7/7 Ruby AMPS 176/+3 223/+6 208/+9 174/PMPS 171 good ultrasound result

Katherine&Ruby

Katherine&Ruby

Member Since 2020
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/7-6-ruby-amps-204-7-142-10-121-hypercalcemia.265479/

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on yesterday's thread. :bighug: We got the results of the ultrasound--no more thickening of the intestine. Normally this would be cause for celebration, but this hypercalcemia thing is really worrying me. Ruby's levels are not high enough yet for her to start showing symptoms, but the effects can be bad from what I'm reading. :( I've uploaded all of Ruby's labs since April, so if anyone could take a look I'd appreciate it. Her kidney values look good. Her calcium levels look pretty elevated since last May which coincided with her SCL diagnosis. @Wendy&Neko I think the doctor says it's idiopathic because they're not sure why it shows up with cats with cancer--the cancer itself isn't necessarily the cause. Ruby also started showing bad signs of constipation at the same time and it could have been caused by elevated calcium levels.

@Bandit's Mom the question of metabolic acidosis would have to be dealt with by the IM. All of this means more tests--it's a game of ruling out possibilities. The only thing within my power right now is to try to change Ruby's diet without resorting to commercial renal diets which seem to help. Her phosphorus is all good. I'm going to start putting psyllium in her food tomorrow until I can get a hold of chia, which is more nutritious because it contains good Omega-3s. It just takes an extra step to soak the chia for a bit before putting it in her food to eat. I also know she will eat food with psyllium but I've never tried chia before.

I'm so worried about my baby girl. She's still as sweet as can be.
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Aw poor rubes!

I'm not too sure I link it to Lactulose, looking back. It did seem to coincide more with the SCL.

What all do you have her on right now? One of the reasons I ask is Mr Kitty's calcium significantly increased when I had him on Rutin, which is known to increase calcium uptake. Now in his case the Rutin was critically necessary so I had no choice, but the calcium did come back down at some point. Have you looked at supplements, probiotics, etc for potential causes? I know you're aware of the meal completers with the egg shell, etc
 
Hi Katherine , I'm glad the ultrasound report was good.
I know you are very worried about the hypercalcemia, hopefully adding the psyllium and chia seeds will help. Keeping Ruby in my prayers . What a beautiful pic of Ruby ,she has the sweetest face.
I was reading all about the chia seeds
Do cats like the taste of chia seeds?
Chia seeds have a fairly unobtrusive flavor. They taste slightly nutty and are usually well tolerated by most cats.

What’s the best way to feed chia seeds to my cat?
It’s usually recommended to grind the seeds slightly so more nutrition can be extracted as they pass through your cat’s digestive tract. You can feed them without grinding, but a percentage of seeds will pass through your cat’s system without being digested, so there won’t be any nutritional benefit.
 
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FrostD said:
Aw poor rubes!

I'm not too sure I link it to Lactulose, looking back. It did seem to coincide more with the SCL.

What all do you have her on right now? One of the reasons I ask is Mr Kitty's calcium significantly increased when I had him on Rutin, which is known to increase calcium uptake. Now in his case the Rutin was critically necessary so I had no choice, but the calcium did come back down at some point. Have you looked at supplements, probiotics, etc for potential causes? I know you're aware of the meal completers with the egg shell, etc
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Hi Melissa,
EZ Complete has AAFCO minimum levels of calcium. The probiotic I give Ruby, Visbiome, is also milk based so that may be part of it. The only thing she gets in her food right now is Visbiome and Lactulose. I stopped the Lactulose today and switched to ⅛ teaspoon of Miralax. Perhaps I should stop the Visbiome as well (I still have a full bottle of it in the fridge but maybe I should take it instead as it’s $$$$). Basically there isn’t a heck of a lot to rule out here.
 
Hi Katherine. I wasn’t on much yesterday so haven’t read the condo yet. The labs sure look good except for the calcium. I know there’s a test they have to learn more but can’t remember right now.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Hi Katherine. I wasn’t on much yesterday so haven’t read the condo yet. The labs sure look good except for the calcium. I know there’s a test they have to learn more but can’t remember right now.
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It’s an ionized calcium test. They’re testing for that already, we’re waiting for the results as it has to be sent out. I’m praying that it won’t show anything concerning but I’m not that optimistic as her calcium levels have been elevated for a while, just below high reference levels. According to Tanya’s CRF the symptoms don’t show up until they’re higher than 15, and Ruby is only at 11.7 right now.
 
