Need Help Desperately With 8 Yr Old Cat...

Msgacat56

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I desperately need help with my 8-yr old spayed female, inside cat (most of the time), named Weezy. I also have her brother Tigger from same litter. He’s generally healthy but does have FIV. Weezy was the runt of the litter and has always been smaller. Tigger was about 15 lbs last vet visit.

{{ I’m looking at this and it’s a book. I’m very sorry but it’s hard to explain and I can’t stay on track. I apologize for any rambling, duplication and the length. Fibro fog and Lyme I guess. I may have forgotten something important. If so, please advise. }}

Weezy started having diarrhea and vomiting the end of last year. While I was cleaning up one, she’d be doing the other elsewhere. It could be in my bathroom next to the litter box, in the other bath, etc. Vomiting was in different places but it would be in 4-5 spots near each other, almost liquid. Vomit smelled kind of like cat food. So did her poop - except with a little extra/extra. It was basically liquid. This has been much better the last few months, only a few instances (unless she’s doing it outside in the short times she goes out). I told vet it seemed the amount going out was more than the amount going in. For a while, it was a full time job. I’d get paper towels, Lysol, garbage can and clean up poop. By then, there was usually vomit to be cleaned up. Clean that up, spray air freshener, and take garbage out. By then, she may have used the litter box so I’d have to scoop and take garbage out again.

I took her to the vet mainly bc of this. But I had noticed she looked like she was losing weight even before. I guess I didn’t notice it sooner bc she’s not a lap cat. She doesn’t like being picked up or being held in your lap. If she’s sprawled out on the bed and I try to love on her, she’ll promptly get up and leave. If I’m on the sofa, she’ll hop up and sit behind my head as long as I don’t bother her. When I go to bed and get still, she hops up and snuggles at the bend of my legs or climbs up my side and lays on my arm and shoulder or lays at my feet. It’s all on her terms. I’m saying all this bc when I pick her up now, I feel like I’m gonna break her. I feel like such a bad mama. How could I not have seen how skinny she was actually getting? It just breaks my heart.

When I took her to the vet, I think she weighed about 5-1/4 lbs. When I pet or brush her now (very softly), I can feel the bones all the way down her back. I went to the bathroom earlier and she followed as usual to drink from the faucet. She tried three times to hop up on the vanity but couldn’t get the nerve to jump up. I’d noticed her doing the same on the kitchen barstools.

Weezy has ALWAYS had a great appetite. I’ve always given them Nine Lives dry food and they liked it. I would fill the bowl (like a soup bowl) about 3/4 full in the a.m. and some would be left that p.m. I would dump it and refill. Again, some would be left the next a.m.

Tigger rarely eats table food but Weezy is another story. She eats anything that doesn’t eat her first. She knows the word TREAT and what the bag sounds like (so does Tigger but he doesn’t jump on dresser and knock them off and chew the bag open). I mean she’ll eat everything. Fruits, vegetables, sweets, breads, you name it. She has to have some of everything I eat or drink. She follows me around like a dog. Everywhere I go, even if for a few minutes, she’s right there. Everyone knows to NEVER leave food unattended or it will be Weezy food. If someone else is cooking, she is patiently waiting in kitchen.

I used to call her a little pig (or worse - garbage gut) bc of this. But now when she looks up at me with her big eyes for what I’m eating, she looks like she’s almost begging for it. Likes she’s literally starving and hasn’t eaten in a month. Just pitiful. And she never seems to get satisfied. She had a 1/2 can of canned cat food last night. I had BBQ chicken from lunch. The second hers was gone, she wanted my BBQ chicken. I had a honey bun later and she had to have hers.

The vet did a complete blood work up and took an x-Ray. I think she weighed 5-1/4 lbs. I recall he checked for thyroid, diabetes, feline leukemia, parasites, etc. He gave her an antibiotic in case it was a bacterial infection. I’m going to try to attach the results. This is my first time posting so I hope it works. I tried a collage of test results. If needed, I can send separately. I’m also attaching a pic of her a cpl yrs ago and one I just did.

