Question marks around my cat Benny

Hello all,
I used to post in this group a few years ago, back when my four
year-old cats Benny and Dewey were babies. I don't recognize anyone,
but I thought I'd drop in to tell my story about Benny.

My husband and I started to notice that Benny was losing weight back in
October, but it didn't seem too significant to us. No ribs showing,
etc., so we just figured he lost a little weight. He actually looked
pretty good, the way a person would if he/she lost five or ten pounds.
Then in the beginning of November, he seemed a lot lighter when we'd
pick him up. So I started giving him extra tuna flavored cat food with
his regular meals about two weeks before his annual check-up.

At the check-up last Saturday, we found out that he'd weighed in at 12
pounds 4 ounxes last year, and he dropped down to 9 pounds 6 ounces.
The vet immediately ran some blood work and tried to get some urine out
of him, though Benny's bladder was dry. On Monday, the vet called and
said Benny's creatinine level was at 3.5, which is above normal but not
nearly as high as a typical CRF cat. On Tuesday, we brought Benny in to
be looked at for a few days. With IV fluids, his creatinine level
dropped to 2.4 (nearly normal) in less than 24 hours. The vet was able
to get a urine sample, but for days (even now) no culture was grown,
though there were trace amounts of white blood cells in his urine,
pointing to an infection. Better to have an infection than CRF... He
tested negative for leukemia and feline AIDS. An X-ray was taken on
Wednesday: kidneys looked fine, heart was fine, lungs were clear. There
was some fecal matter in his intestines, but he wasn't eating much so
that probably accounts for the stuff in his intestines.

We picked him up yesterday (Friday) and he looked skinnier than when we
brought him in. The vet wants us to fatten him up, as Benny barely ate
anything while he was at the vet. In the last 24 hours, he's been
eating very well, chowing on mostly dry food and drinking water. Every
so often, he asks for food, and we remind him that there's still some
more to nibble on in his bowl. He takes our reminders and nibbles on
his dry food. Sometimes we add treats to get him even more
enthusiastic. (Benny has always preferred dry food, though he'll eat a
little canned with his meals, especially tuna flavored cat food.) A
little while ago, he had a BM, so his digestion seems like it's running
normally. He's been playing, chatting with us, and being his regular
cute self.

If he puts on weight, he should be fine. I'm concerned that he won't
and that he might still be in the very, very early stages of renal
failure. The vet wants us to keep him posted about Benny's progress and
will want him back to check his weight. If there is no improvement, the
vet will perform a biopsy on Benny's liver, renal glands, and lymph
nodes.

Anyone ever run into something similar?

Thanks for reading.

Best,
Alex

Any thoughts? Anyone?

There's more to tell...

Benny has been doing well since we brought him home...until today. He
vomited four or five times today; the last few times he vomited foamy
saliva. I read online that that's indicative of CRF. Plus, he's been
obsessively licking his paws. He's doing it now as we speak. For the
last four hours, he's been lethargic. He didn't eat his dinner (but ate
his breakfast) and refused his treats that he always used to beg me
for--even remind me to give him every night. I've never seen him like
this. Tomorrow a.m. my husband and I are going to call the vet.

Thanks.
Alexandra

On 2 Dec 2006 20:24:50 -0800, wrote:

Any thoughts? Anyone?

There's more to tell...

Benny has been doing well since we brought him home...until today. He
vomited four or five times today; the last few times he vomited foamy
saliva. I read online that that's indicative of CRF. Plus, he's been
obsessively licking his paws. He's doing it now as we speak. For the
last four hours, he's been lethargic. He didn't eat his dinner (but ate
his breakfast) and refused his treats that he always used to beg me
for--even remind me to give him every night. I've never seen him like
this. Tomorrow a.m. my husband and I are going to call the vet.

Thanks.
Alexandra

It's tomorrow morning. Have we been to the vet?

dgk wrote:
On 2 Dec 2006 20:24:50 -0800, wrote:

Any thoughts? Anyone?

There's more to tell...

Benny has been doing well since we brought him home...until today. He
vomited four or five times today; the last few times he vomited foamy
saliva. I read online that that's indicative of CRF. Plus, he's been
obsessively licking his paws. He's doing it now as we speak. For the
last four hours, he's been lethargic. He didn't eat his dinner (but ate
his breakfast) and refused his treats that he always used to beg me
for--even remind me to give him every night. I've never seen him like
this. Tomorrow a.m. my husband and I are going to call the vet.

Thanks.
Alexandra

It's tomorrow morning. Have we been to the vet?

We brought him in on Sunday morning. The vet performed invasive surgery
on Benny today. Nothing obvious--no tumors or masses. He did spot some
fat cells around Benny's liver. Could it be lipidosis (sp?)? I'd rather
that than cancer, though lipidosis is not easily treatable, though less
fatal. A biopsy will be performed. We'll know next week if there are
any cancer cells growing. His creatinine levels rose slightly again,
though the vet doesn't think Benny has renal failure. We still don't
know yet what's wrong with him. The good news is that he's doing well
post-op and will be home on Wednesday or Thursday. My husband and I
were afraid that Sunday was going to be the last time we'd ever see him
again...

