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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / October 2003need advice for sick cat
My mothers cat, Hobbs, was diagnosed yesterday with this. The biggest piece of advice is to make sure he eats enough. He is eating a little bit but not much. She is trying to give hime whatever he wants. What are some good ideas or tricks or whatever to encourage him to eat more? -David Hobbs Case Summary: An ultrasound of the abdomen and 2 radiographs of the abdomen were obtained. There is a moderately sizedirregularly shaped meaty type mass seen in the mid abdomen in the area of the mesenteric lymph nodes. The kidneys are bilaterally hyperochoic and misshapen. There are also small stones seen in both the right and left renal pelvices. The liver is diffusely mottled in appearance, suggestive of infiltrative disease. The gall bladder is moderately thiick walled, however it is not distended. Fine needle aspirates of what appears to be enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes of the liver were obtained and have been sent for evaluation. Diagnosis:Pendind the cytology, however lympnosarcoma is likely. Possible infiltrative disease of the liver (either lymphosarcoma, fatty liver syndrome or lymphosarcoma) and cholecystitis. Pending the outcome of the cytology report, no recommendations are given at this time. Depending the report, they will recommend different types of treatment. One might be prednisone which would ease everything for the time left. I asked how long. If Prednisone is warranted, possibly 3 to 6 months. If the report suggests more aggressive treatment, it might give him 6 months to a year. At this point, not fully knowing the results of the cytology findings, they can 't prescribe any type of treatment. I asked if he were in pain and he said probably not, possibly nauseated and weak so I am supposed to try to get him to eat. Or he will get very weak. - ~David Try meated baby foods without onion. Serve warmed or at room temperature. Try the water from canned tuna fish. Try pieces of plain chicken cut up. Gail > My mothers cat, Hobbs, was diagnosed yesterday with this. The biggest piece > of advice is to make sure he eats enough. He is eating a little bit but not [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > ~David > My mothers cat, Hobbs, was diagnosed yesterday with this. The > biggest piece of advice is to make sure he eats enough. He is > eating a little bit but not much. She is trying to give hime > whatever he wants. I'm so sorry. It is hard even with a good prognosis how to proceed because they aren't always right. It's sort of "blind faith". > What are some good ideas or tricks or whatever to encourage him to > eat more? First, make sure he's hydrated. I put coffee cups of water all around the house and keep them fresh at all times (they all like drinking from these, not sure why). I got a Drinkwell fountain but only one cat will drink from it, and the one with the chronic problems only stares at it. During times of anorexia I've had to spoon feed (or use a tongue depressor) Hills AD canned food and he turns the corner to wellness pretty quickly. It's been a while since I've had to do that. If the liver values are high, nausea sets in and it's hard to get them to eat on their own. Does he stick his tongue out or seem to gag at the sight of food? Seem to want to eat, hang around the kitchen but then doesn't actually take food? The report mentioned hepatic lipidosis and those were signs my cat showed when his liver values were high and intake of food force-fed and some medications like Denosyl and Actigal helped his liver heal. No amount of trying to get him to eat on his own when he felt like he did worked. He had to get past the nausea.. >>My mothers cat, Hobbs, was diagnosed yesterday with this. The >>biggest piece of advice is to make sure he eats enough. He is [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > him to eat on his own when he felt like he did worked. He had to get > past the nausea.. I was hoping you would see this post. How is Shadow doing - crossing my fingers and hoping? As a side comment my male cat Andy who drinks water on the sly it seems - I never if ever see him drink. Well I finally started adding a tablespoon or two of water to the canned food to help. I have had better luck with the Pur water filtered water - the water in Southern CA is pretty bad it seems. > I was hoping you would see this post. How is Shadow doing - > crossing my fingers and hoping? Awww.. thanks for asking. This week he's been doing very well. Playful, loveable, diarhhea has been down and his butt doesn't look sore. Though last week I thought he was suffering and that is the limit for him; once he starts to suffer I have to do the humane thing. He was vomitting for a couple of days and I think it turned out to be from his ears (or more likely yeast or something similar). He has chronic ear problems and I've been following a thread on the IBD group about Flagyl and goopy ears and the relationship. He's been to the vet multiple times for his ears and she's given me drops to use when they flare up plus instructions and a recommendation for an ear wax softener to clean his ears easier at home. I did the cleaning (one of his ears had actually oozed a liquidy wax), put in some drops and his vomitting cleared up by the next day and he was back to his happy self. But tonight he vomitted again (a whole lot of slimy stuff like saliva in it) so I thought we were starting this over again but a half hour later he ate most of his dinner. He sure gives me worry because I know his time will come and probably soon. I don't want to give up too soon but I don't want him to suffer, either. Treating the symptoms can be so tiresome sometimes for both of us. I wish I knew what to do. As a side comment my male cat Andy > who drinks water on the sly it seems - I never if ever see him > drink. Well I finally started adding a tablespoon or two of water > to the canned food to help. I have had better luck with the Pur > water filtered water - the water in Southern CA is pretty bad it > seems. That can't hurt! :) When Shadow ate nothing but canned food for that long stretch, I never saw him drink. I've learned here that he probably got all he needed from the food. Though, he didn't have the diarrhea back then or it hadn't been obvious, any way. > My mothers cat, Hobbs, was diagnosed yesterday with this. The biggest piece > of advice is to make sure he eats enough. He is eating a little bit but not > much. She is trying to give hime whatever he wants. > > What are some good ideas or tricks or whatever to encourage him to eat more? Find a good quality wet food he will eat. Supplement with Nutrical, which is a high-calorie appetite stimulant (available at pet supply stores). I have had luck with the Diabetic Diet (DM) from Purina for my picky sick cat - but consult with your vet first, as this is higher in protein and may not be indicated for his condition. Best of luck to you! -L. |
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