It would at least help with the fish allergy. You could see over a week how it works out. You could try a month for the esophagus issues.
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When Do You Know It's Time?
- Thread starter huxleysmom
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Update on my little dude.
I have put him back on Zyrtec and he is awake more hours in the day, is stlightly more alert (for example he has more interest in the birds and squirrels outside whereas before he could not have cared less, and he played for a few minutes yesterday) and eats better, though it takes him longer when there is medicine in it. Can't say I blame him though. However, he still remains nauseous and generally lies down or stays in the same position, not moving much. When he tries to half-heartedly play, he starts licking his lips instantly.
I have started talking to a third doctor in the practice (interestingly enough, I was told that the first one who followed him until July no longer works there!)
I actually like this new vet very much. He is much more opened to the "let's try new things and see what happens" approach, and also seems ok with me mentioning drugs and treatments I found online. He says at this point experimenting is our only option so I think I am going to stick with this one for now.
Our new plan is to drop Cerenia (as it is not mentioned in any research I have done to treat oesophagitis or any oesophagal illnesses, and have upped his pepcid to 1/2 pill twice a day. It seems like a lot, but he confirmed it is within recommended veterany use. We've worked out what we will add on Monday if this has not done much to help him over the weekend. It's a drug called Carafate, which kind of works like Slippery Elm by coating the whole stomach and oesophagus lining, but a lot stronger. If it looks like Pepcid still isn't working, we'll move on to a different kind of anti-acid meds recommended for oesophagus diseases.
I am at least hopeful now that we have different possibilities of treatments and someone who is willing to give different medical plans a chance. Huxley also seems to be getting used to me pilling him, he still hates the actual pilling of course, but he is not afraid of me during the day anymore so we may be able to maintain our relationship.
All I hope is that he has not reached the point where he now has strictures in his oesophagus as the prognosis for that is not good since our chances of helping him get better without actual medical procedures at this point would be very slim.
Fingers crossed.
I have put him back on Zyrtec and he is awake more hours in the day, is stlightly more alert (for example he has more interest in the birds and squirrels outside whereas before he could not have cared less, and he played for a few minutes yesterday) and eats better, though it takes him longer when there is medicine in it. Can't say I blame him though. However, he still remains nauseous and generally lies down or stays in the same position, not moving much. When he tries to half-heartedly play, he starts licking his lips instantly.
I have started talking to a third doctor in the practice (interestingly enough, I was told that the first one who followed him until July no longer works there!)
I actually like this new vet very much. He is much more opened to the "let's try new things and see what happens" approach, and also seems ok with me mentioning drugs and treatments I found online. He says at this point experimenting is our only option so I think I am going to stick with this one for now.
Our new plan is to drop Cerenia (as it is not mentioned in any research I have done to treat oesophagitis or any oesophagal illnesses, and have upped his pepcid to 1/2 pill twice a day. It seems like a lot, but he confirmed it is within recommended veterany use. We've worked out what we will add on Monday if this has not done much to help him over the weekend. It's a drug called Carafate, which kind of works like Slippery Elm by coating the whole stomach and oesophagus lining, but a lot stronger. If it looks like Pepcid still isn't working, we'll move on to a different kind of anti-acid meds recommended for oesophagus diseases.
I am at least hopeful now that we have different possibilities of treatments and someone who is willing to give different medical plans a chance. Huxley also seems to be getting used to me pilling him, he still hates the actual pilling of course, but he is not afraid of me during the day anymore so we may be able to maintain our relationship.
All I hope is that he has not reached the point where he now has strictures in his oesophagus as the prognosis for that is not good since our chances of helping him get better without actual medical procedures at this point would be very slim.
Fingers crossed.
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Sucralfate/carafate might be a great idea, it helps ulceration and inflammation and discomfort by coating the stomach and other GI tract lining (like the esophagus, etc) and gives ulcers or inflammation time to heal. My last cat had a bout of stomach ulcers in 2005 and the use of sucralfate helped her, she really improved on it. You have to give sucralfate on an empty stomach, approx 1-2 hours before a meal, so it can coat the GI tract before the meal. Sometimes cats will just drink up the sucralfate slurry and no syringing is needed. I hope Huxley has good luck with it, if that's what you decide to try!
