Finicky eater won't eat

[lisahe]

Ooohhkayyyy. Bloodwork results are in. I always struggle to take notes when they call. CBC is elevated (no idea what that is). Neutrophil is high. Monocytes elevated. High is normal and his are 6498! So there's inflammation somewhere but we don't know where. Can't give him steroids because if there's an abscess somewhere it'll make it worse. I made an appointment for an abdominal ultrasound but I have jury duty next week so it's delayed a week. I also have a call in to an internal medicine specialist to get an appointment so we can start to see if this is cancer or IBD or what.

I really wish I had bought him insurance when he was a kitten.

I'm glad you're getting the ultrasound, that can show (or at least hint at) lots of things. Even if the images are ambiguous or inconclusive they should at least give you a sense of what you need to do next. (Endoscopy, surgery, etc.) We went through that last year with Edwina, who had surgery to remove a few things (stomach patches, spleen, a lymph node or two), though even biopsies didn't give a sense of what went wrong. Meaning we'll never know what caused the significant inflammation in her stomach.

I also wish we'd bought insurance when our cats were kittens. They're ten now so things were different then...

 

[FeebysOwner]

Whatever you do with the ultrasound, ask for a fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology if there are any 'suspicious' cells/tissue found. That can be followed up with a PARR Assay (using the same tissue at a later date, as it is most often retained by the lab for a period of time afterward), if the FNA results come back inconclusive. This should rule out lymphoma, at the very least. It is all non-invasive, and at most requires a mild sedative.

If nothing shows up the next step is an endoscopy to collect tissue to help determine IBD; it is more invasive and requires anesthesia. Tbh, prior to the endoscopy, you could just consider treating it like IBD with Prednisolone.

I only mention this process because one ultrasound with FNA, and possibly a follow up PARR Assay, eliminates the need for multiple ones (been there, done that). And, therefore, it allows you to move on for a possible, but not guaranteed, IBD diagnosis through endoscopy, or to simply move onto the only other option of treating it as IBD.

 

[Susanna72]

Thank you, FeebysOwner

I wish I didn’t have jury duty next week. The ultrasound is 4/17. He’s pretty much stopped eating and I’m giving him Royal Canin recovery liquid every few hours. 2 tsp at a time. He won’t even eat Churus. I gave him Entyce last night. It’s like it got worse.

 

[Susanna72]

Taking him back to vet this morning. Really weak. Stopped drooling so I wonder if it was Entyce. I got about 3 tsp of recovery fluid in him. He’s resting now. Haven’t seen him use litter box. Jury duty is coming at a really inconvenient time. If he’s sicker on Monday I wonder if they’d let me postpone.

 

[lisahe]

Taking him back to vet this morning. Really weak. Stopped drooling so I wonder if it was Entyce. I got about 3 tsp of recovery fluid in him. He’s resting now. Haven’t seen him use litter box. Jury duty is coming at a really inconvenient time. If he’s sicker on Monday I wonder if they’d let me postpone.

I'm very glad you can take him in this morning. I hope they give him fluids maybe with meds added in... That can help hold a cat over until an ultrasound or other test. Fingers crossed! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Susanna72]

I'm very glad you can take him in this morning. I hope they give him fluids maybe with meds added in... That can help hold a cat over until an ultrasound or other test. Fingers crossed! Let us know how it goes.

He got fluids, B12 shot, Cerenia for nausea, and I got more Recovery Royal Canin liquid. I’m feeding him 2-4 tsp every few hours. Vet said if the B12 shot helps, he can have it weekly.

Oliver has CH but it’s mild. He doesn’t often fall over and has no trouble with stairs. He’s so weak and wobbly, his back legs keep going out. He’s sleeping now.

 

[lisahe]

He got fluids, B12 shot, Cerenia for nausea, and I got more Recovery Royal Canin liquid. I’m feeding him 2-4 tsp every few hours. Vet said if the B12 shot helps, he can have it weekly.

Oliver has CH but it’s mild. He doesn’t often fall over and has no trouble with stairs. He’s so weak and wobbly, his back legs keep going out. He’s sleeping now.

This is basically what they did for Edwina before she had her ultrasound, too. She responds very well to both fluids and Cerenia... I hope they help Oliver, too, so he's comfortable and starts eating again before his ultrasound.

 

[kakers]

If you're unable to get out of jury duty and he hasn't improved at all is there any chance that you have a friend who could bring him for an ultrasound? Or even see if you could find someone you could hire to bring him? There's people who provide services to transport animals to and from vet appointments.

Hopefully the b12, cerenia, and fluids help his appetite! I've also found something from Stella and chewy called "magical dinner dust" it's a powder you can sprinkle on too of food that can entice some cats to eat. They have started carrying it at my local petco so if you're able to get it locally it's worth a try. Also if you think the CH is impacting his ability to chew you may consider blending a wet food he seems interested in with some water or cat broth into a smoothie so he can lick it up.

 

[lisahe]

If you're unable to get out of jury duty and he hasn't improved at all is there any chance that you have a friend who could bring him for an ultrasound? Or even see if you could find someone you could hire to bring him? There's people who provide services to transport animals to and from vet appointments.

Hopefully the b12, cerenia, and fluids help his appetite! I've also found something from Stella and chewy called "magical dinner dust" it's a powder you can sprinkle on too of food that can entice some cats to eat. They have started carrying it at my local petco so if you're able to get it locally it's worth a try. Also if you think the CH is impacting his ability to chew you may consider blending a wet food he seems interested in with some water or cat broth into a smoothie so he can lick it up.

