Jake might need to go to the vet: Advice?

Hey guys,

My kitty Jake has been sleepy the past two days and doesn't eat much. He ate his breakfast yesterday morning, got his shot and all was well. His numbers stayed in the mid 200s all day yesterday as you can see by his SS here:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tcjGEBEPFnr7sJ4SUsaG_Vg#gid=0

Today he's acting the same way... sleepy... uninterested in whatever I get him and he's been staying in one spot. He does not look like he feels sick... doesn't seem lethargic in any way just... uninterested. Not sure what's going on but I think I might take him to the vet. My biggest problem is CASH. I don't have a lot of it... and if there is something else wrong with him I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Although I'm not terribly worried because he's been picky with food before, I am a little worried about him not moving from his spot. It's one of his favorite spots but he generally tends to putter around the house and find new spots.

Ideas? Thoughts?

Go to the vet?

-Breayle and Jake

 

From your spreadsheet, it looks like he is getting a pretty jumbled diet. What is the "remedy" you gave him for nausea/diarrhea?

Is he peeing OK?

According to weather.com, it doesn't look warm where you are, so heat lethargy wouldn't seem to be the problem.

Let us know about the remedy, but if this were my cat I might be inclined to suspect a stomach ache, try to stabilize his diet, maybe give Pepcid AC, and watch for improvement for a day before declaring time for a vet visit.

ETA: Despite what I say what I would do with my own cat, go with your gut. If you think he needs to see the vet, do it. Don't want to get caught in an weekend ER situation.

 

His remedy is a homeopathic one. He's been given these many times, I actually prefer to give him natural remedies to things like Pepcid AC simply because of the "extra" ingredients that are in there. This is what I gave him: http://www.mothernature.com/p/Nux-Vomica-30-x-250-tab/102747.html the "other" ingredient is a simple lactose base as opposed toHydroxypropyl cellulose, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, red iron oxide, starch, talc, titanium dioxide) which is Pepcid's extra ingredients. One of these ingredients is starting to get tested for it's links to Cancer, and that's magnesium sterate.

As for his diet, I have been trying to stabilize it... but he's odd. He gets "bored" of the food I give him and I have to find out what next I can feed him before he gets bored of that. However, when I'm at work and he's hungry and my parents feed him, he'll eat what I feed my other kitties... which I used to feed to him but he stopped eating it. So I don't know what his deal is.

He's also peeing... and drinking. Just pooping poorly

I have tried sprinkling a bit of Parmesan cheese on top of the food and he ignores it. For a while all he would eat was canned wild caught Alaskan salmon. He wouldn't even eat that this morning... so once again I gave him Dry Innova EVO kibble. His last BG reading was 255 so despite 2 feedings of this kibble his sugar doesn't seem to be effected by it at the moment. He's being *****y with me right now too... seriously over me going over to him and checking on him. He's outside right now, something I haven't let him do in a while so maybe he's just over me, and wants to be outside with his brother in peace all day. Which normally I would be fine with if he didn't wander away. I made an appointment for him tomorrow, my mom is gonna have to take him because I'll be at work.

The thing that is the most off about his behaviour is he's wanting to stay in a single spot in the house. He wont move from it, except to drink and poop/pee. It is not an unusual spot for him to be in, it is however unusual to be in there all day without moving to another one of his spots. He's done this the past couple days and I'm giving him some freedom to play outside without me hovering every second. Maybe he's depressed? I'm not sure... he is eating the dry EVO kibble though so I'm pleased he's interested in something to eat.

-Breayle and Jake

 

One more bit of information about Nux Vomica:

http://www.answers.com/topic/nux-vomica

I am very into homeopathic remedies and the likes, I also work in a homeopathic pharmacy where I get some discounts on vitamins and such for him, so that's really nice. He's been getting homeopathic remedies for the past 10 years now and he's always done very well with him. Pets and children tend to have the best reactions to them from my experience

-breayle and jake

 

no advice just well wishes for a clean bill of health from the vet!