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Huxley is making a lot of progress! He is now actively playing (chasing the wand mouse and all) and it makes me so happy to see him do that! I think the Zyrtec is dedinitely helping. The 10mg of Pepcid is making some difference, at least for the first 5 or 6 hours after he has taken it, but it certainly doesn't remove it all, especially when he is playing. It seems that any kind of activity and fast movements definitely make him more nauseous.
I think I'll try the Carafate although I wonder how that would work in terms of adminitering it, since a) it's liquid and that will FREAK him out, and b) it has to be given well before of after giving other meds. Not a problem while I am on vacation, but definitely an issue once I'll start working. I guess it'll depend if I also have to give him Pepcid in the morning. We'll see what the vet says tomorrow, but tonight, I am so happy. He is playing again!!!!
I think I'll try the Carafate although I wonder how that would work in terms of adminitering it, since a) it's liquid and that will FREAK him out, and b) it has to be given well before of after giving other meds. Not a problem while I am on vacation, but definitely an issue once I'll start working. I guess it'll depend if I also have to give him Pepcid in the morning. We'll see what the vet says tomorrow, but tonight, I am so happy. He is playing again!!!!
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Update on Huxley:
He has now been eating 100% homemade diet of cooked pork for a week now and is doing great. I have not heard him wheeze as much (and when he does, it's very faint and only lasts a few seconds), his bowel movements seem more regular (I may need to stop or lower his Slippery Elm intake as things were a tad loosy goosy in the box yesterday) and he is more alert and awake throughout the day. When he plays, he is fully active and I am so happy to see him chase the wand toy and jump around the house to catch it! He continues to lick his lips though and sometimes gulps when he swallows, butI haven't seen him actually have bad reflux. He is also eating all of his meds with food without any problems and I was able to leave him at home, with a friend coming to feed him while I was away on a school trip this week. Things are looking up! Fingers crossed it keeps going this way
He has now been eating 100% homemade diet of cooked pork for a week now and is doing great. I have not heard him wheeze as much (and when he does, it's very faint and only lasts a few seconds), his bowel movements seem more regular (I may need to stop or lower his Slippery Elm intake as things were a tad loosy goosy in the box yesterday) and he is more alert and awake throughout the day. When he plays, he is fully active and I am so happy to see him chase the wand toy and jump around the house to catch it! He continues to lick his lips though and sometimes gulps when he swallows, butI haven't seen him actually have bad reflux. He is also eating all of his meds with food without any problems and I was able to leave him at home, with a friend coming to feed him while I was away on a school trip this week. Things are looking up! Fingers crossed it keeps going this way
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Woot!
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After doing so well since starting on home-cooked food, it looks like Huxley is heading for another flare up of whatever it is that he has. The timing is almost always the same, it happens every 4 weeks or so. It starts with him not eating well in the morning to start with, and inevitably goes on with him not wanting to eat at all. He becomes very lethargic and looks depressed. Inevitably, I end up having to being him to the vet and they board him for a few very expensive days and send him bacj. I don't understand.
I am sill paying for last month's vet bills of over $1500, I cannot afford to do this again (nor the boarding or more expensive tests to figure out what the heck this could be).
The adoption manager at the shelter has ignored my emails so i just emailed the shelter director to see if I get anything from him.
I don't know what to do. If this gets bad again, I may have to bring him back to them. They may be able to give him a better life that I can afford. It is the LAST thing I want to do, but I have tried everything else I can possibly do.
This breaks my heart.
I am sill paying for last month's vet bills of over $1500, I cannot afford to do this again (nor the boarding or more expensive tests to figure out what the heck this could be).
The adoption manager at the shelter has ignored my emails so i just emailed the shelter director to see if I get anything from him.
I don't know what to do. If this gets bad again, I may have to bring him back to them. They may be able to give him a better life that I can afford. It is the LAST thing I want to do, but I have tried everything else I can possibly do.
This breaks my heart.
huxleysmom
I cannot see my life without my cats. I admire you for going tru these health issues. I look at your thread title...Are you still asking yourself the same question?Its also about you...you need to be happy ;/
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I am torn because I wonder if someone (or the shelter) who could afford to help him may be able to give him a better life if they can figure out what is wrong with him. I just don't know that even during a flare up, he is bad enough that I can actually justify putting him down. I so want him to be healthy and happy, but I cannot seem to be able to keep him stable for more than a month. On the other hand, he is such a loving cat, I would hate for him to spend the rest of his life in a cage a shelter as I doubt a cat with such a long medical record would get adopted.
