Mystery illness, Possibly Lymphoma, Not Eating

[daftcat75]

Okay to skip mirtz if he doesn’t seem to need it. Pred will stimulate his appetite and that seems to be working well here. I’m on the fence about Cerenia. I know a lot of vets like it. In my experience with two cats and several anecdotes here, a lot of cats lose their appetite on Cerenia. I also notice the shot seems to work better than the tablet. If he doesn’t seem to need Cerenia, maybe you could try holding off until he does.

Bupe can make cats restless and inappetent. You can certainly try it. But he may be sleepless and not eating until it wears off.

Now the pred is very important to not skip doses or make adjustments without the vet/oncologist approval. If Danno becomes too feisty for pills, there are pilling tricks like putting the pill in a capsule and coating the capsule with his favorite “frosting” (Churro or Hills A/D or whipped cream cheese or…) and dropping it on a textured surface like carpet or a dish towel that encourages him to scoop and swallow over the dreaded lick and flick.

Probably because pred compliance is so important, it likely has the most compounding options too. You can get it in flavored liquids and oils, chew treats, medi-melts (oral dissolving tablets), and transdermal options.
Prednisolone for dogs and cats: Uses, Dosage & Side Effects

 

[RussellsMom]

I took Danno to my regular vet today and signed him on. I really wanted to get a kind, reliable vet very close to home on our team. She was so good with him and thought the oncologist’s plan was a good one. She patiently talked through all the meds.

After eating like a champ the past few days and through the night, suddenly this morning he’s meowing for food and following me all over the kitchen, but no matter what I put out he won’t eat. He ate some kibble with enthusiasm earlier, but that’s it, despite his obvious hunger.

When I came back over to my brother’s this afternoon, Danno was so perky, giving me kisses and purring (in a good way), and walking around with his tail up. It was prednisolone time, so I took advantage of him sitting up to pill him. He struggled and spat it out so I had to do it again, which we both hated. I spoiled the happy moment. Now he’s under the table and is refusing all food.

The vet did give us a prescription for ondansetron, to use instead of the cerenia, but my brother hasn’t come home with it. She said he might be hungry but won’t eat because of nausea, and I hope it’s as simple as that. But my fearful mind is going every which bad way. I know you can all relate to the anxiety caused by a cat not eating.

Chewy order finally arrived (delayed because of snow). He turned away from Churu, Delectables, Wellness, Fancy Feast, Sheba, good kibble, bad kibble, tuna, and Temptations.

Should I just leave him alone for a while? I wish I had waited to pill him and I could go back to the headbumps and kisses of 20 minutes ago.

 

[IndyJones]

Cats are empaths they feed off your emotions. If you are anxious they get anxious too, thwy may not understand why you are anxious or upset but they still feel it.

Just back off for a while and read a book or something for a while. Let him cool off. Don't keep trying to get him to eat or take pills right now.

You can leave a bowl of food out but just leave it alone and dont force him to eat it

 

[RussellsMom]

Woah - what the...? We humans were sitting having dinner when Danno suddenly leapt out of nowhere with real force onto the dining table, just like he always used to. Now he's kissing everyone, he batted at my hair, he's walking around with his tail up. He's still wobbly, but this was a cat who a few days ago was basically comatose and wasting in his cat bed. -Steroids???

He's still begging for food but not eating though.

If it's a kind of steroid effect, I'm worried that he feels strong enough to jump up, which is great, but will miscalculate his actual weakness when he jumps down and might really hurt himself - rupture a tumor or some other horror. I gingerly picked him up and placed him on the floor, but what would stop him jumping around later? There isn't a room that could be made safe in that way for him here. Overthinking? What a rollercoaster!

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't recall if this has been posted for you already;

Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you, Furballsmom. We did manage to get him to eat maybe 2 tablespoons of A/D just now. I was saving that "big gun", because I didn't know what I would do if he snubbed that, too. And snub it he did, until I remembered IndyJones' suggestion to get the person with the closest bond to him to hand feed. So I suggested that my brother try it and it worked! Great tip!

He hasn't eaten enough today for my liking, but after that dinner table feat, he also took one or two tentative steps up the stairs to the second floor, then blip-blip-blip, ran right up them as though nothing was wrong. But now he's crouching a bit and not himself again, though alert and affectionate.

