Concerned Cat Mom

Jessica 94

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Hello, I have a 16 year old guy. He has not been feeling the greatest. Let me start with a little background.

He has been previously diagnosed with IBD, or gastrointestinal lymphoma. No way to know for certain without a biopsy. He has been doing well with his weight, and gastrointestinal issues for a while now.

Later, he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. This has been almost a year ago.

Within the past month I have noticed Behavior out of the ordinary. He is a strictly indoor cat, and he has been sneezing quite often. He has a bit of a runny nose. He has been drinking water in excess. However, this is not a new symptom. He has been drinking in excess for a couple of years.

He has also developed what I would call involuntary muscle spasms in his limbs. It is not when he is sleeping, it is at random. It does bother him, but it does not seem to bother him too much. As he will lick his paw after, or shake it.

Now, this morning he was sitting next to me, and I could hear his stomach gurgling. He then threw up about 20 minutes later. I am certain his stomach was empty, because it was foam. His diet is limited to YD, due to the hyperthyroidism. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.
 
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Jessica 94

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Please, I do not know what to do?
 

silkenpaw

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The spasms could be anything from an electrolyte imbalance to seizures. The vomiting might be due to his IBD, an infection, the hyperthyroidism or many other things, though I don't know how much I'd worry about just a single episode of vomiting. The runny nose makes me think he has a URI (did the vomit have any mucus in it?) How to put all this together can only be determined by a vet after your kitty has been examined.

So what you need to do is call your vet and make an appointment. Good luck with your kitty, I hope it's something simple. Do let us know what happens.
 

Daisy6

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Welcome to TCS. What is your kitty's name?

IBD/lymphmoa: Was an ultrasound done before the vet said he needs a biopsy to know what it is? Some members have reported getting a diagnosis wiht only that.
 

Ginger Tabby

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Those symptoms could be related to so many different issues. Is he being treated for the IBD? If he hasn't been to the vet lately, then an examination and at least blood work should be done.
 
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Jessica 94

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Please, I do not know what to do?
Thank you so much for your response. I should have mentioned that the vomiting foam is not new. He has been doing this since the IBD diagnosis. It is the gurgling sound that is now accompanying that is new.

No, there was no mucus in the vomit. However, his stools are round balls. I will have to take him to the vet, and let you know what I find out. I am concerned for many reasons. As, he has many different things going on at once. Thank you for the information, it makes sense. Electrolyte imbalance versus seizures seems to fit what I am seeing. However, I do not know if a seizure would be that obvious. As this seems more like a twitch.
The spasms could be anything from an electrolyte imbalance to seizures. The vomiting might be due to his IBD, an infection, the hyperthyroidism or many other things, though I don't know how much I'd worry about just a single episode of vomiting. The runny nose makes me think he has a URI (did the vomit have any mucus in it?) How to put all this together can only be determined by a vet after your kitty has been examined.

So what you need to do is call your vet and make an appointment. Good luck with your kitty, I hope it's something simple. Do let us know what happens.
 
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Jessica 94

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Welcome to TCS. What is your kitty's name?

IBD/lymphmoa: Was an ultrasound done before the vet said he needs a biopsy to know what it is? Some members have reported getting a diagnosis wiht only that.
His name is Sebastian. Yes, an ultrasound was preformed, but we did not do any biopsies. As he is too old to be anesthetized. The benefits outweighed the risk.
 
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Jessica 94

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Those symptoms could be related to so many different issues. Is he being treated for the IBD? If he hasn't been to the vet lately, then an examination and at least blood work should be done.
No, he has not been treated for the IBD in a long time. The medicine he was given would interfere with his hyperthyroidism medication. He is due for a senior panel, so I am going to take him to the veterinarian today, or tomorrow . Budesonide is what he was on.
 

silkenpaw

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Good luck at the vet's with Sebastian. If the stool is in round balls, then he might be dehydrated (seems unlikely, if he's drinking so much) or the stool may be sitting in the colon for a longer time than normal (the water gets re-absorbed).

What is his thyroid medicine?
 

