I think this is the end. Please, what is a safe antibiotic injection?

  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #41

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
She usually eats close to 2oz per meal. So today was just barely 1 Sheba portion. I just worry about a nausea loop from not eating will lead to more not eating. I did give some Elura a short while ago. Honestly, I gave a half dose because I was reading that it's new and I just didn't want to go all in without seeing how she reacts to it a bit. Ok so far. When I opened the door with a portion of her usual HG, she MEOWED like she was scolding me for being late with dinner. She tried it with some topper. But meh. So I brought the Sheba. Little more interested, but still only ate a few bites and went to a hidey spot. Did eat a couple FD chicken liver treats though.

They only had Sheba in Salmon and beef at the supermarket. I will check at pet stores tomorrow maybe, but it's actually mostly chicken if I remember from the ingredients I looked at earlier. Wondering if it's a good idea to leave out 3 options? Thinking of going down and risking a sacrificial Tiki option like the mouse or something. Or is that not the best approach?

She pooped earlier. Diarrhea log. Was a log formed diarrhea. Lol. Improvement though. Don't know if I mentioned that. Got some gloves out and it had some hair wad in it. I wonder if that's what was on the ultrasound, since she was having liquid diarrhea and no hair that I saw the couple times I was there when it happened at the hospital.

She looks so bummy. The gaba and metro plus general underlying inflammation are a lot I know. But dang. Day by day I guess.

Thank you again for all your support during this. Has meant a great deal to me.
 

Margot Lane

Kitten at heart, not a Top Cat
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 24, 2021
Messages
4,368
Purraise
8,961
I remember those runny half poops w/ Zorro. Some of what your cat’s digestion will need is just time, to comprehend the meds and find some sense of routine and what works…I found w/ my cat that the less (wet) mystery ingredients there are, the better off he is, and that trying “novel” proteins such as rabbit, quail or duck helps. If something works, I say, stick with it, b/c it takes patience, love, reassurance, being observant, maybe even keeping a written journal. My vet says to weigh my cat a lot, so if you can find a baby scale, that helps…some of these meds can stimulate your cat to eat so much, they gain TOO much weight. I can tell that this is nervewracking for you too, so don’t forget to take a step back, breathe, do something good for yourself. Being calm helps the cat in th long run, and it helps you too! Being home is huge, and I am sure will help a lot.
 

Miathebsh

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 17, 2022
Messages
63
Purraise
74
it s such a long post but i sympathise with you and i hope your baby girl will get back on track .
First of all, she need to eat, doesn t matter what food it is , she just need food.
our jessie went through a similar situation and it was far too late to started the treatment and we lost her . Initially it started to look messy but we tought that she stayed all day outside . In the next days she stopped eating (she was a full eater - mices,birds, pate, everything) and not going to the litterbox properly (we tought she went outside and did her thing) . After a week i decided to take her to the vet and run a blood test and an ultrasound - every parameter was good except the BUN(i guess) that was a little higher . The next day we decided to take another blood test and her kidney parameters went high (the computer didn t read them ). We decided to let her on IV treatment as much as possible . We came to the vet with food, kibbles and everything just to make her eat but nothing, she only licked the sauce and that was all . The vet told us that is kidney failure and and possibly she was poisoned . She suggested us to take her to dialysis wich is 80 Km away from our town and is the only one in country . After few rounds of dialysis she started feel sicker and sicker and looked deplorably. I knew it s the end for her but i didn t want to gave up. The vets at dialysis clinic did some detailed analysis she was diagnosed with FIP and for her it was the last stage because was too late to start the GS treatment - it developed in neurologicaly sign combined with the wet one . It broke my heart for stayed that long to take her out to the vet and i feel so guily but you seem like a lovely mom and for sure she will recover .
I didn t told her story to scare you off but maybe the clinical signs can help you in determine her diagnosis and possibly exclude what is worse .
it is very difficult to see your cat feeling bad and not being able to do anything. Fingers crossed for you and i hope she will recover . thoughts and prayers ! :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #44

