IBD and possible lymphoma, my cat is crashing

[Ocean Planet]

I went through this—- trying to lower the dose and then going back to 5mg. That’s what my vet said to do, said she’s tried tapering w/ cats and gets better results (poo wise) when she doesn’t. Seems like a lot but, after 2 years, my boy is still here!

Thank you both for replying. Margot Lane Did your kitty's stool take weeks to get better again after going back up to 5? (I love hearing your kitty is heading toward year 3!)

It's been a week and 2 days as of now and he just went for the first time today and it was all mush Nothing formed. I've been giving extra doses of S/B this weekend in hopes that it would accelerate things. (He has been on a daily maintenance dose since for a couple months now). It seemed like last time for me in January it just suddenly improved after a heavy weekend of S/B.

Back to studying my notes!

 

[Margot Lane]

Thank you both for replying. Margot Lane Did your kitty's stool take weeks to get better again after going back up to 5? (I love hearing your kitty is heading toward year 3!)

It's been a week and 2 days as of now and he just went for the first time today and it was all mush Nothing formed. I've been giving extra doses of S/B this weekend in hopes that it would accelerate things. (He has been on a daily maintenance dose since for a couple months now). It seemed like last time for me in January it just suddenly improved after a heavy weekend of S/B.

Back to studying my notes!

Yes, it did take a long time, at least a week or TWO! Of course, it seemed like years. At this point, he’s gone a little in the opposite direction -too hard- and, wouldn’t blame him after so much medicine. He utterly snubbed MiraLax so, I made sure there is pumpkin in his food. Sometimes I give him “tummy topper” which has a more liquidy pumpkin. He gets a little nosh, now and then, of fresh, country grass from the outside world, and usually poops in the morning right after. (Maybe that’s like prunes for humans?). (I hasten to add, I can’t recommend this for all—- you might try growing cat grass if he is constipated). But I’m glad I stuck with doctor’s orders. It’s been a lovely miracle two years I didn’t think I’d have.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Yes, it did take a long time, at least a week or TWO! Of course, it seemed like years. At this point, he’s gone a little in the opposite direction -too hard- and, wouldn’t blame him after so much medicine. He utterly snubbed MiraLax so, I made sure there is pumpkin in his food. Sometimes I give him “tummy topper” which has a more liquidy pumpkin. He gets a little nosh, now and then, of fresh, country grass from the outside world, and usually poops in the morning right after. (Maybe that’s like prunes for humans?). (I hasten to add, I can’t recommend this for all—- you might try growing cat grass if he is constipated). But I’m glad I stuck with doctor’s orders. It’s been a lovely miracle two years I didn’t think I’d have.

Thanks so much. That makes me feel a little better. I'm hoping between 2 to 3 weeks to get back on track. I was scared we ruined his remission. Gosh, I've never had a cat with the opposite problem. It's always the runs!!!

 

[Ocean Planet]

It's been a while since I've updated. We had a follow-up in May but I got real sick that month with a stomach bug. He just had another follow-up yesterday.

Overall, my buddy is doing well heading into 5 months medicated remission.

- His bloodwork was perfect
- Dr said his stomach feels nice and normal on physical exam
- Still at a healthy weight of about 13.3 lbs.

His current regimen is still
- 5mg chlorambucil every 2 weeks
- 5mg prednisolone daily
- Cerenia as necessary. He gets a bit nauseous on day 2-3 after taking the chemo pill. He'll spit up anywhere from 1 to 4 times during these days and then it's over until the next dose.
- I still give S. Bouldardii most days but he got tired of the A/D food which I used to make him sandwiches with that stuffed in the middle.

We tried to lower his prednisolone from 5mg to 2.5mg daily back in March but his normal stool turned back to mush & liquid. We put him back on 5mg and it finally returned back to normal after almost 6 weeks!

I hope he can carry on for a good few years like this but i worry a lot the past couple weeks as he has changed in some ways. He still plays a bit but not as much as he used to. Then he'll go off and bread loaf for very long periods of time which I don't like either as that tells me his stomach might be cramping. I think that is my biggest concern but I can't tell what to do. We can't really ask them if they hurting. I forgot to ask the doctor this. I should email if cerenia or gabapentin might help with cramps. Otherwise, he eats, drinks and grooms himself as normal.

To add to it all, the cat I adopted last year has GI issues now and we believe he has chronic colitis after doing an ultrasound on him this month. He is taking tylan powder to try to keep his bathroom habits normalized at the moment.

