Acro kitties have trouble swallowing?

Howiesmom

Howiesmom

Active Member
Hello! I’m just wondering if any of your acro kitties have trouble swallowing their food? Howie has continually gotten worse when eating despite adding water to his food (basically a thick slurry as he hates soup). He throws his head around trying to swallow. I asked my vet about it recently and showed him a video. His fear was something neurological in test he’s having difficulty forming food on his tongue he can swallow easily. I wasn’t really following what he was saying, but he didn’t really offer anything we could do. I’m just trying to figure out if this is just one more piece of the acro puzzle or not. I don’t know how to help Howie and I can tell he’s getting frustrated.
 
I can think of two possible scenarios. Both related to soft tissue growth. It's quite common for acros to have a thickened pharynx. But they usually have a more breathy sound when breathing and snore more. Does that describe Howie? That would mean his throat is narrower. The other possibility is soft tissue growth on the gums. Which doesn't impact swallowing but maybe getting food down to the throat. Neko needed to have mousse like texture food. Can you link a video here?
 
This sounds awful, Tracy. I'm so sorry to hear about this. I don't have much helpful to add except that I remember another member (who isn't around anymore I don't think) -- her name is Paula and her acro cat's name was Olive -- she told me that Olive had very bad stridor that could be heard from one end of the house to the other -- and she had to increase the Cabergoline dose, which helped. I recall that she kind of had to increase on her own to see what worked, because her vet didn't have any experience with Cabergoline either. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I can think of two possible scenarios. Both related to soft tissue growth. It's quite common for acros to have a thickened pharynx. But they usually have a more breathy sound when breathing and snore more. Does that describe Howie? That would mean his throat is narrower. The other possibility is soft tissue growth on the gums. Which doesn't impact swallowing but maybe getting food down to the throat. Neko needed to have mousse like texture food. Can you link a video here?
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He used to snore a lot but doesn’t much any more that I can tell. I was wondering about extra tissue growth. I can certainly post a video if you can tell me how!
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
This sounds awful, Tracy. I'm so sorry to hear about this. I don't have much helpful to add except that I remember another member (who isn't around anymore I don't think) -- her name is Paula and her acro cat's name was Olive -- she told me that Olive had very bad stridor that could be heard from one end of the house to the other -- and she had to increase the Cabergoline dose, which helped. I recall that she kind of had to increase on her own to see what worked, because her vet didn't have any experience with Cabergoline either. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thank you, Suzanne. He did have stridor early on but doesn’t seem to (much) any more. It is a mystery and I just want to help him. He takes forever to eat as he has to take breaks (used to gobble it up in 5 min). Now he takes 30-40 min to eat the same amount. I usually end up following him around the house as I want to make sure he eats, especially in the AM with his cabergoline. He rarely eats his mini meals in his feeder but will eat if I’m home and can put them in his plate. It’s so sad to see this decline. He’s a cranky old man cat sometimes (especially going after my new kittie who just sits there). I miss my lover boy.
 
Leoberry had soft tissue growth in his throat, and then in his salivary glands. Unfortunately it was inoperable, because his salivary glands would have had to be removed. And unfortunately, that situation greatly interfered with his ability to eat in his last year. It is possible that Leo's condition was different. But i'm just relaying what happened. And it was real hard for us too, as we watched his decline.
I hope Howie has some good time left, and gets some special goodies to help him eat. Hugs from us (humans and kittehs) for your sweet Howie. Give Howie some good luvin from us too. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Howiesmom said:
Thank you, Suzanne. He did have stridor early on but doesn’t seem to (much) any more. It is a mystery and I just want to help him. He takes forever to eat as he has to take breaks (used to gobble it up in 5 min). Now he takes 30-40 min to eat the same amount. I usually end up following him around the house as I want to make sure he eats, especially in the AM with his cabergoline. He rarely eats his mini meals in his feeder but will eat if I’m home and can put them in his plate. It’s so sad to see this decline. He’s a cranky old man cat sometimes (especially going after my new kittie who just sits there). I miss my lover boy.
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That is breaking my heart!
 