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
If you get too nervous (like I did!), definitely call the clinic to ask about the food and Echo's progress. In my case, I was expecting way too much way too soon and Edwina finally ate a real meal, half a day before the "deadline" the incredibly patient vet tech gave me for when I could officially start to worry.
How many days roughly was the time to worry deadline with Edwina? When I speak to the vet today about those remaining test results, I'll ask her what I should really be looking for and expecting, timeline etc. I guess I sorta thought she should be eating most of normals meals if the feeding tube had done it's job to get her going again, which is why I sorta wish she'd had one more day with that. It was really only Monday night until the wee early hours of Wednesday. So a day basically.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #45

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
I remember those runny half poops w/ Zorro. Some of what your cat’s digestion will need is just time, to comprehend the meds and find some sense of routine and what works…I found w/ my cat that the less (wet) mystery ingredients there are, the better off he is, and that trying “novel” proteins such as rabbit, quail or duck helps. If something works, I say, stick with it, b/c it takes patience, love, reassurance, being observant, maybe even keeping a written journal. My vet says to weigh my cat a lot, so if you can find a baby scale, that helps…some of these meds can stimulate your cat to eat so much, they gain TOO much weight. I can tell that this is nervewracking for you too, so don’t forget to take a step back, breathe, do something good for yourself. Being calm helps the cat in th long run, and it helps you too! Being home is huge, and I am sure will help a lot.
I have a many page document with daily notes! Lol. Some of it was reflecting back because I started a week into things. I've been doing daily notes since, sans some of the hospital days. One thing about the hospital that made me feel good when we brought her in on Sunday night was the vet on call was interested in the notes and wanted to scan them into her file.

But also for me it's so necessary to keep tract of what she ate, when, her bathroom situation etc. Taking notes is big help.

Yeah I will go to another pet store today and get some new protein types, aim for simple as possible foods and digestable...Second day she is interested in the FD Chicken liver treats. I hesitate to give her a ton because liver is rich but some crumbled on the Tiki mouse got her to eat a bit of it. Not much but...something.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
I have a many page document with daily notes! Lol. Some of it was reflecting back because I started a week into things. I've been doing daily notes since, sans some of the hospital days. One thing about the hospital that made me feel good when we brought her in on Sunday night was the vet on call was interested in the notes and wanted to scan them into her file.

But also for me it's so necessary to keep tract of what she ate, when, her bathroom situation etc. Taking notes is big help.

Yeah I will go to another pet store today and get some new protein types, aim for simple as possible foods and digestable...Second day she is interested in the FD Chicken liver treats. I hesitate to give her a ton because liver is rich but some crumbled on the Tiki mouse got her to eat a bit of it. Not much but...something.
I'm glad you're keeping track of things, Time 2 Recognize Time 2 Recognize ! Unfortunately, I didn't keep many notes at all right after Edwina's surgery so don't remember how many days they gave for her eating deadline... but I'm pretty sure it was several days. Her situation was very different from Echo's, though, since she'd lost part of her stomach! She also wasn't sent home with many medications: only gaba. I think I mentioned before that I did syringe some food (Sheba, of course!) into her.

It's interesting that you mention liver treats: I used FD turkey liver treats for Edwina, just the faintest powder, and they really helped with her appetite. I hope you're able to find more foods that might work for Echo. There aren't many that fit for Edwina so thank goodness for Mouser! You can order single cans of that from Incredible Pets. It's very caloric so one can lasts for several meals, even for our two cats. (We have to feed small meals so Edwina doesn't eat too much and regurgitate...)

Here's hoping today goes smoother and Echo is more willing to eat without much convincing!
 
Last edited:

iPappy

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 1, 2022
Messages
5,051
Purraise
15,786
I have a many page document with daily notes! Lol. Some of it was reflecting back because I started a week into things. I've been doing daily notes since, sans some of the hospital days. One thing about the hospital that made me feel good when we brought her in on Sunday night was the vet on call was interested in the notes and wanted to scan them into her file.

But also for me it's so necessary to keep tract of what she ate, when, her bathroom situation etc. Taking notes is big help.

