senior gent with health issues questions

[emmabelle]

Our cat is probably around 16-18 years old. We've had him 10 years and he wasn't a young cat when he was found. He recently showed signs of declining health so we took him to the vet. They did an xray and thought they saw some fluid in his abdomen and a possible mass. His senior blood panel looked good though.

We went home with some recovery food and basically that was all. I started googling looking for info to make him the most comfortable he could be. I read that steroids could help. We had prednisolone left over from our cat that had died, so I called the doctor and she said sure try it. He's now seeming much better. Not sure if the pred is masking things but I'll take him feeling better?

I don't know if I should transition him from the Hill's recovery food to one that's formulated for cats. I'm not sure which food would be most like it in taste and consistency? He could stand to gain some weight so would it be bad to feed him kitten food?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Aside from needing to gain some weight, what other signs of declining health was/has he been demonstrating?

As long as his senior blood panel (CBC, Chemistry, T4) looked good, I cannot imagine why kitten food would be a problem. All you can do is compare ingredients and the texture of any potential new foods to see if it is close to the Hill's recovery food, especially if he likes the latter. A lot of the web sites selling cat food will show pics of the texture, and list the ingredients, so you could do some comparison research that way first. You can also mix the Hill's with any new ones that you want to try as a way to try to transition him to the new foods over time.

Prednisolone isn't really a cure but can help with so many kinds of ailments in cats. At his age, it might be worth it to keep him on a small dose permanently.

Are they going to do any follow up testing regarding the abdominal fluid and possible mass?

 

[Kris107]

It seems like you may be in the "palliative" time of his life which is just about keeping him comfortable. Sounds like you already know that though. Glad the pred is seeming to help him feel better. As far as food, sometimes it's whatever he likes best. At this stage in his life it's more about what he likes and will eat. It could take some trial and error.

 

[emmabelle]

FeebysOwner they said they could do an ultrasound but I’m not going to put him through surgery if they do see an actual mass. Here’s his X-ray.

K Kris107 definitely think it’s about making him comfortable at this point.

 

[RainBoots]

I have read that kitten food can be used in senior cats needing to gain weight. I hope whatever time you have with your fur friend is the best it can be.

 

[Margot Lane]

Did the vet say how much pred to use?

 

[emmabelle]

Did the vet say how much pred to use?

She did. She asked the mg that I had and said it would be fine for him.

I ended up buying some Hill’s and some Natural Balance. He seems to like the NB so I’ll keep trying that.

I didn’t buy the kitten food because it has milk in it and my other cat gets sick with diary. Didn’t need two cats with issues.