Any Freeper Veternarians? Need Sick Viking Kitty Info (and prayers)

12 MAR 05 | dcbryan1

[DCBryan1]

Need Vet advice on sick freeper kitty.

[DCBryan1]

UPDATE

I am TIRED!

JUST got in from Kansas City, MO, one of my top favorite cities. I was up at 5 am, so the drive was long.

Casey was taken to the vet today by my mother because she could not get the IV to work. She was hydrated at noon via Sub-Q. Vet said that her veins had collapsed. She is STILL not eating and is being force fed. Her blood work has showed lower numbers still, so that is good.

Bad news: t-4 test was run and VET told my mom that she has a thyroid tumor. I dont know what this means since I am still waiting for the vet to call me. I am about to go to bed and take the phone off the hook. All I know is that he told her that it is not fatal.

Is there anything you guys can suggest to help Casey eat? Vet said that her kidney/liver problem is looking really good, and was an ACUTE case of kidney failure, and not going to be chronic. His main concern now is to get her to eat ANYTHING on her own.

Your ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks to all of you for prayers and advice.

Heading to bed...

Chris

[OESY]

The Rescue Squad is on the Way. Wait.

[DCBryan1]

The vet's assistant called and said vet was in surgery and will call later. She did give me some info of Casey's visit to the Vet yesterday to have her IV leg catheter taken out and blood test.

FRIDAY 18 MAR 05
BUN=94, CREA=2.86, ALT =104

TUESDAY, 22 MAR 05 BUN=47.8, CREA=2.75, ALT = 99

Bad news is that her T-4 exam came back and gave a 4.6 result (overactive thyroid).

I could have sworn that my mother (whom took Casey to the vet while I was in Kansas City yesterday) said that the vet said she had a tumor on her thyroid.

What is my best and worse case scenario with this new development?

Anyways, Casey was hydrated via SUB-Q this AM since her leg catather was not working in her veins.

She is also not eating anything I put in front of her, but she acts very interested in eating and is laying beside her food bowl with about a spoonfull of everything in the bowl (teaspoon of chicken baby food, tspn of friskies tuna, tspn of a/d cat food, dry cat food, etc). I am about to force feed now since it has been 14 hours since last force feed. Vet has again, switched her from k/d back to a/d cat food since it is supposed to be better for her and her kidney numbers look better.

Still not out of the woods yet. Lots of purring, peeing, and pooping, but no eating.

Thanks for all support, advice, and prayers!

Chris (still worried).

[vetvetdoug]

Periactin orally administrated at a dose of 2mg every 12 hours sometimes stimulates the appetite. Pepsid AC at a dose of 5mg daily keeps the ulcerative pain associated with renal failure decreased and encourages eating. Also, you will have to ultimately have to address the hyperthyroidactivity. Radiation is the best option, albeit expensive, but you have to decide that. B-12 always makes them feel better and is administered weekly. Get your vet to call Hill's Science Diet for a dietary consultation. They do it for free if you use their feed and their technical support is the greatest. Casey may need a pharangostomy tube which is easy to put in place and will facilitate feeding. They look funky but are life savers. Call around till you find a vet that uses that technique often. The thyroid level hormone is active/increased but without a biopsy, I don't see how a tumour could have been diagnosed.

If I hadn't had the same thing happen to me before, a reaction along with a hyperthyroid cat, I would have never considered it. The lab data is very hopeful and improving satisfactorily IMHO.

[Huntress]

Bump for updates. I hope Casey continues to improve.

[DCBryan1]

Had a visit with the vet today. He check her weight, temperature, and mouth. He did not want to draw blood today because of the report I gave (positive) and that she is doing better. She is still not out of the woods because she is not eating nor drinking.

He wants to continue force feeding 30 cc three (3) times a day of science diet a/d canned (wet) cat food watered down into a syringe. I will also give her a vitamin b12 shot of 1/2 cc once every 100 hours. The vet wants us to stop the nutrical and finish off the 1/2 ml of amoxycillin (sp).

The only new addition is that he put her on 1/2 tablet (about 2mg)of Cyproheptadine for appetite. He also said that vetvetdoug was absolutely right about the Pepcid AC and said to buy the 10mg mint chewable pills and cut them into 4 and give it to her in the morning and at night.

I still have 2 shots of centrine available if she starts throwing up.

The vet wants to see her again next Wednesday, 30 MAR 05 to draw blood and check on her. Her little veins might have had time to reconstitute to try a catheter in her leg for I.V. instead of the SUB-Q I am giving currently (100ml twice a day).

THanks again for support and advice! She is sitting here next to me like the old days watching me surf Freerepublic....I just wish she would eat/drink and get as active as she used to be....still a very sick little kitty with good signs of improvement!

Thanks again!

Chris

[vetvetdoug]

We are still chugging along I see. I was glad to be of some help. I have one more suggestion. Instead of centrine for control of vomition, consider Zofran (ondansetron) at a rate of .25 ml per ten pounds of bodyweight daily in the muscle. Zofran is more expensive but light years ahead of centrine in the control of vomiting. I wish you the best.

