2/16 - Syko OTJ... 5ish months?!

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meowsyko

meowsyko

Member Since 2016
Wow I can't believe it's been so long since we were dancing the dance... I've been testing her roughly every week or so. Syko has been in remission for about 5.5 months and still going strong. Can't thank everybody here enough for that :kiss:

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Her ears are almost hairless, and we still do not know why. Her asthma isn't bad, but it could be better. I'm disappointed with our 'new' vet on the island. I had such a great relationship with our vet in Alberta when she was first diagnosed, and this vet doesn't even return my calls... Will not prescribe Flovent when I brought her in twice for asthma issues... So I'm in the process of finding a better vet off-island.

She's getting pickier than ever with her food, and I am concerned that she isn't eating enough but she isn't really losing weight. I've tried everything but meds for appetite. She's getting Budesonide every other day, I tried weaning her off it but it didn't work out. Starting this week I've been giving her 1/4 tab Pepcid every other day because she still has tummy issues. We'll see how that goes.
Once I find another vet, we'll be getting a chest x-ray and possibly a ultrasound cause we couldn't get that when it was recommended by our old vet :oops:
Overall though, she is doing okay.

She has 2 new little sisters, "Cinder" and "Strawberry". She likes watching them in their cage, but doesn't pay much attention when they're out. They hate her.
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@Gill & George She's on Gabriola Island - not likely to be other vet choices. Populaton 4000. Fortunately there are vets a ferry ride away.
meowsyko said:
She's getting Budesonide every other day, I tried weaning her off it but it didn't work out.
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Why are you doing budesonide every other day instead of every day? Were there side effects? Just wondering if a smaller dose every day might work better. Pepcid also might not be the best choice, depending on what is causing her tummy issues. Have you ever tried adding a probiotic to her food? Or using slippery elm bark?
 
Gill & George said:
What 'Island' are you on? Maybe we have some members that could recommend a vet?

Good to see her still OTJ.:D
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I'm on Gabriola Island, taking her over to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island for a (hopefully) better vet.

Wendy&Neko said:
@Gill & George She's on Gabriola Island - not likely to be other vet choices. Populaton 4000. Fortunately there are vets a ferry ride away.

Why are you doing budesonide every other day instead of every day? Were there side effects? Just wondering if a smaller dose every day might work better. Pepcid also might not be the best choice, depending on what is causing her tummy issues. Have you ever tried adding a probiotic to her food? Or using slippery elm bark?
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I had to spread out a bottle for the past 2 weeks because my new order was taking longer to arrive from the compounding company (vet uses one in Ontario, no idea why or why it takes so long). Vet said to try every other day and it's been okay. I could go back to every day now that I finally got her refill. I confess I also read a little about Cushing's and got a little spooked with her ears and that she's already pot-bellied with low muscle tone...

I don't think I'm making pepcid a regular thing, I just thought I'd give it a week to see if it helps. We just started it earlier this week, to see if it would help as she still has tummy issues even with the budesonide (even when on once/day) and seems to be nauseous. She does this thing where she 'burps' or something and it made sense it could be acid and that if it was, pepcid would help her eat more. That's mainly what she was put on steriods for, it never completely went away. She never vomits, but her stomach kinda does a flip and she starts licking her lips, sometimes it's like she threw up in her mouth a bit. I've yet to catch it on video.
We still don't really know what is causing her issues, her pancreas was fine last check, we were told IBS/possible intestinal lymphoma when it started last year.

I'm feeding mainly Primal freeze-dried venison or turkey now (mixed with water), she sorta likes it and it seems to not bother her too much. I feel like raw could be the answer to all her problems but she won't give it much of a chance. I might try cooked meat next... I've never cooked meat in my life though so that will be fun.

I haven't tried a probiotic recently, or slippery elm. I'm on an Amazon shopping spree tonight so I'll try to grab those... Fortiflora?
 
meowsyko said:
Fortiflora?
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Fortiflora is no longer the probiotic of choice around here. They changed the formula a year or so ago and it doesn't seem to work as well (although there's no harm in trying it). There are several that are used around her. I think the Renew Ultra (a human product) is considered very good. There are several here who use that.

I'm glad she's still giving you good numbers. I hope you find a good vet and can get to the bottom of her other issues. You might ask to try Cerenia or Ondansetron to see if that helps.
 
Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey said:
Fortiflora is no longer the probiotic of choice around here. They changed the formula a year or so ago and it doesn't seem to work as well (although there's no harm in trying it). There are several that are used around her. I think the Renew Ultra (a human product) is considered very good. There are several here who use that.

I'm glad she's still giving you good numbers. I hope you find a good vet and can get to the bottom of her other issues. You might ask to try Cerenia or Ondansetron to see if that helps.
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Hm okay, I will search around a bit for the probiotic then. I think we have some Align hanging around, no idea if that's good for kitties but I'll look into it if I can find it. I have a bit of Cerenia, but it hasn't worked that well before and I mostly just use it for longer car trips like when we moved. I have heard of Ondanestron and am planning on asking for some once we get her hooked up with a new vet.
 
Nice to see you and yippee that Syko is still OTJ!! Great news!

Have you read these links from the "Where Can I Find?" thread:
Hairballs/Chronic Vomiting
Probiotics in IBD (or other) cats

I realized that one of my civvies, McGee, was basically vomiting daily - which according to the link about vomiting was potentially an issue of slow gut motility. He was also very constipated. He has short sleek hair (tuxedo boy) and shouldn't have been having hair balls so often. I started giving him a tiny bit of crushed flax seed (people Spectrum brand) once a day and followed the directions on the second link to introduce probiotics to him. I bought Renew Ultimate Colon Care 80,000 cfu and gradually worked up to one capsule per day for 2 months, then cut it back to 1 capsule every other day. It's been fantastic - no more vomiting and no more constipation.

Anyway, hope some of that is helpful to Syko!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
A probiotic that's available locally and that a vet recommended to me is Natural Factors Protec.
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Couldn't find that one without going to the 'big' island, but I found one on Amazon that I think will be good.

julie & punkin (ga) said:
Nice to see you and yippee that Syko is still OTJ!! Great news!

Have you read these links from the "Where Can I Find?" thread:
Hairballs/Chronic Vomiting
Probiotics in IBD (or other) cats

I realized that one of my civvies, McGee, was basically vomiting daily - which according to the link about vomiting was potentially an issue of slow gut motility. He was also very constipated. He has short sleek hair (tuxedo boy) and shouldn't have been having hair balls so often. I started giving him a tiny bit of crushed flax seed (people Spectrum brand) once a day and followed the directions on the second link to introduce probiotics to him. I bought Renew Ultimate Colon Care 80,000 cfu and gradually worked up to one capsule per day for 2 months, then cut it back to 1 capsule every other day. It's been fantastic - no more vomiting and no more constipation.

Anyway, hope some of that is helpful to Syko!
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Thanks for the info! I'm new to probiotics so this was very helpful.
I swear I responded to this earlier, maybe I was dreaming :rolleyes:
 
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