So things are still kinda OK I guess. Medically he seems to be doing good but his subdued demeanor lately is getting me down now.

I will do the best I can for my buddies. They deserve it but this year has been extremely exhausting in the cat care department.... and I'm sure it will always be. I'm trying my best and always will for as long as I have them.

 

[Margot Lane]

It's been a while since I've updated. We had a follow-up in May but I got real sick that month with a stomach bug. He just had another follow-up yesterday.

Overall, my buddy is doing well heading into 5 months medicated remission.

- His bloodwork was perfect
- Dr said his stomach feels nice and normal on physical exam
- Still at a healthy weight of about 13.3 lbs.

His current regimen is still
- 5mg chlorambucil every 2 weeks
- 5mg prednisolone daily
- Cerenia as necessary. He gets a bit nauseous on day 2-3 after taking the chemo pill. He'll spit up anywhere from 1 to 4 times during these days and then it's over until the next dose.
- I still give S. Bouldardii most days but he got tired of the A/D food which I used to make him sandwiches with that stuffed in the middle.

We tried to lower his prednisolone from 5mg to 2.5mg daily back in March but his normal stool turned back to mush & liquid. We put him back on 5mg and it finally returned back to normal after almost 6 weeks!

Exact same thing w/ my cat! Consistency seems key; once you have the right dose and right catfood for your cat, I’d stay the course. I am glad you get bloodwork. B12 shots seem to help my buddy. Good luck! Once you get into a routine w/ this it’s not so bad.


I hope he can carry on for a good few years like this but i worry a lot the past couple weeks as he has changed in some ways. He still plays a bit but not as much as he used to. Then he'll go off and bread loaf for very long periods of time which I don't like either as that tells me his stomach might be cramping. I think that is my biggest concern but I can't tell what to do. We can't really ask them if they hurting. I forgot to ask the doctor this. I should email if cerenia or gabapentin might help with cramps. Otherwise, he eats, drinks and grooms himself as normal.

To add to it all, the cat I adopted last year has GI issues now and we believe he has chronic colitis after doing an ultrasound on him this month. He is taking tylan powder to try to keep his bathroom habits normalized at the moment.

So things are still kinda OK I guess. Medically he seems to be doing good but his subdued demeanor lately is getting me down now.

I will do the best I can for my buddies. They deserve it but this year has been extremely exhausting in the cat care department.... and I'm sure it will always be. I'm trying my best and always will for as long as I have them.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Thanks Margot Lane ! I found your reply buried in my quote. ha. Hope your kitty is continuing to do well. I think I found my routine except for figuring out this recent bread loaf phenomenon. Its driving me crazy thinking that he is cramping or uncomfortable suddenly, but ill check with the doc this week.

 

[Margot Lane]

Thanks Margot Lane ! I found your reply buried in my quote. ha. Hope your kitty is continuing to do well. I think I found my routine except for figuring out this recent bread loaf phenomenon. Its driving me crazy thinking that he is cramping or uncomfortable suddenly, but ill check with the doc this week.

Could be. Could also be just your cat’s way of getting adjusted to it all, which always takes time, whilst we fret. Glad you are seeing a vet though. I’m mightily impressed that you have a large gap w/ your chlorambucil. I wish I did, but my vet says every third day. What works for your cat works, and every cat is different. Routine is indeed key.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Well, I take everything back. My buddy is in pain. Something seemed a little off on Saturday but it's gotten worse as the week has gone on. He bread loafs in discomfort & pain in the middle of the floor and doesn't play anymore. Was always vocal but doesn't talk much anymore. Still eats and drinks great. His white/red blood cell levels were at normal levels last Friday. So confused and feel terrible.

Thankfully, his oncologist was able to fit me in tomorrow at 9am to see him again before the long holiday weekend. I guess we need to talk about pain management and why its happening now. I'm scared. I'd hope my buddy could be a lucky one to go a few years but it's not cool to do that in pain. See what the doc thinks tomorrow.......

 

[fionasmom]

Please let us know what you find out.

 

[Ocean Planet]

I guess we kind of don't know. We met with his doc again and he reassured me that my buddy is still in good remission status. (great weight, great bloodwork and his abdomen feels very normal on exam). We went through a couple of possibilities and going to have to try some things one by one to see if anything peps him up.

