Hi all - never posted here before, but I am lost and need feedback or just moral support! I have a 3 year old cat, Grover. About 2 months ago I noticed he was throwing up brown and yellow liquid and losing weight - he has always been a voracious eater. After 4 days of vomiting (he open fed along with another cat so I couldn't tell how much he was eating) I took him into the vet. They did bloodwork (including a FIV test) and a fecal test and did a physical exam - everything came back normal. He kept throwing up and I began noticing he was losing weight. I took him back in and the best guess at that time was that he had swallowed something and had a blockage, so they did an x-ray - it came back completely normal. The vomiting became less frequent but now that I was monitoring his eating, he was eating less and less. He also was doing a thing where he was frequently sort of burping and smacking his lips.
I tried a new vet for a second opinion, who quickly realized that Grover had ulcers and very painful gums - stomatitis. They took out the worst offending teeth and Grover felt much better and started putting on weight. Then he started going downhill again and losing weight. We tried Metacam for a while then that stopped helping after maybe 4 days. Then we tried a pill steroid - there was slight improvement for maybe a day, but then he stopped eating completely again (only a bite and only when I opened a new can of food). Shot steroid - no help. Removed all offending teeth - no help.
I am now force feeding him A/D food. We are on one income as I stay home with a baby (and another on the way) and we cannot afford expensive GI specialist/tests to see if there is a secondary issue. His litter box habits have been normal exept there is of course less of it. I have tried every type of cat food and treat I can think of, in all different consistencies and heat levels, tuna, human food, you name it. He comes running to his food dish, takes one look and walks away. We tried another pain med (buprenorphine) but no change except he was sleepy.
I'm just not sure how long to let this go on. He is not his normal self but is still very loving. He hates being force fed of course and it is getting harder to find him at feeding time!. It has only gotten worse. I cannot force feed him indefinitely I know...but when do I know it's time to let him cross the rainbow bridge? Or is there something I am overlooking??
I'm sorry for a long post, but I am just not sure what to do and the vet doesnt have any more ideas except to refer me to the GI specialist which is not a financial option for us. Just looking for feedback and support here, he is our sweet baby!! We lost another cat at 3 years old to FIP a couple years ago so this is hard to go through again
I tried a new vet for a second opinion, who quickly realized that Grover had ulcers and very painful gums - stomatitis. They took out the worst offending teeth and Grover felt much better and started putting on weight. Then he started going downhill again and losing weight. We tried Metacam for a while then that stopped helping after maybe 4 days. Then we tried a pill steroid - there was slight improvement for maybe a day, but then he stopped eating completely again (only a bite and only when I opened a new can of food). Shot steroid - no help. Removed all offending teeth - no help.
I am now force feeding him A/D food. We are on one income as I stay home with a baby (and another on the way) and we cannot afford expensive GI specialist/tests to see if there is a secondary issue. His litter box habits have been normal exept there is of course less of it. I have tried every type of cat food and treat I can think of, in all different consistencies and heat levels, tuna, human food, you name it. He comes running to his food dish, takes one look and walks away. We tried another pain med (buprenorphine) but no change except he was sleepy.
I'm just not sure how long to let this go on. He is not his normal self but is still very loving. He hates being force fed of course and it is getting harder to find him at feeding time!. It has only gotten worse. I cannot force feed him indefinitely I know...but when do I know it's time to let him cross the rainbow bridge? Or is there something I am overlooking??
I'm sorry for a long post, but I am just not sure what to do and the vet doesnt have any more ideas except to refer me to the GI specialist which is not a financial option for us. Just looking for feedback and support here, he is our sweet baby!! We lost another cat at 3 years old to FIP a couple years ago so this is hard to go through again