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#1
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Magic the beautiful guy
This will be a rather long post, so please bear with me since I want
to describe everything. In November 2008, I found a neutered male long-haired Himalayan wandering around my front yard. He was friendly and had a green flea collar on. It was raining, so I took him in and gave him some food and water. Three days later, it stopped raining, and I posted his picture around the neighborhood and in the newspaper and at a nearby veterinary clinic. Three weeks later, I thought that he had been abandoned, so I planned to keep him since I had lost my cat, aged 16, a few years earlier. We had bonded, and he’s a wonderful, wonderful cat. Just then, I received a call from a home about two blocks away, and they described him to a “T” and asked that I bring him back, which I did, rather tearfully. They told me that they had been given the cat by her mother, and had kept him for only about 9 months. They knew nothing about his history, but they said he liked to drink from the toilet and preferred the bathtub if the lone litterbox was dirty. They also let him outside, which in this neighborhood, is asking for a quick death due to reckless traffic and roaming strays. Well, an hour later, they called and said that he wasn’t happy and asked if I would like to keep him. Yes! I covered the two blocks in 60 seconds, and he’s been with me ever since. The small home that gave him to me housed three large dogs and four other cats, and my cat, who I’ve named Magic, had a nasty flea infestation and also an intolerance for other cats and dogs. I took him to my veterinarian for a checkup and flea treatment, and the fleas were gone. He also passed his physical, (the vet approximated his age at around 4, and he weighs 11 pounds) tested negative for everything, and Christmas of 2008 found us both happy. I kept him inside my small one-bedroom house and coaxed him out of his bad elimination and drinking habits. In May, 2009, he started vomiting continuously one night, and just when I thought he wouldn’t stop, he did, and I noticed what looked like a piece of a rubber band in the last residue. Aha, I thought, he swallowed a rubber band and it played havoc on his digestive tract. I thought I was correct, since he thrived throughout the summer and fall of 2009, but then the wheels came off in October 2009. He started vomiting so badly one night that he wouldn’t stop and I called the emergency vet at 5 AM and took him in. The doctor said that he could see nothing serious, said it was probably acute gastritis, and gave him an anti-nausea shot and I took him home. Two days later, he started again and I let it go on for a day, then rushed him to another emergency vet, where they did extensive tests, X-rays, blood tests, everything. He was jaundiced, and the doctor said it was either hepatic lipidosis or cholangeal hepatitis. She was leaning towards the hepatitis. She gave him an injection of Baytril and subcutaneous hydration. I then took him to my regular vet, who said his liver values had returned to normal. He prescribed 5 mg prednisolone to control any inflammation, and five days of Baytril to eliminate any bacteria. Magic was then OK until the last week of February, when history repeated. Same treatment, same Baytril and prednisolone, and some famotadine to control any nausea. The prednisolone dosage was gradually lessened over time to 2.5 mg every three days. The vet also noticed a piece of tapeworm (could this have been the “rubber band” I saw a year earlier?) and gave him a worming treatment. He also mentioned that Magic had mild nystagmus and that might cause some nausea. Magic was good until early June, when he again flared up. The treatments were the same, and this time the doctor prescribed a diet of Hill’s I/D and Fortiflora. He likes the I/D but the Fortiflora is a hit-and-miss affair. Now it is the end of August, and I’m bracing for another bout, which seems to occur every three months, and he’s been sleeping an awful lot during the day. A friend of mine checked with a holistic vet in Ithaca and he said that I should get Paws’n’Claws natural cat litter…! Well, I read that ammonia can aggravate a cat’s liver, so I installed that litter. I’ll try anything. Magic eats with his paws, flips out each kernel of food onto the floor before he eats it. He also paws his water dish until it splashes, and then he drinks. This gets pieces of litter and dirt into his water, so I change that 4 times a day. He loves to eat grass, but the vet suggested that I shouldn’t allow him to do that, so I grow oat grass indoors and let him nibble a very small amount every few days. He constantly