To post videos, you can upload the video to a place people can view from. Then post the link to it. Or you can use the media tool (two right of the smilies). You may embed media from the following sites, Dailymotion, Facebook, Liveleak, Metacafe, Vimeo, Youtube. The last two seem to be the most popular.
 
JeffJ said:
Leoberry had soft tissue growth in his throat, and then in his salivary glands. Unfortunately it was inoperable, because his salivary glands would have had to be removed. And unfortunately, that situation greatly interfered with his ability to eat in his last year. It is possible that Leo's condition was different. But i'm just relaying what happened. And it was real hard for us too, as we watched his decline.
I hope Howie has some good time left, and gets some special goodies to help him eat. Hugs from us (humans and kittehs) for your sweet Howie. Give Howie some good luvin from us too. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thank you so much for sharing your and Leo’s experience. How did you figure out about the soft tissue growth? Was this through your regular vet or a specialist? When things were getting difficult to eat, did you alter his food or how you fed him? It’s interesting because he really struggled to eat this AM and PM. However, I ended up moving his plate to a chair he likes to sit on (complete with a puppy pad to catch all his dribbles) and he ate much better. I have no idea what is the reason with that!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
To post videos, you can upload the video to a place people can view from. Then post the link to it. Or you can use the media tool (two right of the smilies). You may embed media from the following sites, Dailymotion, Facebook, Liveleak, Metacafe, Vimeo, Youtube. The last two seem to be the most popular.
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Thanks! I got some video this AM and will figure out a way if uploading/posting a link. Where are these smilies you reference? I would love your opinion and @JeffJ to see if this is similar to your experiences.
 
The tool bar above the text box I'm typing in now. There is a one with a smiley face on it. The Media button looks like two pages.
 
Cats do sometimes respond well to the changing of location of their food bowl -- or to a person holding the dish for them. Have you tried the raised bowls/feeders? I know they make these for cats as well as dogs. Maybe it could make a difference?
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Cats do sometimes respond well to the changing of location of their food bowl -- or to a person holding the dish for them. Have you tried the raised bowls/feeders? I know they make these for cats as well as dogs. Maybe it could make a difference?
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I have his feeder and his meal plates elevated with boxes/books. I did that due to his arthritis a while ago.
 
Howiesmom said:
Thank you so much for sharing your and Leo’s experience.
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We went to a regular vet, but she was a cat-only specialist. And she helped us through all of Leo's issues. There was no way to resolve the soft tissue growth. She had experience in that area, enough to tell us the issues from direct examination and consultation with other vets.

Leo also had real bad IBD, and also small cell lymphoma. In his last months I tried everything to keep him eating. At one point we had 8 or 10 cans of different food open, to see if he would eat any of them. We elevated his food as well. I would have done anything to get him to eat more food. But he was losing weight weekly. And that was it, he basically stopped eating. We decided we would not let him starve to death and go down to 5 or 6 pounds (from 16 pounds). In the words from our vet "starving to death is a hard way to go".

Our Acros give us so much in their short lives. ...and sometimes I miss him so much it hurts. Leo made it to 13, and he would have been 17 this year. I hope you can find some food or eating method for your sweet kitteh. Hugs to you and Howie.:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Looks kind of familiar to the way Neko was eating. I think the soft tissue growth on the gums made it hard for teeth to meet or food got stuck. Any chance you have a vet university nearby or a dental specialist vet?
 
Yes, that looks very similar to the troubles that Leo had when was eating. Like the food was getting stuck around his throat or the back of his gums.
Sometimes he would take a few bites then kind of back off, or walk away.
Same thing with Leo - he would try to use his paw to "unstick the food". And same info as above, for Leo our vet found extra tissue, including tissue around the salivary glands. And in Leo's case it was not something that an operation could resolve. I would have surely paid for an operation.

Agree with Wendy - try to find a vet who can diagnose. And perhaps in the case of Howie, possibly surgery can help. I sure hope it can help him.:bighug:
 
JeffJ said:
Yes, that looks very similar to the troubles that Leo had when was eating. Like the food was getting stuck around his throat or the back of his gums.
Sometimes he would take a few bites then kind of back off, or walk away.
Same thing with Leo - he would try to use his paw to "unstick the food". And same info as above, for Leo our vet found extra tissue, including tissue around the salivary glands. And in Leo's case it was not something that an operation could resolve. I would have surely paid for an operation.

