Pig 6/28 amps 70

Yesterday's

He is doing so very well right now! I cannot begin to describe how amazing the SEB is working for him. It is like it has tripled his ability to move things through and his poos just sort of slide out without a giant amount of pushing! And... get this... They are still formed and rather large! Just wow!

I have been very hesitant to start the AB that the vet sent. She feels it is better safe than sorry and I tend to agree, but I have no definitive tests proving that it is a UTI. My strips read inconclusive and I can't pinpoint exactly what it is. His behavior points to a UTI - mewling at the box, a couple failed attempt before a stream is produced, touchy around his bladder, and of course.. the cloudy urine. I want to research the damage to the gut flora with AB before I start so that I can mitigate that damage. He reads with a Hemolysis +6 / blood spec, but its a bit murky... grr. His urine was pretty clean just a minute ago and he was able to expel on the first try, but it was a very slow stream. I guess it is better safe than sorry, but I never just give medication without being certain and doing my research.

Anyone know what to expect with Amoxicillin? How to stop the destruction of good bacteria?

Managed to get Tail to eat a small amount of raw mixed into his food without throwing up. One time. He ate it one time. Now, I blend up .5oz in his 6oz can of food... and nope. He will not touch it. Sheesh...

 

I have no advise, but I wanted to say how fabulous Pig's numbers are! Keep up the good work!

 

Make sure he is on a probiotic, before starting the ABs, which I think he already is. Give them two hours apart. Makes it more challenging with the SEB time limitations too.

Looking good Pig!

 

Thank you! He really does like surfing out the greens... If I could just get a handle on my dosing and keep him a bit steadier, he would be more than willing to comply...

I just love your avatar... I can never get over it... so squee!

 

Hmm... Okay, so I gave it a bit of thought. Here is what we can do as far as schedule:

12:00 (BID) - Insulin, Cisapride, MiraLax, Gaba, EZ Egg, (PM) fish oils
3:00 - (AM) Probiotics - 'Extra-Care'
6:00 - Amoxicillin 1/2 tab
9:00 - 1 tsp SEB

and repeat... lol. A bit more complicated, but workable. Hopefully these ABs will flush out whatever it is that is acting funky in there...

 

You could give the probiotics with the preshot lot of meds. One less med time.

 

I'm curious about the urine tests you are doing and what they can tell you. My Rosie has had bacteria suspected due to high WBC, confirmed by microscopic exam of urine sample, but cultures failed to grow (3 separate times).

Doing my own research, I found "Rapidbac". I'm tempted to buy these because 1 box of 10 would cost less than 1 C&S. Just curious to learn if there are other options, especially for home use. This testing stuff can be addictive for a control freak...

 

So happy Pig is feeling well

 

Looking good Pig!!!!!

Sarah - I'm thinking when you are done with school, you may become a proctologist. You are certainly geared up for it!

 

Yep.. We can do that. I always worry about adding another med into the BID because he already gets so many, but most are natural. As long as it does not hurt his tummy or interfere with the action of the others then we are golden! I like putting the use of the AB and probiotic further apart...

 

This sounds a lot like what happens with Pig. Time and time again we have ran cystocentsis samples, sent them out to do a culture and yet, nothing showed. Nothing. However, she can see blood flashes or 'unidentified' rods in his urine. Now his is showing with cloudy urine, but still unable to pin-point it. I have heard they can develop a micro-film on the bladder wall or that an infection can be so deep that only an US would show it, but that would be dependent upon the presence of pus pockets in the kidneys. What I am finding is that some infections or bacterium are so illusive that even the most sophisticated of tests cannot isolate them or their specific causes. So, in that case, much like Acro or IBD, I tend to lean on a dx of exclusion. If the symptoms and behaviors point to it and kitty is not acting right, and you have at least a suspicion and cause that point in that direction, then in some cases it seems better safe than sorry.

I currently use the Vet-10 Urine Regent Strips.

They are a bit pricey, but in the world of urine strips they are king. My vet recommended them and I have yet to see a false result. These are actually the strips that helped me to decide definitively that he was Acro before I actually got the dx because he constantly presented with proteinuria, a common thing in Acro kitties. They test for 10 different Vet specific parameters and all are relevant to full body function save for the leukocytes which will always read falsely in felines. So, discard the bottom square on the strip and you are still left with 9 very valuable and crucial indicators. We all need ketone strips, well these test ketones and much more besides.

