Chemistry and Blood Panel in cat perfectally normal BUT cat won't eat and is dehydrated

[Fourcats4me]

No apologies are necessary at all, and you are not defending vets! I am a biochemist and work for FDA, so I am very familiar with basic blood panels and will ALWAYS for a copy of the blood work for myself, so I can see exactly what the result are. In this case, Ginnie's blood results were all as expected, normal, within the specifications, and NOTHING on the high end of the scale or "slightly elevated. I worried about her kidneys, but all of the values were excellent.

Her amalyse was normal, so I guess they were "guessing" at pancreatitis. I still would have preferred testing for a biomarker like the tests mentioned here rather than imparting on a" diagnostic wild goose change hoping to find something." When the vet mentioned "pancreatitis," her following statement was, "I would like to take an x-ray of the abdomen and upper chest...." to see what is going..." She couldn't feel any masses and did not feel that we were dealing with cancer due to teh normal blood work.

But your advice is well taken and good to all of us here. I think I failed in not being as proactive as I should have. I know I am very proactive in dealing with my health care; I have to apply the same rules here. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Furballsmom]

I am a biochemist and work for FDA,

I know I am very proactive in dealing with my health care; I have to apply the same rules here.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It takes a long time to understand to be proactive with a cat - I am on my third cat and didn't really do much for the first two, at least not probably what I could have done maybe. But that was decades ago... I honestly don't think blood work will denote cancer. I also don't honestly think ultrasounds unto themselves will either, in many cases.

Feeby (17+ yo) has been through 3 ultrasounds, the last two with FNA cytology's, and the last one with a PARR assay I am still waiting to hear about. She doesn't have the 'traditional' signs of IBD or lymphoma, but no one will rule them out. She is not that symptomatic but does have hyperthyroidism and CKD. After the PARR results come back, I am done, unless they confirm lymphoma. But knock-on-wood, since this has been going on for nearly a year, I think the end result is that I am done.

Keep us posted please!!

 

[Fourcats4me]

I spoke to the first vet office manager today and shared my dissatisfaction, particularly in that I had been overcharged for a vet visit that DID NOT occur and had been charged $100, which at most should have been handled as a "follow-up" visit and $50.00. I also shared that my cat had been ill, and essentially, I had been told to come back later in the day by the clinic to care for her, even though I visited during appointment hrs and a vet told me to come in on Saturday Tuesday for fluids for Ginnie. The clinic deducted the $100 that had erroneously been charged to my bill and apologized. That was nice of them, but after my experience this week, I have decided to leave the clinic.

Ginnie is continuing to improve slowly. She is much more alert and active and consumes about five small snack meals daily along with her REBOUND supplement. I wouldn't say she eats a complete meal in any setting, but by the end of the day, she would consume some calories. Ginnie likes liquid products like "Wellness Gravies Healthy Indugence" and Blue "Bursts," which are like Temptation treats only healthier. The bad thing is that I consistently have to offer various foods to ensure she eats. I wasn't aware that there were so many new cat foods on the market. She goes in on Monday for some fluids and will have a follow-up visit with her recent vet in a week.

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things progress

 

[Fourcats4me]

Thanks for all of the support here. She urinated and defecated today and continues to eat her "mini-meals," but I think I will go crazy. Caring for sick cats is never easy. I know that. but I am stressing out! Is this going to be a forever thing or will she get better? I have had kitties with megacolon, kidney disease, blindness, and diabetes, as well as cancers, and it seems like it was just a lot easier to take care of them tong term. maybe because Ginnie just is not very cooperative, and everything is a BIG battle when giving her medication. My cat Pumpkin had megacolon, diabetes, glaucoma, and a heart infection (not all at once). His megacolon required a weekly enema, and he was just a prince about putting up with it. I had him for 20 years! Ginnie is the complete opposite!

Does anyone have any good tricks on pilling a cat by themself? Wrapping her in a towel and the pill gun do not work with her because she strugglesr. She manages to flip herse;f upside down and I have to watch that I don't aspirate her when giving her liquid REBOUND. Even the vet techs had problems giving her medication at the clinic!.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I cannot pill Feeby - at least not after I tried with pill pockets and/or some pill masker paste. Those worked a few times until she apparently got wise. So, if you haven't tried either, you might give it a go and see if Ginnie takes longer to catch on than Feeby did! I am not brave enough to try a pill shooter - yet.

Otherwise, I smash all pills and add a small amount of tuna juice, Lil Gravies, etc. to make a slightly denser-than-water mixture, but the smallest amount I possibly can. I add a little something to the liquid meds I have to give her too, just in case it alters the taste just enough to make it less pleasant.

