Hello, this is my first post here. Unfortunately, it's not under the best conditions. I've been doing a lot of reading the last few days trying to learn about what might be ailing my cat (including many posts from this site). She is 15, but has always been very energetic. That all changed about a week ago when she fell ill and would no longer eat and drank lots of water. We ended up taking her to the vet and she got fluids and blood work done. She was dehydrated despite all the drinking. The vet thought it might be kidney related and that's what we were preparing ourselves for. Her kidney function appears to be normal based off the blood tests, as well as her thyroid. Her WBC ended up being the most concerning at 57, 80% neutrophils. We were told the next step would be an ultrasound to gather more information. Sadly, we are not sure we can afford this test and the additional test that would probably follow. The vet prescribed mirataz for her appetite, prednisolone for inflammation, and orbax for possible infection.
Through all the reading the past couple days, I've come to understand that steroids can affect biopsy results. This has me concerned because if we do manage to get the money for this ultrasound diagnostic, I'd hate for the test to be inconclusive because of steroids. Does it affect all types of biopsies, or is it only in regards to the more invasive biopsies to determine if it is small cell lymphoma or IBD? I'm asking because I might do the ultrasound first which may involve a biopsy with a needle if they see masses on the imaging, but from what I understand these would probably be different types of cancer than SCL. The nurse told me steroids would be fine while conducting this test, but I want to be sure, as they never informed me the steroids would affect future diagnostics if I chose to do them. Also, does anyone have experience giving a cat this combination of drugs? I'm mostly concerned about the side effects from the orbax, because my cat has a neurological disorder. I pointed this out to the vet, but he seemed insistent that she take it "just in case" it's an infection because it is very effective and broad spectrum. She hasn't really shown signs of fever, has not vomited, and only a couple days of diarrhea. I am worried this antibiotic will make her worse, mess up her gut flora and make her not eat again. She is barely gaining weight again due to the mirataz and is actually jumping on things which she hasn't done in days. Anyway, I'm really lost about the whole situation so if anyone has any general advice and anecdotal experience to share I would be most appreciative. I certainly don't want to do more harm to my cat by trying to throw all these treatments at her at once and hope something works. My last question is if it DOES affect all biopsies, how long would I have to stop the steroids before it was "clear" to get better biopsies? Just a little history as well, she has always been a very picky eater. She also began throwing up dry food a few years back so we only feed her wet food now. She didn't really have issues with diarrhea and has had normal bowel movements most of her life. So this all feels very sudden if it is IBD. I feel very overwhelmed by all this. Thanks for reading and hope to hear from people with any insight.
Through all the reading the past couple days, I've come to understand that steroids can affect biopsy results. This has me concerned because if we do manage to get the money for this ultrasound diagnostic, I'd hate for the test to be inconclusive because of steroids. Does it affect all types of biopsies, or is it only in regards to the more invasive biopsies to determine if it is small cell lymphoma or IBD? I'm asking because I might do the ultrasound first which may involve a biopsy with a needle if they see masses on the imaging, but from what I understand these would probably be different types of cancer than SCL. The nurse told me steroids would be fine while conducting this test, but I want to be sure, as they never informed me the steroids would affect future diagnostics if I chose to do them. Also, does anyone have experience giving a cat this combination of drugs? I'm mostly concerned about the side effects from the orbax, because my cat has a neurological disorder. I pointed this out to the vet, but he seemed insistent that she take it "just in case" it's an infection because it is very effective and broad spectrum. She hasn't really shown signs of fever, has not vomited, and only a couple days of diarrhea. I am worried this antibiotic will make her worse, mess up her gut flora and make her not eat again. She is barely gaining weight again due to the mirataz and is actually jumping on things which she hasn't done in days. Anyway, I'm really lost about the whole situation so if anyone has any general advice and anecdotal experience to share I would be most appreciative. I certainly don't want to do more harm to my cat by trying to throw all these treatments at her at once and hope something works. My last question is if it DOES affect all biopsies, how long would I have to stop the steroids before it was "clear" to get better biopsies? Just a little history as well, she has always been a very picky eater. She also began throwing up dry food a few years back so we only feed her wet food now. She didn't really have issues with diarrhea and has had normal bowel movements most of her life. So this all feels very sudden if it is IBD. I feel very overwhelmed by all this. Thanks for reading and hope to hear from people with any insight.
