1/18 Boomer AMPS 92, +3 83 +6 85 PMPS 110 +3 79 Allen has elevated calcium level....any thoughts?

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Judy and Boomer

Judy and Boomer

Member Since 2014
Yesterday
Good morning!
AMPS 92 :D shooting .25F

Boomer ate most of his overnight foods; he left a wee bit in each of the 3 meals and once again he didn't eat his treat.

I have another photo for you from our road trip on Sunday. It was a bright sunny day with very few clouds and it was early afternoon when we were there so the sun was high in the sky. Not known to be the best time for photography but I took advantage and tried to get some sun flare in a lot of my shots. I also very much liked the golden colour of the marsh grasses against the blue sky. I call this image "As the Grasses Glow in the Sunshine".
 

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We like the start this morning Boomer, keep it green buddy! I love your pictures Judy...would like to visit some of those place...so peaceful. Have a good day and hope Allen is feeling better.
 
So Dr Larry called with Allen's bw results. Kidney values were slightly elevated which could be caused by the dehydration. BG was low :rolleyes: What is concerning is the elevated calcium number. I haven't received the actual numbers from Dr Larry yet but apparently the elevated calcium plus the loss of muscle mass plus the weight loss points to cancer. Dr Larry is suggesting X-rays and then possibly an ultrasound to find out. @Marje and Gracie may I have your thoughts please on the elevated calcium level?
 
I don't have a whole lot of experience with elevated calcium...but we actually were in a similar situation a few years ago with one of our civvies, Petey...vomiting, weight loss, fluctuating appy, elevated calcium. Our vet said the same thing...it could point to cancer, but not definitively. The first thing we actually tried, before pursuing any further testing, was a diet change...and it worked. He was eating Blue Basics, and when I started researching, I found that it was notorious for causing these kinds of problems.

Sending prayers for a similar result for Allen...
 
I thought raised calcium levels could be associated with CKD? Hopefully Dr. Larry will send you the labs so the folks here and really take a look at them. The IM vet was convinced Doodles had lymphoma which is why we had him biopsied and turned out to be mild IBD/ food allergies.
 
Judy, sorry to hear about the higher calcium levels and hope like Amy said in is innocuous and a diet change can help. And I thought the same thing as Karen said that Boomer is picking up on your stress.
 
Neko had elevated calcium for a while in the spring. It was probably one of the indicators of the IBD/lymphoma diagnosis to come. Or it could have been her CKD. Her vet at the time said not to worry about a single test. It can also be caused by dehydration. We retested a couple weeks later and the value dropped quite a bit, but still a little high. I also changed Neko's diet a bit. I removed the home made food she was getting with a premix that had calcium carbonate. Sending vines for the calcium to come down. More on hypercalcemia.

Boomer, green please.
 
Amy&TrixieCat said:
I don't have a whole lot of experience with elevated calcium...but we actually were in a similar situation a few years ago with one of our civvies, Petey...vomiting, weight loss, fluctuating appy, elevated calcium. Our vet said the same thing...it could point to cancer, but not definitively. The first thing we actually tried, before pursuing any further testing, was a diet change...and it worked. He was eating Blue Basics, and when I started researching, I found that it was notorious for causing these kinds of problems.

Sending prayers for a similar result for Allen...
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Thanks Amy. I will look into that!
 
Doodles & Karen said:
I thought raised calcium levels could be associated with CKD? Hopefully Dr. Larry will send you the labs so the folks here and really take a look at them. The IM vet was convinced Doodles had lymphoma which is why we had him biopsied and turned out to be mild IBD/ food allergies.
Click to expand...
Apparently they are and sometimes the elevated calcium can cause the CKD or sometimes the CKD can cause the elevated calcium.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Neko had elevated calcium for a while in the spring. It was probably one of the indicators of the IBD/lymphoma diagnosis to come. Or it could have been her CKD. Her vet at the time said not to worry about a single test. It can also be caused by dehydration. We retested a couple weeks later and the value dropped quite a bit, but still a little high. I also changed Neko's diet a bit. I removed the home made food she was getting with a premix that had calcium carbonate. Sending vines for the calcium to come down. More on hypercalcemia.

Boomer, green please.
Click to expand...
From what I've been reading it sounds like we need to start sub q fluids to flush the excess calcium out of his system. I will ask Dr Larry about that tomorrow.
 
Judy

I would not unequivocally say that elevated calcium is always associated with cancer and I sure wouldn’t say it’s associated with any one thing based on one test. As indicated by others, one lab test is a snap shot in time. There can be several different reasons why Ca might be elevated. How high is it? Was the albumin high as well? Is Allen urinating more than usual?

