If anyone with experience could weigh in and help me make sure we're doing all the right things, I'd really appreciate it! I'm feeling incredibly stupid right now because I thought some cats naturally have a lot of trouble with hairballs. As long as the two brothers (littermates) were getting egg yolk powder daily, everything was A-OK. Then my autoimmune disease flared up and I had a lot of trouble sticking to the daily schedule, and things were fine with a skipped day here and there. Then out of the blue one boy develops acute diarrhea, he went to the toilet multiple times in one night and was feeling better the next day, though he had two semi-solid BMs. I had given him some turkey breast lunch meat the day the diarrhea started and I thought there might be a connection, but when he improved the following day I thought we were out of the woods. The next day it starts again, and this time there is vomiting. I thought maybe because we've skipped our egg yolk powder a couple of days in a row. Things go downhill that night with more and frequent diarrhea and the next morning I take him to the emergency and specialty hospital.
He gets an ultrasound and blood work. Blood work is normal, the ultrasound shows inflammation in the intestines. He's scheduled for an endoscopy with biopsy the following day. The next day the internal medicine doc calls and says she wants to do more blood work, this time to test B12 absorption and pancreatic function. She wants to review the results before proceeding with the endoscopy and it will take 24-48 hrs. to get the results. She says this will determine whether he needs multiple sections of the intestines biopsied or just the upper. I bring him home along with a bottle of Flagyl, Cerenia, and Mirtazapine. Well, pilling this cat is like wrestling an alligator- he's only 11 lbs.!- and the only thing I can get into him is the Flagyl. Pill shooter is half-destroyed already because he bit through the silicone tip. He yells the entire time like he's being tortured and manages to thrash around despite being firmly purritoed. I'm feeling beyond sick at this point and ready to collapse. I start him on a very low dose of pure CBD isolate powder from a highly reputable company, mixed in with his egg yolk and probiotics. That's what really gets me. I've been giving these cats probiotics I've seen recommended for IBD cats, Renew Life Ultimate Flora, for a while now to *prevent* anything like this from happening. And here we are. I don't blame the probiotics because there have been a lot of health issues in this litter. Two littermates have already passed away and my boys are only 5 yrs. old.
The special tests (B12 and pancreas) come back normal and I find myself having to reschedule the endoscopy because I'm barely able to stand at this point and bringing him home from the hospital was a nightmare with his brother and older sister thinking he's a brand new cat because he smells weird. After a couple of almost-fights broke out, I had to sequester him in the guest room. He is a much-improved cat the following day. Appetite and behavior are almost back to normal. I continue with the alligator wrestling twice a day, destroying many Flagyl pills in the process, and start the boys on a novel protein diet. My sick boy takes to it immediately, eating everything I put down. Most of it is Primal freeze-dried raw, with a little Koha single protein food and Instinct dry LID Rabbit. Yeeesss, I know, dry food is far from ideal for IBD cats. I'm concentrating on giving them as much variety as possible right now to make the transition easier. I swear this is temporary and I only put a little down early in the day. It's raw and wet after that.
Brother, who has the exact same issues with hairballs and, therefore, is presumed to also have IBD, is not enjoying the new food. He misses chicken and fish the way I'd miss pizza if I were told I could never eat it again. I buy the super expensive treats they're in love with, freeze-dried duck heart, and start doling it out following Flagyl and sprinkling it on the wet food they're not terribly fond of. This seems to go a long way towards getting back in their good graces.
To make things even better, I goof up boy #2's digestive system by upping his probiotics dosage. A few days later I'm still trying to get him back to normal. I'm starting both of them on the Jarrow s. boulardii tonight because it's supposed to be good for diarrhea, infections, and has an anti-inflammatory effect. I wish I'd known about this earlier.
Is it common for a cat who suffered an acute illness and barely got any nutrition in him for five days to lose weight? My sick boy is doing much better and has mostly regained his appetite, but he definitely looks leaner. I think it's partially the shaved tummy, but his hip bones are more prominent, too.
