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[RedwoodsMama]

     This has been a bad year or past 12 months, I have lost three fur babies including the love of my life, Karl Kat this past June 12th, and then exactly two weeks later, the oldest cat in our family and matriarch of our family, Aiffa who was almost 19. If that was not bad enough, we lost two turtles to Ravens within a month and then it all started last October 18th, when my hubby's favorite Cat, Lei _lu, our dainty little 15 1/2 year old tortie girl had to be euthanized due to Kidney problems and fluid in the lungs.

        I have had many injuries and surgeries, but it is the death of my babies that is heart breaking. Dinta, our big Turkish Van is now very sick, and he is the first born son of Lei Lu who died in Oct. He was taken to the vet late in Feb. as he was losing weight and had continuous diahreaa. The vet said he looked fine, losing weight was good as he was too heavy at 15 lbs. ( he was down to 12 lbs 4 oz Feb. 25) He said it was most likely a food allergy. His stool sample came out negative for worms.

 

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 Since then Dinta has gotten thinner, skinny actually, He looks a lot older than his seven years. He never plays anymore and does nothing but cry for food, He runs when he has to go to the bathroom like the devil is chasing him and even though I have changed his diet and feed him allergy free food and at $7.00 a lb, $34.99 for a 5 lb bag, it is not cheap food he is eating. He is getting worse and worse, I last night gave him special anti diahrea medicine and a prescription Intestinal cat food that I got from my friend to try as her cat also has stomach problems and gets diahrea. Within half an hour of giving this medicine and food, he was voimiting projectile water and diahrea at the same time, I mean bad, he had loose watery bowel movements over a two room radius, from at least a distance of 100 yards, This was at 11:45 last night and it took me over half an hour to clean it all up and then mop and disinfect all the floors.

            Poor Dinta is starving, he has lost all his muscle mass, none at the hips and his spine is prominent. This morning I made a vet apt for Tuesday morning at 10:45 and I saved a stool sample last night when cleaning up so I took it in today to the vet so they could send it out for analysis. They will check for parasites things that can' not be seen with the naked eye. I haven't weighed Dinta but I am sure he has lost weight since Feb. When they told me he weighed 12 lbs 4 oz in Feb, I was shocked, I am sure he weighs about 10 at the most now, probably more like 9 lbs.. I am praying he has parasites something that can be treated. If his stool sample comes out negative again, then it is more serious such as CANCER, LIVER or KiDNEY or Pancreas problems come to mind......... I can not bear the thought of losing another cat...

            Last week I took another cat, April to the Vets because of a severe flea allergy and she has Stomatis as well, with at least a couple of teeth that the roots are exposed. They gave her injections of antibiotics and steroid. Her skin has recovered nicely and she is not drooling, but she needs to go back and get her teeth cleaned and if not all at least some pulled, the estimate was $455.00 to do that and she has to have it taken care of.............she can be put off for now, but Dinta can't.

                    He has had diahrea off and on, sometimes no loose stools for anywhere from one day to almost one week, until this past week, where it has been every meal. I am afraid of something serious and losing another cat. Please any animal, cat lovers out there, please keep positive thoughts for my little boy. Thank you.

                                                        RWM

[Angela]

I think you'd better go collect four leaf clovers, because you can still use all the luck. With all those catpaws around you might think you already should have all the good luck.

In any case I wish you again a lot of strength. Hopefully there will be better times for you guys. 

[RedwoodsMama]

 just got back from the vets little over an hour ago, Bad news, is that the stool sample was negative for anything..............I was hoping to make it simple and treatable. Bad news again, I got his chart notes from last times at vets. In Nov. 2011, not quite 2 years ago, he was very big, but not obese, he weighed a whopping 16 pds 5 oz. Then on Feb. 25th of this year, he had lost weight and I thought looked perfect at 12 lbs 4 oz, that is almost exactly a 4 lb weight loss in less than a year and a half, This is when I first took him in for Diahrea. The vet then thought food allergy and I changed his diet. 

         Today he went in and I knew he was skinnier, but this is shocking........................In less than seven months, he has gone from 12 lbs 4 oz, to 8 lbs 12 oz,  That is a loss of 3 and half pds ! And in less than two years, a total loss of half his body weight from when he was too heavy........from 16 lbs 5 oz to 8 lbs 12 oz, ,over 7 1/2 lbs!

                   This is serious and not NORMAL. He is only 8 years old as of this past April. He acts like he is starving , crying constantly for food, but everything goes right through him, both diahrea and vomiting so bad on Sunday is was like water. Poor guy........He also has a grade 2 Heart Murmur that he did not have in Feb. Probably due to loss of protein and muscle mass, he is not getting any nourishment at all. So he could have several things, likely IBD, which is hard to treat, no cure but symptoms can be controlled. Or else he could have a stomach cancer or tumor, which is not as good or treatable. Today was just to make him feel better to start with.

            He got a Pen G shot with something called, Dexameth ? SG, and B 12 which should make him feel some better, He also got two prescription meds, Amoxicillian which is an antibiotic and another one for Gut problems, called Metronidazole, that I give with a pill shooter, Then for food, NOTHING but BOILED chicken, that is it. I am going to keep a food diary and everytime he eats I mark it down and watch the reaction, hopefully his diahrea improves. Then in one week he will go back and hopefully improvement and we will do a blood test for CBC, liver, kidney, thyroid and Protein, etc. I was not going to put him through that today with him shaking with fear. My husband says he will euthanize him before he lets him starve to death, so I am hoping this helps and he starts gaining weight and mostly no more diahreaa.