begs to be let outdoors, and I let him out while I walk beside him to make sure he doesn’t eat grass. Currently, he’s on a 5mg capsule of prednisolone every three days, and 2.5 mg of famotadine every day. So there you have the story of Magic. I took an outdoor cat and kept him indoors and he’s bored. He loves people. Where he could have picked up hepatitis is beyond me. Maybe he had it all the while, but I doubt it. Maybe he just has hairballs, but I brush him twice a day, use a Furminator every few days, and I have never seen hairballs in his stool or vomit. Maybe he does have gastritis and the vomiting just makes his liver act up. On his current course, he will either bankrupt me or reach a manageable plateau of maintenance. I live alone on Social Security, so my resources aren’t inexhaustible. But I refuse to give up on him, so I thought I’d post this story and ask if anyone had any suggestions. Maybe there’s something I haven’t tried, something simple. We need help. |
#2
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Magic the beautiful guy
"tivoglio" wrote in message ... This will be a rather long post, so please bear with me since I want to describe everything. In November 2008, I found a neutered male long-haired Himalayan wandering around my front yard. He was friendly and had a green flea collar on. It was raining, so I took him in and gave him some food and water. Three days later, it stopped raining, and I posted his picture around the neighborhood and in the newspaper and at a nearby veterinary clinic. Three weeks later, I thought that he had been abandoned, so I planned to keep him since I had lost my cat, aged 16, a few years earlier. We had bonded, and he’s a wonderful, wonderful cat. Just then, I received a call from a home about two blocks away, and they described him to a “T” and asked that I bring him back, which I did, rather tearfully. They told me that they had been given the cat by her mother, and had kept him for only about 9 months. They knew nothing about his history, but they said he liked to drink from the toilet and preferred the bathtub if the lone litterbox was dirty. They also let him outside, which in this neighborhood, is asking for a quick death due to reckless traffic and roaming strays. Well, an hour later, they called and said that he wasn’t happy and asked if I would like to keep him. Yes! I covered the two blocks in 60 seconds, and he’s been with me ever since. The small home that gave him to me housed three large dogs and four other cats, and my cat, who I’ve named Magic, had a nasty flea infestation and also an intolerance for other cats and dogs. I took him to my veterinarian for a checkup and flea treatment, and the fleas were gone. He also passed his physical, (the vet approximated his age at around 4, and he weighs 11 pounds) tested negative for everything, and Christmas of 2008 found us both happy. I kept him inside my small one-bedroom house and coaxed him out of his bad elimination and drinking habits. In May, 2009, he started vomiting continuously one night, and just when I thought he wouldn’t stop, he did, and I noticed what looked like a piece of a rubber band in the last residue. Aha, I thought, he swallowed a rubber band and it played havoc on his digestive tract. I thought I was correct, since he thrived throughout the summer and fall of 2009, but then the wheels came off in October 2009. He started vomiting so badly one night that he wouldn’t stop and I called the emergency vet at 5 AM and took him in. The doctor said that he could see nothing serious, said it was probably acute gastritis, and gave him an anti-nausea shot and I took him home. Two days later, he started again and I let it go on for a day, then rushed him to another emergency vet, where they did extensive tests, X-rays, blood tests, everything. He was jaundiced, and the doctor said it was either hepatic lipidosis or cholangeal hepatitis. She was leaning towards the hepatitis. She gave him an injection of Baytril and subcutaneous hydration. I then took him to my regular vet, who said his liver values had returned to normal. He prescribed 5 mg prednisolone to control any inflammation, and five days of Baytril to eliminate any bacteria. Magic was then OK until the last week of February, when history repeated. Same treatment, same Baytril and prednisolone, and some famotadine to control any nausea. The prednisolone dosage was gradually lessened over time to 2.5 mg every three days. The vet also noticed a piece of tapeworm (could this have been the “rubber band” I saw a year earlier?) and gave him a worming treatment. He also mentioned that Magic had mild nystagmus and that might cause some nausea. Magic was good until early June, when he again flared up. The