The well-known problem of IBD or lymphoma and pancreatitis

[stephenq]

@duckdodgers I am so sorry about your dog. This is so sad

did you ever find the guy who sprayed your dog?


@StephenQ the z/d caused her to throw up 12 times within an hour but the vet said it was probably the prednisolone because it was her first day.. I don't trust z/d so I threw it away. I am moving away more and more from the thought of a biopsy - surgery , but I wait to hear also from the vet she is going to consult with the internist and her team.. Still haven't heard. Everyone is saying that is probably ibd but you never know. As I mentioned before she is fine but her poop is like hard like play doe but not like the other cats , rocky. (I am tired of talking of poop

poor kitty)

Ok I hear you!!! :-)

 

[arinlars]

So I got the baby scale today, I think it's not accurate. A week ago my other cat was at the vet for a normal check up and he was 17lbs, with my scale he is 16.14lbs and he is healthier than me. now Mimi was 3.5 kg at the vet a month ago and now according to to my scale she is 3.3kg and I think she actually gained weight. Now on Monday I will calibrate my scale with some stuff from my work and I will see if it's accurate or not. So strange and annoying

 

[cocheezie]

Every scale is slightly different. The next time you are at the vet, check your scale against the vet's scale. (My cat's are a few ounces heavier on my vet's scale.) It's the baseline that is important, and you can chart the baseline on your own scale.

 

[arinlars]

Yes, I will do that. I will go soon to the vet again. I honestly think she gained a little weight. Hm. 

 

[raintyger]

You can also check by weighing household objects on a people scale and then on the pet scale. For instance, weigh a 5-pound bag of flour on the people scale and then again on the pet scale.

 

[stephenq]

Make sure it also reads 0.00 when it turns on, if it doesn't there should be a button to push to zero it. If she's gaining weight on the Pred then she is winning against whatever the illness is. :-)

 

[arinlars]

So Mimi had diarrhea today.. I gave her weruva paw lickin chicken to try because she didn't want to eat the tiki cat and she ate it all... But she is doing fine.. I'm so sad

 

[stephenq]

Have you been able to calibrate your scale?

 

[arinlars]

No, I have to do that tomorrow as I have the right tools at work. I hope her poop will be normal today. I gave her in her food some canned pumpkin

 

[arinlars]

Hello all, another update. So I took the calibrated weights and the scale is pretty accurate by the gram it looks like Mimi lost 300gramms in a month. Hm.. Is this bad or not?

 

[cocheezie]

You would have to weigh her on the same scale (at the vet's). The vet's scale may be a bit off and you would have to calculate for that.

 

[arinlars]

Yes, she needs a check up again anyway.

The people over at mud bay said that tiki cat is a really low calorie cat food too. It's only chicken shreds nothing else in it.. Maybe that plays a role.

 

[arinlars]

Will another ultrasound or even a MRI show if the intestines are still thickened? The vet called me today and she said we can go ahead and do the surgery and I told her I m not so sure anymore. She told me to keep in mind that we would have to stop the prednisolone and she will get sicker and that maybe during the surgery bacteria can harm the open wound in the intestine. Because there are already bacteria in the intestines.

I told her I would like to keep her on the prednisolone and see how it goes,l I am scared that maybe if I did the surgery the prednisolone wont work anymore.

 

[quiet]

Hi

I think that is a wise choice. If things are going okay right now, why upset everything and put your cat through the stress of surgery, anesthesia and the risk of infection.

Any time the body is cut into it stresses the immune system and the entire cat. Not to mention the trauma and pain of it all for your cat. Also once the prednisolone is started and then stopped, it never works as well as it did the first time.

So, your cat has lost a little bit over half a pound in the last month? That is allot of weight for a cat to lose. I would be concerned if it was my cat. That is definitely something that the vet needs to know about.

Are you sure about that weight? is that on your scale or the vets scale. If your scale, do you know that the vets scale is accurate?

One easy simple way I figure it is: Small person weight 100lbs, average size cat weight 10lbs. So a 0.66 lb weight loss in a cat is like a 100lb person losing 6 1/2 lbs in a month. Not all that crazy but still alarming if that person was not trying to lose weight. It is always cause for concern when any animal or person loses weight unintentionally.

A follow up ultrasound will show basically the area it showed before but if there are any changes.

Ultrasounds are extremely subjective. An ultrasound is only as good as the veterinarian preforming it. It is always in the best interest to have a specialist preform and read an ultrasound as opposed to a regular veterinarian who might only be doing 10 ultrasounds in a week.  A specialist may do over 100 in a week.

As for the food, your cat just needs to eat right now. I would try to keep the same food so as not to upset her GI system. If you switch foods it can cause GI upset. Hard to do when they don't want to eat. One thing that has worked for me is to use the Gerber baby food, blue and white label. I check the ingredients to be sure there is only the meat, water, and maybe citric acid and corn starch in it. I will often use that as a substitute food if they don't want to eat. When I really need something to get them interested in food I have found the fancy feast gravy lovers to be a food few cats will turn down as it is full of the gravy that cats when ill will still eat. They will lap up the gravy pretty well. The food itself is also not the best in the world, but them eating crap is better than them not eating at all.