From Dr. Ron Hines:

But in most cats, the underlying cause can never be determined. That is why it is often called Feline “Idiopathic” Hypercalcemia. That is a round-about way of saying “we know what’s wrong but we don’t know why”. Cats with this problem tend to be older (ave age 9 yrs). The most common signs are weight loss (due to anorexia = no appetite) and inactivity (lethargy). Some cats with this problem also vomit or have diarrhea/constipation issues. Many of these cats have a calcium oxalate urinary tract problem as well. Some show abnormal calcification of their kidneys (neprhrocalcinosis). When looking for this condition, measuring your pet's ionized calcium level is more likely to pick up the problem than a total blood calcium level assay is.
Idiopathic Hypercalcemia is not the most common cause of high blood calcium levels in cats. Often, it is picked up on a routine health screen without the owners describing a specific health issue in the pet. In one study, only 46% of the cats with high blood calcium had signs of ill health. Some of the cats had mild weight loss, others had IBD, and a few (5% or less) had constipation issues, vomiting or a drop in appetite. Interestingly, 10-15% had urinary tract stones.

I hope this helps. Please tag me again when you respond or when you get more info. Hugs!!!
 
Marje and Gracie said:
Judy

I would not unequivocally say that elevated calcium is always associated with cancer and I sure wouldn’t say it’s associated with any one thing based on one test. As indicated by others, one lab test is a snap shot in time. There can be several different reasons why Ca might be elevated. How high is it? Was the albumin high as well? Is Allen urinating more than usual?

From Dr. Ron Hines:

But in most cats, the underlying cause can never be determined. That is why it is often called Feline “Idiopathic” Hypercalcemia. That is a round-about way of saying “we know what’s wrong but we don’t know why”. Cats with this problem tend to be older (ave age 9 yrs). The most common signs are weight loss (due to anorexia = no appetite) and inactivity (lethargy). Some cats with this problem also vomit or have diarrhea/constipation issues. Many of these cats have a calcium oxalate urinary tract problem as well. Some show abnormal calcification of their kidneys (neprhrocalcinosis). When looking for this condition, measuring your pet's ionized calcium level is more likely to pick up the problem than a total blood calcium level assay is.
Idiopathic Hypercalcemia is not the most common cause of high blood calcium levels in cats. Often, it is picked up on a routine health screen without the owners describing a specific health issue in the pet. In one study, only 46% of the cats with high blood calcium had signs of ill health. Some of the cats had mild weight loss, others had IBD, and a few (5% or less) had constipation issues, vomiting or a drop in appetite. Interestingly, 10-15% had urinary tract stones.

I hope this helps. Please tag me again when you respond or when you get more info. Hugs!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks @Marje and Gracie. I will ask Dr Larry to send me the labs. He said that the kidney values were slightly elevated but that it could be due to the dehydration. Allen has always drank a lot so he also urinates a lot. DH believes that Allen has been drinking more these last few days so it would follow that he was also urinating more. Allen has lost weight and has lost muscle.
From what I've read tonight about hypercalcemia, it seems that we need to get him on some sub q fluids to try to flush the calcium out of him. It won't help if it is cancer but I'm understanding that hypercalcemia can cause seizures/death quickly so maybe the sub q fluids can buy us some time. And we can change his diet, right now he eats kibble (not my decision) and fancy feast so I'm sure that feeding strictly the fancy feast is a better alternative.
I'm not sure what the X-ray would show vs what the ultrasound would show. Debating about bypassing the X-ray and go directly to ultrasound. DH is afraid that we'll do the X-ray, ultrasound, then they'll tell us there's nothing they can do for Allen.
 
Judy and Boomer said:
Thanks @Marje and Gracie. I will ask Dr Larry to send me the labs. He said that the kidney values were slightly elevated but that it could be due to the dehydration. Allen has always drank a lot so he also urinates a lot. DH believes that Allen has been drinking more these last few days so it would follow that he was also urinating more. Allen has lost weight and has lost muscle.
From what I've read tonight about hypercalcemia, it seems that we need to get him on some sub q fluids to try to flush the calcium out of him. It won't help if it is cancer but I'm understanding that hypercalcemia can cause seizures/death quickly so maybe the sub q fluids can buy us some time. And we can change his diet, right now he eats kibble (not my decision) and fancy feast so I'm sure that feeding strictly the fancy feast is a better alternative.
I'm not sure what the X-ray would show vs what the ultrasound would show. Debating about bypassing the X-ray and go directly to ultrasound. DH is afraid that we'll do the X-ray, ultrasound, then they'll tell us there's nothing they can do for Allen.
Click to expand...
I'd first see what his level is.
 
Hi Judy, We are sending good thoughts for Allen. I hope his vet can determine what is causing the calcium level to be too high. I'm glad Marje and others are providing good feedback and tips for further reading.
Vines are on the way!
Boomer, work that juice!

Beautiful picture of the grasses and the water. Your photographs are super!

:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
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