treatments were the same, and this time the doctor prescribed a diet of Hill’s I/D and Fortiflora. He likes the I/D but the Fortiflora is a hit-and-miss affair. Now it is the end of August, and I’m bracing for another bout, which seems to occur every three months, and he’s been sleeping an awful lot during the day. A friend of mine checked with a holistic vet in Ithaca and he said that I should get Paws’n’Claws natural cat litter…! Well, I read that ammonia can aggravate a cat’s liver, so I installed that litter. I’ll try anything. Magic eats with his paws, flips out each kernel of food onto the floor before he eats it. He also paws his water dish until it splashes, and then he drinks. This gets pieces of litter and dirt into his water, so I change that 4 times a day. He loves to eat grass, but the vet suggested that I shouldn’t allow him to do that, so I grow oat grass indoors and let him nibble a very small amount every few days. He constantly begs to be let outdoors, and I let him out while I walk beside him to make sure he doesn’t eat grass. Currently, he’s on a 5mg capsule of prednisolone every three days, and 2.5 mg of famotadine every day. So there you have the story of Magic. I took an outdoor cat and kept him indoors and he’s bored. He loves people. Where he could have picked up hepatitis is beyond me. Maybe he had it all the while, but I doubt it. Maybe he just has hairballs, but I brush him twice a day, use a Furminator every few days, and I have never seen hairballs in his stool or vomit. Maybe he does have gastritis and the vomiting just makes his liver act up. On his current course, he will either bankrupt me or reach a manageable plateau of maintenance. I live alone on Social Security, so my resources aren’t inexhaustible. But I refuse to give up on him, so I thought I’d post this story and ask if anyone had any suggestions. Maybe there’s something I haven’t tried, something simple. We need help. I'm not a vet, so anything I say is just coming from my common sense. To me, it sounds like some kind of parasitic problem. I would try different deworming medications, if they are available...... |
#3
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Magic the beautiful guy
On Aug 24, 5:17*pm, "Bill Graham" wrote:
"tivoglio" wrote in message ... This will be a rather long post, so please bear with me since I want to describe everything. In November 2008, I found a neutered male long-haired Himalayan wandering around my front yard. He was friendly and had a green flea collar on. It was raining, so I took him in and gave him some food and water. Three days later, it stopped raining, and I posted his picture around the neighborhood and in the newspaper and at a nearby veterinary clinic. Three weeks later, I thought that he had been abandoned, so I planned to keep him since I had lost my cat, aged 16, a few years earlier. We had bonded, and he’s a wonderful, wonderful cat. Just then, I received a call from a home about two blocks away, and they described him to a “T” and asked that I bring him back, which I did, rather tearfully. They told me that they had been given the cat by her mother, and had kept him for only about 9 months. They knew nothing about his history, but they said he liked to drink from the toilet and preferred the bathtub if the lone litterbox was dirty. They also let him outside, which in this neighborhood, is asking for a quick death due to reckless traffic and roaming strays. Well, an hour later, they called and said that he wasn’t happy and asked if I would like to keep him. Yes! I covered the two blocks in 60 seconds, and he’s been with me ever since. The small home that gave him to me housed three large dogs and four other cats, and my cat, who I’ve named Magic, had a nasty flea infestation and also an intolerance for other cats and dogs. I took him to my veterinarian for a checkup and flea treatment, and the fleas were gone. He also passed his physical, (the vet approximated his age at around 4, and he weighs 11 pounds) tested negative for everything, and Christmas of 2008 found us both happy. I kept him inside my small one-bedroom house and coaxed him out of his bad elimination and drinking habits. In May, 2009, he started vomiting continuously one night, and just when I thought he wouldn’t stop, he did, and I noticed what looked like a piece of a rubber band in the last residue. Aha, I thought, he swallowed a rubber band and it played havoc on his digestive tract. I thought I was correct, since he thrived throughout the summer and fall of 2009, but then the wheels came off in October 2009. He started vomiting so badly one night that he wouldn’t stop and I called the emergency vet at 5 AM and took him in. The doctor said that he could see