[CAluvdubya]

I'm so glad to hear Casey is doing better and surfing FR with you (always a good sign!). I'm glad you are giving us updates and we look forward to them. In our house I yell "kitty update" and then spread the news! Hang in there, both of you.

[Huntress]

I'm happy to hear that Casey is getting better, slowly but surely. Keep us posted.

[Overtaxed]

Glad to hear that Casey's doing better.

[Overtaxed]

BTW...could the medicine be responsible for her lack of appetite? I once had my kitty on some antibiotic with amoxycillin and by the time she finished the doses she wouldn't eat, she was vomiting, and had diarrhea. Just a thought.

[Ditter]

I am praying that your little friend makes it. I lost my Jack Russel Terrier a week ago. all the talk about the liver function numbers made me think of Tootie (as if I'm not think of her constantly). Tootie ate something toxic from the yard and it destroyed her liver after a 3 week struggle. Best wishes.

[Jack Deth]

Add me to the list of Huntress, Ovretaxed and everyone else that glad to see your Casey is feeling better, Bryan.

Prayers and thoughts still up.

Jack.

[msdrby]

bump

[Overtaxed]

How did Casey do during the holiday? Is she eating yet? You do know that eventually we want a picture of Casey frisking around in the back yard again. :)

[msdrby]

hey there OT

[Overtaxed]

Hey! Howz it going?

Went to visit my sister last weekend....her cat got in a tussle with a couple of dogs (got off with only one dog bite in the tail.)

[msdrby]

How is Casey doing today?

[DCBryan1]

Whew! Back online! I had a hard drive crash. Now I dont regret paying retail for my Dell. Just got back online a few mins ago to check and see if I had my connection set up properly, and of course this is the first place I go because I knew you guys were wondering about Casey.

UPDATE

Casey seems to be doing better. She is showing interest in eating and, in fact, "pecking" and "picking at" her wet cat food and "gumming" her dry cat food. She is trying hard to eat but I still am force feeding to be on the safe side. She is licking and gently eating food for the first time, but I am still force feeding and hydrating sub-Q.

The vet gave her two (2) new medicines:
Clindamycin Hydrochoride drops (25mg) in lieu of her amoxicillin (sp) and
Cyproheptadine (2mg) for appetite.

Here are her numbers for her 30 MAR 05 WED visit:

CREA: 1.79
BUN: 23.3
ALT: 98
HOWEVER, we found some numbers that the Vet didn't like: First she still showed a little bit of anemia, and a slight infection (hence the change in antibiotics), and then he told me that something might be wrong. We took her weight and she was almost 1 lbs. lighter from 8lbs ten (10) days ago, and a little heavier than the day she went in three(3) weeks ago today with anaphylatic shock. IN other words, she is still a little heavier than she was when all this mess started, but has dropped from 8lbs to 7lbs in 10 days.

This alarmed the vet and he checked her and found abdominal fluid build up and took a sample. He said that he was sending that excess abdominal fluid to the State lab and feared that she might have cancer!

We then did an ultrasound of her entire belly (which she didnt much care for, and did not find any cancer. However, he told me that he cannot tell by sight whether she does or doesnt have cancer. He also said that she might have something called sestemia (spelling) in relation to her heart murmer. Any ideas on what that would be vetvetdoug?

We set up an appointment for Monday, 04 APR 05 so he can spend a little more time with her and get the results back from the fluid he withdrew from her belly.

He commented that the kidneys and liver were doing exceptionally well, and her increased interest in food and activity were good signs.

We are still yet to do anything about her over-active thyroid until she gets on her normal eating regimine and her infection numbers get better.

Anyways, here are her numbers vetvetdoug, that the Vet didnt like.

HCT: 17.8
RBC: 3.95
HGB: 7.3
Weight 7 1.5 oz

Thanks for all prayers, advice, and considerations. We may not be out of the woods yet, but she seems to be feeling much better, I just hope she actually IS doing better.

I will post MON PM next, since I have another drill this weekend welcoming back the 39th INF BDE here in LIttle Rock, AR.

Thanks again!

Chris

[vetvetdoug]

Septicemia is an infection in the blood and entire system, the abdominocentesis sample will give you a better idea of what you are dealing with in this situation. You may have an anemia secondary to the vaccine reaction, anemia due to renal impairment (renin/angiotensin mechanism), an anemia of a chronic infection or God forbid after all of this an anemia due to neoplasia. A HCT lower than 15% will almost mean a blood transfusion is necessary and there is good reason for concern. You are lucky, Stan Carlin, D.V.M. in Conway, Arkansas is a specialist in cat hyperthyroidism and can treat your cat if we can get her to that point. His number is 510-328-3344. Your vet may wish to consult with him. The hyperthyroidism can affect a significant number of your liver and hemopoetic levels so there may a chance this is all due to the thyroid. The kidneys and liver appear to be back to normal IMHO.

Good luck and God Bless you and the pet that God has given you charge of (Genesis: God gave man charge over all animals to be cared for by man.).