Sebastian’s Ultrasound

[Selarah]

Finally was able to find a much better vet to work with since our move.

I knew something wasn’t right with him. Our little rescue kitty.
His ultrasound has revealed a few things.
He has mild chronic pancreatitis.
Severe thickening of the small intestinal wall. It could be IBD or SCL.
And cysts on his kidneys. All the cysts are small but one of them is larger and needs the be re-evaluated in 3 months. I looked this up, and I guess it’s called polycystic kidney disease. It’s a birth defect. They did not tell me this, I just used googled.

It’s a lot to take in. Parts of me were hoping I was just being paranoid and that things would come back normal. Sigh.

Anyway, the vet and the ultrasound specialist recommended that if his new diet with pork and EZ complete do not help calm the inflammation and allergy itching, if he doesn’t seem to perk up, that he should be put on the steroids. He also needs a recheck of his kidneys to make sure he is not CKD, but according to the specialist, with kidneys like that, it is likely. If the cyst grows he will also need a specialist.

So far he seems to be doing a lot better since I removed the Fancy Feast from his diet, but I know it's too early to tell.

Some people are recommending I get a second opinion by seeing an internal med vet.

At this point I’m not sure if we should just keep him comfortable til the end on just steroids and treat for IBD? Or pursue this further by seeing an IMV. Sadly, money is a bit of an issue, I don’t know how much it would cost to see multiple specialists.

Backstory. This cat is a rescue from our old neighborhood in a very small town a little over a year ago. He was malnourished and hungry.
His symptoms through all this have only been general lethargy, occasional inappetence and some constipation. However, seems to be remarkably better with the fancy feast gone, so far. None of those symptoms now.

Thanks for listening. If anyone has advice, I’d like to hear it.

 

[di and bob]

If he is doing better on his new diet, I, myself, would just observe for a while and go from there. Monitor his kidneys and keep him comfortable. Steroids are remarkable tumour reducers and decrease inflammation nicely. I have had several terminal cats that were greatly helped for quite a while on steroids. You never know, his symptoms coudl greatly improve with medicines and a good diet, and you to provide him love and comfort and reduce his stress.
I'll pray for yoru little one, sending healing vibes too, He most likely would have died much quicker without you, so any time you can give him is a blessing. Miracles still happen you know, just love him all you can right now!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I can't add much to what di and bob told you. Give the new diet a chance, observe carefully (you might want to invest in a note book with dated entries so you KNOW where you are and with what), and if he does NOT improve, or (God forbid) gets worse, THEN look into a specialist. SHOULD you need to do so, let us know here, and we'll try to help you find some resources. Medical bills are a problem for many of us, and there is sometimes help out there.

 

[Meowmee]

Finally was able to find a much better vet to work with since our move.

I knew something wasn’t right with him. Our little rescue kitty.
His ultrasound has revealed a few things.
He has mild chronic pancreatitis.
Severe thickening of the small intestinal wall. It could be IBD or SCL.
And cysts on his kidneys. All the cysts are small but one of them is larger and needs the be re-evaluated in 3 months. I looked this up, and I guess it’s called polycystic kidney disease. It’s a birth defect. They did not tell me this, I just used googled.

It’s a lot to take in. Parts of me were hoping I was just being paranoid and that things would come back normal. Sigh.

Anyway, the vet and the ultrasound specialist recommended that if his new diet with pork and EZ complete do not help calm the inflammation and allergy itching, if he doesn’t seem to perk up, that he should be put on the steroids. He also needs a recheck of his kidneys to make sure he is not CKD, but according to the specialist, with kidneys like that, it is likely. If the cyst grows he will also need a specialist.

So far he seems to be doing a lot better since I removed the Fancy Feast from his diet, but I know it's too early to tell.

Some people are recommending I get a second opinion by seeing an internal med vet.

At this point I’m not sure if we should just keep him comfortable til the end on just steroids and treat for IBD? Or pursue this further by seeing an IMV. Sadly, money is a bit of an issue, I don’t know how much it would cost to see multiple specialists.

Backstory. This cat is a rescue from our old neighborhood in a very small town a little over a year ago. He was malnourished and hungry.
His symptoms through all this have only been general lethargy, occasional inappetence and some constipation. However, seems to be remarkably better with the fancy feast gone, so far. None of those symptoms now.

Thanks for listening. If anyone has advice, I’d like to hear it.

So sorry just keep him on the diet and hopefully that will help him. If he has cancer the steroid can help a lot. Maybe pumpkin for the constipation.

 

[Selarah]

If he is doing better on his new diet, I, myself, would just observe for a while and go from there. Monitor his kidneys and keep him comfortable. Steroids are remarkable tumour reducers and decrease inflammation nicely. I have had several terminal cats that were greatly helped for quite a while on steroids. You never know, his symptoms coudl greatly improve with medicines and a good diet, and you to provide him love and comfort and reduce his stress.
I'll pray for yoru little one, sending healing vibes too, He most likely would have died much quicker without you, so any time you can give him is a blessing. Miracles still happen you know, just love him all you can right now!

He seems 30-40% better making the change to homecooked now at least. I think I will go ahead with the steroids to knock the inflammation out, and see how he does. The vet is optimistic, said that years of eating food he was allergic could be the cause. So, we are hopeful, but I am preparing myself for the worst case scenario just in case. I will remain positive though as much as possible.

 

[Selarah]

I can't add much to what di and bob told you. Give the new diet a chance, observe carefully (you might want to invest in a note book with dated entries so you KNOW where you are and with what), and if he does NOT improve, or (God forbid) gets worse, THEN look into a specialist. SHOULD you need to do so, let us know here, and we'll try to help you find some resources. Medical bills are a problem for many of us, and there is sometimes help out there.

I think I am going to go ahead with the short term steroids to knock out the inflammation.. then we will see how he does. Thank-you for that. I hope it doesn't come to needing specialist, but I really appreciate that.

 

[Selarah]

So far a good improvement, 40% probably I would say, not perfect though. At this point I think he needs the inflammation to be knocked out, faster than what diet a lone will do. So I think I am going to go with it. Luckily he is not constipated anymore since I removed the Fancy Feast. I wonder if it had too much bone. *by-products* I looked up the phosphorus too, its through the roof. Too much for older cats I think. Thank-you, I hope he wont need a specialist either.

 

[fionasmom]

Since you are doing better, I would not run right to the specialist. If things take a turn for the worse then you can consider it. If you see an IMV you will need to find out what the initial consultation will cost, get definite quotes about any services they want to render, and have some firm guidelines about how much you can spend. I hope that your little guy improves on his own.