Voracious Ravenous-itis with stomach cancer

[cearbhaill]

Anyone else ever run into this?

I have a 15 year old boy with a soft diagnosis of stomach cancer. No biopsies or scans were done but my vet feels secure in the Dx via bloodwork and symptoms- this took place in July of last year so six months ago.
Now- as long as I keep him fed he seems to be relatively OK- still rapidly losing weight, but behaviorally mostly fine.
The thing is "keeping him fed" means feeding him every 90 minutes to two hours and this is day and night.
I've been managing him this way since July.

If allowed to get hungry he gets super weird- cruising high places obviously searching for something, eating cobwebs, licking walls, scratching at windows, etc. He becomes literally repulsed by food and will run and even fight if I try to offer him anything. After a period of an hour or so he will vomit and then moan for fifteen minutes. After that he will eat and then be normal for another 90 minutes or so until he wants food again.
WEIRD, I know.

Initially he was on prednisolone but we thought that might have been contributing to his appetite so we weaned him off it.
At that time he was wanting food every three hours or so which was fine. But the periods between meals have been steadily decreasing and he's been on the "Two Hour Plan" for a bit now. Just this past week its gone down to 90 minutes- again day and night. He's gotten really good at waking me up
I can't leave food sitting out due to other pets.

I know he is on his last legs here- he went into all of this at 15 lbs and is just under 10 lbs.now despite all this food. Vet agrees that we are simply watching and waiting until his time comes but husband and I are terribly conflicted about pulling the plug on him.
I'm looking at 7+ cans of food per day and it's getting expensive as well as exhausting. I am retired and able to give the time, but the nightly getting up all the time is wearing on me. He is largely OK as long as I can keep this up and "I'm tired" doesn't feel like a good reason to euthanize a cat.
But again, I just don't know how much longer I can do this. It will hurt just as bad in another month as it would tomorrow, so delaying the inevitable makes no sense either.

There is something about a full stomach that is soothing to him. He's comfortable as long as he eats every 90 minutes but golly this is consuming my life.
I'm so torn.

Just wanting to hear if anyone else has ever experienced anything even remotely like this?

 

[susanm9006]

I haven’t, but I am so sorry about your boy. But I was wondering whether he can eat dry kibble? It would at least give him something to nibble on and perhaps spread out his need for soft food for longer periods.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Have you considered a second opinion just to see if another vet might think it is something other than cancer? You can get copies of all of his records to share with a second vet, reducing redundant tests/costs. I assume he was tested for hyperthyroidism, and possibly even a B12 deficiency?

You could also consider a feeder that can be activated by a chip or collar so that only he can open it to eat whenever he wants? They have feeders for both dry and wet foods.

Did the Pred help at all? Since you now know that it wasn't the meds causing him to be so hungry, would it be worth putting him back on it?

 

[cearbhaill]

But I was wondering whether he can eat dry kibble?

It's offered very often but he will very rarely eat it. It's the pricey wet food he craves.

Hi. Have you considered a second opinion just to see if another vet might think it is something other than cancer? You can get copies of all of his records to share with a second vet, reducing redundant tests/costs. I assume he was tested for hyperthyroidism, and possibly even a B12 deficiency?

You could also consider a feeder that can be activated by a chip or collar so that only he can open it to eat whenever he wants? They have feeders for both dry and wet foods.

Did the Pred help at all? Since you now know that it wasn't the meds causing him to be so hungry, would it be worth putting him back on it?

This is the second vet. Not that I was unhappy with the first but had wanted to switch anyway so took this opportunity.
Yes, all tests done twice.
Can't use a feeder. I have another cat (litter brother) that vomits if he eats too much and he's always waiting for an opportunity. I've catered to that weirdness all these years, never got a firm diagnosis on him either although it presents like mega-esophagus.
And it's an open floor plan so no doors/rooms.

The meds thing is an option I guess. It doesn't offer me any hope on the scheduling though which is what's wearing on me.

Mainly interested if anyone else has ever experienced this sort of eating pattern.

 

[jefferd18]

Not cancer, but a form of Crohn's disease. I ended up isolating her in one of my bedrooms so she could have access to food anytime she wanted it.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Can't use a feeder. I have another cat (litter brother) that vomits if he eats too much and he's always waiting for an opportunity. I've catered to that weirdness all these years, never got a firm diagnosis on him either although it presents like mega-esophagus.
And it's an open floor plan so no doors/rooms.

When I mentioned a feeder, I was thinking of one that is operated by a chip in a collar on the cat. The cat that is wearing the collar with the chip in it is the only one the feeder will open for. Or, are you suggesting the little brother would 'bully' his way in to eat when he sees his brother eating?

 

[Pouncecat1]

My cat has possible small cell lymphoma in the GI tract. I would try prednisolone with chlorambucil if you can afford it. I was worried about my cat being on the chemotherapy, but he has gained over 1 lb with the medication. Only throws up about once a week at this point.

if the treatment doesn't offer any improvement, i would euthanize. That sounds miserable. The problem is cancer only gets worse and worse without treatment. I said goodbye to my Isabelle when she stopped eating. Yes she could have survived longer, but she was growling and not wanting to do anything but lay in bed and not move.

 

[cearbhaill]

When I mentioned a feeder, I was thinking of one that is operated by a chip in a collar on the cat. Or, are you suggesting the little brother would 'bully' his way in to eat when he sees his brother eating?

Yes.
Or if sick boy didn't finish- it only takes a teaspoon too much to trigger regurgitation from brother.
Or the dogs start trying to get at it.
All the rooms with doors have reptiles, so no cats allowed.

And I know what it's like to try and answer questions and help someone one and them shooting down every suggestion. I don't mean to be that way, it's just that I have been "managing" within the contraints of my household and thought of most of this months ago.

My cat has possible small cell lymphoma in the GI tract. I would try prednisolone with chlorambucil if you can afford it. I was worried about my cat being on the chemotherapy, but he has gained over 1 lb with the medication. Only throws up about once a week at this point.

if the treatment doesn't offer any improvement, i would euthanize. That sounds miserable. The problem is cancer only gets worse and worse without treatment. I said goodbye to my Isabelle when she stopped eating. Yes she could have survived longer, but she was growling and not wanting to do anything but lay in bed and not move.

Thanks. I think we are there.
Seems we have new developments weekly and he's started throwing up right after meals a couple of times each day.
So in addition to the almost $200 a month just to feed one cat a good portion of it is ending up wasted.
And I don't want to medicate with anything that could affect the dogs eating the vomit.
Yeah, it's gross. The whole situation is horrible- sick boy has vile diarrhea and pooped on my pillow yesterday.

I've kept him going far longer than I thought I could but I think the gig is about up.