Yeah I will go to another pet store today and get some new protein types, aim for simple as possible foods and digestable...Second day she is interested in the FD Chicken liver treats. I hesitate to give her a ton because liver is rich but some crumbled on the Tiki mouse got her to eat a bit of it. Not much but...something.
The vet taking in the notes you made is a great sign! I'm sure they will review them and might even have some questions for you. I hope Echo is feeling good tonight. :hugs: :petcat:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #48

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
I have just read this thread. I am so sorry you have been going through all of this ((hugs)).
My last guy had IBD, chicken allergy
My current guy has IBD and Small Cell Lymphoma and a suspected chicken allergy.

Do you think a prescription novel protein would help. Novel protein is a protein Echo has never had.. venison, duck, rabbit,
etc.. or even hydrolyzed food...
I would think the hospital pharmacy would have something to try. If it works, then you can get a prescription sent to Chewy, and order it from them.

I know how it is to go crazy, trying to find foods. I really do.. Right now, I have about $80 in food that I am going to have to return to Petco. With this cat, I was a bit smarter. I kept the receipts and the food in the same bags, storing them in a closet.

Thanks for the info on Visbiome. I have heard of it. It is supposed to be a very good probiotic. I was using Proviable Forte.
Long story regarding my journey, but I want to wish you luck; and know that you are not alone in loving your baby, wanting to do everything in your power to make her better... ❤
Didn't catch this yesterday, I'm sorry.
I will try some different proteins perhaps. Been sticking with chicken, turkey or fishy things. Today was a bit better. Weruva pate and gravy options seem likeable, and while reading catinfo.org I saw she mentioned Temptations somewhere and you know what? They live up to the name. I've crumbled them onto things when she seems hesitant or looses interest and she goes in for those at least.

I was going to get hydrolyzed but need a script it seemed, the hospital didn't have any to give me so will ask about that to local vet today...

Yeah I'm using Proviable now until the Visbiome comes. I think it shipped already. Was reading lots of recommendations about it on IBD cat groups! I hope your fur baby is doing well and you continue to find things they enjoy and their conditions can be managed. It's a lot and not asking them how they feel is so hard...
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
I'm glad to hear that yesterday went a little better, Time 2 Recognize Time 2 Recognize , that's good news. I do remember a vet tech telling me cats can be slow to get their eating/guts back after procedures. I'm sure that fits with a cat in Echo's situation, too, since she'd been feeling icky for some time. (It took Edwina several days to eat much at all when she ate that plant some years ago... and that was relatively minor, even if it was gross!)

Here's hoping today goes even better than yesterday and that Echo is eating well again soon. (Edwina's sitting on my lap, purring, and sending a greeting.)

🤞❤
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #51

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
It's been going fairly well until late last night into today lisahe lisahe
I got her eating. Stopping metrodiazole Wednesday made a noticeable difference in her demeanor and appetite. She mostly wanted Weruva Play/OMG cans so I was doing that for a day or so in chicken flavors. But wanted to eliminate gums so switched to Rawz shreds and also found out Stella + Chewy's new canned is gum free, so we did those yesterday. Her appetite was pretty great and she definitely got her normal calories, spread out in 4-5 meals the last couple days. I've also given her smallish doses of visbiome vet to see how she would do on that and try to encourage healthy bacteria in her tract.

She had the mucus stools again, along with straining, last night and this morning. Quite a bit of mucus.

She is eating still, but I don't know for how long. I've been lurking and posting questions in a raw food for IBD cats group just to learn. Been giving slippery elm syrup a bit before meals though I stopped yesterday....Anyway, back on that and today I switched to baby food to keep things simple as I don't know what it is that's irritating her gut and I'm sure she needs a re-set of many sorts. Basically, I'm nervous again.

The first couple days home, she had diarrhea that was more goo-rrhea, with hair included. I'm thinking this, in part, was the hair that was seen on US finally coming through her digestion. All diarrhea episodes from last Saturday until Tuesday were just liquid and partially undigested food. So. Metro stopped and she was normalizing again until last night. I think hair is getting jammed up in her irritated digestive tract. She had almost normal log stools on the 30th and yesterday until the evening. There was dispersed hair in it, so I was hoping things were settling inside her.

