Hi!
I found this site a few days ago and have been lurking for a while. Everyone is so friendly and helpful
. . . I thought it was time to join up and see if anyone can help me with some health issues one of our cats is having.
We have 2 two-year old male traditional Siamese kitties, Alfie and Jasper. Our saga began right around the time the recalls (grrrrr
) started. Luckily, our kitties werenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t on any of the recalled food. They both only ate Science Diet regular adult dry cat food at the time. Around that time, I noticed that Alfie was scratching himself more than normal. Also, he (and sometimes Jasper) would occasionally vomit on the SD food, so between that and worries about the recalls prompted me to do more research into finding a better food to feed them. I settled on trying to switch them to Natural Balance – both wet and dry, with the hopes of switching them completely over to wet food eventually.
They didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really take to the dry food. I mixed it with their old food as the bag suggested and they would eat it grudgingly at first, but eventually stopped. Jasper really took to the wet food. Alfie liked it somewhat, too, but he is such a grazer, it was difficult to get him to eat very much of it at a time. The problem was Alfie wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eating much of his old food either. I decided the NB dry was a no-go, so I ordered some small bags of Innova regular and EVO. They didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like the Innova much at first, but then they really seemed to warm up to it and they eventually choose it over their old food. Neither of them likes the EVO, though.
Around this time (on 4/17), they had their annual vet visit for a routine check-up and shots. Alfie had an allergic reaction to his shots last year so the vet decided to skip his feline leukemia shot this year since he is strictly an indoor cat. I also told her of his itching and vomiting. She noticed the back of his throat was mildly inflamed and thought that he might have a food allergy. I told her we were in the process of switching to Innova and she said to see if that helped and get back to her if it didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t. I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t mention that he was not eating that well at that time because I thought it was due to the food switch. He weighed 11.0 lbs. at his check-up.
After the visit I noticed that he was eating even less and seemed to be losing weight, so we took him back to our vet on 4/26. He had dropped about 4 ounces in a week and his temp was 102.7. She also noticed that there was a slight wheeze when listening to his lungs. She decided to give him a Depo-Medrol shot at that time and had us follow-up with her in a few days. He still continued to eat the same (only about ¼ to ½ of what he should eat in a day; some days more and some days less), but he also started to get very lethargic and act as if he was in some pain. He also stopped playing.
I closely monitored him and he seemed to be drinking fairly well. His stool seemed well formed and it didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem like he was having any difficulty urinating. No peeing outside the box or pain when going or anything.
So, we took him back to the vet on 5/2. His weight was down another 4 ounces (to 10.5 lbs) and his temp was up to 103.6. Also, our vet said his wheezing was a little bit worse. She tested his urine and he tested positive for an URI. His leukocytes, protein and ph were all off and he had bacteria present, but he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have any blood present in his urine and, luckily, he did not have crystals. She put him on 1/2 Orbax tablet for 14 days and also gave him some sub-q fluids (I guess to flush him out – she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really say). To further complicate matters, NB announced their recall for ocean fish wet a couple of days earlier. Both of our cats had only eaten parts of 2 cans of the stuff approx. a month prior and we never bought any more of it since they didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really like that flavor. The vet immediately ordered a blood panel for Alfie. She called us the next day and said it came back pretty normal. BUN was 21 and CRE was 1.2. His white blood count (neutrophils?) was high, but she said that was to be expected with an URI.
After 3 days on the antibiotics, he really started to perk up and act like his old self. He still isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t as active as he was before all this started but he has started playing with his favorite toys again. He is definitely feeling much better. But, he still isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eating very well and it seems to be getting worse in that area. He often acts like he is really very hungry and will loudly meow (as Siamese kitties are famous for) for food but he is still only eating about ½ the food he should or less on a good day. Right now he is back on the Science Diet dry with some occasional wet food because that is the only thing he will eat a little bit of.
We called the vet again a couple of days ago and she said to try some pepcid because the antibiotics may be upsetting his tummy. It doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to be having any effect. I was thinking of trying to feed him some of that paste in a tube to supplement some additional calories but our vet says they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t usually use that unless the cat has completely stopped eating. I weighed him today and he has lost another 4 ounces and is down to 10.25 lbs. I can really feel his spine/ribs now and he just looks so thin. I am at my wits end. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m really scared Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to lose him.
