Just Looking For Some Thoughts.

[thanatos0042]

I have a 9 year old bluepoint Siamese that likely won't make it through another week.

He has rapid weight loss, he is practically skin and bones. He eats and drinks, though the last couple of days not as much as he had been and is now getting unsteady on his feet.

We've had multiple blood tests run, FIP, fecal, urine, etc. everything comes back negative. The only things we haven't done is x-rays, sonagram and cancer tests, but 2 different vets didn't find anything that felt out of sorts...and we haven't run those tests because mostly we spent all our money on the previous tests and medications.

We've tried changing foods, changing to kidney friendly food, etc. But all he wants to do is lick up gravy (mostly) and eat just a little solid food. Looks like he has some trouble chewing a bit now. He also has constant diarrhea. All those expensive meds and pills made no difference.

Everything we've tried, everything the vet has suggested hasn't made a difference. We'd take him in for the other tests, but after spending 2 grand, we just don't have the money at the moment for more tests...and I feel terrible about that, but it's simply the limitation of our reality.

Anyone have any last ditch thoughts or radical ideas?

thanks.

 

[brittpatt]

Do you have other cats in the house? If so, I would remove them immediately so he can focus on his health. When we removed our male cat from our house my female cat's health improved instantly (he went to my mother in law's).

As for food, I would try Fancy Feast soups, normal fancy feast (or for "broth" lovers), tuna, and even cottage cheese. When my cat was super sick I got her Chic fil a nuggets.

For some reason I think this is an intestinal issue. Have you looked at probiotics? No matter what they tell you, 9 is young for a cat. I would research and do all that you can.

 

[thanatos0042]

we have tried pro-biotics of multiple varieties.

I do have other cats, but I have no place to remove them too...I kept him mostly separated from the others for awhile, but he got so lonely....we have tried some of the broth and he will lick it all up...not cottage cheese, but he isn't much of a human food cat...I have managed to get him to eat some baked and fried chicken though...but he's mostly turning his nose up to that now. He's never been a very food motivated cat.

yeah, I know it is...though I have lost another Siamese to FIP before, but he had a liver that was only 1/3 the size it was supposed to be.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
thanatos0042 - Has your veterinarian done a circulating thyroxine-a (i.e. T-4) level on him?
.

 

[brittpatt]

When my cat had lymphoma she ate/drank kittens' milk. I really don't think it made much of a difference but it made her happy.

I'm so sorry you are going through this.

WHISKAS New Zealand | Whiskas Milk Plus

 

[orange&white]

If he isn't eating enough calories, I would go get some oral syringes from your local pharmacy and syringe-feed him 150-200 calories of pureed/strained wet food per day. That may buy you some time until you figure out what's wrong with him. He'll decline quickly if he doesn't eat anything but the gravy and a few bites of food. No matter what else is going on, cats have to eat or they go into liver failure fairly quickly.

Sending prayers your way.

 

[thanatos0042]

1CatOverTheLine - I am not certain about this test. We did pay for a specialized blood test. I'll have to ask my vet about it, but they are closed on the weekend.

brittpatt - yeah we are trying to feed him what he wants right now...he eats, slowly, but he does eat...less now as I said. We're trying to figure something out, but basically unless we can stop the diarrhea, it doesn't matter how much he eats, apparently it goes through him faster than his body can get nutrients from it. But that is a good idea, will try to give him some to see if he will drink that.

orange&white - he has probably been eating at that rate up until yesterday for sure. We have some of those, we'll try to give him some and see how it goes. We had to feed our FIP-sick cat that way, though ultimately it was a losing battle (he had the wet version of it).

thank you very much for your thoughts and prayers everyone.

 

[neely]

Although I have no more tricks up my sleeve than the suggestions you have already received from the above members I would like to offer my heartfelt sympathies for what your boy and you are going through. Thinking of you and sending special thoughts your way.

 

[babiesmom5]

The constant diarrhea, rapid weight loss and weakness points to a serious intestinal issue.

At his relatively young age, I would suspect Large Cell Lymphoma which hits younger cats. This type Lymphoma presents as an intestinal mass.

Ideally I would get a GI ultrasound which is much more revealing diagnostically. If this is not possible financially, I would at least get an X-ray which would reveal a mass if there is one.

In the meantime, I would try to get as much nourishment into him as possible to prevent liver failure.

 

[thanatos0042]

thank you for the thoughts and prayers

Both vets felt for masses, but didn't find any...and yeah, money is an issue at the moment...just very unfortunate timing.

Yeah, I am feeding him as often as he shows signs of hunger, not that it is apparently doing anything.