1. Maybe he has cramping. Going to try giving him cerenia every day for a week to see if that helps.
2. If no change on that try a light/moderate dose of gabapentin daily to see if that helps.
3. Could it be psychological? He is an extremely skittish kitty. Might go pick up some feliway for the house to help keep things calm. There is a ton going on in our lives. Two sick cats and an anxious ridden owner makes for a tough vibe around here.
4. Could the chlorambucil be getting him down? The doc says that since he is in such a good remission we could try to drop his dose 1mg and see if he peps up. (can't drop the steroid dose as that already did not work out well)
5. Could also do another ultrasound to double check things but I think we both feel this may not be necessary right now. Again, good remission status and need to minimize stressing him out with dr. appointments. Ultrasound would be a better fit if he started having bad GI symptoms again in a nutshell.
6. He grazes on food and drink most of the day.

So you can see how it is kind of tricky. It would be one thing if he is lethargic and not eating/drinking or throwing up daily but so far thats all OK.

I guess for now we are going to try step 1 and 2 and 3. Still thinking about step 4....

 

[fionasmom]

You and your doctor have certainly come up with the possibilities. I agree that not doing an ultrasound right this minute is probably fine. #6 grazing most of the day...is that a problem in the larger scope of this or just an observation that he does eat and drink?

 

[Ocean Planet]

You and your doctor have certainly come up with the possibilities. I agree that not doing an ultrasound right this minute is probably fine. #6 grazing most of the day...is that a problem in the larger scope of this or just an observation that he does eat and drink?

Oh, #6 was meant to be a positive thing that he is still eating regularly. I mentioned because pancreatitis was brought up but typically the first major signs of that are the kitty stops eating and throws up frequently so we didn't feel that was a fit either.... (hopefully and thankfully).

On a side note, I did get some compounded Cerenia chew treats from Wedgewood. They are not actually chewy and are kind of pretty hard really. My cat won't eat them. I tried to break a piece off and hide in a pill pocket. He took a few pices that way but totally refuses it now. It looks like it's difficult for him to chew it being so hard. I think I'll just continue to fight with the old school tablets somehow.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Things have gotten weird lately. I'm not sure what is happening.

My buddy is still in remission but over the past few weeks I noticed his breathing was a little more pronounced. Like he'd take these faster quick breaths when standing up or loafing.

Here is where it becomes very confusing.

He takes these quick breathes when he is awake. When he is mostly relaxed or deep sleeping he breaths normal (23 breaths per minute on average) and you wouldn't question a thing. So I panic because I lost one of my previous cats to heart failure. Vet does xrays. No masses or fluid seen anywhere so that is good. It's not heart failure. Blood level shows his heart is a bit stressed though. So the next day he gets a chest ultrasound. Cardiologist and his other doctors look it over and all confirm no 911 red flags are seen and that his heart looks normal other than one of his heart valves has a mild leak. The doctors say this wouldn't be the cause of labored breathing.

Multiple doctors listened to his heart; no heart murmur. I also point out he never open mouth breathes, doesn't drool and doesn't cough.

We put him on an antibiotic for 14 days just in case it is a respiratory thing, which is good because I was wondering if he has a UTI because he was being a little weird with his pee habits too.

Anyway, 1/2 way through the antibiotics and not much change. Multiple doctors and specialists say his heart looks good, yet he still breathes quickly 'at times' when he is just sitting there.

Everyone including myself is wondering if this has developed from a cause of stress. My kitty has always been super anxious his whole life. He could be walking down the hall and if the floor creaks weird, he'll look around in panic. Obviously he has been through a lot this year with his diagnosis.

At his next checkup with the oncologist, we are going to check his thyroid level. That was everyones next best recommendation. Another part of his treatment will be to try to minimize vet visits if possible as maybe they are starting to wear on him. We will try.

I guess it is just another step in the journey to figure out. I hope its not one that cuts his time shorter. He is doing so good with remission status!

 

[fionasmom]

I don't blame you for taking very careful second looks at the breathing. You have not left any stone unturned, but I know that once worry starts, it more or less stays there. This may or may not make you feel better, but I have a 7 year old boy who was dxed with HCM at 2 years old. We have done ECG more than once and he sees a cardiologist. However, we stumbled into the dx when his doctor was looking for something else and decided to do the first ECG almost for the heck of it. No symptoms whatsoever and there never have been any.

For as much as is possible, I think that you have ruled out heart disease. Several diagnostics have been done and doctors have concurred. No one has disagreed with another's opinion.

Sometimes for a UTI to resolve, the correct antibiotic has to be used. If there is still a UTI at the end of this prescription, that might be a possibility.

Get the thyroid checked as you plan.

Anxiety could certainly be the cause. Is it hot in your house during the day? My experience, which is only what this is, has been that animals who have an actual breathing issue do not sleep that peacefully or soundly.

