Followup No. 3 on Moses ... good news!

Cytology report from the needle aspiration came back, no cancer, his liver
is just inflamed. That's nothing to say "hip hip hooray" about, mind you,
but at least there was no cancer and we can get started on a regimen of
treatment.

I talked with my vet today after getting the test results from the
internist. This is our main vet who has specifically treated Moses during
this time, the vet we saw yesterday was someone else in the practice who is
also a top-notch vet but as I said the one I talked with today (who was out
of the office yesterday) is the one who has pretty much been handling this
case.

He made it a perfect four-for-four in agreeing with me, the internist and
the vet who saw Moses yesterday that because of the thickening of the bowel
that showed up on the ultrasound, we are going to go ahead and start
treating him as if he had inflammatory bowel disease. He has some Prednisone
waiting for me at the receptionist's that I've got to pick up first thing in
the a.m.

We're also going to continue him on the Metronidazole at least for the time
being.

We're also going to try to continue him on the Hill's i/d food, although
after his initial burst of hunger following his fast for the medical
procedures, he's been a little picky at eating that, I've had to mix in a
bit of his regular food to try to prod him into eating it.

And we're going to wait for the results of the thyroid and pancreas tests.

An aside to Phil P., we did do the "send it off" thyroid test this time
instead of just the screen.

After researching things, I figured it was hyperthyroidism as well, because
he's showing textbook symptoms of it, which is why it surprised me that two
thyroid tests came back showing no problems. But we did have the test done
that you recommended ... the internist recommended it and the pancreas test
.... so if there's a problem there hopefully we'll find it out this time.

As far as vomiting and diarrhea, these have been sporadic problems for Moses
all his life, although they've gotten a bit worse in his sickly condition
(the internist described him on the report as being "emaciated"). He has
always been prone to hack up every now and then, has been prone to hairball
problems and is prone to hack up because he's always tended to eat his food
like a hog at a trough, not like a cat, in other words a bit too rapidly.

His BMs have always been a bit problematic as well. He has always, since he
was a kitten, had rather loose stools. Occasionally he'll have diarrhea, but
it's usually not quite to that point, just basically looser than pretty much
any other cat I've ever had. But other times his stools are quite normal as
far as consistency, etc.

It makes me kind of wonder if he's had underlying intestinal problems all
his life, but they didn't manifest themselves when he was a young, frisky,
energetic cat and they're starting to manifest themselves now in his
geriatric years.

One more thing ... if anyone has any experience dealing with IBD, as far as
food recommendations or herbal/holistic recommendations (I'm certainly
willing to try that), I'd appreciate the input. Because even if the more
detailed thyroid report does show a thyroid problem that has his liver
screwed up, we've still got the indications of IBD showing up on the
ultrasound.

Thanks!

Glad to hear the news. I hope your cat gets better.

--
Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com

Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com
"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
ink.net...
Cytology report from the needle aspiration came back, no cancer, his liver
is just inflamed. That's nothing to say "hip hip hooray" about, mind you,
but at least there was no cancer and we can get started on a regimen of
treatment.

I talked with my vet today after getting the test results from the
internist. This is our main vet who has specifically treated Moses during
this time, the vet we saw yesterday was someone else in the practice who
is
also a top-notch vet but as I said the one I talked with today (who was
out
of the office yesterday) is the one who has pretty much been handling this
case.

He made it a perfect four-for-four in agreeing with me, the internist and
the vet who saw Moses yesterday that because of the thickening of the
bowel
that showed up on the ultrasound, we are going to go ahead and start
treating him as if he had inflammatory bowel disease. He has some
Prednisone
waiting for me at the receptionist's that I've got to pick up first thing
in
the a.m.

We're also going to continue him on the Metronidazole at least for the
time
being.

We're also going to try to continue him on the Hill's i/d food, although
after his initial burst of hunger following his fast for the medical
procedures, he's been a little picky at eating that, I've had to mix in a
bit of his regular food to try to prod him into eating it.

And we're going to wait for the results of the thyroid and pancreas tests.

An aside to Phil P., we did do the "send it off" thyroid test this time
instead of just the screen.

After researching things, I figured it was hyperthyroidism as well,
because
he's showing textbook symptoms of it, which is why it surprised me that
two
thyroid tests came back showing no problems. But we did have the test done
that you recommended ... the internist recommended it and the pancreas
test
... so if there's a problem there hopefully we'll find it out this time.

