Please Help. IBD, Lymphoma, or other. Charlie is running out of time

[rushpapers]

March 23, 2014

Charlie has not been eating much. He has vomited several times under the bed and in a hiding place. He is reclusive and not his normal self. Charlie was originally 13 to 14 lbs. A healthy weight.

March 24, 2014

Charlie is taken to Park Animal Hospital. The Dr. draws blood and injects him with Vitamin B-Complex.

March 26, 2014

Dr. calls and states Charlie has Pancreatitis. Dr. states this is evident by Amylase count of 1431. Dr. states Amoxicillin will clear it up. Dr. prescribes 7 days regiment.

April 4, 2014

Charlie has not improved. He returns to Park Animal Hospital. Dr. states he must be hospitalized for 5 days, price $4000. Dr. refuses any other treatment when I state I am going to take Charlie elsewhere because I cannot afford $4000. The hospital wants me to sign a refusal of medical treatment to absolve them of any liability. Reluctantly, the Dr. gives him 150 ml of Sub-Q after I protest. I do not sign the form. I get a copy of his CBC: High Amylase 1431, Low Platelets 61, Low Lymphocytes 648 and High Eosinophils 1008.

April 5, 2014

Charlie visits Plainview Animal Hospital. Dr. Deutsch gives a thorough exam and recommends hospitalization. Charlie checks in for 3 days.

April 8, 2014

Charlie checks out. Charlie has received IV catheterization, IV fluids, Prednisone, Flagy, and is tested for pancreas specific lipase. Charlie eats a little upon returning home but shows little improvement. He now has diarrhea. Prescriptions are given once a day, Prednisone and Flagyl.

April 11, 2014

Charlie has diarrhea and has not improved. His left eye shows sign of uveitis. He is taken back to Plainview Animal Hospital and stays a night. Received Sub-Q, is X-Rayed, new CBC, Blood Superchem, Flagyl, Prednisone, Flagyl, and is fed Hill Prescripton A/D. New CBC shows Low Ca 7.7, Low TP 5.6, High MCHC 36.2, High WBC 20.39, high NEU 17.41.

April 12, 2014

Charlie moves in with Annie. Her apartment is quiet and she can administer Sub-Q injections.

April 14, 2014

Charlie is taken to Great Neck Animal Hospital. Charlies stool and and blood are tested. He is negative for Fiv, FeLV, FIP, Toxoplasmosis and Giardia.

April 15, 2014

Dr. Rind thinks Charlie has either Lymphoma or IBD. Charlie is Prescribed Dexamethasone and Zeniquin. Charlie is now 7 lbs, almost half his weight. He has chronic Diarrhea with heavy red blood.

He eats little. He no longer cleans himself.

 

[betsygee]

Oh I'm so sorry!  Poor Charlie.  What did your latest vet advise?  

 

[rushpapers]

The last two Doctors have been great.  The latest is telling us to give it a few days. He hasn't sugar coated things.  He has made us aware it could be Lymphoma.  The weird things are that Charlie never had a fever and the Doctors cannot feel any swollen lymph nodes. I was hoping to run across someone on this forum that has had a similar problem with their cat and a miracle story to go along with it. He is too weak to do a biopsy so the Doctor is treating it the best he can. 

 

[denice]

There are several of us here that have kitties with IBD.  Many of us have gone through the it could be lymphoma when they are in crisis.  The only possible way to get a definitive diagnoses is with a biopsy.  I didn't have one done I chose to just treat for IBD.  The steroids worked well for Patches he is now on the Dex, sometimes one steroid will work when another one doesn't.  http://ibdkitties.net/  is a good resource.  There is a steroid call budesonide  that has worked well for many IBD kitties.

Unfortunately there is no magic bullet or one size fits all way of controlling this.  Some people have had very good luck with probiotics.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272920/older-cat-with-possible-ibd-or-colitis-how-to-treat   go to LDG's post in this thread.  She has done a lot of research in the more natural ways of controlling IBD and there is a good summary in her post.

Sometimes a diet change helps.  A food in a novel protein, one that kitty hasn't had before and a food that is as close to meat, liver and supplements as possible.  Some people have had very good luck with a raw meat diet.

You do want to make sure he is eating enough even if it means syringe feeding.  A cat can get something called hepatic lipidosis from not eating enough, my IBD kitty has had this.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating  has a video that shows how to syringe feed.

 

[slykat12]

Was he Xrayed or got an ultra sound?

My baby died at 14.5 after having IBD about 3 years.
The IBD did not kill her lymphoma did but I hear they often go together. Sadly, she had none of your cats symptoms-hers were not eating w a few bouts of vomiting food/not blood and a huge abdominal mass on xray and ultra sound. 

I am so sorry your baby sounds very sick. Love to you both.

 

[rushpapers]

I did syringe feed him for many days. We tried the prescription diet mixed with water.  He just had more diarrhea.

We tried poached chicken, hard boiled egg and rice, in a syringe. He just had more diarrhea.

He won't eat on his own.

I'm worried the dexamethosone is causing the bleeding.

We are trying to starve him for 12 hours to clear his system a little then try the Hill's z/d, the food with the hydrolyzed protein his body will allegedly not recognize. 

We're not looking for a magic bullet, just answers, whether they are bad or good.

It's hard to make the decision to put him down because I have hope there might a chance to save his life.

