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taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
I'm taking Kira to the vet in the morning. Hopefully, a few people on
the east coast will see this before I go. It may be nothing at all, but am concerned. She's a couple times where she was either constipated, blocked, or having a stomach ache. The first time was a mild version of what happened a few years ago. That time, the vet did a hands on exam and didn't find anything, but she felt better, so it seemed like the massage had done the trick. So, I did a massage and she stopped grubling, purred, and ate about half an hour later. Then, yesterday, it happened again. This time, when I massaged her, she didn't feel full, but I felt something that might have been normal, might have been a mass. Shortly after that, she barfed up a hairball and some kibble. Today, she puked again, a good size amount of kibble, just eaten. She has been having more hiarballs than normal lately. She seems to be eating and going to the bathroom fine most of the time, and she acts normal. But all of this together has me worried that she has a partial blockage, or that she's getting impacted or something. I was already planning to get the senior bloodwork panel at her next exam, so I will definitely get that done. I will also get an x-ray. My questions: Any other ideas of what these symptoms might be? Are there any other tests I should ask for or expect before we get blood test results? Will an x-ray show a tumor if she has one? If she has some kind of cancer, what tests will show it? Is that something that will show up in the bloodwork? Kira is 11 1/2 years old. Balinese. Small frame, light weight. Appetite is normal, Bathroom habits seem normal, and her activity seems normal. No previous health problems other than the one time 3 or 4 years ago. Hopefully, it is nothing big. I just hate going to the vet with no idea what to ask, and worrying about the worst possibilities (cancer, organ failure). |
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taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
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#3
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taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
I don't think 11 1/2 is that old, but as they age, the hairballs don't
pass through as easily as they did before. Perhaps some hairball control food would help. I once had a cat that eliminated 13 hairballs - one after another for 13 days. Incredible. |
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taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
-L. wrote: Sounds like possible partial soft blockage from hair - I went through that with my Peewee a couple years ago. What did you have to do to solve it? I have tried hairball remedies a couple times, but Kira hates them. I have to force it down her, and I don't know if even helped. She used to pass the hair in her stool. She didn't used to have hairballs, except once every couple months or so. Now it is every week or so. She may just have some loss of tone in her intestines and colon (due to age) and so food isn't moving through as rapidly as it used to - this can be a problem if it gets trapped with hair. Organ failure will be caught with blood screen. You might want to add some lubrication to her diet to keep the hair moving through her. I have a friend who has to give her cat a lubricant that keeps her from getting impacted. I can't remember the name. I did a search on the newsgroup a few weeks ago to learn about it. She was upset about the cost and wanted a cheaper alternative. But from the posts here, it sounded like it was ideal for her cat;s problem and highly recommended. She felt much better about it when I gave her the information. She didn't feel the vet was pushing something expensive after seeing it confirmed by non-biased people. If it is something like that, I will count myself lucky. That would be much better than finding something like cancer. I took Peewee OFF of hairball control food and that solved his problems completely - it seems the fiber was too much for him, and he wasn't getting enough water for the food to do what it is designed to do. Hmm. I did change her main food several months ago. She still has access to several other foods, but she eats mostly the new food. I'll see what comes up at the vet. If it might be food related, I may try a different kind. Currently, she is on the mature formula, though she helps herself to the maine coon food too. Good luck and let us know what you find out. -L. Thanks. I will. |
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taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
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Update - taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
I just got back from the vet. Things look good.
The vet didn't feel anything abnormal, so he didn't think an x-ray was necessary. Most likely, she just needs some lubricant. I got some tuna flavored hairball medicine that she seemed more okay with than the malt stuff I had tried before (previous cat loved the malt stuff and would attack the container if I left it out). They did theblood draw and the results will be back tomorrow. Her temperature was fine, and everything else seemed fine. Her weight was actually up from when she went to the vet about 5 months ago (she had split a nail, so I had it checked). Also, she may have passed the rest of a hairball last night. My dad knew I wanted to go the vet and why, but it didn't occur to him to mention it until we were at the vet's office. He found what looked to him like some poop with a string in it. He does know to inspect odd stuff, so he looked at it more closely when he cleaned it up. The "string" came apart and wasn't really a foreign object. And he said it was creamy colored (he's partially colorblind, so that may be the same yellow/brown that I see in her hairballs. Anyway, it sounds like she might have hacked up or passed another hairball. I wish he had shown it to me. I'm familiar with her hairballs, so I would know if looked like something from her. And while they are hacked up, they do kinda look like pieces of poop sometimes, rather than vomit. From his description, it sonds like a hairball. Anyway, the vet is confident that she is fine. Just needs hairball stuff every day for a few days and then twice a week. If it doesn't clear up, we can do further tests, but he doesn't think we'll need to do that. I also took Jay Jay and got his vaccinations done. I adopted him almost a year ago, and I'm taking him to a show next weekend (household pet class), so he was due. He was a good boy and everything looked good. I am feeling much better. Piece of mind is a great thing. |
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Update - taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
Peace of mind IS a great thing! Good for you! There are some hairball
remedies that are available as treats - my kitty loves them and they do work. That way you aren't having to dose them with the laxatone - especially if they don't like it. They really just need more fiber as they get older and probably more grooming. Let us know how she is doing. |
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Update - taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
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Update - taking Kira to the vet - a couple questions
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