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#11
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Espy not eating
And if you need to know to better define the issue there is ultrasound
that more clarly defines the kidneys, it's mass, shape, dimensions, etc. A better diangnostic tool than the xray I think - somewhere between an xray or more extensive CAT Scan/MRI without invasiveness other than a shave and muscle relaxant. It can tell the doc more. It's expensive but an option to ask your vet about if a clear dianosis is not provided yet needed....keep us posted on the bloodwork, that might be all that is required along w/ the xray. "cybercat" wrote: "dgk" wrote Blood work won't be back until tomorrow, but the Xray showed that the immediate cause of his problem was that his uretha was blocked - something worse than a mucous plug. The bladder was twice normal size and was impinging on the intestines preventing him from pooping. With three cats it's almost impossible to notice this stuff. I might catch one peeing or pooping but it's tough to notice one is failing to pee/poop. The vet expressed the bladder and Espy is apparently feeling better. The vet said that he was eating although he just turned down his wet food - he has apparently eaten recently. He did eat a few Temptations which I am happy about. As for the underlying cause, there is definitely something going on in one kidney. Oh, I was hoping it was just a simple blockage like males get so often. Hope it can be fixed. |
#12
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Espy not eating
On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:29:46 +0000 (UTC), Billy
wrote: And if you need to know to better define the issue there is ultrasound that more clarly defines the kidneys, it's mass, shape, dimensions, etc. A better diangnostic tool than the xray I think - somewhere between an xray or more extensive CAT Scan/MRI without invasiveness other than a shave and muscle relaxant. It can tell the doc more. It's expensive but an option to ask your vet about if a clear dianosis is not provided yet needed....keep us posted on the bloodwork, that might be all that is required along w/ the xray. He wouldn't eat his normal food this morning. I had to break out the one can I have of Trader Joe's Tuna for Cats. He did eat some of that. It's very odd - he sort of looks at the food but it's like he doesn't see it, or maybe smell it. Even when I give him the yellow Temptations, he watches where I put it and then sniffs around like he's trying to find where it went. He did eat one or two more of those this morning. Well, nothing to do but wait for the report. |
#13
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Espy not eating
On Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:15:06 -0400, "cybercat"
wrote: "dgk" wrote in message .. . He doesn't eat a whole lot anyway but this morning he wouldn't eat his normal ProlPlan Salmon and Rice (wet). Hope he is better soon. Bless you for taking him to the vet before you posted ... pretty unusual around here. You let him out, right? Another thing to think of, is that he may have gotten something he should not have. Fenced yard or not, it's the chance you take. Cybercat wins! Maybe. Test results are in. The blockage was amorphous urate crystals and there is some evidence of liver problems. Kidneys are fine and no diabetes, infection, or mention of cancer. There were some lesions on his tongue which the vet noticed when Espy was having the X-Ray. It's not otherwise easy to check a cat's tongue. The vet is thinking that Espy ate something that he shouldn't have eaten. We're thinking it was something in the backyard but there are some indoor options as well. I have this rather pretty artificial plant which is beloved by the Significant Other. That plant has been chewed on lately. It's going to find a new place at the back of some closet, hopefully in someone else's house. There are also a few houseplants. They will be examined closely for any signs of chewing. Any found to have been chewed will find a new home. A thorough examination of the basement and all detergents, cleaners, etc will be conducted. Any evidence of tampering will be dealt with severely. And, for a week, Espy will be banned from the backyard. Since it will be next to impossible to keep him in while letting the others out, all cats will be banned from going out for a week. At least that will give me a chance to redo the deck waterproofing. I'll also conduct a thorough examination of the backyard. A dead bird was discovered a few days ago - very odd since the rare successful attack on a bird is followed by the cat bringing the trophy home. No such trophy presentation was held. Perhaps this one died of something else and Espy nibbled at it. Looks like I'll have to get to Trader Joe and stock a few cans of Tuna For Cats until his appetite picks up again. At least he'll eat something. Now I just observe his behavior (like I can do anything else) and I talk to the vet on Friday for another consult. |
#14
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Espy not eating
"dgk" wrote Cybercat wins! Maybe. Test results are in. The blockage was amorphous urate crystals and there is some evidence of liver problems. Kidneys are fine and no diabetes, infection, or mention of cancer. Beautiful, dgk. I am so happy for both of you. Hope his appetite picks up and everybody is happy and healthy again soon. |
#15
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Espy not eating
On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:06:30 -0400, "cybercat"
