Unknown illness

[Allyocean]

Over the last few months my baby has had episodes of lethergy. Just not quite right. He is FLUTD so its always a consideration. I had a chem panel and CBC bloodwork last month. Completely normal. Nothing even mildly out of range. A few weeks ago he stopped eating for a day after vomiting twice. Took him to the vet and he went home with Cerenia and after 2 doses he went back to regular appetite. Last Sunday he had a small amount of diahrea but Sunday he had a lot. Then vomited twice. Took him to the vet and they said he was good. Normal temp. Hydrated nothing remarkable. Wed I couldn't get him to eat anything and very lethargic. He tried to do normal stuff but needed to sit frequently. Yesterday back to vet. Again nothing abnormal. I asked for an ultrasound and Monday I'll know results. He barely is moving. Seems dazed. Every day he is more out of it. I've been laying with him watching every breath because I'm so afraid he's dying. He is eating small bits when I offer them. He pooped yesterday and peed today.
Anyone have ANY ideas? I cannot imagine life without him. He's approximately 10 we think. I've had him 6 1/2 years.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I don’t want to scare you, but you should take him to an emergency hospital and transfer to a specialist on Monday.
There is no way to speculate what is going on. But you have given your vet ample time to figure it out and your cat is getting sicker. You need a specialist and an ER to stabilize over the weekend.
I am sorry. Also the blood values done a week or two ago mean nothing now.
Lethargy and inappetence is an emergency in cats.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Cats are so good at hiding pain . It's possible he's in some sort of pain that is wearing him down, but this really doesn't sound like that. But with bloodwork coming in clean, and I presume a physical exam was also clear, it certainly makes it tougher to try to figure out the problem. I'm hoping the ultrasound picks up something. Was the Vet hopeful it might? I agree with the above poster that perhaps he needs a specialist, or even a Feline Only Vet to try to get to the bottom of this.

In the meantime, keep trying to get some food in him. Cats who don't eat enough can end up with other BIG issues Since he did poop, it doesn't sound as if he has a blockage, which is good.

Keep us posted on his progress please. We worry

 

[Allyocean]

Thank you for advice. We have been at university of Pennsylvania vet hospital so there is no better place that I know of. He got up and asked for food. Ate a cpl of bites and drank. He even peed and pooped.. He walked outside and around the yard and is back in bed. I'm very hopeful. Dr wants to rule out pancreatitus and cancer. His symptoms have been so dramatic today. I'm grateful he got up etc but staying with him as he turns so quickly. I will post when I know more. If anything comes to mind please post

 

[silent meowlook]

How is your cat doing?

 

[daftcat75]

Pancreatitis is a non-standard blood test. My Krista went to three different vets before one of them thought to test for it. Sure enough, that's what she had. But pancreatitis rarely happens by itself. It's usually secondary to inflammation or infection. I assume infection would show up in the blood work while inflammation will be visible in the ultrasound. The ultrasound cannot tell the difference between small cell lymphoma and IBD. Since he's struggling with eating currently, I would not recommend the biopsy to confirm which. The surgical biopsy comes with a recovery dragging out how long it will take to get his eating back to normal. Instead, if there are no further surprises like a mass, I would discuss trying steroids first. If it comes down to a question of IBD or lymphoma, I recommend trying the IBD treatment first with a deadline on when to discuss adding chemotherapy to his treatment. A general rule of thumb is that if he can maintain or gain weight when he's eating an adequate (or more than adequate) amount of food, it's probably not cancer. Lymphoma will rob him of nutrition and the weight loss is relentless. Chemo is well tolerated in cats though with few to no side effects--not nearly so miserable as it is in people. But of course, you need to stabilize his eating first to make that determination.

 

[Allyocean]

The ultrasound didn't conclusively verify pancreatitus but given his completely normal blood work and 3 physical exams, he is being treated for pancreatitus. He is eating like a champ after 1 dose last Friday of the appetite stimulant. Its now 7 days on Gabapentin every 8 hours and Cerenia every 24. He's doing ok. Some flashes of happy normal boy but still just not himself. It seems like if I go past 8 hours he seems to be in pain so I'm staying on the Gabapentin schedule . Also I began a probiotic and probiotic yesterday. His diet cannot be any better according to vet and holistic Dr so they said this has benefits that cannot hurt but may help. I am not sure how long flares last? His potty habits are back to normal. Now I just want him to be a happy care free boy again.
The uncertainty is difficult. When I asked about the specific blood test the vet said we could get it but it would not change the treatment. This current diagnosis hell is now over 1700.00. Of course I will always find a way to get him medical help but this one has hurt. I'm not working so its a big strain. He is really everything good rolled into a beautiful fuzzy angel so need I say more...whatever I have to do to help him
I hate to say this but the fact that other moms have dealt with this helps me not freak out worse.
Thank you all

 

[Allyocean]