I went for a follow up at the vet and he did some of tests over and a few tests he didn’t do the first time. He also did a urinalysis and took another X-ray. He also gave her some Royal Canin cat food to try. It didn’t seem to really help back then and the cats didn’t care for it so I only gave them the one bag. Since then, I’ve been giving them Purina Cat Chow and occasionally giving them a can of wet food. I’ve been looking online for the best food for her symptoms. What brand, wet or dry? I would like both cats to eat the same? Any suggestions? In all my years and all the cats I’ve had, I’ve never had this type of problem.

At the follow up visit, the vet said he really didn’t know what else to check? He mentioned exploratory surgery but what would that find that an x-ray wouldn’t? I’ve already spent about $600-$650. I really don’t want to be cutting into her unless I know what they’re looking for. I love her to death but I’m on a fixed income (disability). I’ve never had a problem in the past. I’ve paid vet bills of $1000 to $2000 for one occurrence before. One of my cats was even shot by a shotgun). I would pay anything but bc of my circumstances, I can’t afford it now. I feel so bad even saying that.

Any information and help would be greatly appreciated.

Thx so much.
 

sweetblackpaws

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I am just now seeing this. First of all, Weezy is absolutely precious! What a beautiful kitty!

You are NOT a bad "mom"! Please put that thought out of your head! I am not on disability and I have trouble, I can't imagine how hard it must be while on disability. We do what we can! Vet bills can easily reach thousands. I "normal" vet bill can be hundreds. Speaking of vet bills, so from what I can see from the receipts the last workup was Jan 2018? I am sorry, my eyes are not so great. I think you should get a SNAP test to check for major disease. It is quick and pretty inexpensive. It tests for FIV and leukemia. 8 years old would be pretty young to have a thyroid issue (though not impossible). I would be very surprised if it were that - but anyways a SNAP test won't test for that. Start with the SNAP.

Please keep us posted on Weezy. I"m sorry I can't be of more help, but I do think the SNAP is a start, as you want to rule out FIV and leuk, especially since she gets outside sometimes and with the situation with Tigger.

:alright:
 

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KarenKat

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First, I concur that you are a wonderful cat mom. It is very, very difficult to notice weight change in cats even if they are lap cats. Know you are attentive and caring and you are doing your best.

I personally think that Purina Cat Chow was a terrible choice for our tabby, Trin. If it's the same green bag Indoor formula we were feeding, the first ingredients are corn. He gained a lot of weight on it, binge ate when he was stressed and usually threw up from eating too much. He did not have Wheezy's symptoms, but I personally think he wasn't getting the right energy from that type of food. When we switched kibble to Natural Balance LID from the Purina he stopped binging, threw up less, had way more energy and started to gradually lose weight from the better food / more activity. (Caution: Natural Balance dry is still fairly high carb and I would prefer peas not to be the main protein source.)

Have you tried a high-protein kibble where the main source of that protein comes from meat? I think most here agree that wet food is typically healthier than dry in most cases, so if she will eat the wet that is probably better. But I think switching off a corn-based food would be a good idea.
 
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Msgacat56

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I am just now seeing this. First of all, Weezy is absolutely precious! What a beautiful kitty!

You are NOT a bad "mom"! Please put that thought out of your head! I am not on disability and I have trouble, I can't imagine how hard it must be while on disability. We do what we can! Vet bills can easily reach thousands. I "normal" vet bill can be hundreds. Speaking of vet bills, so from what I can see from the receipts the last workup was Jan 2018? I am sorry, my eyes are not so great. I think you should get a SNAP test to check for major disease. It is quick and pretty inexpensive. It tests for FIV and leukemia. 8 years old would be pretty young to have a thyroid issue (though not impossible). I would be very surprised if it were that - but anyways a SNAP test won't test for that. Start with the SNAP.