He is a wreck right now and I hope he is not in too much pain.

 

[rushpapers]

X-ray was normal.

No sonogram preformed.

No infectious disease or parasite detected in all of the tests.

I wish I had an answer.

 

[denice]

These kitties can get to the point of looking like they are close to death and then come out of it.  I know Patches would do that and then snap out of it.  I doubt that the Dex is causing the bleeding, bloody stools are often part of IBD.  It's caused by inflammation in the colon.  I know a lot of people have had very good luck with the s.boulardii mentioned in LDG's post controlling diarrhea.  It's not a medication    I don't know much about probiotics but the way I understand it this one can be given with an antibiotic and still get the benefit from it.

 

[betsygee]

Great information from @Denice.  I have two IBD kitties.  One thing that worked really well for my cats to control their diarrhea and vomiting is slippery elm bark.  Here's an article about its use:  http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/   Please note that no other medications should be given within two hours of giving slippery elm bark as the SEB can interfere with the absorption of medication because of its coating action.  

I'm glad to hear you have a vet you like, that always helps.

PS--it can be made as a syrup and given by syringe if Charlie isn't eating.

 

[slykat12]

My cat did fab on predilosone for 3 years. I have little experience with Dex except with humans so cannot comment.  I too went down every path for my last cat, getting second opinions, and expensive tests.

I completely understand where you are and how much you love your furbaby. I know you want to make the best choice for him. To me this does not exactly sound like just IBD. 

For me, I just had to look at my love and I knew what the answer was. Her refusal of food,  meds, and her inability to walk  two feet w/o a rest  was enough. In addition, I swear she looked at me and told me she was tired. I just knew.  

Hugs.

 

[rushpapers]

Thanks for the reply Denice. How close to death would Patches look? Charlie was 13-14 lbs originally, now he's 7 lbs.  His eye is cloudy and the doctor diagnosed him with Uveitis.  He looks terrible.  4 weeks ago when this all started he was a healthy cat. He looks bad.

The last Dr. we went to is awesome.  He calls us to check on Charlie and is hopeful that he has a possibility to recover.

We were seriously considering putting him down this morning and the Dr. said give him some more time.

 

[roguethecat]

very, very sorry... just a few thoughts (can't hurt to try): 

1. maybe allergic against something. I would make chicken soup (chicken, water, nothing else, no big chunks so it's easy to swallow) and use a syringe to help him eat at least some.

2. if you get some down his throat, perfect, you can use it as a vessel to give him immune support stuff. There are books out there what herbs/supplements work on cats. Lysine is always good. Echinacea can't hurt.

3. in my case (the Rogue), he got diarrhea from cooked chicken. So the soup was no good. Could be that's the case with Charlie? If you're sure of that, try other protein soups (pork, beef). The Rogue

disliked those. 

4. I got him to stop having diarrhea by eating raw rabbit, other raw things, eventually raw chicken. This is if you're committed to feeding raw, which can be a challenge and in my case, isn't reversible because the diarrhea/allergy starts as soon as he gets any store-bought cat food.

5. Of course, Charlie doesn't have much appetite. To get a cat to eat, smell is most important. For mine, it worked to sprinkle yummy smelling stuff on the food. You just have to find some he likes and that don't harm him. For the Rogue, at first I had Purina's feline fortiflora (I know, it's a fake, but there's animal digest in it that smells great to cats), then crumpled freeze-dried treats (salmon, chicken, turkey, beef). If you don't have anything else, you could try smashing conventional treats and sprinkle them, just to get him to eat.

6.

 

[slykat12]

Rushpapers you sound like you are doing everything right. I am glad your vet is not rushing into things and has some hope for Chalie's recovery. Please give us updates on his condition. WE are here for you and him.

 

[rushpapers]

He had diarrhea again.  It looks like pure blood.

 

[rushpapers]

Slykat12, what was your last Cat diagnosed with? Or, if no firm diagnosis, what did you suspect?

 

[betsygee]

Have you talked to your vet about giving subq at home to keep him hydrated?  

 

[rushpapers]

He's getting 100 ml 2x day of lactated ringer's Sub-Q.

Anyone use a IV liquid with glucose/dextrose/etc Sub-Q?

 

[denice]

Patches had atypical symptoms, he would have vomiting, aneroxia, and constipation.  He started having flares when he was 18 months old and I did the vet hopping thing for six years before I got a diagnoses.  He would vomit blood and though he was constipated he did have blood in his stool.  I remember the first vet I took him to assumed he had swallowed something probably because of his age.  When she took his temperature the probe came out with bloody stool on it.  He was very very sick when I took him to the vet clinic I am taking him to now.  He had hepatic lipidosis and was down around 7 pounds.  He was hospitalized for almost a week and came home with a feeding tube.

I don't know where you are financially I know you can be completely drained by high vet bills.  If you can swing it an ultrasound might be a good thing to get done.  That's the closest you can get to a good diagnoses without going the biopsy route.

 

[rushpapers]

I am tapped financially and am about to call and cash in a 401k I have.

I was hoping to nurse him to health at home. 

 

[betsygee]

 
He's getting 100 ml 2x day of lactated ringer's Sub-Q.

Anyone use a IV liquid with glucose/dextrose/etc Sub-Q?

I have an 18 year old with kidney disease who gets 150 ml 3x/week subq--but honestly, I have never looked to see what's in it !!  I will have to check.