One thing important to realize with cats that have GI upset is that if they are ill after eating a food they will associate the food with being sick and won't want to eat that food again. So, don't offer it again. Also don't offer a bunch of different foods at a time. just put out a small amount of no more than two types of food. Also don't hover when feeding and don't make a big deal about them eating. Just put the food down in the normal when healthy cat place, and go do something else. Check to see if they have consumed any of the food and if not pick it up, if so leave what is left there. Don't let a cat go even 24 hours without eating as it can cause fatty liver disease, hepatic lipidosis.

I have also found the Z/D to cause GI upset. It is impossible (at least in my experience it seems so) to get a vet to realize that the prescription diets they swear by are crap. So no point in discussing it.

Easier said than done, but try not to be stressed around your cat. Try to keep the happy thoughts in your head. Cats know if you are upset and it upsets them. Don't let them get stressed as stress is very bad for them, and you.

Are you doing sub q fluids at home? It might be a good idea to bring it up to your vet.

I sure hope your kitty is doing better by now.

 

[stephenq]

While avoiding GI upset is important, so is gaining weight and a food that strikes a good balance is W/D as it has fiber to Osborn water to prevent diarrhea and can help with weight gain.

300 grams is a lot as others have said. Has the cat been on the Pred the entire month? Was the weight taken when she was put on the Pred? What you really want to know is has the Pred arrested the weight loss which it should do within 2 weeks of starting it if it's working. A one month weight check that is partly on Pred and partly not doesn't tell us a whole lot. Can you remind us what the dose is that your cat is getting?

 

[arinlars]

Hi all,

So I am giving her 0.25mg every two days the past month but I will call the vet today and change her dose. I found pink color in her poop. It was kind soft so when I scooped it it seemed weird.

I think she lost weight because of the food she was eating maybe. Now I changed it or rather mix it with another food she seems to like. She likes pate a lot so I try and find foods that are ok for her and pate like texture. My heart is going to fall apart I am a mess only crying.. I don't know how to help her..

I will try the baby food maybe that will change something. Thank you for your replies.

I check her documents I went to 3 vets in the past 3 months. They all wrote 3.7 and 3.6 kg. so yes she lost weight. I cannot understand though she is eating all day and a lot.. That only means one thing to me... And I am so scared and lost.. How could this happened?? If only I did the surgery Before the prednisolone. I am feeling so bad and guilty.

 

[quiet]

What would the surgery have helped? The drugs for lymphoma are not going to cure it. Allot depends on what kind of lymphoma, but in all my experience the one cat I did see go into a full on remission for about 5 years died of abdominal tumor growing back after surgery and renal failure from all the chemo drugs.

 

[stephenq]

Hi all,

So I am giving her 0.25mg every two days the past month but I will call the vet today and change her dose. I found pink color in her poop. It was kind soft so when I scooped it it seemed weird.

I think she lost weight because of the food she was eating maybe. Now I changed it or rather mix it with another food she seems to like. She likes pate a lot so I try and find foods that are ok for her and pate like texture. My heart is going to fall apart I am a mess only crying.. I don't know how to help her..

I will try the baby food maybe that will change something. Thank you for your replies.

I check her documents I went to 3 vets in the past 3 months. They all wrote 3.7 and 3.6 kg. so yes she lost weight. I cannot understand though she is eating all day and a lot.. That only means one thing to me... And I am so scared and lost.. How could this happened?? If only I did the surgery Before the prednisolone. I am feeling so bad and guilty.

Hi @arinlars

If I'm understanding your post correctly, 1/4mg is a negligible dose.  That can't really be the dose, thats like nothing.  A conservative dose would be 5mg daily, or higher for an otherwise healthy cat.  My cat is on 5mg daily, a low dose because of kidney issues, but a high enough dose to keep him at weight and in remission.  If he didn't have kidney issues they might have started him at 10mg.  1/4mg - if that is what he's really getting - is like giving him nothing.  I am totally confused by your treatment protocal.

 

[jclark]

Personally I would confirm the dose of pred as the Vet may have made an error in the calculation.

My 15 yr old Main Coon is on liquid prednislone (1 CC every other day). He started a year ago on 2cc every day for a month then the dosage and frequency slowly decreased over time. He was about 8lbs at the time.

We opted for forgoe a biopsy due to the his age (14 at the time) and he continues to responded to the pred.

We have had good results with Nature's Variety Instinct. No vomiting and I rotate proteins daily.

 

[arinlars]

The vet chose that plan it seemed ok to me because I had no idea about meds etc.. I will call him in a few hours to change the dose and ask him about everything.

Poor Mimi she was in this meatloaf position and purring without me touching her. She ate though which is good. Now I'm at work and I keep thinking I should have stayed at home... I hope she will be ok without me there.