This is my first time (since I was a kid) having a "super senior" cat. Rylee died at 19 and back in the 80s-90s we knew nothing about nutrition, fed free choice Iams dry all the time, never went to the vet (indoor cat), declawed (uggghh!) and now in hindsight, I know he had terrible periodontal disease and kidney failure and somehow lived to be 19.
And so my (former feral) "Squeaky" is now in that place, only I'm not 17 and living with equally ignorant parents, in a time before Google. Squeaky's stats:
-No one has any idea how old he really is. I have pictures of him in my back yard from 2013. Neighbors remember him from before I moved in (2012). When I trapped him in January 2019 after he was bitten by another feral, the vet who stitched him up estimated he was "between 12-15 yrs old."
-2021: Squeaky had a cardiology ultrasound when a clot was suspected after he fell off a table and dragged his legs out of the room and then did it again 24 hours later. Found a slightly enlarged right ventricle, scale of 1 to 10 they said it was a "0.5", and no treatment was recommended. Cardiologist noted a raging inner ear infection likely years in the making, and might be causing vertigo. Took 3 months to get enough drops in his ears to cure that (remember...we are a transitioning feral!)
-2022: diagnosed with asthma requiring an albuterol rescue inhaler.
-2023: Whipworm infection from out of nowhere, (he's flea treated, indoors only)--theorized to be latent eggs that hatched after the stress of a full-mouth extraction (!) in early 2023 due to severe stomatitis/periodontal disease. SDMA levels were just below the level they would even put him under for the surgery. Treated the whipworms, but mild, persistent IBS developed and he was never really right again as far as GI goes. Overgrooming was developed right after the dental surgery and recovery. Stage II CKD was diagnosed right at the end of 2023.
2024: Hyperthyroidism, hypertension, overgrooming (probably from itching due to the hyperthyroidism). Weight loss down to 9lbs. Got him on methamazole transdermal, amlodypine for the hypertension, and amitriptyline for the OCD/overgrooming. Switched from 6 week Depo Medrol injections for the IBS/allergies to prednisolone every other day.
Unreal, right?
As of a few weeks ago, he really seemed to be looking "better". His coat looked less scraggly, he was holding weight just below 10lbs (he should be closer to 11.5 for his frame) but then all of a sudden this week he seemed different.
Feeding:
He's on Young Again Mature Zero (no carb) LID (Limited ingredient) hydrolyzed dry food, as much as he wants.
He's on Koha limited ingredient chicken pate which he's suddenly less interested in. Topper is Weruva Phos Focused chicken puree and/or Weruva Press Your Dinner Chicken Pate ( I have another, younger, finicky CKD stage II cat who is also type II diabetic so both of them tend to eat the same stuff).
The last few days he's been hitting the water bowl A LOT. He's done this before and I've thought, "This is the end" and then it wasn't. Now, again he's drinking a lot and peeing a lot (we are on prednisolone every other day to control the IBS, nasal-pharyngeal inflammation, allergic dermatitis, and god knows what other allergies).
After all that prologue....
To those of you with super-duper seniors with multiple issues and meds that can mimic problems they already have....how to know when it's the meds making him drink versus a sudden worsening of CKD? How to know if the lack of body condition and muscle tone is because the thyroid isn't quite right yet, or is it sudden worsening of CKD, or maybe all these low phos, low carb, special foods aren't enough? But then the Young Again carb-free hydrolyzed dry food he gulps down with no teeth and maybe that's filling him up? But why no weight gain? His appetite seems good lately, better than before, but his body condition seems worse and he seems bonier than before.
Or is it just that the end is near and he may be even older than I think?
I hate this. This has been a nonstop battle daily since 2021 and I know I won't win in the end but I just don't understand what nothing we're doing seems to be working. Steroids help the inflammation, IBS, allergies, etc but they are hard on the kidneys. Then there's that "enlarged heart" from 2021 lurking in the background and I wonder if his loud wheezy inhaling when breathing is just his narrow nasal passages, or something else. They say his lungs look fine, but the bronchial passages get triggered...but the daily Darth Vader breathing is all in his nose but it seems even worse this last week.
For reference: we are in Florida, a nasty, allergen-infested swamp only made habitable with the invention of Freon. Squeaky likes to go out on the catio at night when it's 90% humidity out there and I think despite the allergens, the humidity seems to help. He seems worse indoors in the A/C.
Aside from that, I'm mostly worried about why he's gobbling down dry food (that I spray with water to help wet it) yet he hasn't gained an ounce, even with the thyroid medication, and even on prednisolone which increases appetite, but why no weight gain?
He looks like an old, raggedy teddy bear lately and it's breaking my heart. Pic#1 is from July 2023, and the other two are from last week.
Should I just accept that we've done all we can and the end of the battle is coming?
Edit: we have a 3 month follow up at the vet scheduled for August 29th. I just moved it up to the 16th. Wondering if I should get in there ASAP?
