Musiaka's journey with IBD and liver issues

Maurey

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What do you mean by "at this stage"? After the bad appetite episode?
He likes it crunchy. Might even eat it soaked, but that's not guaranteed... He has good appetite these days, ate a lot of wet food yesterday and today.
Yes. If he’s not eating anything but kibble, it’s better than nothing, even if it’s not the healthiest option for him.
 

Maurey

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Seems like we're back to frequent vomitings, as always when some time passes after the last cerenia injections. The egg yolk doesn't seem to work yet. Musiaka is eating well these days and is in good mood, have gained a little bit of weight. But the hairball issue seems to be impossible for us to resolve :(
Hairball issue are common in IBD cats, sadly. He may improve if you’re able to get him eating the quality wet food you picked out, but, again, if he’ll only eat dry food, that’s the lesser evil between hairballs+low moisture diet and not eating at all.
 
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Musiaka

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Hairball issue are common in IBD cats, sadly. He may improve if you’re able to get him eating the quality wet food you picked out, but, again, if he’ll only eat dry food, that’s the lesser evil between hairballs+low moisture diet and not eating at all.
During the day he only gets wet food (Specific Digestive support, I like it, because it gets digested super quickly, he never throws up bits of food anymore, so at least theres no malabsorbtion), but during the night its kibble. It's not even that much, around 20 grams. Maybe even that amount is causing issue...
 
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Musiaka

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Do you think it's better for Musiaka to not eat during the night (unless he gives in an eats his wet food) or to snack on kibble? Given that he eats adequate meals during the day
 
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Do you think it's better for Musiaka to not eat during the night (unless he gives in an eats his wet food at night, which he probably doesnt like because its not straight out of the can) or to snack on kibble? Given that he eats adequate meals during the day
 

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Do you think it's better for Musiaka to not eat during the night (unless he gives in an eats his wet food) or to snack on kibble? Given that he eats adequate meals during the day
I definitely think that it is better for Musiaka to eat something during the night.
The risk would be going too long without food...and having stomach acid and bile building up again.
At least having something in his stomach...would counter that.

Hairballs are strange.
(My previous cat...at age 14 years...started to throw up hairballs much more often...than when he was younger.
More often...meant that I would find a long pile of hairball...probably once or twice a month..(maybe more..since I cannot clearly remember,now)...versus when he was younger..and it was quite rare.
He was living with both CKD (chronic kidney disease) and HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)...at that point in time.)
So perhaps it could be an age related...slowing down of the digestive system...as well.

I was wondering about the 'egg yolk'...that was previously talked about.
I never tried that ..for my elderly cat.
But I did notice that your cat food contains it...and so I wondered ...if there are any studies..that mention if too much egg yolk is not good?
(The only reason I ask..is that for myself...human...I find that if I eat two boiled eggs (scrambled eggs do not have this same effect)..then get a 'burping type of reaction..(one or two burps)...where it tastes like sulfur...or something similar'. So I wondered if the effects of egg yolk...could also cause this in cats.
I've never actually investigated it...for people or cats, though,...so would not know what the cause of the one or two burps would be.)

Definitely try to brush him more.
Especially if his winter coat is shedding.
(my six year old cats are shedding like crazy this year.)
 
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Musiaka

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I definitely think that it is better for Musiaka to eat something during the night.
The risk would be going too long without food...and having stomach acid and bile building up again.
At least having something in his stomach...would counter that.

Hairballs are strange.
(My previous cat...at age 14 years...started to throw up hairballs much more often...than when he was younger.
More often...meant that I would find a long pile of hairball...probably once or twice a month..(maybe more..since I cannot clearly remember,now)...versus when he was younger..and it was quite rare.
He was living with both CKD (chronic kidney disease) and HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)...at that point in time.)
So perhaps it could be an age related...slowing down of the digestive system...as well.

I was wondering about the 'egg yolk'...that was previously talked about.
I never tried that ..for my elderly cat.
But I did notice that your cat food contains it...and so I wondered ...if there are any studies..that mention if too much egg yolk is not good?
(The only reason I ask..is that for myself...human...I find that if I eat two boiled eggs (scrambled eggs do not have this same effect)..then get a 'burping type of reaction..(one or two burps)...where it tastes like sulfur...or something similar'. So I wondered if the effects of egg yolk...could also cause this in cats.
I've never actually investigated it...for people or cats, though,...so would not know what the cause of the one or two burps would be.)

Definitely try to brush him more.
Especially if his winter coat is shedding.
(my six year old cats are shedding like crazy this year.)
You're right, it does contain egg powder, I didn't even notice that before. But I'm not noticing anything worse since adding more egg yolk to his diet, except that it hasn't helped yet. Still hoping it will kick in.

It could be age related... I wish I knew exactly how old Musiaka was. He has gotten even more grey hairs this year and his teeth are worn out, so I bet he's not a young cat. If someone told me he's way over 10, I would believe them.

