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I always feel personally uneasy about tuna flakes, maybe b/c w/ zorro the “output” has always been runny. Lots of good advice here already to work through though so I’d gnaw on that. Good luck.
Thanks! Some good thoughts!I'm not sure about the gabapentin,...and how it affects appetite.
It does cause drowsiness, so perhaps if could affect a cat's wanting to eat, if too sleepy.
Is Twyla taking the gabapentin for pain in her kidney, still ?
I wonder if because her one kidney has to work harder, to filter more regular toxins, then she feels slightly more ill, on certain days?
When you use the inhaler, is it a steroid that increases her appetite?
How were Twyla's other blood work results?
Does she have good Teeth?
I would try the Fortiflora first.
(It's just more for the 'animal digest', than the probiotic effects.)
***Have you tried any of the ideas in this thread:
Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!
Another thing to pay attention to..if it is 'shedding season'... and if Twyla ingests a lot of fur.
A number of recent threads, have cats who will not eat as much, when they have ingested too much fur.
Then they vomit a hairball, and resume eating like normal, the second day.
If your Twyla is losing weight, and it's not a seasonal thing, (like from winter to spring, weather-related),...or if you find it very unusual, and if she is losing a lot of weight,...then I would talk to the Vet, about other things you can try to stimulate her appetite.
There is a newish drug called Elura for cats, and of course the mirtazapine...(some side-effects on the mirtazapine were pretty strong for my 7 year old cat, so I would try everything else first, and then try out the drugs).
But only you can see how much Twyla is eating,...and if your gut feeling is that 'something is off'...then go with your instincts, and talk to your Vet.
When our cats become seniors, then things seem to move so quickly with their health,..so being attentive,...like you are doing is really good.
Oh, this is such good news.Twyla has been taking gabapentin just at night for the past three days now and her appetite is fully back to normal. She has also been back on Fancy Feast pate (salmon and shrimp flavor which is the lowest phos of the pates) only during those three days. I haven’t noticed any increase in pain or discomfort and she has definitely been more alert and active on the reduced dose.
Starting today I’m going to try and reintroduce some lower phosphorus foods for just one meal a day and see how she does. Wish me luck!
I think part of the problem is I was experimenting too much and doing too much to encourage her to eat which may have been stressing her out and making her anxious. So I am backing off on that to a degree and will reintroduce the newer foods more slowly.
Also, she just loves Hooper’s non-prescription dry food and will beg for that even though she shouldn’t have it. That was all she would eat yesterday. Good news is no obvious signs of nausea and she maybe regurgitates or vomits at most once every three weeks or so (and nothing recently) but it is possible she is working on a hair ball. If I needed I’m pretty sure my vet would give me an appetite stimulant without a vet visit so that is always an option for the future.
You're so right,..it sure is tough,...watching our beloved animal companions getting older, and developing chronic conditions.Watching them get older and develop chronic conditions is never easy!
Definetly keep the appointment. Hopefully her vet can determine the whys to everything. Just prayed her vet has all the answersFor the past few days Twyla (age 14ish) has been picky about her food, only eating a little bit or just walking away altogether. When she eats dry (only given in small amounts) she has regurgitated it a couple of times. Upon weighing she has lost about 4-6 ounces since her routine check up a month ago. She has also urinated twice outside the litter box in the past 10 days (which she has never done). I went ahead and scheduled a vet visit for Thursday to get a full blood panel done as she also had a high SDMA at her last visit.
Of course tonight she polished off her dinner and is currently chasing her brother around the house! She doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort and was stretched out napping belly up on my lap earlier.
Would you still keep the appointment? My inclination is yes (even though she is very uncooperative when it comes to blood draws).
Update on Twyla. I finally found a lower phosphorus food that she likes! She is nuts for the FF Wild Salmon Primavera, to the point that I have to mix it with anything else I give her! It is fewer calories per can than what she had been eating, so I am mixing it with a higher calorie pate in an effort to keep her weight stable. She needs about 200 calories a day, though a lot of days I don’t think she is eating quite that much. She is eating 2 cans of the Primavera, 1/2 can of pate and a tablespoon or two of dry food a day. Her appetite is mostly good, litter box habits are stable, and no vomiting except for a couple of hair balls. She is her regular social, loving and playful self.
Those are the positives.
Yay!! Good update!I have kept her at the single dose of gabapentin and that has been working fine. She has also not had a single asthma episode since starting on her inhaler in November. She is good about taking both, thank goodness!
The muscle wasting is always worrisome in elderly cats.The negative is that she has lost another ounce or two since her vet visit in March and the muscle wasting on her back end has grown more noticeable, particularly when she is standing up. It’s possible the wasting is happening in other areas, but that is where It is most prominent. She is borderline hyperthyroid, could that be a contributing factor? I am expecting that she will probably have to start thyroid meds after her next vet visit at the end of June.
Twyla weighed over 14 pounds in October with an 8/9 body score (obese and pre diabetic) so she was put on a 200-220 calorie a day diet. Fast forward six months to her next checkup and she had lost two pounds with a 6/9 body score. She was fussy at that visit and we didn’t get a full blood panel. I took her back a couple of weeks (the visit that started this thread) after that and she had lost a couple more ounces. She is at a healthy weight right now (11.6 pounds) but does not need to lose any more. I could go up to 220 calories a day, but am not sure she would eat the quantity of food required to hit that goal since I am having trouble getting her to eat 200. Any more calorie dense food she either doesn’t like or is way too high in phosphorus. So a bit of a struggle.Yay!! Good update!
