Sick Cat Update (long)

I took Grady to the new vet today. 2 hours and $231 later, I know what he
doesn't have.

Well, he does have one thing, a heart murmur. The new vet asked if I kenw
that, and I told her no. My prior vet never mentioned it, perhaps he
didn't think it had any significance. She did x-rays and showed me that
while his heart was enlarged, it was only slightly so, so she was not too
concerned about it at this point in time.

She also took x-rays of his abdomen. His intestines looked good (no
blockages) except for his colon. It was enlarged and distended with gas.
Yep, you heard it right, gas. Poor kitty is so full of gas, he probably is
ready to explode. (Evidently I have a kitty that can't pass gas.) So, she
gave me some Reglan to try in the hopes that not only will it help with the
vomiting, but will also help regulate his digestive tract so he can get rid
of all the gas. (Oh boy, not sure I want to be around him when THAT
happens!)

Thyroid test came back normal on her machine, she's sending it up to the
University to have it tested there since they have more high tech
equipment. Her first thought when she saw him and heard his symptoms was
also hyperthyroidism. But, so far no tests confirm that. We should have
the results back from the University in a week or so, she said.

Other than that, except for the weight loss and vomiting, he's very
healthy. She even said his red blood cell count was back in normal range.
She thought (and I had never heard this before) that fleas can cause the
anemia. Granted this has been a sucky year for fleas, I've been treating
both cats with Frontline which so far, doesn't seem to be able to keep up
with the problem. While he doesn't have severe fleas anymore, he evidently
still has a few.

So, that's where we're at today. I'll see how the Reglan works, maybe it
will make a difference.

Patty

Fleas suck blood - therefore anemia.........................



Patty wrote:
I took Grady to the new vet today. 2 hours and $231 later, I know what he
doesn't have.

Well, he does have one thing, a heart murmur. The new vet asked if I kenw
that, and I told her no. My prior vet never mentioned it, perhaps he
didn't think it had any significance. She did x-rays and showed me that
while his heart was enlarged, it was only slightly so, so she was not too
concerned about it at this point in time.

She also took x-rays of his abdomen. His intestines looked good (no
blockages) except for his colon. It was enlarged and distended with gas.
Yep, you heard it right, gas. Poor kitty is so full of gas, he probably is
ready to explode. (Evidently I have a kitty that can't pass gas.) So, she
gave me some Reglan to try in the hopes that not only will it help with the
vomiting, but will also help regulate his digestive tract so he can get rid
of all the gas. (Oh boy, not sure I want to be around him when THAT
happens!)

Thyroid test came back normal on her machine, she's sending it up to the
University to have it tested there since they have more high tech
equipment. Her first thought when she saw him and heard his symptoms was
also hyperthyroidism. But, so far no tests confirm that. We should have
the results back from the University in a week or so, she said.

Other than that, except for the weight loss and vomiting, he's very
healthy. She even said his red blood cell count was back in normal range.
She thought (and I had never heard this before) that fleas can cause the
anemia. Granted this has been a sucky year for fleas, I've been treating
both cats with Frontline which so far, doesn't seem to be able to keep up
with the problem. While he doesn't have severe fleas anymore, he evidently
still has a few.

So, that's where we're at today. I'll see how the Reglan works, maybe it
will make a difference.

Patty

Patty, does your cat have normal feces? Everything there is moving along
normally?

That's weird about the gas. In rabbits, we give (human) infant gas
drops. Gas pain in rabbits is always a crisis. Anyway, the main
ingredients in the drops is simethicone, but it goes by lots of
different brand names.

You might call the vet tomorrow and see if it is worth a try for your
cat. It isn't digested into the system, it works mechanically, so we can
use big doses on rabbits (about 2-3 droppers full every couple of hours)

Good luck,

Rhonda

Patty wrote:

She also took x-rays of his abdomen. His intestines looked good (no
blockages) except for his colon. It was enlarged and distended with gas.
Yep, you heard it right, gas. Poor kitty is so full of gas, he probably is
ready to explode. (Evidently I have a kitty that can't pass gas.)

On Tue, 14 Nov 2006 02:46:29 GMT, Rhonda wrote:

Patty, does your cat have normal feces? Everything there is moving along
normally?

That's weird about the gas. In rabbits, we give (human) infant gas
drops. Gas pain in rabbits is always a crisis. Anyway, the main
ingredients in the drops is simethicone, but it goes by lots of
different brand names.

You might call the vet tomorrow and see if it is worth a try for your
cat. It isn't digested into the system, it works mechanically, so we can
use big doses on rabbits (about 2-3 droppers full every couple of hours)

Good luck,

Rhonda


Yes, he has normal bowel movements. He's not constipated or anything like
that.

Patty