Cat With Idiopathic Hypercalcemia (high Calcium)

[tibble]

I am posting to share my experience so far.
Male neutered Cat 1.5 years old at the time was diagnosed in Nov 2017 with Hypercalcemia
4 months earlier his blood work showed Calcium was normal.
He was eating wet urinary s/o canned cat food for FLUTD and 1/8 tsp miralax 2x a day for hard stool.
Vet recommended we change his diet to a high fiber diet before trying medications, It was reccommended to try Royal Canin Veterinary Diet® Feline Gastrointestinal Fiber Response dry cat food but since he has urinary issues and hardly drinks water I switched to wet fancy feast along with vetasyl fiber capsules (Psyllium seed husks) for 30 days. We retested and his calcium went higher. So that did not work for him.

Jan 19 2018 he started taking 10mg fosamax (Alendronate ) once every 7 days
Feb 25 2018 His calcium was back to normal range

His IONIZED CALCIUM was high at 1.80

Normal range is (1.00-1.40)

After giving my cat fosamax 10 mg once a week for 5 weeks he was doing alot better.

His IONIZED CALCIUM is now NORMAL at 1.12.

Normal range is (1.03-1.39)


I have been giving him Fosamax (alendronate) as follows:

I feed him as much as possible until 2pm the day prior. Then I remove his food (leave water) and fast him for 18 hours.

I then give him about 3 mil water about 8am, then I pill him.

I then give him 6 mil of water to wash down the pill.

Then I take a little butter about the size of a large pea and rub it all over his nose and lips and gums.

He will then start cleaning himself for about 15 minutes trying to remove the butter and it helps him swallow and increase saliva. Once he stops licking his paws and lips I will give him another 3 mil of water. Fosamax is very dangerous if it gets stuck in the cats throat. Unlike other pills it can cause throat ulcers and serious problems which is why I use the butter and the extra water.

I also try and keep him in an upright position. He should not lay on his side or upside down or roll around for 30 minutes


Apparently the butter has not affected his medicine absorption since he has improved in the last 5 weeks.


I then fast him for another 4 hours and feed him very little at noon. I give him about 1.5 ounces of wet food and watch to see if he vomits. 45 minutes later another 1.5 ounces of food.

I will update again in a few months when I get more results

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Very interesting. Do they have any idea what caused the hypercalcemia in the first place? And how interesting that the "cure" is a drug that is used for bone loss. Who would have thought that ?

Sounds like you've got this down to a science now. Do keep us posted after his next tests. Hope it keeps on working for your little guy

 

[tibble]

thanks mrsgreenjeens for the vibes
unfortunately they do not know what causes it. There is not too much info out there so thats why I decided to create the post. There is some useful info at http://felineihc.org
Either way he will have to be tested for the rest of his life because the calcium can go up and down. It can do alot of harm to the kidneys and other organs if the calcium stays high.

 

[artiemom]

Thanks for the info. I wish you and your kitty, well.

My guy has a ton of issues, with them increasing each time we see the Vet. His hypercalcemia was pretty much caused from lactulose. When we discontinued it, his calcium level dropped, quite a bit; to just one point above normal.

I do not want to bore you with all the issues, but know that people are watching this thread..

Good Luck..
I did bookmark that website.. thank you again.

 

[Mark M]

Have you discussed with your vet the possibility of using prednisolone instead of Fosamax? Fosamax ruined my cat’s life and it’s a miracle he’s still alive. I am NOT a veterinarian and I cannot give medical advice but I strongly suggest discussing this post with your vet. Fosamax has been known to cause 2 side effects in humans: brittle bones/fractures and also BRONJ (basically, jawbone death). My cat likely suffered BOTH of these complications. To make a long story short, he had a tooth pulled and the extraction site would not heal, no matter what my veterinarian did. Several months later after multiple surgeries, his jawbone became severely infected and a bony mass developed (basically a bony mass of infected jawbone). At around the same time this was happening, my cat Teddy fractured both of his rear legs after a minor fall from the kitchen counter. Thankfully they were able to fix his legs with major surgery but they will never be 100% back to normal. He still lives with the mass in his jaw because the risks of jaw surgery and complications are too great for him.

Had he been on prednisolone from the beginning (instead of Fosamax) it’s quite possible that his calcium would have been controlled and he wouldn’t have suffered such horribly devastating side effects. However we will never know for sure. I cannot give medical advice- discuss with your vet.

Fosamax history:
January 2015 - start 15 mg weekly Alendronate/Fosamax. (To control hypercalcemia)
Stopped Alendronate July 2016 due to jaw not healing after dental extraction.
Prednisolone history:
In July 2016, start 5 MG Prednisolone daily. 5 MG daily Pred was given until 6/1/2017. At that point we weaned him off of the Prednisolone to help his bones heal. We did 2.5 MG daily for 3 weeks, then 2.5 MG EOD for 3 weeks.