I think she needs a few days of a very bland diet. Baby food so far is currently acceptable to her. If she'll eat home poached chicken or turkey I will do that until I figure out what to really feed her...Her digestive tract needs to heal and inflammation needs to go down. I just hope I will figure out how to help her with that.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
It's been going fairly well until late last night into today lisahe lisahe
I got her eating. Stopping metrodiazole Wednesday made a noticeable difference in her demeanor and appetite. She mostly wanted Weruva Play/OMG cans so I was doing that for a day or so in chicken flavors. But wanted to eliminate gums so switched to Rawz shreds and also found out Stella + Chewy's new canned is gum free, so we did those yesterday. Her appetite was pretty great and she definitely got her normal calories, spread out in 4-5 meals the last couple days. I've also given her smallish doses of visbiome vet to see how she would do on that and try to encourage healthy bacteria in her tract.

She had the mucus stools again, along with straining, last night and this morning. Quite a bit of mucus.

She is eating still, but I don't know for how long. I've been lurking and posting questions in a raw food for IBD cats group just to learn. Been giving slippery elm syrup a bit before meals though I stopped yesterday....Anyway, back on that and today I switched to baby food to keep things simple as I don't know what it is that's irritating her gut and I'm sure she needs a re-set of many sorts. Basically, I'm nervous again.

The first couple days home, she had diarrhea that was more goo-rrhea, with hair included. I'm thinking this, in part, was the hair that was seen on US finally coming through her digestion. All diarrhea episodes from last Saturday until Tuesday were just liquid and partially undigested food. So. Metro stopped and she was normalizing again until last night. I think hair is getting jammed up in her irritated digestive tract. She had almost normal log stools on the 30th and yesterday until the evening. There was dispersed hair in it, so I was hoping things were settling inside her.

I think she needs a few days of a very bland diet. Baby food so far is currently acceptable to her. If she'll eat home poached chicken or turkey I will do that until I figure out what to really feed her...Her digestive tract needs to heal and inflammation needs to go down. I just hope I will figure out how to help her with that.
Oh no, Time 2 Recognize Time 2 Recognize , I'm very sorry to hear the symptoms have come back. I hope the baby food and slippery elm bark help her gut get back on track. (Edwina has been a little on the edge lately, too, so I hear you about "I'm nervous again." I still need to start probiotics...)

The best thing is that you have ideas -- the bland diet is a great start -- that can (should, I hope) help. Let us know how it goes!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #53

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
lisahe lisahe How is mis Edwina doing? she's seemed a little off lately?

Today was day 4 of bland diet for Echo. Really not trying to go past 5 days with baby food. Started giving some more heart/liver treats today because I get worried about nutrition on the baby food. Also, it's more expensive than even the fancy Rawz canned considering she's eating 3-3.5 jars of the stuff a day.

Her stool this morning was mushy goo. I think hair in it though, so at least that...

Going to start adding in a tablespoon of Rawz Turkey formula tomorrow and hoping this will go well...going to go slowly...Her demeanor has been fairly good, though a bit less energetic. And she is currently sleeping comfortably on her cat tree.

Update on some more tests. I've been having a hard, hard time all week getting in proper contact with either vet office. The vet who mostly oversaw echo at the 2nd clinic was out until Thursday, then today was told she'll actually not be back until Friday. I asked if anyone else could go over results with me in the meantime and if i could receive the test results. I only got the fPL and GI Panel, but was called by the head of the clinic whose been practicing for several decades. While Echo's cobalamin is within the normal limits, it's on the low end so she did recommend starting a 6 week course of B12 shots. It looks like her folate is also on edge. But I have to circle back and ask if these lower levels could also mainly be from not eating for around 3-4 days leading up to the sample draw for this blood test.

The vet I spoke with today is inclined to think, given the lacking history for vomiting, diarrhea that is typically noted in IBD + sudden onset of all this that Echo ingested something that lead to this spiral. There was mention of the fecal test showing positive for corona virus, which she said is fairly normal in pets and not necessarily an issue. There was also positive results for clostridium. I need to ask if the levels of clostridium were considered high. Whether it was the click bug, or the feeder I would pre-load wet food into that would sit for 8+ hours, or something else it could be this was situational and not IBD. I really hope that's the case.

