Litter recommendations? - Syko new vet, x-rays, mass in lung.

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meowsyko

meowsyko

Member Since 2016
Typing this as I wait for the ferry home... just took Syko to a new vet, I like this one much better. She really explains things and is mindful of Sykos age when we talk about any treatments. We didn't talk much about diabetes since that's not an issue right now, but she seems up to speed on everything which is great.

Her hairless ears are still a mystery... Possibly from being on topical Budesonide for a bit, weird but nothing to really worry about for now. (At least we have a possible reason to it!)

We got some chest x-rays done and found a small mass in her chest cavity and the area around her heart isn't 'well-defined' so there's possibly something there or it could be enlarged. She's sending the images out for a specialist opinion, I'll make a separate post when I hear back in a day or so and post images then. She also found a slight (grade 1-2) murmur. She did say Syko looks great for her age, though!
Her quality of life is pretty great so none of this news bothers me too much.
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The good news - she didn't pee on me during the trip! (Yet...)
 
your attachment didn't open anything....

good that you like the vet.... that's sometimes hard to find.....


prayers and hugs for the mass.....
will be watching for the update....
 
Glad you found a good vet that talks to you and keeps in mind kitty QOL.

We'll keep paws crossed on the X-ray consult. Is that with Dr. Marco? He's the cardiologist Neko went to. Great vet. We first went to him for Neko's heart murmur but he found it was just an age related thing not to be worried about.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Glad you found a good vet that talks to you and keeps in mind kitty QOL.

We'll keep paws crossed on the X-ray consult. Is that with Dr. Marco? He's the cardiologist Neko went to. Great vet. We first went to him for Neko's heart murmur but he found it was just an age related thing not to be worried about.
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I think she sent it to a radiologist at Washington State University, if I'm remembering right. The murmur is very faint, but the one side of her heart on the x-ray was...blurry, so there's something going on there.
It's hard with older kitties, I feel like most things I find out about I can't do much for anyway. But I do feel a little better finding these things before she's really symptomatic, and hopefully it helps keep her well for as long as possible.
 
I spoke with the vet yesterday. The radiologist said her lungs show mild asthma, and that her heart isn't concerning as older cats hearts just show up a bit different I guess....
The mass in her lung is (most likely) a tumor. I thought that was probably the case. We aren't going to do further testing or chemo for it. From my obsessive googling, If it's originating in the lung, it's likely a fairly aggressive form of cancer, and if it originated elsewhere, it is usually in final stages once it reaches the lungs. Last year when she started having tummy issues the prognosis was GI sensitivity/IBS or intestinal lymphoma, so it's possible that it's been hiding out for a while.
She's being put on a daily inhaler to help her coughing (I assume Flovent but she called it something else), and we will just treat any symptoms as they come.

I forgot (again) to ask for photos of the x-rays because she called around the time they were closing, I'll get those Monday so you can see.

Syko grew up in a home with smokers before I had her, and my mother smoked in the house a bit before I moved out, so I'm blaming that. But she's an old lady, and if it wasn't this it would be something else.

Sorry for the depressing update. Syko doesn't know any better, curled up and happily napping beside me.

I've been using World's Best for a while, and I've just finished this bag. Should I switch her to a paper litter instead (I doubt it will do much, but might be a little easier on her little lungs)? I have some non-clumping ones that I use for the rats. I've heard of a mythical clumping paper litter but cannot find it anywhere.
 
I'm so sorry to hear the news about Syko. :bighug::bighug: I'm glad she doesn't know and is otherwise having good QOL at the moment.
 
I used a litter that was supposed to be better for cats and people with respiratory problems. It still had some dust, but not as much as most clumping litters. Don't know if you can get it there, though. It's Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Respiratory Relief Litter. It comes in either clay or silica. We used the clay version as my cats never liked silica litters. They weren't wild about newspaper litter, either, but some cats don't mind it.

I'm so sorry about the tumor. You're right - Syko doesn't know about it, so no need to tell her. Just keep her comfortable and love her. You'll know when she's had enough, but that could be months and months from now.