wrote: "dgk" wrote Cybercat wins! Maybe. Test results are in. The blockage was amorphous urate crystals and there is some evidence of liver problems. Kidneys are fine and no diabetes, infection, or mention of cancer. Beautiful, dgk. I am so happy for both of you. Hope his appetite picks up and everybody is happy and healthy again soon. Still far from out of the woods (so to speak). He is eating some food but not much. Actually, that's pretty much his normal pattern but eating somewhat less. The oddest behavior is with the Temptations. He will pick them up but they sort of fall out of his mouth. Then he ignores them. I really can't figure it. I got a few minutes to examine the backyard (before the daily torrential downpour began - this is important I think). Under the deck are a few big old surface roots from a tree that died maybe five years ago. They were totally white - mildew or some other kind of mold. I've really never seen anything like it before, almost like it had snowed on just the roots. It was so glaring that stared at it for a few seconds before I realized what it was. A few days ago I had noticed a stick around an inch in diameter and four inches long that was very crumbly because it was rotting. The middle part of it looked like something had been chewing on it. It was around one of Espy's favorite spots on one of the steps leading down from the deck. Maybe Espy was chewing on the stick? Just this morning there was an ad on the radio for something I never heard of before - Scott's Lawn Mold Fighter or something like that. Because we have had SO much rain in June (set a 100 year record or more) there are mold and mushrooms everywhere. I wonder if there is going to be some epidemic of creatures dying from mold ingestion? Plus, someone did throw up a small amount of liquid with something white in the middle of it on some pants just the other day - when Epsy was already sick. Damn I washed those pants - should have saved it. I saw Espy in the litterbox this morning. He did pee successfully and cover it up, but then he squatted again for a few seconds. Nothing more came out but that was unusual behavior. I'll keep an eye out. I wonder if I can set up some sort of surveillance camera on the litterbox? Well, I'll pass this info by the vet today and see what he says, but I'm betting it's the mold. |
#16
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Espy not eating
The oddest behavior is with the Temptations. He will pick them up but they sort of fall out of his mouth. Then he ignores them. I really can't figure it. Maybe this has already been checked, but how are his teeth? Tooth pain could cause this. I saw Espy in the litterbox this morning. He did pee successfully and cover it up, but then he squatted again for a few seconds. Nothing more came out but that was unusual behavior. I'll keep an eye out. I wonder if I can set up some sort of surveillance camera on the litterbox? It's great that he peed (seems funny to type that!). It's possible that, even after he peed, he felt an 'urge' to go again. As long as he's urinating, it's good. Just keep a close eye on how often he goes. Even if you can't watch his every mood, you can get a good idea by the size and number of clumps in the box. |
#17
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Espy not eating
I think you said the xrays were ok, I assume you specifically questioned
it. Food falling out could be teeth, ESP if eating from one side/head tilt, etc. However, my cat was doing the food drop crumbling thing and there were no tooth issues, it was that she was refusing it. You can setup a pan and tilt webcam that is viwable even by cell phone PDA's. I have one eyeball style wireless cam mounted in my bow window ceiling. I can spin it around and all when I'm on vacation to check on the pets.i would catch them in the window sunbathing when i was away. Trendnet TV-ip400W can be gotten for about $150 now and mounted anywhere there is a plug, foe ex....by the litterbox and you can set the motion detect to record still images when movement occurs. I would reccomend that model. You need some tech knowledge but I can help if you need it. dgk wrote: On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:06:30 -0400, "cybercat" wrote: "dgk" wrote Cybercat wins! Maybe. Test results are in. The blockage was amorphous urate crystals and there is some evidence of liver problems. Kidneys are fine and no diabetes, infection, or mention of cancer. Beautiful, dgk. I am so happy for both of you. Hope his appetite picks up and everybody is happy and healthy again soon. Still far from out of the woods (so to speak). He is eating some food but not much. Actually, that's pretty much his normal pattern but eating somewhat less. The oddest behavior is with the Temptations. He will pick them up but they sort of fall out of his mouth. Then he ignores them. I really can't figure it. I got a few minutes to examine the backyard (before the daily torrential downpour began - this is important I think). Under the deck are a few big old surface roots from a tree that died maybe five years ago. They were totally white - mildew or some other kind of mold. I've really never seen anything like it before, almost like it had snowed on just the roots. It was so glaring that stared at it for a few seconds before I realized what it was. A few days ago I had noticed a stick around an inch in diameter and four inches long that was very crumbly because it was rotting. The middle part of it looked like something had been chewing on it. It was around one of Espy's favorite spots on one of the steps leading down from the deck. Maybe Espy was chewing on the stick? Just this morning there was an ad on the radio for something I never heard of before - Scott's Lawn Mold Fighter or something like that. Because we have had SO much rain in June (set a 100 year record or more) there are mold and mushrooms everywhere. I wonder if there is going to be some epidemic of creatures dying from mold ingestion? Plus, someone did throw up a small amount of liquid with something white in the middle of it on some pants just the other day - when Epsy was already sick. Damn I washed those pants - should have saved it. I saw Espy in the litterbox this morning. He did pee successfully and cover it up, but then he squatted again for a few seconds. Nothing more came out but that was unusual behavior. I'll keep an eye out. I wonder if I can set up some sort of surveillance camera on the litterbox? Well, I'll pass this info by the vet today and see what he says, but I'm betting it's the mold. |