Agree with Wendy - try to find a vet who can diagnose. And perhaps in the case of Howie, possibly surgery can help. I sure hope it can help him.:bighug:
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Thank you so much for responding. I’m not sure what I’ll be able to find for a specialist around here besides the University of MN (expensive) but I’ll certainly check around. At least it gives me something more concrete to talk to my vet about. Thank you!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Looks kind of familiar to the way Neko was eating. I think the soft tissue growth on the gums made it hard for teeth to meet or food got stuck. Any chance you have a vet university nearby or a dental specialist vet?
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I have the University of MN about 2 hrs away. They are pretty expensive but I can certain,y reach out. I’m not sure about a dental vet. Did they offer any advice for Neko with the extra gum tissue?
 
Unfortunately Neko could not have surgery at that point due to her heart condition. So solutions were not possible.
 
I’m back….Howie’s eating is getting worse. He has only eaten a couple different Weruva pates for his main meals (5.5 oz pouches divided in 2 each day) and then gets a small Weruva pouch divided into 6 mini meals each 24 hrs. He is really not eating the food in his auto feeder when I’m gone very much. He’ll eat mini meals off his plate if I’m home and can feed them. His main meals are taking up to an hour to eat if I hound him and follow him around with his plate. Tonight I switched to giving him one of the small pouches of his mini meals for supper as it’s a bit less “sticky” of a texture. Same problem…different food. Adding too much water gets things really stuck in his mouth and he really struggles. Not adding any water keeps the food too sticky and he can’t lap it up with his tongue easily (no teeth). I talked to my vet about extra tissue in his gums or a narrowing of his throat. His best guess is that it is either one of those 2 issues or a cranial neurological issue that is impacting his tongue and ability to swallow. He said he could sedate Howie (general anesthesia) to do an assessment but really didn’t think there were any solutions to it based on his age and condition (and how much $ can I spend).

Perhaps this is a pancreatitis issue? When he had flare-ups before, his BGs were really impacted. He’s not displaying any of that. He gets Ondansetron a couple times a day and is on Mirataz every 24 hours and transdermal buprenorphine twice a day. Other meds/supplements are .6ml Cabergoline, 1/4 tsp fish oil, 1000 mg l-lysine, and 2-3 tsp pumpkin for constipation. He only goes potty once every 24 hrs (sometimes less) and has a bowel movement every other day or so. For his arthritis, he gets Solensia monthly and Adequan every 2 weeks (on top of the buprenorphine mentioned already).

I’ll take any and all ideas and advice. He’s not his spunky self any more and sleeps a lot or just sits there. He sits in my lap occasionally but not like he used to. I’m just so sad as I’ve only had him for about 3 1/3 years but was probably a senior cat (or close to it) when I got him as my pandemic pet.
 
Okay, just shoot me for mentioning this, but I am wondering if a steroid like prednisolone could help the throat inflammation (that we presume os the cause of this problem- excess growth there??). I am just wondering if it could help. Of course, it would raise BG :( but more insulin could perhaps offset that. Also, I think if I were desperate and trying to see if anything would help, I’d consider just trying to raise his Cabergoline dose to see if it made a difference. I feel so sad for you and Howie. He’s really struggling. This must be so hard on you, Tracy, to see him like this. :bighug::bighug:
 
Have you tried something like the Tikicat Mousse products? I bought a cheap immulsion blender just for Neko, and pureed her foods into a mousse like texture that seemed to be easier for her to eat.

Throat inflammation may be just extra tissue, so not really inflammation, just thick tissue. So steroids might not do anything. But you could ask the vet what they thought.
 
I appreciate both if your thoughts. I haven’t tried any other foods but Weruva as I know exactly what the carbs and phosphorous counts are along with the fact that they are free of gums and carageenan which he can’t tolerate. I can certainly look at TikiCat to see how they are. I have thought about blending his food to see what he would do. A cat sanctuary I follow has a “soup” recipe and their cats love it. I don’t know if going to almost pure liquid would frustrate him further if it gets stuck in his gums. But definitely worth a try! I put him back on Cerenia this AM just to see if it is something with pancreatitis. He seems to want to eat although walks away quite frequently. I’m already getting up earlier to have enough time to feed him (especially so I make sure he gets his cabergoline) but that seems to still not be enough time. If you have any other thoughts, I’m all ears. Thank you so much!
 