And so my (former feral) "Squeaky" is now in that place, only I'm not 17 and living with equally ignorant parents, in a time before Google. Squeaky's stats:
-No one has any idea how old he really is. I have pictures of him in my back yard from 2013. Neighbors remember him from before I moved in (2012). When I trapped him in January 2019 after he was bitten by another feral, the vet who stitched him up estimated he was "between 12-15 yrs old."
-2021: Squeaky had a cardiology ultrasound when a clot was suspected after he fell off a table and dragged his legs out of the room and then did it again 24 hours later. Found a slightly enlarged right ventricle, scale of 1 to 10 they said it was a "0.5", and no treatment was recommended. Cardiologist noted a raging inner ear infection likely years in the making, and might be causing vertigo. Took 3 months to get enough drops in his ears to cure that (remember...we are a transitioning feral!)
-2022: diagnosed with asthma requiring an albuterol rescue inhaler.
-2023: Whipworm infection from out of nowhere, (he's flea treated, indoors only)--theorized to be latent eggs that hatched after the stress of a full-mouth extraction (!) in early 2023 due to severe stomatitis/periodontal disease. SDMA levels were just below the level they would even put him under for the surgery. Treated the whipworms, but mild, persistent IBS developed and he was never really right again as far as GI goes. Overgrooming was developed right after the dental surgery and recovery. Stage II CKD was diagnosed right at the end of 2023.
2024: Hyperthyroidism, hypertension, overgrooming (probably from itching due to the hyperthyroidism). Weight loss down to 9lbs. Got him on methamazole transdermal, amlodypine for the hypertension, and amitriptyline for the OCD/overgrooming. Switched from 6 week Depo Medrol injections for the IBS/allergies to prednisolone every other day.
Unreal, right?
As of a few weeks ago, he really seemed to be looking "better". His coat looked less scraggly, he was holding weight just below 10lbs (he should be closer to 11.5 for his frame) but then all of a sudden this week he seemed different.
Feeding:
He's on Young Again Mature Zero (no carb) LID (Limited ingredient) hydrolyzed dry food, as much as he wants.
He's on Koha limited ingredient chicken pate which he's suddenly less interested in. Topper is Weruva Phos Focused chicken puree and/or Weruva Press Your Dinner Chicken Pate ( I have another, younger, finicky CKD stage II cat who is also type II diabetic so both of them tend to eat the same stuff).
The last few days he's been hitting the water bowl A LOT. He's done this before and I've thought, "This is the end" and then it wasn't. Now, again he's drinking a lot and peeing a lot (we are on prednisolone every other day to control the IBS, nasal-pharyngeal inflammation, allergic dermatitis, and god knows what other allergies).
After all that prologue....
To those of you with super-duper seniors with multiple issues and meds that can mimic problems they already have....how to know when it's the meds making him drink versus a sudden worsening of CKD? How to know if the lack of body condition and muscle tone is because the thyroid isn't quite right yet, or is it sudden worsening of CKD, or maybe all these low phos, low carb, special foods aren't enough? But then the Young Again carb-free hydrolyzed dry food he gulps down with no teeth and maybe that's filling him up? But why no weight gain? His appetite seems good lately, better than before, but his body condition seems worse and he seems bonier than before.
Or is it just that the end is near and he may be even older than I think?
I hate this. This has been a nonstop battle daily since 2021 and I know I won't win in the end but I just don't understand what nothing we're doing seems to be working. Steroids help the inflammation, IBS, allergies, etc but they are hard on the kidneys. Then there's that "enlarged heart" from 2021 lurking in the background and I wonder if his loud wheezy inhaling when breathing is just his narrow nasal passages, or something else. They say his lungs look fine, but the bronchial passages get triggered...but the daily Darth Vader breathing is all in his nose but it seems even worse this last week.
For reference: we are in Florida, a nasty, allergen-infested swamp only made habitable with the invention of Freon. Squeaky likes to go out on the catio at night when it's 90% humidity out there and I think despite the allergens, the humidity seems to help. He seems worse indoors in the A/C.
Aside from that, I'm mostly worried about why he's gobbling down dry food (that I spray with water to help wet it) yet he hasn't gained an ounce, even with the thyroid medication, and even on prednisolone which increases appetite, but why no weight gain?
He looks like an old, raggedy teddy bear lately and it's breaking my heart. Pic#1 is from July 2023, and the other two are from last week.
Should I just accept that we've done all we can and the end of the battle is coming?
Edit: we have a 3 month follow up at the vet scheduled for August 29th. I just moved it up to the 16th. Wondering if I should get in there ASAP?
. With Squeaky having so many issues, it's not surprising he isn't really gaining, but if he is at least maintaining around 9 lbs, that is good. (my girl ended up less than 6 lbs for her final year) 
. Let us know what they say.