He's only four years old. Sigh...

Thanks for checking.

Alexandra

On 4 Dec 2006 16:02:51 -0800, wrote:


dgk wrote:
On 2 Dec 2006 20:24:50 -0800, wrote:

Any thoughts? Anyone?

There's more to tell...

Benny has been doing well since we brought him home...until today. He
vomited four or five times today; the last few times he vomited foamy
saliva. I read online that that's indicative of CRF. Plus, he's been
obsessively licking his paws. He's doing it now as we speak. For the
last four hours, he's been lethargic. He didn't eat his dinner (but ate
his breakfast) and refused his treats that he always used to beg me
for--even remind me to give him every night. I've never seen him like
this. Tomorrow a.m. my husband and I are going to call the vet.

Thanks.
Alexandra

It's tomorrow morning. Have we been to the vet?

We brought him in on Sunday morning. The vet performed invasive surgery
on Benny today. Nothing obvious--no tumors or masses. He did spot some
fat cells around Benny's liver. Could it be lipidosis (sp?)? I'd rather
that than cancer, though lipidosis is not easily treatable, though less
fatal. A biopsy will be performed. We'll know next week if there are
any cancer cells growing. His creatinine levels rose slightly again,
though the vet doesn't think Benny has renal failure. We still don't
know yet what's wrong with him. The good news is that he's doing well
post-op and will be home on Wednesday or Thursday. My husband and I
were afraid that Sunday was going to be the last time we'd ever see him
again...

He's only four years old. Sigh...

Thanks for checking.

Alexandra

Ugh. Keep us posted.

Ugh. Keep us posted.

Today I left work early to pick Benny up from the vet. He's bright and
alert, but rather quiet right now. A feeding tube has been inserted
into his esophagus, and I had my first trial using the thing. What a
pain! I could only get half a tube of food into him. I'll try again a
little later.

The biopsy report will come back on Monday or Tuesday. The good news is
that nothing overtly cancerous was found in his system during
surgery--no tumors or masses. His creatinine levels were a little above
average at 2.5. The vet doesn't think Benny has renal failure.

Meanwhile, we just have to get some more food into him.

Best,
Alex

wrote:
Ugh. Keep us posted.

Today I left work early to pick Benny up from the vet. He's bright and
alert, but rather quiet right now. A feeding tube has been inserted
into his esophagus, and I had my first trial using the thing. What a
pain! I could only get half a tube of food into him. I'll try again a
little later.

The biopsy report will come back on Monday or Tuesday. The good news is
that nothing overtly cancerous was found in his system during
surgery--no tumors or masses. His creatinine levels were a little above
average at 2.5. The vet doesn't think Benny has renal failure.

Meanwhile, we just have to get some more food into him.

Best,
Alex

I don't have a lot to offer, except I'm wondering what brand(s) you
feed him. Especially now, a high-quality diet is important. Have you
asked the vet about IBD or a food allergy? Just some thoughts. Poor
guy. I too have a Benny kitty. Hugs to him.

On 6 Dec 2006 16:47:03 -0800, wrote:

Ugh. Keep us posted.

Today I left work early to pick Benny up from the vet. He's bright and
alert, but rather quiet right now. A feeding tube has been inserted
into his esophagus, and I had my first trial using the thing. What a
pain! I could only get half a tube of food into him. I'll try again a
little later.

The biopsy report will come back on Monday or Tuesday. The good news is
that nothing overtly cancerous was found in his system during
surgery--no tumors or masses. His creatinine levels were a little above
average at 2.5. The vet doesn't think Benny has renal failure.

Meanwhile, we just have to get some more food into him.

Best,
Alex

Oh, I had to do the feeding tube thing with Nico a few years back but
this one went directly into his stomach. I know that there are a few
kinds of tubes. It took a day or two to get it all figured out but
then things went ok.

I'll keep fingers crossed (well, mentally anyway) until the report is
back.

Well, some good news and some mixed news.

Nothing malignant in the biopsy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, the vet is not pleased with the pathologist's reading of the
biopsy. The report was wishy-washy, suggesting mild IBD and a possible
food allergy. A cat does not lose 25% of his body weight because of a
food allergy or IBD, the vet said, and I think he's right. The test for
pancreatitis is still pending, so the vet conjectures some intestinal
disorder or pancreatitis, which both would be treatable. Tough to deal
with, but cats can survive from those disorders and continue to live
normal lives after treatment.

I can't say how grateful I am, even though we spent over 3K on the
surgery and everything else.

Rene asked what we feed him: Wellness. We've been giving it to him for
three years and he always gobbled it up before. Best to your Benny,
Rene. It's a good name, huh?

Here are some pics of our cats Benny and Dewey when they were younger.

www.affl.org/bnd

Best,
Alexandra

wrote:


Here are some pics of our cats Benny and Dewey when they were younger.

www.affl.org/bnd


OMG. SHRIEK! CUTE! AIRBORN KITTIES!!!!

So cute. Hope Benny is doing well.

Pam