Fingers crossed for some answers!
Jingles for your kitty
Thank you all. This week has been rough outside of my Kitty situaton and I think I was letting that bleed to here too. I feel a little better now WRT Kittyās situation.
HC was sent home late last night and seems alright, but groggy. Nothing was found on x-ray, but vets did note they think she was constipated. They didnāt send me home with anything, but Iām going to pick up some Miralax and ask about a Mirtazipine rx. Iām still waiting to hear back about blood values, kidney values, and urinalysis. Fingers crossed.
My dadās cat recently became constipated after losing her sister a couple weeks before. She was miiiiiiserable for a few days, and the day they made an appt to take her in, she popped out what my Dad said was a dog-sized load and immediately went about her happy way. Vet did xrays anyway and see some fecal matter still in there, so sent her home with a liquid to give her daily (and to stop if diarrhea started), so Iām not sure why your vet didnāt do that? I didnāt know you could give Miralax, that could be helpful for sure.
Still jingling!
Miralax, plus adding as much water to canned cat food as theyāll tolerate, was key to managing my diabetic/acromegaly cats GI/bowel issues.
We started him at 1/8th teaspoon and then titrate up as needed.
Itās used, In part, because it generally will not cause diarrhea. Itās easily dosed in food too.
You could also mix in slippery elm or psyllium husk into her food. They help with both constipation and diarrhea and from my experience, cats are ok with the flavor.
Thank you for checking in. The vet got back to me earlier this week and said nothing was out of the ordinary on any of the tests pulled. On the positive side her lymphocytes are WNL now.
No idea what could have caused the spike in them before? A cold�
She is still being a ālight eaterā which is completely out of character for her. She was okay for a couple of days but now her dermatitis has returned with a vengeance and she is leaving her wet food overnight.
Iām not really sure where to go from here.
Did you ever treat the inappetence? Pepcid is cheap & easy & OTC and an excellent place to start.
I very much believe that cats get stomach ulcers far more frequently than is recognized.
Is she still vomiting? Can you use meclizine? Cbd?
For my diabetic cat, I used a variety of things to entice his appetite:
Grated parmesan cheese,
Purely Fancy Feast cat food (its fish and water so high protein),
probiotics (some cats really like the taste),
Yes, and no. I asked for Mirtazipine px and also picked up Famotidine on an Autoship (Chewy⦠amazing!). Vet vetoād both of those suggestions but I ordered the Famotidine anyway. It arrived yesterday and I was planning to start tomorrow so Iāll be able to monitor her on it all weekend when sheās not home alone.
I have had her on Miralax since the appointment, vet warned me it might also contribute to inappetence. So, Iām thinking itās probably time to taper off of that.
Other than leaving her food bowl and the dermatitis, she seems mostly back to normal. Thankfully I have not seen any more throwup since she came back from the vetsā.
Did the vet have a reason why?
I find many vets totally dismiss inappetence in cats as āitās a catā rather than seeing it as a sign that something is WRONG. Cats are such stoic little creaturesā¦writing off one of the biggest signals they give us is so unfair.
Glad youāre going to give it a go. I hope it helps!
For the Mirtazipine, they said they didnāt think it was necessary and didnāt prescribe it normally to cats.
For the Famotidine, they said they didnāt think ulcers were likely but when I pointed out they thought she had environmental stressors contributing to her dermatitis (and I could get it OTC either way), they begrudgingly said it might be worth a shot but warned me about potential side effects with her unknown potential heart issues ā what heart issues? Lol.
I shouldnāt laugh.
I see the lack of an appetite as a huge red flag for this particular cat. She wakes up from a dead sleep when she smells chicken or bacon being cut in the kitche. She is obsessed with food and has been on the Weruva wet food for years. Her clear favorite has always been the Finger Lickinā Chicken and for her to leave it uneaten is a red flag for me. I guess my other two cats, I could see the lack of appetite as being dismissed - they are more the peck and graze type. I actually have to feed them separately because Fatty will eat their food too if I let her⦠lol.
But they make the Mirataz gel specifically FOR cats . . . ??
Is there another vet you can take her to? If I had enough Mirataz left, Iād ship you mine, but I think Iāve got maybe one dose left; not sure it would be worth it.
Thank you, that is kind of you and I appreciate the offer. Iām going to ask my equine vet to give me a px, lol!
Iāve been tentatively considering another vet albeit feeling guilty about it. I like how convenient these vets are, but I do miss my former small animal vet. When SO and I moved a few years ago, we moved out of their range of service.
Remember, you donāt owe them any loyalty just for the sake of loyalty. If theyāre not being really proactive in helping figure things out, a new vet is definitely a good choice.
When she DOES eat, does she eat normally? Does she act like sheās eager to eat, but then doesnāt eat well (or at all)? Iād say itās time to ultrasound her abdomen and intestines and see whatās what.
Mine has no hesitation Rxing it for cats. If they arenāt often prescribing it (or famotidine) as part of their tool box, thatās another flag they are either not up to date on diagnostics (and sometimes meds are part of diagnostics to see what happens) or uninterested in digging deeper, thenā¦
Miramax was key to my diabetic cat who had some ibd/constipation⦠I never saw it effect his appetite.
I fed a cat Miralax for several years and it never affected his appetite. It only attracts water to the gutā¦really nothing to affect appetite.
Mirtazapine is commonly prescribed to cats.
Have you tried a probiotic? One of my cats had an episode of inappetance, nause and vomiting this summer. Vet suspected a mild case of pancreatitis. Even when the N/V went away, she still had some diarrhea. She was always an uber picky cat but the probiotic perked her appetite right up and she continued eating well until I lost her to a lung issue.
The one she ate is FortiFlora by Purina. I think they really like the taste. She initially wouldnāt touch it but I syringed a bit down her and she decided it tasted pretty darn good.
Just another idea.
Susan
Apologies in advance if I missed it, but were her thyroid levels checked with her bloodwork?
A change in appetite and vomiting can be signs of hyperthyroidism, which is easily treated with medication or special diet (or I-131, which is generally curative but $$$).