               Has anyone else ever had a cat with IBD, I am so worried about Dinta. If I lose Dinta, this will be four cats within about a years time, I have lost one last Oct, two in this June, it has been getting worse and worse. I can't stand to see my fur babies hurting and nothing I can do.....................

            Angela, thanks for the four leaf clover thought, If I can find one, I certainly will keep it around.                    RWM 

[Talon]

I'm so sorry, Redwoods. Wishing for the best outcome for your Dinta!
Talon

[RedwoodsMama]

Good news so far, that Dinta has not had any Loose stools or vomiting at all since the vets yesterday, He also got a steroid shot which I did not know, That made him feel kind of ill this morning, hiding, but he is now eating very well, still nothing but boiled chicken, all chicken breast meat no skin...( more expensive , but I am a vegeatarian and want to make him healthier, cheaper chicken has too much skin with all the fat and these already have the skin removed and are more easily digestible which is what you want if a cat or dog has IBD, very similar to same condition in humans.)
           So thus far today, he is eating well, was not until after 1:00 p.m, and I called the vet and even got a urine sample that I will bring in tomorrow. So keeping positive thoughts for my skinny boy, I am hoping this works and he starts gaining back the seven pounds he lost, at least 4 back and I will be happy. He also is not crying from being hungry constantly which is also a relief.                 RWM 

[Margery]

So sorry to hear of yet more trouble for you to endure.  I'm hoping for better news of Dinta soon.  Thank goodness he is at least a little more comfortable now.  It is so hard to see an animal suffer.

Thinking of you

[RedwoodsMama]

Dinta goes back to the dr. on Tuesday, the 17th, Hopefully there will be good or better news, He does seem to feel a bit better and is loving his boiled chicken breast, eating every two to three hours and even woke me up at 3:00 am and today at 5;00 am to eat because he was so hungry, With seven other cats in the house, I can't leave his chicken sitting out, it would be gone so quick! I also think I found a huge roundworm or something else like a worm two days ago and will take it with me to the vets, It is long like spaghetti and brown like string,,,and after I rinsed it in water, it very slowly moved.............I took a video of it and sure enough it slowly moved. creepy but if it is a worm, it could be what is making him sick!
              Dinta and I thank you for all the well wishes.           RWM

[Jontibb]

Dear Redwoodsmama, sorry to hear about your cat not being well, but pleased he is improving, fingers crossed he will continue to get better, he couldn't have a better nurse than u, prayers and hugs being sent

[Talon]

Uuul! That's really creepy about the worm but I'm hoping it will shed some light on what's wrong with Dinta. Best of luck for both of you on the seventeenth.
I'm going to the doctor too on the seventeenth. I've had optic migrains for five years and my eye doctor has been trying everything under the sun to stop them. I've been on yet another eye drop for the past four weeks. If these don't get the muscles behind my left eye to relax and stop contracting, we're going to start talking surgery. I know most people would be so freaked out about having their eye removed and replaced with one made of coral but I've put up with these unbelivable headaches for five years. If removing it will stop this then they can go right ahead.
Talon

[RedwoodsMama]

Hi Talon, so sorry to hear about your optic migraines, I have had migraines since the early 1980's and they are nasty, I can only imagine how incapacitating yours make you feel, I don't blame you for feeling the way you do, Good luck with getting yours straightened out one way or another.

         Dinta goes back to the vets in the morning, I am taking what looks like a worm, round worm with me. He has been eating well, and has to be feeling better, I hate to put him through all the stress he will go through in the morning, crying and panic stricken, but it is the only way to find out what is going on with him, He has a heart murmur and I am hoping with any weight gain, it gets better and not worse. I appreciate your comments Talon and well wishes, We need all the positive thoughts possible. After losing three cats and losing two turtles to RAvens this year, I am not prepared to lose a fourth cat, that is way too much. I will be praying you have a good eye dr. apt and no more bad optic migraines.                       RWM 

[Torterenek]

How is Dinta?

[RedwoodsMama]

Thanks for the question. Good news is that Dinta does not have cancer , Kidney disease or anything terrible, He does however have severe food allegies, having gone from 16 lbs 5 oz in Nov. 2011, to 12 pds 5 oz in this past Feb. 2013. He saw a dr. then and he thought food allegies and this was after a few months of severe loose stools, vomiting and not looking very good. Then in the end of this past August I took him to the vet and he was down to 8 lbs 12 oz, I was shocked and he also had a grade 2 heart murmur. The vet gave him two injections, a steroid and antibiotic along with Vitamin B 12 shot, Also sent home with two types of anitibioticis, one for general and one for the gut. Also taking probiotics sprinkles on his food, I was told to give him BOILED CHICKEN ONLY.

               Good news is that a week later he went back and in one week went from 8 lbs 12 oz to 9 lbs 8 oz, a gain of 12 oz in seven days! And no more loose stools. So I was told to continue with the boiled chicken and gradually try adding the EVO 95% that I feed the other cats, (it is 95% just turkey and chicken.) He did fine, no problems ,He snuck into one of the other cats bowls that had some Firskies Salmon in sauce and within 20 minutes ran out the door with loose stool, it goes right through him. poor guy, back to nothing but Boiled chicken breast and the EVO. He is tired of chicken but does good with it and that is the point.

            On a highlight. Dinta is one of the cats that won , ( See the other post ) in a Friskies Cat Calendar Contest!         I will keep you updated on how he does.   RWM 

[Torterenek]

What was the worm thing?

[Crewella]

Glad he's better, RWM.  My old Minne (18) is similarly allergic to all fish products.  I feed a wide range of things, but I just have to read the labels to make sure that there's no hidden fish in any meat varieties.  Hope he continues to improve.

[kat]

I'm glad you were able to work out what was causing his issues and that he is well on the way to being happy and healthy again.