7/27 Osha AMPS 121 +5 123 / Small Kitty AMPS 110 +5 330

[Osha]

7/24

Good morning,

Things are ok here. Osha is hanging out in the blue and Small Kitty has decided to bounce.

The common conditions that can cause weight loss (and hunger with it) are diabetes, hyperthyroidism and small cell lymphoma. The first you've got controlled, the second I seem to remember you got tested in bloodwork, the third can look a lot like IBD. However, SCL doesn't need novel proteins. The other thing that can cause weight loss that is sort of related to the GI issues, is low vitamin B12. Has Osha ever had her B12 checked? It's a common low item in both IBD and SCL. Supplementation is a shot you can give at home.

Thanks Wendy. Yes, we have tested for hyperthyroid and she was fine. She did have her B12 checked and now I give her B12 injections at home. I went to the store to try some different food. Boy it was weird being inside a store that wasn't a cvs or grocery store. I mixed a little of the new food into her current food and within a couple hours she had violent vomiting and diarrhea. Poor girl. She is eating quite a bit of food per day, but she is still losing weight.

I hope everyone has a great day!
Amanda and Kitty Osha and Small Kitty

 

[Olive & Paula]

Maybe check for EPI and kidneys?

 

[JoyBee&Ravan]

My kitty Alice was diagnosed with Kidney disease in January. . She's not eating very good & has lost weight. She spends most of the time sleeping. Did you have Osha's kidney values checked?

 

[Osha]

Did you have Osha's kidney values checked?

Thanks for asking. She has been at stage 2 kidney disease for years. Her last test was in March.

Maybe check for EPI and kidneys?

So, I remembered testing for EPI, so I went and looked...yes, we tested her GI pannel in November and that is when the vet added the B12 injections. I just can't remember the conversation about EPI. I will send a message and ask about that again.

 

[carfurby (GA)]

Poor Osha. I hope you can figure out what is going on with the weight loss. I hope SK comes back down soon.

 

[tiffmaxee]

It might be pancreatitis and not necessarily EPI however usually they are inappetent. Poor baby. If food changes aren’t gradual you can get vomiting. Has she had an ultrasound?

 

[Osha]

It might be pancreatitis and not necessarily EPI however usually they are inappetent. Poor baby. If food changes aren’t gradual you can get vomiting. Has she had an ultrasound?

Thanks. Yes, she had an ultrasound in late october. The vet told me the results were consistent with IBD, but obviously could not rule out SCL, but there were no masses or anything. Thankfully she still has a decent appetite and is eating. I tried just mixing a little of a new food with her old food and she got really sick.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Good that there are no masses. Is the new food a protein she’s never had before? It sounds like she can’t tolerate it though. It’s so hard to figure them out.

 

[Osha]

Good that there are no masses. Is the new food a protein she’s never had before? It sounds like she can’t tolerate it though. It’s so hard to figure them out.

The food issue is sooo difficult! She is currently eating Ziwi peak venison and she has solid poop and no vomiting. I wanted to find another food to see if she'd be more interested in it and eat some more for more calories, but I just don't know. She is eating, but just doesn't seem to be using the calories correctly. She will eat two of the 6.5oz cans a day. Its crazy how difficult it is to find new protein foods that doesn't add something like chicken or peas in it. I ordered some rabbit that should arrive today.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I pick the peas and carrots out of some foods. It is also possible to have both IBD and SCL, ask me how I know. Osha is eating a lot!

Small cell lymphoma presents as thickened intestines, no masses.

 

[Osha]

I pick the peas and carrots out of some foods. It is also possible to have both IBD and SCL, ask me how I know. Osha is eating a lot!

Small cell lymphoma presents as thickened intestines, no masses.

So I just emailed the vet and her response is:

"I'm sorry to hear Osha's been losing weight again. Based on her GI
panel in the fall, she does not have EPI - her TLI (trypsin-like
immunoreactivity) was just slightly high. In EPI, it should be low.
Being slightly high doesn't have any significance other than it can go
along with the pancreatitis that we diagnosed her with at the time.

My suspicion is that we are dealing with either inflammatory bowel
disease that isn't completely managed with the budesonide or we could
be dealing with GI lymphoma. If we want to look closer, I would
recommend that we start with rechecking her abdominal ultrasound to
see what has changed since the last one in the fall.

Other options - we could try switching her steroid to prednisolone,
knowing that we need to keep a very close eye on her glucose because
there's even more of a chance of it becoming unbalanced/unregulated.
There is also a chemotherapy drug called Leukeran that I will
sometimes use for refractory IBD or for lymphoma, but I would really
like to recheck her ultrasound before considering that.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with or if you want to
change her medication or recheck an ultrasound."

I guess the best thing to do is to repeat the ultrasound? Ugh, I wish money wasn't an issue. Does this seems like a reasonable step?

 

[Wendy&Neko]

An ultrasound is cheaper than an endoscopy or biopsy, though not as definitive. If it is SCL, then you need to give Leukeran, which is a fairly mild chemo, but should be accompanied by anti nausea meds around the dosing day. Best protocol is once every two weeks. Leukeran (generic chlorambucil can be compounded), is sometimes given for extreme IBD too.

Any other GI signs? Like vomiting, diarrhea or constipation?

 

[Osha]

Any other GI signs? Like vomiting, diarrhea or constipation?

If she accidentally gobbles up a bite of everyone else's FF food, she will get certainly have diarrhea. The ziwipeak, probiotic and budesonide have helped to keep all symptoms, besides weight loss, at bay. So right now, her only symptom is weight loss. Oh, and her tummy is very noisy. It "talks" a lot. Poor girl.

The initial symptoms of all of this was diarrhea and occasional (1 a week) vomiting last fall. Then I went through a food trial test and got her stable with the ziwipeak and the probiotic. I then noticed she was slowly losing weight even though she was still eating a lot of food. We started the budesonide in the spring in hopes it would help with the weight loss, but it hasn't stopped her losing weight.

I know it won't be a definitive diagnosis with the ultrasound, but I really can't afford much. Her food alone is crazy expensive.