I don't know what it is this year, but Musiaka has been shedding extra much as well! I don't remember a shedding this crazy
 
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Musiaka

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Now I am convinced Musiaka loses his appetite after being taken outside.
I always promise myself I won't be taking him again, but when the weather is nice I take pity on him and take him for a walk, which happened today as well. The last few times he refused to eat after coming back, but I thought it was a coincidence. But today he is once more refusing his food and it's quite clear that it's related to his walk. It's like he goes a bit mental and doesn't care about anything else than going out again. Takes several days for him to calm down and start eating again. I think I have to stop with the walks. Which is hard, as I always think about how much he loves to be outside and feel guilty about it. :(
 

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The last few times he refused to eat after coming back, but I thought it was a coincidence. But today he is once more refusing his food and it's quite clear that it's related to his walk. It's like he goes a bit mental and doesn't care about anything else than going out again. Takes several days for him to calm down and start eating again.
That's interesting. So you think all the excitement from going outside is throwing off his eating schedule?
I would think that after having some exercise from walking, he would be tired...and need some rest.
But then would drink water...and eat when he is hungry.

Maybe all the sniffing he does while walking...satisfies his food receptors...in some way...so as to block his appetite.
That would be interesting to find out.
But what kind of experiment could you run.
Taking him out in his cat carrier, would have similar effect...since he would be able to sniff the air around him, too.

See if he gets hungry...later on...in the evening...then it might just be he is too tired to eat.

(There is a lot of tree pollen where I live, right now, that is falling...and being blown around.)
Could there be a lot of tree pollen, and grass weeds also being blown around ...where you live?
Try to notice if Musiaka's eyes are a bit more watery...or red...after the walks....and after he sleeps?
It's a mystery...but maybe something outside is affecting Musiaka's appetite.
Do you always walk in the same area...and is there any type of pesticides that people spray on their grass?
 
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Musiaka

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That's interesting. So you think all the excitement from going outside is throwing off his eating schedule?
I would think that after having some exercise from walking, he would be tired...and need some rest.
But then would drink water...and eat when he is hungry.

Maybe all the sniffing he does while walking...satisfies his food receptors...in some way...so as to block his appetite.
That would be interesting to find out.
But what kind of experiment could you run.
Taking him out in his cat carrier, would have similar effect...since he would be able to sniff the air around him, too.

See if he gets hungry...later on...in the evening...then it might just be he is too tired to eat.

(There is a lot of tree pollen where I live, right now, that is falling...and being blown around.)
Could there be a lot of tree pollen, and grass weeds also being blown around ...where you live?
Try to notice if Musiaka's eyes are a bit more watery...or red...after the walks....and after he sleeps?
It's a mystery...but maybe something outside is affecting Musiaka's appetite.
Do you always walk in the same area...and is there any type of pesticides that people spray on their grass?
His eyes doesn't seem more red or watery, so I doubt it's pollen or pesticides, it's a green area that nobody touches... But something to do with all the excitement from going outside probably - he even looks pissed, when I'm offering food when he's walking around the apartment, miaowing, begging to be let outside. As if he's saying "that's not what I'm asking for, can't you see??". Then he forgets the outside, eats a bit, remembers again, starts pacing and miaowing at the door and this goes on for some days.
The carrier is Musiaka's biggest enemy, so we avoid it at all costs :D he starts salivating and being miserable the moment he's in it, so I only carry him in my arms, when it's not possible for him to walk on the leash.

Of course, those short walks we take ar not the source of Musiaka's ibd issues, or anything to do with his hairballs... But I think it's definitely the source of his recent food refusal episodes. It doesn't explain the nightly kibble preference though
 
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Cats are really weird
 
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Today I took Musiaka out again, it's so hard not to, because he miaows non stop from 6 am to 12 am asking to go out. He's at the door for most of the day. The same thing happened again, right after the walk he stopped eating for around 6 hours straight. Somewhere along the day he threw up some stomach acid as well (no hairballs this time), so maybe because his stomach was empty... it's really not good for him to stay without food. Now, towards the evening, he started eating again as if nothing happened, exact same scenario as friday.

I don't know how we're gonna do with this. It would not be a problem to take him out everyday, but he doesn't act normal afterwards. The miaowing we could maybe live with, but refusing food is not good for his ibd stomach. Today's acid throw up confirms it.

Musiaka's so happy outside. I don't know what to do :(
 
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I decided to continue with the daily walks!
My mom takes him out at lunchtime and I do that around 10 pm. Musiaka is very happy with this arrangement and miaows slightly less during the day, maybe because he knows that he will get his outside time eventually. The weird food hackups have stopped now!

Musiaka has been pooping twice a day ever since I started giving him eggyolk and probiotic (I mix them together and make a paste). And it's not diarrhea, the poops are solid. I saw hair in some of them, so maybe at least a chunk of it is getting flushed out correctly.

I ordered some digestive enzymes as well, so we'll see how Musiaka will do with this addition.

