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- Sep 5, 2020
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TLDR: my cat is young (4yo), but has all these chronic issues that make me question his quality of life. Should this cat live a life full of prescription medications, vet appointments, and discomfort?
My handsome tuxedo male cat Benji just turned 4, and is soft and playful (see profile pic). Since I adopted him at 7 months, he's followed me from room to room, greets me every morning with cuddles and purrs, but has also had a handful of other chronic conditions. It began when he was a kitten... with chronic diarrhea. Over the course of 3 years, we tried deworming, antibiotics, dietary restrictions, even CBD and antidepressants, but we were never able to determine the root cause of his diarrhea. Though, because of his diarrhea, his diet has been mainly Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein dry food. Otherwise, he has been on no medications long-term (partially because he is too smart to eat anything that contains a pill, and is a nightmare to restrain and force-feed medication). In January 2019 (around age 3yo), the diarrhea disappeared, but he still has flare-ups that last a few days every now and then.
He was exclusively an indoor cat till about March of 2019. Since then, he's allowed outside for about an hour a day in a fenced in backyard (where he usually just sits under a bush). He's been given Revolution or Bravecto regularly and is updated on all his vaccines.
Instead, early last summer (2019; almost 3yo), he started having these itching "attacks" - it looks like feline hyperesthesia. He bites at his paws (both front and back) almost incessantly, scratches at his neck, licks his back, and then races across the room to bite his feet again, all the while swooshing his tail, clearly agitated. The vet provided no diagnosis. Then, after admitting him to the ER late last August for a bout of diarrhea, vomiting, and fatigue, (he had just turned 3yo), he was diagnosed with a grade 3-4 heart murmur and kidney disease. Immediately, we started him on a urinary diet. But it wasn't long before he started developing a rodent ulcer on his upper lips as well. His "attacks" and the ulcer became so bad that I stopped the urinary diet and instead tried giving him some high-grade, limited ingredient canned cat food. The vet also prescribed Atopica. The Atopica gave him terrible diarrhea and vomiting, and soon he stopped eating his cat food because I tried hiding his medication in it so many times.
By January 2020 (a time of year with minimum environmental allergens), he became absolutely miserable. The vet, after testing his urine, estimated that he had about 20% left of his kidney function. We returned him to the Royal Canin HP dry food, which prevents stones from forming and would help if he had food allergies. But his ulcer persisted and was bleeding often - so much that I would find drops of blood randomly around my whole apartment. He wouldn't play because he couldn't sit still without lurching into itchy/bite-y mode. He would just sit in a loaf, eyes wide, tail swooshing, licking his lips, and randomly hissing. He wasn't interested in food. I considered putting him down. As a last resort, we decided to risk giving him an oral steroid prednisolone, despite the risk that it could stop his heart (his heart murmur could mean he has heart disease - and a steroid could kill him if he has heart disease).
But... within a couple of weeks, he was almost back to normal. Within a couple of months, his ulcer healed almost completely, though there was some scarring. We stopped the oral steroid in April. His urinalysis this past June revealed no signs of stones or blood. As of a month ago, we hardly noticed his itching "attacks".
Alas, as of September 2020, his itching attacks and rodent ulcer have returned with a vengeance. He received a steroid shot yesterday morning as an attempt to control it. Already, the ulcer has calmed down.
But I am at a loss. I do not want him to return to the state he was in earlier this year... so do I have to keep him on steroids his whole life?
And one more important note... he is a nightmare when it comes to medications. He despises them. I think he's scarred from having had so many medications throughout his life already. It's as though he's thinking, "Just leave me alone, already!" Giving him medications requires me to trap him, swaddle him, and pry his mouth open, which usually involves some hissing and him being extremely scared. I've tried insisting on oral medication from the vet because at least I don't have to swaddle him, but he still hisses and growls at me (even if the medicine tastes like chicken)! I also can't give him treats out of fear that he's allergic. He also doesn't even really like his Royal Canin kibble, so it's not a great reward, either. I am really cringing at the idea of giving him lifelong medication starting at the age of 4...
The vet suggests the following course of action:
- *Feed him only canned prescription hydrolyzed protein instead of dry food.* I ordered some, though last time he wouldn't even go near the stuff. it's like a gelatin. Super weird texture.
- *Take him to a cat dermatologist.* But I'm skeptical. What would be the outcome here? Lifelong medication? For example, what if they find he's allergic to dust? How reliable are those allergy tests, anyway? Also, what's the effectiveness of giving a cat allergy injections?
- *Take him to a cardiologist to diagnose his heart murmur.* Okay, so what if it is heart disease? Wouldn't he be on medications for the rest of his life?
