Drinking Like A Fish

[chromium blues]

Seventeen year old tabby and white spayed female. Blood and urine came back normal. Weight is good. Coat is good. No appetite. Drinks like a fish and then spends the night vomiting. Any suggestions? X-rays showed nothing abnormal. Can't afford an ultrasound. Treating with metronidazole (sp?) a limited diet (Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea) curcumin and kelp. She is exclusively syringe-fed. Food is staying down. Anyone seen this before?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Can you talk to the vet about an appetite stimulant?

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Has this cat tested for diabetes / kidney function ? Blood work normal - sometimes a more extensive panel is necessary .

 

[maggie101]

When my cat was not eating,vomiting all day and drinking tons of water she was given prednisone morning and night. She did have an ultra sound but your vet can still provide you with a regular dosage without doing an ultrasound. Also a steroid shot to get her to start eating and appetite stimulants. The prednisolone was compounded at a pharmecy- fruit flavored liquid. $52 a month or less if not compounded. No way could I drop it in her mouth so on her food

 

[chromium blues]

Appetite stimulant did not work. The veterinarian does not want to start her on prednislone (sp?) yet because one side effect is excessive thirst. He blood sugar is within normal range and her urine is well concentrated.

 

[maggie101]

I'm surprised a steroid shot didnt work. She was so weak her head was shaking til he gave her one

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I wonder if kitty is dehydrated ?

 

[maggie101]

My cat was also 17. I really did not worry about side effects since she was in so much pain. I'm certainly no vet. She had inflammatory bowl disease,pancreatitis, and liver inflammation. 11 to 5pds. Hope she feels better

 

[LTS3]

Ask the vet if specific tests were done for thyroid and diabetes. The diabetes one is called fructosamine. I think the thyroid one is T4. Neither are included with regular routine blood work. The vet has to specify those tests when submitting the sample.

You may want to seek out another vet for an opinion. Bring copies of all the recent blood work and tests done for the vet to review. An internal medicine vet may be more helpful than a regular vet.

 

[daftcat75]

As long as you're ordering extra tests, add on Spec fPLI (pancreatitis.) I don't suspect it from the symptoms you mention but it took three vets to find one who thought to test that for mine. If that is there, I'd hate for it to be overlooked.

Can you take her back to the vet for subcutaneous fluids and a B-12 shot? The fluids will go a long way to correct the dehydration that the vomiting can cause. A cat not eating and vomiting will deplete their B-12 quickly. A B-12 shot is sometimes enough to get a cat eating again. But if it's not needed, it just becomes mildly expensive (less than $100) pee.

 

[Purr-fect]

When our little cat, Motu, (now passed away), suddenly started drinking a lot of water, we discovered she had advanced diabetes.

 

[chromium blues]

She's had subcutaneous fluids and the veterinarian says she's well-hydrated. She does not have diarrhea and I'm supplementing one of he feedings with nutritional yeast. She hasn't missed a meal because she is syringe-fed and the food is staying down. Its the incredible amount of water she's drinking that comes up, usually overnight.

 

[Furballsmom]

Just a thought, is the food high in salt/sodium?

 

[JamesCalifornia]

You may want to seek out another vet for an opinion. Bring copies of all the recent blood work and tests done for the vet to review. An internal medicine vet may be more helpful than a regular vet.

~ I like this suggestion best. This kitty needs a proper diagnosis fast . I am not a pro-veterinarian person. I have seen too many mistakes and lost beloved family pets as a result.
Hope to hear good results soon

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

... Coat is good. No appetite. Drinks like a fish and then spends the night vomiting. Any suggestions? X-rays showed nothing abnormal. Can't afford an ultrasound. Treating with metronidazole (sp?) a limited diet (Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea) curcumin and kelp. She is exclusively syringe-fed. Food is staying down. ...

How long has she been on curcumin and kelp? Wondering if one or the other or both is the culprit.

Just a sidenote: Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea is pretty carby. It raised the blood glucose in my last cat, producing more thirstiness, etc.

 

[chromium blues]

Sitting over the water dish now. Nauseated. Contacted the veterinarian about serenia. They'll get back to me this morning. She has an appointment for next week. We've given fluids last night and this morning. If I can't get a shot for her, I'll pick up some good old k-p. Still syringe-feeding. May switch to RCFHN Senior. We'll see how the day goes.

 

[daftcat75]

Please consider a feeding tube if you are not able to get enough calories into her via syringe feeding.

 

[chromium blues]

I get one 5.5oz can down her per day, which is the amount recommended for her body weight. Whether or not it stays down is another story. So far, so good to-day.