Dimmu & KL
Member Since 2017
3/09
It's been another crazy week in the poop land. Dimmu was not able to pass stools and was clearly in pain on Monday so we brought him to the ER. The ER vet put him under and try to do a colon flush/enema, but barely got anything out, she then tried with Valium to relax the colon muscles more, but still, nothing. Er vet suggested surgical removal of his feces and kept him there for the night for observation. Dimmu was released on Tuesday morning and he practically stopped eating after he came home, and was very weak in his hind legs. He'd still try to go to the LB, but nothing came out.
We called our regular vet, Dr. Dufour, to ask about the surgery and she wanted this done at the university (1hr away) because it's a high risk procedure. Got there Tuesday afternoon, the university vet planned another colon flush in the evening and wouldn't agree to surgical removal until they have tried everything else. She'd also do xray and ultrasound. Unfortunately, Dimmu's RBC was low at 450,000/L when the blood work came back. The vet then wanted to do a blood transfusion Wednesday morning to bring his RBC to a more stable state before anesthetizing him. She was suspecting IBD, but proposed a bone marrow biopsy to find the cause of anemia if she couldn't find an answer with ultrasound.
The anesthetist came on Wednesday morning and decided Dimmu's general health was ok enough to receive anesthesia without blood transfusion, so they did the feces elimination and ultrasound in the afternoon. With the ultrasound they found a swollen lymph node in the GI tract, did a fine needle aspiration and this was when I called. The cytologist was not there, so they didn't know if the swollen lymph node was a reaction to the GI inflammation or lymphoma. We were so sad and scared last night when we visited him.
We got an update this morning, and they confirmed the swollen lymph node was because of the GI inflammation (major relief!!!) and we need to do a diet change, because with the colon flush, they found quite some undigested bones and think raw diet is not suitable for Dimmu. We have an appointment with the nutritionist this afternoon, will see what he/she thinks.
Dimmu has been on raw food since he weaned off milk, so a raw eater his whole life. He has constipation episodes 2 or 3 times a year, but always clears it himself, except for this time. He's more of a hoover then a chewer, so maybe it has something to do with that? But the fact that this all happened after the dental surgery really makes me wonder if it's because of the pain medications and AB's he got after the surgery. Does anyone have experience with raw feeding causing IBD/GI issues?
Dimmu is very stressed and hostile now, didn't want to eat last night and this morning. His pre shot were around mid to high 200's, so they gave him 3U (1/2 of his regular dose). If he recovers good, he can come home today. If he's home and doesn't want to eat, what should I do feeding wise and insulin wise? Give him anti-nausea meds? Stall until he eats?
It's been another crazy week in the poop land. Dimmu was not able to pass stools and was clearly in pain on Monday so we brought him to the ER. The ER vet put him under and try to do a colon flush/enema, but barely got anything out, she then tried with Valium to relax the colon muscles more, but still, nothing. Er vet suggested surgical removal of his feces and kept him there for the night for observation. Dimmu was released on Tuesday morning and he practically stopped eating after he came home, and was very weak in his hind legs. He'd still try to go to the LB, but nothing came out.
We called our regular vet, Dr. Dufour, to ask about the surgery and she wanted this done at the university (1hr away) because it's a high risk procedure. Got there Tuesday afternoon, the university vet planned another colon flush in the evening and wouldn't agree to surgical removal until they have tried everything else. She'd also do xray and ultrasound. Unfortunately, Dimmu's RBC was low at 450,000/L when the blood work came back. The vet then wanted to do a blood transfusion Wednesday morning to bring his RBC to a more stable state before anesthetizing him. She was suspecting IBD, but proposed a bone marrow biopsy to find the cause of anemia if she couldn't find an answer with ultrasound.
The anesthetist came on Wednesday morning and decided Dimmu's general health was ok enough to receive anesthesia without blood transfusion, so they did the feces elimination and ultrasound in the afternoon. With the ultrasound they found a swollen lymph node in the GI tract, did a fine needle aspiration and this was when I called. The cytologist was not there, so they didn't know if the swollen lymph node was a reaction to the GI inflammation or lymphoma. We were so sad and scared last night when we visited him.
We got an update this morning, and they confirmed the swollen lymph node was because of the GI inflammation (major relief!!!) and we need to do a diet change, because with the colon flush, they found quite some undigested bones and think raw diet is not suitable for Dimmu. We have an appointment with the nutritionist this afternoon, will see what he/she thinks.
Dimmu has been on raw food since he weaned off milk, so a raw eater his whole life. He has constipation episodes 2 or 3 times a year, but always clears it himself, except for this time. He's more of a hoover then a chewer, so maybe it has something to do with that? But the fact that this all happened after the dental surgery really makes me wonder if it's because of the pain medications and AB's he got after the surgery. Does anyone have experience with raw feeding causing IBD/GI issues?
Dimmu is very stressed and hostile now, didn't want to eat last night and this morning. His pre shot were around mid to high 200's, so they gave him 3U (1/2 of his regular dose). If he recovers good, he can come home today. If he's home and doesn't want to eat, what should I do feeding wise and insulin wise? Give him anti-nausea meds? Stall until he eats?
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GI inflammation can be caused by either IBD or SCL (small cell lymphoma). Due to Neko's heart condition, she could not undergo anesthesia, so could not get a proper diagnosis. Has Dimmu been losing any weight lately? Has the vet suggested a GI blood panel to find out his cobalimin/folate levels?
