- Joined
- Apr 17, 2016
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Hi all,
I came here looking for some advice about my FIV+ cat Noah. Noah is approx. 15 years old, and has had FIV for at least 6 years, but we aren't sure as he was taken in by the RSPCA as a stray.
Over the last 5 years we have battled numerous stomach and respiratory problems, but he always pulls through and is a happy, cuddly, sweet boy. Up until recently, he has been on ad lib dry food (70% one protein source, grain free) and half a sachet of wet food in the evening mixed into his dry food, until he started having fairly constant diarrhoea. We stopped giving him the wet food to try and sort his tummy out, but I became concerned he was losing weight, and yesterday he vomited yellow bile, so I took him in to the vets.
It turns out he has dropped from 4.5kgs to 2.9, which horrified me to say the least, and I felt awful. The vet also said he seems quite anaemic (his mucous membranes were very pale) and he thinks he may be slightly jaundiced, which lead him to believe he might have cholangiohepatitis.
The vet we saw (not our usual vet, but he was pretty up front with me which I appreciate) didn't believe it was in Noah's best interest to do invasive investigation, and I am mostly inclined to agree with him. This is the cat who has been poked and stabbed so many times that both veins on either side of his neck have gone crunchy and difficult to draw from, and spent a year in isolation in a crate at a rescue as nobody wanted him and his FIV meant he couldn't be kept in general population. He is still bright and eating, drinking well and I feel like blood draws will just tell us what we already know. He was given an anabolic steroid injection yesterday to try and increase his appetite, which I was happy with.
After that impressive essay, I guess my question is, do any of you guys know of anything I can give him orally to help his anaemia and jaundice? And anything I can supplement his food with to help him gain weight without upsetting his stomach? I know some may disagree with my attitude towards his treatment, but honestly, his quality of life is the most important thing to me, and invasive investigation and treatment just doesn't seem to factor in for me. Money isn't an issue at all. The thing is, when we got him he was in such a sorry state that we didn't expect to have him with us for a year, let alone five, so every day we have him in our lives is a bonus, and as long as he is happy and comfortable he will continue to putter around his house at his desire.
Serious pat on the back to anyone who made it through this post!
I came here looking for some advice about my FIV+ cat Noah. Noah is approx. 15 years old, and has had FIV for at least 6 years, but we aren't sure as he was taken in by the RSPCA as a stray.
Over the last 5 years we have battled numerous stomach and respiratory problems, but he always pulls through and is a happy, cuddly, sweet boy. Up until recently, he has been on ad lib dry food (70% one protein source, grain free) and half a sachet of wet food in the evening mixed into his dry food, until he started having fairly constant diarrhoea. We stopped giving him the wet food to try and sort his tummy out, but I became concerned he was losing weight, and yesterday he vomited yellow bile, so I took him in to the vets.
It turns out he has dropped from 4.5kgs to 2.9, which horrified me to say the least, and I felt awful. The vet also said he seems quite anaemic (his mucous membranes were very pale) and he thinks he may be slightly jaundiced, which lead him to believe he might have cholangiohepatitis.
The vet we saw (not our usual vet, but he was pretty up front with me which I appreciate) didn't believe it was in Noah's best interest to do invasive investigation, and I am mostly inclined to agree with him. This is the cat who has been poked and stabbed so many times that both veins on either side of his neck have gone crunchy and difficult to draw from, and spent a year in isolation in a crate at a rescue as nobody wanted him and his FIV meant he couldn't be kept in general population. He is still bright and eating, drinking well and I feel like blood draws will just tell us what we already know. He was given an anabolic steroid injection yesterday to try and increase his appetite, which I was happy with.
After that impressive essay, I guess my question is, do any of you guys know of anything I can give him orally to help his anaemia and jaundice? And anything I can supplement his food with to help him gain weight without upsetting his stomach? I know some may disagree with my attitude towards his treatment, but honestly, his quality of life is the most important thing to me, and invasive investigation and treatment just doesn't seem to factor in for me. Money isn't an issue at all. The thing is, when we got him he was in such a sorry state that we didn't expect to have him with us for a year, let alone five, so every day we have him in our lives is a bonus, and as long as he is happy and comfortable he will continue to putter around his house at his desire.
Serious pat on the back to anyone who made it through this post!
I normally feed Dr. Elseys Dry food, chicken, its grain free, not sure where you are or if you have access to it? I order from Chewy or Dr. Elseys site.