 

Thank you so much, it is appreciated

 

I really hope Jake is ok....sending positive thoughts for him. I have no advice either, but it's interesting you say he will eat food from your mom that he won't eat when you feed him. One of my civvies gets very picky with me, to the extent that he will beg for a different flavor if I put down something he doesn't want. Interestingly enough tho, if my son feeds him, he'll eat whatever he's given. I think he just has me too well trained, and is grateful to get anything from my son. lol

 

I'm worried your cat may have pancreatitis and may be in pain. One of the undernoted symptoms of pancreatitis in cats is, IME, "over-finicky" eating. The cat eats something, doesn't feel well afterward, associates it with food (if not after the first instance of eating it, after 2-3x) and becomes averse to that flavor or taste. Don't get me wrong, some cats do object to dietary monotony --my own cats won't eat a whole case of the same flavor if I feed it every meal-- so I'm talking about cats who seem to be repelled by a food. Diabetes mellitus and pancreatitis are associated diseases in cats, so this is another concern. Behavioral changes, reluctance to move, and anorexia are the most common symptoms of pain in cats.

Your mom can request a blood test called an fPLI; this will be cheaper than having an abdominal ultrasound done. In the meantime I would reconsider the Pepcid. You have to balance the theoretical concerns about minute amounts of inactive ingredients with the likelihood that your cat is experiencing very real stomach upset and needs help. The Nux Vomica is not going to cut it, I'm afraid.

 

See that's what I was thinking! People say... you're cat isn't that smart... but he IS! With food he's a genius! I've never seen a cat just find the food in the strangest of places! Lose that cheerio a week ago? Not to worry! Jake has found it between the couch cushions! His last BG reading was 209 and that was three feeding of Innova EVO dry kibble so his sugar is not being effected by this food, so hurray. He's been outside in the sun for the past couple hours and I keep going back ever two to check on him. He's been growling at me but lets me do the test... I'm honestly starting to think he's just depressed and wants nothing to do with me. Especially since I've been his jailer for the past two weeks and keeping him inside all the time.

At least that's what I hope... tomorrow he goes to a new Doctor. The last one disappointed me, she was very expensive and not very knowledgeable. First off she prescribed a discontinued insulin (at least where I live) called PZI. She also didn't know that Lantus was a 2x a day insulin for cats. She also gave me canned food and told me it was specially formulated for cats with diabetes... and the second ingredient is rice flour... so yeah. I'm over her.

 

Jake has an appointment to the vet tomorrow. Thank you for your concern... Nux Vomica has always worked well with him before... as well as other of my remedies.

And just a side note, it's not just "theoretical" many people have done studies and these minute inactive ingredients do play a part on the body after time. This is my choice, and I really do not want to expose Jake to synthetic chemicals unless I really have to. He has not vomited at all today, and he has eaten two serving of Evo Dry kibble.

 

Well my Jake n Bake came back from the vet, free from pancreatitis! GO JAKE! WOOT! Looks like he has arthritis in his tail, which is causing him pain when he goes poop. So he's actually got a blockage in his colon, so were gonna get him cleaned out and on something for the arthritis! I'm pleased his doing fine, this new vet rocks too. She was very happy about my spreadsheet that I had made since February... she said it helped her out a lot!

So yay for Jake!

 

Hi Breayle

I'm glad to hear it everything got checked out. Did he get an enema at the vet? Did they do an x-ray ?

Just for reference:

Neither a physical exam, or regular blood work, or x-ray is useful in the diagnosis of pancreatitis. An fPLI blood test can be sent out (it takes several days to come back) or an abdominal ultrasound with an experienced ultrasonographer can be done; these are diagnostic for pancreatitis in cats. Jake may or may not have chronic pancreatitis; it's just not known at this point, and there is no urgency in finding out as long as you have reasonable other possible causes for his inappetance (which you do).

