Musiaka's journey with IBD and liver issues

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Musiaka

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Musiaka's appetite is even worse today.
He didn't vomit tonight, but yesterday the appetite was way better than today. I am feeding him through a syringe, just mixing up some Specific's Digestive support wet food with some water. It's supposed to be super easy to digest. He won't eat it alone. I think the 12 hour fast required by the vet did this. He was still his usual hungry that morning before the blood test. When we came back the troubles started
 

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Fortiflora doesn't seem to be available in my country :(
You can try brewer’s yeast, or see what you have locally for probiotic supplements intended for animal use, ideally in the form of a powder.
 
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Musiaka

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Thank God Musiaka started eating himself and continued taking small bites during the whole evening, returning to his bowl again and again. Somehow, only interested in kibble, so I offered him RC Hepatic and Virbac's Digestive support, Musiaka was especially interested by Virbac's. Isn't the sound of your cat eating the best thing in the world, after they've been refusing food? The cruch of the kibble is my favorite sound now.

Both brands seem to be very similar - high protein, easily digestible small amount of carbs and added electrolytes. Virbac's I had at home so maybe it was unnecessary buying the RC Hepatic one, they seem redundant.

I also kept on feeding Musiaka Specific's Digestive wet food mixed in with water - it's easy to melt. Keeping a syringe ready for when I wake up at night. If he doesn't throw up he will get an adequate nutrition for today despite his appetite loss! Pray for Musiaka to not throw up all this food...

However he pees quite little so we're going for the drip tomorrow anyway.
 
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Day 1 of IV drip is completed! Went a bit better than I expected. They left the catheter in, so tomorrow we can just go there and have the drip attached directly, without needing to reinject it. Musiaka also got a liver shot and cerenia.
He ate right after coming back home! Things are looking brighter :)
 

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Day 1 of IV drip is completed! Went a bit better than I expected. They left the catheter in, so tomorrow we can just go there and have the drip attached directly, without needing to reinject it. Musiaka also got a liver shot and cerenia.
He ate right after coming back home! Things are looking brighter :)
Can I ask what the "liver shot" medication is that Musiaka got?

Since you will be at the Vet's anyway...ask the Vet about "Milk Thistle" and "SamE".
(my previous rainbow cat had jaundice, and high bilirubin...which is not what your Musiaka has...but the Vet at the time did recommend the Milk Thistle and SamE...and for that time...it did seem to help...along with antibiotics, as well. This was over seven years ago, though, so hopefully they have better meds, now.)

Edit to add: "Zentonil" is what my cat was given. (I knew it started with a "z" but couldn't quite remember.)
 
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Can I ask what the "liver shot" medication is that Musiaka got?

Since you will be at the Vet's anyway...ask the Vet about "Milk Thistle" and "SamE".
(my previous rainbow cat had jaundice, and high bilirubin...which is not what your Musiaka has...but the Vet at the time did recommend the Milk Thistle and SamE...and for that time...it did seem to help...along with antibiotics, as well. This was over seven years ago, though, so hopefully they have better meds, now.)
At home we take DRN's Epato 750 supplement, which is rich in milk thistle extract. Or will start taking once we're done with the treatments at the vet. We took a course of it in January-February! But maybe it's something Musiaka needs to take all the time. Will ask about SamE, thanks!
Not sure why I haven't asked what's in that liver shot yet...
Hope they won't put Musiaka on antibiotics due to his IBD and bad digestion though
 

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At home we take DRN's Epato 750 supplement, which is rich in milk thistle extract. Or will start taking once we're done with the treatments at the vet. We took a course of it in January-February! But maybe it's something Musiaka needs to take all the time. Will ask about SamE, thanks!
Not sure why I haven't asked what's in that liver shot yet...
Hope they won't put Musiaka on antibiotics due to his IBD and bad digestion though
Oh, that's good that the Epato supplement has milk thistle in it, already.:)

No, I don't think they would put Musiaka on antibiotics, at this point, unless he was showing signs of an infection, on his bloodwork.
Hopefully what they are giving him now, is adequate treatment to help him get over whatever type of 'flare up' this is.

I'm not familiar with IBD, but have you also looked at the other threads where they mention the various things to try.
Though, now with the treatment Musiaka is getting, and that he is eating again, hoping you'll just see improvements day to day.:)
I'd just stay the course of what your Vet says for now...since it is working.

Also ask your Vet about Musiaka's B12 levels, just in case this would help.
 

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Feed him what he will eat. It does no good to have a prescription diet if he won't eat enough of it to sustain him.