I love him, I really do, and I have tried everything I can to help him, but it is affecting my life too. I have debts for the first time ever, and if this continue they will only get worse, I leave for trips for weeks at a time and cannot do that if I have a sick cat at home. So I don't know what to do. I really don't.
I just spoke to a friend and have decided to see if he can get over this flare on his own. If he does, then I'll know it's something we can mamage. If not, I'll have to consider my options... and both suck!
I love him, I really do, and I have tried everything I can to help him, but it is affecting my life too. I have debts for the first time ever, and if this continue they will only get worse, I leave for trips for weeks at a time and cannot do that if I have a sick cat at home. So I don't know what to do. I really don't.
I just spoke to a friend and have decided to see if he can get over this flare on his own. If he does, then I'll know it's something we can mamage. If not, I'll have to consider my options... and both suck!
Its also about you...you need to be happy ;/
each cats are special..if you want to travel or traveling a lot , a cat isnt the ideal pet. I was also a traveling /back pack kind of person. woke up one day with a stray cat likcing my ears. 13 years later, its worth it. I could not live without my cats...i dont know about u
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Traveling a couple of times a year for a few weeks at a time is fine if I have a healthy cat. I always have someone staying in my apt with him while I am away. Findind someone who is willing to house sit and take care of a sick cat is much more challenging. I am more worried about the financial aspect of things and not being able to care for his medical needs.
This is the last thing you'd want to hear but I've decided that my 16 yr old cat has been through enough blood tests. I am waiting for the day when her medacine stops working and steroid shots don't help. I do not want her to suffer. She does not eat as much as she used to. I wish your vet could find out what's wrong with Huxley since it would help you decide what to do. 11 to 5 pds, bone skinny. Bi colored to calico
Loudest purr of my 3 cats also my avatar
Loudest purr of my 3 cats also my avatar
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There have been times when she stops eating and seems lethargic but after a few days things are back to normal. I think she is loosing her sense of taste so I have to tempt her with Bonito flakes
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huxleysmom
I think returning him to the shelter is the worst of the options. There is no way a shelter can afford these type of vet bills either. If they were to spend that much money on him, how many cats could not be provided for in return? A shelter does have to put the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the one. He wouldn't live his life in a cage, he'd be put down.I can understand that money is limited. We don't have health insurance on our pets like we do for humans, where they basically have an unlimited ceiling and there's a point where the human no longer has a copay.
But the most important question is Huxley's body and mind. If these flareups are lasting a week or more every four weeks, what is his quality of life? Can he continue to be happy, or is the misery too much for him? Since you are the only one there, only you can answer that. I'm going to ask the same question that I did in my first post - is this the way you would want to live?
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arouetta
These are the very questions I have been asking myself. When he is in a "good phase" he seems content, though he is generally much less active than when I first got him, and always licks his lips. During his bad phases however, he spends most of his time sleeping or lying on his side. The stress of trying to manage this has really gotten to me, and as is (with these recurring flare ups) I do not see myself continuing like that. I have reached out to the shelter, to see if they would at least help me access veterinary care with the usual discount shelters get. If they say yes, then we'll see if we can do this endoscopy to check his oesophagus. However, if they find something wrong with it, I'll have to find the money to fix it/ treat it. If they say no, I'll see if I can at least prevent the flare up to be too bad. At one point however, I know I'll have to make this hard decision. Mostly I am very angry at the shelter for putting me in such a horrible and heartbreaking situation in the first place.
Gofundme might be able to help with the cost.
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The shelter has answered me. They will not help me keep him. The only thing they suggest is for me to surrender him back to them. I feel like such a failure.
Oh, hon. I'm so sorry to hear about these recent developments.
You're definitely not a failure. Sometimes our hearts are bigger than our wallets, and even though we'd always like to be able to provide the very best for our fur babies, we just have to do the best we can. You've done a wonderful job of loving Huxley and taking care of him under very difficult circumstances, and I know Huxley knows that, and loves and appreciates you and everything you do for him.
Our family has a knack for taking in cats with serious health issues, and when I feel like an abysmal failure for not being able to do enough, I try remind myself that we have loved these cats with all our hearts when no one else would, and I find some comfort in that.
God bless you and Huxley, and I'll keep you in my prayers.