nothing serious, said it was probably acute gastritis, and gave him an anti-nausea shot and I took him home. Two days later, he started again and I let it go on for a day, then rushed him to another emergency vet, where they did extensive tests, X-rays, blood tests, everything. He was jaundiced, and the doctor said it was either hepatic lipidosis or cholangeal hepatitis. She was leaning towards the hepatitis. She gave him an injection of Baytril and subcutaneous hydration. I then took him to my regular vet, who said his liver values had returned to normal. He prescribed 5 mg prednisolone to control any inflammation, and five days of Baytril to eliminate any bacteria. Magic was then OK until the last week of February, when history repeated. Same treatment, same Baytril and prednisolone, and some famotadine to control any nausea. The prednisolone dosage was gradually lessened over time to 2.5 mg every three days. The vet also noticed a piece of tapeworm (could this have been the “rubber band” I saw a year earlier?) and gave him a worming treatment. He also mentioned that Magic had mild nystagmus and that might cause some nausea. Magic was good until early June, when he again flared up. The treatments were the same, and this time the doctor prescribed a diet of Hill’s I/D and Fortiflora. He likes the I/D but the Fortiflora is a hit-and-miss affair. Now it is the end of August, and I’m bracing for another bout, which seems to occur every three months, and he’s been sleeping an awful lot during the day. A friend of mine checked with a holistic vet in Ithaca and he said that I should get Paws’n’Claws natural cat litter…! Well, I read that ammonia can aggravate a cat’s liver, so I installed that litter. I’ll try anything. Magic eats with his paws, flips out each kernel of food onto the floor before he eats it. He also paws his water dish until it splashes, and then he drinks. This gets pieces of litter and dirt into his water, so I change that 4 times a day. He loves to eat grass, but the vet suggested that I shouldn’t allow him to do that, so I grow oat grass indoors and let him nibble a very small amount every few days. He constantly begs to be let outdoors, and I let him out while I walk beside him to make sure he doesn’t eat grass. Currently, he’s on a 5mg capsule of prednisolone every three days, and 2.5 mg of famotadine every day. So there you have the story of Magic. I took an outdoor cat and kept him indoors and he’s bored. He loves people. Where he could have picked up hepatitis is beyond me. Maybe he had it all the while, but I doubt it. Maybe he just has hairballs, but I brush him twice a day, use a Furminator every few days, and I have never seen hairballs in his stool or vomit. Maybe he does have gastritis and the vomiting just makes his liver act up. On his current course, he will either bankrupt me or reach a manageable plateau of maintenance. I live alone on Social Security, so my resources aren’t inexhaustible. But I refuse to give up on him, so I thought I’d post this story and ask if anyone had any suggestions. Maybe there’s something I haven’t tried, something simple. We need help. I'm not a vet, so anything I say is just coming from my common sense. To me, it sounds like some kind of parasitic problem. I would try different deworming medications, if they are available...... Hi. Magic has been dewormed extensively. I boarded him at the vet a few weekends, and part of the routine for boarding is a 'parasite purge'. Also, when the vet found the tapeworm piece, poor Magic got dewormed again. Thanks for the reply. Even though you're not a vet, sometimes the range of experience with the things that work will trump textbook solutions. |
#4
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Magic the beautiful guy
"tivoglio" wrote in message ... On Aug 24, 5:17 pm, "Bill Graham" wrote: "tivoglio" wrote in message ... This will be a rather long post, so please bear with me since I want to describe everything. In November 2008, I found a neutered male long-haired Himalayan wandering around my front yard. He was friendly and had a green flea collar on. It was raining, so I took him in and gave him some food and water. Three days later, it stopped raining, and I posted his picture around the neighborhood and in the newspaper and at a nearby veterinary clinic. Three weeks later, I thought that he had been abandoned, so I planned to keep him since I had lost my cat, aged 16, a few years earlier. We had bonded, and he’s a wonderful, wonderful cat. Just then, I received a call from a home about two blocks away, and they described him to a “T” and asked that I bring him back, which I did, rather tearfully. They told me that they had been given the cat by her mother, and had kept