FWIW, Dasuquin/Cosequin and Adequan have both been successfully used for arthritis in kitties on the board. Supplementation with fish oils (fish body oils, not cod liver oil) also helps, but the quantities needed to produce effect are difficult to get into a cat voluntarily. SAMe may also help.

 

The vet did do a fPLI test and an x-ray. She said he does not have pancreatitis... so I guess Jake's bloodwork came back earlier than usual. I'm going to assume the blood test results take as long as it takes the tech to get to it rather than the test itself taking several days.

 

That doesn't sound right. You only took him in today, right? Turnaround time for the Idexx Spec fPL (2493) is 1-2 working days. Did you get a copy, and what was the result?

 

yes, the fastest pancreatitis test has a one-day turnaround.
that said, my cat ALWAYS tests negative for pancreatitis using the fPLI but shows clearly positive in ultrasound.
not moving around, trouble eating, can happen a lot with depression or pancreatitis. pancreatitis is very common with diabetic kitties.
glad your vet found something you can work with, and hope jake is feeling better soon.

 

One of the beans here told me she used a magnetic pad for her arthritis so she put it in her cats bed and he started to move around more..Schooch our 17 year old seen to be having problems and just stayed in his favourite spot for about two weeks had to deliver his meals.Stopped getting in the bath tub to get his drink..I tried the magnetic pad and he is everywhere the next day Don`t know but he is keeping the pad He seems so much better Kath

 

For arthritis I've got him on: http://www.harvestmoonhealthfoods.com/redidog.html

It says for dogs, but I called the company and they said it was perfectly fine for cats. He's also been givin a pro-biotic fiber. So we can hopefully get the blockage out. She didn't feel it was pancreatitis, did the blood test and an x-ray. Jake has been moving around much more today than he was the past two days... I noticed this morning he felt better. I also found a huge pile of poop in his box... so that makes me feel better about this diagnosis because his spirits were up when he took a big dump :lol: . I will go back to the vet when I have more cash and ask for a sonogram... but I really get a good feeling she's right. I am aware of his risk of having pancreatitis, but I have done everything I can do for now, until I get more money.

I do not have credit cards, I do not have pet insurance, and I do not have much help from friends and family regarding money. I spend a lot of money keeping Jake happy and healthy, and my vet said he was very healthy and strong and he looked great for being 16 years old, a diabetic and well... completely full of sh@t

If I cannot remove the blockage myself with food and probiotic fiber, I will ask her to give him an enema but only as a last resort... I have heard too many horror stories in my line of work about prefrated colons and other horrible things from human error.

I really appreciate everyone's advice and help with this, and thanks for telling me about the tests. He did very well today

-Breayle and Jake

 

Yea, Idexx is faster than sending to Texas but you still get next-day results, so the results for Jake should be in on Monday.

Breayle, remember that mild dehydration (from high blood sugar) may be contributing to his constipation. The fiber will work best if he's very well-hydrated as it needs to be able to pull water into the intestine. Also FWIW, there are very gentle ways of doing enemas. At work our cat/dog enemas consist of inserting a lubricated soft red rubber catheter with two small holes on either side of the tip, and using a syringe to put in warm water +/- a blob of KY Jelly. The holes in the red rubber are too small to allow water to be pushed in with great force. Hopefully Jake won't need this, but if he does don't hesitate to ask the vet for exact details on how the enema is performed. There are ways of doing it that are extremely gentle.

 

Here's the thing... my mom is confused. She said he took the test, and when I said "Does he have pancreatitis?" she responded "The vet doesn't think so"

Then I asked, "did she take the test?"

"yes"

"was it negative?"

"yes"

She got confused... she said the test results wont be back till Tuesday... after I specifically asked her if the test came back. When i asked for a copy of the test an hour ago she told me the test results aren't going to happen till Tuesday.

FRUSTRATING!

I've been telling people all fracking day that he's negative... I hope i didn't jinx it. I know my mom means well... but she got confused and totally screwed me up.

((sigh))

So please once again, fingers crossed for the stink machine. I'm so annoyed... :shock: