February 25th 09, 05:01 PM
Hi Group -
I need some help and/or encouragement with my nearly 4 year old
Siamese cat. He was diagnosed with Cryptococcus in late November 2008.
He's been on Itraconazole successfully for about 2 months.
At onset he had lumps on his body and a swollen wrist. No nasal or eye
discharge and he was otherwise normal and doing well. After the first
2 weeks on itraconazole, the lumps were gone and his wrist was doing
much better. After one month his bloodwork was good and xrays showed
bone regeneration in his wrist. At second month tests, same progress,
he was doing well...
Except he had lost 1 pound of weight. I did notice he was eating less
due to smaller deposits in the litter box, and it was obvious he had
lost some weight. He has always been a big cat, at one point was over
16#, so a little loss was not a bad thing. He's on Urinary SO both wet
and dry. My other Siamese had struvite crystals a few years ago, hence
the SO diet for both.
I was mixing the Itraconazole with his wet SO in the morning for the
first two months. He would eat it up and life was good. He was
responding well to the treatment at that point, now it's another
story. He will not eat wet food with or without the medication in it,
warmed or not, I've tried everything possible. Organic stinky stuff, C/
D, doesn't matter. He's a grazer and does hit the dry SO food a couple
times a day, but is not getting as much as he needs for sure. He only
eats a small number of kibbles at a time. Water intake has been
reduced as well. He's not himself most of the time, he was a vibrant
personality prior to the onset of the disease. Now he mopes around a
lot, sleeps a lot, and doesn't show much interest in playing or
roughousing with my other cat. They used to thrive on wrestling with
eachother several times a day.
To deal with dehydration I'm giving sub-q treatments, 100ml-150ml
depending. I have set up a video camera to monitor the food and water
bowls (fountains) while I'm sleeping or away. He drank water at 5:25am
today, at 5:55 I was awakened by him retching downstairs and found a
mucus like result. This has happened, that I know of, a few times over
the past couple of weeks.
I have stopped the Itraconazole temporarily as his lack of appetite
and interest in water seems related. The first break was 5 days and
included sub-q treatments and putting every kind of wet food
imaginable in front of him. He eventually started eating again, perked
up, and seemed better overall. I then began the Itraconazole again
(mixed in wet food) and this lasted only a few days before he stopped
eating it (with our without meds). At this point he's lost interest in
wet food completely.
Pilling is a nightmare and I'm a total failure at it. He does tolerate
the sub-q treatments. I wonder if I can switch him to Fluconazole
administered thru the sub-q? Seems Fluconazole has less side effects
than Itraconazole. I'm awaiting feedback from my Vet at this point.
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here. He needs his meds, but
he needs to eat too. The meds seem to be making him not want to eat.
He also seems to have serious ADD while drinking or eating. Even the
smallest of sounds causes him to stop and look away.
I need some help and/or encouragement with my nearly 4 year old
Siamese cat. He was diagnosed with Cryptococcus in late November 2008.
He's been on Itraconazole successfully for about 2 months.
At onset he had lumps on his body and a swollen wrist. No nasal or eye
discharge and he was otherwise normal and doing well. After the first
2 weeks on itraconazole, the lumps were gone and his wrist was doing
much better. After one month his bloodwork was good and xrays showed
bone regeneration in his wrist. At second month tests, same progress,
he was doing well...
Except he had lost 1 pound of weight. I did notice he was eating less
due to smaller deposits in the litter box, and it was obvious he had
lost some weight. He has always been a big cat, at one point was over
16#, so a little loss was not a bad thing. He's on Urinary SO both wet
and dry. My other Siamese had struvite crystals a few years ago, hence
the SO diet for both.
I was mixing the Itraconazole with his wet SO in the morning for the
first two months. He would eat it up and life was good. He was
responding well to the treatment at that point, now it's another
story. He will not eat wet food with or without the medication in it,
warmed or not, I've tried everything possible. Organic stinky stuff, C/
D, doesn't matter. He's a grazer and does hit the dry SO food a couple
times a day, but is not getting as much as he needs for sure. He only
eats a small number of kibbles at a time. Water intake has been
reduced as well. He's not himself most of the time, he was a vibrant
personality prior to the onset of the disease. Now he mopes around a
lot, sleeps a lot, and doesn't show much interest in playing or
roughousing with my other cat. They used to thrive on wrestling with
eachother several times a day.
To deal with dehydration I'm giving sub-q treatments, 100ml-150ml
depending. I have set up a video camera to monitor the food and water
bowls (fountains) while I'm sleeping or away. He drank water at 5:25am
today, at 5:55 I was awakened by him retching downstairs and found a
mucus like result. This has happened, that I know of, a few times over
the past couple of weeks.
I have stopped the Itraconazole temporarily as his lack of appetite
and interest in water seems related. The first break was 5 days and
included sub-q treatments and putting every kind of wet food
imaginable in front of him. He eventually started eating again, perked
up, and seemed better overall. I then began the Itraconazole again
(mixed in wet food) and this lasted only a few days before he stopped
eating it (with our without meds). At this point he's lost interest in
wet food completely.
Pilling is a nightmare and I'm a total failure at it. He does tolerate
the sub-q treatments. I wonder if I can switch him to Fluconazole
administered thru the sub-q? Seems Fluconazole has less side effects
than Itraconazole. I'm awaiting feedback from my Vet at this point.
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here. He needs his meds, but
he needs to eat too. The meds seem to be making him not want to eat.
He also seems to have serious ADD while drinking or eating. Even the
smallest of sounds causes him to stop and look away.