ALT (GPT) can go high for a huge number of reasons.

Source: Liver Enzyme Interpretation and Liver Function Tests | Today's Veterinary Practice

One other thing that can cause ALT to go high is dental disease. It is both infectious and inflammatory. The next time he does get sedated, ask for mouth x-rays at the very least or a full dental if they can do it.

Since you already mentioned IBD, that would be my lead suspect. Manage the IBD, and the liver values should come back in range. And managing the IBD will likely mean feeding something other than the vet-recommended kibbles.

B-12 shots are another good recommendation for any cat with chronic gastrointestinal issues (e.g. vomiting, diarrhea, and IBD.)

If you can afford it, an ultrasound would be recommended to see the condition of his organs and also confirm intestinal inflammation consistent with IBD or lymphoma. You won't know which without a biopsy which I don't recommend given his condition. But a good rule of thumb is start to treat it like IBD and if he is losing weight despite adequate or more than adequate food intake (and he's keeping it down), then he probably has lymphoma and chemo can be added to his medicines. Chemo is easier and gentler for cats than it sounds. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I would start a food journal and look for his IBD triggers. It could be grains, starches, some gums, or certain proteins. The challenge is figuring out which of those. Cats don't need grains or starches, veggies or fruits--though pumpkin can be beneficial for gut and butt issues. Start by eliminating those first. Then you'll want to limit to single protein so you can determine which proteins don't agree with him. Probably chicken and fish. Start by avoiding those--even chicken and fish ingredients further down the list. If he likes turkey, duck, or beef, I would start with one of those before looking for something exotic (and expensive) like venison or rabbit.
 
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Feed him what he will eat. It does no good to have a prescription diet if he won't eat enough of it to sustain him.

ALT (GPT) can go high for a huge number of reasons.

Source: Liver Enzyme Interpretation and Liver Function Tests | Today's Veterinary Practice

One other thing that can cause ALT to go high is dental disease. It is both infectious and inflammatory. The next time he does get sedated, ask for mouth x-rays at the very least or a full dental if they can do it.

Since you already mentioned IBD, that would be my lead suspect. Manage the IBD, and the liver values should come back in range. And managing the IBD will likely mean feeding something other than the vet-recommended kibbles.

B-12 shots are another good recommendation for any cat with chronic gastrointestinal issues (e.g. vomiting, diarrhea, and IBD.)

If you can afford it, an ultrasound would be recommended to see the condition of his organs and also confirm intestinal inflammation consistent with IBD or lymphoma. You won't know which without a biopsy which I don't recommend given his condition. But a good rule of thumb is start to treat it like IBD and if he is losing weight despite adequate or more than adequate food intake (and he's keeping it down), then he probably has lymphoma and chemo can be added to his medicines. Chemo is easier and gentler for cats than it sounds. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I would start a food journal and look for his IBD triggers. It could be grains, starches, some gums, or certain proteins. The challenge is figuring out which of those. Cats don't need grains or starches, veggies or fruits--though pumpkin can be beneficial for gut and butt issues. Start by eliminating those first. Then you'll want to limit to single protein so you can determine which proteins don't agree with him. Probably chicken and fish. Start by avoiding those--even chicken and fish ingredients further down the list. If he likes turkey, duck, or beef, I would start with one of those before looking for something exotic (and expensive) like venison or rabbit.
Right now he only seems to have appetite for Virbac's Digestive kibble. I bought some high quality IBD friendly wet food, but he doesn't eat it, so the whole can has gone to waste. He has never been a fan of meaty wet food, mostly just stuff like Sheba, with loads of sugar and additives. But hopefully I can get him to eat it when his normal appetite is back. He does eat right and swings by his food bowl often to take a bite, but his normal food obssesion and beastly appetite is gone. He doesn't even try to wake us up in the morning.

I also suspect IBD for his liver intoxication. He vomited the whole week prior to his blood test. But teeth issues could also be the culprit, as Musiaka is missing a lot of teeth and some are broken - no idea what his history is and where he has lost them, but sometimes he gobbles kibble as if he doesn't really want to chew on it. But how to sedate him for a checkup? The vets said it's dangerous to sedate him right now when his liver is acting up. Should we wait for it to go down?

Also, neither of the vets suggested that something else is behind Musiaka's liver failure. They are treating it like it's just the liver. But it's not like Musiaka ate poison or completely starved - that's the only way it could have gone back on it's own...
 