Please keep us posted on Weezy. I"m sorry I can't be of more help, but I do think the SNAP is a start, as you want to rule out FIV and leuk, especially since she gets outside sometimes and with the situation with Tigger.

:alright:
 
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Msgacat56

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Thanks much!! I’ll check with him. I don’t think I’ve heard of the SNAP test. He did test for feline leukemia - as he was naming what he was checking for, I thought she was getting a better checkup than I get. Yeah, she’s cute. Her fur used to feel like those expensive Dan-Dee stuffed animals. Everyone who came over wanted to rub on her.
 
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Msgacat56

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No, her food was the same. In the past (years), she had thrown up once in a while. Usually bc she eats so fast and will swallow without chewing. She has thrown up 6 cat treats in the past for example - exactly what I had given her a 1/2 hr earlier. I had always gave them Nine Lives dry. Weezy begs for table food from ‘everyone’ esp me. Tigger rarely eats any. I did try the Royal Canin from vet when I took her but they really didn’t like it. I had to put a little Nine Lives on top to get them to eat it. I’ve been giving them Purina Cat Chow since. I’ve been giving them one can of wet food a day for about 4 days bc she is weak (not jumping up on vanity as she always did or falling back when she did).

He did check for parasites but I haven’t heard of what you said. I’ll check with him.

He said all of the tests were normal, as were the x-rays. All the medication she was given was an antibiotic in case it was a bacterial infection??

Thanks much. Becky
 
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Msgacat56

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First, I concur that you are a wonderful cat mom. It is very, very difficult to notice weight change in cats even if they are lap cats. Know you are attentive and caring and you are doing your best.

I personally think that Purina Cat Chow was a terrible choice for our tabby, Trin. If it's the same green bag Indoor formula we were feeding, the first ingredients are corn. He gained a lot of weight on it, binge ate when he was stressed and usually threw up from eating too much. He did not have Wheezy's symptoms, but I personally think he wasn't getting the right energy from that type of food. When we switched kibble to Natural Balance LID from the Purina he stopped binging, threw up less, had way more energy and started to gradually lose weight from the better food / more activity. (Caution: Natural Balance dry is still fairly high carb and I would prefer peas not to be the main protein source.)

Have you tried a high-protein kibble where the main source of that protein comes from meat? I think most here agree that wet food is typically healthier than dry in most cases, so if she will eat the wet that is probably better. But I think switching off a corn-based food would be a good idea.
 
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Msgacat56

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Thanks. I'm giving them the regular Purina Cat Chow in the blue bag. I tried the Indoor formula but they didn't like. Someone got the kind for urine health once and they didn't care for it either. They're just picky I guess. Wheezy just had about a 1/3 cup boiled chicken and she looks satisfied for the 'moment'. They both love Friskies wet food. Between then, they'll almost eat a whole can at one sitting. But it seems like she is getting smaller (and recently, weaker) no matter what or how much she eats?? Would you let a Vet do exploratory surgery on her if she was yours? I just don't like the idea. How do they figure out where to cut if they don't know what they're looking for? She is weakly and I don't know if she could even handle surgery.

I found a catfood brand online for digestive health, I think, that I am going to order. Any specific brands you have used? Or one that just lists meat as main ingredient?

Thanks much for your help.
 

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The blue bag has better ingredients, and “poultry-by product meal” is meat-based. Also it’s great that they eat the wet food as well.

From my understanding, if there are issues with digestion it’s best to switch over to a novel protein that the cat has never tried before and try to have food that doesn’t have a lot of extra ingredients that might be possible allergens (corn, soy, wheat, etc). My vet said that rabbit specifically most cats are good with. She sent me home samples of Royal Canin Rabbit food. I chose to use Instinct LID rabbit because it had more meat than the Royal Canin.

