Toxoplasmosis!!!
 

Finally! A diagnosis for Beaver... he's got toxoplasmosis and will start treatment today. :thumbs up


In case no one remembers what was going on with him, here's the link to the thread about his symptoms...

[url]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=53424[/url]


Thanks for all the help and support I was given on this.

That's great Constance - all good wishes. I hope he's better really soon! My kitty's called Sandy - he's 10 and I can empathise with how panicked you would have felt. Take care!:pray:

I'm glad you finally got a diagnosis! :highfive:

How long will he be on meds?

I'm not sure. He gave us 2 weeks worth of pills to begin with. He goes in for a check up next Thursday to see how things are going and then we'll take it from there.

The weird thing is, he wasn't intentionally testing for this, it just was a test included in a panel for Feline Leukemia, FIP and FIV. So I think we got really lucky, as well as being lucky in the fact that he's been on antibiotics for 3 weeks already. They weren't as strong as what he's taking as of today, but maybe that's what kept him from getting even worse.

The sickest he got was last Saturday when his fever was up to almost 105. That's when he was started on Clavamox, which seemed to make him almost 100% back to normal, except for his eyesight. We're hoping it will improve as well. :fingerscr

Toxo didn't occur to me :shrug: Good thing you've now got a solid diagnosis & treatment plan to clear this all up :thumbs up

:fingerscr :goodvibes: for more improvement soon

I am so glad you finally got a diagnosis! :thumbs up Your kitty should be fine in no time with treatment.

He seems to be a lot worse. He's been on the meds since Friday and it's like he's going down hill. All he does is lay around and he seems to have lost more weight. I'm calling the doctor tomorrow.

Does anyone know anything about toxoplasmosis? I've googled it and read a lot about it, but not much about treating it in cats and how they respond to the treatment.

I'm just so tired of seeing him not feeling well and I feel so guilty because I can't help him anymore than I've done already. :sad:

This article has some info on the infection in cats:
[url]http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/toxo.html[/url]

It seems like most cases of Toxo infection in cats don't show or have very mild symptoms

Definately try to get him in tomorrow, he may need a change in dosage or switch to another med

:goodvibes: keep us updated

Here is another website....

[url]http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=770[/url]

Sending lots of good luck for Beaver. :fingerscr :goodvibes: :fingerscr :goodvibes:

I hope he's better soon, Constance :fingerscr :goodvibes:

Sending some healing vibes your way :goodvibes::goodvibes::goodvibes:.

[QUOTE=Constance67;615151]He seems to be a lot worse. He's been on the meds since Friday and it's like he's going down hill. All he does is lay around and he seems to have lost more weight. I'm calling the doctor tomorrow.
[/QUOTE]

What are the meds that he's on? Is he still on Clavamox? Antibiotics quite commonly give cats digestive issues so I'm wondering if that could be part of the issue. Definitely talk to the vet about it.

:goodvibes::fingerscr for better health soon.

Thanks everyone. I'm waiting for the doctor to call me back now.

He's an indoor cat, has been for about 6 years now.

He's on Clindamycin now. He did really really well on the Clavamox, too bad it wasn't the one to fix the toxo.

[QUOTE=Constance67;615339]He's on Clindamycin now. He did really really well on the Clavamox, too bad it wasn't the one to fix the toxo.[/QUOTE]

Is it liquid Clindamycin or capsules? It can also cause problems (my cat got horrible diarrhea from the liquid). If your giving capsules, it's extremely important that you follow it with a chaser of liquid or a food treat or else it can get stuck in the cat's throat, causing Erosive Esophagitis. More here: [url]http://www.catinfo.org/pillingcats.htm[/url]

Good luck. Let us know what the vet says.

It's in capsule form. I put a little butter on it to make it slippery before giving it to him and then I give him snacks to eat afterward as well as his water. He took the first couple easily in some pill pocket snacks, but then on the 3rd one, he bit the pill and now he's not as easily fooled. Which is where the butter came into the picture.