him for only about 9 months. They knew nothing about his history, but they said he liked to drink from the toilet and preferred the bathtub if the lone litterbox was dirty. They also let him outside, which in this neighborhood, is asking for a quick death due to reckless traffic and roaming strays. Well, an hour later, they called and said that he wasn’t happy and asked if I would like to keep him. Yes! I covered the two blocks in 60 seconds, and he’s been with me ever since. The small home that gave him to me housed three large dogs and four other cats, and my cat, who I’ve named Magic, had a nasty flea infestation and also an intolerance for other cats and dogs. I took him to my veterinarian for a checkup and flea treatment, and the fleas were gone. He also passed his physical, (the vet approximated his age at around 4, and he weighs 11 pounds) tested negative for everything, and Christmas of 2008 found us both happy. I kept him inside my small one-bedroom house and coaxed him out of his bad elimination and drinking habits. In May, 2009, he started vomiting continuously one night, and just when I thought he wouldn’t stop, he did, and I noticed what looked like a piece of a rubber band in the last residue. Aha, I thought, he swallowed a rubber band and it played havoc on his digestive tract. I thought I was correct, since he thrived throughout the summer and fall of 2009, but then the wheels came off in October 2009. He started vomiting so badly one night that he wouldn’t stop and I called the emergency vet at 5 AM and took him in. The doctor said that he could see nothing serious, said it was probably acute gastritis, and gave him an anti-nausea shot and I took him home. Two days later, he started again and I let it go on for a day, then rushed him to another emergency vet, where they did extensive tests, X-rays, blood tests, everything. He was jaundiced, and the doctor said it was either hepatic lipidosis or cholangeal hepatitis. She was leaning towards the hepatitis. She gave him an injection of Baytril and subcutaneous hydration. I then took him to my regular vet, who said his liver values had returned to normal. He prescribed 5 mg prednisolone to control any inflammation, and five days of Baytril to eliminate any bacteria. Magic was then OK until the last week of February, when history repeated. Same treatment, same Baytril and prednisolone, and some famotadine to control any nausea. The prednisolone dosage was gradually lessened over time to 2.5 mg every three days. The vet also noticed a piece of tapeworm (could this have been the “rubber band” I saw a year earlier?) and gave him a worming treatment. He also mentioned that Magic had mild nystagmus and that might cause some nausea. Magic was good until early June, when he again flared up. The treatments were the same, and this time the doctor prescribed a diet of Hill’s I/D and Fortiflora. He likes the I/D but the Fortiflora is a hit-and-miss affair. Now it is the end of August, and I’m bracing for another bout, which seems to occur every three months, and he’s been sleeping an awful lot during the day. A friend of mine checked with a holistic vet in Ithaca and he said that I should get Paws’n’Claws natural cat litter…! Well, I read that ammonia can aggravate a cat’s liver, so I installed that litter. I’ll try anything. Magic eats with his paws, flips out each kernel of food onto the floor before he eats it. He also paws his water dish until it splashes, and then he drinks. This gets pieces of litter and dirt into his water, so I change that 4 times a day. He loves to eat grass, but the vet suggested that I shouldn’t allow him to do that, so I grow oat grass indoors and let him nibble a very small amount every few days. He constantly begs to be let outdoors, and I let him out while I walk beside him to make sure he doesn’t eat grass. Currently, he’s on a 5mg capsule of prednisolone every three days, and 2.5 mg of famotadine every day. So there you have the story of Magic. I took an outdoor cat and kept him indoors and he’s bored. He loves people. Where he could have picked up hepatitis is beyond me. Maybe he had it all the while, but I doubt it. Maybe he just has hairballs, but I brush him twice a day, use a Furminator every few days, and I have never seen hairballs in his stool or vomit. Maybe he does have gastritis and the vomiting just makes his liver act up. On his current course, he will either bankrupt me or reach a manageable plateau of maintenance. I live alone on Social Security, so my resources aren’t inexhaustible. But I refuse to give up on him, so I thought I’d post this story and ask if anyone had any suggestions. Maybe there’s something I haven’t tried, something simple. We need help. I'm not a vet, so