Hello everyone,
I need some advice on how to proceed.
Our 16-year-old male cat, who has been in diabetes remission for over 7 years, was diagnosed this morning with intestinal lymphoma based only on his symptoms and the ultrasound. Because of his age, the biopsy was not scheduled, and the chemo is not an option. We (vets included) opted for trying to do everything to give him quality and care, before the final decision.
I am not disputing the diagnosis. Although there could be some similarities with the IBD. I just don’t know if oral 2,5mg of prednisone will be helpful, given the fact that he has intestinal inflammation and absorption problem.
I’m making a list of the things to ask our vet, and I would really appreciate your insight.
In the past four days (before the diagnosis) he’s been on Tolfedine injections that last for 48h. They have made a world of difference for him! He would eat normally, jump (on the counter no less), ask for attention… But these are injections. I’m not sure that the antibiotics they have been giving him are working, because he must take them orally. So, my first question would be that: shouldn’t we be giving him injections instead of pills?
My second question would be if we could stick with the Tolfedine for a while and give him injections at home (as any human companion of a diabetic cat can confirm, we get pretty skillful with giving subcutaneous injections).
Third question is do we give him food he wants to eat, that gives him diarrhea, or do we try to lessen the burden by giving him food that is good for him and that does not provoke the diarrhea. If he eats chicken, he’s fine, but, for some reason, it just doesn’t smell nice to him anymore. So we’ve been buying all sorts of canned, wet food, that he might like to eat, but more often than not, like with the food intolerances, he gets diarrhea, that we cannot come down with Smectite.
Thank you all in advance for your support. I’m trying to gather as much info as possible, since I am the one who has to make the decisions and needles to say, not being a vet myself, I’m scared I might make the wrong ones.
I need some advice on how to proceed.
Our 16-year-old male cat, who has been in diabetes remission for over 7 years, was diagnosed this morning with intestinal lymphoma based only on his symptoms and the ultrasound. Because of his age, the biopsy was not scheduled, and the chemo is not an option. We (vets included) opted for trying to do everything to give him quality and care, before the final decision.
I am not disputing the diagnosis. Although there could be some similarities with the IBD. I just don’t know if oral 2,5mg of prednisone will be helpful, given the fact that he has intestinal inflammation and absorption problem.
I’m making a list of the things to ask our vet, and I would really appreciate your insight.
In the past four days (before the diagnosis) he’s been on Tolfedine injections that last for 48h. They have made a world of difference for him! He would eat normally, jump (on the counter no less), ask for attention… But these are injections. I’m not sure that the antibiotics they have been giving him are working, because he must take them orally. So, my first question would be that: shouldn’t we be giving him injections instead of pills?
My second question would be if we could stick with the Tolfedine for a while and give him injections at home (as any human companion of a diabetic cat can confirm, we get pretty skillful with giving subcutaneous injections).
Third question is do we give him food he wants to eat, that gives him diarrhea, or do we try to lessen the burden by giving him food that is good for him and that does not provoke the diarrhea. If he eats chicken, he’s fine, but, for some reason, it just doesn’t smell nice to him anymore. So we’ve been buying all sorts of canned, wet food, that he might like to eat, but more often than not, like with the food intolerances, he gets diarrhea, that we cannot come down with Smectite.
Thank you all in advance for your support. I’m trying to gather as much info as possible, since I am the one who has to make the decisions and needles to say, not being a vet myself, I’m scared I might make the wrong ones.
