Hi everyone,
This is my first post to this forum. I apologize for the long post, but would really appreciate if anyone shared their experience with cats who had similar symtoms.
About a month ago, we started noticing that our cat (12 y) was not finishing his typical food bowl at meal time. Gradually, his apetite started decreasing to the point of taking a few bites and walking away. After about a week we took him to the vet. They did a physical exam (all clear), and a comprehensive series of blood-work, checking liver, kidneys, pancreas, which all came back clear, expect for low absolute lymphocyte count. We were prescribed anti-nausea medication and mirataz. For about a week his apetite was more or less satisfactory, although he took most of his food only when we hand-fed him.
A week later we went to another vet, who did an ultrasound of his belly. Intestines look fine, kidneys look old, but normal for his age. Pancreas normal. The vet found enlarged "fatty liver" (although blood-work doesnt show liver failure), enlarged spleen and one bigger lymph-node in the belly near the bladder, which they couldnt biopsy because it was "too small" and moving. The vet did however take a biopsy of the spleen, and the cytology results were all clear, no abnormal cells found. We got sent to another vet (internal vet medicine specialist) who suggested simply placing a temporary feeding tube to get him back on track with eating. She said sometimes it is just a matter of eating a bit more and then the cat starts to feel better and we never know what was wrong with them. Since she couldnt perform the operation herself we got sent back to our original clinic, however, on the morning of the scheduled operation, I consulted with the vet who agreed that perhaps it is a bit too soon for a feeding tube, as he IS still eating on his own (even if by handfeeding) and NOT losing any weight. So they re-ran the blood-work and the only thing they found was the same low lymphocyte count. They did suspected a kidney infection upon a quick look at the urine under a microscope, and gave us antibiotics, which we used for several days, but then we got the extensive results of the urine analysis, which were all clear (no bacteria present) so we discontinued antibiotic use.
As a matter of fact, for about 3 days after the last vet visit, it seemed our cat was doing much much much better without any meds at all. I started feeding him Hills recovery canned food, over 5-6 meals he would eat the whole can (156-180 g, no mirataz), plus various snacks, and one day even came down to his bowl in the morning like his usual self. His energy levels seemed good, he was in the balcony the whole day, playing and he didnt look sick until Sunday. I woke up on Sunday, he was laying beside me and I just knew something is wrong. He vomitted up a hairball at night, and then clear liquid shortly after we woke up in the morning (this was not the first time he vomitted clear fluid in the past weeks). He ate about half a can of wet food, but in the afternoon his apetite was completely gone and he didnt eat the rest of the day. Whenever I bring food he just turns away, and if I am being too persistent he just goes to hide from me. We gave him anti-nausea pill, mirataz, but nothing seems to work this time so we are force-feeding him with a syringe now, which is not going well. We are going back to the internal vet medicine specialist tomorrow, to repeat all ultrasounds and perform any necessary tests, but my question is...
Has anyone ever experienced similar symptoms? I am completely terrified he has lymphoma, but wouldn't all of the tests we done would have diagnosed this already? I would be grateful if anyone could share their experience, tips or suggestions. We are just completely beside ourselves..
This is my first post to this forum. I apologize for the long post, but would really appreciate if anyone shared their experience with cats who had similar symtoms.
About a month ago, we started noticing that our cat (12 y) was not finishing his typical food bowl at meal time. Gradually, his apetite started decreasing to the point of taking a few bites and walking away. After about a week we took him to the vet. They did a physical exam (all clear), and a comprehensive series of blood-work, checking liver, kidneys, pancreas, which all came back clear, expect for low absolute lymphocyte count. We were prescribed anti-nausea medication and mirataz. For about a week his apetite was more or less satisfactory, although he took most of his food only when we hand-fed him.
A week later we went to another vet, who did an ultrasound of his belly. Intestines look fine, kidneys look old, but normal for his age. Pancreas normal. The vet found enlarged "fatty liver" (although blood-work doesnt show liver failure), enlarged spleen and one bigger lymph-node in the belly near the bladder, which they couldnt biopsy because it was "too small" and moving. The vet did however take a biopsy of the spleen, and the cytology results were all clear, no abnormal cells found. We got sent to another vet (internal vet medicine specialist) who suggested simply placing a temporary feeding tube to get him back on track with eating. She said sometimes it is just a matter of eating a bit more and then the cat starts to feel better and we never know what was wrong with them. Since she couldnt perform the operation herself we got sent back to our original clinic, however, on the morning of the scheduled operation, I consulted with the vet who agreed that perhaps it is a bit too soon for a feeding tube, as he IS still eating on his own (even if by handfeeding) and NOT losing any weight. So they re-ran the blood-work and the only thing they found was the same low lymphocyte count. They did suspected a kidney infection upon a quick look at the urine under a microscope, and gave us antibiotics, which we used for several days, but then we got the extensive results of the urine analysis, which were all clear (no bacteria present) so we discontinued antibiotic use.
As a matter of fact, for about 3 days after the last vet visit, it seemed our cat was doing much much much better without any meds at all. I started feeding him Hills recovery canned food, over 5-6 meals he would eat the whole can (156-180 g, no mirataz), plus various snacks, and one day even came down to his bowl in the morning like his usual self. His energy levels seemed good, he was in the balcony the whole day, playing and he didnt look sick until Sunday. I woke up on Sunday, he was laying beside me and I just knew something is wrong. He vomitted up a hairball at night, and then clear liquid shortly after we woke up in the morning (this was not the first time he vomitted clear fluid in the past weeks). He ate about half a can of wet food, but in the afternoon his apetite was completely gone and he didnt eat the rest of the day. Whenever I bring food he just turns away, and if I am being too persistent he just goes to hide from me. We gave him anti-nausea pill, mirataz, but nothing seems to work this time so we are force-feeding him with a syringe now, which is not going well. We are going back to the internal vet medicine specialist tomorrow, to repeat all ultrasounds and perform any necessary tests, but my question is...
Has anyone ever experienced similar symptoms? I am completely terrified he has lymphoma, but wouldn't all of the tests we done would have diagnosed this already? I would be grateful if anyone could share their experience, tips or suggestions. We are just completely beside ourselves..
...yes, his poop/pee is completely normal, nothing out of the ordinary. The Hills food is completely new to his diet, and indeed I havent thought of the possibility that the food itself might cause issues. Is there anything special I should know about this food? We've never had to give this food to our cats before.
