Cryptococcus Treatment - 3 Months In

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.

wrote

Hi Group -

Hi back!

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.

I am not familiar with this.

(snip)

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

You've probably not seen my best suggestion on how to get cats to drink, so
will repeat it here for you.

Most cats (and dogs) will drink plenty if it the 'water' is actually broth.
It need not be a strong one but it does need to be pretty much salt free (so
no canned human types). Cats are less salt tolerant than we are.

I save up chicken bones and skin from our own meals (unsalted or if salted,
well rinsed) and make stock of them in my crockpot. Nothing more added than
the chicken carcass and skin. Set on low for about 12 hours with water and
you get a nice deep broth the pets like.

Daisy gets 3 TB a day at her 'nooner' extra meal. Broth type varies from
chicken, to pork, to Dashi (a fish broth). The Dog (Cash) gets more but
then he's 51lbs of lean, sweet, doggy machine.

"cshenk" wrote in message
...
wrote

Hi Group -

Hi back!

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.

I am not familiar with this.

(snip)

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

You've probably not seen my best suggestion on how to get cats to drink,
so will repeat it here for you.

Most cats (and dogs) will drink plenty if it the 'water' is actually
broth. It need not be a strong one but it does need to be pretty much salt
free (so no canned human types). Cats are less salt tolerant than we are.

I save up chicken bones and skin from our own meals (unsalted or if
salted, well rinsed) and make stock of them in my crockpot. Nothing more
added than the chicken carcass and skin. Set on low for about 12 hours
with water and you get a nice deep broth the pets like.

Daisy gets 3 TB a day at her 'nooner' extra meal. Broth type varies from
chicken, to pork, to Dashi (a fish broth). The Dog (Cash) gets more but
then he's 51lbs of lean, sweet, doggy machine.



Also you forgot to add most cats the smellier the food the more they will
taste it