For context, just over a year ago, my cat (she's a large medium hair tabby probably aged about 6) stopped eating and we went through a frustrating and ultimately ineffective tranche of expensive interventions with a variety of vets. More information is here: 4 Year Old Cat Has Stopped Eating.
TL;DR after tooth extractions were ineffective, she responded to gapabentin and was eating and comfortable for just on a year and a bit, before beginning to show signs of reticence again in April.
She has since begun twitching (ears and paws), is exhibiting near constant head shaking, exaggerated difficult chewing, and she now has a sore and unhappy affect (antisocial, lethargic, constant backward ears), which has become increasingly stressful to observe. We returned her to the specialist vet, did blood and a mouth x-ray. Bloods were all normal range and x-ray saw nothing. We tested antibiotics and meloxicam both of which were entirely ineffective.
The next recommendation was to see a neurologist who indicated that we were probably looking at FOPS. They indicated it was common for cats with FOPS for treatment to become ineffective over time and that FOPS was 'very difficult'. They recommended an MRI which is prohibitively expensive, and as I understand it, if the diagnosis is FOPS, they won't be able to see anything and it'll just wind up being a horrifically expensive photo, so at this stage I have refused the MRI. The neurologist recommended trying pregabatin, which we have been administering this week, and it has also been ineffective.
I've been trialing softer foods to try and relieve her mouth, but this just leads to diarrhea within 12-24 hours which has necessitated bathing. I'm at my wits end and think that all of this investigation and trialing is only really going to result in one logical outcome. I know there are other drugs that can be trialed, but most are strong and result in severe sedation, which is no sort of life long-term for a young and usually happy and friendly cat.
I guess I'm just looking for some sort of hope, or advice, because I'm quickly approaching the point of being beaten, at which point we'll have to look to a decision about quality of life.
TL;DR after tooth extractions were ineffective, she responded to gapabentin and was eating and comfortable for just on a year and a bit, before beginning to show signs of reticence again in April.
She has since begun twitching (ears and paws), is exhibiting near constant head shaking, exaggerated difficult chewing, and she now has a sore and unhappy affect (antisocial, lethargic, constant backward ears), which has become increasingly stressful to observe. We returned her to the specialist vet, did blood and a mouth x-ray. Bloods were all normal range and x-ray saw nothing. We tested antibiotics and meloxicam both of which were entirely ineffective.
The next recommendation was to see a neurologist who indicated that we were probably looking at FOPS. They indicated it was common for cats with FOPS for treatment to become ineffective over time and that FOPS was 'very difficult'. They recommended an MRI which is prohibitively expensive, and as I understand it, if the diagnosis is FOPS, they won't be able to see anything and it'll just wind up being a horrifically expensive photo, so at this stage I have refused the MRI. The neurologist recommended trying pregabatin, which we have been administering this week, and it has also been ineffective.
I've been trialing softer foods to try and relieve her mouth, but this just leads to diarrhea within 12-24 hours which has necessitated bathing. I'm at my wits end and think that all of this investigation and trialing is only really going to result in one logical outcome. I know there are other drugs that can be trialed, but most are strong and result in severe sedation, which is no sort of life long-term for a young and usually happy and friendly cat.
I guess I'm just looking for some sort of hope, or advice, because I'm quickly approaching the point of being beaten, at which point we'll have to look to a decision about quality of life.