Both Rear legs fractured in May 2017.

I’d be happy to discuss any questions.
Good luck!

I am posting to share my experience so far.
Male neutered Cat 1.5 years old at the time was diagnosed in Nov 2017 with Hypercalcemia
4 months earlier his blood work showed Calcium was normal.
He was eating wet urinary s/o canned cat food for FLUTD and 1/8 tsp miralax 2x a day for hard stool.
Vet recommended we change his diet to a high fiber diet before trying medications, It was reccommended to try Royal Canin Veterinary Diet® Feline Gastrointestinal Fiber Response dry cat food but since he has urinary issues and hardly drinks water I switched to wet fancy feast along with vetasyl fiber capsules (Psyllium seed husks) for 30 days. We retested and his calcium went higher. So that did not work for him.

Jan 19 2018 he started taking 10mg fosamax (Alendronate ) once every 7 days
Feb 25 2018 His calcium was back to normal range

His IONIZED CALCIUM was high at 1.80

Normal range is (1.00-1.40)

After giving my cat fosamax 10 mg once a week for 5 weeks he was doing alot better.

His IONIZED CALCIUM is now NORMAL at 1.12.

Normal range is (1.03-1.39)


I have been giving him Fosamax (alendronate) as follows:

I feed him as much as possible until 2pm the day prior. Then I remove his food (leave water) and fast him for 18 hours.

I then give him about 3 mil water about 8am, then I pill him.

I then give him 6 mil of water to wash down the pill.

Then I take a little butter about the size of a large pea and rub it all over his nose and lips and gums.

He will then start cleaning himself for about 15 minutes trying to remove the butter and it helps him swallow and increase saliva. Once he stops licking his paws and lips I will give him another 3 mil of water. Fosamax is very dangerous if it gets stuck in the cats throat. Unlike other pills it can cause throat ulcers and serious problems which is why I use the butter and the extra water.

I also try and keep him in an upright position. He should not lay on his side or upside down or roll around for 30 minutes


Apparently the butter has not affected his medicine absorption since he has improved in the last 5 weeks.


I then fast him for another 4 hours and feed him very little at noon. I give him about 1.5 ounces of wet food and watch to see if he vomits. 45 minutes later another 1.5 ounces of food.

I will update again in a few months when I get more results

you

I am posting to share my experience so far.
Male neutered Cat 1.5 years old at the time was diagnosed in Nov 2017 with Hypercalcemia
4 months earlier his blood work showed Calcium was normal.
He was eating wet urinary s/o canned cat food for FLUTD and 1/8 tsp miralax 2x a day for hard stool.
Vet recommended we change his diet to a high fiber diet before trying medications, It was reccommended to try Royal Canin Veterinary Diet® Feline Gastrointestinal Fiber Response dry cat food but since he has urinary issues and hardly drinks water I switched to wet fancy feast along with vetasyl fiber capsules (Psyllium seed husks) for 30 days. We retested and his calcium went higher. So that did not work for him.

Jan 19 2018 he started taking 10mg fosamax (Alendronate ) once every 7 days
Feb 25 2018 His calcium was back to normal range

His IONIZED CALCIUM was high at 1.80

Normal range is (1.00-1.40)

After giving my cat fosamax 10 mg once a week for 5 weeks he was doing alot better.

His IONIZED CALCIUM is now NORMAL at 1.12.

Normal range is (1.03-1.39)


I have been giving him Fosamax (alendronate) as follows:

I feed him as much as possible until 2pm the day prior. Then I remove his food (leave water) and fast him for 18 hours.

I then give him about 3 mil water about 8am, then I pill him.

I then give him 6 mil of water to wash down the pill.

Then I take a little butter about the size of a large pea and rub it all over his nose and lips and gums.

He will then start cleaning himself for about 15 minutes trying to remove the butter and it helps him swallow and increase saliva. Once he stops licking his paws and lips I will give him another 3 mil of water. Fosamax is very dangerous if it gets stuck in the cats throat. Unlike other pills it can cause throat ulcers and serious problems which is why I use the butter and the extra water.

I also try and keep him in an upright position. He should not lay on his side or upside down or roll around for 30 minutes


Apparently the butter has not affected his medicine absorption since he has improved in the last 5 weeks.


I then fast him for another 4 hours and feed him very little at noon. I give him about 1.5 ounces of wet food and watch to see if he vomits. 45 minutes later another 1.5 ounces of food.

I will update again in a few months when I get more results

 

[tibble]

Hey Mark,
Actually I have read your story about Teddy in the past and it scares the heck out of me. I saw your post months ago on felineihc. I can't imagine how horrible it is for you and Teddy.
For the last 4 months my cat has been on 10mg fosamax (Alendronate ) every 10 days. Back in April I asked the vet to go from 7 days to 10 based on your story. I am bringing him in the 1st week of August to see how his ionized Calcium is. I have put in so many hours researching this but unfortunately there is not alot of info out there. I am going to talk to my vet about this again.
How are his calcium levels today? What is Teddy's current dosage?
Thanks so much for posting here and giving an update.