I see the ionized test was done and that’s what I was thinking about. Max’s was elevated too at least once but did return to normal so we never ran the test. It would be weird for it to be from scl with the ultrasound so good, wouldn’t it? :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
tiffmaxee said:
I see the ionized test was done and that’s what I was thinking about. Max’s was elevated too at least once but did return to normal so we never ran the test. It would be weird for it to be from scl with the ultrasound so good, wouldn’t it? :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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It does tend to coincide with cancer, but it’s hard to know. Ruby’s got a lot of things going on. The IM will suggest other tests to see what else might be happening, but from what I understand the diet is the first thing to work on.
 
Katherine&Ruby said:
Hi Melissa,
EZ Complete has AAFCO minimum levels of calcium. The probiotic I give Ruby, Visbiome, is also milk based so that may be part of it. The only thing she gets in her food right now is Visbiome and Lactulose. I stopped the Lactulose today and switched to ⅛ teaspoon of Miralax. Perhaps I should stop the Visbiome as well (I still have a full bottle of it in the fridge but maybe I should take it instead as it’s $$$$). Basically there isn’t a heck of a lot to rule out here.
Click to expand...
Hmmm it should be minimal though as they separate it from the growth media.

I know certain strains of probiotics increase serum calcium level, as they specifically formulate drops for babies (and probably adults) for that reason. I'm not sure what they are, and you've been giving Visbiome for quite awhile iirc.

Lactulose for Miralax seems a good swap, since Lactulose could be contributing and Miralax really doesn't hurt anything. I know you pay close attention to your meat sourcing, my only other thought is if with all this COVID stuff there's bones or something in there now if you're getting ground meats.

I guess I wouldn't go too crazy over the diet. You just balance what you can...if Mr Kitty has taught me anything, it's that this darn stuff is a spider web. Pull a string over here, affects something across the way...and rarely is there ever a perfect solution (maddening some days).

I do suspect diet isn't the primary issue...but the IM would have to walk you down that road.
 
I'm really hoping for good results on the ionized calcium. :bighug::bighug::bighug: I've seen quite a few kitties in the SCL group.io with hypercalcemia, which is why I was wondering about that. Current SCL kitty in four years her calcium has moved no more than a decimal point. Neko's was above upper limit before her SCL diagnosis, but came down to mid normal range with treatment (budesonide and chlorambucil).

Chia seeds are good for people too. Soaked one T overnight in half cup or so of almond or other milk. Add berries and yummy. Or I add to smoothies.
 
Katherine&Ruby said:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/7-6-ruby-amps-204-7-142-10-121-hypercalcemia.265479/

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on yesterday's thread. :bighug: We got the results of the ultrasound--no more thickening of the intestine. Normally this would be cause for celebration, but this hypercalcemia thing is really worrying me. Ruby's levels are not high enough yet for her to start showing symptoms, but the effects can be bad from what I'm reading. :( I've uploaded all of Ruby's labs since April, so if anyone could take a look I'd appreciate it. Her kidney values look good. Her calcium levels look pretty elevated since last May which coincided with her SCL diagnosis. @Wendy&Neko I think the doctor says it's idiopathic because they're not sure why it shows up with cats with cancer--the cancer itself isn't necessarily the cause. Ruby also started showing bad signs of constipation at the same time and it could have been caused by elevated calcium levels.

@Bandit's Mom the question of metabolic acidosis would have to be dealt with by the IM. All of this means more tests--it's a game of ruling out possibilities. The only thing within my power right now is to try to change Ruby's diet without resorting to commercial renal diets which seem to help. Her phosphorus is all good. I'm going to start putting psyllium in her food tomorrow until I can get a hold of chia, which is more nutritious because it contains good Omega-3s. It just takes an extra step to soak the chia for a bit before putting it in her food to eat. I also know she will eat food with psyllium but I've never tried chia before.

I'm so worried about my baby girl. She's still as sweet as can be.
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Click to expand...
She is so beautiful and sweet! I will pray for Ruby and for you:bighug::bighug:
 
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