At the very least, he seems to be feeling significantly better, which is wonderful.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Make sure you use the anti nausea meds as directed. Don’t skip a dose. Being hungry and showing interest in food, then walking away can be nausea. Did you restart the Mirtazipine?

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Make sure you use the anti nausea meds as directed. Don’t skip a dose. Being hungry and showing interest in food, then walking away can be nausea. Did you restart the Mirtazipine?

 

[RussellsMom]

Thanks - yes, I gave him mirtazipine. He's doing pretty well - all night and so far all day today. He eats kibble on his own and also when I give him one piece at a time in my hand or on the floor, and he's enjoying the A/D a lot, but only off a finger. I'm not so concerned about his calorie/nutrients intake today.

He's much more like himself today, exploring around the house, interacting and talking a lot, tail up. Most touchingly, he did his usual incredible routine with my brother, which he hadn't done since he's got sick: he holds his front paws up to be picked up and then they kiss and cuddle like crazy and Danno licks him all over his face with gusto. My brother was beside himself with joy.

Another med question for the community: I've been giving him 1 prednisolone 5 mg tablet every day. I just received a prescription from Wedgewood for 5 mg tablets of prednisolone in Chicken Medi-Melt form. The oncologist recommended them because you can pop them in the cat's mouth and they dissolve right away, so you don't have to make sure the pill goes down their throat. Because the "pill down the throat" pred has been working so well, I'm scared to rock the boat by trying something new, even though the drug and dose are the same. Does anyone have experience with the Medi-Melts?

Thanks!

 

[RussellsMom]

If it helps, the medi-melts say "PrednisoLONE (as Sodium Phosphate)). Chicken. This compounded medication has been reformulated. Item: PRENIMLT0063VC This is a compounded drug. Not an FDA approved or indexed drug." It's good for 6 months - maybe I should keep it for emergencies?

 

[fionasmom]

I have never used the Melti-Meds, but many of us have used compounded medication from Wedgewood. The oncologist probably has had a lot of experience with cats who won't take medications which is why they suggested the easier to administer. This really might come down to how you want to give the pred more than anything else. It is not like you are deviating from his prescription or making up your own dosing.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thanks, fionasmom. I am drug-phobic and have trust issues with doctors. (Obvious?) The hand-holding that you and others here provide is wonderful for anxious and upset pet parents - it's really helped me in this crisis, practically and also emotionally.

 

[daftcat75]

If it helps, the medi-melts say "PrednisoLONE (as Sodium Phosphate)). Chicken. This compounded medication has been reformulated. Item: PRENIMLT0063VC This is a compounded drug. Not an FDA approved or indexed drug." It's good for 6 months - maybe I should keep it for emergencies?

The medicine should be the same. That wouldn't be a concern for me. But if he doesn't like the flavor, it could make meds time problematic. I'd keep them on reserve until he becomes too feisty for traditional pills.

 

[iPappy]

Thanks - yes, I gave him mirtazipine. He's doing pretty well - all night and so far all day today. He eats kibble on his own and also when I give him one piece at a time in my hand or on the floor, and he's enjoying the A/D a lot, but only off a finger. I'm not so concerned about his calorie/nutrients intake today.

He's much more like himself today, exploring around the house, interacting and talking a lot, tail up. Most touchingly, he did his usual incredible routine with my brother, which he hadn't done since he's got sick: he holds his front paws up to be picked up and then they kiss and cuddle like crazy and Danno licks him all over his face with gusto. My brother was beside himself with joy.

Another med question for the community: I've been giving him 1 prednisolone 5 mg tablet every day. I just received a prescription from Wedgewood for 5 mg tablets of prednisolone in Chicken Medi-Melt form. The oncologist recommended them because you can pop them in the cat's mouth and they dissolve right away, so you don't have to make sure the pill goes down their throat. Because the "pill down the throat" pred has been working so well, I'm scared to rock the boat by trying something new, even though the drug and dose are the same. Does anyone have experience with the Medi-Melts?

Thanks!

I'm with the others. This probably is given as a courtesy to cat owners (who, as you know, are already stressed out) so their cat doesn't have to swallow a pill. The quick dissolve is a great idea for that.
I've had loads of "fun" pilling cats over the years. One cat literally spat it back in my face and the sticky pill stuck to the glasses I wore at the time.