anything I say is just coming from my common sense. To me, it sounds like some kind of parasitic problem. I would try different deworming medications, if they are available...... Hi. Magic has been dewormed extensively. I boarded him at the vet a few weekends, and part of the routine for boarding is a 'parasite purge'. Also, when the vet found the tapeworm piece, poor Magic got dewormed again. Thanks for the reply. Even though you're not a vet, sometimes the range of experience with the things that work will trump textbook solutions. Well, If the vets can't find the problem, I suppose anyone's guess is welcome. I know that I've had cats die on me that the vets either couldn't or wouldn't fix. Like many doctors today, some of them are money oriented, and they just kiss off problems if they figure they will be losers financially. It certainly is worth trying different vets if you are in an area where that is feasible. I used to live in Northern California, and the UC Davis vet school was the best available in that area. |
#5
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Magic the beautiful guy
"tivoglio" wrote
Have her tested for heartworms. Yes, though rare they do infest cats. The cyclic nature makes me think of this. |
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Magic the beautiful guy
On Aug 24, 6:16*pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"tivoglio" wrote Have her tested for heartworms. *Yes, though rare they do infest cats. *The cyclic nature makes me think of this. Hi. I guess the vet was on the same wavelength as you, and he tested Magic for heartworm early on. Thankfully, he tested negative. |
#7
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Magic the beautiful guy
"tivoglio" wrote
"cshenk" wrote: Have her tested for heartworms. Yes, though rare they do infest cats. The cyclic nature makes me think of this. Hi. I guess the vet was on the same wavelength as you, and he tested Magic for heartworm early on. Thankfully, he tested negative. Thats good! |
#8
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Magic the beautiful guy
tivoglio wrote:
Where he could have picked up hepatitis is beyond me. Hi, "tivoglio". Hepatitis of this type is not due to an acquired infection. The bacteria that cause it are always present in the gut, but due to an inflammatory condition things get out of balance and a bacterial overgrowth invades the bile duct and liver -- and usually the pancreas as well. It's likely that Magic has inflammatory bowel disease, and also likely that some of his symptoms are due to pancreatitis. The three conditions -- IBD, pancreatitis and cholangitis -- occur together so often that they are grouped together under the label "triaditis". The change in diet is a good idea. IBD seems to be caused by food intolerance as often as not. But you may need to shop around for the right food. If the i/d doesn't quite do it, try the z/d; and if that doesn't work, try a limited ingredient diet such as venison and green pea. So far, over the last year and a half, the z/d seems to have done very well for my Will. Will's attacks were always a little less severe than Magic's -- no jaundice so far -- but there was a period two winters ago when they were occurring monthly and becoming more severe. Since the switch to z/d, he hasn't had but one severe attack, and the frequency of mild attacks is way down. -- Wayne M. |
#9
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Magic the beautiful guy
On Aug 24, 8:26*pm, Wayne Mitchell wrote:
*tivoglio wrote: Where he could have picked up hepatitis is beyond me. Hi, "tivoglio". *Hepatitis of this type is not due to an acquired infection. *The bacteria that cause it are always present in the gut, but due to an inflammatory condition things get out of balance and a bacterial overgrowth invades the bile duct and liver -- and usually the pancreas as well. *It's likely that Magic has inflammatory bowel disease, and also likely that some of his symptoms are due to pancreatitis. *The three conditions -- IBD, pancreatitis and cholangitis -- occur together so often that they are grouped together under the label "triaditis". The change in diet is a good idea. *IBD seems to be caused by food intolerance as often as not. *But you may need to shop around for the right food. *If the i/d doesn't quite do it, try the z/d; and if that doesn't work, try a limited ingredient diet such as venison and green pea. *So far, over the last year and a half, the z/d seems to have done very well for my Will. *Will's attacks were always a little less severe than Magic's -- no jaundice so far -- but there was a period two winters ago when they were occurring monthly and becoming more severe. *Since the switch to z/d, he hasn't had