Pancreatitis is a non-standard blood test. My Krista went to three different vets before one of them thought to test for it. Sure enough, that's what she had. But pancreatitis rarely happens by itself. It's usually secondary to inflammation or infection. I assume infection would show up in the blood work while inflammation will be visible in the ultrasound. The ultrasound cannot tell the difference between small cell lymphoma and IBD. Since he's struggling with eating currently, I would not recommend the biopsy to confirm which. The surgical biopsy comes with a recovery dragging out how long it will take to get his eating back to normal. Instead, if there are no further surprises like a mass, I would discuss trying steroids first. If it comes down to a question of IBD or lymphoma, I recommend trying the IBD treatment first with a deadline on when to discuss adding chemotherapy to his treatment. A general rule of thumb is that if he can maintain or gain weight when he's eating an adequate (or more than adequate) amount of food, it's probably not cancer. Lymphoma will rob him of nutrition and the weight loss is relentless. Chemo is well tolerated in cats though with few to no side effects--not nearly so miserable as it is in people. But of course, you need to stabilize his eating first to make that determination.

How long did Kristas pancreatitus last?

 

[daftcat75]

How long did Kristas pancreatitus last?

At least a month. Maybe two. But I was treating her with holistic supplements vs medicine. (I don't recommend this approach.) I was bitter that it took three vets to figure out what was wrong that I just didn't trust them anymore. I made these "medicine stacks" by smooshing probiotic and a gut supplement (with slippery elm bark and marshmallow root and some other herbal supplements meant to support GI health) into a ball of nutritional gel and tuna in tuna water. At the time, she really loved the NutriCal (nutritional gel.) So it was pretty easy for her to start with tuna, finish with the gel, and not notice that she took her medicine in between.

Then I'd give her about 1/4 portion of food and sometimes it took more gel or more tuna water to get her to finish that much. But I kept a food journal (spreadsheet actually) of when she ate and how much she ate. I made sure that she got as many daily calories as I could get in her that week. And then I tried to push a few more into her the next week. It was slow going and many days, there were as many as eight to ten feedings like this to get enough calories in her. After about a month, she was much improved (and we were down to six meals a day.) And then we found Rawz and Rad Cat at about the same time. She positively thrived on both like she never had pancreatitis or IBD. Until the FDA murdered Rad Cat with reckless disregard. And then we were down to Rawz. It was about all she could eat without having some butt or gut issue. She also had teeth issues (resorptive lesions, aka FORLs.) So just when we would get the IBD managed, she'd go off eating again because of her teeth. Then I'd have to bring back the fish to keep her nibbling. And that would flare up the IBD and pancreatitis again. Her last few years were not easy.

I'd say if your guy is eating well and not having barf or poop issues, then keep doing what your doing. The treatment for pancreatitis is to feed him back to health. If he needs medication to make that happen, so be it. I did eventually come around to meds again with Krista. In retrospect, I wish we had gone with meds the first time. I could have spared her a number of pained loafs under the bookcase.

One of her few pained loafs that wasn't spent under the bookcase.

 

[Allyocean]

At least a month. Maybe two. But I was treating her with holistic supplements vs medicine. (I don't recommend this approach.) I was bitter that it took three vets to figure out what was wrong that I just didn't trust them anymore. I made these "medicine stacks" by smooshing probiotic and a gut supplement (with slippery elm bark and marshmallow root and some other herbal supplements meant to support GI health) into a ball of nutritional gel and tuna in tuna water. At the time, she really loved the NutriCal (nutritional gel.) So it was pretty easy for her to start with tuna, finish with the gel, and not notice that she took her medicine in between.
View attachment 384076
Then I'd give her about 1/4 portion of food and sometimes it took more gel or more tuna water to get her to finish that much. But I kept a food journal (spreadsheet actually) of when she ate and how much she ate. I made sure that she got as many daily calories as I could get in her that week. And then I tried to push a few more into her the next week. It was slow going and many days, there were as many as eight to ten feedings like this to get enough calories in her. After about a month, she was much improved (and we were down to six meals a day.) And then we found Rawz and Rad Cat at about the same time. She positively thrived on both like she never had pancreatitis or IBD. Until the FDA murdered Rad Cat with reckless disregard. And then we were down to Rawz. It was about all she could eat without having some butt or gut issue. She also had teeth issues (resorptive lesions, aka FORLs.) So just when we would get the IBD managed, she'd go off eating again because of her teeth. Then I'd have to bring back the fish to keep her nibbling. And that would flare up the IBD and pancreatitis again. Her last few years were not easy.

I'd say if your guy is eating well and not having barf or poop issues, then keep doing what your doing. The treatment for pancreatitis is to feed him back to health. If he needs medication to make that happen, so be it. I did eventually come around to meds again with Krista. In retrospect, I wish we had gone with meds the first time. I could have spared her a number of pained loafs under the bookcase.
View attachment 384075
One of her few pained loafs that wasn't spent under the bookcase.

I just don't know how long I need to do all this...it seems to be an unknown. He has had 2 years of seizures than poof...gone. All along he's had FLUTD issues so the poor guy has been through it. Not sure when I need to start looking in another direction for him. When you have a cat with general symptoms its a real battle to find a vet that actually listens thoughtfully and will investigate without being dismissive and talks to you as though you were just looking for something to be wrong. I'm so sorry that Krista is gone..Its the cruelest cut that they live for a fraction of our lives.