The transportation idea here reminded me that our vet has a "drop off" service... Maybe you could bring Oliver in before jury duty and pick him up after? That's not optimal, of course, but at least you'd know he's getting good care.

I hope Oliver's feeling better today.

 

[Susanna72]

Hi everybody. Thanks for all of your responses and advice. It’s so helpful! I called the vet, which happens to be an ER vet, to see if I could get him in for ultrasound tomorrow. A woman there said her father had Alzheimer’s and they wouldn’t let her off jury duty so I know they won’t care about my sick cat. So they are going to look at him today and KEEP him overnight and try to fit him in for ultrasound tomorrow. They are 24 hours so I can get him anytime. If there is no abscess then we can get him on steroids and go from there. Fingers crossed. I’m taking him at 3pm.

 

[kakers]

Oh good I'm so glad to hear they may be able to get an ultrasound on him more quickly! I hope you get answers that will help him get his appetite and feel better soon!

 

[lisahe]

I'm very glad to hear this, Susanna72 , fingers crossed all around!

 

[Susanna72]

Oliver is being hospitalized for a day or two and they are doing the abdominal ultrasound tomorrow. FeebysOwner i mentioned the FNA and then noticed it on the estimate so they were on the same page as you. I mentioned the PARR assay, too. He’s severely dehydrated despite sub q fluids yesterday and during the week, so he’ll need an IV. When he feels good, he’s an absolute doll of a cat, so he’s even sweeter and more pitiful now. I hated leaving him. Hopefully we get some answers tomorrow. They are going to call my sister if they can’t get me (jury duty) and I told her to just say yes to whatever they want to do. She told me I need to set up a go fund me page. Lol.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I hope he doesn't have to stay in the hospital for too long but understand the caution with his dehydration. With any luck, you will be dismissed from jury duty (), and another bunch of fingers crossed for Oliver and his ultrasound (). Keep us posted!

 

[lisahe]

I also hope he doesn't have to stay too long at the hospital... Though it sounds like he's in good hands and that the extra care will be for the best. Fingers crossed for the ultrasound.

 

[Susanna72]

Called to get out of jury duty and they said to come in and if I get called, to tell the judge. Ugh. Blue Pearl called and we were watching a video so I texted my sister to call them. She sent me this update:

“Talked Dr Laura (how she addressed herself). They are doing ultrasound now, confirmed to aspirate if they find anything. Said they should have reports on that today if they do aspirate. She said to call midday and she will give you more detailed update. They did get records from vca with xray. They did more bloodwork and were concerned about white blood cells so they sent to pathologist to get more detailed info than their machine gives them.”

I called last night and this morning for updates and he’s doing ok. They got him to eat tuna last night!!

 

[Susanna72]

The judge came down at 11am and said all the cases plead guilty so we could go home! My mom’s cat was being put down at 11:20 at the vet and I was upset I would not be there, but I got there on time. I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore.

Oliver had his ultrasound and the doctor called me. His lymph nodes are significantly enlarged and his liver is big and bright. Could be secondary because of not eating but it could be cancer. They did FNA cytology on liver and lymph nodes. Hopefully we’ll have results today. He’s still in the hospital.

Does anyone have experience with lymphoma? My friend had a dog with it and they told her with chemo they were looking at 6mos to a year. They opted out of chemo and she lasted six months. Is lymphoma that bleak?

Two small things are a subtle change in his spleen and chronic kidney disease. She said his kidneys are functioning normally though.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Sounds like mostly good news, except for your mom's cat - please give her my condolences. Glad to see you were not needed for jury duty!

The FNA cytology results will help to determine what is going on - and don't forget if they come back inconclusive but suspicious/probable, the tissue should be retained long enough to ask for a follow up PARR Assay. Lymphoma results, depending on what is found, can vary so widely that no one here can tell you whether or not it is bleak. I have read where cats go into remission for years, and others not so much. Based on more specific results, the vets will likely give you 'ranges' but they will tell you that is all it is - ranges. Some pets do well with just Prednisolone; others need chemo, and/or both. It is pretty much a gambit of possibilities at this point.

Keep us posted as you find out more!

 

[lisahe]

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother's cat, Susanna72 , but glad you were able to be with her. I'm also glad you didn't have to stay for actual jury duty!

I hope Oliver has been able to come home and that you were able to get the FNA aspiration results so you have a better sense of what you're dealing with. It's interesting that you mention the spleen: Edwina somehow ruptured hers last year and had to have it (along with a couple lymph nodes and some stomach patches) removed. Oddly, her ultrasound didn't show any problems with the spleen.

 

[Susanna72]

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother's cat, Susanna72 , but glad you were able to be with her. I'm also glad you didn't have to stay for actual jury duty!

I hope Oliver has been able to come home and that you were able to get the FNA aspiration results so you have a better sense of what you're dealing with. It's interesting that you mention the spleen: Edwina somehow ruptured hers last year and had to have it (along with a couple lymph nodes and some stomach patches) removed. Oddly, her ultrasound didn't show any problems with the spleen.

Unfortunately I have to go to jury duty again tomorrow morning. There was a mixup with the machine they use to transmit the FNA data so I have to wait until tomorrow for results. They recommended keeping him another night but said he “ate ravenously” after his ultrasound. So that’s good news! The nurse said he had a hard time getting a heart rate because he’s purring so loudly.