#18
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Espy not eating
On Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:30:26 -0700 (PDT), Rene S
wrote: The oddest behavior is with the Temptations. He will pick them up but they sort of fall out of his mouth. Then he ignores them. I really can't figure it. Maybe this has already been checked, but how are his teeth? Tooth pain could cause this. I saw Espy in the litterbox this morning. He did pee successfully and cover it up, but then he squatted again for a few seconds. Nothing more came out but that was unusual behavior. I'll keep an eye out. I wonder if I can set up some sort of surveillance camera on the litterbox? It's great that he peed (seems funny to type that!). It's possible that, even after he peed, he felt an 'urge' to go again. As long as he's urinating, it's good. Just keep a close eye on how often he goes. Even if you can't watch his every mood, you can get a good idea by the size and number of clumps in the box. Yes, his teeth are fine. Too bad; my initial hope was that it was a tooth. Expensive but acute rather than chronic or fatal. One of the reasons I've refused to put a cover on the litterbox was because I always want to monitor what they're doing in there. But since three cats use the box, unless I see the action I don't know which one does what. Well, not exactly true. If something isn't covered I know it was Nipsy. That big guy just doesn't want to be bothered. |
#19
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Espy not eating
On Thu, 2 Jul 2009 05:43:46 +0000 (UTC), Billy
wrote: I think you said the xrays were ok, I assume you specifically questioned it. Food falling out could be teeth, ESP if eating from one side/head tilt, etc. However, my cat was doing the food drop crumbling thing and there were no tooth issues, it was that she was refusing it. You can setup a pan and tilt webcam that is viwable even by cell phone PDA's. I have one eyeball style wireless cam mounted in my bow window ceiling. I can spin it around and all when I'm on vacation to check on the pets.i would catch them in the window sunbathing when i was away. Trendnet TV-ip400W can be gotten for about $150 now and mounted anywhere there is a plug, foe ex....by the litterbox and you can set the motion detect to record still images when movement occurs. I would reccomend that model. .. Xray showed only an enlarged bladder, which was because it was plugged up. Boy, that must have been uncomfortable. He's gotten somewhat better with the Temptations. The funny thing is that he would always ignore any Tempations that he started eating and then dropped. It was like they weren't there once they got wet. This morning he ate quite a few and didn't leave many crumbs. It seems that he's getting better. He eats a little more each feeding time, although I have to be tricky about it. First I feed him as much as he will eat of his standard ProPlan Salmon and Rice. Then, after a few minutes, I break out the Trader Joe Tuna for Cats, and he eats some of that. Then I bring out the dry stuff (Royal Canin number 26) and he eats some of that. Finally, a few Temptations. The real problem is that he just NEVER ate very much. Finding anything he's willing to eat wasn't easy and we finally settled on the PPS&R, and sometimes he just walks away from that. He really is a grazer though and likes to come back and eat a bit later. That's tough with the feline vacuum cleaner known as Marlo sharing the house. |
#20
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Espy not eating
On Thu, 2 Jul 2009 05:43:46 +0000 (UTC), Billy
wrote: I think you said the xrays were ok, I assume you specifically questioned it. Food falling out could be teeth, ESP if eating from one side/head tilt, etc. However, my cat was doing the food drop crumbling thing and there were no tooth issues, it was that she was refusing it. You can setup a pan and tilt webcam that is viwable even by cell phone PDA's. I have one eyeball style wireless cam mounted in my bow window ceiling. I can spin it around and all when I'm on vacation to check on the pets.i would catch them in the window sunbathing when i was away. Trendnet TV-ip400W can be gotten for about $150 now and mounted anywhere there is a plug, foe ex....by the litterbox and you can set the motion detect to record still images when movement occurs. I would reccomend that model. You need some tech knowledge but I can help if you need it. I forgot to mention the camera. Years ago I set up a cam on a cat tree and used to just remote desktop into my home PC from work and sometimes I'd catch them in the tree. Most times not though. Since I am going away in a month or so, I think I will set up some webcams. Hard to know where to place them though. One on the litterbox is almost a must, especially if I can have it record based on motion. Good idea. |
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