Yes, the vet sent us home with bupe. We had a not great reaction with bupe with another cat, so I'm nervous, but was hoping for some encouragement to use it on Danno, who seems uncomfortable -?

 

[iPappy]

I would try the bupe. It seems to be tolerated by a lot of cats very well. It is always scary when you have a past reaction on your mind though.
I would definitely update your vet in the morning on how he's doing regardless.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you. I went over there again this evening and tried to encourage his people to take him to the ER but they want to wait overnight. I am beside myself with helplessness and grief - I'm very scared for him. Like everyone here, I've cared for ill cats before, and he seems very, very unwell. And the nicest, gentlest cat I've ever known.

Also wanted to say that I'd tried to start a new thread with my recap message above, but it was attached to this thread, in case that seemed odd. I have hand-fed and syringe-fed inappetant cats before, but Danno wouldn't eat anything I tried today. He turned his head away from all food, so I'm desperate for suggestions.

 

[iPappy]

Thank you. I went over there again this evening and tried to encourage his people to take him to the ER but they want to wait overnight. I am beside myself with helplessness and grief - I'm very scared for him. Like everyone here, I've cared for ill cats before, and he seems very, very unwell. And the nicest, gentlest cat I've ever known.

Also wanted to say that I'd tried to start a new thread with my recap message above, but it was attached to this thread, in case that seemed odd. I have hand-fed and syringe-fed inappetant cats before, but Danno wouldn't eat anything I tried today. He turned his head away from all food, so I'm desperate for suggestions.

You are trying, and you are doing a great job. Will his people monitor him overnight and check up on him?
What kinds of foods did you try today? Even though it's not the best for cats as a regular inclusion in their diet, if I see inappetence I usually break out some tuna, and offer them that and the juice separately. All meat baby food is something a lot of cats will take, as it's so easy to eat. Just make sure there's no onions or garlic in it. Churu is another one that a lot of cats like. Just make sure any food you offer is luke warm or room temp, not cold out of the fridge. I've also found a lot of cats that won't eat will take a few bites if you sit with them and pet them gently.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you so much, iPappy. Danno's dad (my brother) has been sleeping close to Danno at night, so he can monitor him. But he's so passive and immobilized by this situation that I worry he won't act quickly and get Danno to the ER if necessary.

He loves his boy so much but I'm scared he doesn't comprehend the urgency of Danno’s condition, and also that he doesn't understand the options for getting Danno the care he needs. I've tried to convince him of the urgency every way I know how. If our Russell (see avatar) suddenly altered his entire personality overnight the way Danno did last week, we would have taken him to the vet straight away. I hate not being able to be more in control of this situation.

As for feeding, thank you for reminding me about baby food. We syringe-fed fed Beechnut to our beloved CKD cat Story when he stopped eating. I’ll go over to Danno’s in the morning and try that and tuna water. I’ll see if I can find Churu – I ordered some on Chewy, but it will take days to get here. Today I tried various Wellness cans and pouches, several flavors of our Russell’s favorite Fancy Feast Gravies, Weruva, Tiki Cat, a Hill’s kibble Danno usually likes, and his favorite Temptations. He turned his head away from all of them and at one point sort of staggered away from me holding a bowl, which made me feel terrible for upsetting him. All this between 1 and 4 hours after giving him mirtazapine and cerenia.

 

[IndyJones]

Be super careful of syringe feeding. He could asparate on it and get it in his lungs. This may sound strange but maybe he would lick the food off the fingers of whoever he has the closest bond with. Just have them stick their fingers in the food and hold it under his nose. Works for my cats.

 

[daftcat75]

Cerenia can cause inappetence in many cats. You might want to ask your vet for ondansetron instead.

Bupe can also cause inappetence. If you suspect there is pain, you may ask your vet for gabapentin instead.