Well..the cerenia has helped (I think!) as he ate dinner in 12 min tonight! I wish I would have figured this short-term resolution out. I hate to think he’ll be in one more maintenance med (including the cost). But if he’s feeling better for now, we’ll do it!
 
Good to hear that the Cerenia *might* have helped. It supposedly can have mild anti-inflammatory properties (as well as mild pain and anxiety relief) so maybe that makes sense.

Do you think the Solensia is helping Howie? I tried it once on one of my cats but read a few things (not sure if they’re true) that gave me pause, plus I had some concerns about how my guy acted after getting the injection. There were a couple of variables at the time so maybe it wasn’t the Solensia, but I haven’t worked up the courage to try again. Anyway, as an absolute desperate, last-ditch option, I might stop the Solensia and see if that makes a difference with the eating. I hate to say that, given how much arthritis can be an issue in acros, but I’m thinking outside the box.
 
JL and Chip said:
Good to hear that the Cerenia *might* have helped. It supposedly can have mild anti-inflammatory properties (as well as mild pain and anxiety relief) so maybe that makes sense.

Do you think the Solensia is helping Howie? I tried it once on one of my cats but read a few things (not sure if they’re true) that gave me pause, plus I had some concerns about how my guy acted after getting the injection. There were a couple of variables at the time so maybe it wasn’t the Solensia, but I haven’t worked up the courage to try again. Anyway, as an absolute desperate, last-ditch option, I might stop the Solensia and see if that makes a difference with the eating. I hate to say that, given how much arthritis can be an issue in acros, but I’m thinking outside the box.
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What did you read about the Solensia and what kind of effects did you see? My Sheba has had two injections and she has been acting weirdly. She’s been extra crabby with her sisters, too.
 
Howiesmom said:
Well..the cerenia has helped (I think!) as he ate dinner in 12 min tonight! I wish I would have figured this short-term resolution out. I hate to think he’ll be in one more maintenance med (including the cost). But if he’s feeling better for now, we’ll do it!
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Oh this is great news! I’m so happy to read this. :):):bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
JL and Chip said:
Good to hear that the Cerenia *might* have helped. It supposedly can have mild anti-inflammatory properties (as well as mild pain and anxiety relief) so maybe that makes sense.

Do you think the Solensia is helping Howie? I tried it once on one of my cats but read a few things (not sure if they’re true) that gave me pause, plus I had some concerns about how my guy acted after getting the injection. There were a couple of variables at the time so maybe it wasn’t the Solensia, but I haven’t worked up the courage to try again. Anyway, as an absolute desperate, last-ditch option, I might stop the Solensia and see if that makes a difference with the eating. I hate to say that, given how much arthritis can be an issue in acros, but I’m thinking outside the box.
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I would love to hear what you’ve been reading about Solensia affects and how your kittie acted. Howie’s gotten monthly injections since Sept 2022 and just got one yesterday. I did see some immediate affects in the first few months but now I’m not seeing anything much. I haven’t taken him off of them as I’m scared that it is providing something for him even if it’s not much. @Suzanne & Darcy
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Oh this is great news! I’m so happy to read this. :):):bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Now I’m not sure if the Cerenia is actually needed or not. The 12 min feed was an anomaly. But I do think he’s eating a bit better. I’ll give him one more dose tomorrow so he’ll have it for 4 days and then see how he does on Mon without it. This is so frustrating.:banghead:
 
Howiesmom said:
I would love to hear what you’ve been reading about Solensia affects and how your kittie acted. Howie’s gotten monthly injections since Sept 2022 and just got one yesterday. I did see some immediate affects in the first few months but now I’m not seeing anything much. I haven’t taken him off of them as I’m scared that it is providing something for him even if it’s not much. @Suzanne & Darcy
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I’m wondering if Adequan injections might be a better choice for my cat - since it’s been around a lot longer. I’m sorry Howie didn’t keep up with tje “Speed eating.” I do hope he won’t take an hour to eat though.
 
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