We just called the vet again today and she is going to see him at 5:00 this afternoon. She mentioned that she may start Alfie on Prednisone. Do you think this may help? Does anyone else have any ideas why this could be happening or things to help him get back to eating well again? Or, other things I should discuss with my vet? Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m worried he may end up with fatty liver disease from not eating enough.
Sorry for the long-winded post. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
I found this site a few days ago and have been lurking for a while. Everyone is so friendly and helpful
We have 2 two-year old male traditional Siamese kitties, Alfie and Jasper. Our saga began right around the time the recalls (grrrrr
They didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really take to the dry food. I mixed it with their old food as the bag suggested and they would eat it grudgingly at first, but eventually stopped. Jasper really took to the wet food. Alfie liked it somewhat, too, but he is such a grazer, it was difficult to get him to eat very much of it at a time. The problem was Alfie wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eating much of his old food either. I decided the NB dry was a no-go, so I ordered some small bags of Innova regular and EVO. They didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like the Innova much at first, but then they really seemed to warm up to it and they eventually choose it over their old food. Neither of them likes the EVO, though.
Around this time (on 4/17), they had their annual vet visit for a routine check-up and shots. Alfie had an allergic reaction to his shots last year so the vet decided to skip his feline leukemia shot this year since he is strictly an indoor cat. I also told her of his itching and vomiting. She noticed the back of his throat was mildly inflamed and thought that he might have a food allergy. I told her we were in the process of switching to Innova and she said to see if that helped and get back to her if it didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t. I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t mention that he was not eating that well at that time because I thought it was due to the food switch. He weighed 11.0 lbs. at his check-up.
After the visit I noticed that he was eating even less and seemed to be losing weight, so we took him back to our vet on 4/26. He had dropped about 4 ounces in a week and his temp was 102.7. She also noticed that there was a slight wheeze when listening to his lungs. She decided to give him a Depo-Medrol shot at that time and had us follow-up with her in a few days. He still continued to eat the same (only about ¼ to ½ of what he should eat in a day; some days more and some days less), but he also started to get very lethargic and act as if he was in some pain. He also stopped playing.
So, we took him back to the vet on 5/2. His weight was down another 4 ounces (to 10.5 lbs) and his temp was up to 103.6. Also, our vet said his wheezing was a little bit worse. She tested his urine and he tested positive for an URI. His leukocytes, protein and ph were all off and he had bacteria present, but he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have any blood present in his urine and, luckily, he did not have crystals. She put him on 1/2 Orbax tablet for 14 days and also gave him some sub-q fluids (I guess to flush him out – she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really say). To further complicate matters, NB announced their recall for ocean fish wet a couple of days earlier. Both of our cats had only eaten parts of 2 cans of the stuff approx. a month prior and we never bought any more of it since they didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really like that flavor. The vet immediately ordered a blood panel for Alfie. She called us the next day and said it came back pretty normal. BUN was 21 and CRE was 1.2. His white blood count (neutrophils?) was high, but she said that was to be expected with an URI.
After 3 days on the antibiotics, he really started to perk up and act like his old self. He still isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t as active as he was before all this started but he has started playing with his favorite toys again. He is definitely feeling much better. But, he still isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eating very well and it seems to be getting worse in that area. He often acts like he is really very hungry and will loudly meow (as Siamese kitties are famous for) for food but he is still only eating about ½ the food he should or less on a good day. Right now he is back on the Science Diet dry with some occasional wet food because that is the only thing he will eat a little bit of.
We called the vet again a couple of days ago and she said to try some pepcid because the antibiotics may be upsetting his tummy. It doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to be having any effect. I was thinking of trying to feed him some of that paste in a tube to supplement some additional calories but our vet says they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t usually use that unless the cat has completely stopped eating. I weighed him today and he has lost another 4 ounces and is down to 10.25 lbs. I can really feel his spine/ribs now and he just looks so thin. I am at my wits end. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m really scared Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to lose him.
We just called the vet again today and she is going to see him at 5:00 this afternoon. She mentioned that she may start Alfie on Prednisone. Do you think this may help? Does anyone else have any ideas why this could be happening or things to help him get back to eating well again? Or, other things I should discuss with my vet? Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m worried he may end up with fatty liver disease from not eating enough.
Sorry for the long-winded post. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