 

[daftcat75]

I'm with the others. This probably is given as a courtesy to cat owners (who, as you know, are already stressed out) so their cat doesn't have to swallow a pill. The quick dissolve is a great idea for that.
I've had loads of "fun" pilling cats over the years. One cat literally spat it back in my face and the sticky pill stuck to the glasses I wore at the time.

Betty squirmed at the last minute one time and I ended up catching half of her liquid dose on the other hand. I sucked it back up into the syringe (how I knew it was a missed half dose), tracked her down, and got the other half in her.

Wedgewood sent me unmedicated samples which were a bust with Betty. She has no interest in the chew treat or the flavored oil. And these are unmedicated. But I dip the tip of her liquid dose into the oil so the first thing that touches her lips will hopefully be less foul than before. What else am I going to do with 30 ml of unmedicated flavored oil? She's actually been doing so well recently with her food uptake and intake that I'm hoping she might be game for returning to the frosting and carpet method of her pilling herself.

 

[daftcat75]

RussellsMom I meant to make the suggestion that if Danno likes the A/D, you may also want to mix it with something else he likes to make it less rich. It's okay right now while he's still getting back to eating on his own. But it is a rich food and I find Betty eats more total food if I cut the A/D with something else and make it less rich. Right now, she's eating slightly less than 50/50 A/D to I/D pate. The other thing I do for Betty which may make a difference when you're trying to cut through all the reasons why he doesn't want to eat is that I warm the can from the fridge in a hot water bath (gently trickling the sink stream to keep the water hot since the cans want to cool it down.) I soak her cans for a few minutes or more so that the plated food is closer to prey temperature than it is to fridge temperature.

 

[iPappy]

RussellsMom I meant to make the suggestion that if Danno likes the A/D, you may also want to mix it with something else he likes to make it less rich. It's okay right now while he's still getting back to eating on his own. But it is a rich food and I find Betty eats more total food if I cut the A/D with something else and make it less rich. Right now, she's eating slightly less than 50/50 A/D to I/D pate. The other thing I do for Betty which may make a difference when you're trying to cut through all the reasons why he doesn't want to eat is that I warm the can from the fridge in a hot water bath (gently trickling the sink stream to keep the water hot since the cans want to cool it down.) I soak her cans for a few minutes or more so that the plated food is closer to prey temperature than it is to fridge temperature.

Agreed, fridge temp food does not seem to be as palatable or easy on the tummy as when it's been gently warmed a bit.

 

[IndyJones]

I think ive only seen something remotly like medimelts at the pharmacy for people. Multi vitamin i believe idk about cats but excelent idea for children or seinors who may not be able to swallow a multi vitimin (they are horsepills!) My concern with a cat would be them spitting it out before it dissolves completly

If the regular pills work for all parties involved I would keep doing what you're doing.

 

[RussellsMom]

Thank you all - it helps to hear your experiences. I ended up sticking with the regular pills I've been using for now, to save the medi-melts for a time when he might not be so amenable. He was quite easy to pill today.

I am shocked how he has improved. He was racing up and down the stairs; clawing the tufting out of the stair carpet; playing hard with his toys; kissing and talking to everyone; eating fine. He even pushed open a firmly latched door and I had to race to catch him. Just a few days before, he was so wasted and feeble he fell on his slow crawl to the water bowl and was trying to lick the water while collapsed on his side but couldn't lift his head. I told my brother I was tempted to take the pills myself! Everyone in the household is thrilled that he seems comfortable and happy.

 

[iPappy]

Thank you all - it helps to hear your experiences. I ended up sticking with the regular pills I've been using for now, to save the medi-melts for a time when he might not be so amenable. He was quite easy to pill today.

I am shocked how he has improved. He was racing up and down the stairs; clawing the tufting out of the stair carpet; playing hard with his toys; kissing and talking to everyone; eating fine. He even pushed open a firmly latched door and I had to race to catch him. Just a few days before, he was so wasted and feeble he fell on his slow crawl to the water bowl and was trying to lick the water while collapsed on his side but couldn't lift his head. I told my brother I was tempted to take the pills myself! Everyone in the household is thrilled that he seems comfortable and happy.

This is a great update, and I think keeping the dissolving pills on "reserve" is an excellent plan in case he's decide pilling is something he'd rather not tolerate.
I had to smile at the thought of him pushing open the door and being active like that. What a huge relief for everyone!