Patti and Boris update - any thoughts??? ideas???

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Patti and Merlin

Patti and Merlin

Member Since 2009
Yesterday we posted in loose lips but I thought I'd start a thread for Boris today. Our SS is so not updated so forget about reading it. I will say he's been staying on 0.25 to 0.5u Lantus. We've been unable to keep him on one steady dose. We typically give 0.25u for BG's < 110 and 0.5u for anything over that. I know that's not typical but otherwise he runs too high or too low. I will try to update the SS over the next few days. (I've been working alot on the 2012 acro calendar)

We went to the vet this AM. His liver function tests are the best they have ever been. Not normal but :
alk phos: 141 (10-90)
ALT: 200 (20-100)
bili: 0.6 (0.1-0.6)
these are the closest to normal ever. So I guess the denamarin, ursodial, and prednisolone (every 3rd day), and Vit b12 injections ever week are working

His bun and creatinine are normal - (20 and 1.2) and his BG was 88 at the vet and 84 on our freestyle - can't beat that. His T4 was 2.8 - right in the middle of normal.

He's just "punky" - don't know why - and losing weight. He's always been skinny - the highest we've ever gotten him to was 8# but now he's down to 6.9# (he came to us @ 7#). We feed FF lo carb and offer him treats too.

I am to continue giving him fluids everyday for awhile. I've been a horrid mom and hadn't been giving methylb12 so have to go get some today. I'm going to get all types of food to see if he'll eat something else - something that appeals to him more. He loves tuna. he continues to eat small amounts of food (FF and baby food). Today I plan to keep at him every 2 hours. And recently we started some multivits (Nucat senior vits).

Does anyone have any other ideas?? thoughts? I'm open to anything!
Some of you might not know or remember - we adopted him thru the board almost 2 yrs ago - he came to us in pretty bad shape - but has been doing quite well - he's a happy, fun loving guy. We love him so much. He camps with us (like our Merlin did) and I so want to make him better. I'm just at a loss as to what else to do!

Thanks sooo much! We so appreciate all of you!
xx
patti and boris
 
Patti and Merlin said:
these are the closest to normal ever. So I guess the denamarin, ursodial, and prednisolone (every 3rd day), and Vit b12 injections ever week are working
Click to expand...

In my experience, prednisolone is given once daily (usually at 5 mg s.i.d.). It may not have the duration to be given every 3rd day, as a steroid such as dexamethasone would be. So he may need a steroid increase?

I am not sure what his dx is, but sometimes inappetant kitties are feeling nauseous, and a shot of cerenia, given once daily for 3 days can help. You could alternately (or additionally) try Ondansetron b.i.d.
 
I was just wondering about Boris a couple of days ago.
I'm sorry to hear he is 'punky'.

I don't have any suggestions, but will be praying for Boris to get better.
 
Dumb question of the evening... Have you tried shooting a fat 0.25u or a skinny 0.5u?

The only other thought I have about food is whether a higher calorie food might be an option.
 
THANKS everyone.

So tonite I fed Boris a higher carb food and he wolfed it down. a whole can of FF too! Made my heart happy! Thanks Sienne - made me happy to see it was suggested by someone else and not just me not caring about carbs anymore! I just want him to EAT! more than 1/4 can too!

Linda - he had been on prednisolone every day when he first got sick last June with the cholangiohepatits but then we weaned it to every 3rd day over several months and it's that way now since January. But today the vet and I talked about going back to every 2nd day. The vet more or less trusts me because he knows I know a fair amount about the liver disease and the diabetes but sometimes I feel like I'm on my own too. he's new here since January so kind of came in in the middle of Boris' care. But I'm thinking it might be better to go back to everyday for maybe a week and then go to every other day. ????? The vet is closed now for the w/e and I had never thought about the anti nausea meds. Duh - I'm usually recommending them to the acromoms - duh why didn't I think of them for my Boris. I have it written down tho so if things deteriorate over the w/e.... or if on monday..... I'll know what to ask for! THANK you!

Sandy we did talk about an appetite stimulant and I have some. I thought I'd try some other food first before giving more meds if possible. I have it available tho.

And Sienne - not a dumb question at all - we did try doing what you suggested - the F 0.25 or the S 0.5 - it seemed he was still too hi or too low - maybe we were just too chicken when he got lower - and us going to work - especially since he'd had that hypo/seizure in the past which took us totally by surprise. Going with the 2 doses (and i will work on the SS i promise) seems to be working the best for him. We really did try to do the one dose thing.

Karen and Lisa - thanks just for checking in on us. Makes us feel not quite so alone. I keep telling him that 1.5 yrs is just not long enough for him to be with us!

xxx
patti
 
aww, patti... i'm sorry to hear boris is going through a rough patch.
i hope he continues to eat the little higher carb food for you. i resorted to foods with 5% kcal carbs for alex (she's very carb sensitive) and simply adjusted her insulin dose. i didn't want to resort to appetite stimulants unless i had to because they're hard on the liver. luckily, now she's eating pretty well most of the time.

we also added Super B-Complex, Regular(not herbal) to the supplements we give her. it did seem to perk her up.

one thing my vet mentioned that i don't hear of much on the fdmb is to supplement taurine with long term users of ursodiol. he also told me to feed her food with a little higher fat content. supposedly, the higher fat provides better absorption of the ursodiol. like i say, it haven't seen it mentioned much here, but i have read both these things here and there.

hugs for you and boris...
 
Thanks Jill - I remember reading that about the ursodial and the taurine and we've been doing that. I'm not sure exactly how much taurine to add but we put 125mg in with each dose. I'll have to look at the fat content of the food - I've not paid attention before but I will now! THANKS Jill.

I'll look for the super b complex also. Are they pills and how much do you give?

I know I probably sound crazy but something just seems off. Usually every AM he comes to me and sits in front and raises his paw to me to be petted. He's not doing that. He just has that "look". We'll go ahead with all these things to try and hope that all these help.

Again I thank all of you soooooo much!
 
the B Comples i linked above is a liquid.
alex gets a total of 0.5ml of that particular brand. i mix a couple of drops of it in her mini-meals throughout the day.

tanya's CRF site has more suggestions...
 
i think you are in tune with Boris, and if you think he's "off" then he probably is. i don't have any experience with any of this, just off the top of my head i'm wondering if you're seeking more calories, what about adding fish oil? or a bit of butter or other fat? i know butter can be used for hairballs, so don't want to give him the runs, of course, but maybe a little bit would be ok.

sorry your little buddy isn't feeling up to speed, patti!
 
I wish I could offer advice also. I know reading posts by posters with CRF cats its a battle to keep weight on. I wonder about a high fat content with the liver - does he process high fat foods well? My dog with elevated liver enzymes seems to vomit up the wellness foods. I'm having trouble keeping weight on her - her appetite is hit and miss lately also. She has a heart condition though - the liver is probably related to her heart disease. Kidneys and liver can suffer with some types of heart disease. I wonder if cats are affected the same way? Has he had his blood pressure tested?

Wishing everything is going to be okay.

Sending you hugs.
 
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