For wet food, people often avoid carrageenan (and agar-agar) and any of the gums (Xantham, Guar etc) since there have been studies that show it can cause inflammation and especially for digestive issues that may make them worse. Lots of people feed their cats food with these ingredients as they are hard to avoid and many people see no health effects. I think carrageenan is seen as the worst offender.

As for exploratory surgery I would be very hesitant myself to sign up to that unless it was an emergency. Talk to your vet and get all the details, they know better than us on the forum since they are medically trained and have the best information about your cat. You can always try to get a second opinion from another Vet if you aren’t sure. All we here can do is provide our own experience.

I really hope you kitty feels better soon! Good thoughts and purrs sending your way. :vibes:
 
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Msgacat56

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The blue bag has better ingredients, and “poultry-by product meal” is meat-based. Also it’s great that they eat the wet food as well.

From my understanding, if there are issues with digestion it’s best to switch over to a novel protein that the cat has never tried before and try to have food that doesn’t have a lot of extra ingredients that might be possible allergens (corn, soy, wheat, etc). My vet said that rabbit specifically most cats are good with. She sent me home samples of Royal Canin Rabbit food. I chose to use Instinct LID rabbit because it had more meat than the Royal Canin.

For wet food, people often avoid carrageenan (and agar-agar) and any of the gums (Xantham, Guar etc) since there have been studies that show it can cause inflammation and especially for digestive issues that may make them worse. Lots of people feed their cats food with these ingredients as they are hard to avoid and many people see no health effects. I think carrageenan is seen as the worst offender.

As for exploratory surgery I would be very hesitant myself to sign up to that unless it was an emergency. Talk to your vet and get all the details, they know better than us on the forum since they are medically trained and have the best information about your cat. You can always try to get a second opinion from another Vet if you aren’t sure. All we here can do is provide our own experience.

I really hope you kitty feels better soon! Good thoughts and purrs sending your way. :vibes:
 
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Msgacat56

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Thanks much. Our cats look almost like twins, except Weezy has the grey background and your the black.

Here's a cute video of her brother Tigger playing peek-a-boo with me. Someone was walking in the hallway distracting him. Also, ignore my goofy talking.
 
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Msgacat56

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Thanks much. Our cats look almost like twins, except Weezy has the grey background and your the black.

Here's a cute video of her brother Tigger playing peek-a-boo with me. Someone was walking in the hallway distracting him. Also, ignore my goofy talking.
Dang! Forget about video. I couldn't get it to post. Here's a pic of him instead. He's a big boy, maybe 15 lbs.
 

KarenKat

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Aww, Tigger is beatiful!

Yeah, Olive and Wheezy are quite cute. Does she live up to the tortie feistiness? Olive can be quite a bossy little girl.
 
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Msgacat56

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Yes she does. When she feels better. She's always into something. Drawers, kitchen counter, jumping from my dresser to my chest, which might have 3" clear space on it, sitting at the kitchen bar across from you on a stool watching you with her big unblinking eyes until you finish or give her some, depositing a small baby mouse in my bed - alive - ditto with a bug, walking up to the carport with a huge bullfrog in her mouth (not just a regular frog), licking me at night, climbing up my side and arm when I go to bed so that I can see her staring at my face from the corner of my eye, etc. Lately she hasn't been into much though. BTW, I put her back on my bed and let her re-catch the mouse and ran outside (telling her all the way she had better not drop it) and made her let go of it then. I haven't jumped out of my bed that quick in a while. These are pics of how they sleep. Tigger on pillows next to me and Weezy at end of bed, sometimes. Sometimes she'll "steal" his pillow if he gets up. When he comes back, he'll stand there looking at her till she moves. She has held out for 10 min but usually gets up in a cpl of minutes.
 

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KarenKat

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Oh wow! I've fortunately never been gifted with a live bed critter. What a good little hunter she is, lol!

Olive sleeps in our basement, we are working on full-house integration and she has started creeping upstairs in the mornings. Our resident kitties aren't too sure about the new turn of events ...
 
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