Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Floyd is sick
So Floyd is sick. He has been for a while - he has gone from 23.5 pounds to 11 pounds. He has been on and off antibiotics for a little over a year - they seem to help while he is on them but then he drops weight really quickly again (he has lost 2.5 lbs since the end of October). We decided along with the vet that it was time to get a bit more aggressive so he has been going in for tests all week. The problem we have is that, although we love the vet we have, they don't have the high tech ultrasound machine that was needed to check him out. So we went to my boyfriends mom's vet, which is close by and also has an ultrasound machine. While there they also suggested a new bloodtest that had come out since Floyd's last one, to check for pancreatits. The ultrasound wasn't bad - no big tumors or anything, but the bloodtest showed he did have pancreatits, which means he could also have a couple other things. They suggested a liver biopsy, which required a blood clot test. We went for that last night, and they suggested checking his levels since it could have gotten bad since the last one (his liver looked ok but with a "weird texture", his kidneys seemed a bit small but ok, and his intestinal walls were "thick", although that could have been because he had eaten) to see if they were ok, and they were, except his pancrease levels were off (to be expected) and so were his muscle levels, which is common with the rapid weight loss. But his clot test was good so he is going in the morning for his liver biopsy - he will be home tomorrow but the results will probably take a few days. I am very worried about him and so I am hoping that everyone will send him good thoughts. I will update as I get more info. The good news is that he is acting completely normal (although sometimes a bit more aggressive with the begging for people food) and is as active as always, if not a bit more so. They did have to shave his belly for the ultrasound - if he lets me I will try to get a picture, but since it is cold outside (and therefore colder in here due to our poor insulation) he is trying to lay on his stomach a bit more it seems (he is probably cold because his belly fur is usually pretty long). But if I can I will get a picture and post it - it looks crazy, but it is also kind of depressing because you can see he is super skinny. So again, please send good thoughts his way!!
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7 comments:
I just came here from cute overload. I am sending all good thoughts and kitty love to your guy.
Best of luck to you and Floyd. I've been there and I know how hard it is on you. You know that you are doing so much more than most would and the very best you can.
I hope his results have come back favorably. Please let us know. I found you from the Leeps! post on CO.
You do certainly have my (and my extreme houseful of cats') good thoughts.
Ginny
I am sending good thoughts and lots of cheek rubs and head bonks from my sweetie Madison who went through something simliar. Have you tried sublingal B12 shots? I firmly belive it saved her life! I love your site! Congrats on making cute overload. Cheri
Came from your link over on cuteoverload. So sorry to hear Virgil is sick. The weight loss is especially concerning. Haven't read your entire blog, so am wondering if you've checked him for diabetes... since you're feeding dry cat food, that may be a problem. I've got 5 cats, one was dying when I started to do some research on my own... found out about dry food (they were all on prescription / premium combo) and since switching they are all doing marvelously. Start here for a Vet's take on the effects of poor nutrition [dry food]: www.catinfo.org [no, they're not selling ANYTHING] -- just info. Hope this helps, nc.Dianne [at] gmail.com [love tuxedos!]
Hope Floyd comes through! Please keep us posted. I, too, have a kitteh named Floyd. I also have a rather HUGE guy named Herbert, a Sam, and a Zelda. We lost MonkeyBoy in October.
Having been here myself my advice is research, research , research on the net to narrow down possibilities and if you don't get a clear diagnosis quickly tale him to an animal hospital, as they have the best vets. By animal hospital I mean the place the vets refer animals to for trickier operations or cases
Hi All - thanks for the thoughts and ideas. We have taken Floyd to the specialist in our area who does the more in depth testing and are looking at changing his foods. So far we know he has pancreatitis and mild hepatitis with a mild fatty liver. He is on a special food - canned - but I also got a dry version because he likes both - we generally give them canned for breakfast and dinner and let them graze during the day on dry but now they will still get the wet morning and night with a dry mid-day snack. Thanks again!
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