I've been giving Echo S Boulardii which i've read as recommended for clostridium. I hope her stools improve...
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
lisahe lisahe How is mis Edwina doing? she's seemed a little off lately?

Today was day 4 of bland diet for Echo. Really not trying to go past 5 days with baby food. Started giving some more heart/liver treats today because I get worried about nutrition on the baby food. Also, it's more expensive than even the fancy Rawz canned considering she's eating 3-3.5 jars of the stuff a day.

Her stool this morning was mushy goo. I think hair in it though, so at least that...

Going to start adding in a tablespoon of Rawz Turkey formula tomorrow and hoping this will go well...going to go slowly...Her demeanor has been fairly good, though a bit less energetic. And she is currently sleeping comfortably on her cat tree.

Update on some more tests. I've been having a hard, hard time all week getting in proper contact with either vet office. The vet who mostly oversaw echo at the 2nd clinic was out until Thursday, then today was told she'll actually not be back until Friday. I asked if anyone else could go over results with me in the meantime and if i could receive the test results. I only got the fPL and GI Panel, but was called by the head of the clinic whose been practicing for several decades. While Echo's cobalamin is within the normal limits, it's on the low end so she did recommend starting a 6 week course of B12 shots. It looks like her folate is also on edge. But I have to circle back and ask if these lower levels could also mainly be from not eating for around 3-4 days leading up to the sample draw for this blood test.

The vet I spoke with today is inclined to think, given the lacking history for vomiting, diarrhea that is typically noted in IBD + sudden onset of all this that Echo ingested something that lead to this spiral. There was mention of the fecal test showing positive for corona virus, which she said is fairly normal in pets and not necessarily an issue. There was also positive results for clostridium. I need to ask if the levels of clostridium were considered high. Whether it was the click bug, or the feeder I would pre-load wet food into that would sit for 8+ hours, or something else it could be this was situational and not IBD. I really hope that's the case.

I've been giving Echo S Boulardii which i've read as recommended for clostridium. I hope her stools improve...
I'm so sorry to hear that you still don't have (m)any real answers about how to help Echo. That said, it's good to hear she's eating lots of baby food -- recovering her appetite is a positive. I hope she'll eat the Rawz. (I've been feeding our cats turkey Rawz lately and they are enjoying it... it's great food so I hope that continues.)

The finding of coronavirus is interesting since it can cause diarrhea. I remembered reading about this years ago but had forgotten details... and found this, from Cornell. (You seem to look into everything as much as I do so sorry if this is a repeat!) Clostridium is an interesting find, too. I'm glad you're planning to ask more about these since both can cause diarrhea and it sounds like both are fairly commonly carried. It seems like there are lots of things that cats can carry asymptomaticly, that don't cause problems until they cause big problems. I wonder if she might need another course of antibiotics?

"Ingestion of foreign object" seems to be a common conclusion if no other cause can be found for digestive issues. (That was one of the options listed for Edwina, too... that the object, a bug, perchance, caused the inflammation.) It's so frustrating!

Miss Edwina had a couple regurgitation and stomach acid incidents. I think the regurgitation contributed to the stomach acid. And I'm pretty sure the regurgitation was caused by our forgetting that her stomach is now smaller, meaning she needs to be fed less at each meal. Particularly breakfast! Thank you for asking after her. She's happily settled into my office right now and she's been very mischievous in the last couple days so I'm hoping we've finally learned our lessons on how much to feed her! (We did pretty well with this right after her surgery but old habits came back.)