As far as vomiting and diarrhea, these have been sporadic problems for
Moses
all his life, although they've gotten a bit worse in his sickly condition
(the internist described him on the report as being "emaciated"). He has
always been prone to hack up every now and then, has been prone to
hairball
problems and is prone to hack up because he's always tended to eat his
food
like a hog at a trough, not like a cat, in other words a bit too rapidly.

His BMs have always been a bit problematic as well. He has always, since
he
was a kitten, had rather loose stools. Occasionally he'll have diarrhea,
but
it's usually not quite to that point, just basically looser than pretty
much
any other cat I've ever had. But other times his stools are quite normal
as
far as consistency, etc.

It makes me kind of wonder if he's had underlying intestinal problems all
his life, but they didn't manifest themselves when he was a young, frisky,
energetic cat and they're starting to manifest themselves now in his
geriatric years.

One more thing ... if anyone has any experience dealing with IBD, as far
as
food recommendations or herbal/holistic recommendations (I'm certainly
willing to try that), I'd appreciate the input. Because even if the more
detailed thyroid report does show a thyroid problem that has his liver
screwed up, we've still got the indications of IBD showing up on the
ultrasound.

Thanks!

Gregory Bailey wrote:
Cytology report from the needle aspiration came back, no cancer, his
liver
is just inflamed. That's nothing to say "hip hip hooray" about, mind
you,
but at least there was no cancer and we can get started on a regimen
of
treatment.
Yay! I'm glad you have a treatment plan. best of luck to you,
-L.

I'm dealing with virtually the same scenario. There is a Yahoo group for
feline IBD:

Subscribe:


"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
ink.net...
Cytology report from the needle aspiration came back, no cancer, his liver
is just inflamed. That's nothing to say "hip hip hooray" about, mind you,
but at least there was no cancer and we can get started on a regimen of
treatment.

I talked with my vet today after getting the test results from the
internist. This is our main vet who has specifically treated Moses during
this time, the vet we saw yesterday was someone else in the practice who
is
also a top-notch vet but as I said the one I talked with today (who was
out
of the office yesterday) is the one who has pretty much been handling this
case.

He made it a perfect four-for-four in agreeing with me, the internist and
the vet who saw Moses yesterday that because of the thickening of the
bowel
that showed up on the ultrasound, we are going to go ahead and start
treating him as if he had inflammatory bowel disease. He has some
Prednisone
waiting for me at the receptionist's that I've got to pick up first thing
in
the a.m.

We're also going to continue him on the Metronidazole at least for the
time
being.

We're also going to try to continue him on the Hill's i/d food, although
after his initial burst of hunger following his fast for the medical
procedures, he's been a little picky at eating that, I've had to mix in a
bit of his regular food to try to prod him into eating it.

And we're going to wait for the results of the thyroid and pancreas tests.

An aside to Phil P., we did do the "send it off" thyroid test this time
instead of just the screen.

After researching things, I figured it was hyperthyroidism as well,
because
he's showing textbook symptoms of it, which is why it surprised me that
two
thyroid tests came back showing no problems. But we did have the test done
that you recommended ... the internist recommended it and the pancreas
test
... so if there's a problem there hopefully we'll find it out this time.

As far as vomiting and diarrhea, these have been sporadic problems for
Moses
all his life, although they've gotten a bit worse in his sickly condition
(the internist described him on the report as being "emaciated"). He has
always been prone to hack up every now and then, has been prone to
hairball
problems and is prone to hack up because he's always tended to eat his
food
like a hog at a trough, not like a cat, in other words a bit too rapidly.

His BMs have always been a bit problematic as well. He has always, since
he
was a kitten, had rather loose stools. Occasionally he'll have diarrhea,
but
it's usually not quite to that point, just basically looser than pretty
much
any other cat I've ever had. But other times his stools are quite normal
as
far as consistency, etc.

It makes me kind of wonder if he's had underlying intestinal problems all
his life, but they didn't manifest themselves when he was a young, frisky,
energetic cat and they're starting to manifest themselves now in his
geriatric years.

One more thing ... if anyone has any experience dealing with IBD, as far
as
food recommendations or herbal/holistic recommendations (I'm certainly
willing to try that), I'd appreciate the input. Because even if the more
detailed thyroid report does show a thyroid problem that has his liver
screwed up, we've still got the indications of IBD showing up on the
ultrasound.

Thanks!

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
ink.net...
One more thing ... if anyone has any experience dealing with IBD, as far
as
food recommendations or herbal/holistic recommendations (I'm certainly
willing to try that), I'd appreciate the input. Because even if the more
detailed thyroid report does show a thyroid problem that has his liver
screwed up, we've still got the indications of IBD showing up on the
ultrasound.

