Update on Cherry, good news

Sorry for the delay in letting you know how Cherry is doing. Cherry is the cat with FIV and hyperthyroidism who had a very high heartrate and was vomiting several times a day. We saw her vet a bit over two weeks ago.

Her heartbeat is down from over 300 to roughly 180 beats per minute. He said I should use my judgement in increasing the tapazole and to start with 0.22. The effect has been quite dramatic. She has vomited a couple of times but that's related to either eating grass or being a bit constipated. No coughing at all.

She doesn't go out on her own, only with my husband and basically, only to grab a few strands of grass. I can't figure how she can have had her snack of grass yesterday, been eating her food yesterday and today and today only throw up a bit of clear liquid and the grass. How does that work?

He asked me to get a stethoscope as I wasn't able to take her pulse. The pharmacist suggested a really cheap one would be all I'd need. I think a few extra dollars would have been justified!

He also suggested we try a hypo-allergenic food and we are gradually changing over her diet. However, as the vomiting has stopped we may stick with both. I realize this is useless from the allergy point of view but I don't like the idea of her only eating one food. She also gets a good quality wet food into which we mix 1/8 tsp. of Metamucil a day. She drinks a lot of water so I'm not sure what might be causing the constipation.

He gave us the Omega 3 but I am only making one change a week so we haven't tried that yet. I am not sure how it will work out, Cherry isn't sure fish is fit to eat and this smells fishy. This is her week for interferon so we will start the Omega 3 on Saturday.

The vet said the expense of more blood tests would only be justified if he thought it might change Cherry's treatment. He feels satisfied that the problems will clear up once we get her on the right dosage of tapazole. Right now it appears that we have.

Thank you again for all your help and advice. Catnbudge

Her heartbeat is down from over 300 to roughly 180 beats per minute.

Fantastic!

I can't figure how she can have had her snack of grass yesterday, been eating her food yesterday and today and today only throw up a bit of clear liquid and the grass. How does that work?

I know, my cat does that too. I think they have a storage pouch somewhere to store stuff for later :laughing:. One time my cat was playing in the bathtub (empty!) with one of my terrycloth ponytail holders, something he'd done without incident for his entire life. I went to the kitchen to do something and later saw Aztec in the living room, without the hairband. Hmmm, I figured he'd probably flicked it underneath something. I looked everywhere but couldn't find it. Uh-oh, what if he swallowed it? I diligently checked his poo for over a week, but didn't see anything. At that point I decided he must have hid it somewhere extra secretive. Then over a month later, he barfed it up. Seriously!!! Like WTF?

He asked me to get a stethoscope as I wasn't able to take her pulse. The pharmacist suggested a really cheap one would be all I'd need.

I got a cheap one on eBay. It's a funky purple. Even with the stethoscope, I still have trouble taking Aztec's pulse, not because I can't find it, but because I can't seem to count the beats properly. :loser:

He also suggested we try a hypo-allergenic food and we are gradually changing over her diet. However, as the vomiting has stopped we may stick with both. I realize this is useless from the allergy point of view but I don't like the idea of her only eating one food. She also gets a good quality wet food into which we mix 1/8 tsp. of Metamucil a day. She drinks a lot of water so I'm not sure what might be causing the constipation.

I would be more inclined to ditch all the dry food. Nothing better for a cat's overall health than a species-appropriate meat-based wet food. Kibble, hypoallergenic or not, has too many crappy ingredients and is too highly processed to be worthwhile. Here's a good link on the subject: http://www.catinfo.org/ (Oh, and make sure you add extra water to the food along with the Metamucil because it sucks up moisture in the intestinal tract and can actually cause constipation if there's not enough. Are you sure she really needs it? Cats aren't really designed to eat a lot of fiber).

He gave us the Omega 3 but I am only making one change a week so we haven't tried that yet. I am not sure how it will work out, Cherry isn't sure fish is fit to eat and this smells fishy.

My cat is also not a fish fan. It's actually pretty common for cats to hate fish-based Omega3 for some reason. If you find a way to get it in her without pilling, let me know.


Thank you again for all your help and advice. Catnbudge

Keep up the good work!

We had to take Cherry to the vet for an enema yesterday. Even though she's always drunk a lot of water, evidently it wasn't enough for the small amount of Metamucil we were giving her. I hated having to do it. She clearly hated having it done and got her revenge by throwing up a small amount on my pillow! You can't get more definite than that.

So, the Metamucil is out. Unfortunately, we may have to give her Lactulose. The vet says we can use the human variety and recommended 2 mL. It seems like a lot to me so I am only going to give her half that. Cherry is a small cat though she makes up for that with her various medical problems.

Thanks for all your advice. I did consider it carefully but since the vet had said the Metamucil was okay, I continued.

I've re-read the site you sent about changing a cat's diet. At first I couldn't see changing Cherry's diet so completely. She is 16 and while we have always tried to provide a variety of foods, she has her favourites. I will read it over again and see if we may be able to do this. It certainly seems like a better option than more medicine!

Thank you again for all your help. It is such a good feeling to know that I can get 2nd and even 3rd opinions on this little cat's care! Catnbudge

Don't worry about the lactulose. Except for some really intractable cases, they usually only need it for a short time. When I use it on my Badger, within a day or two he is back to normal, then I stop giving it. Although if your vet says give so much every day, of course follow his instructions.

Thanks for the reply. When you give lactulose to your cat, do you give it every day until there is some action? Do you stop then or? I didn't get a lot of info on giving her this new med.

I decided I would go with the 2mL as recommended and just gave her the first dose. She is sitting there looking very thoughtful.

I believe she is wondering how best to make it clear she is not keen on medicine. Today is the second day in a row she's thrown up on my pillow! Catnbudge