Here's hoping again that you're able to get some answers. Echo's very lucky to have you advocating for her like this, it's so important.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #55

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
The finding of coronavirus is interesting since it can cause diarrhea. I remembered reading about this years ago but had forgotten details... and found this, from Cornell. (You seem to look into everything as much as I do so sorry if this is a repeat!) Clostridium is an interesting find, too. I'm glad you're planning to ask more about these since both can cause diarrhea and it sounds like both are fairly commonly carried. It seems like there are lots of things that cats can carry asymptomaticly, that don't cause problems until they cause big problems. I wonder if she might need another course of antibiotics?
I'm wondering all of this too. How significant the levels were and if more antibiotics? But I've been trying all week to get that doctor to call me with no luck. Was told this morning that front desk would leave a note with her to call as she was in surgeries today. No call and they have closed. She was only in Monday and Friday of this week. When I ask for records of the PCR fecal, I get told I will be called about the results and can ask her then. But no call. So. I am frustrated, to say the least. I did send and email with 4-5 very specific and detailed questions (said they weren't urgent I just wanted to let them know ahead for when they were able to talk) last night that I am regretting now...maybe that scared them away? :dunno:

The phone conversation with the head of that clinic mostly addressed GI Panel and while I very much hope her assessment of the situation was right, I still wanted to hear from the vet that had been involved since the day of ultrasound because she was the one who spoke to a IMV at IDEXX labs about the test results. I've also been back and forth with the original vet clinic all week. They were out of office for whatever reasons on wednesday and thursday and the latest response yesterday was " Dr H hasn't had a chance to look them over since she's been so busy. She's not in the office today so I will leave these latest tests for her to review."
Nothing today. I sent somewhat of a pleading response this afternoon (was honestly a bit too irritated to respond yesterday) that I would happily pay for the consult, I just don't want to wait to take action here because her stools are still not right and I feel like she's lost some weight. Maybe I'm being paranoid...and maybe it's from the feeding tube days + low appetite home days + 4 days of nutritionally incomplete baby food. Worried it's malabsorption though.

All I have about the GI Panel are these notes, which as I read them again and researched, also mentioned panleukopenia. So did that play a role as well? I guess I don't get to know for now as no one is getting back to me. I can't even reach out to the super responsive and nice vet my husband found because without the PCR results it's somewhat pointless.

Turkey Rawz has been going really well here too! Minus the ooey-gooey-pooeys :(. I only started yesterday afternoon with a TBS in her baby food meals. She much prefers the rawz for sure.

Miss Edwina had a couple regurgitation and stomach acid incidents. I think the regurgitation contributed to the stomach acid. And I'm pretty sure the regurgitation was caused by our forgetting that her stomach is now smaller, meaning she needs to be fed less at each meal. Particularly breakfast! Thank you for asking after her. She's happily settled into my office right now and she's been very mischievous in the last couple days so I'm hoping we've finally learned our lessons on how much to feed her! (We did pretty well with this right after her surgery but old habits came back.)
Aw poor girl! Yeah it's got to be trial and error to gauge the right amount for her with the smaller tummy since it's healed. I'm glad it seemed to be a fixable issue and just a matter of re-adjusting things <3 Mischievous is so good! If she's up to trouble it must means she feels quite content :) Is she a chatty kitty that talks a lot?
 

Attachments

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
Hello, Time 2 Recognize Time 2 Recognize ! How is Echo doing? Have you been able to get through to any of her vets? I hope someone might have at least been able to help you out with something!

(I saw your thread about IBD, too... but maybe you got news on something else between Friday and today? I hope so!)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #57

Time 2 Recognize

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2019
Messages
173
Purraise
137
Hi lisahe lisahe ! She is doing ok so far. Today, with the help of canned Rawz Rabbit pate and now up to 4 caps of s boulardii a day, we had a solid #2 in the litterbox. It was still weird, but not ooey gooey pooey so. That's a positive. Will see if that continues into tomorrow. It seemed aerated, if that makes sense? Soufflé Pooé, you could call it. Anyway. Still healing to do with her digestive tract for sure. And I'm always watching her for "clues" as to whether she is alright or something is off.

Her vets...Agh. So I finally go the fecal PCR results from her #2 vet clinic yesterday. Never did get a call from the vet who was mainly on her case there, but at least I finally got them to send the actual results to me. I realized I mentioned all I had from GI panel was the notes, that was actually the fecal PCR that I meant. GI panel I had already.

