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Hi, It appears that sadly this seems to be a common issue with other cat lovers. My cat "Randy" (named after the arborist who dedicated his free time to rescuing Randy from a tree that he was in for 8 days-Catinatreerescue.com) has developed IBD. Randy is approx. 12yrs of age. He suddenly became sick a year ago and went through a 2 pound weight lose. He was vomiting early on in his disease and now this has developed into bouts of explosive diarrhea. I went through the Veterinarian route with tests (stool & blood). He was put on antibiotics and steroids for a short time. Now the vet wants ultrasound and possible endoscopic tests. We are retired and live on a limited income. We cannot afford these expensive tests. I have used the can foods (Royal Canine) rabbit/chicken and dry food as well that was advised by Vet. No change in his gastro issues. I went to a holistic/nutritionist for information and purchased the expensive food with little improvement. I have had to purchase a meat grinder and make his food using chicken thighs. It has not stopped his lower gastro issues, but have reduced the episodes from a few times a day to almost every other day. I make the mixture with vitamins (E, taurine, B complex & fish oil). My husband and I love Randy and we are committed to help him get better. We are going to look into using a low dose steroid every other day to help him. If anyone has any additional information that can aid me in this matter, I would be deeply appreciative.
Hi, It appears that sadly this seems to be a common issue with other cat lovers. My cat "Randy" (named after the arborist who dedicated his free time to rescuing Randy from a tree that he was in for 8 days-Catinatreerescue.com) has developed IBD. Randy is approx. 12yrs of age. He suddenly became sick a year ago and went through a 2 pound weight lose. He was vomiting early on in his disease and now this has developed into bouts of explosive diarrhea. I went through the Veterinarian route with tests (stool & blood). He was put on antibiotics and steroids for a short time. Now the vet wants ultrasound and possible endoscopic tests. We are retired and live on a limited income. We cannot afford these expensive tests. I have used the can foods (Royal Canine) rabbit/chicken and dry food as well that was advised by Vet. No change in his gastro issues. I went to a holistic/nutritionist for information and purchased the expensive food with little improvement. I have had to purchase a meat grinder and make his food using chicken thighs. It has not stopped his lower gastro issues, but have reduced the episodes from a few times a day to almost every other day. I make the mixture with vitamins (E, taurine, B complex & fish oil). My husband and I love Randy and we are committed to help him get better. We are going to look into using a low dose steroid every other day to help him. If anyone has any additional information that can aid me in this matter, I would be deeply appreciative.
I feel for you. My Mattie had the same thing at about the same age. My vet said that IBD and Lymphoma often look the same, but that the treatment for both would be the same--the prenilisone. (I went to Ticehurst in Middletown.) He said the only way to tell the difference would be a biopsy, but he didn't recommend it because he would treat the inflammation with prednilisone either way.
I think you are doing the best you can for your kitty. I gave Mattie baby food chicken and turkey sometimes, and that seemed to help her. It's the nature of the disease--some days they seem like their old selves, some days they seem sicker. Two weeks before she died, she was still trying to drag a slice of pizza off my plate.
Retriever is right--you can ask more on the Cat forum but be forewarned that you will get a lot of people of the no-expense-should-be-spared thinking, and that's just not practical for some of us. Further, putting your pet through a lot of invasive testing can be stressful and take away from the limited time you may have left.
Sometimes all you can do is love them while they are here and let them go when it's time. Mattie stopped eating one day. She was already very thin, and I knew she was getting ready to go. She spent the last day out back in my garden and died at home in a little bed I made for her. Take good care of Randy. He knows you love him.
The cat is 12 years old. I'm not an expert but isn't it a little late in the game for expensive treatments.
Cats can live anywhere up to 15 - 18 and in some cases longer. Some people do opt for such treatments. However, sometimes they spend a lot of money and there really isn't much that can be done, just as with humans. It's a personal decision if one has the financial means to decide.
But you don't just stop caring about a pet that's been in your life for years because it hits a certain age. I lost one in April who was just under 14. She had a brain tumor and went downhill in less than a week's time. I had that cat since 2005. Do you think I said, "Oh well, she was old anyway?"
I know someone whose cat died a couple of years ago at 20. Her ears were gone because of cancer, her eyelids were removed because of cancer. The guy spent thousands of dollars keeping that cat alive until the end when he brought her in for the last time and the vet said, "look, she isn't going to last the weekend. I recommend you let her go now", and then he finally did.
I don't know where you live but I've heard good thing about Red Bank Veterinary Hospital
+1
When my Labrador Retriever began to display some very troubling neurological symptoms, I took him to RBVH.
The specialists there were able to prolong his life for several months, but--when all was said and done--he reached the end of his lifespan as a result of those conditions. In total, I paid over $10k to improve the quality of his life, but at a certain point, even their heroic measures proved to be insufficient. I would have gladly paid even more, but his genetically-related medical conditions led to his inevitable demise, several months later.
I feel for you. My Mattie had the same thing at about the same age. My vet said that IBD and Lymphoma often look the same, but that the treatment for both would be the same--the prenilisone. (I went to Ticehurst in Middletown.) He said the only way to tell the difference would be a biopsy, but he didn't recommend it because he would treat the inflammation with prednilisone either way.
I think you are doing the best you can for your kitty. I gave Mattie baby food chicken and turkey sometimes, and that seemed to help her. It's the nature of the disease--some days they seem like their old selves, some days they seem sicker. Two weeks before she died, she was still trying to drag a slice of pizza off my plate.
Retriever is right--you can ask more on the Cat forum but be forewarned that you will get a lot of people of the no-expense-should-be-spared thinking, and that's just not practical for some of us. Further, putting your pet through a lot of invasive testing can be stressful and take away from the limited time you may have left.
Sometimes all you can do is love them while they are here and let them go when it's time. Mattie stopped eating one day. She was already very thin, and I knew she was getting ready to go. She spent the last day out back in my garden and died at home in a little bed I made for her. Take good care of Randy. He knows you love him.
Thank you for your kind words and suggestions. I am sorry to hear that Mattie has passed. You are so right about making them comfortable while they are here. I am hoping that the Vet will prescribe the prednisone for Randy's sake.
Thank you for your kind words and suggestions. I am sorry to hear that Mattie has passed. You are so right about making them comfortable while they are here. I am hoping that the Vet will prescribe the prednisone for Randy's sake.
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