Until you see the specialist, or even after you do, please check on
allergies. Kitty had the most awful diarrhea in the world. That is what
led us to specialists. My vets thought she was having trouble digesting fat
and might have pancreas problems. We changed her diet, eliminating most of
what she normally ate, then adding foods. If your little friend is not used
to eating fish or fish based foods, try her on them etc. It seems Kitty had
developed an awful allergy to something(se) she was eating. This led to
dehydration, weakness etc. As soon as I got her away from most grains and
processed turkey (a big allergen for cats) the diarrhea cleared up. She
started feeling lots better and has enjoyed life since. The allergies did
not cause the major problem but contributed big time to the quality of life
issues. I urge you to deal with the diarrhea in addition to whatever you
learn in the next few days. My regular vets assure me that developing food
allergies is not normal at Kitty's age but, believe me, they do happen and
your little friend is much younger. You may have to deal with symptoms
instead of the primary diagnosis. That is what I am doing. Once I adjusted
(and readjusted, then adjusted again) life with my marvelous little girl is
great. That does not mean you don't hurt and dread the future. But (at
least for me) I can enjoy the present.
If you have men who will
exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of
compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with
their fellow man.
St.
Francis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Becca DuBose" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2006 5:38 PM
Subject: Re: Paassht
So does she! I've never had another cat who loved his/her name as much as
Paassht seems to. It makes a great sound. One of the things we've been
missing is her running from anywhere in the house when called, chirping
all the way in response. Her vocabulary is almost all chirping and she's
been known to carry on some very long conversations.
Paassht has had no bloodwork done since she was tested in 1999, not even
to be retested. Her current vet has been checking her heart and resp rate
and gum color at each visit. She isn't vomiting but she does have
terrible diarrhea. I wish I'd been educated enough to get a second
opinion back when she first tested positive. I've wanted to have her
retested for several years, but I really trusted the vet she was seeing.
I talked to a second specialist between posts and I think we've found a
winner. She said what we're already doing sounds reasonable and she
probably wouldn't have much to add, but at the same time didn't try to
discourage me from bringing Paassht in if she starts to feel better. She
mentioned single-agent prednisone therapy as an option and told me she
could call a colleague at UT (we're in Nashville, so that's the closest
vet school) for advice on treatment protocols. The first place didn't put
the doctor on the phone with me. They could see Paassht sooner, but I
doubt if one day would make a difference at this point...the right doctor
will be more important.
Becca & Paassht
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Becca, did they do bloodwork on Paassht (love that name, by the way!) to
rule out anemia, as well? How's her breathing? Rapid or normal? Are
her gums pale? If there is, in fact, cancer within her intestinal
walls, she will have a difficult time absorbing nutrients and water
(which would account for the dehydration) which will in turn cause
lethargy (is she vomiting? diarrhea?)...but best to know that anemia
isn't also an underlying culprit, too!
Intestinal lymphoma is notoriously harder to treat than, say,
mediastinal lymphoma (tumor in the chest cavity)...that's not to say
there aren't exceptions, but if you go the chemo route and it doesn't
work, another option is steriods. Large doses of steriods. They're
certainly no cure, but they offer a good quality of life when all else
fails. I'm certainly not trying to discourage you or bring your hopes
down, I'm just trying to make you aware of some of the options out there!
Please keep us posted!
Jen
****************************************************
"But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be
unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world; You
become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed..." --Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry
"If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know
each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what
you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys." --Chief Dan
George
----- Original Message -----
From: Becca DuBose <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Monday, February 27, 2006 4:43 pm
Subject: Re: Paassht
To: [email protected]
She is so tired...she got up to eat and drink a little. I found her
resting on the floor after she used her litterbox, so I put her back in
her bed and now she's resting there, not sleeping, just resting with her
eyes open. I called one of the vets in the phone book and we're going to
take her in for a consult. The earliest we can go is Wednesday.
Becca & Paassht
Marylyn wrote:
I'd make the drive to a specialist. It is worth the peace of
mind.
If it helps, I've made a 3 hour (one way) drive more times than I
can
count. Just having someone in the field say what he/she thinks
is
important. However, the ones I have gone to often argue for aggressive
treatment. You need to talk to Paassht and see what
she
wants to do re chemo, radiation etc if this proves to be the case
with
her.
If you have men
who
will exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter
of
compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal
likewise
with their fellow man.
St.
Francis
----- Original Message ----- From: "Becca DuBose"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2006 3:27 PM
Subject: Fwd: Paassht
Hi,
I've just been lurking and reading for a few weeks. My little
one,
Paassht, is 7-1/2 and tested positive for FeLV in 1999. She was
very
healthy with nothing more than occasional URIs until September
'05,
when she started losing weight. It has been a bit of a roller coaster
ride since then, back and forth to the vet, on and off antibiotics etc.
About 10 days ago I took her in because she
seemed
dehydrated and they gave her some fluid SQ. Within 36 hours or
so
she was almost back to her old self but we went back this
morning
because the fatigue returned and I suspected she was dehydrated again.
She is eating very well but not regaining any weight. I
have
been afraid it was cancer and sure enough, she has a palpable
intestinal mass. The vet doesn't believe she will recover and
so has
recommended comfort care only. I had them give her fluids again since
that helped her feel so much better last week. The vet
also
sent us home with very low dose prednisone to try PRN and we are
continuing her amoxicillin. I'd like to get a second opinion
but our
phone book lists no specialists on veterinary oncology or
internal
medicine, just a handful of clinics advertising cancer care (all
of
which are a 30-45 minute drive away). There are some others
billing
themselves as cat specialist but they are a similar distance
away.
The closest option is to take her to see another generalist.
She
does OK in the car, but I don't want to drag her all over town
if it
won't really help her. Even with the fluids this morning I had
to
ask myself was it for her, or for me? What would you do if
Paassht
were your kitty?
Becca & Paassht