And what are the odds that it isn't IBD and is Lymphoma instead if both cats have the exact same issues (except for the acute illness, and we're still not certain what triggered it- food borne bacteria is still a possibility). They're only five years old. Surely they couldn't both have Lymphoma...? The endoscopy is in two and a half weeks. I'm going to discuss all this with his regular vet, of course, but I would love some feedback from anyone with experience, personally or professionally. If you have any thoughts regarding anything I haven't mentioned, I'm open to learning and trying new things.
He gets an ultrasound and blood work. Blood work is normal, the ultrasound shows inflammation in the intestines. He's scheduled for an endoscopy with biopsy the following day. The next day the internal medicine doc calls and says she wants to do more blood work, this time to test B12 absorption and pancreatic function. She wants to review the results before proceeding with the endoscopy and it will take 24-48 hrs. to get the results. She says this will determine whether he needs multiple sections of the intestines biopsied or just the upper. I bring him home along with a bottle of Flagyl, Cerenia, and Mirtazapine. Well, pilling this cat is like wrestling an alligator- he's only 11 lbs.!- and the only thing I can get into him is the Flagyl. Pill shooter is half-destroyed already because he bit through the silicone tip. He yells the entire time like he's being tortured and manages to thrash around despite being firmly purritoed. I'm feeling beyond sick at this point and ready to collapse. I start him on a very low dose of pure CBD isolate powder from a highly reputable company, mixed in with his egg yolk and probiotics. That's what really gets me. I've been giving these cats probiotics I've seen recommended for IBD cats, Renew Life Ultimate Flora, for a while now to *prevent* anything like this from happening. And here we are. I don't blame the probiotics because there have been a lot of health issues in this litter. Two littermates have already passed away and my boys are only 5 yrs. old.
The special tests (B12 and pancreas) come back normal and I find myself having to reschedule the endoscopy because I'm barely able to stand at this point and bringing him home from the hospital was a nightmare with his brother and older sister thinking he's a brand new cat because he smells weird. After a couple of almost-fights broke out, I had to sequester him in the guest room. He is a much-improved cat the following day. Appetite and behavior are almost back to normal. I continue with the alligator wrestling twice a day, destroying many Flagyl pills in the process, and start the boys on a novel protein diet. My sick boy takes to it immediately, eating everything I put down. Most of it is Primal freeze-dried raw, with a little Koha single protein food and Instinct dry LID Rabbit. Yeeesss, I know, dry food is far from ideal for IBD cats. I'm concentrating on giving them as much variety as possible right now to make the transition easier. I swear this is temporary and I only put a little down early in the day. It's raw and wet after that.
Brother, who has the exact same issues with hairballs and, therefore, is presumed to also have IBD, is not enjoying the new food. He misses chicken and fish the way I'd miss pizza if I were told I could never eat it again. I buy the super expensive treats they're in love with, freeze-dried duck heart, and start doling it out following Flagyl and sprinkling it on the wet food they're not terribly fond of. This seems to go a long way towards getting back in their good graces.
To make things even better, I goof up boy #2's digestive system by upping his probiotics dosage. A few days later I'm still trying to get him back to normal. I'm starting both of them on the Jarrow s. boulardii tonight because it's supposed to be good for diarrhea, infections, and has an anti-inflammatory effect. I wish I'd known about this earlier.
Is it common for a cat who suffered an acute illness and barely got any nutrition in him for five days to lose weight? My sick boy is doing much better and has mostly regained his appetite, but he definitely looks leaner. I think it's partially the shaved tummy, but his hip bones are more prominent, too.
And what are the odds that it isn't IBD and is Lymphoma instead if both cats have the exact same issues (except for the acute illness, and we're still not certain what triggered it- food borne bacteria is still a possibility). They're only five years old. Surely they couldn't both have Lymphoma...? The endoscopy is in two and a half weeks. I'm going to discuss all this with his regular vet, of course, but I would love some feedback from anyone with experience, personally or professionally. If you have any thoughts regarding anything I haven't mentioned, I'm open to learning and trying new things.