I wound up emailing her #1 vet a somewhat pathetic plea to get involved in some way because I was worried and been trying to get in contact with them all last week. Like I mentioned in the last update, Wednesday and then Thursday of last week they were out of office. Friday I didn't even try to call since my voicemail was unanswered -I figured email was best route. The vet herself replied and said I need to call and schedule an appointment, she only does consults in person. I replied that yes, I had been wanting to do exactly that and I would call again when they were next open. So I called today, because they are usually closed Sundays and Mondays. And the voicemail, yet again, said they were out of office today. So. :argh:

I'll link to her PCR results here. It does show panleukopenia was positive. Clostridium was as well but not in a significant enough of an amount to generally cause diarrhea (this was pre antibiotics, though). I think it's possible the vets at clinic #2 assumed Echo was recently vaxxed for panleuk and that's the reason for positive results, however she hasn't had the vax since she was 4 months old. I looked it up and seems that should be every 3 years. So she's overdue for that.

So new possible theory is she somehow got panleuk, which can affect the small intestine. And the metronidazole didn't get rid of the clostridium, instead much of her good bacteria and once home, clostridium issue grew into her ooey gooey pooey issue....and here we are? Since the s boulardii at high enough dose seems to be working I'm thinking its the clostridium mainly causing that...also good for intestinal inflammation I've read, so bonus there...

Since I don't know if or when I will be able to get in touch with an IRL vet, I will email that vet I consulted in the middle of all this with the test results and theory and see what he may think about all this...

Recent Echo pic for cuteness
Echo2022-0732.JPG
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
So new possible theory is she somehow got panleuk, which can affect the small intestine. And the metronidazole didn't get rid of the clostridium, instead much of her good bacteria and once home, clostridium issue grew into her ooey gooey pooey issue....and here we are? Since the s boulardii at high enough dose seems to be working I'm thinking its the clostridium mainly causing that...also good for intestinal inflammation I've read, so bonus there...

Since I don't know if or when I will be able to get in touch with an IRL vet, I will email that vet I consulted in the middle of all this with the test results and theory and see what he may think about all this...

Recent Echo pic for cuteness
View attachment 433652
Just as I was about to start typing, Edwina came in and now she's on my lap, saying hello! She probably saw that cute photo of Echo!

I can't believe how slow the vets are to get in touch with you, that's just terrible. (It really makes me appreciate our vet, who's really good about calling back, particularly if a cat's very sick.)

Anyway, the panleuk theory is as good as any right now... and yes, I think it's a great idea to email the NYC vet, who sounded really good. Given how Edwina's case worked out and my "path of least resistance" approach to sorting through symptoms and solutions, I also think you're doing the right thing to focus most right now on this topic rather than the IBD question. At least panleuk or clostridium have fairly standard treatments! And they'd need to be taken care of ASAP.

But IBD is so mysterious, with every cat needing its own set of foods and treatments... I can't even begin to tell you how glad I was when the vet and I had our post-op phone consult and we barely even talked about IBD, despite Edwina's thickened intestines. The first goal was just to get Edwina eating normally again, switch her diet back to only cooked and canned (away from lots of raw meals), and just find some semblance of normalcy in the house again, for everybody's sake! About two months later, so far so good, knock wood and all that. And the new diet is (how to put it?) pretty IBD-cat-friendly, with almost no gums, very low carbs, no fish, no grains, no known irritants, and so on and so forth. IBD is always in the back of my mind -- I just hope to stave it off as long as I can with decent food. I do still need to start probiotics, though I'm a little nervous to because both cats have been eating well and using the box regularly!

IMHO, one of the most helpful IBD posts (ever!) is this one: Cat diagnosed with IBD, feeling overwhelmed
Since IBD is IBD, some of the specifics for this cat differ a lot from what we can feed our cats but it's really interesting to see what this cat's needs are. And how patient his people are!

So that's it for today! I hope you're able to get some help from the NYC vet. We're all crossing our fingers and claws for you and Echo! ❤
 

iPappy

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 1, 2022
Messages
5,051
Purraise
15,786
lisahe lisahe has so much knowledge and advice on this subject and I can't add anything helpful to the wonderful advice you're getting. But I wanted to say that Echo is so cute!! She has such a sweet expression. :hearthrob:
 
Top