What you are going through sounds eerily similar to Dash, although I don't
think she had any liver problems, but I can't say for certain. She also was
hyperthyroid.
Many people here swear by Wellness canned food only as a diet for IBD cats.
Unfortunately, I never got to try it with Dash, I was still trying the
various dry prescription foods. The reason Wellness works is that it is
grain-free, which causes less irritation to the intestines (do I have that
right IBD people?)

Good luck, and I'm really happy to hear it's not the c-word.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

Wow. You knew it wouldn't be a "all healthy" report so as far as reports go,
this is way better!! I'm very glad for you and please, please keep us
updated.

"Gregory Bailey" wrote:

One more thing ... if anyone has any experience dealing with IBD, as far as
food recommendations or herbal/holistic recommendations (I'm certainly
willing to try that),

This is great news Gregory!

I wouldn't try any holistic voodoo without running it past your vet
first.

-mhd

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
ink.net...
Cytology report from the needle aspiration came back, no cancer, his liver
is just inflamed. That's nothing to say "hip hip hooray" about, mind you,
but at least there was no cancer and we can get started on a regimen of
treatment.

I talked with my vet today after getting the test results from the
internist. This is our main vet who has specifically treated Moses during
this time, the vet we saw yesterday was someone else in the practice who
is
also a top-notch vet but as I said the one I talked with today (who was
out
of the office yesterday) is the one who has pretty much been handling this
case.

He made it a perfect four-for-four in agreeing with me, the internist and
the vet who saw Moses yesterday that because of the thickening of the
bowel
that showed up on the ultrasound, we are going to go ahead and start
treating him as if he had inflammatory bowel disease. He has some
Prednisone
waiting for me at the receptionist's that I've got to pick up first thing
in
the a.m.

We're also going to continue him on the Metronidazole at least for the
time
being.

We're also going to try to continue him on the Hill's i/d food, although
after his initial burst of hunger following his fast for the medical
procedures, he's been a little picky at eating that, I've had to mix in a
bit of his regular food to try to prod him into eating it.

And we're going to wait for the results of the thyroid and pancreas tests.

So far, so good, fine-tuning the diagnosis. I'm glad your internist's
appt. was productive. Once the other test results are back, the vets can
continue to narrow down what the root(s) of the problem is(are), & tailor
the treatment better & better to his needs. Continued good luck!

Cathy

First and foremost, I'm very glad to hear that you have been to the
specialist and are looking at what is a treatable issue and not likely
to be cancer!

One more thing ... if anyone has any
experience dealing with IBD, as far as
food recommendations or herbal/holistic
recommendations (I'm certainly willing to
try that), I'd appreciate the input. Because
even if the more detailed thyroid report
does show a thyroid problem that has his
liver screwed up, we've still got the
indications of IBD showing up on the
ultrasound.

What have you been feeding your cat up until now? Dry food only? If so
what kind?
Most dry foods contain corn and other types of grains that can create
problems for IBD cats. Both of the Science Diet i/d prescription diets
contain corn, which is a big no-no for most IBD cats and IMO you're
better off using a *canned* commercial food with no grains or doing a
lot of research and making a homemade diet for your cat. Prescription
diets are not a magic bullet, and I will not use them because they are
full of crap ingredients. I've had many cats over the years with various
health issues and I've always been able to find alternatives that work
as well or better.

Wellness canned is an excellent food that contains no grains and is used
by a lot of people on the Yahoo IBD list. That may be a good place to
start, but I would suggest you start with only one or two flavors such
as chicken and turkey and see how your cat tolerates those before
expanding to any other flavors. You can find a store that carries it by
going to http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com and using their store locator
function. It would also definitely be a good idea to use digestive
enzymes to help him to better absorb nutrients. Adding slippery elm can
be useful too as it can help calm inflamed intestines.

I also highly recommend you read this website, which is maintained by a
woman who has a cat with IBD that, after miserable failures using
prescription foods, has been cured with a homemade diet:
http://www.catnutrition.org
Many people on the Yahoo IBD list have had great success using homemade
diets as well, and I think these may very well be your best options.

Good luck and please keep us posted on your kitty's progress.

Megan



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"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
ink.net...
Cytology report from the needle aspiration came back, no cancer, his liver
is just inflamed. That's nothing to say "hip hip hooray" about, mind you,
but at least there was no cancer and we can get started on a regimen of
treatment.


Kudos to you for trying so hard to give Moses the best treatment
he can get. I really hope he recovers and has more good years
to enjoy.