7/2 JeffJ and Leoberry - PMPS 115

Leo (Leoberry)
12 years old, Acro, SRT in Sept 2016, prednisolone and chemo since spring 2017 for small cell lymphoma (SCL).

I don't often post Leo's own thread, but I did just update the last 2.5 weeks in his SpreadSheet, so you can see his dailies. Generally he has late nadirs, mostly because of the prednisolone. His stridor (throat growths) from the Acromegaly are worse, causing eating issues these last few months.

In turn, the eating issues mean we are nearly hand feeding. We hold up the Fancy Feast food + water mixture. Or we put the bowl on a 6" - 8" platform so it is over chest height. And we feed 6-10 times a day in small amounts. Whatever he will eat.

Leo is hard to regulate because of the eating issues, the SCL, the chemo, and prednisolone. Lately, very challenging. The vet said he looked pretty good last week. He is on a 2 week course of Orbax oral antibiotic for low white blood cell count. Tonight, another challenge to dose without producing a hypo. Our sweet Acro-boy.

Little Dude and Leo - best buds ever

 

They are SO adorable together!!!

 

I love seeing those boys! Thanks so much for sharing Jeff.

 

I found the eating issues to be one of the hardest things to deal with too. Neko liked the Royal Canin Recovery formula, it has a light fluffy texture, easy to syringe too. The rest of her food I puréed with water. I had a separate imulsion blender just for her.

Did you ever think about using budesonide instead of prednisolone? Budesonide did not impact Neko's blood sugars. With an acro on Levemir, you will often see late nadirs. Without pred, Neko still nadired around shot time. Which I found easier to deal with than a mid cycle nadir.

For anyone lurking, Jeff is not following either of the dosing methods we use on this particular forum. I cannot suggest how to help on dosing.

 

Thanks Wendy. I might try Royal Canin. Theresa just bought some different Weruva Cats in the Kitchen. The boys gobbled up the seafood version tonight, so that is promising.

We initially liked prednisolone because it solved Leo's appetite issue. He almost died from not eating, and the pred reduced his SCL swelling and gave him his appetite back.

 

Jeff... I second @Wendy&Neko suggestion to try pureeing the food. Pig does not have issues swallowing, but is sure helped with his digestion. You can buy a cheap smoothie blender and it works quite well with the kitty food. Super easy to do and it makes that sort of gravy they all just love. Even Tail will not eat whole chunks anymore. Actually, the last time he had whole chunks he over ate and barfed it back up. It might help.

Also, Tiki cat makes a Velvet Mousse that is 0 carbs and nothing but smooth, soft goodness..

 

Good suggestions. We tried puree. We even pureed real cooked chicken and he wouldn't eat it.

I'll look at the other foods you recommended.

 

Hmm... He is picky, then... Have you ever tried the SEB? Its suppose to work like an appetite stimulant. I can concur with this. After I started Pig on it he would just sit in the kitchen and yell for food. Actually, I am having to back off on it bc of this and other things... It nearly doubled his appetite.

 

We think the root of the problem with the recent eating issues are the growths in his throat. He always approaches the food. He almost always tries it. If it gets stuck in his throat at all, or if there is a swallowing issue, he runs from the food. So we think he is hungry, but can't eat properly.

So I'll try some of the foods suggested, and will also break out the hand-blender. We bought it last year. It is a stick blender that you hold into a pot or a bowl to puree the stuff there.

 

Jeff, It is always nice to see a pic of your 2 best buds. It is so discouraging seeing Leo having trouble eating. When Jack started turning down food(which was his FAVORITE thing in the world), I went out and bought a buffet of foods. I disregarded carb content and to some extent even ingredients. Eating was the only goal, hard stop, I could adjust insulin as needed, but calories were king. He frequently had 2-4 bowls of food out that he could choose from. Cheesy stuff, loaf, chunks, those pouches that have liquid he could drink even if it was low in calories, anything was better then nothing. Spiking the food with something he likes could be worth a shot too.

Sending tons of appy vines Leo's way, you have taken such great care of him!

 

Thanks for the picture kudos and the appetite vines. Two weeks ago, our vet gave us the best compliment I ever had. She said "Leo is only here because of everything you have done for him."

It made us really happy. I think many on the forum are the same. Leo has had 3-4 really low points in his health where he almost died. Food issues have been part of that.

We are now focused on the food component. Leo gets 4-5 different kinds of foods per day. I like your suggestion of spiking the food with his favorite. We are focused on longer term patterns. So I'll probably get a pet-scale to weigh him daily. He has not lost much weight, but his spine area is thinner than last year.

As Wendy said, we are not using the forum protocols. Leo's fluctuations make that too difficult.

 

Appy vines for Leo. Love seeing your two boys cuddled up all the time.

 

Sorry I missed Jack's Acro diagnosis. (I think I missed it). A lot of people just post to this subforum, plus I work a lot of hours.

 

Yes, the Acro forum was pretty quiet so most Acro beans just hang out here. I can imagine work being busy, you get to play with much bigger IT toys than I do and I am seeing a trend of going back to onprem vs the magical cloud

Unfortunately Jack is GA, we put up a good fight. I think it was SCL in the end, but by then he was not a good candidate for invasive biopsy, etc. I still try to pop in to check on the other kitties Jack was friends with and have lurked on Leo's progress when you have time to post.

Acro's can be quite unpredictable, I frequently went with my gut over protocol as well. Know thy cat as they say.

 

Yay! I actually understood this!

I'm sorry Leo is giving you worry, Jeff. The sun rises and sets on our furkids when you're a devoted pet parent as you are. An immersion blender is a great tool. If you really want to puree the ---- out of anything, you can't beat a Vitamix!

 

Thanks Wes - I'm sorry I missed the passing of Jack - you were devoted to him. It is a tough road with Acros.

Thanks Kris - yes now I remember "immersion blender". Of course this morning, Leo at a half a bowl of FF. But that was not the case yesterday.

 

Sending eating vines to sweet Leo. Colin had this problem too. He hated when I puréed his food, but loved the Tiki Velvet Mousse.

 

Colin was such a trooper. And you did a great job with him Sharon. I think all of us on the forum miss him.

 

JeffJ's new car window sticker

 

haha, love it!

 

Might give these a try

https://tikipets.com/product-category/tiki-cat/velvet-mousse/

I hope you can find something that works. Poor Leo .

Love the pictures of the two of them together. So sweet.