I'm also slowly introducing Gussto's canned food, although Musiaka is not a fan of these meaty chunky canned foods. He got used to licking his wet food, as Specific's Digestive support wet food is very airy and thin and isn't very impressed with the meatiness of Gussto's. He still receives kibble as a nightly snack, although not the Hepatic one, we switched to Virbac's Digestive support one. I have recently read that this is the best veterinary kibble on the market.

Musiaka is in a very good mood these last few days. I've never seen a cat who's so good with the leash - I literally feel like I'm walking a dog, he walks where I direct him, he isn't afraid (unless he sees a dog, then he growls), I can take and carry him whenever needed without him trying to escape. I don't allow him to eat grass and try to wash his paws when we're back. But an anti-worm medicine is definitely needed soon, just in case.

These are our news!
 
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Musiaka

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We had a hairball today, it's been 13 days since the last one. Not too bad by Musiaka's measures. The shedding is still going strong, as we finally got some hot weather.
It's probably not realistic for me to expect no hairballs at all, so once 1-2 weeks is probably the best result we can reach at this point.
Too bad Musiaka is still not keen on (any!) wet food. He strongly prefers kibble at the moment, no matter what I do. I coax him into eating some wet, around 100-150g a day, but it's impossible to be on in 100%, otherwise he would go hungry at certain times.
 
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He gets eggyolk and probiotics twice a day, enzymes mixed with a creamy treat once a day. During the day I try to coax him into eating wet food, when I don't succeed I let him eat kibble. During the night it's only kibble. In the morning he drinks a lot of water.
 
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Musiaka has emptied his anal glands today and it was nasty! Smelled like hell.
He went into his litter box but suddenly ran out clenching his butt and started cleaning it aggressively. There were some smears on the carpet that smelled horrible, worse than poop. Musiaka's butthole was sticking out also, if it makes sense. Then he went back into his litter box and pooped as usual, very healthy looking poop.
His butthole was slightly leaking afterwards but Musiaka looked really happy and in a good mood. Was very interested in smelling the carpet where he dragged his butt. Probably felt relieved after doing the deal. I was left with cleaning the carpet and gagging from that smell!

By the way, Musiaka's poops look extra healthy lately. You could never tell it comes from a cat that has digestive issues. They look easy to pass, good consistency, comes out in one piece, good color. I think it's the eggyolk! I've been increasing the amount and it doesn't cause any side effect at all
 

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Bissell makes fantastic mess cleaners. I like the Pet Stain Eraser for small jobs like a hairball. But for poop (which because of Krista's lymphoma was nearly a daily dropping outside the box), I use a wet vac upright like the Revolution. Hopefully, there will be no repeat incidents. But if there are, like their new tag line says, "Live in the moment, not the mess."
 
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It seems like Musiaka's break from frequent vet visits is over and we will have to go there soon again. :(
I switched to another canned food and immediately we're having problems, although it's hard to say if it's directly related to the change.
Yesterday there was a hairball and acid and today, after we came back from our walk (Musiaka kept on trying to eat grass), he ate his new food and around 20 min later got some kind of hiccup and then threw up a puddle of light brown liquid, no food, no hair, just the liquid. Soon after he went for a bite again.
He's been in a very good mood lately... Wants to go outside all the time, and when he's on the leash, he has his tail up, interested in everything, walks with enthuisiasm.. He's been eating well after I introduced the new food.

But the vomiting is there, it's always there, it goes away for a very short time and then it's back, again and again, no matter what I do. I'm so drained I don't think I'll ever have a cat again
 

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It sounds like the new food is just not going to work for his poor little stomach. But, all of the other things you have said seems to tell me that he is doing fairly well besides the new food.

What ever happened to switching him back to the food he was originally eating before all of this started? If I recall correctly, it was a grocery store brand and he did well with it, yes? You know, it may not be what you consider ideal food, but if it works for him and stops the vomiting, it might be what he would consider his ideal food!
 
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It sounds like the new food is just not going to work for his poor little stomach. But, all of the other things you have said seems to tell me that he is doing fairly well besides the new food.

What ever happened to switching him back to the food he was originally eating before all of this started? If I recall correctly, it was a grocery store brand and he did well with it, yes? You know, it may not be what you consider ideal food, but if it works for him and stops the vomiting, it might be what he would consider his ideal food!
It was a combination of different grocery store brands back then - Purina and Mjau mostly, but he never did well on any food, it's just that he happily ate those and feeding high quality food is a struggle (he likes sauces, jelly, juicy pate's. And kibble). But he's been vomiting the whole time I had him, almost six years. A little bit less during the first couple of years, but last 4 years have been a constant struggle. The frequency has always varied - it can be twice a week, every second day, twice a month, but the longest he has ever lasted without vomiting was on daily 5 mg prednisolone. The moment I lowered the dose, it went back.

So to be honest - no food has ever worked out for Musiaka healthwise. He vomits on any food. SPECIFIC'S Digestive Support patè has given us the best results - less frequent vomiting, but he now hates it and refuses to eat it.
 
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