He called me and had me take his temperature. It was 104 so he then told me to go ahead and give him clavamox as well as the clindamycin, but at staggered intervals instead of both at the same time.

Said to take his temperature again in the morning and to let him know how he's doing.

He vomited just a little bit a little while ago, the poor little guy. This is getting so hard to handle, I just hate seeing him feel so bad and there's nothing I can do to fix it.

I'm beginning to wonder if I should take him to another doctor, but I hate to start the process all over again with more blood tests and more waiting on the tests to come back.

I'm just to the point that everytime I see him feeling so bad I get upset with him and that doesn neither one of us any good at all. :sad:

How is his appetite? Is he eating normally? Make sure you give the Clavamox with food, either mixed in or after he eats, it will be easier on his stomach. You may want to think about adding some probiotics as well since his intestinal flora is getting walloped by the antibiotics. Keep a close eye on his appetite. If he goes without eating for more than a day, call the vet.

He hasn't been eating much at all since he's been on the clindamycin, but he eats some. Since giving him the clavamox earlier tonight, he seemed to be a bit more interested in food, but not nearly like he would normally eat. But at least he's eating some... right?

It's like the clavamox makes him feel better and back to his old self, at least that's what it did the last time he was on it. I hope it works again this time, so we'll see in the morning if there's any change.

I can't thank you all enough for your help, even if it's just words of encouragement. Not everyone understands how important a pet can be and I'm really glad I found this place. Thank you all so much for just being here.

Well I have 10 minutes til kill before I can go meet the doctor at the office. Had to call in for an emergency visit because Beaver is doing so badly. He was too weak to come out from behind the dresser this morning. I had to reach in and get him and he just felt so small and frail. All he could do was barely stand and make really sad sounds.

I told God to either make him better or to just go ahead and take him... :sad:

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear your kitty is not doing well, I was hoping with the diagnosis he would make a quick recovery.

He had a fever again, 104. He gave him some fluids to hydrate him and a shot to bring the fever down. He's now on Clavamox and Albon 5%. My husband and I have decided if he doesn't improve with this within a couple of days, that it's time for us to say goodbye. We just can't put him through much more of this. It's too sad to see him wasting away to nothing and suffering through it all like he has been in the last few days. It's not an easy decision at all, it was made through many tears from the both of us but we just feel like it's the right thing to do.

Hopefully it won't come to that though. :fingerscr :pray:

[url]http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/clindamycin-antirobe/page1.aspx[/url]

I found a link about this drug. Is the vet sure it is toxoplasmosis?

I'm sorry you and Beaver are having such a difficult time, Constance :grouphug:

:goodvibes: for a quick turnaround and a complete recovery !

[QUOTE=Love4himies;615907]Is the vet sure it is toxoplasmosis?[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately often when cats are really sick w/Toxo there is an underlying case of FIP or FIV that causes the severe symptoms. Has Beaver been tested for either? There is an Elisa Snap Test they can do in clinic.

:goodvibes: :goodvibes:

They did what they called a four panel test for Feline Leukemia, FIP, FIV, and Toxo.

Yesterday, about 5 hours after his first dose of Clavamox, he's up and walking around, eating food and drinking water as well as asking for snacks. It's just amazing the difference that Clavamox makes in him. This morning he's still doing pretty well and was up and ready for breakfast. He's by no means what I'd call "well", but he's not so weak that he can't stand up either.

He hates the Albon and acts like it makes him gag, luckily there's only 3 more days of that for him to go through.

I just wish we could figure out what's going on with the Clindamycin and why it messes him up so badly. I've been consulting with several Veterinarians, one in Arizona where my sister in law works and a couple here in Arkansas who specialize in cats. They're all confused with this as well. I'm getting copies of his blood work today to email to my sister in law so they can have a look at it. I'm beginning to wonder if it's actually Toxo that he really has.

Clindamycin is a pretty harsh drug in our experience. None of the dogs seem to tolerate it very well and I can't take it for more than a few days, either. Do you think he may just be allergic to it?