but one severe attack, and the frequency of mild attacks is way down. -- Wayne M. Wayne, thanks a lot for your post. I will definitely put your z/d suggestion in the priority queue, since Will appears to be thriving on it. One concern with me is whether or not Magic will eat the z/d. He appears to like the i/d, at least the dry stuff, but when I try to feed him a little canned i/d, he just licks the moisture out of it and leaves it. Does Will eat both canned and dry, or just one? I've actually heard of triaditis. I downloaded an article about it, but when I got to the prognosis part, I felt a little ill myself. It said that over half the cats who have it survive less than a year - but maybe that's only if they don't receive treatment. The only time Magic had jaundice was early on, when the attacks continued for two days and he wouldn't eat and became dehydrated. I never let that happen again, but when he has a bout, his liver values really spike. Does Will take anything like prednisolone? The vet told me that it staves off inflammation and, unlike humans, cats can tolerate steroids indefinitely. Also, does Will have a maniacal cravnng for grass? Magic heads for it wherever it exists, and I'm usually fast enough to grab him before he munches more than a blade or two. The vet told me to keep him away from grass since it can harbor parasites and can irritate his stomach. Thus, the oat grass I let him nibble occasionally. The Fortiflora seemed like a good idea - works like Activia yogurt by adding good bacteria to the digestive system, but since he won't eat the canned i/d, I haven't been too successful with it. I think I'll try mixing the Fortiflora with a very small portion of canned Friskies with gravy, the stuff he used to like before we went to the i/d. Again, thanks for your input. Tom |
#10
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Magic the beautiful guy
tivoglio wrote:
One concern with me is whether or not Magic will eat the z/d. He appears to like the i/d, at least the dry stuff, but when I try to feed him a little canned i/d, he just licks the moisture out of it and leaves it. Does Will eat both canned and dry, or just one? Will gets dry only. If I worked at it for a while, I might be able to get him to eat some gooshy food, but Heidi absolutely wouldn't do it, so I stick with dry for both of them. Neither of them is wild about the z/d, but they both eat it fairly well. I've actually heard of triaditis. I downloaded an article about it, but when I got to the prognosis part, I felt a little ill myself. It said that over half the cats who have it survive less than a year - but maybe that's only if they don't receive treatment. I think that triaditis is often a speculative diagnosis because the only way to rule in the IBD part with any certainty is with exploratory surgery and biopsy. Usually that's not done until the problem has proved quite severe or intractable and the vet is wondering whether there is any lymphoma involved. So maybe the short survival time is measured from that point of definitive diagnosis. I know a lot of cats can have some of the symptoms for years before the condition is diagnosed. Will has had recurring bouts of pancreatitis for about four years, and his IBD is still merely presumed. He's 17 years old and we won't be doing any exploratory surgery. The only time Magic had jaundice was early on, when the attacks continued for two days and he wouldn't eat and became dehydrated. I never let that happen again, but when he has a bout, his liver values really spike. Will's AST and ALT go into the stratosphere and remain high sometimes even once he seems to be feeling pretty good again. I've got him on Denamarin, which is a liver support supplement, but I've been thinking that he perhaps should be on Ursodiol, which from my reading seems a better choice for cholangitis. Those are some things to talk over with your vet. Does Will take anything like prednisolone? The vet told me that it staves off inflammation and, unlike humans, cats can tolerate steroids indefinitely. We haven't yet put him on the pred, but it's been discussed as the next option. It's true that cats tolerate systemic corticosteroids better than humans or dogs do, though certainly not true that they can take them indefinitely without risk. It's just that the risk from the pred is smaller than the risk from continued inflammation of the bowel or liver. Also, does Will have a maniacal cravnng for grass? When he gets a chance at an outdoor jaunt, he heads for the grass first thing. But he's pretty toothless, so I don't have to worry about his ingesting very much. And I'm not too concerned about possible parasites. -- Wayne M. |
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