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- Jul 11, 2015
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Hi there!
I am new to the site, but was looking for some help/guidance/experience with the issues involved in diagnosing IBD symptoms.
I want to start off by saying I'm not asking for a diagnosis, just support and hopefully similar experiences from other cat parents. Sorry, this is lengthy, I want to start from the beginning. Hopefully, my nerves can be calmed.
My cat Meeko is my baby. I love him more than I can ever even explain, and I am so distraught and scared. He is a 2.5 year old Maine Coon mix. I'm going to write this as a timeline, to make sure I get everything right.
(Prior to any symptoms, he had a couple 2-3 noticed, gassy poops, and had maybe the same amount of hairballs since the beginning of the year)
6/22- We got a new kitten. Brought him and his paperwork to vet immediately. (checks out, gets appropriate shots).
6-26- Meeko starts showing symptoms. Growled when I tried petting him, won't eat. Gagging/retching, lethargic.
6-27- Vet visit. Did B/W- Everything normal, except it showed Bands (?) They told me this normally signifies infection. X-rays- Normal, gas in bowels.
6-28- Won't eat, went to ER vet. Given fluids and antibiotic shot.
6-29 - 7-7 - Doing much better. No vomiting, only did a hard swallow type thing when purring. Eating mostly wet food.
7-8- Vomits 3x. Ran out of wet food, gave him dry. Vomited full kibbles shortly after (Hour or so?)
7-9- Soft stool in AM, back to vet with stool sample. Negative for parasites, given profender as precaution.
7-11- Begins gagging again, vomits saliva/mucous but not food. 3x.
7-12/13 (4:30am)- Back to ER vet (different from first) Gagging/retching. Refused to eat. Given Iams low-residue prescription food.
7-13 - 7-14- Doing well on Rx food. 7-13 gagging slowed down, maybe 5-7x, no vomit/lethargy.
7-14- Got into other cats' dry food. Vomited whole kibbles within 5-10 mins.
7-15- Ultrasound. Found mild to moderate thickening of the small intestine, Lymph nodes mild to moderately enlarged. Since Ultrasound, gaggged 1-2x, no vomit, eating more.
7-16- Brought to new Dr. Board certified feline vet. Told to start Metronidazole and continue Rx food.
7-17 - 7-25 - Steadily getting better. Averaging 1-1 1/4 can wet food/day. No vomit/lethargy/gagging. Wouldn't purr/avoided until about 7/22. Started purring again, acting pretty much normal.
7-26- Eats much less than usual.
7-27- Spits up clear fluid, Boyfriend left out dry food by accident. Eats some and vomits immediately. Acting totally normal though. Back to Cat Dr. He said it may be that he is very picky and doesn't like the food, or still a GI issue. Because it was so soon after metronidazole, wanted to wait a couple days and see how he is. Gives me Hills Rx Digestive care chicken in stew(HD for below), Gastrointestinal with chicken(HG), Purina Rx food. just in case he totally refuses other food.
7-28- Spits up tiny bit in AM, clear/foam. Won't eat Iams, so we mixed it up with HD and he eats like 1/2 can in afternoon, and a bit more at night.
7-29- Spit up tiny bit in AM. Won't eat mixture of Iams/HD or plain HD. Given HG- Eats half can in afternoon and 1/4 can at night. (maybe a little more) First formed poop in a while! May have been a little soft, but looked like a normally formed poo.
7-30- Won't eat either of above. Try Iams again, eats 1/2 can+ and 1/4 at night. Spoke to vet on the phone. Pretty much same conversation as Monday. Wait and see. If he loses appetite, has diarrhea, vomits, etc, have to do further testing. (Pancreatis/lymphoma tests)
7-31- Eats 1/4 can(+) Iams low-res in morning. Won't eat at 6pm feeding. Vomits small hairball at 7pm. Tries to poop, takes normal amount of time, two tiny little bits, nickel sized. Gummy and maybe orangey-red (blood?) but not totally certain. Not super apparently red. I got home after his hairball, he was acting fairy normal with me. Followed me around and jumped on my lap. Purred but licked lips/hard swallow a few times while on my lap. I tried to get him to eat some more, put a tiny bit of tuna juice on food and he ate a small amount. Was really interesting in the tuna can when he realized where it was. He is currently sleeping. If he doesn't eat/vomits/has diarrhea, will call vet in AM. (Might call anyway, though I feel like such a pain)
I'm sorry that's so long, but I really want to get all of the facts in there. Has anyone had any experiences similar to mine? What was the outcome? How did you find a food that they liked?
I am so worried sick about my baby, and it's so frustrating not having an answer to what is wrong, and lymphoma is so incredibly scary to me. This cat is seriously the love of my life, he's seriously my baby and has gotten me through so much already. Plus, he's just SO young.
I also think I'm a little traumatized. We had a kitten that passed away a little over a year ago due to kidney failure caused by L-glyceric acuduria. He was only 6 months old. I just can't imagine losing my Meeko, too.