Way to go Twyla...and Twylasmom
The muscle wasting is always worrisome in elderly cats.
Actually the member to best answer your "borderline hyperthyroid" question...and "can it be a contributing factor?" is FeebysOwner
If you can look up some of their threads...and especially the ones pertaining to hyperthyroid, then you'll learn more about it.
I know I was reading a thread, and FeebysOwner answered a question (actually was answering all the questions for a senior cat).. about the medication that is given, and also that the starting dosages, that the Vet recommended was too high.
(so knowledgeable and so helpful to be given first hand experience, in order to be able to ask your own Vet about possible treatment strategies.)
I have no experience with hyperthyroidism in cats...but I would guess that it could be a contributing factor to muscle wasting.
I would think that the cat would be extremely hungry, too.
(but not sure of the possible symptoms... if it's borderline.)
I wonder if the muscle wasting also has to do with how the cat's body, is absorbing nutrients, and proteins, potassium, magnesium, and if any 'healthy cat supplements' could be given.
(I know it really bothered me, when I saw this in my own previous cat, but because he was on the Hill's K/D prescription diet,..somehow I erroneously attributed it to that...and that he was getting older. In hindsight, I should have been more proactive with my Vet.)
Hopefully, now that you have found a food that Twyla likes, then you can also try giving it with other 'higher calorie, but lower phosphorus wet foods', too.) Like you are already doing, but also increasing her calorie consumption, to make up for the days when she does have a hairball vomit.
What is Twyla's ideal weight?
Because somehow...I think the goal of 200 calories/day...might be a tad too small.
(I do understand. I remember it was extremely difficult to hit the 200 cals/day, for my previous ckd/hcm cat, as well,...with being mindful of phosphorus, salt, and trying to get him to actually like eating the food, to get the actual calories.)Twyla weighed over 14 pounds in October with an 8/9 body score (obese and pre diabetic) so she was put on a 200-220 calorie a day diet. Fast forward six months to her next checkup and she had lost two pounds with a 6/9 body score. She was fussy at that visit and we didn’t get a full blood panel. I took her back a couple of weeks (the visit that started this thread) after that and she had lost a couple more ounces. She is at a healthy weight right now (11.6 pounds) but does not need to lose any more. I could go up to 220 calories a day, but am not sure she would eat the quantity of food required to hit that goal since I am having trouble getting her to eat 200. Any more calorie dense food she either doesn’t like or is way too high in phosphorus. So a bit of a struggle.
I'm not very experienced when it comes to supplements, either,...only what I have read, here, in the threads, mostly.I had a hyper-t cat prior to Twyla so I have a good understanding of that and do think it could contribute to the wasting, but she was not diagnosed as hyperthyroid as of six weeks ago. I hadn’t thought about absorbing nutrients. I know nothing about supplements for cats and would welcome anyone’s suggestions or thoughts.
Sounds like a good plan.I am weighing about once a week so I can track if she is fluctuating or on a steady decline. She doesn’t like the scale so it is difficult to get an accurate reading. If the weight continues to decline I will try and move up her appointment.
This is a great update.Things are going pretty well here. Twyla has been eating well and is getting approximately 200-220 calories a day. What has worked is going from three meals a day up to six. She is a grazer and likes smaller meals (about 1.5 oz per meal). When fed this amount she cleans her plate most of the time. Lucky for her I am on summer break and am available to cater to her demanding schedule! Since my goal right now is lower phosphorus (not lowest) and maintaining weight she gets one can of pate and two cans of the primavera per day, plus a couple of treats. She has mostly lost interest in dry food (unless she thinks she is getting away with eating it). I’m wondering if that’s because it doesn’t have as strong of a smell as the wet food. She is not vomiting at all and litter box habits are good. She does pee more than Hooper, but I haven’t noticed a marked increase in output and she is on a high moisture diet.
Feeby's only issue when she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism was weight loss.I suspect that she has reached official hyperthyroid status and needs to start methimazole, but we’ll see what the vet says. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the weight loss you wouldn’t be able to tell that there was anything wrong, but here we are.
The best route with this would be a probiotic. However, probiotics need prebiotics in order to do their job, and a combined product is made by Fera. I'm not recommending as such, particularly as an issue with this brand is that it is a high dose multi strain product and it's often suggested to begin with a smaller dose of a simpler one that is a single strain. There are other things to consider as well, and this site may have helpful info;I hadn’t thought about absorbing nutrients. I know nothing about supplements for cats and would welcome anyone’s suggestions or thoughts.
It’s tough. The only silver lining for Twyla was that her liver values improved From her last visit. Will have to see how she handles the methimazole. My previous hyperthyroid cat was on the transdermal and only made it about six months after diagnosis, but her disease was very advanced and she was several years older.Hang in there with all this - as you know, several of us are walking this same path (in my case I'm having to go with the Hills y/d because Poppycat has high liver numbers so he can't handle the methimazole and we can't handle the other options).
WOW!!The only silver lining for Twyla was that her liver values improved From her last visit.