I totally relate to the control freak issue. These can help ease your mind. I have actually compared the results of these against an in house sterile sample pulled by my vet through a cystocentsis poke and they were almost spot on with only a small margin of variance. I trust them.

 

Haha... My mother complains about my love of Pig poo all the time! However, I will tell you, that if I did not have that obsession, Pig may not be where he is today. I have found that his output is very important to his overall health and wellness. Also, they are directly related to how well he feels and a huge indicator of things amiss. If he does not poo, he cannot pee very well. If he cannot pee very well he gets UTIs or Bladder Infections. He is also in chronic discomfort if the is constipated. Imagine everything building up like that inside you... It must be awful. His numbers tell the story well. Constipation or regularity can affect a 50 point swing in numbers!! So, if a Pig proctologist I must be, then that, my dear friend, is what I will be... Remind me to share my findings with you!!

 

LOL. But I agree also important. I never knew that stuff about Manx cats until you started writing about it. All of our kittehs always had regular tails.

Little Dude is the Alpha - his fluffy orange tail is always up in the air when he walks around. Chinus does the same thing. Leo gets his tail up when he gives leg lovins.

 

These guys right here are some happy kittehs! I love the look on LD's face... And Leo, he is just the sweetest!

 

We really got lucky with Little Dude. Duma had just died (8 years old, on 7/1/2016). Little Dude was a neighborhood stray. I spent 6 weeks clearing LD's ear mites. Then he came inside. Within a week, LD and Leo were the buds. Within 2 months they were the very best of buds, sleeping together and rubbing next to each other. I think Leo was looking for a soulmate after Scoobs died. Then he found one.

Leo is at the vet today. Under sedation they are evaluating his throat. He lost 1.5 - 2.0 pound in the past 4 months. His throat stridor is lots worse. He cannot eat from the floor. We have to hold up the bowl for him to eat from it. As a result, he has been eating less. Today's vet visit is to evaluate potential surgery for the throat stridor - fleshy growths.

 

I know this isn't my thread. Leo only lost 0.75 pounds in the past 3 months.

 

Oh no worries! Please, post away! That is good that he only lost .75 lbs, rather than 1.5-2.0!! I like the updates and to know that they are doing well!!

 

This being a potential issue never really occurred to me, but it makes sense if the IGF-1 is still present. That one thing I have wondered about, but have just spaced posting about. Before the surgery, Pig could wake up the whole house snoring. We went in and did SRT and then …. nothing. He does not snore or snort or anything the way he use to. I told them about his stridor and warned that a kitten intubation tube might be needed. However, such an immediate change makes me wonder if something happened during the intubation process that eliminated those growths... ?? He breathes exactly like he did before Acro…. It is the weirdest thing... @Wendy&Neko do you have any ideas? I remember you telling me that some people noticed stridor disappearing after SRT, but I can't remember it being immediate...

 

Leo had the stridor leading into the SRT treatments. But it did get worse in the last 18 months.

The sedated vet exam from Friday...the vet said he has cartilage growths on both sides of his throat. She said until it gets 100% drastic, that surgery should not be done. We also had a general 15-20 minute discussion about Leo, FDMB, diabetes, and small cell lymphoma. We have the best vet ever.

I couldn't have her job though, because of euthanasias. She said she had 3 really bad kittehs this week, and the euthanasias were all on the same day. I wouldn't be able to cope with that part of the job.

We discussed IGF-1 re-testing. Currently Theresa and I do not have a goal to redo SRT. So she said hold off on the test unless we planned a treatment as a result.

 

Beautiful blue and green streaks for Pig
I still can't get over his name, just told DH. Love it and so happy to see when he is doing well!

 

I don't remember the timing of SRT and stridor getting better for others. Been too long. There also haven't been many kitties getting SRT since the price doubled. Jeff/Leo and @Bronx's dad were the most recent. May change again with WSU's offer. Neko did not have stridor before SRT but did have a slight airy breath with thickened pharynx before she passed. Soft tissue growth in the mouth was more a problem for her. She never needed kitten sized intubation.

 

Bronx was the same way, stopped making that snoring sound immediately after the SRT. And he made that sound for years and years before I discovered he was an acro.