:bighug::bighug::bighug:

 
I'm so sorry about the diagnosis. Just make the most of each day and try not to think about the future. Sending prayers. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Hoping and praying that it's not the dreaded C, but here to support you & Syko no matter what.
 
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:

I haven't had problems with the world's best being dusty.
But I had read that one needs to also watch the moisture content on some litters, bacteria can harbor when we don't clean it often enough and that can also affect lung issues or even create issues.
 
I think the World's Best is probably pretty good. I switched to it because it was easier on punkin's feet and have stayed with it. Ours doesn't seem dusty.

So sorry about the lung tumor. I hope it's slow growing and doesn't bother your sweet girl. Hugs and healing vines coming your way!:bighug:
 
Thanks for all the vines, everyone :bighug:

I don't find World's Best super dusty either, but there is definitely some dust, and I've read that corn-based litters can be allergens and trigger asthma. I've heard about the bacteria thing too, I clean it almost right after she uses it but there are always those inevitable little crumbles in there. And, honestly, it's a little pricey so I rarely change out the entire box. I might try to switch to something completely dust-free, like newspaper pellets, just in case it has any effect on her.
She also occasionally decides to treat herself and EAT some of the World's Best, so that's probably not great...

I just picked up her Flovent. Not entirely sure if she should be on 2 different corticosteroids (Flovent and Budesonide), but in theory the Flovent doesn't get absorbed into the bloodstream, at least not much, so I guess it's fine. She takes inhalers well, but will not appreciate it being a twice-daily thing :rolleyes:.

I thought she was coughing today, went and grabbed her puffer and ran around trying to find her. It was just a hairball. She's been shedding a lot lately, so I've been brushing her daily, but apparently not enough. I need to find her Furminator.
 
Neko used to eat Worlds Best too. I switched to the Blue Naturally Fresh walnut based litter. Also less worry about the wet corn issue (alflatoxin mold). Walnut litter is less dusty and apparently not good to eat. :)
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Neko used to eat Worlds Best too. I switched to the Blue Naturally Fresh walnut based litter. Also less worry about the wet corn issue (alflatoxin mold). Walnut litter is less dusty and apparently not good to eat. :)
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Thanks, I will check it out! I tried a walnut litter before but it wasn't clumping so I didn't like it. This one looks promising, I might grab some to try next time we go off the island :)
 
Before Punkin became diabetic (and flooding the litter box) I used wood stove pellets. They are the same basic thing as Feline Pine, but incredibly cheap - like US $5 for a 40lb bag that would last for a couple of months. It's a little different technique for emptying, sort of backwards from what you do with clumping litter. When the pellets get wet, they turn to sawdust and sift to the bottom of the box. So I would tip the box and all the dry pellets at the top would fall to the end of the box, leaving the wet sawdust on the bottom of the box. It doesn't clump but it can still be scooped and discarded. I liked the pellets a lot - they just smell woodsy. Really no dust at all with them and no urine smell.

Since you're in the great Northwest, you should be able to find wood stove pellets. I did find that they were harder to track down in the summer, so learned to buy enough bags for the summer before the weather warmed up. At this point they are still on pallets outside of our grocery stores.
 
Sorry to hear about Syko's lung problems, sending prayers that she stays healthy and happy for a long time to come.

I don't know if you can get it in Canada - I would imagine you could - I use Okocat litter and swear by it. It is dust-free, clumps well, and controls odors better than any other litter I have used. It also doesn't track all over the house, which I like. I use the Natural Wood Clumping (in the box with the blue bottom); I have tried some of the other "styles" but like this one the best. It's very easy to clean and lasts a long time, even with my four all using it and Squallie peeing oceans. I know Amazon.com carries it, so do some of the online pet supply places. You can also get it in some pet stores, and Walmart now carries it, too. It's a little more expensive than some other litters but well worth it, in my opinion.
 
I've been experimenting with paper pellets (and worlds best LOL). So far, they are good. I have been just using the Petco brand kind.

I was using the pine pellets, but the pellets disintegrate when they get wet... so I didn't have dust from clay, but I had saw dust! Neither me nor the cats were thrilled.

(Gordy sometimes eats the Worlds Best too... Gross.)
 
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