 

[Mylittlepony]

Personally I feel vet's will go on testing as long as you let them. Have you had a scan or x ray done. I've been in the same situation twice and eventually went for x ray's both times revealed tumours. Hoping that is not the case for you but going on personal experience, that would now be my almost first thought before going for protracted treatment.

 

[Margret]

You might be able to get some more calories into him with a high calorie gel. Squeeze some onto a paw and he'll groom it off, and into himself. high calorie gel for cats - Free shipping at Chewy.com

Edit: Also, I think it might be a good idea to switch him entirely to kitten food. I think most cats like it, and it's higher in both protein and calories.

Margret

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello - I'm posting this just in case there's something.
No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life
Also, have you tried a little plain pumpkin to try and slow down the diarrhea? Also boiled unseasoned chicken and rice.
Is there anything else in this list below that might tempt your cat to eat?

• boiled unseasoned chicken or turkey,

• sardines,

• tuna,

• tuna juice from the tuna can,

• warmed canned kitten food,

• kitten replacement milk powder or liquid as an add-in,
• kitten glop, there are recipes on the Internet

• bonito flakes,

• heating the wet food slightly,

• parmesan or cheddar cheese,

• Forti flora, as mentioned, not as a probiotic but as a tempting enticement

• mackerel
• unflavored gelatin - it's protein
• Raw egg yolk (egg white must be cooked)

There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper. Tiki Cat also has a mousse Stik I think it's called...

 

[thanatos0042]

I went and got the gel...we'll see hwo that goes.

I got him to drink tuna juice, but wouldn't eat any tuna.

He did eat a small amount of wet and dry catfood today...

I'll try some kitten food and I have some kitten formula (because we brought a feral in to have her spayed and she...had the kittens early - which is why the room we normally segregate with, is in use...one of the kittens died this morning too ...looks like she died in her sleep...it's been a rough day all around. )

We have tried pumpkin and he has eaten some of it, but doesn't really care for it.

He's not a big people food cat. He's not even a cat food cat. Tried some toppers with little success.

thanks for the link, I will investigate it.

thanks for the support and well wishes.

 

[Furballsmom]

he has eaten some of it

...a good thing nonetheless. Hopefully this trend continues.
My goodness you have your hands full. All my best wishes, thoughts and prayers for ALL of you!!

 

[Margret]

So sorry to hear about the death of the kitten. For what it's worth (not much), there's probably nothing you could have done to prevent it. Being with its mother gave it the best chance, but so many kittens of ferals don't make it. Just for starters their mothers don't usually have adequate nutrition while they're pregnant. Please see this thread: Grieving. It may help, a little.

Margret

 

[thanatos0042]

Thank you, I hope it does too, but it is a selfish hope...and yeah, we really do have our hands full here. My long term roommate and I take care of the ferals in our townhome complex. We've gotten quite a few spayed and neutered and make sure they have food, water and shelter. We've found homes for more than a few kittens before.

No, I don't think we could have done anything. When she gave birth to 5, 2 never made it out of their sacs...I suspect they were stillborn. This kitten lasted a week and looked like there was a bit of blood in her mouth, but hard to say for sure. Still looked like she died in her sleep, she was on her back. The other two seem okay so far....but you're right, she didn't have the best nutrition...we didn't think she was far enough along to even have kittens. A week before we caught her, she didn't even look pregnant. She is highly feral to, so she panicked from the moment we caught her and was totally stressed. It's unfortunate, but just how it works I know.

And thanks for the link. I just looked over it. I've had to put a cat to sleep before. Ashe, a previous Siamese cat...I haven't had much time with either of my Siamese it seems. It is well written and true and there will come a point where I'll take him to the vet for that. We may actually not be far off that point...he has seemed to decline a lot today alone.

Thank you again everyone.

 

[orange&white]

Does he seem to be getting dehydrated? It wouldn't be surprising if he is not eating enough and having diarrhea. Pinch his skin up behind his shoulder blades. It should snap back immediately if he has enough hydration. It will slowly sink back to place if he needs more water in his system.

Maybe the vet could give him some fluids to make him feel better and a B12 injection for appetite. They can also show you how to give sub-Q fluids at home. It's not terribly difficult or expensive.

 

[thanatos0042]

Yeah, we have been shown how to give sub-Q fluids and we're going to contact our vet tomorrow to take a look at him. His appetite is definitely decreasing now.

 

[orange&white]

Yeah, we have been shown how to give sub-Q fluids and we're going to contact our vet tomorrow to take a look at him. His appetite is definitely decreasing now.

I'm so sorry to hear that. Hopefully some fluids tomorrow will perk him up. Good healing vibes your way.