I apologize for the long post, but overall, what's the quality of life of this cat is so young and has so many chronic conditions and problems? I would appreciate anyone's advice or thoughts.
My handsome tuxedo male cat Benji just turned 4, and is soft and playful (see profile pic). Since I adopted him at 7 months, he's followed me from room to room, greets me every morning with cuddles and purrs, but has also had a handful of other chronic conditions. It began when he was a kitten... with chronic diarrhea. Over the course of 3 years, we tried deworming, antibiotics, dietary restrictions, even CBD and antidepressants, but we were never able to determine the root cause of his diarrhea. Though, because of his diarrhea, his diet has been mainly Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein dry food. Otherwise, he has been on no medications long-term (partially because he is too smart to eat anything that contains a pill, and is a nightmare to restrain and force-feed medication). In January 2019 (around age 3yo), the diarrhea disappeared, but he still has flare-ups that last a few days every now and then.
He was exclusively an indoor cat till about March of 2019. Since then, he's allowed outside for about an hour a day in a fenced in backyard (where he usually just sits under a bush). He's been given Revolution or Bravecto regularly and is updated on all his vaccines.
Instead, early last summer (2019; almost 3yo), he started having these itching "attacks" - it looks like feline hyperesthesia. He bites at his paws (both front and back) almost incessantly, scratches at his neck, licks his back, and then races across the room to bite his feet again, all the while swooshing his tail, clearly agitated. The vet provided no diagnosis. Then, after admitting him to the ER late last August for a bout of diarrhea, vomiting, and fatigue, (he had just turned 3yo), he was diagnosed with a grade 3-4 heart murmur and kidney disease. Immediately, we started him on a urinary diet. But it wasn't long before he started developing a rodent ulcer on his upper lips as well. His "attacks" and the ulcer became so bad that I stopped the urinary diet and instead tried giving him some high-grade, limited ingredient canned cat food. The vet also prescribed Atopica. The Atopica gave him terrible diarrhea and vomiting, and soon he stopped eating his cat food because I tried hiding his medication in it so many times.
By January 2020 (a time of year with minimum environmental allergens), he became absolutely miserable. The vet, after testing his urine, estimated that he had about 20% left of his kidney function. We returned him to the Royal Canin HP dry food, which prevents stones from forming and would help if he had food allergies. But his ulcer persisted and was bleeding often - so much that I would find drops of blood randomly around my whole apartment. He wouldn't play because he couldn't sit still without lurching into itchy/bite-y mode. He would just sit in a loaf, eyes wide, tail swooshing, licking his lips, and randomly hissing. He wasn't interested in food. I considered putting him down. As a last resort, we decided to risk giving him an oral steroid prednisolone, despite the risk that it could stop his heart (his heart murmur could mean he has heart disease - and a steroid could kill him if he has heart disease).
But... within a couple of weeks, he was almost back to normal. Within a couple of months, his ulcer healed almost completely, though there was some scarring. We stopped the oral steroid in April. His urinalysis this past June revealed no signs of stones or blood. As of a month ago, we hardly noticed his itching "attacks".
Alas, as of September 2020, his itching attacks and rodent ulcer have returned with a vengeance. He received a steroid shot yesterday morning as an attempt to control it. Already, the ulcer has calmed down.
But I am at a loss. I do not want him to return to the state he was in earlier this year... so do I have to keep him on steroids his whole life?
And one more important note... he is a nightmare when it comes to medications. He despises them. I think he's scarred from having had so many medications throughout his life already. It's as though he's thinking, "Just leave me alone, already!" Giving him medications requires me to trap him, swaddle him, and pry his mouth open, which usually involves some hissing and him being extremely scared. I've tried insisting on oral medication from the vet because at least I don't have to swaddle him, but he still hisses and growls at me (even if the medicine tastes like chicken)! I also can't give him treats out of fear that he's allergic. He also doesn't even really like his Royal Canin kibble, so it's not a great reward, either. I am really cringing at the idea of giving him lifelong medication starting at the age of 4...
The vet suggests the following course of action:
- *Feed him only canned prescription hydrolyzed protein instead of dry food.* I ordered some, though last time he wouldn't even go near the stuff. it's like a gelatin. Super weird texture.
- *Take him to a cat dermatologist.* But I'm skeptical. What would be the outcome here? Lifelong medication? For example, what if they find he's allergic to dust? How reliable are those allergy tests, anyway? Also, what's the effectiveness of giving a cat allergy injections?
- *Take him to a cardiologist to diagnose his heart murmur.* Okay, so what if it is heart disease? Wouldn't he be on medications for the rest of his life?
I apologize for the long post, but overall, what's the quality of life of this cat is so young and has so many chronic conditions and problems? I would appreciate anyone's advice or thoughts.