:fingerscr that whatever he has can be totally cleared up with the Clavamox! It may not be the drug of choice, but it seems to be helping him!

:goodvibes: for continued improvement!

[QUOTE=growler;615968]Unfortunately often when cats are really sick w/Toxo there is an underlying case of FIP or FIV that causes the severe symptoms. Has Beaver been tested for either? There is an Elisa Snap Test they can do in clinic.

:goodvibes: :goodvibes:[/QUOTE]

That's what I thought too, cats who show signs of this have a compromised immunity system to begin with.

There was a sentence in the Cornell University link that stated if the clindamycin doesn't work within a couple of days that the diagnosis of Toxoplasmosis should be questioned.

:grouphug: to you constance67, I hope your kitty gets better soon.

[QUOTE=Constance67;613643]IThe weird thing is, he wasn't intentionally testing for this, it just was a test included in a panel for Feline Leukemia, FIP and FIV. [/QUOTE]

Constance,
:sorry: it took so long for me to respond. I have been unavailable lately and will not be able to read many posts for a while.

If he was not intentionally looking for toxo, it may be that his gut feeling was right and that toxo is an incidental finding. Love4himies is correct, with clindamycin, for most cases the effects should be rather quick. However there are some cases which do not respond quickly. If toxo is the cause, then the prognosis can be worse if response is not seen. Toxo can lead to permanent neurologic damange in some cases. Overall clindamycin is a great medication, I use it commonly. In cats, though, many can get some GI upset. If clindamycin was solving the other clinical signs, then I often suggest adding in pepcid and/or an antiemetic such as metoclopramide.

It sounds like his clinical signs are responsive to Clavamox which means that there is a bacterial infection which is sensitive to Clavamox. Perhaps a longer course of treatment would be beneficial (4-6 weeks?)

If clinical signs recur, then further diagnostics to evaluate for an underlying disease with secondary bacterial infections would be in order. It would be helpful to find the location of the bacteria, however in a cat this can be easier than it sounds.

From what you have stated, I don't know that you need to change vets. It sounds like he is running all of the tests. When we come up with a positive test result, it is natural and correct to pursue treatment in that direction until there is enough evidence (such as lack of clinical response to the clindamycin and positive response to Clavamox) to re-evaluate. It sounds like we have a fever of unknown origin (FUO) case. These can be difficult, especially in cats. The infection can be in so many locations and some difficult to diagnose.

I am sorry if I am not much help on this one. Toxoplasmosis can be difficult and can be present for a long while prior to clinical signs. I think a lot of this will depend upon how sure we are that toxo is the cause. If you are looking for a second opinion, perhaps ask your veterinarian if he thinks an internal medicine specialist is in order. This would be better than getting 'another cook in the kitchen'. An internal medicine specialists job is to handle the unusual cases and make sure that the patient is headed in the correct path. Then they hand the case back to your regular, more affordable, veterinarian. :pawprint:

That's ok Dr. Lee, I understand you have a busy life on this board as well as off this board, but any help you give is always much appreciated.

He's doing a bit better this morning, woke us up by scratching on the bedroom door because he wanted us to get up and give him some treats. They just are addicted to those Temptation treats! So I got up and gave him a few of those and check him out. His eyes haven't improved back to the stage they had improved to. I think the doctor was wrong when he told us to stop using the drops after he diagnosed him with Toxo, so I've started using the drops again.

We take him to an internal medicine specialist today and are hoping he'll be able to tell us what's going on and if it's all bad news or if we should keep trying and having hopes that he can come through this. If he has anymore bad days like he did Tuesday morning, then he'll be making the decision for us. It's just too hard to see him so sick.

But anyway, I'm thinking positive today! His appointment is at 5:30 this evening and it's about 60 miles away, but it's definitely worth it... he's definitely worth it. I've gotten copies of all his tests to take with me too.

I'll update this later tonight and let yall know what the doctor says. :fingerscr :pray:

Please do keep us posted, Constance! :grouphug:

:goodvibes: and :fingerscr for good results tonight!!!!