9/10 - Frosty still in the hospital. Still poor appetite

Ana & Frosty (GA)

Ana & Frosty (GA)

Member Since 2018
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/9-9-frosty-hospitalized.202855/

Apparently, he ate a little this morning but refused everything thereafter. They offered him every type of food, wet, dry, different brands, tried feeding him, tried giving him privacy - nothing has worked.

His Cr came down to 1.7, but BUN is still in the 70s. The blood work that was done at the same hospital in may showed a baseline Cr of 1.2 and BUN of 27. He may have even been slightly dehydrated at that time too so this definitely isn’t normal. The vet mentioned the possibility of some baseline kidney disease and I almost fell out of my chair. I cannot add another problem to this list, I will go insane.

From what I recall, there were no abnormalities seen in his kidneys on his 2 abdominal ultrasounds, but once he’s home I’m definitely gonna contact the internist to discuss this in more details. She is away this week, and obviously our biggest challenge right now is just to get him to eat, hold food down, and get him home. I can give him fluids or K supplements or whatever he needs at home but if he doesn’t eat we will be back where we started, so I’m more concerned about that.

He mentioned a possibility of keeping him another night and trying to add an appetite stimulant. Dan and I just looked at each other like HUH? This is FROSTY. He steals food from our plate. He raided our bread box and ate all the bread when we were out of the house, this cat will eat anything and everything at any time no matter how many times he was fed. What the hell is going on...

I’m feeling really down so I’m skipping the gym tonight, I’m gonna wait for Dan so we can go visit Frosty in a little bit. I’m gonna bring his food and his bowl and see if the sound of the can opening and his bowl will maybe get him interested in eating once we’re there. Fingers crossed.

Thanks everyone for your support.
 
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I am glad you get to visit him soon and give him a hug. I really hope he eats for you and if not the appetite stimulant sounds like a great plan. Mirtz worked wonders on Shmee a while ago, I really hope something gets him to eat so you can move forward. Hugs to you and vines for sweet Frosty :bighug:
 
Sending prayers for healing to sweet Frosty and huge hugs to you , Ana :bighug: Keep bringing a piece of your recently worn clothes to him so he has a bit of you there with him ❤️
 
Thanks everyone, I would thank you all personally but it’s late and I’m tired and we just got back from the vet.

We decided to leave him at the hospital one more night. He’s really not himself. He ate 3 licks of food from my finger then turned the other way from us.

He was also breathing fast, I brought it to the vets attention and she said it may be because he got more fluid than he needed. They said they already scaled back. If that’s the case, I don’t understand why his BUN/Cr is still off. Am I missing something? I know I only know human physiology, but this doesn’t make sense to me. And why are his electrolytes LOW and not high, like you would normally see in acute kidney failure with dehydration? Like I said before, his kidney function labs were normal in January and in May. Did something change? I don’t understand this.

My plan is to call his IM doctor tomorrow and let them know what’s happening and what we are doing. I’ll ask them if there is anything they would do differently. My major concern is, how do we know for sure it’s pancreatitis? I mean, his other abdominal organs looked normal, but his pancreas is chronically abnormal so it will look the same during a flare. Could there be something else going on? WHY CANT HE TELL US WHATS WRONG :arghh:

We really miss him at home. It was hard even for Dan to see him like that - I think he is really worried about him :(. I think regardless of what happens we will bring him home tomorrow and see if a change in setting will help. I’m really out of ideas otherwise.
 
Like Sheba, Max would not eat during a flare. In fact that was my sign to start meds. He also would not eat when hospitalized. Try not to worry about the kidney values. Even if kidney disease (which is no sure thing) it would be at the very earliest. His creatinine is well in the normal range. Is he being given cerenia? Mirtazapine or my fave cyproheptadine is a good idea. I’m glad you are going to visit. Prayers and hugs.

If given too much fluids, which is concerning, it can be hard on the heart. That would explain the rapid breathing. If on an IV drip it needs to be slowed down. This happens way too often.
 