 

[Ocean Planet]

Anxiety could certainly be the cause. Is it hot in your house during the day? My experience, which is only what this is, has been that animals who have an actual breathing issue do not sleep that peacefully or soundly.

Thanks, I do feel good about covering all the bases on this. Actually when you mentioned HCM that reminded me of what my late cat had. Some of parts of her heart had thickening and she had a mid-range murmur. Still lived to be 17!

I think my home is comfortable. The thermostat is set at 75 but it feels normal and I keep the blinds closed on these 90 degree days. The basement is a cooler though but I can't really force him to stay there (there is no door to close).

His checkup with his oncologist is next Friday and he looks pretty stable at the moment. We are going to rest him until then. I have my eye on him all the time!

 

[Margot Lane]

This is kind of an odd suggestion, but have you ever tried doing any yoga? When I do this, my cat, immediately wants to get involved or lies down beside me (or on me). Sometimes I play music or meditate too. I agree, rule out any thyroid (or other) issues, but it seems to calming for us both.

 

[Ocean Planet]

This is kind of an odd suggestion, but have you ever tried doing any yoga? When I do this, my cat, immediately wants to get involved or lies down beside me (or on me). Sometimes I play music or meditate too. I agree, rule out any thyroid (or other) issues, but it seems to calming for us both.

I have not. But we have something close. Almost every night when I sit on the floor and put a soft blanket across my legs, he'll come lay on them and get chin scratchings for about 30 minutes. So that cats get their yoga in a way. ha ha

Was reading the other thread about the heat and may lower my house temp a degree too. Ya never know!

 

[fionasmom]

Let us know what happens on Friday with the oncologist.

 

[Ocean Planet]

His checkup with the oncologist went pretty well. His blood levels are normal. His thyroid level also turned out to be totally normal. The Dr. thinks his accelerated breathing looks to be anxiety-based. We've checked just about everything else! Like I said, the poor guy is afraid of everything so this makes sense. They said he was 14 pounds! Gained some weight again. I couldn't believe it. He freezes on the scale so its easy to get a pretty accurate reading. Also, no UTI. That sample turned out totally normal too!

He is in such good remission that we are dropping his chemo dose from 5mg to 4mg every two weeks. The hope is that maybe he'll get some more energy. He rarely plays anymore He peps up sometimes but it's short lived these days. He turns 8 in September. Yay!

It's been a stressful year, but the Dr. ended the appointment and said along the lines of "I know this has been hard but I hope you are taking some time to take care of yourself. You cat is doing really well despite the disease"

A Dr. who cares about the owners as much as the animal. Its a blessing to have great doctors for my buddies. I try to tell them after every appointment that I appreciate what they do. Being a veterinarian is not an easy job.

Speaking of that. With all of the craziness, I never put a picture up of my buddies. The cream bengal is the one this post is about. The black kitty has colitis and I'm working with Internal Medicine now to determine if he has IBD because the normal things to try don't resolve his bathroom habits... sigh... They both had appointments this week. Time to relax this weekend.

 

[Margot Lane]

His checkup with the oncologist went pretty well. His blood levels are normal. His thyroid level also turned out to be totally normal. The Dr. thinks his accelerated breathing looks to be anxiety-based. We've checked just about everything else! Like I said, the poor guy is afraid of everything so this makes sense. They said he was 14 pounds! Gained some weight again. I couldn't believe it. He freezes on the scale so its easy to get a pretty accurate reading. Also, no UTI. That sample turned out totally normal too!

He is in such good remission that we are dropping his chemo dose from 5mg to 4mg every two weeks. The hope is that maybe he'll get some more energy. He rarely plays anymore He peps up sometimes but it's short lived these days. He turns 8 in September. Yay!

It's been a stressful year, but the Dr. ended the appointment and said along the lines of "I know this has been hard but I hope you are taking some time to take care of yourself. You cat is doing really well despite the disease"

A Dr. who cares about the owners as much as the animal. Its a blessing to have great doctors for my buddies. I try to tell them after every appointment that I appreciate what they do. Being a veterinarian is not an easy job.

Speaking of that. With all of the craziness, I never put a picture up of my buddies. The cream bengal is the one this post is about. The black kitty has colitis and I'm working with Internal Medicine now to determine if he has IBD because the normal things to try don't resolve his bathroom habits... sigh... They both had appointments this week. Time to relax this weekend.

View attachment 456892

What gorgeous markings! GOOD. Vet is right, glad to hear you’ll be relaxing.