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#1
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Cat: Swollen lymph nodes
About two months ago, I adopted a kitten from a rescue center. When
she came home, she had very bad diarrhoea, passing no solid material whatsoever. I tried worming her and changing her diet, which in the short term didn't seem to have any affect. Referring this condition to the vet, his suggestion was that the diarrhoea could be stress related and would settle down. Over the past three weeks, the kitten's formation of faeces has greatly improved, and although not fully firm, resembles "normal" material, but more often than not is much softer than my other cat's bowel movements. The kitten has recently been spayed. During the operation, the veterinary surgeon noticed that the lymph nodes on the kitten's intestines were abnormally large. Apparently, the lymph nodes were the size of a cherry stone as opposed to the normal size of a lentil. As this raised the vet's concerns, he took the time during the operation to perform a test for FIV and Leukaemia. To my relief, the result of the tests was negative. Currently, the vet is administering antibiotics (an injection) every two days and monitoring progress in an attempt to address an intestinal bacterial infection. However, it is difficult to find any improvement of the kitten's bowel movement- and we no longer have the advantage of being able to examine the kitten's bowel lymph nodes through the abdominal opening available during the spaying operation. The situation now has raised questions as to why the cat's lymph nodes are so swollen, if this is indeed an issue, and what, if anything, can be done. Strangely enough, the kitten is bright, doesn't appear to be in any pain, is very playful and does not exhibit any signs of illness at all (other than soft bowel movements). I'm not in any way attempting to pass derogatory comments about my vet- in fact he an excellent track record and I would highly recommend him. However, I would be grateful for additional advice and opinions as to what could be causing the problem- if at all there is a problem. Thanks in advance for any advice. |
#2
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Cat: Swollen lymph nodes
Hi Ron,
I'm glad you're trying to get to the root of the problem. Did your vet do any blood tests? If not, I'd ask for a full work-up. For one thing, you want to see if there are any white blood cells from an infection. We had a cat with pancreatitus, which can cause constant diarrhea, and another cat that had the pan leukopenia virus (feline distemper.) There are so many things that could have that symptom, though. If a cause is not found after a blood test, I would get a second opinion from another vet. Not to be derogatory to your vet, but it sometimes takes a few creative minds to get to the bottom of some of the less-apparent causes. Let us know what happens, Rhonda Ron Hoaste wrote: About two months ago, I adopted a kitten from a rescue center. When she came home, she had very bad diarrhoea, passing no solid material whatsoever. I tried worming her and changing her diet, which in the short term didn't seem to have any affect. Referring this condition to the vet, his suggestion was that the diarrhoea could be stress related and would settle down. Over the past three weeks, the kitten's formation of faeces has greatly improved, and although not fully firm, resembles "normal" material, but more often than not is much softer than my other cat's bowel movements. The kitten has recently been spayed. During the operation, the veterinary surgeon noticed that the lymph nodes on the kitten's intestines were abnormally large. Apparently, the lymph nodes were the size of a cherry stone as opposed to the normal size of a lentil. As this raised the vet's concerns, he took the time during the operation to perform a test for FIV and Leukaemia. To my relief, the result of the tests was negative. Currently, the vet is administering antibiotics (an injection) every two days and monitoring progress in an attempt to address an intestinal bacterial infection. However, it is difficult to find any improvement of the kitten's bowel movement- and we no longer have the advantage of being able to examine the kitten's bowel lymph nodes through the abdominal opening available during the spaying operation. The situation now has raised questions as to why the cat's lymph nodes are so swollen, if this is indeed an issue, and what, if anything, can be done. Strangely enough, the kitten is bright, doesn't appear to be in any pain, is very playful and does not exhibit any signs of illness at all (other than soft bowel movements). I'm not in any way attempting to pass derogatory comments about my vet- in fact he an excellent track record and I would highly recommend him. However, I would be grateful for additional advice and opinions as to what could be causing the problem- if at all there is a problem. Thanks in advance for any advice. |
#3
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Cat: Swollen lymph nodes
Hi Rhonda,
Thanks for your reply - it's very useful. As soon as I get to the bottom of what's going on, I'll post more information here. Regards, Ron |
#4
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Swollen lymph nodes
"Ron Hoaste" wrote in message ups.com... About two months ago, I adopted a kitten from a rescue center. When she came home, she had very bad diarrhoea, passing no solid material whatsoever. I tried worming How many times? It takes at least 2 wormings to kill all of the worms. The first worming only kills the worms in the intestines- that's probably why her stools improved temporarily. The first worming doesn't kill the larvae that have migrated from the intestines- you have to wait 2-3 weeks for the larvae to complete their migration back to the intestines before you can kill them. Sometimes it might even take 3 wormings to get rid of them completely. You need to have her stool examined for eggs a few times to make sure you killed all of them. Eggs might not be present in every bowel movement, so she'll probably need a few fecal exams. You don't have to bring her to the vet for every fecal- just drop off fresh samples. Fecal exams cost about $10- your vet probably won't charge you every time. The kitten has recently been spayed. During the operation, the veterinary surgeon noticed that the lymph nodes on the kitten's intestines were abnormally large. Could be a result of larval activity in wall of small intestine- which can also cause eosinophilia (WBCs that help the body to fight infection from parasites). I think you have some bloodwork done to check her eos count as well as to rule out any disease processes. Good luck, Phil |
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