Hi Ana.
Last year Little Dude got in a rare cat fight and lost. He had a big tear in his chest and wouldn't leave the staples alone. So he went to the cat hospital (1/2 mile away) for about 9 days. He didn't eat for 4 days, and didn't pee for 3 or 4 days. Then he didn't know how to use the little box in his cage and he ended up being coated in his own pee. Maybe the lowest point of his whole life.

I'm saying sometimes cats just don't resume normal activity at a vet. It's a scary place for some of them. When Little Dude finally did get used to them, he was eating fine, and just barely able to learn the litter box. Then it was time for him to come home. At that point he was starting to give them some head butts and leg loving - a loverboy at heart.

So Theresa and I use the animal hospital for whatever resources they can provide, then we try to get our cats home as soon as possible. Maybe Frosty is the same way.

I'm hoping Frosty gets well soon and you can bring him home. He will be a lot more comfortable.:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
I am so sorry. I wish I had answers, but unfortunately Grandpa and Frosty are going through this step-by-step beside each other. I'm forcing myself away from dire thoughts and trying to just concentrate on the next hour. We are syringe feeding baby food. A week ago he was stealing everyones' dinners. It's scary and it sucks.

I'm only sharing that because I want you to know you're not alone in this. I think we need to be patient and let each little step we take do it's job in healing if healing is to happen.

Frosty is in my prayers.
 
From time to time my cats need an appetite stimulant and especially Buddy, who has chronic pancreatitis. There are test that can be run to see if Frosty has pancreatitis. I am surprised that has not already done. Is he receiving anything for pain, or nausea, if not this would cause him not to eat.

Forgive me if this has already been brought up.
 
I thought Frosty was still in the hospital, but I was wondering about the appetite stimulants, bupe and the pancreatitis testing. I think the Spec FPL (hope that is right name) is very accurate. Just thought if this had not been mentioned to the vet, it would be a good idea while he was still in the hospital. Disregard this if already mentioned.
 
Teresa & Buddy said:
I thought Frosty was still in the hospital, but I was wondering about the appetite stimulants, bupe and the pancreatitis testing. I think the Spec FPL (hope that is right name) is very accurate. Just thought if this had not been mentioned to the vet, it would be a good idea while he was still in the hospital. Disregard this if already mentioned.
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Thanks, I’ll ask. Is this feline pancreas specific lipase? The IM doctor sent some labs but i don’t know what they are exactly - they are some kind of pancreatic panel to determine if he needs enzyme supplementation. Is this a part of this test or no?

Right now Frosty is getting an echo because he didn’t handle IVF well, and there’s question about his heart function, as well as a possible mass in the chest. When they call me back with results I will ask about the test.
 
There is a Spec fPL and a Snap fPL (Feline pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity) test. The Spec version, requires being sent out to a lab (IDEXX) vs the Snap which is an in-office test that looks like a pregnancy test -- you get a yes or not reading for pancreatitis vs a lab value.

Re. the malabsorbtion - were they concerned about GI issues at the time the cobalamin and folate were run?

I'm so sorry that you and Frosty are going through all of this.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
There is a Spec fPL and a Snap fPL (Feline pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity) test. The Spec version, requires being sent out to a lab (IDEXX) vs the Snap which is an in-office test that looks like a pregnancy test -- you get a yes or not reading for pancreatitis vs a lab value.

Re. the malabsorbtion - were they concerned about GI issues at the time the cobalamin and folate were run?

I'm so sorry that you and Frosty are going through all of this.
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Ok thanks I’ll ask about that test today while he is in the hospital.

The doctor sent the malabsorption panel last Saturday when he was already having symptoms. She said she wanted to check exocrine pancreas function to see if he needed pancreatic enzymes.

It’s hard to believe anything chronic is going on with his heart, kidneys, or any kind of mass or cancer considering he’s gaining weight. But I guess we will see
 
I’m glad an echo is being done. It sounds like they might have also suspected an acute pancreatitis episode since the insufficiency panel was run. :bighug::bighug:
 
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