I Don't Know What To Do - 15+yo Cat

neely

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She has been on her increased H-T meds for 2 weeks now. The dosage was increased by such a small amount, I don't think this has anything to do with her eating (or, weight loss). But, we have to try the increased dose to see if we can get her T4 lowered to a more satisfactory level.
I completely agree that the increase in her H-T meds is so minimal it most likely does not have an affect on her weight loss. I don't know about Feeby's diet so please ignore if this is not a possibility but Urgent Care A/D canned food is high in calories so if Miss Feeby can eat it she might gain some weight. Just a suggestion. :dunno:
 
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FeebysOwner

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4/12 - 4/25 Update

Feeby had a super week for eating - an average of 292 calories per day. So, for the past 2 weeks her average is 275, but it did nothing to help her weight. She is still at 11.9 pounds. Glad she didn't lose any more weight, but thought maybe she might have gained a couple of ounces with the extra food. :hmmm:

Antibiotics are done - YAY!! :jive:We continue on with the D-Mannose, and she has now been on the increased H-T dose for 27 days. So, we are on the countdown to getting her T4 level rechecked, along with more blood work to look at her phosphorus count.

On that note, I have had no real luck in finding any stores nearby that offer any of the low phosphorus foods from the web site listings provided to me by other members. And, for those who may or may not remember, with Feeby being such a picky eater, I cannot afford to buy a case at a time of any one food that most online sites like Chewy require. So, I will be talking again to the vet about phosphorus control. I did find a more recent type of control being used - niacinamide - a specific form of vitamin B3 that is not a binder but works by blocking the uptake of phosphorus instead. It seems it is starting to be thought of as a good alternative to the binders that have been more commonly used. I will post this information on my H-T thread, just in case it might be of interest to others.

As said in my last update - everything else about Feeby seems status-quo, including the crazy squawking!
 
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FeebysOwner

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Maybe after a few weeks of eating more she will put on weight but at least her appetite has improved.
That would be nice, but her eating just took a nose dive yesterday and it would appear she is going to repeat that again today. Go figure.
 
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FeebysOwner

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4/26 - 5/9 Update

:seesaw: The up and down, up and down, eating/weight continues. At least this past two weeks ended on the 'up' side. Feeby weighed 12.3 today - up from 11.9. So, I guess we are just going to do these little swings in eating and weight as part of her 'normal' routine.

As much as I hate taking her back to the vet again, she will go in tomorrow for a complete blood work, including T4, and possibly a urinalysis. :cringe: With her H-T med change 40 days ago she really should be re-checked. And, I want to see where her phosphorus level is as I have already asked the vet about using the phosphorus control 'niacinamide', as opposed to the traditional binders. It is just too hard to find low phosphorus foods locally where I can buy just a couple-three cans at a time since I never know how long she will choose to eat a certain food.
 

verna davies

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As long as she puts on some weight as well as lose some, not ideal, but at least livable with.
Hopefully the rest results will be positive and you can relax a little.
 
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Feeby went for her tests (5/11); results not necessarily what I would call good. :( Creatinine jumped, BUN increased some more, her phosphorus was down a little bit but still high from both the H-T and CKD forums' perspective, & she still had bacteria in her urine after having been on antibiotics for 12 days within the past month.

The testing was done while her primary vet was out of the office, so a urine culture was not performed as it should have been. When the primary vet returned to the office, he was more concerned about the creatinine jump than he was the bacteria, so that is all we discussed. He said the creatinine level pretty much confirms kidney disease and he wants to try kidney care foods. He wants to go this route before we consider phosphorus control, even though he and I both know she won't eat the kidney care foods. The kidney care foods can help with the phosphorus, but we will lose much needed protein since all of the companies who make them are under the no-longer accurate assumption that less protein, despite its impact on overall health, is a win for kidney function.

More research has led me to data about creatinine rising due to urinary tract infections. So, I contacted the vet to ask about this. He acknowledged UTIs can impact the creatinine level, but when I asked him if this was normal with just a bladder infection, he said no. He wouldn't answer me directly when I asked him if that meant the infection has spread to her kidneys, but I got the impression that is likely what we might be dealing with now. He wants me to bring her back in for the urine culture that should have been done before! :bawling: He said we need to find out if another antibiotic might be more appropriate.
 
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