 

[tibble]

Thanks for the info. I wish you and your kitty, well.

My guy has a ton of issues, with them increasing each time we see the Vet. His hypercalcemia was pretty much caused from lactulose. When we discontinued it, his calcium level dropped, quite a bit; to just one point above normal.

I do not want to bore you with all the issues, but know that people are watching this thread..

Good Luck..
I did bookmark that website.. thank you again.

Hey artiemom,
Sorry I did not see your reply until today.
How is Artie's hypercalcemia doing?
I know your cat has alot of other issues by reading your thread. I saw your post on the RC Fiber Response recently.
Thanks

 

[tibble]

Have you discussed with your vet the possibility of using prednisolone instead of Fosamax? Fosamax ruined my cat’s life and it’s a miracle he’s still alive. I am NOT a veterinarian and I cannot give medical advice but I strongly suggest discussing this post with your vet. Fosamax has been known to cause 2 side effects in humans: brittle bones/fractures and also BRONJ (basically, jawbone death). My cat likely suffered BOTH of these complications. To make a long story short, he had a tooth pulled and the extraction site would not heal, no matter what my veterinarian did. Several months later after multiple surgeries, his jawbone became severely infected and a bony mass developed (basically a bony mass of infected jawbone). At around the same time this was happening, my cat Teddy fractured both of his rear legs after a minor fall from the kitchen counter. Thankfully they were able to fix his legs with major surgery but they will never be 100% back to normal. He still lives with the mass in his jaw because the risks of jaw surgery and complications are too great for him.

Had he been on prednisolone from the beginning (instead of Fosamax) it’s quite possible that his calcium would have been controlled and he wouldn’t have suffered such horribly devastating side effects. However we will never know for sure. I cannot give medical advice- discuss with your vet.

Fosamax history:
January 2015 - start 15 mg weekly Alendronate/Fosamax. (To control hypercalcemia)
Stopped Alendronate July 2016 due to jaw not healing after dental extraction.
Prednisolone history:
In July 2016, start 5 MG Prednisolone daily. 5 MG daily Pred was given until 6/1/2017. At that point we weaned him off of the Prednisolone to help his bones heal. We did 2.5 MG daily for 3 weeks, then 2.5 MG EOD for 3 weeks.

Both Rear legs fractured in May 2017.

I’d be happy to discuss any questions.
Good luck!




you

 

[tibble]

Hey mark, can you tell me if your cat had any symptoms related to his mouth prior to getting his tooth pulled? Why exactly was his tooth pulled?
Lately my cat will sometimes jump or run during eating wet food. I took him to the vet and they dont see anything visibly wrong with his teeth, they did a full bloodwork on him and nothing showed up. They felt his jaw and they said it feels good and do not feel anything abnormal.
He had his teeth cleaned the end of april. No xrays were taken at the time though. I have taken him off fosamax for the last 3 weeks and will do some more bloodwork in another week to see if his calcium rises.
thanks

 

[tibble]

Just an update its been a while.

My cat was eating one day and then just started to run like he saw something. He did this a few times in like 3-4 days. He'd be eating an then run a few steps. At first I thought he was getting spooked by something but then I thought something was wrong with his teeth and or jaw due to the fosamax.
He has never had the episode eating DRY food, its only when eating wet food which 95% of the time he is fed

I stopped giving him fosamax in July

I took him to to a dentist specialist to look at his teeth and jaw, they did NOT do xrays. She said his jaw felt okay and that his teeth looked good and gave him a steroid shot.

I tried to get in touch with Mark above who's cat had horrible side effects from fosamax but never got a response cause I wanted to find out what his cat's symptoms were prior to having jaw problems.

My cat has done the running thing about 3 or 4 times in the last few months but not as often or severe as before. I plan to do xrays during his next cleaning to make sure his teeth are okay. If it happens more frequently, I will do it sooner

His calcium has remained normal for about 14 weeks now with no fosamax.
I am starting to think the royal canin urinary s/o may have caused a calcium spike in his blood. He is eating hills c/d chicken and vegetable stew since around January. He was also eating hills c/d chicken stew PRIOR to being diagnosed with hypercalcemia. He had blood work done days prior to switching to royal canin and his calcium was normal. I should also acknowledge that when he went off royal canin and went on fancy feast gravy lovers for a month his calcium went even higher then when he was on Royal canin but who knows.

Every situation is different, I just wanted to share my cats experience so it may help others in the same situation.

He has had blood work 3x in the last 4 months (at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, then 8 weeks) and everything is in the norm.

I will still do routine bloodwork 3-4 times a year to make sure his calcium remains normal. I just hope he does not have and won't get any side effects from fosamax.

I will continue to update if there are changes