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HK has the same diagnosis - either IBD or cancer. he's almost 20, and that diagnosis is years old, so i'm guessing IBD. he used to throw up a LOT, but now either cerenia (i give half a dose) or famotidine (pepcid) helps - the cerenia is for the nausea itself, and is pretty effective unless it's given just before he throws up. sometimes the famotidine is effective, but HK also has kidney disease, so tends to have a lot of tummy acid sometimes. he's also got hyperthyroidism.

for his IBD he gets a steroid daily (predisolone), and it does help. he got it orally as a liquid and hated it for years - i found out recently it could be given in his ear flap, the same way we give him his thyroid medication, and he's much happier now.

btw, he has gurgling in his tummy sometimes. i suspect it's a part of the whole IBD thing. he was very constipated for a couple years, and got small doses of miralax.
 

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My 17 year old Theo also has Hyperthyroidism along with other issues. I adopted him from a shelter and they are really keeping me in the dark about his medical conditions. I have taken him to my vet a few times to get any extra info. While he has not be diagnosed with IBD, my vet mention with his constant diarrhea he may have colon cancer. When i got him he was on Pred and an appetite pill. I have since taken him off both of those and he only takes his Methimazole and Fluids.
One thing I've learned is if he is "off", have his thyroid tested again. usually they should be tested about every three months to make sure the meds are working. over time they start to develop a tolerance to the meds and can start raising his T levels. Hyperthyroidism can also cause muscle tremors. it can also cause tachycardia (rapid heart beat) which Theo defiantly has. The rapid heart beat can cause other systems in his body to not receive the correct amount of blood flow. The heart beats so fast the blood doesn't have a chance to get everywhere. The muscle spasms and licking and shaking his paws might be due to a tingling from the blood not flowing to his toes. It could also be other things. I am not a vet just speaking from what I have experienced.

Pred also weakens the immune system. When I got Theo he was on a huge amount of pred every day. When i first took him to my vet it was for a cold he got for going back to the shelter for a check up. My vet told me right away to back off the pred or he would continue to get sick. I worked with the shelter and we slowly weened him off. If he is on pred it can cause him to get sick easier.
 

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Baschick, did you and the vet ever discuss prednisolone injections? Why didn't HK get that instead of the oral method?
 

basschick

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Baschick, did you and the vet ever discuss prednisolone injections? Why didn't HK get that instead of the oral method?
i can't imagine - i told the vet just how much HK hated and feared the oral version, but the vet never discussed any options with us. i found out about the transdermal option on our own and requested it.
 

Daisy6

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I would have demanded the prednisolone shot. They work for 3 months.
 

silkenpaw

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Daisy6 Daisy6 The form the last for 3 months is depomedrol (methylprednisolone). I was giving it to my "indoor feral," Hebe, for her eosinophilic plaque. She got better, but not all better, after 2 shots, and the vet said he didn't want to give her any more because they see bad complications with long-term administration of that drug. He didn't specify what the complications were, but I trust my vet, so we figured out how to give Hebe pills (prednisolone). It wasn't easy, but her skin has been perfect now, 4 months after we stopped the steroids. Whew! We are all happier!

Back to the topic, I much prefer pills to liquids. You never know how much is actually going in with liquids and some cats do not like the feeling of a liquid being squirted into their mouths. My Java used to practically stand on her head to avoid getting liquid medicine. She's not crazy about pills, but at least she's not terrified of them. Plus, you just can't hide the taste of liquids. A pill, you can hide in a pill pocket.
 

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Another issue with liquids happened to one of my cats. Amoxicillin liqud gave her, a black and white cat, a big pink splotch on her left side. Oops.
 
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Jessica 94

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Wow, so much information. I agree with the shot. As I was told the same thing. Bad side effects, and once injected, no going back. You gave me so much info I did not know. Thank you. I will not give Sebastian any pills, or medicine. Unless it is short term. I do not want him spending the rest of his life running from me, and felling as though he is being tortured. Hopefully, nothing too serious. I did not know that about the heartbeat, and blood flow. Is that dangerous? It seems to me that if blood is not going to the limbs properly that would be dangerous? I sincerely appreciate your advice, I look forward to hearing back from you.
 
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Jessica 94

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I do have a question about the sneezing. I understand he could have an upper respiratory tract infection, but can it be allergies? Unfortunately, I am not able to get him into the veterinarian's office until Monday.
 
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Jessica 94

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I know you cannot believe everything you read on the internet. However, I did research feline tachycardia. He does not appear to have the symptoms related to this condition. I will have to wait and see what the veterinarian says on Monday.
 
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