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Good luck! If you haven't already, get the blood test results. If they don't have it printed, they could email it to you.
Thanks! :)
You mean a repeated blood test? I think it might be too early, need to give time for the treatment to work. The vet said we could get another bloodtest done in a month.
I have otherwise all his blood test results printed :)
 

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Thanks! :)
You mean a repeated blood test? I think it might be too early, need to give time for the treatment to work. The vet said we could get another bloodtest done in a month.
I have otherwise all his blood test results printed :)
I meant the previous tests - it’s great that you have them! Feel free to share them here too. I do that personally in case someone notices something.
 
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These are from back in January, 01/06 (Musiaka's name is misspelled!)

20210421_133403.jpg
20210421_133348.jpg


And this one is from last Saturday (only did the biochemistry blood test)

20210421_133335.jpg
 
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We have completed another IV. It went well, Musiaka also got injected Cerenia, Hepatogen and Sub-Q. However I have noticed a lump on the side of his belly, on the same side where he got injected Sub-Q, but not the same place. I know there can be a lump after it, but shouldn't it be at the place of injection? Or could it have traveled? I don't think Musiaka had a lump there
 
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He was injected where the red circle is, and the lump is where the arrow is pointing. The lump is kinda enlenghtened
20210421_203053.jpg
 

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We have completed another IV. It went well, Musiaka also got injected Cerenia, Hepatogen and Sub-Q. However I have noticed a lump on the side of his belly, on the same side where he got injected Sub-Q, but not the same place. I know there can be a lump after it, but shouldn't it be at the place of injection? Or could it have traveled? I don't think Musiaka had a lump there
Actually, it is quite normal for Sub-Q fluids to travel....to all sorts of strange places.

( I gave my previous rainbow cat, Spotty, (who had both ckd and hcm)....sub-q fluids between his shoulder blades....and it did in fact travel all the way to his front left leg. I freaked out for a bit...but then did go and read online, that it was very normal. I think it took a fairly long time for the lump of fluid to be absorbed...either an hour or two...(don't quite remember)....and I think I did read that it depended on how fast of a drip...or the amount of time that I took to give him the sub-q's. Another time was down around the side of his belly, too.)

It must be due to the skin and sub-q space being very loose and moveable...if that makes sense.

How is Musiaka's eating and apetite?
And how are his bowel movements or stool samples/poops....colour and size?
How old is Musiaka? and did he have IBD for long?
(sorry for all the questions...only answer them if you feel like it...and when you are very rested.
It's important to take plenty of rest, and eat properly for yourself, too,...when looking after a sick cat.)
 
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Actually, it is quite normal for Sub-Q fluids to travel....to all sorts of strange places.

( I gave my previous rainbow cat, Spotty, (who had both ckd and hcm)....sub-q fluids between his shoulder blades....and it did in fact travel all the way to his front left leg. I freaked out for a bit...but then did go and read online, that it was very normal. I think it took a fairly long time for the lump of fluid to be absorbed...either an hour or two...(don't quite remember)....and I think I did read that it depended on how fast of a drip...or the amount of time that I took to give him the sub-q's. Another time was down around the side of his belly, too.)

It must be due to the skin and sub-q space being very loose and moveable...if that makes sense.

How is Musiaka's eating and apetite?
And how are his bowel movements or stool samples/poops....colour and size?
How old is Musiaka? and did he have IBD for long?
(sorry for all the questions...only answer them if you feel like it...and when you are very rested.
It's important to take plenty of rest, and eat properly for yourself, too,...when looking after a sick cat.)
Brrr, those lumps are really freaky! But yeah, a cat's skin is very loose, no wonder the liquids travels around.

Musiaka is eating - his beastly appetite isn't back, but he does eat an adequate amount right now, so I'm a bit relieved. He's got good bowel movement - one or two poops in 24 hours, soft but solid. Diarrhea was never an issue with Musiaka as he has it very very rarely, though constipation can sometimes occur.

No one knows how old Musiaka is...I got him more than 5 years ago and he already looked like well into his adult years - I mean, he didn't look like a young cat, but not elderly either. Could be he's anywhere from 8-10+, I wouldn't be surprised if he was 12 or something. He has grey hair and quite worn off teeth. Also chronic congestion and a weird bone on his chest - maybe he was hit by a car sometime ago... No way of knowing :/

Ever since I got him he had problems with digestion, which got gradually worse. I probably am the one to blame for it... Fed him store-bough food for a long time :(

I'm happy to answer questions about Musiaka, thanks for asking! And thanks for reminding that I need to take care of myself too - it truly is exhausting, when your pet is sick...
 
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