I am new to the site, but was looking for some help/guidance/experience with the issues involved in diagnosing IBD symptoms.
I want to start off by saying I'm not asking for a diagnosis, just support and hopefully similar experiences from other cat parents. Sorry, this is lengthy, I want to start from the beginning. Hopefully, my nerves can be calmed.
My cat Meeko is my baby. I love him more than I can ever even explain, and I am so distraught and scared. He is a 2.5 year old Maine Coon mix. I'm going to write this as a timeline, to make sure I get everything right.
(Prior to any symptoms, he had a couple 2-3 noticed, gassy poops, and had maybe the same amount of hairballs since the beginning of the year)
6/22- We got a new kitten. Brought him and his paperwork to vet immediately. (checks out, gets appropriate shots).
6-26- Meeko starts showing symptoms. Growled when I tried petting him, won't eat. Gagging/retching, lethargic.
6-27- Vet visit. Did B/W- Everything normal, except it showed Bands (?) They told me this normally signifies infection. X-rays- Normal, gas in bowels.
6-28- Won't eat, went to ER vet. Given fluids and antibiotic shot.
6-29 - 7-7 - Doing much better. No vomiting, only did a hard swallow type thing when purring. Eating mostly wet food.
7-8- Vomits 3x. Ran out of wet food, gave him dry. Vomited full kibbles shortly after (Hour or so?)
7-9- Soft stool in AM, back to vet with stool sample. Negative for parasites, given profender as precaution.
7-11- Begins gagging again, vomits saliva/mucous but not food. 3x.
7-12/13 (4:30am)- Back to ER vet (different from first) Gagging/retching. Refused to eat. Given Iams low-residue prescription food.
7-13 - 7-14- Doing well on Rx food. 7-13 gagging slowed down, maybe 5-7x, no vomit/lethargy.
7-14- Got into other cats' dry food. Vomited whole kibbles within 5-10 mins.
7-15- Ultrasound. Found mild to moderate thickening of the small intestine, Lymph nodes mild to moderately enlarged. Since Ultrasound, gaggged 1-2x, no vomit, eating more.
7-16- Brought to new Dr. Board certified feline vet. Told to start Metronidazole and continue Rx food.
7-17 - 7-25 - Steadily getting better. Averaging 1-1 1/4 can wet food/day. No vomit/lethargy/gagging. Wouldn't purr/avoided until about 7/22. Started purring again, acting pretty much normal.
7-26- Eats much less than usual.
7-27- Spits up clear fluid, Boyfriend left out dry food by accident. Eats some and vomits immediately. Acting totally normal though. Back to Cat Dr. He said it may be that he is very picky and doesn't like the food, or still a GI issue. Because it was so soon after metronidazole, wanted to wait a couple days and see how he is. Gives me Hills Rx Digestive care chicken in stew(HD for below), Gastrointestinal with chicken(HG), Purina Rx food. just in case he totally refuses other food.
7-28- Spits up tiny bit in AM, clear/foam. Won't eat Iams, so we mixed it up with HD and he eats like 1/2 can in afternoon, and a bit more at night.
7-29- Spit up tiny bit in AM. Won't eat mixture of Iams/HD or plain HD. Given HG- Eats half can in afternoon and 1/4 can at night. (maybe a little more) First formed poop in a while! May have been a little soft, but looked like a normally formed poo.
7-30- Won't eat either of above. Try Iams again, eats 1/2 can+ and 1/4 at night. Spoke to vet on the phone. Pretty much same conversation as Monday. Wait and see. If he loses appetite, has diarrhea, vomits, etc, have to do further testing. (Pancreatis/lymphoma tests)
7-31- Eats 1/4 can(+) Iams low-res in morning. Won't eat at 6pm feeding. Vomits small hairball at 7pm. Tries to poop, takes normal amount of time, two tiny little bits, nickel sized. Gummy and maybe orangey-red (blood?) but not totally certain. Not super apparently red. I got home after his hairball, he was acting fairy normal with me. Followed me around and jumped on my lap. Purred but licked lips/hard swallow a few times while on my lap. I tried to get him to eat some more, put a tiny bit of tuna juice on food and he ate a small amount. Was really interesting in the tuna can when he realized where it was. He is currently sleeping. If he doesn't eat/vomits/has diarrhea, will call vet in AM. (Might call anyway, though I feel like such a pain)
I'm sorry that's so long, but I really want to get all of the facts in there. Has anyone had any experiences similar to mine? What was the outcome? How did you find a food that they liked?
I am so worried sick about my baby, and it's so frustrating not having an answer to what is wrong, and lymphoma is so incredibly scary to me. This cat is seriously the love of my life, he's seriously my baby and has gotten me through so much already. Plus, he's just SO young.
I also think I'm a little traumatized. We had a kitten that passed away a little over a year ago due to kidney failure caused by L-glyceric acuduria. He was only 6 months old. I just can't imagine losing my Meeko, too.