I had to 'burrito' Feeby at first to keep her paws out of the way - still do sometimes, so I always have a towel nearby. If I need it, I merely wrap it tightly and kind of pin her in it. You kind of have to apply a bit of strength to getting Ginnie pinned - in other words you can't act as if she is a glass doll that you will shatter if you use a tad bit of force. Then I place my hand over the top of Feeby's head, and gently 'pry' one side of her mouth open with a finger or thumb and squirt the liquid into the side of her mouth against her cheek and remove my finger so her mouth closes.

Tbh, I don't want choking or aspirating going on, so 1 ml of liquid takes me 3 small squirts. I also found having my husband try to help made it worse, so I do it alone.

 

[Fourcats4me]

Thank you for the hint on how to put her in a burrito. Ginnie backs out of the towel flips herself over, gets her legs, out, etc. How do you do the burrito? She is a tiny cat only 8 pounds, my 20-pound boys /toms were never this much trouble!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thank you for the hint on how to put her in a burrito. Ginnie backs out of the towel flips herself over, gets her legs, out, etc. How do you do the burrito? She is a tiny cat only 8 pounds, my 20-pound boys /toms were never this much trouble!

Sounds like you need to be in a position that places her in between your legs, with her in a somewhat sitting position facing outward, and up against your body. Wrap the towel around her fairly tightly multiple times, encompassing her entire body, with the end resting up against you for security. Those two steps should make it much more difficult for her to wiggle her way out.

It is all a learning process that never goes too successfully at the beginning - trust me!!! It will also be much faster for you over time as you get into a 'groove' that works for you. Both of you will 'suffer' a bit during the learning curve, but I honestly don't know how else to eventually perfect a process without both the cat and me being guinea pigs, so to speak.

 

[Fourcats4me]

Thanks alot. I have to give her 6 ml REBOUND to night. I'll get a nice soft bath/ beach towel to see if that works better. I had been wrapping her in a baby blaket.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have to give her 6 ml REBOUND to night.

UGH!! You can probably do a bit more at a time than I am doing - I am just a 'weenie', and I can afford to be since I can make Feeby's dosages much smaller in quantity.

 

[Fourcats4me]

Thanks for your help with teh burrito and Ginnie. I wrapped her up in her blanket and sat on the floor with her against my body. I could control her flipping and twisting around more, and it was easier to give her teh REBOUND. I saw that people with pancreatitis recommend multiple small meals or snacks eaten over the day rather than three large meals, so I guess giving multiple kittie meals is fine. She had 14 Friskies Treats, and over or so before that she had had 10 temptation Treats, and so on further over the day. Sh has been snaking since 8:00 and has had about 5 mini-meals. I'll give her some snacks before I go to be and call it a day. This is a lot of work. I don't know how others handle this disease and feeding their cat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Congratulations for what you just did!!! It is a lot of hard, hard work to be sure. Just be sure she is getting more than just 'treats'. Many small meals are certainly best. And continue to keep us posted and continue to ask all the questions you need to!!

 

[Fourcats4me]

Congratulations for what you just did!!! It is a lot of hard, hard work to be sure. Just be sure she is getting more than just 'treats'. Many small meals are certainly best. And continue to keep us posted and continue to ask all the questions you need to!!

 

[Fourcats4me]

Thank you so very much!!! She is eating more mini-meals by herself. . I have to give her dry food 6 times a day. She won't eat any wet food yet. But by the end of the day, she would have consumed approximately 1/2 cup of Temptation Treats, formulated to be fed as a complete diet. She is a small cat, only 9 pounds, so that is fine for her as far as caloric intake goes. I give her 14 treats at a time six times a day. . I am still giving her a 10 ml REBOUND supplement to keep her hydrated, but I just saw her drink some water from her water dish for the first time in 10 days!

She goes to the old vet clinic tomorrow for some supplemental fluids and to her new vet on Friday for a check-up. She slept on top of the bed for the first time in 10 days and looked like a very comfortable cat. I think she is making very slow but positive progress. I may ask for a different appetite stimulant tomorrow since teh ELURA didn't seem to work for her.

Many thanks for everyone's help... Ginnie seems to be feeling better.

 

[shebaa]

If dehydration is still the issue, you can give her pedialyte. Make sure its the plain clear flavorless one.

 

[Fourcats4me]

She is hell to treat and medicate. Someone here helped me with the "burrito trick" to restrain her. After today though, I'll switch off to the Pedialyte. She ate this morning when I hand-fed her. I'll let the vet techs help[I give her the Cerrenia and appetite stimulant. I'm going to ask if we can switch to the transdermal product. Still, she is a perkier cat this morning and looking alot better than last week.

 

[shebaa]

Ask if its ok to give pedialyte with the other meds shes on, even though im sure it will be fine. And ask how much and how often.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm so glad she's perking up.

 

[Alldara]

Short of having a cat-specific vet in your area: Bloodwork should be the first thing to ask for. #1 first step.

Something I wish I knew before we went to a Cat-only vet. Would have saved me much grief.