Hi everyone!! This is my first time posting on the cat site - I'm really hoping I can get some help or hear about others' personal experiences with crypto... It seems to be a pretty rare disease with only basic information available and very few personal experiences!!
Our 5 yo Main Coon, Merlin, ended his 2 year health streak in July when he first got snuffles, he's a suspected FHV (feline herpres virus) carrier, which turned out to be as a result from a pretty serious gall bladder infection, and all this has lead to a cryptococcus infection. He is receiving subcutaneous amphotericin B twice a week (started last Thursday) for the next 6 to 12 weeks.
The only real information I can find is the basic cause, symptoms, diagnoses and treatment - but nothing on what to expect!! Our vet isn't much help either as she has only ever seen one case of crypto - which was in a dog that she had to euthanase as he was to severely infected. So this is as much a learning experience for her as it is for us!
So if there is anyone else who has had the unfortunate luck of seeing their pet through crytpo - I would love to hear your story and insights!!!!
For those who want to read it.. here is Merlin's story:
As a kitten, Merlin had snuffles and is most likely a FHV carrier. So middle of July his eye started tearing - we thought it was due to winter dust. Then the sneezing began - again, we suspected winter allergies. Once his nose started running, I realised we are probably sitting with a new case of snuffles and took him to the vet. For the life of me I could not understand what had triggered it, as usually FHV only flares when the immune system is down - and he was the anything but stressed, injured or sick! After 3 weeks of struggling with a runny nose, sneezing and another trip to the vet, he stopped eating and became pale. On Monday the 20th of August I had him back at the vet - they were worried as the snuffles should have been at an end after all the antibiotics he was on - and he was clearly lethargic and anemic. They did a whole bunch of tests which showed he had a pretty serious gall bladder infection! Needless to say he was immediately admitted, put on a drip, had a feeding tube inserted and put on some serious antibiotics. The gallbladder infection resulted in pretty serious jaundice, and he had got a blood transfusion for the anemia!
After a week in hospital he could finally come home! The anemia, jaundice and infection had subsided, but he was still pretty congested from the snuffles.
Then two days later (30th August) - we were back at the vet. His nose started bleeding when I tried to clean it and his left eye was slightly filled with blood so I decided to rather take him back! He subsequently got put onto antivirals as clearly this was not a bacterial infection anymore, and received antiviral eye drops for the uveitis (blood in the eye) - which is also sometimes caused by FHV. He spent the rest of the week in the isolation ward and finally got discharged on Monday the 4th of September.
Still with a feeding tube inserted, we had to feed him at least 4 times a day as he wasn't the least bit interested in food - but at least it made giving all the medication a breeze!
After 2 weeks of antivirals and syringe feeding, we took the plunge and had his feeding tube removed. By now his weight was down from 6kgs to 5.3kg. The vet said to give it a week for him to start eating as some cats just don't like eating with a tube in place.
Finally, after 3 days and becoming worried that he is never going to eat again - he started eating!!! Not much.. but at least he was pecking at his food which was good enough for me!
Then, two weeks later, on Friday the 6th of October, we returned to the vet. Merlin was still not eating well (his weight further down to 4.8kg), still congested, and had developed a lump across his nose. His left eye (the same one that had uveitis) was also slightly swollen. The vet was immediately worried about the hard mass across his nose and took a fine needle aspiration of the mass to send to a lab for testing. Her thoughts - by the looks of the fluid and lack of a fever, she was very certain it was nasal cancer and not an infection. We were absolutely devastated!!! She would have the results back in the next few days to confirm the diagnosis.
It was a terrible weekend and a long week - I cried often at the thought that I may have to say goodbye to this massive Mr lover pants of mine. I must add, I'm 8 months pregnant so the hormones and emotions are at an ultimate high and the thought of my two boys never meeting each other has me totally crushed!
Wednesday came and my husband phoned to find out if they had received any feedback yet. The vet phoned me back later - she was wrong, its definitely not cancer - it's cryptococcus - and it can be treated!!! I was absolutely ecstatic at the fact that it was not cancer, and that there was at least some hope for a happy ending - but its going to be a long road. Being pregnant and having a baby on the way in less than 3 weeks, the vet suggested we go with subcutaneous injections of amphoteracin B twice a week, rather then giving him tablets - its also a cheaper option.
We completed his second treatment on Monday - it takes about 15 mins for the 400ml solution to be administered under the skin. Besides for the lump on his nose, which is proably causing his breathing difficulties, his left eye is still being slightly swollen and he has a slight nasal discharge (it comes and goes). He also developed sores on his left bum. We initially thought it was from over grooming, but it has since become a hard, crusty mass. Our vet took a fine needle aspiration of it on Monday and immediately recognized it as the same red snotty substance that she took from his nose. We were given clotrimazole cream to put on - it seems as if it's halted the infection slightly, but its probably too early to say.
I'll try keep the thread updated with his progress - his next treatment (and third) is on Friday - so hopefully we'll start seeing an improvement soon!!!