You may also ask your vet for Hills A/D. It’s an urgent care food for sick cats who don’t want to eat. In other words, Danno right now. If he likes the stuff, and many cats do, I recommend mixing it with something he also likes. You can start A/D rich to get him back in the habit of eating. But he will probably eat more total food on his own as the mix of A/D to whatever else is less A/D rich. Betty likes A/D. I can always get her to eat some of that. But it’s rich like chocolate mousse. She will only eat so much. If I mix it with Hills I/D (currently about a 50/50 mix), she will eat more total food both in volume and calories.

 

[iPappy]

Cerenia can cause inappetence in many cats. You might want to ask your vet for ondansetron instead.

Bupe can also cause inappetence. If you suspect there is pain, you may ask your vet for gabapentin instead.

You may also ask your vet for Hills A/D. It’s an urgent care food for sick cats who don’t want to eat. In other words, Danno right now. If he likes the stuff, and many cats do, I recommend mixing it with something he also likes. You can start A/D rich to get him back in the habit of eating. But he will probably eat more total food on his own as the mix of A/D to whatever else is less A/D rich. Betty likes A/D. I can always get her to eat some of that. But it’s rich like chocolate mousse. She will only eat so much. If I mix it with Hills I/D (currently about a 50/50 mix), she will eat more total food both in volume and calories.

A/D is an excellent suggestion. It is very palatable and so high in calories that even a few bites will give him a lot of nutrition.
I hope he's doing well this morning and the vet can see him soon!

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you all for your advice. One problem is Danno doesn't really have a vet - not one that cares, apparently. When I called my brother's vet to say Danno was in distress, they said they couldn't see him and to take him to the ER. It's the ER vet (not my favorite, but better than nothing) who he saw on Monday and Wednesday and who gave us the cerenia, mirtazapine and bupe.

He pooped this morning after two days of not pooping, which is good, and I managed to finger feed him just about 1/3 of a little tub of Sheba. He did ingest it, but he was pretty stressed out by it. I'm just going to stay at my brothers for as long as I can to try to keep putting food in his mouth from time to time. Maybe it will help. I only got 3 or 4 droplets of water from a little syringe on his lips.

Any and all advice or experience is extremely welcome - thank you so much.

 

[RussellsMom]

Should I call the ER and try to get prescriptions for ondansetron and gaba or should I stick with what we have? After an injection of cerenia at the vet, plus a 1/4 pill of mirtazapine, he ate like a champ. But after cerenia and mirtazapine pills at home yesterday he ate absolutely nothing.

The ER vet gave us the bupe because he assumed there was pain/discomfort. I talked my brother through administering it last night, and he did it (half the suggested 0.3 dose - was that OK?), and he does seem to be a little brighter today - by a fraction of a degree.

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you all for your advice. One problem is Danno doesn't really have a vet - not one that cares, apparently. When I called my brother's vet to say Danno was in distress, they said they couldn't see him and to take him to the ER. It's the ER vet (not my favorite, but better than nothing) who he saw on Monday and Wednesday and who gave us the cerenia, mirtazapine and bupe.

He pooped this morning after two days of not pooping, which is good, and I managed to finger feed him just about 1/3 of a little tub of Sheba. He did ingest it, but he was pretty stressed out by it. I'm just going to stay at my brothers for as long as I can to try to keep putting food in his mouth from time to time. Maybe it will help. I only got 3 or 4 droplets of water from a little syringe on his lips.

Any and all advice or experience is extremely welcome - thank you so much.

An ER vet facility should be able to sell you a few cans of A/D. It's where I first got introduced to it for Betty. It's what they use when they have to syringe feed/assist feed/feed by tube to a cat. If you're not able to get different prescriptions from the ER doc, perhaps you can simply skip a dose or two of the Cerenia to see if he eats better without it. Cerenia has cratered both my cats' appetite on the occasions they were instructed to take it. Eating with the occasional spit up may be better than not eating at all until you can get him into a vet who will work with you for longer than an ER visit.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thanks so much, daftcat75. I don't drive (yes, it adds exponentially to my difficulty in helping in this situation), but I'll see if my brother is willing to pick up the cans if we can find a vet who will give them to us.

