KPassa
Member Since 2012
Hi Everyone! It's been a while. Michelangelo is still doing great and is now 9 years into his FD diagnosis! I also adopted another diabetic, Finnegan, back in 2017 and he is the one I'm posting about now.
History:
Finn is between 11-13 years old and the sweetest orange boy ever. He has had a history of IBS and possible pancreatitis symptoms since I got him that I've been treating as they come up. I don't use facebook so I haven't been able to join any of the IBD groups but I've spent extensive time researching the available sites (ibdkitties.net, foodfurlife, rawfeedingforibdcats, etc...) and have been using their suggestions with changing his diet, cyano-B12 shots, s. boulardii, and SEB to manage his symptoms successfully at home for the past couple of years.
The last couple of months, however, has been terrible. He has lost about 2 pounds and food goes right through him. He's in the litterbox shortly after he eats and has diarrhea about 4 times a day, mostly lakes, rarely a couple of pudding pieces mixed in. I initially took him to the vet because I wanted to make sure he was hydrated (they've given him subq twice), get him a steroids script, and/or confirm that it wasn't EPI and thus started the vet visits (6 so far at $300-400 a pop because it's all "urgent" unless I want to wait till February for an appointment).
(Side bar: is there a vet shortage everywhere or just here in PNW?)
The vet did an ultrasound and confirmed that he has thickened intestinal walls and probable chronic pancreatitis and prescribed Proviable probiotics (did nothing) and paste (which is basically kaopectate???), plus antibiotics for a slightly elevated white blood cell count (stopped giving after the first dose made him vomit everywhere). After a bunch of issues with scheduling appointments and trying to get them to do something other than make me pay for elective services and medicine that aren't actually treating the problem, I ended up finding a new vet. This vet is willing to do the EPI test but now is going on and on about hydrolyzed foods and how I'm managing his diabetes wrong because Levemir is not an insulin for cats and I test too much (~4 times daily) and basically I'm firing this vet as well as soon I get this FTLI test done and a prescription for pancreatic enzymes (if it's EPI) or steroids (if it's not EPI).
I also recently got him the AnimalBiome report and their gut maintenance supplement (which turned out to just be s. boulardii and probiotics
) but I will also be starting him on their oral fecal transplant pill (probably today when he's back from the vet). ETA: I also have been giving him pumpkin off-and-on to help firm up his stools and make them smell better because otherwise, my other cats pee everywhere. The AnimalBiome report said he needed more fiber and so the last week I've switched him from pumpkin to psyllium husk.
His appetite is ravenous and he rarely vomits (no food, just foam maybe once a week after eating grass). Food is all low-carb, wet, limited ingredients ranging from pates, frozen raw (Darwin's), freeze-dried raw (Stella and Chewy's), to even baby food (beechnut). I've tried everything from beef/chicken/turkey to goose to duck to venison to pork (it all goes right through him). The last few days I've been feeding rabbit and that seems to have helped more than anything else I've tried this last month. He's had (mostly) solid poop the last couple of days and bowel movements only twice a day instead of 6 times a day. (It might be the rabbit or the psyllium husks or both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Anyway, I am at my wit's end and don't know where to go from here. Any suggestions, words of comfort, advice?
He also had a blood panel done and all his values are within normal range (except glucose, of course). I'd share it here but the first vet still hasn't emailed it to me (part of why I fired them). I also haven't updated anyone's spreadsheet in a year (still keeping track on paper), but I'll try to get on that sometime soon.
History:
Finn is between 11-13 years old and the sweetest orange boy ever. He has had a history of IBS and possible pancreatitis symptoms since I got him that I've been treating as they come up. I don't use facebook so I haven't been able to join any of the IBD groups but I've spent extensive time researching the available sites (ibdkitties.net, foodfurlife, rawfeedingforibdcats, etc...) and have been using their suggestions with changing his diet, cyano-B12 shots, s. boulardii, and SEB to manage his symptoms successfully at home for the past couple of years.
The last couple of months, however, has been terrible. He has lost about 2 pounds and food goes right through him. He's in the litterbox shortly after he eats and has diarrhea about 4 times a day, mostly lakes, rarely a couple of pudding pieces mixed in. I initially took him to the vet because I wanted to make sure he was hydrated (they've given him subq twice), get him a steroids script, and/or confirm that it wasn't EPI and thus started the vet visits (6 so far at $300-400 a pop because it's all "urgent" unless I want to wait till February for an appointment).
(Side bar: is there a vet shortage everywhere or just here in PNW?)
The vet did an ultrasound and confirmed that he has thickened intestinal walls and probable chronic pancreatitis and prescribed Proviable probiotics (did nothing) and paste (which is basically kaopectate???), plus antibiotics for a slightly elevated white blood cell count (stopped giving after the first dose made him vomit everywhere). After a bunch of issues with scheduling appointments and trying to get them to do something other than make me pay for elective services and medicine that aren't actually treating the problem, I ended up finding a new vet. This vet is willing to do the EPI test but now is going on and on about hydrolyzed foods and how I'm managing his diabetes wrong because Levemir is not an insulin for cats and I test too much (~4 times daily) and basically I'm firing this vet as well as soon I get this FTLI test done and a prescription for pancreatic enzymes (if it's EPI) or steroids (if it's not EPI).
I also recently got him the AnimalBiome report and their gut maintenance supplement (which turned out to just be s. boulardii and probiotics
) but I will also be starting him on their oral fecal transplant pill (probably today when he's back from the vet). ETA: I also have been giving him pumpkin off-and-on to help firm up his stools and make them smell better because otherwise, my other cats pee everywhere. The AnimalBiome report said he needed more fiber and so the last week I've switched him from pumpkin to psyllium husk.His appetite is ravenous and he rarely vomits (no food, just foam maybe once a week after eating grass). Food is all low-carb, wet, limited ingredients ranging from pates, frozen raw (Darwin's), freeze-dried raw (Stella and Chewy's), to even baby food (beechnut). I've tried everything from beef/chicken/turkey to goose to duck to venison to pork (it all goes right through him). The last few days I've been feeding rabbit and that seems to have helped more than anything else I've tried this last month. He's had (mostly) solid poop the last couple of days and bowel movements only twice a day instead of 6 times a day. (It might be the rabbit or the psyllium husks or both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Anyway, I am at my wit's end and don't know where to go from here. Any suggestions, words of comfort, advice?
He also had a blood panel done and all his values are within normal range (except glucose, of course). I'd share it here but the first vet still hasn't emailed it to me (part of why I fired them). I also haven't updated anyone's spreadsheet in a year (still keeping track on paper), but I'll try to get on that sometime soon.
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So sorry that we've both found ourselves here!
I get the human version because it's the same exact thing as the pet version. Don't get the mix as that has flavorings and sugar that are not good for cats.
Today was chemo day here. Oh, and cats can have both IBD and SCL. SCL kitties can usually taper off of steroids after a while, IBD ones may need to continue, especially for flairs.