Our 5 yo Main Coon, Merlin, ended his 2 year health streak in July when he first got snuffles, he's a suspected FHV (feline herpres virus) carrier, which turned out to be as a result from a pretty serious gall bladder infection, and all this has lead to a cryptococcus infection. He is receiving subcutaneous amphotericin B twice a week (started last Thursday) for the next 6 to 12 weeks.
The only real information I can find is the basic cause, symptoms, diagnoses and treatment - but nothing on what to expect!! Our vet isn't much help either as she has only ever seen one case of crypto - which was in a dog that she had to euthanase as he was to severely infected. So this is as much a learning experience for her as it is for us!
So if there is anyone else who has had the unfortunate luck of seeing their pet through crytpo - I would love to hear your story and insights!!!!
For those who want to read it.. here is Merlin's story:
As a kitten, Merlin had snuffles and is most likely a FHV carrier. So middle of July his eye started tearing - we thought it was due to winter dust. Then the sneezing began - again, we suspected winter allergies. Once his nose started running, I realised we are probably sitting with a new case of snuffles and took him to the vet. For the life of me I could not understand what had triggered it, as usually FHV only flares when the immune system is down - and he was the anything but stressed, injured or sick! After 3 weeks of struggling with a runny nose, sneezing and another trip to the vet, he stopped eating and became pale. On Monday the 20th of August I had him back at the vet - they were worried as the snuffles should have been at an end after all the antibiotics he was on - and he was clearly lethargic and anemic. They did a whole bunch of tests which showed he had a pretty serious gall bladder infection! Needless to say he was immediately admitted, put on a drip, had a feeding tube inserted and put on some serious antibiotics. The gallbladder infection resulted in pretty serious jaundice, and he had got a blood transfusion for the anemia!
After a week in hospital he could finally come home! The anemia, jaundice and infection had subsided, but he was still pretty congested from the snuffles.
Then two days later (30th August) - we were back at the vet. His nose started bleeding when I tried to clean it and his left eye was slightly filled with blood so I decided to rather take him back! He subsequently got put onto antivirals as clearly this was not a bacterial infection anymore, and received antiviral eye drops for the uveitis (blood in the eye) - which is also sometimes caused by FHV. He spent the rest of the week in the isolation ward and finally got discharged on Monday the 4th of September.
Still with a feeding tube inserted, we had to feed him at least 4 times a day as he wasn't the least bit interested in food - but at least it made giving all the medication a breeze!
After 2 weeks of antivirals and syringe feeding, we took the plunge and had his feeding tube removed. By now his weight was down from 6kgs to 5.3kg. The vet said to give it a week for him to start eating as some cats just don't like eating with a tube in place.
Finally, after 3 days and becoming worried that he is never going to eat again - he started eating!!! Not much.. but at least he was pecking at his food which was good enough for me!
Then, two weeks later, on Friday the 6th of October, we returned to the vet. Merlin was still not eating well (his weight further down to 4.8kg), still congested, and had developed a lump across his nose. His left eye (the same one that had uveitis) was also slightly swollen. The vet was immediately worried about the hard mass across his nose and took a fine needle aspiration of the mass to send to a lab for testing. Her thoughts - by the looks of the fluid and lack of a fever, she was very certain it was nasal cancer and not an infection. We were absolutely devastated!!! She would have the results back in the next few days to confirm the diagnosis.
It was a terrible weekend and a long week - I cried often at the thought that I may have to say goodbye to this massive Mr lover pants of mine. I must add, I'm 8 months pregnant so the hormones and emotions are at an ultimate high and the thought of my two boys never meeting each other has me totally crushed!
Wednesday came and my husband phoned to find out if they had received any feedback yet. The vet phoned me back later - she was wrong, its definitely not cancer - it's cryptococcus - and it can be treated!!! I was absolutely ecstatic at the fact that it was not cancer, and that there was at least some hope for a happy ending - but its going to be a long road. Being pregnant and having a baby on the way in less than 3 weeks, the vet suggested we go with subcutaneous injections of amphoteracin B twice a week, rather then giving him tablets - its also a cheaper option.
We completed his second treatment on Monday - it takes about 15 mins for the 400ml solution to be administered under the skin. Besides for the lump on his nose, which is proably causing his breathing difficulties, his left eye is still being slightly swollen and he has a slight nasal discharge (it comes and goes). He also developed sores on his left bum. We initially thought it was from over grooming, but it has since become a hard, crusty mass. Our vet took a fine needle aspiration of it on Monday and immediately recognized it as the same red snotty substance that she took from his nose. We were given clotrimazole cream to put on - it seems as if it's halted the infection slightly, but its probably too early to say.
I'll try keep the thread updated with his progress - his next treatment (and third) is on Friday - so hopefully we'll start seeing an improvement soon!!!
I've also read that flucytosine and amphotericin-B are often used together - but then there are also reports that flucytosine is incredibly expensive and hard to come by in the 3rd world countries (of which South Africa is one unfortunately).
after his 3rd treatment with amphotericin, he stopped eating, we also had to help him to get to his sandbox. Saturday was even worse and he was literally not walking at all, and still not eating.
You will be missed. 