 

[Furballsmom]

they said they couldn't see him

A lot of veterinarian clinics are having issues with understaffing, and even if/when they're fully staffed there are a lot more people taking their animals in. ...which is obviously a good thing but ironically it's also a two-edged sword.

He pooped this morning

This is wonderful news. Keep in mind that he won't be doing much since he's not eating much, but I wanted to say how incredibly fantastic I think you are for stepping up for this cat.

Maybe it will help.

This is an enormous help, as is the water. You might try a tongue depressor and see if he's a little more comfortable with that, my vet had me use that method for my angel Poppycat.

I can't answer regarding the meds, but maybe yes?

 

[daftcat75]

Should I call the ER and try to get prescriptions for ondansetron and gaba or should I stick with what we have? After an injection of cerenia at the vet, plus a 1/4 pill of mirtazapine, he ate like a champ. But after cerenia and mirtazapine pills at home yesterday he ate absolutely nothing.

The ER vet gave us the bupe because he assumed there was pain/discomfort. I talked my brother through administering it last night, and he did it (half the suggested 0.3 dose - was that OK?), and he does seem to be a little brighter today - by a fraction of a degree.

It shouldn't hurt to call the ER and see if they can give you some alternate prescriptions. They did after all see your cat so the hardest part of getting prescriptions is over. Any ER doc worth his or her salt should understand that sometimes the alternates work better than the first choice prescriptions. Give 'em a call.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thanks so much, all! I've been at my brother's place all afternoon watching Danno carefully. After our little stressful hand feedings, he did lick a bit of chicken baby food on his own. He also reached out a paw to bring his water bowl closer to him, and when I brought it over to him, he drank quite a bit on his own. That made me smile (yes, first smile from me in days).

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Often it is ahi. I am sorry you are in this situation and sorry for the sweet kitty as well.

First thing is that you need to get him a vet. Look for a cat only facility or if none around,one that is feline friendly certified. Here is a link to find one.
You are being redirected...
This is where you start. Call and explain the dire situation with your cat and try to get him in ASAP.

This is not a situation that can be handled with an ER vet and random visits. Don’t get me wrong, you were 100% correct taking him to the ER. That was the right thing to do to save his life. For follow up care, he needs to have a veterinarian that is his and can help and is knowledgeable about cats. A specialist is always preferred, but the availability and cost can sometimes be hard. A good veterinarian will refer you if the case is outside their knowledge.

Ultrasounds are very subjective and best done by a board certified internal medicine veterinarian as opposed to a regular vet or an ER vet. That being said, I have worked at ER vets before, and although most don’t read ultrasounds, there has been one who read them better than any specialist I have met. This vet was brilliant in everything. But, sadly there aren’t many out there like that. Usually their knowledge sticks more to their field.

If what the abdominal ultrasound showed is true, ( there can be mistakes or misreads if not done by a specialist) then, if there is kidney and liver involvement, this is much more complicated than just intestinal lymphoma. So, the same things that would work for intestinal lymphoma may not help here because of the liver and kidney involvement.

I am not a vet and hold no veterinary degree in anything. I can only state the above as my opinion and what I have seen in my experience.

What I can tell you is that it is imperative for your cat to be under the care of a qualified veterinarian that can help you and mostly him. You need to know many things in order to even attempt to manage a case like this. Remember, if there is liver and kidney or spleen involvement, this is not the standard GI Lymphoma. But, you need to know if there actually is those findings or if it was misread by a regular veterinarian.

When an ultrasound is done, on the screen the vet looks at as they move the probe are various black and grey images that must be interpreted. Some vets are better than others at doing this.


My advice would be to use the link above and get a vet on board that can help you through this. This is an urgent situation and you and your cat need veterinary guidance ASAP.

Please let me know how it turns outz